**Bang!**

The sound of Byeong-tae slamming his fist on the table startled everyone in the conference room.

“Is there anyone who still wants to defend that guy?”

Under his menacing presence, everyone averted their eyes. No one wanted to face the wrath of the leader, who was nothing short of an absolute ruler in the shelter.

Byeong-tae gritted his teeth in frustration, but his inner thoughts were different.

‘What the hell happened?’

He bit his lip in confusion.

‘They were a party of at least C-grade awakened ones, with some even at B-grade….’

Unbelievably, they had all been killed by that guy.

“I don’t know what method he used, but he killed four of our awakened ones and escaped.”

Of course, it was no different from him sending assassins first, but that was a matter these people were unaware of.

“I will organize a group of awakened ones to pursue him.”

The murder of awakened ones was a serious crime that threatened the shelter's defenses. If this were taken lightly, the discipline within the shelter would crumble.

“But leader, considering the upcoming shelter war, we might not be able to deploy many forces…”

“And we can’t ignore ‘that’ either.”

“What do you mean by ‘that’?”

“That… you know, what that guy mentioned about the ‘wave’ or whatever.”

At the mention of it, Byeong-tae's expression hardened slightly.

‘Even after the expulsion, is that guy's shadow still lingering?’

That guy’s absurd speculation.

The assertion that zombies might start to group around the evolved ones and act accordingly.

At the time, they had dismissed Young-sik’s comments as nonsense. There were too many pressing issues at hand to prepare for a future that might or might not come.

Moreover, weren’t zombies just zombies? Mindless creatures without reason?

It was true that the evolved types posed a significant threat due to their special abilities, but they were still creatures without reason. If zombies had any intelligence, humanity would have been wiped out long ago.

So, while his speculation was undoubtedly absurd, just the fact that **he** had said it was enough to shake them. Even though the leader himself had spoken, it was still unsettling.

And that fact made Byeong-tae even angrier.

He suppressed his anger and spoke slowly. These awakened ones were valuable resources for the shelter. There was no benefit to treating them carelessly.

“Then let’s deploy only a minimal number of people. The goal will be to track and investigate. Even if they find him, avoid engagement, and if he has any accomplices, do not approach but just report back.”

This was a case of four awakened ones being killed. Although Young-sik was an incapable one, there might still be hidden tricks.

“Hmm… that should be sufficient.”

“Just as expected of the leader.”

“So who will be in charge of the pursuit team?”

“They should at least be somewhat skilled in combat, right?”

Byeong-tae already had a candidate in mind. His snake-like gaze turned toward a woman sitting in a corner of the conference room.

“Yoon Seung-ah.”

Everyone turned to look at her. She had her head slightly bowed, so her expression was not visible.

Byeong-tae smiled as he looked at Yoon Seung-ah.

“You’ll go and take responsibility for the investigation. Thoroughly investigate how Kim Young-sik killed the awakened ones and escaped.”

“…Yes.”

Yoon Seung-ah’s face fell heavily. Byeong-tae smirked unpleasantly at her.

He knew she wouldn’t be able to refuse. After all, her mother was staying in the shelter. As long as there was a hostage, Yoon Seung-ah could never oppose him.

In a way, it felt like a kind of punishment.

She was going far away on an expedition, leaving her mother behind, and now she was in charge of a pursuit team against someone who had once been her ally. It was punishment for her previous attempts to protect that guy.

Thinking of having to face that guy as an enemy made him feel good.

‘As long as Yoon Seung-ah has a hostage, she won’t cooperate with that guy. She’s a person who understands the difference between public and private matters.’

With that, he concluded the executive meeting.

---

**“Hyperion, that guy won’t be affected by ordinary bullets.”**

*Tu-kwak-kwak-kwak!*

**An evolved entity.**

It was a muscular evolution zombie, reminiscent of the Hulk.

Even the vacuum compressed bullets only managed to halt its steps, without inflicting any substantial damage.

But that wasn’t all.

*Whirring—*

“Whoa!”

His view suddenly changed as Hyperion made a sharp turn.

On the screen, an evolved zombie shot out tentacles spanning several meters, attacking Hyperion.

*Whoosh—*

Dodging the attacks of numerous evolved entities with S-shaped maneuvers, it proceeded to massacre the ordinary zombies.

Of course, Hyperion wasn’t just sitting back either.

*Vroom—*

A plasma weapon installed on the front of the vessel activated.

**[Plasma Focusing Cutter]**

A red sphere began to condense at the center of the claw-like weapon.

