Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

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Chapter 323: Special Planet (5)

“What… What is this?”

A self-destruct bomb.

This bizarrely named construct was, quite literally, a mechanism that could destroy the entire city.

In fact, if the city’s status reached planetary capital, it could even blow up the whole planet...

‘Don't aliens only have one life each, too? How could a function like this be embedded in the city’s system?’

Yeongwoo, who couldn’t believe what he was seeing, soon regained his composure, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

‘No, actually, the fact that aliens only have one life is exactly what makes this function useful.’

Using this as a last resort would mean failing to grasp the true potential of this tool, Yeongwoo thought.

You had to know how to read between the lines.

|Plant a bomb in a designated area, and detonate it at the moment of your choosing. Though the city would be lost, you could take the invading enemy’s life with it.

‘So, in other words, the city’s owner would have a self-destruct switch at least, and the explosion would be tremendously powerful.’

‘Isn’t this… offensive, though?’

Why had this been given along with the "right to defend?"

Now, if he could muster the courage to face death, it was as good as having a way to intimidate anyone who dared approach.

Even if it was...

‘Even guests from across the universe.’

The thought made Yeongwoo shiver.

He might even hold Dogo Chairman, Mara King of the Demons, and those corrupt inspectors hostage for a huge payoff.

‘Of course, that would only work if I truly built an image that would make people believe I’d actually press the self-destruct button….’

Would it work, though?

“…”

After a moment of thought, Yeongwoo realized it was still too early for that.

Even if he could fool others, there was no way he’d deceive the Chairman.

However…

‘If our Metal Seoul becomes the planetary capital, things might be different.’

Planetary self-destruction.

If a person from Earth weren’t threatening to press a self-destruct button, but instead an entire planet were scheduled for self-destruction and charging in from outer space, then what?

‘…Incredible. I’d pay just to calm them down if it were me.’

As he imagined Earth burning red in the sky, Jiseon, who had been staring at him, jabbed him with her greatsword.

Poke.

―What crazy thought are you having now?

“I was contemplating our future.”

―Our future? What about it?

“It’s going to be explosive.”

Yeongwoo looked at his mother with a bright smile.

His mother, a mere dragon, still wouldn’t understand such a grand scheme.

So instead of explaining his plans, Yeongwoo turned his attention to a task at hand.

◇ Enhanced features are inactive. Please complete Guardian Dragon and Annihilation Mode settings.

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Notifications from the system had been flashing continuously.

[Guardian Dragon]

|Appoint a Guardian Dragon to protect the city and grant it the ability to return instantly in case of an emergency.

|The Guardian Dragon’s combat power is boosted according to city level, and if the Guardian Dragon is already of the dragon lineage, the boost increases by 25%.

‘Unbelievable. So, even a non-dragon could be a Guardian Dragon.’

However, since designating a dragon lineage as Guardian Dragon provided a 25% additional boost, cities with this function essentially had to recruit a dragon.

This meant that dragons were even rarer than he thought.

And, fortunately, Yeongwoo had a very powerful dragon right here.

“Mother.”

―Now what?

“There’s an opportunity to elevate your cosmic status.”

―What? Suddenly?

“Yes. Please become the Guardian Dragon of Metal Seoul, Dogo Special City.”

―What city?

As Jiseon repeated, feeling something sounded strange, she saw her son, eyes alight with excitement, suddenly reaching toward her.

Swoosh!

―What are you doing?

Sensing something ominous, Jiseon tried to step back, but her son’s hand already gripped her arm.

―Ugh!

A mysterious, colorful light radiated from his hand where it held her forearm.

Then, suddenly, texts from the city system began to appear in her field of vision.

「Frost Dragon Song Jiseon has been designated as the Guardian Dragon of Metal Seoul, Dogo Special City.」

Immediately, a lively energy surged through her, and notification texts glowing yellow appeared in succession.

[City-level combat boost is applied.]

[Dragon attribute overlap increases boost effect by 25%.]

[All stats increase by 20% through the ‘Guardian Dragon’ function of the Steel Core.]

―What… what is all this? My body feels…

Before Jiseon could finish saying something felt off, a fierce blue flame erupted from her entire body.

―Arghhh!

The boosted combat power had transformed Jiseon into an even stronger being than before.

It was as if the overwhelming energy and aggression were boiling inside her veins, unable to be contained, spilling outward—and this force was directed straight at her son, Yeongwoo.

―Damn, why do I suddenly feel like hitting you?

Looking down at him, Jiseon, who now seemed even larger, spoke.

Yeongwoo realized that his mother had changed significantly and cautiously drew his sword.

Whoosh.

“Calm down, Mother. You seem to be experiencing a testosterone surge. Probably a side effect of the Guardian Dragon power-up.”

―What did you do to me?

“I helped you become greater than before. Now you’re truly my mother.”

Before, he’d been confident he could restrain her, but now he was less sure.

Until he clashed blades with her again, he wouldn’t know his mother’s new strength.

‘This is a disaster. So if the city grows, my mother will keep turning into an even stronger monster.’

Of course, having such a monster as Seoul’s Guardian Dragon was reassuring, but it also meant his control over her was weaker.

