"What is that?"
"Is that power armor from the movies?"
"No way, right? With something like that, zombies probably wouldn't be able to bite through it at all!"
"..."
The base's upper management had not deliberately kept the manufacture of power armor secret. Many people had seen it during transport.
Everyone's first reaction upon seeing the power armor was disbelief. There were simply too many of them, cart after cart being shipped out of the factory!
If they really could manufacture the legendary power armor, shouldn't it have been scarce? How could they make so many... But this was the apocalypse, and everything manufactured had to be practical. They could not possibly be producing mere display pieces. Just as the survivors were heatedly discussing it, the Municipal Government announced that power armor had been successfully developed and would go on sale in a week. Those who needed it could place advance orders.
Mass-producing power armor required a great deal of resources. If it was only used to equip the military, the cost would be a bottomless pit. So they planned to sell some of the power armor to offset part of the expense. This was good news for both the military and the other survivors.
The moment power armor was officially revealed, it caused a sensation throughout the city.
For most people, becoming an Esper was extremely difficult. Ability Crystal Cores were expensive, and fusion was not guaranteed to succeed. Even if someone got incredibly lucky and succeeded, they would need even more Crystal Cores to advance later on... Looking at it that way, it was practically a bottomless pit that ordinary people simply could not afford.
But now, this power armor was said to give ordinary people strength comparable to Espers, and give Espers strength comparable to Awakened ones—they