WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Unlimited Money Shelter of the Apocalypse ◈
Chapter 28: Max-Level Concealment
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Internet communities were full of claims that the Republic of Korea's soldiers were overrated.
There was even a user in our chatroom who went around saying exactly that.
Jjunri690: First off, our country's officers are all below standard and incompetent. Just a complete fucking disaster of an idiot outfit. No arguments accepted.
Jjunri690: Is it right to use phones during training because the comms equipment can't get a signal? LOL Phones will be useless first if war breaks out. Is there any point training with them?
Jjunri690: Honestly, the sixth-ranked military in the world is fucking overrated too. The navy and air force are both useless, and the army is barely passable, but won't they all die if they get nuked anyway?
I thought the Republic of Korea's conscription system had played no small part in creating that attitude.
In countries with volunteer militaries, people could still have a certain fantasy about being a soldier. Honestly, didn't everyone think uniforms looked cool when they were young?
But once every Korean man had been dragged off, fed plastic-bag meals, and had his shins kicked by officers, those fantasies naturally fell apart.
I had personally been ordered by a sergeant to dig a trench to the right, then gotten chewed out by a platoon leader who showed up five minutes later and asked why I was not digging to the left. Five minutes after that, the sergeant returned and cursed me out for not doing what the platoon leader had ordered.
But.
That did not mean the military had no elites.
Several monitors glowing with the distinctive blue light of a blue screen flickered briefly before displaying the view outside.
I looked at them.
They seemed to be linked to the ultra-small camouflaged cameras that the Juggernaut and General Kang had installed here and there.
Beyond the screens, special forces operators in snow camouflage were swiftly and stealthily moving through a rocky mountain covered in fallen leaves and snow.
The original plan had been to install even more cameras.
But we had held off because the risk would be too great if any of them were discovered.
And that had ultimately been the right call.
The special forces operators advanced through the leaf-covered, snow-laden mountain without hesitation, but occasionally stopped. Every time, they were at a choke point or major infiltration route the Juggernaut had reported.
They appeared to be checking for conspicuous surveillance equipment.
Fortunately, we had accepted their restricted field of view and hidden the cameras deep within trees or in cracks between rocks, places difficult to notice even with a careful search. They had not been found.
After rapidly crossing the mountain, the special forces operators reached the place where I had temporarily stayed in a tent in exactly thirty minutes.
“...”
Judging by their reactions, they had not discovered any signs that someone had been living there.
General Kang and the Juggernaut had regularly erased traces and disguised them as animal tracks. On top of that, a heavy snowfall had fallen at dawn yesterday.
Of course, it would have been different if the special forces operators had received specific intelligence that an unidentified person was on this mountain. They would have searched in earnest.
But without that information, they could not devote excessive time and manpower to thoroughly searching a mountain that appeared to have no signs of human activity.
Rather than taking the time to search with certainty, they chose to cover as broad an area as possible in a short time.
“As you said, if they had committed to a thorough search, they would have had a high chance of finding traces. They seem to have studied the mountain's layout beforehand and moved accordingly.”
General Kang, who had approached at some point, supported my conclusion.
In one corner of the rapidly changing footage, regular soldiers were trudging along a forest road. Judging by the MILES gear they wore, I could roughly guess what excuse had brought them here for training.
They had probably used the increasingly ominous international situation as justification, claiming they needed experience as close to real combat as possible.
“The regular soldiers probably do not even know they are forming an encirclement. The surrounding mountains have already all been sealed off.”
After hearing Anne, I realized just how much trouble I would have been in if I had delayed my decision by only a day.
The fastest time to act really was when I decided to do it.
The special forces operators did not seem to tire at all. They reached the abandoned mine at a speed hard to believe in such rough mountain terrain.
After skillfully opening the fence blocking the road to the mine, they immediately began searching the entrance and surrounding area.
Then General Kang, who had been closely watching their movements, spoke.
“They appear to be Tier-One Special Forces.”
“!”
Unlike publicly known units such as the 707th Special Mission Group or the Naval Special Warfare Flotilla, they were true special forces in the sense that their very existence was veiled, like Delta Force in the United States.
I had wondered how they could run for dozens of minutes while covered in heavy gear without getting tired. It seemed they were a group made up entirely of superhumans to begin with.
“We found vehicle tracks.”
A voice came from the listening device we had installed in advance.
A special forces operator whose face was completely covered by a mask was kneeling on one knee and examining the traces left on the unpaved road.
They were surely the tracks left by the one-ton box truck when we sent the hundred Enigmas outside.
I had thought the snow had covered them well enough, but they had found them anyway.
I turned to General Kang with a sinking feeling. General Kang shook their head as if telling me not to worry.
