Apocalypse Shelter Administrator-Chapter 82: Terracorp (3)

Terracorp (3)

Actually, this mission was almost called off due to Artemis’s objections.

[There’s a massive swarm nearby. It’s already a long drive there, and it’s just too risky.]

She was against me going to this location. But I thought differently.

How long can we keep relying on driving cars around? Of land, sea, and air, only the skies are clear. For future reconnaissance, we absolutely need an airborne mode of transport.

To conduct full-scale exploration, we have to leave our area. We might have to pass through densely populated areas or infiltrate facilities in urban centers. Doing that with ground vehicles would be nothing short of suicidal. But with a helicopter, we could bypass all threats and enter directly from rooftops. And if things went south, it’d be much easier to escape.

Even after listing all these advantages, Artemis remained adamant, and eventually, I realized my argument was flawed. The key to persuading her wasn’t the potential gains of a successful mission. It was my safety.

War isn’t just about the dangers you can see. As long as there’s a secure escape route, even if tens of thousands were right next to us, it wouldn’t be a problem. Encountering a thousand enemies with a clear retreat route is less dangerous than fighting a hundred with no way out.

After explaining to Artemis our infiltration and escape plans and convincing her of their safety, I finally gained her approval.

This was a new experience for me. In my active duty days, operational briefings for superiors naturally focused on mission success, with little concern for risks to myself or my subordinates.

I’d never dedicated 80% of an entire briefing to just the escape plan like this before. And, surprisingly, it felt good. Knowing someone worried about me this much.

Though, it was funny, since, technically, I was her superior in the chain of command, yet I was the one seeking permission. So, we executed the operation, it went quite well, and now we’re on our way to collect the reward.

“Is this the right way?”

[Keep going straight. Turn right at the second block, then left again, and cross the partition wall to reach the destination.]

Pow! Pow!

With muffled gunfire, the walkers we encountered fell. I checked the PDA again as we moved.

The aerial drone photos showed a complete image of the factory. Ordinarily, a camo tarp would be used for concealment, but this war isn’t against North Korean forces—it’s against the infected. Camouflage is meaningless.

Thanks to this, we could easily identify what vehicles were docked at the factory, and one stood out as a must-have. Its black, imposing form in the aerial photos was awe-inspiring.

A large, black object in the image.

A UH-60 Black Hawk.

The famous multi-role helicopter frequently seen across many media. This helicopter was the main target of our mission.

If my eyes weren’t mistaken, it was a UH-60X model, the final upgraded variant. I’d seen it countless times on deployments, and I’d even ridden in it a few times. It’s a multipurpose helicopter with all the options an infantryman could dream of.

Before the war, the U.S. military was developing a next-generation helicopter to replace the Black Hawk, but that dream is now likely lost forever.

Or maybe not. It might still come to fruition.

I looked at the shoulder-mounted camera scanning the surroundings from my shoulder.

[What?]

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

Guided by the scientist, the mechanic, and the goddess on my shoulder. Thank you, Uncle Sam.

[It’s beyond this door.]

The entrance to the maintenance bay was already open. Team 2, who had entered first, had cleared out the infected inside and were waiting.

[We’ve neutralized the area.]

One functional robot reported on behalf of the team. Though it hadn’t been an easy fight, it seemed—the other two robots were in poor condition. One had half of its lower face and chest melted away, despite its high chemical resistance. It must have been attacked by an infected that spat highly acidic fluid.

The other robot had a damaged rifle and was now holding a spare firearm. Both of its optical sensors had also burst, so it was moving by sharing another robot’s vision.

This maintenance bay was divided into nine repair bays in total. I operated a nearby computer to check on their status.

Two bays were empty. Four held military vehicles. Two held partially dismantled Surion helicopters. And at the very end, there was the Black Hawk. Curiously, the bay containing the it was isolated in a transparent quarantine container.

[I’ve found the Surion schematics.]

Artemis had scoured the maintenance records and copied all schematics of the vehicles in the bay.

The security system on the computer was easily overridden with my clearance, but the Black Hawk was the problem. It had its own dedicated computer, likely due to its U.S. military origin, and I couldn’t unlock it with my authority. But that problem was quickly solved.

Splat!

The back of a walker’s head burst, spilling its contents.

“Huh—?”

A walker behind it looked bewildered as its face was suddenly splattered with brain matter.

“Graaaah!”

Its face twisted in rage as soon as it spotted us.

Thwack!

Before its enraged expression could fully form, a bullet pierced its forehead. The walkers in the area, including that one, were all wearing U.S. military uniforms.

Yes, the ninth isolated repair bay was full of Americans, either as walkers or corpses. Among them were bodies in Level A hazmat suits, reminiscent of spacesuits. Judging by their badges, they were scientists who hadn’t been infected thanks to the protective suits, but this only led them to an even grimmer end.

What were they doing here?

“Don’t shoot the officers. Take them out in close combat.”

[Roger.]

Following my order, the robots killed only the soldiers and non-commissioned officers, then approached the two remaining walkers.

They drew knives and attached them as bayonets.

“Graaaah!”

The two walkers with officer insignias charged, screeching. One fell instantly, the bayonet piercing its eye and scrambling its brain. The other, mouth agape like a crocodile, charged only to have its teeth shattered by a rifle stock jammed into its maw. It floundered, blood pouring from its mouth, then had its neck snapped by another robot from behind.

