NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 120: Time-Lapse City Construction
Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense
120 – Time-Lapse City Construction
Myung-jun’s announcement to reduce the number of Korean TOs at the upcoming Awakener Academy to zero did not create as much of a stir as expected.
After all, the location for the academy was nothing but a vast plain, and constructing a large-scale city on the level announced by the Liberal Clan would not take just a few years, but possibly several decades.
Of course, people vividly remembered how the Liberal Clan had built their headquarters in Sejong City in just one day, but the building constructed then was merely a small one, with only two underground floors and six above ground.
And now, the Liberty City that the Liberal Clan was planning to build was a massive facility comparable in size to Osaka City, often referred to as the second largest city in Japan, in terms of area alone.
Thus, Myung-jun’s threat regarding the admission quota of the Academy, which might take years to gain any value, quickly became a subject of ridicule in the Korean media.
In their ‘common sense’, the current value of the TO proposed by Myung-jun was practically ‘zero’.
「What is the current value of the ‘Awakener Academy,’ which has yet to break ground? 」
「Opinions from city construction experts on this announcement. ‘Given the scale of Liberty City, it may take several decades to complete.’」
「The Liberal Clan, running out of negotiation cards, mentioned the worthless ‘Academy TO’ for what reason? 」
「EDA director Moon Hee-cheol. ‘Will create a Korean-style Awakener Academy before the Liberal Clan.’」
「Results of public opinion polls regarding the Liberal Clan’s recent announcement: ‘We won’t miss anything without the likes of the Academy TO.’ 52.7%」
However, despite the Korean media’s mockery, Myung-jun chose not to hold any further press conferences and remained silent.
As if waiting for something.
And finally, a week after Myung-jun’s press conference, he and Soo-jeong left their lodging and headed to the construction site of Liberty City.
Waiting for them there were piles of cement, gravel, sand, and construction materials such as iron rods, enough to keep one’s mouth shut. Not only that, but nearby, numerous large trucks and forklifts formed endless lines, continuously unloading construction materials onto the site.
“Of course, we requested a considerable amount, but seeing it with our own eyes is incredible. Is it about 50% of the requested quantity?”
Prime Minister Ishida, who had been waiting for the two of them, rushed over as soon as he spotted them.
And then he answered Soo-jeong’s question as if muttering to himself.
“It’s about 10%. Even though we’ve halted all ongoing construction projects nationwide and are pulling in materials from all over Japan, we haven’t been able to prepare more than this because of the sheer quantity you requested.”
Upon hearing this, Soo-jeong spoke to Ishida as if to comfort him.
“You’ve requested materials to construct an entire city, so preparing 10% in just a week is quite remarkable. Don’t feel too burdened. This should be enough to start the construction comfortably. Shall we confirm the quantity of materials that have been prepared for now?”
As she finished speaking, one of Ishida’s aides brought a thick bundle of papers.
Seeing this, Soo-jeong narrowed her eyes slightly and addressed the aide.
“Why paper?”
“Uh… Uh?! Ah, for handling such matters, we usually use paper…”
“It’s cumbersome. Please prepare in digital format next time.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Soo-jeong carefully examined the documents.
Then, with a tense expression, she turned to the Prime Minister and spoke.
“Even if we exclude the quantities yet to arrive, are the quantities listed here all fully prepared?”
“I’ve checked more than three times. I’m confident that nothing is missing, only surplus.”
“Alright then. That’ll do. We can start right away with this amount.”
“Start right away? But what exactly…”
Prime Minister Ishida couldn’t understand.
There was literally ‘nothing’ where they stood.
Of course, there were piles of construction materials, but they were nothing more than mere ‘resources.’
In a place where there wasn’t even a single shovel to dig the ground, a bulldozer to flatten the land, or even a shovel for a person to dig, Soo-jeong’s statement about starting construction immediately was incomprehensible.
However, his concerns vanished in an instant as he saw thousands of ECVs flying in from a distance.
As if reminiscent of an alien invasion, the thousands of robots that flew in began to ‘disassemble’ the piled-up construction materials as soon as they arrived at the site.
Cement, gravel, steel, and even glass and plastic.
The ECVs emitted light from the holes on their left arms, resembling vacuum cleaners as they disassembled and absorbed the materials.
“W-what on earth…”
“These ECVs are disassembling the provided construction materials into forms usable by the 3D printers attached to their right arms. The disassembled materials are then stored in tanks attached to their bodies and reassembled atom by atom.”
The disassembly speed was terrifying. In less than 10 minutes, nearly half of the piled-up materials had disappeared as the ECVs clung to them.
Then, the ECVs, now filled with materials in their tanks, began construction work with flawless movements.
It was a construction method at a speed that transcended imagination, reminiscent of a time-lapse video.
<ECV additional production facility construction completed.>
<Material charging for ECV additional production completed.>
<ECV additional production commenced.>
Surprisingly, the first facility that the ECVs constructed was not a road or residential building, but a facility to produce more of themselves.
As this facility roared to life, new ECVs started emerging from the building at nearly one-minute intervals.
