Chapter 615 - Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

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Chapter 615: An Unusual Customer (5)

“Wow… what is that…?”

Yeongwoo couldn’t help but gape at the Tomas Sales Branch that came into view beyond the window.

Not only was the entire massive city spread beneath the ship completely covered in steel, but gun emplacements were installed everywhere.

With a bit of exaggeration, it almost looked like a hedgehog.

“Those are all products, right?”

-They are products, and at the same time, actual defensive facilities.

Unsaek replied with a proud expression.

At that, Yeongwoo’s mouth fell even further open.

“All of those guns are in a live-fire-ready state?”

-A great many customers request live-fire demonstrations, and above all, the value of the cannons deployed here is considerable.

In other words, they were defensive installations prepared against pirates who might attack from outside space.

“…Wait, there are people who try to rob a place that sells military-grade heavy weaponry?”

-That’s because the pirates who come here are just as heavily armed.

As he said this, Unsaek secretly glanced at Yeongwoo.

If the planetary ship that Jeong Yeongwoo07 had brought were in a fully armed state, it could have waged war even against the Yueta Branch here.

Of course, in terms of total firepower, the cannon merchant Toma was far superior—but a planetary ship could move, could it not?

Though both sides would suffer significant damage, there was a high probability that the planetary ship would claim final victory.

Therefore—

-To be able to encounter a planetary ship whose development is not yet complete, even like this… it is truly meaningful.

The words carried the hope that, now that such a connection had been formed, even if they were to meet the fully armed Earth Ship next time, it would not be attacked.

Yeongwoo responded with a bright smile.

“If it weren’t Toma, where else would I have gotten cannons on credit? I’ve even met President Toma earlier as a wedding guest… In many ways, this is meaningful.”

Then, Yeongwoo’s eyes began to roll.

“Still, what ratio should I load the cannons in…?”

Assuming the 30% discount, the prices of each cannon were as follows:

「Raider」 – 3.92 billion.

「Hemstitch」 – 3.57 billion.

「Volcano」 – 4.2 billion.

‘And the budget I have left is… 34.76 billion.’

However, there was one variable.

Tonight, he finally has to pay taxes, doesn’t he?

Of course, the corrupt tax officials had done plenty of tax reduction work, but still, it would be safer to set aside about 1 billion.

‘It probably won’t reach 1 billion in taxes, but I might need money before the next income comes in.’

Thus, the truly usable amount was about 33.76 billion Karma.

Now, with this money, he had to divide it up properly to buy cannons.

“Buying at least one Volcano seems like the right move, yeah?”

When Yeongwoo turned to Koatu and asked, he nodded.

-Given your personality, if you don’t buy it now, you’ll regret it deeply later. Though I’m not sure Mantero will be happy about it.

“Then one Volcano is confirmed.”

That left 29.56 billion Karma.

“So now I can buy roughly seven more cannons.”

Against enemy fighters and small ships, thirty-two Nemua cannons would be sufficient.

So now, what he needed to focus on were the enemy fleet’s main forces—medium and large vessels.

“I think it’s better to load more Hemstitches.”

-Why?

“Well, we already have the Planet Hunter.”

「Planet Hunter」 – Legendary Cannon

【Output: 4100】

【Maximum Load: 4】

【Firing Time: 3 seconds】

【Required Energy: 1700】

【Manufacturer: Toma】

Planet Hunter.

A terrifying weapon whose tooltip alone lived up to its name—a planet-destroying armament.

“The roles of Raider and Planet Hunter overlap a bit. Sure, since this is for fleet combat, having more weapons that can smash large ships is good.”

-But you still want to buy more Hemstitches… meaning you want to secure longer engagement time?

“Exactly. We won’t always be facing large fleets, right? Like the refugee fleet of Doatel we saw last time—there may come a day when we have to break through enemies that rely on numbers.”

-Hoh. You’ve started thinking quite like a shipmaster.

“As they say, the position shapes the person.”

Thus, Yeongwoo’s choice was to take five Hemstitchs and three Raiders.

“Then the total price would be….”

As Yeongwoo blinked and tried to calculate, Unsaek immediately provided the result.

-29.61 billion Karma.

“Oh, that’s a bit more than I expected. I’ll have to reduce the reserve fund.”

After paying everything, Yeongwoo would be left with 950 million Karma.

He had spent over 33 billion Karma here today.

“Still… now we can actually fight a fleet, right…?”

As Yeongwoo smiled wickedly, dreaming of a rosy future, Koatu lightly grabbed his shoulder.

-Hey, wait a second.

“…Why?”

-Aren’t we forgetting something?

“Are we?”

-The Selulite labor costs.

“…Ah.”

Yeongwoo’s mouth fell open again.

He had been so absorbed in the cannons that he hadn’t even considered it.

Worse still, the technicians had already been summoned—there was no backing out now.

Did that mean more debt?

“…….”

After a brief moment of thought, Yeongwoo arrived at a single solution.

“Um, Branch Manager.”

-Yes, go ahead.

“Please do the Selulite reinforcement as a free service.”

-…….

At Yeongwoo’s new proposal, Unsaek was silent for a long while.

