The Retired Max-Level Worker Wants to Rest - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Resources

TL/ED – Miso

Resources.

Among them, what we call minerals.

Ferrosite is fundamentally a metallic ore. An alloy with an ultra-hard crystalline structure composed of iron, titanium, nickel, and more.

Historians say this:

‘Without Ferrosite, there would have been no prosperity for humanity.’

In my past life.

I could say with certainty that it was the single most important resource behind Galactic Humanity’s expansion into space.

‘It’s no ordinary mineral.’

When the internal atomic arrangement of this mineral collapses, it releases energy. In other words, by adding a specific resonance process during refinement, energy can be extracted.

That’s right.

Once refinement begins, the Refinery Engine can run endlessly without any additional power source.

That alone defied common sense.

‘It’s practically infinite energy.’

And there was one more thing.

‘It contains crystalline moisture and oxygen atom clusters inside.’

Meaning oxygen and water could also be obtained from it.

That was why people said that with a single Turk and enough resources on some remote planet, you could build a city.

The Turk was impressive in its own right, sure.

But the real cheat was this resource.

‘That’s also part of why the Brakta thrived, though.’

Humanity wasn’t the only one using that mineral, after all.

Anyway.

“The Refinery Engine’s gonna release energy once it starts up. If there are any Brakta nearby when that happens, we could get raided.”

“Should I shoot them on sight?”

“Think you can handle that?”

Her arm was broken.

A chunk of flesh had been torn from her thigh.

I’d given her first aid, but it wouldn’t be easy.

“I’m fine. The bleeding’s stopped and…… if not me, then who?”

It was anything but easy.

She had to be dying to just collapse and rest.

Her injuries needed urgent treatment too.

But she was making a clear judgment about what mattered more, and she was committing to it.

“Alright, one hour. Just hold out that long.”

“Of course. If I feel like I’m gonna pass out, I’ll call you.”

“……Okay.”

This was the first thing I did after returning to the base.

I’d loaded up the Loader Back attached to the Turk with a mountain of ore. I’d had to lay Dong-cheol down on one side, but there was enough room.

With that done, I placed Dong-cheol in the Medical Bay.

Cha Yu-ra took up a guard position.

I went to check the mineral refinery first.

‘Nothing’s broken.’

Just needed to supply power.

I drew every last bit of electricity from the remaining Core Cells and batteries.

Krrumm-

Power flowed in, and the engine turned over.

Now I just had to feed it the ore.

Rrrrumble.

Ore harvested along its crystalline structure.

I poured it in. From inside came the sounds of something crushing, vibrating, all manner of noise.

And then.

Keeeeng.

Energy was released.

That energy would circulate.

The Refinery Engine would run without end.

Tick. Tick.

Core Cell charging had begun.

At the same time, metal was being smelted.

Hwarak-

The finely crushed metal was separated out.

After that, it would be melted and produced in ingot form.

Taang-!

A gunshot rang out.

It had to be the Gauss Rifle, but the sound of its firing was different. It wasn’t merely cutting through the air; it was punching through it.

Probably thanks to the Precision Shot skill.

‘She’ll manage.’

I trusted Cha Yu-ra.

Ever since she and Dong-cheol took down the Basilak, the two of them were no longer low-ranking fighters. Each of them was practically a mid-tier combatant.

“……Better start with this.”

I restored the Generator first.

It also consumed Ferrosite. Instead of refined metal, it produced useless slag, but the electricity it generated was far greater.

With that, I brought the base online.

Jiiing-

I immediately began fabricating the parts I needed.

And then.

-EXP gained.

EXP started accumulating.

.

.

.

Thirty minutes later.

The Generator was successfully restored.

Gurrung.

The Generator hummed to life.

With it, electricity flowed into the Control Room and lights came on throughout the base. The empty Core Cells began charging as well.

‘Good.’

No more worrying about power.

And now for the most important thing.

‘Radar repair.’

That came first.

It was nearly half-destroyed.

But it wasn’t difficult.

Jiiing-

The Turk’s Fusion Cutter.

This thing solved everything.

There was metal, and there was energy.

So?

‘Anything’s possible.’

Twenty minutes to repair the Radar.

-Radar link established.

