53
He could have left it to the repair shop, but it was too simple a task for Minhyeok.
After fixing the cameras and alarms in the right places, all he had to do was wire them up.
He had worked as a machine assembler for 5 years, so it was a bit embarrassing to leave something like this to a repair shop, not to mention a waste of money.
It was like calling a repairman to fix a bathroom light.
‘Should I start with the camera?’
Checking the included components, he came across two types of brackets for securing the camera to the cargo compartment wall: one that involved drilling holes into the cargo frame and securing it with screws, and another that used special adhesive.
Using adhesive would make installation easier, but since the vehicle body would constantly vibrate while driving, the camera would likely fall off before long.
‘Let’s drill holes.’
Normally, when attaching or modifying a leased vehicle, it is a rule to restore it to its original condition when returning it.
However, Min-hyuk didn’t need to do that.
Since he had leased a new car, he would pay to take ownership of it once the three-year contract ended.
It wouldn’t cost that much.
In three years, he would have secured a way to spend money without worrying about what others thought.
So, whether it was installation or modification, he didn’t have to worry about restoring it to its original condition and could do as he pleased.
Hum-hum-
He found himself humming.
The human mind is strange.
When he assembled machines as part of his job, he had been sick and tired of it, but now he was actually enjoying it.
He aligned the bracket with the frame and marked the spots where he would drill the holes.
Then he borrowed an electric drill from the guys who were installing the fence.
He made a mental note to buy a good tool set later.
Woosh-
It had been a while since he last drilled holes into a metal plate.
He used to drill hundreds, even thousands, every day.
‘Wait a minute.’
Suddenly, he had a great idea.
What if he made a large drill bit out of a dragon’s bone?
If he could devise a way to rotate it, it could become a formidable weapon.
He would be able to drill a hole into a dragon’s skull in no time.
Didn’t doctors use drills to make holes in bones?
Snicker-
He chuckled at himself for thinking about hunting dragons while installing a camera.
Min-hyuk refocused on the task at hand.
He secured the bracket with screws into the holes he had drilled and attached the camera.
He installed two internal cameras, four external cameras, and an alarm system in the same way.
He also secured a mount for the battery that would power them in a corner of the cargo compartment.
Then he neatly finished wiring the electricals.
Once the installation was complete, Min-hyuk immediately tested the equipment.
It worked perfectly.
If someone were to trespass into the cargo compartment, the alarm would sound, and Min-hyuk would receive a notification on his cell phone.
He could also monitor the inside and outside of the cargo compartment in real-time on his cell phone screen.
However, the job wasn’t completely finished.
He still needed to reinforce the rear door and the locking device of the cargo compartment.
Don’t let thieves break open the cargo door with a cutter and crowbar.
That would be quite a job, so I’ll leave it to the repair shop.
I had already asked the repair shop near my house to do the job.
“It’s all done!”
The construction workers finished installing the automatic gate.
“Let’s test it out.”
The construction worker handed Minhyuk a small remote control.
He could press the remote control button to open and close the gate, or he could set it to open automatically when the remote control approached the gate.
Clang-
From Noble mtl dot com
Clank-
The automatic gate opened and closed very well.
Now he didn’t have to get out of his car every time he entered or exited and open and close the gate himself.
His quality of life had improved significantly.
Minhyuk paid the construction worker the remaining balance and handed him an additional ten-thousand-won bill.
“This is for the drill bits.”
He had borrowed the drill to drill through the iron plate earlier, and several drill bits had worn out.
The drill bits were small, so they would cost about a thousand won each.
The construction worker laughed and waved his hand dismissively.
“Oh, that’s okay! If you have any problems with the automatic gate, please contact us anytime. We’ll repair it for free for a year.”
The construction workers left.
Now all that remained was to reinforce the Wingbody cargo door.
Thud-
Minhyuk drove his car to the repair shop.
He had already discussed how the work would be done over the phone.
