I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 339

I covered my face with my hands. A hypothesis I didn’t even want to think about lingered in my mind.

That was none other than the fact that the Forest of the Four Seasons was insanely vast, far beyond what I had anticipated.

Although on paper it was said to be the size of a small nation, in reality, it was exponentially larger than that.

In fact, its size was comparable to Earth. No, it should be viewed as Earth itself.

I wondered if such a thing was truly possible, but it wasn’t impossible.

’In the first place, technology exists here to expand volume to extreme degrees. If that was maximized....’

With World Trees planted all over the place, it wouldn’t be impossible.

It’s just that the technological prowess enabling this was mind-boggling.

No wonder even dragons faster than airplanes couldn’t escape—if this was the reason, it made complete sense.

The Forest of the Four Seasons is large enough to rival Earth. It’s just hard to realize because space distorts from moment to moment.

’Did these crazy people slam an entire planet here because they didn’t want to leave their hometown?’

Scale needs to be reasonable, isn’t this way too big?

Well, having easily overcome spatial constraints long ago, maybe they didn’t even care.

But for me, there was no nuisance greater than this. It was a situation that naturally drew a sigh.

[The Forest of the Four Seasons is... far broader than I expected. Is this truly possible?]

Cain seemed to have realized that fact belatedly.

He seemed to be nibbling away and absorbing the knowledge left in the bunker.

Hearing Cain’s words, I let out a deep sigh. My mind grew increasingly gloomy.

"...By any chance, is there anywhere where communication is connected? If there’s anything detected, not just communication, please tell me."

[There is no communication. Instead, there is an operable function.]

"What is it?"

[Missile launch.]

"...."

[What is a missile?]

An extremely powerful weapon.

I slowly explained so Cain wouldn’t press it even out of curiosity.

"A weapon so powerful it can obliterate large buildings as well as the surrounding area."

[A frightening weapon indeed.]

"Can you also tell me where that weapon is currently targeted?"

[I do not know. There are no coordinates at all.]

Having a missile launch feature despite just being a bunker. What on earth was this place?

No. Considering their technology, missiles were likely treated as ’mere trivialities’.

Washing my dry face with my hands, something suddenly struck me, and I opened my mouth.

"...Is it possible to launch that outside the Forest of the Four Seasons, not just inside?"

[Do you happen to have a place you hold a grudge against?]

"It’s not that, I was just curious if there’s a possibility of escape...."

[This too breaks through the atmosphere, though?]

"...."

The hope that had barely flickered crumbled into pieces. Escape really isn’t easy.

I let out a sigh heavy enough to cave in the ground, then asked about various things.

Since there was more stored information than expected, I thought it would be useful.

[Regrettably, except for the map, almost all information has been lost.]

"Lost?"

[Automatic deletion. Measures are set so that once the person in charge dies, all classified documents are deleted within 30 days.]

"They’re unnecessarily thorough."

Ultimately, all I got was a single map. If there was anything else, maybe a missile launch button.

In an increasingly difficult situation, I glanced at the comments.

ㄴHeavenly Demon) Even if the Forest of the Four Seasons is far wider than it appears on the surface, it matters not. Once all of this is over, I shall rescue you.

ㄴSword Matstar) I’ll help you escape as soon as possible. Doesn’t look like you can escape that place on your own two feet.

ㄴStarlight Lady) I want to conduct research too, but due to circumstances, there’s no progress....

ㄴPassing Dwarf) Can’t you just launch that missile thing once? Curious about its power.

"Shut up before I fire it at your country."

I threw a word at the Dwarf, who was busy teasing instead of offering comfort. Sensing the gravity, he apologized.

At least other people offered comfort, but my heavy heart didn’t fade.

Having struggled to escape on my own two feet, that hope collapsed in a heap.

It felt like serving a prison sentence while innocent, getting released, only for someone to falsely sue me again during that time, forcing me to prove my innocence all over again.

