Chapter 20: The Invasion from Beyond, and the Counterattack (4)

Ryoo and I stood with our arms crossed, staring at the Engine.

Ryoo was examining the Engine’s interior with a grave expression.

I’m not a mechanical engineering major, but… this machine was fundamentally different from anything humans made—a machine with an organic form.

Ryoo frowned.

The black liquid still left around the machine’s heart looked just like blood seeping from a wound….

Click.

Ryoo took photos of the Engine’s interior from beside me.

First of all, it wasn’t constructed like a normal car engine.

Wasn’t this the kind of structure called a Tesla Turbine? I should ask Dr. Kang about it later, since I’m not exactly sure…

Ryoo tapped the inside of the Engine with a hammer.

“It’s a bit odd. Rather than feeling mechanical, it looks more like a biological form. There’s an organic curve to it, I think.”

“Don’t damage it too much. We can just run a CT scan.”

“Yes.”

Ryoo put down the large hammer he’d been holding and picked up a smaller one instead. Liquid metal had smeared onto his work clothes.

“This liquid metal is less viscous than I thought.”

“Hm.”

I’d expected the liquid metal to have a texture similar to Slime, but it wasn’t quite like that.

“It’s more like Syrup, maybe?”

I moved the camera to take a picture of the Heart’s interior.

Amazingly, it resembled the form of a living creature.

The heart of a vertebrate is divided into four chambers, with the left ventricle pumping blood throughout the body.

Here, the working structure is the left ventricle’s role, and the liquid metal is replacing blood. There were several tubes acting as blood vessels too. It seemed like a kind of Turbine.

“Usually, calling an Engine the ‘heart’ of a machine is just a metaphor. But this really does have a structure similar to a heart.”

“Yes.”

“Those two visible crystal Magic Stones probably replace the sinoatrial and atrioventricular nodes, and if this Turbine acts as the left ventricle… this is essentially a mechanical heart.”

Ryoo shook his head as if unsure.

“By the way, Doctor Lee, do you know what this is?”

I think it’s a Tesla Turbine. A mechanical structure that doesn’t use spinning blades but relies on the flow and pressure differences—or viscosity—of liquid, right?”

From behind his goggles, Ryoo stared at me blankly.

His look seemed to say, What are you talking about?

“Huh?”

I shifted my goggles with the back of my hand.

How should I explain this in simpler terms?

“It’s a common topic in bioengineering, actually.”

“Oh, really?”

“In this case, instead of gas, it uses liquid as the medium to turn the turbine, and it relies on viscosity rather than pressure difference.”

And you call that an explanation?

Ryoo frowned, and I let out a sigh.

This isn’t the kind of concept that can be easily explained.

I’ll talk it through while looking at the scan data later.

“I’ve got the gist of it, so I’ll explain more thoroughly later.”

“Understood.”

For now, let’s disassemble what we can, and then check the internal structure using a CT scan.

We left the Containment Room and headed for the Meeting Room.

The scan results should be out by now, so now we had to think about how to convey our findings.

I drew a box on the Whiteboard.

On my Tablet, the scan files of the Engine’s internal piping structure were displayed—a space tangled together like a maze.

Ryoo frowned.

“Look. Let’s call this the Engine.”

“Yes.”

Ryoo frowned again.

Maybe this isn’t his field?

Of course… Even if Research Institute regular researchers aren’t experts in the field, they’re not supposed to be totally clueless.

“Turbines are usually extremely complex machines, right? But Tesla Turbines have a few advantages.”

“And what are those?”

The Tesla Turbine.

There are no blades like you’d expect on a fan, just a series of disc-shaped rotors mounted on an axle.

I was about to draw it but gave up.

How would you even draw that on a Whiteboard?

“Just think of it as a more organic structure.”

“An organic structure?”

Ryoo looked at me.

“Think about it this way. The fan blades inside a typical turbine are intricately made, but this structure doesn’t have any blades at all—just a single moving rod.”

I brought up the blueprint of a Tesla Turbine and a photo of a regular turbine on the Tablet to show him side by side.

Ryoo nodded.

“Ah… Then why would the Machine Church Monster use this structure? How is it different from conventional turbines?”

The reason the Tesla Turbine isn’t widely used today is simple. It’s less efficient than other technologies.

On the other hand, I could also see why the Machine Church’s creatures would use it. I picked up the Tablet I had prepared.

“With the Tesla Turbine, it’s much more organic than other turbines. There are fewer moving parts, so there’s less chance of breakdown. And when you increase output, it’s not the blades that get overloaded or break; instead, the liquid’s viscosity creates a kind of organic feedback loop.”

Ryoo snapped his fingers. At the mention of the organic feedback loop, he showed intense interest.

It’s close to his specialty, after all.

“Ah, so that’s what you meant by organic! Compared to other technologies, it’s more similar to living organisms in that it allows feedback like a biological system.”

Exactly.

I nodded.

“It’s not designed with an input and output like a regular machine, but has organic feedback effects. There’s a similar concept—the Tesla Valve. If we open up this machine further, we’ll probably find a Tesla Valve in the back.”

