The All-Master of Cyberpunk-Chapter 24

The Halberd Davidson, modified to ensure effective survival in upcoming catastrophes.

Imagining how powerful it had become after the meister’s touch made my heart race with anticipation.

With this excitement, I arrived at the entrance of Haneul-gil, where a woman at the checkpoint waved at me cheerfully.

"Oh, Mister! Long time no see!"

With neatly groomed black hair and a beige two-tone color visible beneath, it was 'Little Reaper' Yoo Hyun-a.

I hadn’t seen her the last time I came to check the modification progress and deliver the mid-term payment because she was off-duty and asleep.

Today, I was lucky to find her assigned to checkpoint duty.

As the firmly closed iron gate opened, Yoo Hyun-a ran towards me from the sniper tower near the entrance.

"Oh, Mister, what are you!"

"Hyun-a, long time no see. How have you been?"

"You came last time but didn't even say hi!"

"You were sleeping. You would’ve been annoyed if I woke you up."

"That's true. I hate being woken up when I'm in a deep sleep after night duty."

Yoo Hyun-a grinned, baring her teeth playfully.

Every time I saw her, she gave off a strong high school girl vibe.

Though it was hard to call her a high school student since she didn’t follow a normal educational path after the Great Chaos.

But in personality alone, she was no different from the high school girls in the world I lived in.

Her energy was distinctly different from the people usually encountered within the Green Zone.

She was always good at taking care of others despite her grumbling.

Perhaps the reason I felt oddly happy every time I came to Haebangchon was because of people like Yoo Hyun-a.

In the Green Zone, all you saw were dying, sick chickens or villains drunk on alcohol or drugs.

Even though the situation in Jung-gu, where I temporarily resided, was slightly better, once you moved to the outskirts of the downtown area, such people were as common as pigeons.

"So, you're here to pick up your bike today?"

"How did you know?"

"There's no one in Haneul-gil who doesn't know the bike modification is complete. Uncle Chang-su has been bragging about it so much..."

"......????"

"Oh, there he is."

I turned to where she pointed and saw a small dot racing across the wide runway.

Buaaaa-

The faint but heavy sound of the exhaust reached my ears.

I quickly realized that the dot was Kim Chang-su riding the Halberd Davidson.

"He’s been doing that for two days. We told him not to because it might attract mutants, but he said the high-performance silencer disperses the sound."

I chuckled at the sight.

Indeed, this airport was probably the only place in Daegu where the bike could achieve its maximum performance.

In the Yellow Zone outside Haneul-gil, where speeding was impossible, not to mention cruising.

If he tried this in the Green Zone, he'd get beaten up by police sirens.

Even the Underdog Bikers didn’t truly 'rampage.' They might cause noise pollution and muggings, but they didn't speed.

They knew how precious their lives were.

Watching Kim Chang-su, who seemed to be shooting a romantic movie, I noticed him turning toward his off-road bike parked at the entrance.

Brrrr, tuuuuuang!!

Pababang!

As he approached, the noise was so loud it seemed like he had a popcorn machine attached.

Is this the reduced sound? It’s enough to attract all the mutants in the area.

"Oh, you're here! You should’ve come a bit later."

Despite his helmeted, messy hair, his refreshed expression was infuriatingly smug. He had thoroughly enjoyed himself.

But I could understand why he was reacting this way.

It was no longer just a 'bike.' An armored bike? A two-wheeled armored vehicle? Whatever it was called, it looked strong.

"The hardest part was finding the right motorcycle tires. I had to buy them at a premium from scavengers operating near Gumi."

Kim Chang-su began explaining with a hearty laugh.

"Bulletproof tires for police special forces, with carbon composite armor plates on the sides. It’s nearly perfect against 5.56mm and even Chinese 7.62mm rounds. And look at this beautiful air-cooled engine! Despite environmental regulations, this beast outperformed existing water-cooled engines. This is Halberd the Masterpiece, crafted by me, Kim Chang-su!"

It was a grand introduction. Yoo Hyun-a, who had been listening blankly, shook her head in disbelief, prompting me to quickly cut him off before he could continue.

"The armor is impressive, but how about the other features?"

"Tch... No romance, huh? Well, yeah! I also equipped it with a portable anti-tank missile with thermobaric warheads, just like you wanted. Luckily, our base had some in stock."

That was enough. With the smoke grenade launchers on the sides confirmed, it was practically the ultimate weapon for the Daegu Green Zone scenario.

