Hiding a Logistics Center in the Apocalypse - Part 5
(The Geese of the Logistics Complex (2))
"The mana stones we have?"
I Yong-su asked back.
"Will it be difficult?"
"No. If you're going to clear a path for us, what are a few mana stones? Everyone will agree."
The foundation of a deal is trust.
Confirming whether the other party has the ability to pay the price.
Perhaps because I had hunted a wyvern right before his eyes, I Yong-su seemed firmly convinced that I had such capabilities.
Truthfully, it had been somewhat difficult.
I could fire weapons from the subspace every 30 seconds, but it didn't seem like that would be enough to deal with seven or so wyverns.
But...
'If I just have mana stones, I can strengthen the Shipping skill.'
I would be able to throw weapons faster and more times.
If I could just reduce that 30-second limit, I was confident I could stab every single wyvern that rushed at me.
***
And so, on the way to Building E of the logistics complex.
I Yong-su had accepted easily, but I would have to persuade the center manager and the others again.
However, when we actually arrived at Building E, there was something more urgent than that.
Green figures swarming near the entrance.
I Yong-su shouted.
"...It's orcs!"
Krwaaaak!
A group of five orcs was pushing toward Building E.
"Of all times..."
I Yong-su bit his lip.
Orcs were hard enough to deal with one at a time.
If that many rushed in at once, they would clearly break through helplessly.
When I had gotten fairly close.
'Shipping.'
Whirl!
I quickly fired an axe.
Kwehk!
The spinning axe blade lodged in the orc's neck.
The creature clutching its gurgling throat soon rolled its eyes and collapsed with a thud.
'One down.'
Immediately upon arriving at Building E, I summoned one more.
The axe flew quickly, but...
Thud!
Unfortunately, it grazed the side.
Kueee!
The enraged creature's counterattack flew in.
But,
Weeeng!
I opened a portal right in front of the creature's face.
Zzzzt!
Its attack was blocked by a transparent wall.
Now I saw—the subspace portal could be used like a kind of shield as well.
This time, I took out the axe secured to my vest,
Shhnk!
and plunged it straight into the creature's neck.
It collapsed on the spot.
I darted in and out of the subspace, confusing them,
Kuwak!
Keeeek!
Kak!
The remaining three met similar ends.
Clang!
When I dropped the bloodied axe to the floor, the people of Building E came into view, staring blankly at me from inside the corridor.
Fortunately, no one seemed to be injured.
The center manager ran out from inside the corridor.
"..."
He just stood there with his mouth agape, unable to say anything.
And no wonder—if I had been even a moment later, they would have undoubtedly been dead.
After catching his breath for a moment, the center manager stammered.
"This time we owe you our lives as well. How could we ever express our gratitude..."
"It's fine. More importantly..."
When I sent a glance to I Yong-su, he spoke on my behalf.
"Center Manager, I think we can get out of here safely."
"...What do you mean? Have the wyverns disappeared or something...?"
The center manager's face lit up with a sliver of hope, but I Yong-su shook his head.
Then he carefully explained the deal I had proposed.
"Mr. Gim Jeonggyeom says..."
He told them everything—that I could eliminate the wyverns, but I needed a large number of mana stones to do so.
Perhaps because I had just demonstrated my strength.
The center manager readily agreed.
"I agree. We have a few Awakened as well, but... I doubt any of them are as efficient as Mr. Gim Jeonggyeom here. Isn't the most urgent thing for us to escape this place as soon as possible?"
The center manager asked the others for their opinions too.
"We've gathered six mana stones so far. I intend to hand them all over to Mr. Gim Jeonggyeom here... Does anyone have a different opinion?"
"None."
"I agree as well."
Meeting their families even a day sooner.
Everyone was of one mind.
One person added.
"I truly felt it today. Being holed up here isn't safe either. Mana stones or whatever, if you clear the path for us, we'll help with anything."
This was also a strong affirmation.
"Very well."
I wasn't moving solely out of calculation to obtain mana stones either.
The goal was to gather a load of supplies and return to my family.
They were a kind of goose dads who had come to the logistics center, willing to brave even death for that purpose.
I hoped they would each drive their trucks home.
Because in that goal, I was no different.
'Well... It's not like I'm losing out on anything.'
I had to pass through the western tunnel to drive out anyway.
As the discussion concluded, the center manager took out six mana stones.
The five orcs that had just raided this place.
I extracted mana stones from their corpses without missing a single one.
Clatter.
Combined with the three I already had, I now had a total of fourteen mana stones.
The center manager asked me.
"Then when shall we depart?"
"Let's depart around noon tomorrow. It's gotten quite late today."
The sun had already set in the meantime.
It would be difficult to secure visibility in a fight against wyverns once it got dark.
Time was of the essence, but there was no need to take unnecessary risks.
The center manager accepted my words.
"Then we will have our preparations ready by midnight."
"Yes, let's talk again once preparations are finished later."
After wrapping up the conversation, I immediately opened a portal to the subspace.
I had things to do myself.
***
I entered the now-familiar Fulfillment Center.
I asked Pax.
"What options are there for strengthening the Shipping skill?"
[I will show you the list.]
Ding!
Soon, the window Pax displayed showed the following contents.
----[Available Enhancements]----
[Cost 1]
◈ Shipping Time [30 sec] [+]
◈ Shipping Range [10m] [+]
◈ Shipping Speed [Max 75 km/h] [+]
-------------------------
"Simpler than I thought. There aren't more, are there?"
[These are not enhancements, but you can likewise use mana stones to unlock expansion abilities.]
