Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Chapter 68

Episode 068 – The Task Only I Can Accomplish

She moved Night Stella as quickly as possible toward Manaus City, while simultaneously propelling her boat at its maximum speed along the tributaries of the Amazon River.

Although the control range of Night Stella was extensive, it varied dynamically based on the ranks of the nearby monsters. In the current situation, where she needed to track a massive group containing two Rank 6 monsters, the controllable range of Night Stella had significantly narrowed.

‘I won’t be attacked from this distance, but at this rate, I’ll be out of the control range by the time I reach the city.’

The most challenging aspect of dealing with these monsters was the fact that they disrupted communication networks within a certain range. Even laser targeting devices and digital cameras didn’t function properly near these monsters. Consequently, most hunting videos of these monsters uploaded on YouTube were filmed using relic-rank recording equipment developed by the Liberal Clan.

In this context, drones capable of shooting, communicating, and remotely controlling within the influence range of these monsters were extremely rare. Arin’s Night Stella, possessing numerous functions, was considered a unique relic-rank equipment worldwide by Myung-jun.

Currently, Arin pondered over what would be the best choice she could make with the myriad functions of her relic drone.

‘It’s a language issue; even if the drone has translation capabilities, how can I evacuate the entire city within such a short time?’

Of course, evacuating everyone at once wasn’t necessary. Due to the terrain of the city with brick and concrete buildings, the speed of these monsters would decrease to some extent. However, the time gained from this would be absurdly insufficient when considering the speed at which humans evacuate.

Arin, contemplating her options, shouted towards the Brazilian government official on the boat.

“Hey! Mister!”

The man, sitting anxiously on the boat, along with an interpreter, jumped up and ran to Arin.

“What’s going on? How can I help you?”

“You mentioned that there are Brazilian government forces near Manaus City, right?”

“Yes. Although they can’t handle the monsters completely, they are indeed deployed.”

“Mark the location on the map, please.”

Arin moved the drone to the location provided by the man. Flying to the tallest figure, she shouted loudly.

– Are you in charge here!? –

“What?! What’s going on!?”

– I’m Seeker Seo Arin of the Servihum Clan, currently participating in this suppression operation! There’s no time to explain! Mobilize all your forces immediately and evacuate the residents of Manaus City! Whether it’s sirens, evacuation broadcasts, or disaster messages, use every available means to get the people out of the city! –

“What?! Did the operation fail!?”

Arin, realizing that explaining would be a waste of time, immediately used the holographic video playback function on the drone.

Instantly, in front of the commander’s eyes, a video played showing thousands of monsters madly destroying the forest and charging somewhere.

– There’s no time to explain. They are coming straight for this place. In just about 5 minutes, radio interference will begin from the outskirts of the city! –

The commander realized there was no time even to verify the truth upon hearing Arin’s desperate voice.

“Summon all the officers on-site!!!”

As Arin showed the video once again to the soldiers gathered around the commander, the expressions of over a hundred officers nearby instantly stiffened. Recognizing the severity of the situation, they rushed out to operate the command system at the maximum speed possible in accordance with the commander’s orders.

The commander, remaining at the scene, opened his mouth towards Arin’s drone.

“I gathered the officers a moment ago to explain, and it took about 1 minute. However, reporting to the president also requires time, and using the alarm systems scattered throughout the city also takes time. How much time do we have left?”

– 3 minutes. –

“Oh, no…”

– It doesn’t mean that the swarm of monsters will rush in after 3 minutes. It means that as the monsters approach, the communication system will start malfunctioning from the outskirts of the city. We have about 3 minutes until then. –

“So, the arrival of the monster swarm…”

– Even if we stretch it, it’s about 20 minutes. Considering the rank of the monsters and the intensity and range of the interference, once the monster swarm reaches the outskirts of Manaus City, the entire city will fall within the range of control and interference. –

“That’s…”

No matter how much Arin thought, evacuating all the residents, numbering around 2 million, within that time was nearly impossible. Moreover, Manaus City, located in the middle of the Amazon, had a fair number of tourists. Convincing them with hundreds of interpreters who knew different languages within the time frame was close to impossible.

The commander’s face turned pale with despair in this dire situation. And in this desperate situation, the only thing he could rely on was the unidentified drone that suddenly appeared and issued the evacuation order.

The commander, with a serious tone, spoke to the drone in front of him.

“Is there no other way?”

– Well… even if you ask me… –

Suddenly, a single idea flashed into Arin’s mind, and she urgently shouted to the commander.

– Wait a moment! –

Pulling out her cellphone from her pocket, Arin frantically searched for contacts. Then, she dialed the number Myung-jun had given her at the Liberal Clan headquarters a long time ago.

“Hurry… hurry… pick up…”

With an anxious expression, Arin shouted loudly as soon as she heard Myung-jun’s voice.

– Hello…? –

“Mr. Myung-jun!”

– Who is this? –

“It’s me! Seeker Seo Arin!”

– Oh, Arin? What’s going on?! –

Arin hastily explained the situation, and Myung-jun responded.

