BXBX NOVEL Chapter 217
Chapter 217
Chapter 217: Unexpectedness (2)
For the first time, Yeongwoo had this thought: Where and by whom is the returnee’s room managed?
Certainly, the military contractor, ‘Toma,’ supplies items like laser cannons, but isn’t this more like sponsored goods?
‘After paying taxes, it seems that new weapons are being stocked, so maybe they’re managed directly by a cosmic government or something.’
Anyway, with a mixture of anticipation and worry, Yeongwoo rushed towards the bedroom with the television.
Tap!
Then, the blank expression on the faces of Kim Taejoon’s family, who had been watching the screen, came into view first.
‘I wonder what’s going on?’
As Yeongwoo entered the bedroom with growing anxiety, Seok quickly pointed her finger at the television screen.
“Please take a look at that.”
Following where she pointed, Yeongwoo’s eyes widened, just like the rest of the room.
“What… what is that?”
This time, there was a pile of rocks in the returnee’s room.
“Huh.”
With an expression of disbelief, Yeongwoo approached the television, and what was seen on the large screen were the ‘Three Friends,’ gathered around a large screen.
There was also a large television set, probably funded by the substantial public points earned through laser bombardment.
― So, can you see it clearly? That thing.
Finally, General Kim Younghyeom looked at the pile of rocks in the distance with a rubbery expression.
“Yes, I see it clearly. But what is it? It doesn’t look like a weapon this time.”
When Yeongwoo expressed his disappointment, General Kim tilted his head.
Then he pointed the transparent camera towards the menu on the screen.
― Can you see it? It says ‘Figurehead.’
As Yeongwoo peered at the menu on the screen, indeed, under the category of laser bombardment, there was an item called ‘Figurehead’ written.
And above that, as before, there was a blank space, indicating that it was locked.
However, even after confirming this much, Yeongwoo still looked puzzled.
“Yes… Figurehead. It’s definitely an unusual item, but why is this?”
Figurehead.
Usually, it refers to an ornament attached to the bow of a ship.
However, in the returnee’s room, there was not even a small pond to float a ship, and more importantly…
‘It’s called a figurehead, but in reality, it could just be a decoration like a statue erected in a park. Given how empty the returnee’s room is.’
Of course, as the next generation product of the laser cannon, it was assumed that it would have some functionality.
But General Kim Younghyeom’s thoughts were completely different.
― Take a closer look at this.
As General Kim rushed towards the pile of rocks on the other side where the television had fallen, the size of the rock pile, which had been roughly the size of a small hill just a moment ago, began to grow much larger than expected.
“Huh…?”
Not only were there more parts for the ‘Figurehead’ called up by the general through the menu than expected.
― Can you see clearly now? Why do you think this space exists?
The location where the Figurehead parts were pouring down was far away from the generator, about 200 meters away to the naked eye.
“Well… something seems odd.”
Yeongwoo could finally admit it.
The location of the Figurehead was indeed mysterious.
It seemed as if the space from the generator to the Figurehead had been secured in advance.
Moreover,
— Do you see the laser cannon position we first completed?
General Kim pointed outside the screen with his finger.
“Well… I can’t see it on my screen right now, but I have a rough idea of where it is.”
As Yeongwoo said this, General Kim walked back towards the direction of the laser cannon.
Then, the image of the laser cannon’s firing base, located tens of meters away from the generator, began to appear on Yeongwoo’s screen.
— Do you know what that is?
General Kim spoke with even more excitement than before.
Upon hearing this, Yeongwoo felt like he might know vaguely, but he wasn’t completely sure, so he asked back,
“What do you think it is, General?”
To this, General Kim, standing upright in the spacious area between the Figurehead and the laser firing base, replied,
— I think that’s where the aft gun of a battleship will go. Whether it’s a main gun or a secondary gun, I can’t say for sure yet.
“Are you serious? Are we really building a battleship?”
Yeongwoo wasn’t the only one surprised by General Kim’s radical claim.
“A battleship…?”
“Are you saying that’s where a battleship will go?”
Even Seok and Jeonggu couldn’t close their mouths in surprise, especially Seok, who was currently trapped in the surreal situation of her husband being a returnee.
“Uh, if we’re really building a battleship, could we even sail it out?”
At this somewhat risky statement, General Kim quickly corrected himself.
— Madam, I sincerely believe that it’s the place for the battleship’s stern gun. But whether we can sail out of this space on that ship is uncertain.
General Kim’s inference was purely based on the possibility that it might be a simple battleship for artillery support.
Of course, his gaze told a completely different story.
And even so, would you want to be trapped in this space forever?
The reason he thought of a battleship as soon as he saw the space between the figurehead and the laser gun might have stemmed from a desperate desire to leave someday.
So Yeongwoo nodded as well.
“I also hope that it’s the place for a battleship. It would be great if you could gain freedom by making it move.”
Then he added,
“But to really find out if it’s a battleship position, there’s only one way.”
