The scarred corporate commander collapsed to his knees, his hands clawing at the empty asphalt where his platoon had stood just moments prior. The sheer speed of the annihilation had broken his professional military mind. He stared up at Min-jae, whose expression remained as unbothered as a spectator strolling through a park.

"The coordinates..." the commander stammered, the cold edge of Yoo Ji-a’s obsidian-silver spear resting precisely against his jugular vein. The violet runes along the blade hissed with static void lightning, singeing his collar. "They are... they are locked in the master drive of the command terminal. Depots Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie. Alpha is just two miles north... an underground civilian defense bunker we seized before the descent."

Min-jae reached down and tore the tracking device from the commander’s grip. He tapped the glowing screen, his system interface effortlessly bridging the gap with the corporate network.

[Synchronizing regional mapping data... Data retrieved.]

[Corporate Depot Alpha: Located at Gwanghwamun Sub-Level 3. Current Contents: 5,000 cases of military-grade rations, 1,200 standard firearms, 80 crates of compressed mana crystals, and 1 Heavy Tactical Defense Unit.]

"Good," Min-jae said, tossing the device to Chae-won. He didn’t look back as he turned toward the northern avenue. "Ji-a, finish it."

’Spurt!’

A clean, precise thrust of the Void-Valkyrie’s Crescent Fang ended the commander’s corporate career before he could even utter a final plea. Chae-won immediately activated Spatial Devour, vacuuming the final body and the remaining command terminal into her infinite pocket, leaving the intersection entirely devoid of evidence.

"Two miles north is a dense zone," Ji-a noted, walking closely by Min-jae’s side, her long legs effortlessly keeping pace with his augmented agility. Her gaze lingered on his profile, her admiration deepening into something fierce and territorial. "The global channel says the Level 5 Grey Orc vanguard has already begun patrolling the main avenues. Walking there will pull every monster horde in a three-block radius."

"Then we don’t walk," Min-jae replied calmly. He turned toward Chae-won. "Release the modified heavy armored transport we confiscated from the vanguard."

Chae-won nodded eagerly, gesturing with her right hand. With a heavy, metallic thud that shook the concrete, a massive, blocky black corporate transport vehicle materialized in the center of the street. It was a customized, eight-wheeled tactical juggernaut wrapped in layers of high-tensile steel plating, designed to withstand heavy ballistics and low-tier monster charges.

Min-jae stepped up to the massive steel hood, placing his palm flat against the cold metal. His golden, reality-warping interface flared to life, superimposing itself over the vehicle’s engine block and chassis.

[Detecting Rank-F Mechanical Equipment: ’Daesung Tactical Transport Juggernaut’.]

[Cosmic Cheat System Active! Scanning structural integrity and potential logic parameters...]

[Standard Evolution Path]: Evolve to Rank-D ’Alloy Siege Transport’ — Increases armor plating thickness by 50%. Max speed increased by 30%. (Cost: 200 Mana Crystals).

[Hidden Evolution Path]: Evolve to Rank-S ’Void-Forge Iron Dreadnought’ — Completely rewrites the mechanical framework with cosmic void-iron. The vehicle no longer requires gasoline, running entirely on ambient mana or system crystals. Equips a automated Rank-S ’Devourer Void-Cannon’ on the roof turret. Adds passive trait: ’Phasing Ram’ — When traveling above 50 mph, the vehicle can phase through physical solid debris and lower-tier structures without losing momentum. (Cost: 500 Mana Crystals — First Mechanical Evolution Bonus Applied: Cost reduced to 100 Crystals.

Min-jae’s eyes flashed with a cold, predatory light. A Void-Forge Dreadnought that phases through physical debris and runs on raw mana.

With the apocalypse turning dense urban cities into a maze of ruined buildings and jammed traffic, a vehicle that could literally pass through solid obstacles while firing automated S-rank void cannons was a terrifying asset.

"Chae-won, extract 100 mana crystals from the Shaman’s drop pool," Min-jae commanded.

"Right away, sir!" Chae-won pulled a glowing cluster of blue, jagged crystals from her space and dropped them onto the hood.

The moment the crystals touched the vehicle, Min-jae executed the command. "System. Trigger the hidden evolution path."

[Commencing Mechanical Hidden Evolution...]

[Deploying Cosmic Energy... Process complete.]

A catastrophic flare of dark violet and metallic silver energy enveloped the entire transport vehicle. The screaming sound of tearing and reforming steel echoed through the night. The standard steel plates expanded, turning a sleek, light-absorbing matte black, covered in dense, geometric runes that hummed with a low gravitational pull. The heavy rubber tires dissolved, replacing themselves with eight massive, interlocking tracks of pure void-alloy that didn’t leave tracks on the ground.