He checked the detailed estimate and the work began immediately.
“It will take about four hours. You can go somewhere if you want.”
“No, I’ll wait here.”
There was a refrigerator in the cargo hold.
He couldn’t leave his precious treasure trove and go somewhere.
It was unlikely that the refrigerator would disappear while he was at the repair shop, but if it did, it would be a major disaster.
What would happen if Minhyuk lost his refrigerator?
First, he wouldn’t be able to cross over to the other world whenever he wanted.
He could only move by touching the refrigerator and saying ‘return’.
If time continued to pass in that state and he used up all his return time, he would be forcibly sent to the other world.
What next?
He would have to live without the help of the refrigerator.
He could earn return time and cross back over to the real world, but he wouldn’t be able to procure potions or weapons in bulk anymore.
He wouldn’t even be able to exchange gold coins for bundles of five-thousand-won bills.
It was a truly horrifying thought.
So the refrigerator was more precious to Minhyuk than his own life.
‘But what if…?’
There was something he had been curious about for a while now.
The mysterious power that dwelled in the refrigerator could be moved freely between the mini-fridge and the large refrigerator, and back again.
Then, was it possible to move it to a different refrigerator?
The clue to expanding the inventory that he had obtained from the ancient temple was ultimately the model number of the refrigerator.
So he had purchased a refrigerator with the same model number and expanded his inventory.
But what if he could also move the mysterious power to other refrigerators with the same model number?
‘There’s only one way to find out.’
Minhyuk searched for a large refrigerator with the same model number on a used goods website.
As luck would have it, there was one at a used goods center not far from where he was.
.
.
.
As soon as he finished reinforcing the cargo hold, he headed straight from the repair shop to the used goods center.
＜Believe Used Appliances Center＞
Inside the prefabricated building, used products were piled up like mountains.
Minhyuk loaded the mini-fridge onto a handcart and went inside the building.
He had already transferred the ‘mysterious power’ to the mini-fridge.
The employee sitting at the desk asked Minhyuk,
“Are you the one who called earlier? You were looking for a commercial refrigerator.”
“Yes.”
He looked at the mini-fridge that Minhyuk had brought in and asked,
“Are you selling that?”
“No, I’m not selling it.”
“Then why…?”
“I’m just checking something. Is it okay if I take it inside?”
The employee attached a sticker to Minhyuk’s refrigerator.
It was a sign that the item did not belong to the used goods center.
“Follow me.”
The employee led Minhyuk to where the refrigerators were.
There was a refrigerator that looked exactly like the large refrigerator in the truck.
He checked the nameplate and the model numbers matched.
Now he would experiment to see if he could move the mysterious power contained in the mini-fridge to the refrigerator here.
However, he couldn’t do anything strange in front of the employee.
Minhyuk took out a tape measure that he had prepared in advance and showed it to the employee, saying,
“I’d like to check the internal dimensions of the refrigerator.”
“Go ahead.”
“It’s going to take some time because I need to measure it very carefully. If you’re busy, please go ahead and do your work.”
“Oh, is that right?”
The employee left Minhyuk alone and went to another area.
Minhyuk placed one hand on the mini fridge and the other on the large fridge.
“Swap.”
Zzzt-
He felt a current run through his entire body.
He immediately placed his hand on the fridge in the used appliance center and said,
“Return.”
Poof-
With a blinding flash, he was transported to the Imperial Palace garden.
“It works!”
Baelin asked at Minhyuk’s mutter.
“Yes? What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing.”
Poof-
Minhyuk moved back to the used appliance center.
And transferred the mysterious power back to the mini fridge.
Now that he had confirmed that it worked, there was no need to buy the fridge here.
Minhyuk called an employee and said,
“The internal structure and size are a bit different from what I had in mind.”
“Is that so? Then shall I show you other fridges of a similar grade?”
“No. I think I’ll just go.”
Minhyuk grabbed the mini fridge and left the used appliance center building.
