Surviving in the 121st Century - Chapter 73



Only Noblemtl

“What? Can you read that?”

Only the child next to Jincheol was startled when he heard his whisper and asked back.

Jincheol shook his head. His English was terrible. It seemed like only yesterday that he was communicating with the Allied Forces in broken Konglish. It couldn’t have been any different now. In fact, only a few of the letters left on the sign were very blurry, and he could only guess the familiar shapes and recite the words.

“···Then what did you say?”

“I just… spoke the language of my tribe, my race. It was interesting.”

Aiman, who had been quietly watching Jincheol, must have felt that he was just beating around the bush, but he nodded as if he didn’t want to ask any more questions. There will come a day when he will explain everything to this doggy swordsman. It’s just that today is not the moment.

For a moment, Jincheol was captivated by the sight of the giant waterfall flowing down the wall and the mysterious underground world unfolding beneath it. He picked up the walkie-talkie.

“Leader, keep moving forward.”

[check.]

The tank that had stopped for a moment started moving again with a heavy engine sound. Jincheol’s truck followed suit, and the group quickly crossed the stone bridge and entered a new passage. It was a passage that was similar to the cave they had entered at first, but different.

Unlike the first passage, which seemed almost like a natural cave, this one had some human touch. To be exact, there were traces of the floor being prepared to make it easier to pass through.

As Jincheol was watching the traces closely, Aiman ​​spoke.

“There are recent and old traces mixed together. It seems certain that the special forces have entered here.”

After entering the basement, Rahiman, who had been huddled in the corner of the luggage compartment with his ears down, raised his head at those words. And he glanced out of the luggage compartment, fearful as he was. A glimmer of hope flashed through his eyes.

As Aiman ​​had said, there were old maintenance marks and tire tracks from something like a truck. The tire tracks continued along the gently sloping path.

Just then the radio rang.

[Should we keep moving forward?]

“It’s a slope, so take your time.”

[check.]

The speed of the tank ahead slowed down. Haita’s head was visible through the hatch of the tank. She looked around and saw Jincheol and Aiman ​​in the truck behind her, smiling brightly and waving. Aiman ​​was the only one who earnestly motioned for them to get in, saying that it was dangerous.

Going down the gently sloping passage for a while. Just like when I first entered, there was nothing special going on in the cave. Not only were there many white beasts, but there were also no bugs or creatures that would live in the underground world.

[The passage is over. There’s nothing much to see, so let’s continue forward.]

“check.”

As they exited the passage, the surroundings became wide open. This time, instead of a stone bridge, they were greeted by a wide floor. The sound of the waterfall they had heard earlier was heard not far away. They could also see steep cliffs and deep canyons. When they looked around carefully, they saw the stone bridge they had just passed high up there.

“It looks like passageways and bridges are connecting this underground in a complex manner. It seems like a relic from the forgotten days of the empire.”

“It’s different from the one in Shiol.”

Only Ai nodded to Jincheol’s words. Unlike the narrow and dense underground city of Shiol, this place was huge and expansive. The underground city of Shiol was a city that was like an ant hole, with corridors and rooms that could barely fit a few people, and sometimes squares.

But here, the ceiling was so high that it was impossible to see anything, and the split canyon only showed a dark end. It was decorated with huge stalactites, honeycomb-like holes in the stalactites, and stone bridges connecting the holes.

“Each historic site is really different. But this is the first time I’ve seen one this large and expansive. Since I can’t see the ceiling, doesn’t it feel like I’m looking at the night sky?”

“Well, there are no stars.”

“Is that so? The night sky can only exist if there are stars. It’s more romantic than you think.”

While they were having a trivial conversation, something caught the light of the lead tank. Jincheol quickly picked up the radio.

“stop.”

The stopped group had to stare blankly straight ahead again, because there was a huge city there.

It looked like they had dragged the city from the surface and dumped it into a large underground cavern. Tall skyscrapers and gray-white buildings that looked like castle walls were lined up, and there were half-collapsed towers and empty lakes.

It seemed as if the bodies of those gray concrete structures were trembling in the light they had not seen in thousands or tens of thousands of years.

The city that had captivated and driven people to madness was there, without light or sound. It was a desolate ruin, standing there as if it had erected its own tombstone.

[The trail continues forward. Should we continue forward?]

“···advance.”

