Tech Hero in Another World
Chapter 91: [90] Infiltrate (6)

Chapter 91: [90] Infiltrate (6)

The final explosion rattled the air outside, kicking up dust in all directions—its force echoing even down into the underground corridors where Khan and his group were moving fast. The sound was both a signal of victory... and a warning.

Derek appeared from the far end of the tunnel, his breathing heavy, blood streaking down his temple—but he remained standing tall. He caught up to Khan and cut into his stride.

"How bad is it?" he asked, quick and direct.

Khan shot him a sharp glance, then gave a slow shake of his head. "Nico’s holding them off. But... where’s my mother?" Derek asked, suddenly realizing Khan was only escorting the palace children—not the woman who was supposed to be the main objective of their rescue.

A few seconds of silence followed. Then one of Khan’s younger, more awkward-looking members answered hesitantly, "She didn’t come... because the Captain hasn’t decided whether to become Sultan."

"Sult—What!?" Derek burst out, eyes widening as he turned sharply toward Khan, who now lowered his head slightly—revealing a weight deeper than hesitation.

Khan looked at the teammate who’d spilled the truth, but not with anger. Just weariness in his eyes. "Derek... I spoke to her. She chose to stay, and I have to respect that."

Derek bit back his words. He wanted to protest, but what could he argue against a decision made between a mother and her child, in the middle of a situation this grim? In the end, he only gave a slow nod. "Alright then. In that case... let’s move before this city turns into a war zone."

"We won’t be using the same path," Khan reminded him. His pace didn’t slow, but his mind was clearly recalculating everything.

"Maybe," Derek muttered, "but... that’s only if they’ve already stopped paying attention to Nico."

Not long after, another explosion thundered in the distance—louder this time, clearly from the surface.

Khan turned sharply. "Wait... Nico’s holding them off alone?" He didn’t sound fully convinced.

Derek looked ahead and answered calmly, but with solid conviction. "Captain... if you’d seen him standing there, alone, facing fifty men without flinching—you’d believe it too."

The sound of another distant blast echoed through the tunnel, underscoring one thing with perfect clarity: they had to hurry. Khan nodded once and raised his arm.

"Move. We’re taking the western route. Nico bought us time—we won’t waste it."

---

"Okay, that was the last one." Ren let out a breath inside his helmet as the final explosion faded. The remaining dust drifted down like victorious ash, and for the first time in several chaotic minutes, the battlefield around him fell silent.

But as he began to descend—intent on catching up with Khan and the others—something unnatural began to stir beneath his feet. The desert sand, normally calm, now swirled gently, like water draining into an invisible whirlpool.

『Warning: Geomagnetic anomaly detected. Substructural movement is abnormal.』 Ultro’s voice cut in, and red icons started blinking across Ren’s HUD.

He squinted at the radar, then looked down—and his eyes went wide. A massive hand, formed entirely of sand, erupted from the ground, its fingers twitching as if searching for something to grab.

"Oh, come on!" Ren immediately fired his back thrusters, shooting straight up at full power. Wind and sand blasted outward as the hand lunged after him, clutching nothing but empty air seconds too late.

But what emerged from beneath the ground was far worse than a hand.

A towering figure began to rise—a humanoid mass the size of a three-story building, built of sand, dry earth, and chunks of floating rock. Its face was nothing more than a hollow mask with dim, red-glowing eye sockets.

"From mutated monsters to a goddamn sandman... What the hell is going on with this world?!" Ren shouted, adjusting his altitude as tension surged again.

Then the creature opened its mouth—a low, rumbling growl echoed outward, shaking the sand as if the earth itself were breathing.

『Unregistered specimen. Estimated high-tier elemental entity. Recommendation: avoid direct engagement.』 Ultro spoke fast, as the helmet projected a crude diagram showing the magical energy fluctuations pouring off the creature.

"Too late for that, Ultro!" Ren snapped, tapping the side of his helmet to activate weapons launch mode. Twin turrets rose from his shoulders as the smart system began targeting weak points across the sand creature’s form.

But before he could fire a single shot, the Sandman swung its massive arm like a storm-whip. A wall of sand not only blinded his view—it slammed into him with brutal force, sending him flying like a ragdoll.

"Gaaah—!"

Ren’s body careened through the air in a diagonal arc, crashing into the fortress’s outer wall with a BOOMF

and embedding halfway into the stone—like a gecko that missed its landing. The screech of armor scraping against rock and sand added a painful layer of irony.