“I see.”

Ryoo took out his own Tablet and thought for a moment.

“Do you understand now?”

“Summing up.”

I waited a bit as Ryoo jotted down notes on his Tablet. The letters really filled the screen.

“So, in short—the Machine Church’s Monsters use liquid metal as hydraulic fluid, blood, and energy storage, right? That’s what makes them similar to living organisms.”

“That’s right.”

“This time, the heart found in the large Machine Church Monster turned out to be a turbine. But isn’t it a bit odd to run a turbine on liquid metal? Is it powered by Magic Stones, then?”

“That’s also a feature of the Tesla Turbine. Since there are no fan blades inside the liquid, there’s no blade load, so it’s more suitable for pumping liquid.”

There is that difference.

Turbines are usually used to generate energy, but this one actually consumes energy to pump hydraulic fluid throughout the Monster’s body.

I organized the conversation I’d had with Ryoo up to now.

It’s just that those people don’t know things like this exist.

If word gets out that the Machine Church Monsters have a new Engine, defense contractors and the Supernatural Science Research Institute will drool over it.

“I’d better compile a report.”

Considering how quickly the Gate incident is developing, it’d be best to get this information delivered within a few days.

Who knows when another incident will happen?

“I’m curious how the engineering department kids will react.”

Imagine handing them alien technology. How moved would they be?

***

Ryoo returned to his own lab.

I was sitting in the Break Room, doing absolutely nothing. Just a few days, and a few hours of brief peace.

In a few minutes, things would get busy again, so I needed to enjoy this short break as much as I could. Ming Ming was doing the same.

My Basilisk, Honey Combo, was curled up, sleeping. It was a little bigger than the chick I’d seen before.

I’d been feeding it diligently, and it was growing well.

I poked the Basilisk gently with my finger, but it didn’t even twitch in its sleep.

Guess it’s asleep. It’s still breathing, so it’s not dead. I’ll just leave it alone.

Ming Ming, sitting next to me, cocked his head as he looked at me, as if wanting something.

“Want a snack?”

I pulled out some Chocolet from my pocket and gave half to my summoned beast. Ming Ming happily ate the Chocolet.

“Dogs can’t eat chocolet, right?”

“Ming?”

“But you’re fine, aren’t you?”

“Ming.”

He usually eats Monster corpses, so chocolet shouldn’t be a problem. Ming Ming isn’t actually a dog, after all.

That’s just his personality.

“You must have it easy, not having to think about anything.”

“Ming…”

Ming Ming let out a satisfied noise as he swallowed the Chocolet.

I patted Ming Ming’s head.

Before the Return. Ming Ming had appeared on the first day of awakening.

Back then, like a little chick, he was a tiny winged lizard that could sit on my palm.

Now, he’s grown into a creature the size of a car. He’s gotten so much stronger compared to before.

It was a brief moment of peace.

“Listen, Ming Ming. Today, I’m going to send the materials on the Machine Church Monster’s Engine to the Supernatural Science Research Institute.”

“Ming.”

Ming Ming nodded as if he understood.

“Ming Ming, do you remember when the third Gate opened?”

“Ming?”

Ming Ming thought for a moment, then tapped his front paw as if trying to count. I wasn’t sure what he was trying to say.

If I recall, the next Gate opens on Day 11.

The third Gate.

That’s where the Tentacle Dragon appeared, if I remember right. It was a Gate with troublesome and powerful Monsters, and plenty to research as well.

Ming Ming glanced at the door out of the Break Room.

I got up from my seat. I couldn’t just sit here forever.

“Let’s go.”

I left the Basilisk where it was, picked up Ming Ming like a puppy, and left the Break Room. There was plenty to do.

Starting with Gate No. 3 opening in Daejeon, things were about to get real.

Unlike the weaker Goblins or the Machine Monster Gates with lots of tricks, the next Gate would unleash incredibly strong creatures.

I’d seen it before the Return.

The creature we named Tentacle Dragon. Fast, able to fly, a monstrous beast—extremely dangerous.

We needed to think about a way to deal with it.

It could fly, it was fast, and it wasn’t exactly weak in defense either. The perfect recipe for mass casualties.

In fact, before the Return, there had been enormous losses.

Before the Return, when the Tentacle Dragon emerged from the third Gate, all of Korea’s major cities came under attack.

Handling three fronts at once was nearly impossible.

It was a catastrophic situation. When we failed to contain the third Gate, that was when everything truly started to fall apart.

That’s why, this time, we need to think of a way to counter flying, fast-moving Monsters.

Deploying Awakened people would be the most efficient solution, but time was tight. We just didn’t have time to gather people and discuss plans.

“Ming Ming, do you remember the Tentacle Dragon?”

“Ming.”

Ming Ming shook his head.

I looked at the Tablet. Who’s available to meet right now? I needed to consider the next strategy for the Research Institute…

I headed to the Meeting Room with Ming Ming. Of the senior researchers, Dr. Kang seemed to have some time.

“I’d better hurry.”