Jincheol couldn’t take his eyes off the ancient city while answering over the radio. It was natural. It was an ancient city to the group, but to him, it was a city that shared the same era.

As we entered the city, a road filled with some traces continued. The road itself was clean. It was straight and had cracks here and there, but it was not impossible for trams and trucks to pass.

But there were chunks of debris scattered here and there, and Jincheol recognized them as broken glass, melted plastic, or just shards of metal that were just left behind. At first glance, the shards looked like the frame of a car.

The scouts slowly advanced over the silent city. Nothing could stop them, only traces of its past glory. It was as if the city had died and only corpses remained, and they were passing over the corpses.

Looking at the scenery, Jincheol felt once again that he was a stranger in this era. He too should have died like this city. He should have been buried together in that era.

“···”

“Huh? Are you okay?”

Only the child next to him felt that Jincheol’s expression was strange and asked. Jincheol nodded as if it was okay, but only the child’s eyes were looking at the railing of the truck bed that his hand had crushed. Jincheol noticed that gaze and smiled bitterly, pulling up the corners of his mouth.

Following the trail of the Urata Special Forces ahead for a moment, the scouts could soon see that the trail was leading to a building in the ruined city. It was considerably larger than the other concrete buildings, and it had a ring-like shape. Above the building, there were sharp stalactites that looked like swords and a ceiling that seemed to have no end.

There was a wide staircase in front of it, and in front of the staircase there was a line of familiar vehicles. They were Urata’s trucks.

Jincheol and his party quickly checked after getting off, and there were no Rabitos left. All they could see were a few bullet shells rolling around on the floor.

“Where did these kids go?”

“···”

Rahiman, who was being led out by Jincheol’s hand, looked up at Jincheol as if asking why he was asking that. Jincheol shook the back of the bastard’s neck and said.

“You, do you have no idea where this place is?”

“···I don’t know. T, the special envoy wasn’t the one to explain such things···”

Jincheol turned his head and looked at the building in front of him again. If this was really Las Vegas and it was buried underground during Jincheol’s time, then that building was a building built ten thousand years ago.

However, it was hard to believe that the building had been around for so long, as its exterior was still intact. Of course, the glass windows were all broken, revealing the bare interior, but the frame and walls of the building were only slightly damaged.

Is that the ‘American Armory’ that the meditation gathering was looking for? But no matter where you looked at that building, it looked like a hotel in Las Vegas, not a arsenal for producing secret weapons of the Celestial Empire. What the heck?

“What should I do?”

Only Ai approached and asked. Everyone in the group was waiting for his words. Even Ramien. Weren’t you the nominal commander? Even though Jincheol gave her that look, she just looked around with worried eyes. She was looking for traces of her lover.

It’s hard to make a decision for someone like that. Jincheol said, pulling up the machine gun and the ammunition belt.

“Just me and the kids will go in for a bit and take a look around. The rest of us will stay here so we can start the car and run away right away if something goes wrong.”

“Hmm. I think so too. You never know what might happen inside the ruins.”

Then Haita raised her hand.

“The sorcerer’s skills are essential at the ancient ruins! I have to go too!”

“Okay. Get ready.”

But when Jincheol turned his head, he saw someone raising their hand again. It was Snow.

“···you also?”

“···”

Jincheol nodded his head in a trembling manner at the silent gaze. Well, Snow wouldn’t be a bother. Considering the way he half-flew around against the enemy, he should have tried to persuade him to join his side.

But Haitha, who got off the tram, approached Jincheol and tried to ride on his back naturally. Jincheol flinched back and said.

“What is it?”

“···My steps are slow.”

“So? You’re going to carry me?”

“Yes. Just like last time.”

Last time. I guess I was talking about the moment when I was running away from the spider tank that was shooting beams in the underground city of Shiol.

“That’s because it was an emergency situation at the time.”

“Not now?”

“Huh? Well. I don’t think it’s a situation where I should be carrying you.”

“···So you’re saying you’ll carry me in an emergency?”

“Is that so? Well then, well… let’s do that.”

Haita nodded with a satisfied expression, as if he was satisfied with that. Jincheol tilted his head, feeling as if he had been wronged, and saw Aiman, who was also smiling happily, and Snow, who had a strangely cold, expressionless look.

Jincheol, seeing that expression, turned his gaze away without realizing it and quickly changed the subject.