Yeongwoo pointed at the figurehead parts on the screen.
“If we quickly assemble those, won’t we be able to see the next item?”
In other words, it was a message to stop fooling around and get to work quickly.
At this, Seok asked General Kim,
“Is there no product manual this time?”
— There’s a design document… but there’s no product manual like last time.
Huff.
As General Kim unfolded a holographic book, a series of part numbers that made up the figurehead were displayed.
— Probably, assembling them in this order will complete it. If it’s really a figurehead, there won’t be separate modules for functions.
In other words, it was going to be a job of assembling a giant statue from scratch.
“It might take some time this time.”
As Yeongwoo looked at the pile of figurehead parts, General Kim shrugged.
— We’ll see. Since it’s just assembly without mechanical parts, once the sorting is done, the work speed should be quite fast.
“But can you still do artillery support? I’ll be going into the dungeon shortly.”
Yeongwoo checked the time as he said this.
Current time: 10:21 PM.
It’s almost time to enter the dungeon when you momentarily close your eyes.
Then General Kim Younghyeom raised a question.
— Artillery support? Always welcome. But can we even shoot laser cannons into that dungeon? It’s a completely different area from Earth, isn’t it?
General Kim Younghyeom was now an experienced ‘space traveler’ as well.
Didn’t he fight a fierce battle with the resurrected Gameta in the dungeon last night?
As such, he had a considerable understanding of the world after the reset, allowing him to have such doubts.
— I’m not sure if the cannon has the authority for that.
Authority.
It meant the authority to bombard not only Earth but also other areas.
Especially, the dungeon was more like a testing ground that appeared along with the reset system than a different planet, wasn’t it?
“Well, there’s no precedent yet, so we have no choice but to try. But Dogo was able to interfere.”
In the first dungeon where they had to pull the ship, Yeongwoo had received equipment sponsorship from Dogo.
So likewise, Toma, a military contractor.
‘It seems possible. Of course, there might be some restrictions on artillery support, which is a much more aggressive act.’
Maybe tonight, we’ll see which company, Dogo or Toma, has stronger authority.
“Anyway, let’s look into it later.”
After saying this, Yeongwoo told his father and Seok,
“I’m going to take a short nap in the other room now. If I can’t wake up even after 11 o’clock, please wake me up.”
Then Jeonggu hesitated and asked,
“If you can’t wake up, you want us to wake you up by force?”
“Yes.”
Yeongwoo himself might have thought waking up from sleep was trivial, but at least Jeonggu didn’t share the same sentiment.
To him, his crazy son, Jeong Yeongwoo, was a giant who could engage in physical fights even against dragons.
Imagine, someone waking up from unconsciousness due to interference from someone else.
“If you swing your arm in your sleep, the person standing in front of you might get a broken waist, even if it’s the Strongest Sword. So, it’s better if you wake up on your own if possible.”
As Jeonggu spoke seriously, Yeongwoo initially thought his father was joking and tried to laugh, but soon his expression stiffened.
“Ah, that’s not entirely wrong.”
With that, he entrusted his weapons to the goblin and started walking towards the star room.
“Then wake me up from afar.”
“Huh?”
“Tell him to blow a horn or throw a sword or something.”
“Y-you crazy.”
But Jeonggu found himself unconsciously fiddling with the sword at his waist.
And so did Yeongwoo.
“As long as you doesn’t throw with full force, I won’t die. I’ll wake up and stop it.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
It wasn’t an unfounded statement.
Besides the two slaves, Yeongwoo had another backup.
「One-eyed Sentry」 – Mutant Cornea
【Stands guard when you fall asleep.】
The One-eyed Sentry gathered messages that the wearer missed while sleeping and woke them up if there were any signs of danger nearby.
So if his crazy father really threw a sword, the One-eyed Sentry would detect it and wake Yeongwoo up.
“But if you aim for the neck and end up killing me, Dad will have to wield the title of Strongest Sword, you know?”
“… ”
Yeongwoo buried himself in the bed in the other room, leaving behind his father’s horrified expression.
“Ugh.”
Such warmth that made him groan involuntarily.
Yeongwoo drifted off to sleep just like that.
And upon seeing his son like this, Jeonggu…
“…!”
As soon as he confirmed Yeongwoo’s breathing had calmed down, he took out a dagger from his embrace and threw it.
Hwaaah!
Toward Yeongwoo’s forearm, who was already asleep.
And then…
Swoosh!
Just before the blade touched his skin, Yeongwoo’s body twitched for a moment, and in the blink of an eye, he deflected the dagger.
Thud!
“Good Lord, are you really insane?”
“Uh, aren’t you sleeping yet?”
“I was awake because of your nonsense.”
However, Yeongwoo’s words were a lie.
On his left eye, there was a red eyeball mark, the activation sign of the One-eyed Sentry.
“Don’t annoy me. Wake me up at 11.”
Yeongwoo squeezed his temples and lay back on the bed.
And this time, he truly fell into a deep sleep.