Gori Nuclear Power Plant (4)
"Have the vampires infiltrated even this far?"
It wasn't all that surprising.
Their base was in Ulsan, and they had already pushed their territory into Busan.
This place sat roughly between Busan and Ulsan, so seeing one or two vampires around wasn't particularly strange.
'Will taking this guy out meet the requirements for building a forward base?'
It was a bit different from what had happened in Ulsan.
The vampire at the Homeplus in Ulsan had been acting as the leader among a group of humans.
But the vampire in front of me was clearly being treated like a newbie.
And on top of that—
"The rookie practically saved our lives. Hey, Min-jun, really... thanks, man.
From what I heard, a mid-tier vampire had saved human lives.
"That doesn't make any sense."
I'd encountered countless vampires so far, and every single one had been blood-crazed.
Even ordinary humans, once turned into vampires, lost their humanity and became monsters driven by bloodlust.
And now one of them supposedly saved human lives?
Hard to believe.
[Mr. Kim Geon, could you ask the director if there have been any recent deaths or missing persons?]
Hearing my question, the director waved it off and replied.
"
"No such thing. We've all been working here for a long time, so we know each other well. If someone had gone missing, it would've been reported immediately. And the military checks headcount every morning and evening-someone disappearing wouldn't go unnoticed."
His words left me conflicted.
'Could there really be a good vampire?'
There hadn't been any incidents so far. In fact, this supposed vampire had even saved the lives of the people standing here.
It was confusing.
Could a vampire really be resisting their instincts and trying to live among humans?
Just then, Kim Geon quietly stepped aside from the group and spoke in a low voice.
"Jaehyun. What's going on?"
His voice was barely a whisper, but with my Eyes of the Absolute activated, I heard it loud and clear.
[That man, Lee Min-jun-he's a vampire.]
So they're still lingering around."
[They devoured all of Ulsan. Who knows? They might still be expanding their forces somewhere.]
"Should I take him out?"
[Hmm. I don't know. What do you think, Mr. Kim? Do you believe a 'good vampire' is even possible?]
Kim Geon shook his head firmly.
"Impossible."
His conviction made me question further.
[How can you be so sure?]
He must've heard the same conversation I did there had to be a reason for his certainty.
"Back when we were cleaning up the remaining vampires in Ulsan... there was a girl who tried to defend her mother, who had turned into a vampire. She begged us to spare her, just once. But her own mother bit her and killed her."
"That vampire mother was a low-tier one-still retained her memories and even some reason from when she was alive. If 'good vampires' could really exist... that would never have happened."
Hearing that, I was convinced.
"Yes."
[So he's just pretending right now.]
But we couldn't just kill someone who was so trusted by everyone without solid proof.
[We'll need clear evidence.]
Lee Min-jun waited for nightfall.
"Heh. Finally, it's night."
This organization was annoyingly meticulous.
Being part of a nuclear power plant, it had a closed-off culture, with strict security and CCTV everywhere—making it nearly impossible to pull off anything.
However―
'I've got this ability.'
Biting his finger, Lee Min-jun transformed into a bat and quietly slipped out of his quarters.
Avoiding the pre-checked security cameras, he crept into Seo Joo-won's
room.
Slide-
Once he was fully inside, Min-jun transformed back and smiled.
Seeing Seo Joo-won under the covers made his mouth water.
'How many days has it been since I last fed?'
Even when he was human, Min-jun had a habit of eating the tastiest things first.
That trait remained with him, even after he lost all his humanity as a vampire.
'The one that looks the most delicious.'
Among the ones with mediocre abilities, Seo Joo-won stood out as the best.
So Min-jun had chosen him as his first target.
Standing beside the bed, he whispered,
"Bon appétit.'
Just as he bared his fangs and began lifting the blanket-
Click!
A sound of a switch being pressed came from behind, and at the same time, the lights turned on, illuminating the room brightly.
"Huh?"
And then-
"That's far enough."
A strange man's voice echoed from the empty air.
Lee Min-jun stared into the void with a hardened expression.
Before long-
Srrrk-
Moon Byung-ho, who had been filming with his phone, revealed himself.
And the moment Lee Min-jun saw his face, he turned pale and shouted,
"You, you're-!"
Lee Min-jun's eyes trembled violently.
Because the face in front of him was one etched into his trauma.
He had personally witnessed his superior—a high-ranking vampire-get completely overpowered and killed by the man standing before him now.
Back then, the only reason Lee Min-jun survived after seeing Moon Byung-ho's face was because he had taken the form of a bat.
Moon Byung-ho stared at Lee Min-jun and asked,
"Do you know me?"
"N-no! I don't! I swear I don't!"
He tried frantically to transform into a bat-
But in the next instant, as if it were a lie, Moon Byung-ho vanished from sight and reappeared right in front of him.
And then-
Thud!
His dagger pierced straight into Lee Min-jun's heart.
"Grrk-"
With a hissing sound like air escaping, Lee Min-jun's heart stopped, and his body disappeared.
[You have hunted a Mid-tier Vampire (Lv. 38).]
[You have gained a large amount of experience.]