[I will show you the list.]
Ding!
----[Unlockable Abilities]----
[Cost 10]
◈ Simultaneous Shipping
-You can ship up to two items simultaneously.
◈ Precision Delivery
-If you designate a desired target, the shipping location is automatically corrected.
◈ Auto Shipping
-Automatically ships designated items. You can set the time interval arbitrarily.
-------------------------
"I nearly would have been in trouble if I hadn't asked..."
If enhancements felt like strengthening the stats of the Shipping skill, "unlocking" seemed to grant entirely advanced abilities.
Perhaps that was why the cost was more than 10 times that of simple stat enhancement.
Ten mana stones each.
But their effects were certain.
"...Ship two at once? That's amazing?"
Two axes, two daggers.
The
"Automatic location correction..."
Target designation and location correction.
Perhaps because the words reminded me of homing missiles?
I recalled facing the wyverns a few hours ago.
"Yeah... they were damn hard to hit."
They were flying all over the sky.
Just thinking about having to fire blades at them tomorrow already gave me a headache.
I said to Pax.
"
[Are you sure? 10 mana stones will be consumed.]
"Yes."
I immediately counted out ten mana stones and held them out.
It was no small cost, but the effect would surely be worth it.
[Received 10 mana stones.]
As before, the ten mana stones in my hand vanished smoothly.
I felt somewhat regretful for some reason, but I still had four left.
Next, I turned my attention to the "enhancement" of the Shipping skill.
◈ Shipping Time [30 sec] [+]
◈ Shipping Range [10m] [+]
◈ Shipping Speed [Max 75 km/h] [+]
I had already decided which stat to enhance.
I held out three mana stones.
"Three. Use them on Shipping Time."
[Not on Range?]
Pax asked back.
As expected of a high-performance AI, it seemed to have watched my fight against the wyverns flying through the air.
Indeed, as it said, if the range didn't reach, there was a possibility the attack wouldn't work.
But...
"I have something in mind for that, so just use them on Shipping Time for now."
[Understood.]
[Received 3 mana stones.]
The mana stones vanished again this time.
Shipping Time...
[30 sec] [+]
[20 sec] [+]
[15 sec] [+]
It quickly dropped to 15 seconds.
Five seconds per mana stone.
The efficiency was quite good too.
I even wondered if I could reduce it to 0 and eliminate the time entirely, but...
[That is impossible.]
[At Subspace Level 1, you can only reduce Shipping Time to a minimum of 5 seconds.]
I was rejected outright.
"Well, nothing in this world is that easy..."
I invested the last remaining mana stone into powering this Fulfillment Center.
The mana stone vanished smoothly,
[Received 1 mana stone.]
[Using 1 mana stone for facility power.]
[Until power shutdown: 33 hours, 39 minutes, 11 seconds...]
The facility's remaining operational time increased.
And so my mana stones reached zero.
I had done everything I could.
Lastly. I asked Pax.
"The Fresh Center was on the 3rd floor, right?"
[That is correct.]
"It's getting to be dinner time."
When I arrived on the 3rd floor, I ordered various items from the Fresh Center's dedicated picking station.
I could have used the Shipping skill outside, but... there were too many items to wait 15 seconds for each time.
***
"Here, here, take them."
Choe Byeong-cheol, who was in charge of dinner duty, was handing out chocolate bars to the people.
Unlike the Fulfillment Center where Jeonggyeom was, this Daeyeon Logistics Center was merely a typical logistics center that sorted and sent out arriving goods.
Because of that, the scattered boxes were literally random boxes.
There was a lot of volume, but it was rare to tear one open and find needed supplies.
Sometimes vacuum-packed retort haejangguk would come out, but there was a risk of attracting monsters with the smell, so they usually subsisted on snacks, uncooked instant noodles, or Jangsacheonha sausages.
In the middle of handing out chocolate bars, I Yong-su asked.
"Come to think of it... where's Mr. Jeonggyeom?"
"I haven't seen him since earlier. Is he still in that subspace place?"
"I think I saw him come out earlier... Give me a chocolate bar. I'll take it to him."
"Sure, take him three while you're at it."
I Yong-su held the chocolate bars and walked around the warehouse.
"Mr. Jeonggyeom! Are you here?"
"I'm over here. Please help me for a moment."
Now I saw Jeonggyeom was not far away.
But Yong-su couldn't help but be shocked.
Because he was taking out dozens of types of items from the subspace.
I Yong-su opened his mouth wide.
"What... what is all this?"
From Shine Muscat grapes to strawberries, watermelons, and melons.
Various dessert breads including donuts, smoked eggs, and finally carbonated drinks in an ice basket.
Foods that would give them strength were neatly packaged and lined up in rows.
Fresh foods that couldn't be seen in Building E's warehouse.
Jeonggyeom answered him, who couldn't close his mouth.
"I chose things that don't smell as much as possible. Come to think of it, I haven't had a proper meal these past few days either. Consider it a kind of eve-of-battle feast... I thought we could all eat together."
They were about to escape this place as soon as dawn broke.
It would be the last night that the geese of the logistics complex spent together.
At the unexpected fresh food, the faces of the logistics center people brightened.
Some took turns guarding the outer corridor, and in between, everyone cut fruit, chewed bread, and downed cola so cold it made their heads tingle—the first time in a long while.
"Kyaah-!"
Just as everyone was patting their full stomachs, when twenty 900,000-won goose-down sleeping bags had been laid out in the break room...
"Mr. Jeonggyeom...!"
It was truly a crucible of emotion.