“We concealed them as much as possible so that it would appear only three or four vehicles had passed through. When we first arrived, there were already quite a few traces that looked like someone had entered that area by mistake and made a U-turn, so they will not draw much suspicion.”
That was a relief, but I could not do anything about my nerves.
“What about signs of concealment?”
“Nothing unusual.”
“What about the CCTV inside and outside the mine? Did you check?”
“It died long ago. It seems the wiring itself had been disconnected for years.”
The man who appeared to be their leader stared at the cobwebs on the abandoned mine's CCTV camera, then turned away.
Clank!
“Moving in.”
The entrance to the abandoned mine opened completely.
After that, we could no longer observe the special forces operators directly.
Surveillance equipment could only be installed to a limited degree inside the mine, and no matter how carefully it was concealed, it would inevitably be found.
But that did not mean we could simply sit back and do nothing.
“What is the structure of that abandoned mine?”
As though she had been waiting for the question, Anne answered.
“From the mine entrance, there is a vertical shaft with an elevator installed down to a depth of 500 meters. At every 100-meter interval below ground level, there are first- and second-level haulage tunnels.”
I confirmed that the special forces operators had completely disappeared, then nodded for her to continue.
“It has been effectively abandoned since the 1990s, and its internal power has been cut off. The elevator has also far exceeded its service life, so normal operation should be impossible. The ventilation and drainage systems are also unlikely to function properly.”
In other words, there would be standing water inside, little oxygen, and toxic gas.
Of course, Tier-One Special Forces would have prepared countermeasures of their own. Gas masks and oxygen concentration meters, for instance.
One of the operators was carrying an unusually large pack, so they probably had all the relevant equipment in there.
But in the end, they would not find a single trace. We had not touched that side at all yet.
The Juggernaut had gone in and out once, but if it had left any traces, they would have noticed something strange before even entering the mine.
In other words, the Juggernaut's camouflage capabilities were enough to fool even Tier-One Special Forces. Was that the strength of a combat-specialized model?
Of course, as I had said earlier, there was no telling what would have happened if the special forces operators had come with definite information.
The problem was if they installed surveillance equipment or specific traps inside the abandoned mine before leaving.
By traps, I did not mean snares or grenade traps. I meant disposable sensors that could confirm whether anyone entered.
It was similar to putting tape beneath a door as a child to see whether your parents had entered your room. If they installed something like that, what would their intention be?
It would mean they were likely to come back later.
Then General Kang spoke.
“Even if that possibility exists, they will not be able to return anytime soon. At the earliest, in half a year. At the latest, in one or two years. That is, if the Republic of Korea's government is still standing by then.”
It meant they were setting traps across the hundreds of abandoned mines in Gangwon Province.
We concluded that this operation was limited to Gangwon Province both to determine why shelters could not be built there and to set traps in advance at places where Shelter Builder users might settle.
“Then I'll leave this to you.”
“Leave it to me.”
I decided to entrust the matter to General Kang.
There was no answer to be found from a non-military expert like me worrying over it. It was better to give General Kang what was needed and focus on finishing the shelter's construction.
“First, let's build a checkpoint near the entrance.”
“I will lead the way.”
I immediately boarded the elevator with Anne.
* * *
Our shelter entrance had two low-carbon steel blast doors, each two meters thick.
Even anti-tank weapons like Javelins would barely make them itch, and they could easily withstand direct tank fire or mortar strikes.
Therefore, the first-stage quarantine station and checkpoint between the blast doors were less about stopping outside intruders head-on and more about controlling people entering the shelter and securing their “cooperation.”
Click. Click.
「You have purchased concertina wire.」
「You have purchased high-strength security fences.」
「You have purchased the Kingsberg Remote Weapon Station.」
Thick reinforced-concrete walls rose on both sides of the entrance. Behind them, surveillance equipment for monitoring the outside and remotely operated defensive turrets were installed.
With just a few clicks of the mouse, a convincing checkpoint was completed in an instant.
If people who had forced their way through the first blast door saw it, they would probably feel as though they had encountered a small concrete fortress.
Anyway.
People who passed through the checkpoint would move farther inside along security fences arranged in a zigzag pattern, like the line at an amusement park.
Even if dozens or hundreds of people arrived at once, it would naturally funnel them into a single line and let us conduct inspections and quarantine procedures in order.
Anne had told me that, so it was probably right.
「You have purchased security screening gates.」
「You have purchased X-ray security screening stations.」
At the end stood security gates and X-ray screening stations far more sophisticated than those used in ordinary airports.
There, their belongings and carried equipment would be checked one by one. If dangerous items such as weapons or explosives were found, they would immediately be separated and confiscated.