The Turk’s control display.

Radar data began streaming in.

Three bio-signatures in this base.

‘Dong-cheol, Yu-ra, me.’

Outside, a handful of Creeds were charging in from various directions.

But I wasn’t done yet.

‘Auto Turret.’

That needed repairs too.

I hadn’t brought a generous amount of ore, but it was enough to fix the Turret.

Jiiing-

Repairs began again.

I fabricated the necessary parts myself. The Turk wasn’t completely omnipotent. Certain parts required specific equipment to produce.

‘Of course, I can build that equipment too.’

Call it a Tech Tree.

People said you could build a city from nothing with a single Turk if you had the resources, but there was an order to follow. That was why it also took time.

But this was an Outpost.

Equipment was plentiful.

‘The opto-thermal hybrid sensor is busted. And the intelligent target tracking module……’

These I could stamp out.

It wasn’t hard.

I finished the parts and assembled them.

Then linked them to the Radar-

-Auto Turret ABS-11 linked.

The message appeared on the control panel.

And then.

-EXP gained.

Messages like that kept appearing.

But I couldn’t seem to get from Level 14 to 15. It required more EXP than I’d expected.

Thudung-

Sparks flew from the Turret.

Automated defense had begun.

“Oh!”

Cha Yu-ra looked over in surprise.

Streaks of light traced long arcs across the night sky.

Those were the trajectories of the rounds.

-EXP gained.

EXP from hunting Creeds.

Even when the Turret got the kill, the EXP came to me.

“Did it work?”

“Yeah. Creeds shouldn’t be a concern anymore.”

“Should I come down?”

“Let’s go check on Dong-cheol.”

Now I needed to get the Medical Bay running. Power was flowing, so I just had to check for any damage.

Fortunately, nothing was broken.

“You lie down too.”

Her face was already deathly pale.

Her lips had gone blue, which meant she’d been pushing through hard. And through all of it, she’d never once let her guard down.

“Anesthesia’s going in. Sleep well, and it’ll be done by the time you wake up.”

“Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“…….”

I hadn’t done anything worth thanking me for.

Cha Yu-ra must have read my expression, because she continued.

“I’m alive because of you. I have a reason I absolutely have to make it out of here.”

“…….”

“I’ll do my part. I’ll hold on no matter what and get out of here alive with you guys. I’ll carry this gratitude for the rest of my life.”

“……Yeah. I’m grateful too.”

With that, I gave her the injection.

She drifted off to sleep.

“……And here I was, ready to ditch them and run if things went south.”

Couldn’t do that anymore.

Save them first, figure the rest out later.

The first order of business was cleaning the damaged areas. Removing infection, toxins, and necrotic tissue.

“Tch.”

I wasn’t even a doctor.

There was no way I should have been doing this.

But I’d done it plenty of times.

‘Had to, if I wanted to survive.’

Combat medics were a luxury.

They were rare, and they died fast, so having one was lucky, and not having one was normal on the battlefield.

When a comrade got hurt, I treated them.

Because I was the most seasoned veteran.

When I got hurt, I treated myself.

Because usually I was the only one left alive.

So there wasn’t much I couldn’t handle.

‘It’s not even hard.’

The products were well-made.

I started with Cha Yu-ra’s thigh.

Nexoclean-X.

A decontaminant that neutralizes toxins from Brakta bodily fluids, including infectious agents, and breaks down necrotic cellular proteins to facilitate expulsion.

Hissss-

The wound frothed up as if boiling.

Twitch.

Her body convulsed.

Using this caused extreme pain. Even under anesthesia, the nervous system and muscles reacted like this.

‘Heavy infection.’

If she’d stayed like that, she would have been dead, one hundred percent.

Tak.

Tweezers removed the remaining necrotic tissue.

Swish, swish.

Wiped clean with sterile gauze.

Then the next agent.

Pronesin-A.

An anti-cell-collapse enzyme inhibitor.

And an immune booster.

‘Good thing only the muscle was torn off.’

If the femoral artery had been hit, she’d already be dead. Even when I arrived, the bleeding had more or less stopped on its own.

Now I just had to fill the wound with Regeneration Gel and seal it with a patch. The torn thigh would slowly regenerate.