"Ow..." he groaned, voice raspy with the wind knocked from his lungs.

『Detected: minor internal bruising. Superficial fracture on dorsal armor plating.』 Ultro’s voice, as clinical as ever, now carried a subtle hint of concern.

"Yeah... I felt that too, Ultro. Thanks for the update," Ren muttered, shoving himself out of the wall with a single push. A few bricks crumbled down with him, scattering as he hit the ground.

From his elevated vantage point, Ren looked again toward the Sandman. Though the night still cloaked the battlefield, the magical aura radiating from the creature gave it an eerie clarity—like some mythical titan roused from a long, cursed slumber. Worse still, its head was now turning... toward them.

Ren’s eyes sharpened. Across the courtyard, he spotted Khan—running with five children and several allies, heading straight for the place Ren had just been launched from. They hadn’t realized it yet.

The Sandman had.

It was stepping toward them now—each colossal stride shaking the earth beneath it.

"Shit..." Ren muttered as he immediately reactivated his thrusters. Blue fire burst from his back and boots, kicking up a shockwave as he launched skyward again, engines roaring against the night.

"Ultro, how many projectiles do we have left?" he asked, tearing through the air with locked eyes on the advancing elemental.

『You have one armor-piercing missile remaining. Variant: Ex-Wife.』

Ren groaned, clutching his helmet like he regretted all his life choices. "Oh god, why did I name it that?" he muttered. "That must’ve been during my 80s B-action movie phase..."

But there was no time for regret. Ren twisted in midair, targeting the Sandman’s weak spot—just beneath a ridge on its face that resembled a sunken cheekbone, made of compressed sand. With a single tap on his wrist, the missile launched.

The tiny warhead latched on like a mechanical leech before—

BOOM!

A bright flash detonated into a mushroom of dust. The Sandman reeled—its structure jolting as sand and rock burst from its joints like a crumbling monument.

Ren dove immediately, landing hard in front of Khan’s group. The impact kicked up a three-meter shockwave of dust, halting everyone in their tracks. Several raised weapons instantly—including Khan.

"Giving tours now, old man?" Ren’s voice rang out from inside his helmet, cutting through the static and grit.

Khan narrowed his eyes. "That voice... Nico?"

Ren straightened up and tapped his chest armor with a metallic clang. "Déjà vu... Alright, quick question: where’s your mother?"

Khan looked visibly uncomfortable. "She... didn’t come."

Ren groaned long and loud. "What!? We came all the way through the goddamn desert, fought bio-weapons, and now Sandman shows up! My back is bruised, there’s sand in every damn vent of my armor—and you’re telling me you didn’t even get your mother?!"

---

"She refused, Nico," Khan said in a low voice. "I respect her choice. She stayed behind to protect the other palace children."

Ren let out a long breath, then slowly turned his helmet toward the three kids standing nearby, visibly frightened. "Alright... I’ll take the three of them," he said softly—this time, without a hint of sarcasm. He knelt down, his metal hand opening wide in a gentle motion, trying not to look intimidating.

Khan nodded without a word. Two girls and one boy slowly stepped forward, each clinging to a part of Ren’s armor like it was the only safe place left in the world. They didn’t speak. They didn’t cry. They understood—this man wasn’t just a rescuer. He was their shield.

With a strong burst from his back thrusters, Ren shot into the air with them, gliding above rubble and dodging patrol routes still crawling with enemy presence. He flew toward the safe point where Khan’s group was regrouping, making sure the kids were unharmed before returning.

But mid-flight, Ultro’s voice broke in, flat and unmistakably urgent.

『Anomalous movement reconfirmed. Subject: sand entity. Location: 137 meters from Khan’s current position.』

Ren narrowed his eyes at the HUD screen and muttered, "Of course it’s not over. This world really has a thing for drama..." He couldn’t turn around and fight—not with kids hanging on to him. Prioritizing extraction was the only option now.

As Ren calculated his next move, a deep, familiar voice suddenly echoed across the desert winds—carried through the half-reformed body of the sand giant:

"FARID!"

Khan froze in his tracks, his whole body tensing at the sound of a name he hadn’t heard spoken that way in years. Slowly, he turned his head, staring straight at the monstrous figure that was rising again.

"Malik?" he whispered, barely audible—but it was enough.

Everyone around Khan immediately went on alert. They knew—this wasn’t just another monster.

This was something far more personal.

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