Moreover, these newly produced ECVs, as soon as they came out of the building, joined forces with the existing ECVs and began constructing additional ECV production facilities of the same form.
Watching the construction robots proliferate like viruses, Prime Minister Ishida couldn’t keep his mouth shut.
“To think that construction robots are making facilities to produce more construction robots… How many of these robots do you plan to deploy for this project?”
Looking at Ishida’s trembling voice, Soo-jeong smiled.
Then, she extended her index finger brightly and said.
“About 100,000.”
It was a number equivalent to twenty times the ECVs Soo-jeong had brought from the Liberator.
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Once Soo-jeong had begun the actual construction, the next task she embarked on was to deploy a camouflage to hide the entire city under construction.
However, concealing structures the size of a city with the drones used for generating camouflage fields that Soo-jeong had previously used was impractical. So, Soo-jeong erected camouflage field generators shaped like spires throughout the city.
After completing all preparations, she ushered out all the journalists and government officials who were observing the site nearby.
Given the absurdly rapid pace of city construction using ECVs, there was no need to show additional defensive facilities being constructed within the city.
As Soo-jeong sent the journalists away and manipulated her tablet, the tens of thousands of ECVs that had been flying around in front of the journalists just moments ago disappeared simultaneously.
Along with the construction materials piled up like mountains provided by the Japanese government, the already completed ECV production base vanished.
As everything disappeared, leaving only a vast empty construction site as if nothing had been there from the beginning, the journalists wore expressions as if they were dreaming.
‘Did they really disappear?’
Of course, their rationality assured them that inside the landscape they were witnessing, thousands of robots were continuing their work. However, the scene before their eyes unequivocally proclaimed that there was nothing in the immediate space.
At that moment, unable to bear the stifling atmosphere, one journalist shouted towards Soo-jeong.
“Please let us see the construction site!”
“Yes! The whole nation would want to see it!”
“Show us the magnificent sight of heroes building the city in real-time!”
In place of Soo-jeong, who looked at the journalists with an awkward expression, Myung-jun stepped forward.
“I’m sorry, but that’s not possible.”
“Why not?”
“Are you suggesting that we reveal something that should be concealed from the Japanese people?”
Even though he was now hailed as a hero in Japan, the recent actions of the clan leader, who until recently was just a Korean, were suspicious.
The act of trying to hide something only fueled the mistrust that had spread among the journalists.
But as soon as Myung-jun spoke, all that mistrust vanished in an instant.
“The data you obtained by filming the inside is data that the whole world can see.”
Myung-jun said.
“Information about the defense facilities of Liberty City is highly classified, known only to a few high-ranking members of the Liberal Clan. And as mentioned earlier, Liberty City is not only the headquarters of the Liberal Clan but also the most powerful defense facility to save humanity from the threats of this form. Therefore, information such as the location of civilian shelters in Liberty City or how the air defense network is structured is vital information that must never be leaked.”
Myung-jun promised the journalists.
When the construction of Liberty City is completed and it is open to the public, he will ensure that the Japanese journalists are the first to see it.
However, the reason why Myung-jun and Soo-jeong were so desperate to hide the construction site was not merely for security reasons.
The real design of ‘Liberty City,’ crafted by the two of them, included plans for a much larger ‘underground city’ than all the above-ground structures combined.
The thousands of ECVs already moving beyond the camouflage field were in the midst of digging massive pits hundreds of meters deep in such a short time.
The dozens of structures Soo-jeong had erected to conceal the construction site were facilities designed to hide these ‘pits’.
However, the Japanese journalists and government officials, oblivious to this fact, were swelling with hope, recalling the magnificent buildings they had seen in the blueprints released by the Liberal Clan. And with more enthusiasm, they began to support the Liberal Clan’s plans.
“The Journalists’ Association will also cooperate in maintaining security. Guidelines will be issued to prevent any infiltration reporting by journalists affiliated with the association on the internal facilities of Liberty City.”
“The government will impose a blockade within a 20km radius, preventing any civilians from entering. If anyone is found within the controlled zone with filming equipment, they will be subject to punishment under the National Security Law. We will announce the decree this afternoon, effective immediately.”
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
“However, as time passes, maintaining security will become increasingly challenging. Silence breeds suspicion, and suspicion leads to speculation. Especially for such a high-profile project, it will be even more challenging. So, I would like to ask, assuming all materials have been supplied as requested by the Liberal Clan within the specified timeframe, how long do you anticipate until the unveiling of Liberty City?”
Seeing Soo-jeong extend three fingers in response to her question, Isida quietly sighed.
“Three years. It will be very difficult. Of course, considering the scale of constructing a city, it is an unbelievably fast pace, but still, maintaining security like this for three years…”
“Three months.”
At Soo-jeong’s declaration that they would complete a city the size of Osaka in just three months, Isida and the journalists were left speechless.
However, Soo-jeong, as if enjoying such reactions, smiled and reiterated her statement once again.
“Three months will be enough not just for the basic construction but also for the interior design. After all, it’s none other than the Liberal Clan constructing Liberty City.”
Her voice was filled with unwavering confidence, without a hint of doubt.