“Then let’s go. These people should be on standby so they can get out at any time.”

“Don’t worry and go. I’ll take responsibility for your safety here.”

“You are the biggest problem.”

Jincheol rebuked Doljumeok’s voice, which had been quiet until now, but then suddenly intervened. However, Doljumeok led Ramien and the other Rabito soldiers towards the tank as if it had not affected him at all.

Jincheol, who was looking at them, quickly reached out and grabbed Rahiman, who was trying to sneak away. The bastard made a squeaking sound and was dragged away by his hand.

“You weren’t going to go?”

“I, I am of no use there···”

“I’ll be the judge of that. Follow me.”

“···Black.”

Aiman, Haita, and Snow followed behind Jincheol and Rahiman as they headed toward the building.

As I quickly climbed the stairs, I saw a lobby made of cracked marble and broken statues. At that moment, Haita took out a small stone from her bosom and held it up to me. It was an artifact I had seen before. At that time, it was a tool used to illuminate Harmen’s face, but today it was a hand light.

The main gate, which was originally made of glass, was now just a concrete frame. Jincheol stepped inside and felt once again that it was more like a fancy hotel than a arsenal, with a spacious space filled with reception desks and all sorts of decorations.

“It’s amazing. It’s so well preserved.”

As Aiman ​​said, the inside scenery was much more realistic than the outside. Even the furniture that looked like a lobby sofa remained. Jincheol unconsciously approached and touched it. The part he touched crumbled and collapsed.

“···Just look with your eyes.”

“haha.”

Jincheol, who smiled blandly, moved inward. Even if it wasn’t the artifact of Haita, his eyes were following the recent footsteps leading into the hotel.

Past the lobby, the inner corridor continued. As expected, the 21st century had a strong 21st century feel to it, with blatantly emotional decorations lined up. From black dog-headed stone statues that mimicked Egyptian ruins—Eiman studied them carefully for a moment—to plate armor that had somehow survived until now—Snow looked at this carefully—there were a lot of them.

At the end of the hallway was a door that looked like it had been recently broken. It looked like the special agent and special forces had broken the door. When Jincheol and his party went out that door, they came across a very large space.

It was a kind of indoor plaza, and the buildings that curved around it surrounded it like a castle wall. So the plaza was a kind of internal garden.

Standing there, Jincheol felt a strange feeling once again. The dark space was filled with all sorts of debris. There were broken furniture and traces of burning, and there were also clothes that had turned into rags. The clothes looked like some kind of military uniform. From the early British red coats to the German military uniforms of World War II, and the American military uniforms of the 21st century.

But they were all so small that only a child could wear them.

So it was just the right size for Rabito.

At that moment, Haitah put his fingers on his temple.

“···Over there! There’s something over there!”

Haita took the lead and led the group. It was in the center of this large indoor plaza, where a large, round platform was placed. To Jincheol, it looked like a concert hall.

“excuse me···”

There was a small table-like thing where Haita’s hand pointed. When the group approached, there was something like a dashboard on the table. Surprisingly, the dashboard was dimly lit.

Jincheol extended his hand.

“Wait a minute, if you touch it carelessly, you don’t know what danger it could be···”

Even though Ai-man tried to stop him, Jin-cheol’s hand was faster than the dashboard. The moment Jin-cheol’s hand touched it, the dashboard lights began to get brighter.

At the same time, a loud noise echoed throughout the indoor plaza. Immediately after the noise, there was a hollow sound of something bursting, and the whole place became bright.

While everyone in the group was confused, something slowly rose from the bottom of the platform in front of them. At first, Jincheol thought they were people.

But thanks to the bright lights in the room, Jincheol could see that they weren’t people, but dolls made of wind-up and hydraulics. And the guitars and basses they were holding in their hands.

“···What is that?”

The moment Jincheol muttered absentmindedly, the mechanical wind-up dolls began to play. The intense heavy metal performance began to resonate throughout the indoor plaza. At the same time, the lit indoor plaza also began to move actively. The lights flashed, and songs and recorded voices flowed out.

As the group stared blankly at the sight, a voice inside the dashboard spoke to them.

[···Wow, wow, wow! How long has it been since I had a guest! Vocals! Raise your voice right now!]

As the voice instructed, the one holding the microphone among the wind-up puppets began to shake his head as if he were singing a real song. Of course, the song calling out to the puppet’s master continued.