Then, as if his temples were throbbing, he pressed them gently and spoke.

-Selulite processing… is an advanced task that requires many technicians working together.

“Yes, and that’s exactly why I came to Toma.”

-I’ve already shown you considerable consideration. Asking to waive the labor cost as well is…

“But I’m out of money now. I spent it all increasing your branch’s sales, didn’t I?”

-…….

Branch Manager Unsaek shut his eyes tightly.

Then, looking out the window at the ship already in the process of landing, he continued.

-Then, the emblem.

“…Pardon?”

-We will substitute the labor cost by engraving the Toma emblem onto our Selulite work.

“Ah, so you want to use the Earth Ship as a billboard?”

Yeongwoo knew well that this was a fairly traditional approach in this industry.

Hadn’t Dogo long ago used Yeongwoo himself as an advertising model and space?

That was precisely why this proposal was somewhat problematic.

“The Earth Ship’s largest shareholder is still Dogo. We can’t display the Toma emblem permanently.”

-Then what do you propose…?

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[Proofreader - Gun]

“How about the emblem only appearing when the system activates?”

-What does that mean?

“If what we’re reinforcing with Selulite is the shield, there’ll be moments when it blocks enemy attacks, right? Let the emblem appear only at those moments. It’d be more dramatic, and the promotional effect would be undeniable.”

-Hmm.

Yeongwoo’s counterproposal had merit.

And it wouldn’t significantly offend Dogo’s sensibilities either.

-What you’ve suggested this time would benefit both sides.

“Great. Then let’s do that.”

Kuuuuung!

Around then, the ship arrived at Toma’s Yueta Branch, and soon, an exit opened toward the steel sales complex.

-This way.

As Unsaek led the way, the entrance road—lined with towering gun barrels on both sides—came into Yeongwoo’s view.

“…This is incredible.”

Before Yeongwoo could finish his admiration, the weapons merchant Koatu behind him clicked his tongue.

-Toma really is something else. A sales branch of this scale…

The Yueta Branch headquarters, situated at the center of the steel city, looked like a pipe organ made entirely of gun barrels.

Not only the entrance, but the main building itself was composed of enormous barrels and high-output pumps, with bulky engines—likely used as power sources for the cannons—embedded throughout.

“…Don’t tell me… in an emergency, that whole building can actually take off?”

Yeongwoo asked half-jokingly, but the response he got was unsettling.

-Haha. Does it look that way to you?

Unsaek neither confirmed nor denied it.

-Soon, we’ll attempt a remote connection with your ship.

“Remote connection?”

-You can think of it as a synchronization process so that the work done here applies to the planetary ship as well. However, the Selulite must remain here. You do have it with you, correct?

At Unsaek’s question, Yeongwoo took the Selulite out from inside his clothes.

-Good. The technicians will arrive shortly, and we’ll begin work immediately.

At that, Yeongwoo slightly raised his hand.

“But what exactly are we installing with the Selulite?”

-Just as you wish… a powerful shield.

Unsaek then folded his fingers, mimicking the shape of a ship.

-Generally, the defensive method of ships is evasion.

“Evasion? Dodging by moving the cannons?”

-Physically moving the ship with thrusters is unrealistic. For cannons with very long firing times, you can detect them early and respond to some extent, but once the firing time drops below three seconds, avoiding a direct hit is practically impossible.

“Then how do they dodge?”

Unsaek rapidly shook the fingers shaped like a ship.

-By momentarily disrupting their position to avoid fatal damage. If you’re lucky, the shot may graze past entirely.

“Ah. I think I’ve seen something like that.”

When attacking Salzeo’s vanguard flagship, hadn’t the enemy ship moved while leaving behind an afterimage?

That had been evasive maneuvering.

-Of course, the larger the ship, the more resources evasion consumes, but it remains the most effective defensive measure.

“Then if evasion fails, do you just die?”

-High-end ships do have separate shields, but firepower at the level of the Planet Hunter is difficult to block even with those.

“Well, yeah. On a direct hit, it’d destroy a planet. Then what about our Earth Ship? Can a planetary ship evade?”

Unsaek shook his head.

-At least to my knowledge, there is no way for an object of planetary scale to evade cannon fire.

“What? Then what does the Selulite do?”

-It simply takes the hit. But at the moment of impact, the defensive power is amplified so that no actual damage is sustained.

“…That’s a lot more brute-force than I expected.”

But at the same time, it was a method that suited the Earth Ship perfectly.

Wasn’t the Earth Ship’s fleet combat doctrine to ram large enemy vessels in emergencies?

-A Selulite-based shield deployment requires an enormous amount of power. However, for a planetary ship that uses a star as its power source… that shouldn’t be much of a problem.

Unsaek lifted his head and looked toward the sky.

To see the planetary ship’s direction now, one had to gaze beyond space itself.

“Then when will the people handling that enormous task arrive?”

As Yeongwoo followed Unsaek’s gaze and asked, something like a meteor shower could be seen falling from the distant sky.

-There. The technicians are arriving.

Unsaek then removed the armor covering his body and handed it to a nearby staff member.

-And now, it’s time for me to get to work as well.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]