‘The technology really is on another level.’

The Earth where I’d spent the last thirty years.

And this, the Cosmic Allied Forces.

The gap was inevitable, of course.

“Hoo-”

The thigh was done.

For the broken arm, I set the bone and applied a splint.

Then a few injections, and that would do.

‘This is the real problem, though.’

The critical case was Park Dong-cheol.

Treating him wasn’t difficult either. The severed stump and the torn abdomen could be cleaned and filled with Regeneration Gel just like I’d done for Cha Yu-ra.

The problem was the arm that had been half-melted away.

But…….

“As expected, they don’t have it.”

That particular set of pharmaceuticals was astronomically expensive.

Multiple agents were needed, including tissue-restructuring genetic material, a cellular reactivation core factor, and an artificial stem cell-based regeneration pack.

Each one cost as much as a decent starship.

Even so, they were typically stocked one per commander. Of course, they were also the first thing recovered during retrieval operations.

‘Looks like they took everything when they pulled out.’

Not that there was no alternative.

If the drugs weren’t available, I just needed to find a Commander-class Base. Those facilities had equipment that could regenerate body parts without pharmaceuticals.

Still, the immediate crisis was dealt with for today.

.

.

.

The next morning.

“A shower really is the best.”

How many days had it been since I’d washed?

It felt like being born again.

In space, water and oxygen were precious by default. This planet wasn’t devoid of oxygen, so I could breathe through filtered air.

But water was a different story.

On a barren planet like this, finding water was harder than finding uranium. But we had Ferrosite.

‘The water tank’s partially filled, there’s hot water, and the oxygen supply is stable now.’

Things had definitely improved.

At this base, survival itself was no longer a concern. Provided the Brakta didn’t attack, that is.

‘How would anyone else survive out here?’

Or rather, was there even anyone left alive?

That was what I wondered most.

What if I hadn’t had my memories from my past life?

‘A base like this would’ve just been a farming spot.’

Would I have even found anything useful?

I probably wouldn’t have found water.

Expecting people to survive out here was borderline absurd. Under normal circumstances, even a single week would have seemed hopeless.

Drrrk.

I sat down in the center of the Control Room.

Tap-tap-tap.

The first thing I checked that morning.

Finding the Gate, the supposed exit.

‘Will it even show up on the Radar?’

What kind of wavelength would it emit?

I didn’t know yet. But if I cycled through various energy-based filters, something would stand out.

“…….”

Nothing.

I tried different energy wavelengths.

‘Alpha Nests.’

There were a few of those.

This Radar could detect up to a five-kilometer radius from our base. That was a considerable range.

“……It’s not there.”

It was that far away?

If so, who could possibly survive out here?

An almost impossible proposition.

‘It can’t be that far.’

Then maybe when we were swept through the Gate and arrived here, we’d gone the wrong direction. Walked the complete opposite way, or-

‘What if it’s right near where we landed?’

We’d traveled a long time to get here.

That spot didn’t even register on the Radar.

“……What now.”

But I couldn’t just leave on a whim either.

Dong-cheol’s recovery would be quick enough, but reattaching his arm would take time. On top of that, there was the possibility that the Gate was farther than expected, or close to a Brakta Nest.

“No choice but to build up the base first.”

The goal wasn’t the base itself.

It was survival and a safe return.

But achieving that required building one up.

……I was a little excited too, admittedly.

At the thought of stripping every last resource from those Brakta Nests.

.

.

.

The first thing I did.

Adding more Turrets.

‘Both Cha Yu-ra and Park Dong-cheol are out of commission.’

One Turret wasn’t enough.

And I needed to haul resources.

I was planning to build a new base inside the Basin. I had to keep transporting ore until I had the minimum resources to start that expansion.

One to two days.

‘I’ll need Turrets to defend this place in the meantime.’

Along with automated ammunition production for the Turrets.

Not difficult.

By the time half a day had passed.

-Auto Turret construction complete.

-Large amount of EXP gained.

-Turret ammunition production line complete.

-Large amount of EXP gained.

-Level up.

I’d built two more Turrets.

Finished the Ammo Factory as well.

Reached Level 15.

……And this time, there was one more reward.