On the roof, the manual machine-gun turret melted down, reshaping into a terrifying, dual-barreled heavy cannon that pulsed with a dark, swirling vortex of violet plasma at its center.

Ji-a’s jaw dropped slightly, her hand gripping her spear reflexively. "You can... you can even evolve machines? Min-jae, what kind of god-tier legacy did you inherit?"

"The kind that wins," Min-jae said smoothly, tearing open the heavy driver-side door, which opened automatically at his biometric touch. "Get in. Ji-a, take the passenger seat. Chae-won, manage the interior logistics."

The interior of the Dreadnought was spacious, completely stripped of cheap plastic and replaced with high-tech obsidian consoles and comfortable leather seats that molded to their bodies. In the center of the dashboard, a holographic map of the city pulsed, highlighting their route to Corporate Depot Alpha in bright crimson.

[Void-Forge Iron Dreadnought initialized. Current Mana Fuel: 100/100. Ready to decimate.]

Min-jae slammed his foot down on the glowing floor pedal. The vehicle didn’t make a roaring engine sound; instead, a deep, vibrating hum like a low-frequency thunderclap echoed from the core.

’Boomm!’

The massive dreadnought propelled forward with terrifying velocity, instantly reaching 60 miles per hour within a single second.

As they sped down the northern avenue, the thick green fog parted violently. Ahead of them, a massive barricade of abandoned city buses, concrete dividers, and a horde of over two hundred Level 5 Grey Orcs blocked the entire width of the street. The Orcs, towering over seven feet tall with green muscular frames and rusted iron heavy cleavers, roared in defiance, bracing their bodies to block the incoming vehicle.

"Min-jae! The barricade!" Chae-won yelled from the back, bracing herself against a storage rack. "We’re going to crash!"

"We aren’t crashing," Min-jae said, his expression completely tranquil as the vehicle reached 80 mph. "We’re passing through."

[Trait Activated: ’Phasing Ram’!]

The moment the front bumper of the Dreadnought was about to collide with the solid steel hull of an abandoned city bus, a blinding ripple of purple spatial energy wrapped around the entire vehicle.

’Voomm!’

Time seemed to stutter. The heavy dreadnought turned into a translucent, ghostly shadow. Without slowing down by a single fraction of a mile, the vehicle glided straight through the solid steel frame of the buses, moving through the metal structure as if it were nothing more than a harmless holographic projection.

"Gak?!"

The front line of Grey Orcs gasped in complete bewilderment as the giant black machine phased through the solid wall and materialized right inside their formation.

Before the monsters could even swing their cleavers, the automated roof turret spun 180 degrees with a sharp mechanical hiss, its dual barrels locking onto the thickest cluster of the horde.

[Automated Defense Protocol: ’Devourer Void-Cannon’ firing.]

Three massive spheres of swirling violet void energy erupted from the cannon barrels, traveling at hypersonic speeds. The moment the spheres touched the Orcs, they didn’t just explode—they generated localized black holes that violently imploded, pulling dozens of Orcs into a crushing cosmic vacuum.

’Crunch ’!

Their heavy bones, rusted weapons, and muscular frames were instantly compacted into tiny, bloody spheres before dissolving into pure system experience particles.

[Your automated weapon has killed a Grey Orc (Level 5). Gained 60 EXP!]

[Ding! Your automated weapon has killed a Grey Orc (Level 5). Gained 60 EXP!]

Min-jae didn’t even look out the side windows as the experience notifications scrolled down his vision like a waterfall. He kept his hands steady on the obsidian steering wheel, guiding the phantom machine through the crumbling city layout with absolute, unyielding precision.

Ji-a looked out the window, watching the remaining Orcs scream in terror as the invisible wake of the vehicle’s spatial displacement threw them into the concrete. A sultry, thrilled laugh escaped her lips, her violet eyes reflecting the purple glow of the dashboard. "A chariot fit for a king. Min-jae, if this is how we travel, we’ll clean out the entire corporate inventory before the military even realizes the apocalypse has started."

"This is just the transport," Min-jae said, his eyes narrowing as the holographic map flashed green, signaling their arrival above their target. "The real harvest begins underground."

With a sharp turn of the wheel, the Void-Forge Dreadnought veered toward a massive, reinforced steel ramp leading into the sub-levels of the Gwanghwamun civilian defense sector. Depot Alpha was right ahead, guarded by a secondary automated security grid and a desperate corporate defensive detachment.