*Pzzzt—*

Evolved zombies were locked onto the screen.

As Hyperion darted in rapid movements, a plasma beam burst forth from the front.

*Zzzzt—*

It was the moment when four locked-on evolved zombies lined up in a straight line.

“Whoa…”

For about three seconds, the beam fired, scraping the ground.

Three seconds may seem short, but considering Hyperion’s speed, it was anything but.

Young-sik shook his head as he saw the [Plasma Focusing Cutter] leave a straight mark on the ground.

The ground was deeply gouged, nearly a kilometer in length, with bluish plasma currents crackling from the cracks.

Aside from the muscular evolved entity, everyone else was instantly killed, turning to ash in an instant.

“Haha…”

He felt a strange sense of emptiness.

Normally, it would take a party of more than five awakened ones to strategically raid and capture one evolved entity, yet Hyperion effortlessly wiped them out.

**[Plasma Focusing Cutter Reuse Wait Time: 1 hour 29 minutes 58 seconds]**

Of course, it couldn’t be used frequently, but it wasn’t something that couldn’t be waited for either.

*Swish—*

Hyperion began to descend and fly.

*Zzzzzt—*

From the orb positioned at the top of the vessel, a blue magnetic field began to extend, enveloping the craft in an oval shape.

*Zzzzt—*

A magnetic field with a diameter of 20 meters unfolded around Hyperion.

*Vroom—*

As Hyperion passed through the battlefield, all sorts of metal objects within the range of the magnetic field began to lift into the air.

*Vroom—Zzzzzt—*

Hyperion started to select and absorb only those materials that matched the pre-set wavelength from the debris that had risen into the air.

Small red crystals were absorbed into the rear of the vessel in an instant.

It truly was ‘automatic hunting,’ with a pet assisting in looting!

‘Hmm.’

The speed of hunting was unbelievable.

Thanks to the upgrade, Young-sik was able to graduate from being a looting pet.

‘They wouldn’t throw it away just because it’s useless, right?’

He felt an inexplicable anxiety creeping in.

---

**While the baby(?) Hyperion swept up zombies and leveled up, a new update notification was posted on the community.**

- **Author:** (Joo-Dak) Cosmic Emperor
- **Title:** <Update Notice> Implementation of the Point System^^

Greetings! I am the Cosmic Emperor, tirelessly working for you all.

(A frog holding a wine glass meme.jpg)

Thanks to your support, I have reached this position. This Joo-Dak! I haven’t forgotten your kindness. I have had to make a significant decision to repay that kindness.

And that is! Drum roll, please!

Yes! Just as it says in the title, we will be implementing the ‘Point System’!

To this end, a large-scale update will be conducted, and there may be temporary delays in accessing the community.

What?

What is the point system, you ask?

Haha.

Karma. Deeds.

Most of you have probably heard of it. And what you’re thinking is correct.

Every user using the ‘Dimension Integrated Community’ has been accumulating ‘deeds’ in the form of karma. There are no exceptions. (Firm)

And the big project I am undertaking, ‘S.T.R.A.W.,’ is to exchange those ‘deeds’ for points (cash).

What? You think the project name is suspicious? Haha. That’s a misunderstanding.

Anyway, the essence of the Straw Project is simple. It’s the circulation of currency within the community!

You all know about the ‘gold standard,’ right?

It’s similar. Your karma will serve as the ‘gold’ of the gold standard.

Some of you may have a lot of karma accumulated from your past lives, while others may be starting with nothing. In other words, there will certainly be people starting with a large amount of points from the get-go.

What? You think that’s unfair?

But the world is inherently unfair. Don’t question it, okay? However, the accomplishments you are currently building up have a great deal of value! (Wink)

So! At this point, I’m sure everyone has the same question.

What will you use cash for?

Isn’t that the most important thing?

Hahaha.

Don’t worry.

Who am I? Your Joo-Dak, the Cosmic Emperor, right?

Of course, I am working tirelessly to create content that will satisfy you all.

Of course, the opening of all

 content will take a long time. Complaining won’t speed things up! So please don’t rush!

Oh, and by the way, VIP ranks will be determined by the points (cash) you have, and there will be restrictions on the content you can participate in.

You all feel something familiar, right?^^

So please do your best to spend your cash!

**P.S.** Your Joo-Dak will be momentarily pulled away for work… I mean, I will be stepping away for a bit~!

---

**After the Cosmic Emperor's update notice was posted, the discussion thread regenerated at the speed of light.**

It was the highest traffic ever in the history of the Dimension Integrated Community.