Practically a reset state. Despair washed over me.

’Phew. Get a grip.’

I shook my head vigorously.

Even if the sky falls, there’s always an exit; this is still just the first ruin I’ve discovered.

Haven’t people said that a person who has read only one book is more dangerous in their conviction than someone who hasn’t read any?

It’s too early to despair over finding just one.

’There are people who haven’t given up on me either.’

Plus, there are people outside helping me.Enjoying the story? Read on at nоvelping.com.

Out of respect for those people, I could never give up.

"By the way, ahjussi."

"Hmm?"

"I think about this all the time, but ahjussi, your luck is ridiculously good."

I spoke while looking at Ludwig. It was amazing how we managed to meet in such a vast place.

Ludwig quietly stared at the map on the screen, then smirked.

He probably found it absurd himself. The odds were worse than finding a needle in a desert.

’That guy Gu-chil was pretty lucky too. Are all starting points similar?’

I recalled Gu-chil, who was probably suffering in the gorilla domain right about now.

I don’t know what he’s doing right now, but given the total radio silence, he’s probably living normally.

Even though I handed him paper before, there was zero news. Probably ignored.

’Or Gu-chil ran his mouth.’

We were hostile with the gorilla chief before, and Gu-chil has deep ties with the Blood Cult.

Practically meeting someone from his hometown (?), Gu-chil must have seemed more trustworthy.

"So what is it we can do right now?"

[Missile launch.]

"Not that. Is there nothing beneficial to us?"

[There is something. It says there is a powerful weapon about 1,000 yards away.]

"Hmm... What? Wait a second. Yards?"

[Is there a problem?]

"No. Just...."

Don’t tell me these people couldn’t abandon imperial units right up until the moment of destruction?

Strangely enough, they used the metric system just fine in the Gallery.

Maybe while using imperial units, they realized how awful it was and switched to the metric system halfway through.

’Then the probability is high that this bunker was left behind before the migration.’

Anyway, when speaking of a powerful weapon, would it be firearms like automatic turrets?

This is pretty good information. I nodded, then followed up with another question.

"Then what about this thing that can be unlocked with the key?"

[That is the self-destruct button.]

"Did you hear that, Lackey? We almost got fucked."

"...."

Hearing that it was a self-destruct button, I chided Lackey.

Lackey also seemed to have nothing to say, subtly avoiding my eyes.

At the same time, he sneakily pulled out the key inserted in the hole.

His antics were cute so I let it slide. At least it wasn’t a nuclear missile button.

"Then let’s go to where that weapon is. Since it’s the Forest of the Four Seasons, directions can’t be gauged, so we’ll probably have to wander around for a long time."

[I can tell you the location, though?]

"I told you, we can’t gauge direction."

Moreover, because of the bunker hermit crab, the location itself might have shifted.

I asked Cain if there was any other information, and Cain answered that he couldn’t find anything useful.

Looks like it’s about time to head outside. At this, I recalled Cain, who had faithfully performed his role as battery-cum-AI.

[Moving my own body directly is indeed better.]

"Please take good care of me in the future as well."

[That sounds like an ominous thing to say?]

I deliberately ignored his worry. A capable person like him ought to be put to work.

Having thoroughly explored the bunker like that, we headed toward where the weapon Cain mentioned was located.

"Kkururuk. Kkuruk."

"Kkuruk."

Stepping outside, various hermit crabs were deliciously devouring the bunker hermit crab.

The same went for the vending machine hermit crab. I purchased a drink from it.

"Is there anyone who wants to drink this? This is really delicious."

ㄴHeavenly Demon) I would like to try drinking it once.

ㄴSword Matstar) It’s bubbling, so it looks like poison?

ㄴStarlight Lady) If it’s sweet, I’ll pass. Sweet things are the main culprit of weight gain.

ㄴPassing Dwarf) Is that tasty if you mix it with alcohol?