"The red button is for the missile, and the blue button is for the smoke grenades. The missile guidance follows the HUD on your helmet."

"I'm very pleased. I feel like giving you a tip."

"No need for a tip. Can’t I just keep it? I saw you ride off-road pretty well!"

Honestly, Kim Chang-su seemed genuine. I could understand getting attached to his best work.

In Seoul 2056, it wasn't until the fifth playthrough that I managed to get a bike with such specs.

But it's a no-go.

"Sorry, no can do."

"Damn it. It feels like losing a wife."

"It was my bike to begin with."

"Geez, picky as always... That'll be 120 million. In gold bars, not cash."

"I expected that."

Given that typical accounts couldn't be used in Haebangchon, physical payment was a given. I opened my car trunk and handed a duffel bag filled with gold bars to Yoo Hyun-a.

"Huh? What’s this? It looks heavy but isn’t at all."

"Gold bars worth the amount he mentioned."

When Yoo Hyun-a opened the duffel bag, sunlight reflecting off the gold bars made her eyes widen.

"Aaah!!!"

Seeing the overwhelming gold, Yoo Hyun-a grabbed the bag and ran, causing Kim Chang-su to chase after her in a panic.

"Hey, you brat!!! Give it back! I still owe your brother! I even emptied the workshop funds!"

"It’s Hyung-rok oppa's money anyway! I’ll just tell him to count it as pocket money!!"

"What!?"

It was a typical Haebangchon scene. Can you imagine such a sight in the Daegu Green Zone?

Of course, the ruckus was soon subdued by Park Hyung-rok, who personally intervened in the deserter’s arrest.

"Yoo Hyun-a! What are you doing during guard duty? Get back to the sniper tower!"

"Ugh... Why did he have to show up..."

"Apologies, Do-jin. Let me send her back to the sniper tower and come back."

Yoo Hyun-a, caught by Park Hyung-rok, was dragged away like a wild cat grabbed by the scruff of the neck.

"Huff... Huff... She’s so small yet has so much energy..."

"You need to exercise more."

"Hey, man, I'm almost fifty! Exercising might send me to the grave sooner."

As I laughed and teased him, Kim Chang-su, completely exhausted from the chase, panted heavily.

From a modern perspective, fifty was still young, but in the cyberpunk world, it was considered 'elderly.'

Living to such an age in a world filled with mutants was proof of survival.

While the meister who excelled at modifying bikes but had poor stamina caught his breath,

The 'Tracker' Park Hyung-rok, who successfully confined the sniper princess in the sniper tower, joined us.

"I thought you'd visit tomorrow or the day after, but you came sooner than expected."

"I have plenty of time and was curious about the bike's transformation."

"You came just in time. Complaints about Uncle Chang-su were starting to come in."

Park Hyung-rok added with a cheerful laugh. He hadn’t shaved his beard since I last saw him, making him look even more rugged.

Is he a soldier or Bob Ross? Still, his raw appearance was fitting for Haebangchon, which defended 'freedom' beyond the wall.

"What complaints? I told you the sound is minimal with the low-noise cruising mode."

"But you don't ride in low-noise cruising mode, do you?"

"Well... There's no romance in that..."

"Anyway, now that Do-jin is here, at least the noise problem is solved. By the way, how have you been, Do-jin?"

"As always."

I shrugged.

"So, how's the Yellow Zone these days?"

"Same as usual. The number of mutants has recently decreased, making patrols easier. But there’s some strange talk from Suseong-gu..."

Suseong-gu.

Wasn't that the area recently declared a Red Zone after the military withdrew completely?

"Nothing has been observed, but a few buildings in Suseong-gu have been collapsing. Well... It’s an abandoned area, and the defense forces have been fighting there until recently. The ground might have weakened."

"Wait, tell me more about that."

Just as I was about to focus on the crucial information,

Wooong! Wooowooowoooong-!

Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep!

The portable terminal in my pocket sounded an urgent alarm.

Instinctively checking the terminal, I saw an emergency message from Choi Hyun-soo, the guild leader of Chilgok Guild.

[All Hunters in Daegu Green Zone, urgent assembly. An entity suspected to be a special-grade mutant has been detected in Suseong-gu. Emergency raid alert issued.]

Reading the message, a tingling sensation spread throughout my body.

So, it's happening there. I had my doubts since the Red Zone declaration.

'It's him.'

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

The creeping disaster.

The creature has appeared in Suseong-gu.