[Target acquired.]

The robot handed me a keycard it retrieved from the officer’s body.

Beep!

The card unlocked the computer in bay nine, and Artemis immediately dove in.

[UH-60X Black Hawk schematics acquired.]

Artemis’s voice sounded thrilled. Her longing for the skies—it’s likely far stronger than mine as a human.

And I’m just as excited.

“This won’t work with the Surion. The Surion just isn’t enough.”

There’s only so much patriotism can do to make one see a domestically-produced helicopter in a favorable light. The issues with the Surion are numerous, but the one that bothers me the most at the moment is its payload capacity.

The soldiers accompanying me on this expedition are far heavier than humans, as they’re robots, and the weapons they’ll carry are even heavier. The Black Hawk, with an almost two-ton advantage in payload capacity, is a far better fit.

[Unfortunately, we only have the helicopter's schematics, not the equipment installations.]

“Then we’ll just strip them off and carry them. It’s not like I’ll be the one hauling them.”

I looked at the chain gun mounted on the front lower section of the helicopter. It alone weighs over 70 kg. A nod to the nearby robots, and they immediately ran over to start dismantling it.

We took every bit of equipment set aside for repairs that we could gather. There was one more treasure to be had.

“Didn’t expect to see this here.”

I held an M27 IAR A5 in my hands. It’s the standard-issue rifle for the U.S. military. It had fallen beside the corpse of a dead American soldier. Its condition was intact.

By the time we gathered everything, the robots were loaded down like they were fully equipped for deployment with their backs packed to the brim.

“This should be enough.”

I decided to retreat immediately. However, one problem presented itself. I found something a bit too late within the Black Hawk.

The reason the Americans had brought the helicopter here, to a Korean repair depot, instead of to their own facilities. The reason the scientists in Level A hazmat suits were here. The reason they’d installed a sealed container just in this section of the depot, unlike the others.

It was a parasite.

The same type that had once tried to infect our security robots back during the shelter recovery mission, only to be stymied in a mutual defeat. This creature clung to the cockpit of the Black Hawk, looking very much the same.

Whether it was an American scientific creation or not, it had been affixed to the cockpit with a gray synthetic resin, and the moment we spotted it, it spotted us. The creature, desiccated like a mummy, suddenly sprang to life. At the same time, an alarm began blaring from the helicopter—a piercing, high-pitched sound.

“Reeeeeee-!”

“Gyaaaaaa-!”

The clamor triggered a reaction from almost every infected in the factory. Nearby robots fired on the parasite, shredding it to pieces, but the siren kept wailing.

[Get out of there now! Even the hordes outside the building are beginning to turn this way!]

We’d inadvertently set off the alarm, like industrial spies caught red-handed. Somehow, it didn’t seem like a misplaced comparison.

We bolted back the way we’d come. On the drone footage, I could see a massive swarm of walkers converging on the factory grounds. Among them, a juggernaut lumbered, a creature that could demolish barriers and walls alike and charge straight through anything. It posed a severe threat if left unchecked.

[I’ll deploy a barricade.]

The reconnaissance drones waiting overhead began dropping tear gas en masse. Artemis had developed a new crowd-control gas, rendering the old tear gas obsolete. I’d brought all the surplus for this operation, which turned out to be a good call.

With a loud hiss, a deluge of gas grenades blanketed the ground, quickly filling the factory grounds and parts of the building with a hazy fog.

Some infected were hit square in the head and instantly taken out. Soon, the sounds of bizarre coughs and groans echoed from all directions. It was a strange feeling. It’s common in movies or games to see monsters roaring, “Raaaaargh!” But hearing them hacking and wheezing? That was a rarity.

With the advance of the infected stalled, we managed to escape the factory and dive into the river. The robots, already heavy and burdened with equipment, sank rapidly to the riverbed.

Breeeeeeeeep!

Even as we swam, the helicopter’s siren continued to blare, only ceasing when we reached the opposite bank.

[So that’s why they brought it here instead of their base. The poor conditions of this requisitioned facility made it easier to abandon if their parasite research went south.]

“It might be sneaky, but hey, silver linings. In the end, it worked out in our favor, didn’t it?”

Looking at the list of equipment, blueprints, and loot recorded on the PDA, I could hardly keep my mouth closed.

[All loaded.]

Once the last piece of equipment was packed into the APC, a robot came over to report.

[Let’s head back. We’ve only got three hours till sunset, and if we take the safe route, we’re already cutting it close.]

I climbed aboard immediately. However, with all the equipment we’d seized, space inside the vehicle was cramped, so one robot would have to stay outside. Not that I planned on leaving it behind, of course.

“Hold on tight.”

[Roger.]

In a deep voice, the robot answered, lying sprawled across the APC’s roof like a starfish. It would have to cling like a frog until we returned to the shelter.

“A bountiful harvest.”

We’d managed to secure a trove of equipment on this expedition. Despite being crammed inside a vehicle stuffed with gear, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face.

Brrrrmmm—

Kicking up a cloud of dust, the APC pulled away from the factory. Following closely behind, several drones escorted us.

A helicopter.

A branch from the grand tree of military history, bearing a magnificent fruit. It began as the dream of an ancient, who once gazed at the sky and envied the birds. Today, that dream has passed into our hands as the last of its kind.