– So, officially, you’re not requesting participation from the Liberal Clan in the operation, but you hope we can help with evacuating residents, right? –

“Yes!”

Contrary to Arin’s energetic response, Myung-jun’s answer was bewildering.

– That’s not possible. –

“What?! Why?!”

– Even if I go to help as you say, I’ll barely arrive in the nick of time. In the meantime, I won’t be able to evacuate the residents at all. And once I arrive in Manaus, I’ll be inevitably participating in the battle with the monsters. That becomes my official involvement in the operation, and the contract conditions I had with the other two clans will kick in. I don’t mind, but is that the outcome your clan leader desires? –

“That’s…”

Arin, who firmly believed that Myung-jun would find a way, was plunged into despair with a face as if the sky had fallen. Then Myung-jun, who heard Arin disappointment and suggested a different approach.

– Well, I didn’t say I wouldn’t help. I just won’t participate in the battle. –

“Yes?! What do you mean?”

– What you want is to convey the evacuation order to the entire population of 2 million within 20 minutes? –

“…Yes.”

– If that’s the case, there might be a way. Even if I can’t do it myself, someone knows how. –

A moment later, a text message was delivered to Arin’s phone. Checking the message, she found a phone number written there.

– Call that number. –

“Whose number is this?”

– The only person who can solve your problem right now. –

Having said that, Myung-jun disconnected the call, leaving Arin bewildered. She quickly regained her composure and dialed the number Myung-jun provided.

This time, a sweet voice of a woman answered her call.

– Yes! This is Han Soo-jeong, CTO of the Liberal Clan! How may I assist you?”

“Ms. Soo-jeong?!”

– Who is this? –

“I am…”

Arin hesitated for a moment about how to introduce herself to Soo-jeong. Then, with a trembling voice, she spoke.

“I received the drone you made. I am Seo Arin.”

– Oh! Arin! What’s going on? –

Arin, feeling constrained by having to repeat the same explanation multiple times since her arrival, quickly explained the current situation to Soo-jeong in the fastest manner possible.

Listening silently to the explanation, Soo-jeong finally spoke.

– So, you need a means to quickly disseminate the current situation to the entire population of over 2 million in the city? –

“Yes.”

– If that’s the case, it shouldn’t be difficult. The function is already installed in the drone I gave you. –

“Really?!”

– When communicating with the drone, regardless of the language the other person is using, communication is possible, right? –

“Isn’t that because there’s a translation device installed?”

– No. Even then, it’s impossible for a Korean and an American or a French person to understand each other simultaneously. It uses a kind of telepathic function, reading the intentions of the speaker and directly conveying them to the other person’s mind. So, it allows for multi-language communication regardless of the language. –

Soo-jeong explained that the function is called ‘Telethic Communicator’ and clarified that it goes beyond simple conversation, enabling the direct transmission of images and intentions to a specific range of humans.

Armed with this information, Arin, expressing her gratitude several times, quickly unfolded a map. Based on the maximum impact range Soo-jeong provided, she began drawing circles.

The ‘Telethic Network’ function, capable of transmitting visual images to thousands to tens of thousands at once, was a powerful but energy-consuming skill. Although her relic-class drone, Night Stella, was equipped with a Crystal Drive Engine extracted from a Rank 6 or higher monster, using the Telethic Network skill consecutively was still impossible with Night Stella’s power alone.

Drawing multiple circles to cover the maximum possible range with the minimum number of uses, Arin began her plan, directing Night Stella at full speed towards the central coordinates of each circle.

As her drone reached the coordinates of each circle, Arin, clasping her hands together as if in prayer, softly murmured.

“Telethic Network, activate.”

In an instant, an unbelievably strong energy wave, emanating from the small drone, spread like waves centered around Night Stella. Though not visible to the naked eye, the waves seemed to ripple through space, passing through all nearby buildings. As the waves reached the people, the residents of Manaus began touching their foreheads as if experiencing a slight headache.

At that moment, the vivid memory of the thousands of monsters Arin witnessed through the drone, relentlessly destroying the Amazon jungle and charging towards the city, was imprinted strongly in their minds.

Simultaneously, a voice filled with the earnestness of a young girl echoed in their minds.

“Please, please run away.”

Though a simple message, it carried various meanings and emotions within it. There was the emotion urging everyone to move right now to save their precious lives. There was the sentiment of avoiding chaos and evacuating orderly so as not to block each other’s paths. And at this moment, everyone had to unite their strength to escape from this enormous disaster.

If it were just a simple message, people might have doubted or fallen into a state of panic. However, Arin’s message transmitted through the Telethic Network was imbued with her emotions. The desperate desire for as many people as possible to survive, the earnestness of not wanting to witness people dying without asking for anything in return, these emotions were transmitted intact.

Feeling those emotions directly, citizens stopped what they were doing, as if struck by a holy revelation. They all began moving in unison towards one direction, walking with quick steps.

No one fought, and no one pushed others aside to get ahead. The sight of thousands of people evacuating together, refraining from chaos, conveyed a sense of sublime grace as if witnessing a great miracle.

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