[#2,133,619,548 has been deposited into the wallet of the Absolute of the Household.]
[Citizen Moon Byung-ho has taken down the boss of the 'Kori Nuclear Power Plant'.]
[An outpost can now be constructed at the Kori Nuclear Power Plant.]
There had been some concern about whether the conditions would be met, but thankfully, things went according to plan.
"Outpost construction."
[The facility is too large.]
[Construction time and cost have been adjusted.]
[The facility requires three citizens with the title of 'Knight' or higher during the 30-day construction period.]
[Would you like to proceed with construction?]
[Yes/No]
The construction period had significantly increased, and the cost had risen tenfold.
'13 billion won isn't bad.'
The cost was acceptable.
The construction time, however, was a concern.
'A whole month, huh.'
That was a full 720 hours.
It meant 72 Crystals would be needed for instant completion.
'Let's proceed for now.'
There was still a secret weapon left to use.
[More than 10 citizens with the title of 'Knight' or higher have gathered at the construction site.]
[Construction efficiency increased by 200%.]
[Remaining time until completion of outpost facility construction:]
-239 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds
Due to the bonus effect, the construction speed had tripled, cutting the time to a third.
It was worth deploying an excessive number of retainers.
'This should do it.'
Although it cost more Crystals than initially expected, it was a reasonable investment considering the scale and danger of the Kori Nuclear Power Plant.
'Complete instantly.'
[Would you like to instantly complete construction of the 'Outpost' facility?]
[Instant completion requires 24 Crystals.]
'Do it.'
At that moment-
Wooooong-
[A subject meeting the conditions to become a citizen has been discovered.]
[Would you like to grant citizenship?]
The entire Kori Nuclear Power Plant had come under his influence.
[Solar power facility discovered.]
[Efficiency of solar generators increased by 900%.]
The solar power systems installed within the facility were now part of the system, and their efficiency skyrocketed.
And that wasn't all.
[Nuclear power facility discovered.]
['Nuclear Power Plant' has been added to the list of constructible buildings.]
The moment the nuclear power plant facility was integrated into the system, I felt the emergence of a new energy source.
The electricity generated from the nuclear power plant was being restructured to spread throughout the entire region of Busan.
At the same time-
[Nuclear waste is being removed.]
Even before I could step in, the spent nuclear fuel was removed.
"It's done."
The results were better than expected.
"With this, the worst-case scenario has been averted."
It seemed like the situation had been resolved.
[Thank you for your hard work.]
Up until this point, I didn't fully understand the true meaning of the "precognitive dream."
Precognitive Dream ()
A dream that shows events that are going to happen in reality beforehand.
Jang Howon couldn't shake off an uneasy feeling.
It was because the dream had felt too vivid.
Even though he was told everything had been resolved on the very day he had the dream, something just didn't sit right with him.
"Why do I feel this way?"
He didn't know the exact reason.
Maybe it was just instinct.
"So, Hyunchan hyung... Can you help me out, just this once?"
"Didn't they say it's all been taken care of? You know Ulsan Homeplus, right? Just like that, the entire Gori Nuclear Plant area has been designated a safety zone."
"I know that, but... I still feel uneasy."
Right after having the dream, he had reported it to Lee Junhyuk and assumed his role was done by leaving the rest to the higher-ups.
So he went about his usual routine of dungeon raids.
But he just couldn't focus at all.
"I mean, if you were that worried, why didn't you volunteer for the operation in the first place?"
"I'm regretting that now."
As the one who had the precognitive dream, he couldn't shake the thought that he should have seen with his own eyes that everything was truly resolved.
"Sigh... Okay. I'll wrap things up here, so you go ahead to the office."
"Thanks, hyung!"
Jang Howon quickly returned to the apartment complex in his Morning (car).
He ran as fast as he could and managed to reach the administrative office where Kim Dabin was.
"Huff, huff...
""
As soon as he burst through the door, all eyes turned toward him.
Ignoring the stares, Jang Howon walked straight up to Kim Dabin, the person in charge.
Recognizing him, Kim Dabin asked first:
"What's going on?"
"Could you send me to the Gori Nuclear Plant?"
Looking at his serious expression, Kim Dabin responded:
"First, try to calm down a little. Did you have another precognitive dream?"
"No. It's a bit different this time."
"Then...?"
'...I just have a bad feeling. I think I need to go see the Gori Nuclear Plant for myself."
Kim Dabin looked at him silently for a moment, then nodded.
"Understood. Please wait a moment.
""
Kim Dabin used telepathy to report to Kim Jaehyun, who readily gave his permission and opened the East Gate.
Ziiing-
A portal leading to the Gori Nuclear Plant appeared right in front of Jang Howon.
And upon seeing it, Jang Howon turned pale and asked:
"This is... the Gori Nuclear Plant?"
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
"This isn't... This isn't the nuclear power plant I saw in my dream."
"What?"
"This isn't the place! The place that explodes is—!"
At that moment-
Rumble- rumble rumble-
The ground beneath the Gori Nuclear Plant on the other side of the East Gate began to tremble slightly.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]