Beside them would be thermal imaging equipment capable of measuring body temperature, various quarantine equipment, and quarantine officers to operate it.
They would verify the identities of people arriving from outside while checking for signs that might suggest an infection, including fever, respiratory symptoms, or skin abnormalities.
「You have purchased infectious-disease quarantine equipment.」
「You have purchased a thermal imaging camera, FLIR A-series.」
Naturally, I had no intention of letting anyone inside right away, whether they showed symptoms or not.
Those with suspected symptoms would go to isolation rooms for suspected infections. Even people without symptoms would go to asymptomatic isolation rooms, where they could stay for a certain period to account for incubation periods.
The procedure was complicated, but I thought it was right to be as thorough as possible even if it caused inconvenience.
My life was at stake, after all.
Anne inspected the checkpoint and quarantine station in person, then returned.
“There are no issues.”
“Good. Then let's get the next thing going quickly.”
To build the strategic communications center that would serve as the shelter's nervous system and our only channel to the outside world, I immediately went down to the Central Control Room.
Buying four KH-13-class reconnaissance satellites had to be reserved for the final day due to the risk of being detected by the United States' Space Surveillance Network, or SSN. So no matter what happened, we had to leave at least $112 billion until the final day.
But that did not mean we needed to delay setting up the communications room as well.
Even without satellites, the communications room had many functions we could use, and there was no downside to getting it ready a day sooner.
The remaining facilities were closer to recommended additions, like crude oil reserve tanks or a hangar. They would be nice to have, but the shelter could operate without them for now. I also wanted to spend as much as possible on the communications room.
Maybe because I had come here a few times already, I approached the Central Control Room's main console far more comfortably than before.
Anne pointed at the main screen with her usual expressionless face.
“For communications equipment, I configured it based on the highest-grade military strategic communications technologies actually used by the United States Department of Defense and the NSA.”
The equipment had the same specifications as what the United States used, but with an Enigma as a superintelligent operator, its practical performance might be even better than on the American mainland.
I immediately opened the shop window and checked the list of items.
[ ■ Communications Equipment List ]
⦁ AEHF-Class LPI/LPD Ultra-High-Frequency Satellite Communications Module
⦁ Description: The highest-grade strategic secure satellite communications standard used by the U.S. military. Directional AESA beamforming minimizes signal leakage and greatly reduces the likelihood of enemy jamming and eavesdropping.
⦁ Unit Price: $2.4 billion
⦁ Status: [Available for Purchase]
⦁ VLF/ELF Bedrock-Penetrating Communications Antenna Network
⦁ Description: A specialized communications network used for contact with underground bunkers and deep-diving submarines. It minimizes the antenna's exposure above ground while maintaining contact with the outside.
⦁ Unit Price: $1.2 billion
⦁ Status: [Available for Purchase]
Those two were the most important.
Normally, satellite communications required exposing massive antennas or base stations above ground. But with that equipment, it was possible to communicate with the outside even from deep underground.
Apparently, it was the method used in actual American underground nuclear bunkers.
The package also included tactical communications base stations that intercepted nearby military radio signals in real time, top-tier encryption equipment, and dual HEMP shielding systems.
‘Expensive.’
Maybe because they all boasted absurd specifications, even the cheapest cost several hundred million dollars.
But they said things were cheapest when you bought them, did they not? Once the world went to hell, I would not be able to get anything similar even if I wanted it.
Since the communications room was such an important facility, I designed it as an 800-pyeong space directly connected to the Central Control Room. Buying all the related equipment mentioned earlier cost a total of $8.4 billion.
The Central Control Room had cost just over $1 billion. I had not expected the communications room to cost more than five times as much.
A dry laugh escaped me, but Anne manipulated the screen without the slightest sign of agitation.
“With these specifications, even if outside communications networks are completely paralyzed, you will be able to capture civilian and military radio signals throughout the Korean Peninsula.”
“Really?”
“I will show you.”
Beep-beep-beep!
The moment power was supplied to the communications equipment room, countless radio signals began pouring in like a waterfall alongside the distinctive electronic tone.
The innumerable signals drifting above the shelter were being captured.
Without hesitation, Anne operated the signal analyzer, picked out a military frequency being received from the mountains directly above the shelter, and began decoding it.
Then a familiar voice came through as if by magic.
“We have reached a depth of 200 meters in the second-level haulage tunnel. No unusual findings or unidentified persons.”
It was one of the special forces operators, who was still searching the abandoned mine.
Then, amid crackle static, an order from the higher command followed.
“Search terminated. Clear out any remaining elements and return immediately.”
“What do you think?”
...This was pretty good.
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