As expected, the Dwarf always leads to alcohol in the end.

Originally, beer as I knew it had carbonation. But this place lacked such technology.

’It’ll take a long time to invent carbonation.’

Hope I find a machine that makes carbonation later.

Or take the vending machine crab whole. That’s not a bad option either.

"Hey buddy. You’re going to stay here, right?"

"Kkururuk."

"I’ll come back to pick you up later, so stay here. Got it?"

As if understanding my words, the little guy nodded his head.

Looks like I’m going to gain a good friend today. He’s even got a nice personality.Read the latest chapters at novelping(.)com.

I waved my hand at him and set off to find the powerful weapon.

The junk zone was so vast that searching was tough, but investing enough time would yield results.

’Since he said 1,000 yards, is it around here?’

Taking a pair of binoculars out from my backpack, I looked back toward where the bunker was.

Thanks to the binoculars, it was dimly visible. Now it was time to search the surroundings.

"If there’s anything suspicious, please speak u—"

"Master. A way going down is here."

Right as I spoke, Lackey seemed to have found it.

Hearing those words, I immediately approached Lackey.

Just as Lackey said, stairs leading down caught my eye.

I worried there might be a foul-tempered hermit crab inside, but fortunately none was visible.

"Let’s go inside. Ludwig-ssi, please stay outside with Largo."

"Mhm."

Because of his size, we couldn’t take Largo inside.

It was a passage so small even Cain could barely squeeze through.

Descending down the stairs, a door appeared.

Kwa-ang!

Since it wouldn’t open easily, I kicked it open with gusto. Afraid of traps?

Taking a long detour out of fear of traps is something only the weak do.

"Just because his Body-Protecting Gangqi is sturdy, he acts recklessly."

"What?"

"Master is strong."

"I know."

Lackey made a complaint-filled expression, but I ignored him.

Stepping inside, a long corridor like before revealed itself.

However, unlike the earlier bunker, there were no doors on either side. There was only a single door at the very end.

We walked cautiously toward that door. On the way, no traps were triggered.

"Master. Something is in front of the door."

"I’m looking at it too. But it’s not working."

It wasn’t that there were no traps at all. An automated turret was guarding the front of the door.

Or should I call it a turret instead of an automated turret? At any rate, its operation was completely stopped.

Power for the bunker and power here seemed to operate separately.

Still, just in case, I cleared it away to a distance. If it suddenly activated, chaos would ensue.

Next, I opened the door guarded by the automated turret. Naturally, it didn’t open, so I kicked it open.

Kwa-ang!

"This place... looks like an armory."

[Since he said there was a powerful weapon here.]

Unfortunately, the quantity wasn’t large.

As the commander earlier said, anyone who could escape had escaped as much as possible.

So it was understandable that there were few weapons. However, there was a point that raised questions.

’Normally, don’t they keep weapons inside the bunker?’

Harboring doubts, I gripped one of the weapons. Thickly built, it looked like a bomb.

What was so dangerous about this that they stashed it away in an underground warehouse like this?

Holding such thoughts, it was right as I examined the bomb from various angles.

"Uh."

Seeing the ’symbol’ marked on the bomb, my thought process had no choice but to temporarily freeze.

I think I get why they stashed these weapons in an underground warehouse.

"Master. A staff is here."

"...A staff?"

"Looks like fitting it here will work."

In fact, this wasn’t a grenade, it was a ’warhead’. A warhead meant to be mounted and fired somewhere.

The problem was that a ’radiation’ symbol was drawn on that warhead.

Combining radiation and a warhead mostly converged into a single thing.

"...Put that down."

"Understood."

"And Cain-ssi. Do you know what the name of this powerful weapon was?"

[I do.]

Cain nodded and answered.

[They called it a tactical nuclear warhead.]

"...."

[They said it could obliterate a small city, but surely that must be an exaggeration.]

It’s not an exaggeration.