Even the vacant lot outside the building was piled high with used home appliances.
Among them, a familiar fridge caught his eye.
‘Huh?’
It was a fridge that looked exactly like the mini fridge he was carrying in his cart right now.
He approached it to check the nameplate, and the model number matched as well.
‘Could this work too?’
Minhyuk spread his arms and placed his hands on the two fridges.
“Swap.”
Zzzt-
He felt a current run through his entire body.
He placed his hand on the mini fridge in the used appliance center and said,
“Return.”
Poof-
With a blinding flash, he was transported to the Imperial Palace garden.
“This one works too!”
“Yes? What on earth has been going on since earlier?”
“It’s nothing.”
Poof-
Minhyuk returned to the used appliance center again.
And he moved the mysterious power to the original small-sized refrigerator.
Just in case, he experimented with a different refrigerator nearby, but it didn’t work.
Only the same model worked.
Minhyuk loaded the small-sized refrigerator onto the truck’s cargo bed and moved the mysterious power back to the large-sized refrigerator.
Then he got into the driver’s seat and organized his thoughts.
‘I can move the mysterious power as long as it’s the same model!’
So the refrigerator itself was just a vessel that held the mysterious power, nothing special.
If the mysterious power was not contained, it wouldn’t matter if a thief stole the refrigerator and ran away.
He could always buy the exact same model and use it.
The only important thing for Minhyuk was the one refrigerator that currently contained the power.
‘All I have to do is protect that one.’
This also had another advantage.
If Minhyuk ever had to travel to a faraway place like Jeju Island, he wouldn’t have to lug around the large-sized refrigerator.
He could store the mysterious power in the small-sized refrigerator and buy a new large-sized refrigerator there.
‘Perfect.’
Vroom—
Minhyuk drove home.
Creak—
When he arrived home, the gate opened automatically.
And when the truck entered, it closed automatically.
Minhyuk got out of the car with a satisfied smile.
Then he went into the house and sat down on the living room sofa.
‘Now I can finally rest.’
He tried to relax and rest, but all sorts of thoughts kept popping into his head.
Would he really be able to find the dragon’s bones if he went to the Helkan Mountains?
What kind of weapon should he make with the dragon’s bones?
Would a drill-shaped weapon really be able to kill a dragon?
Would it be better to make a long-range weapon like a gun or a cannon?
If so, he would need gunpowder, but would that world have gunpowder?
Come to think of it, the nobles had fireworks at their banquet.
And the expedition had set off firecrackers when they marched.
Thud—
Minhyuk ran to the truck and put his hand on the refrigerator.
“Return.”
Pop—
With a flash of light, he was transported to the Imperial Palace garden.
Minhyuk asked Valin,
“Do you know about gunpowder?”
“Who doesn’t know about gunpowder?”
As expected, this world had gunpowder too.
“Then can we create gunpowder weapons?”
“I can’t make them. There were gunpowder weapons before the Cataclysm. Back then, every nation on the Rania Continent was competing in military strength. However, the technology to create firearms was lost after the Cataclysm.”
“Then let’s make them again! I’ll give you the blueprints.”
This is an era where you can make homemade guns and even bombs with just the information on the Internet.
I can provide Valin with enough blueprints and materials to create firearms.
“If we create powerful firearms and use dragon bones as the material for the warheads…”
Valin understood Min-hyuk’s intentions and exclaimed,
“We can create a super weapon that can kill a dragon in one shot from a long distance!”
That’s when it happened.
Someone screamed from the banquet hall.
“Something terrible has happened!”
Min-hyuk and Valin headed to the banquet hall.
In the midst of the chaos, the princess and General Drake were running towards the civil war zone.
Min-hyuk asked Count Terran, the representative of the Blue Rose, who was nearby,
“What’s going on?”
He replied to Min-hyuk with a strange expression mixed with surprise and joy.
“His Majesty the Emperor has disappeared.”