“Mother, here’s what you should know. You are the Guardian Dragon of Seoul, and I am Seoul’s mayor.”

―And?

“That means we don’t need to fight each other. Also, technically, this could be considered a coup.”

Yeongwoo said this as he quickly tried to install the “self-destruct bomb” right where they stood, hoping to threaten his mother first.

But—

「Self-destruct bomb construction not possible. Annihilation Mode must be activated first.」

“What?”

Activating the self-destruct bomb required Annihilation Mode, and this notification appeared before his empowered mother’s eyes as well.

"You son of a...!"

His mother swung her sword at him.

Reflexively, Yeongwoo raised his sword, Bastard, to guard against her.

Whoosh!

The icy greatsword swung down like a flash, striking Bastard and sending a piercing pain through Yeongwoo's hands.

"...Ah!"

His mother’s strength was so overpowering that Yeongwoo’s grip on Bastard faltered and broke.

And then came the unbelievable message:

「Your sensory stats have temporarily increased from 33,500 to 95,840.」

"What?"

This meant his mother’s base sensory stat exceeded 120,000.

"Mom...!"

Realizing that he was finally at the point where he could actually be beaten by her, Yeongwoo desperately launched into evasive maneuvers.

With no time to pick up Bastard, he threw himself backward.

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A blue trajectory sliced through the space where he had just stood.

"Activate Extermination Mode!"

Yeongwoo shouted in panic, and the construction interface appeared immediately.

[Extermination Mode]

| When the city is in danger, emergency facilities are activated to resolve the issue.

| Can be used only once per day.

◇ Two suitable locations for the emergency facility have been found for Extermination Mode.

<Four Great Gates>

| Exterminator count increases to 4. Improved biological suppression.

<Namsan>

| Exterminator count decreases to 1. Enhanced ship interception performance.

"Dammit! Another decision!"

He still had a deadly greatsword swinging at him, but he couldn’t pick just anything without careful thought.

So, Yeongwoo...

“Mom!”

...decided to use his ultimate sword technique, Heart Sword.

“Mom, please help...!”

He thought he’d at least try psychologically if he couldn't win physically.

"Mom! Mother!"

Yeongwoo wailed without even holding his sword, but the furious Song Jiseon kept charging at him without slowing down.

Crash!

And so, in the end, Yeongwoo...

"We can turn the Four Great Gates into robots now!"

...shouted a line he thought would stop the fight if he himself had heard it.

If he really had inherited this kind of personality from his mother, he figured she’d be interested in the same kinds of things.

And his guess was...

Crash!

—...What did you say?

...absolutely correct.

The ice dragon Song Jiseon, who had been charging toward him, suddenly halted in place as if she’d hit the brakes.

—What did you say about the Four Great Gates?

"It looks like we can turn either the Four Great Gates or Namsan into a robot. Calm down and take a look."

At Yeongwoo’s words, Jiseon finally glanced over the notifications that had been bothering her field of vision.

—This is some crazy nonsense...

“We can only choose one. Which do you think is better?”

Yeongwoo asked as he side-eyed the fallen Bastard in the distance.

He thought if he could just retrieve it remotely, sever an arm, and activate a combined bleeding and limb loss effect, he might stand a chance in a power struggle.

Meanwhile, Jiseon was already captivated by the surprising "Seoul robot" issue.

—Is there even a question? The Four Great Gates rising up would look way cooler.

"But I think Namsan would be bigger. Plus, it has improved ship interception capabilities."

—‘Improved’ doesn’t mean perfect. The Four Great Gates can intercept ships too, just with less powerful units than Namsan.

"Hmm..."

Thinking back to the metal palace, the four turrets all rose simultaneously, firing laser beams.

In this Metal Seoul, everything was upgraded to a much higher level.

So, the power of the Four Great Gates was bound to be overwhelming until they actually saw it in action.

‘Then Namsan must be even stronger... It’s a shame I can’t have both.’

Now was the time to make a decision.

“Since the city has upgraded to level 3 and added anti-aircraft guns, it’s better to focus on defeating the creatures that have already landed on the planet rather than intercepting ships.”

And this 'creature' would include his mother.

While his mother was briefly distracted, he quickly designated the Four Great Gates for Extermination Mode to secure an insurance measure.

“Special Mayor Jeong Yeongwoo07 of Dogo City has designated the ‘Four Great Gates’ as an emergency facility for [Extermination Mode].”

“Looks like Seoul is finally transforming into a real city.”

The only remaining task was to plant the self-destruct bomb under his parents’ wedding hall and wait for the upcoming address reveal of the three main factions.

‘Now that Seoul is relatively safe, bring on the war.’

As Yeongwoo’s eyes glinted and he retrieved Bastard, the clock inside his Vesedel Armor lit up.

Beep!

Finally, it was 4 p.m.

And then, a system-wide announcement began broadcasting across the entire planet.

「In three hours, the locations of the companies participating in the planet's development rights competition will be disclosed.」

「With non-peaceful negotiations expected, residents are advised to seek safety in designated areas.」

[Translator - Night]

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