Chapter 29
Kim Seojun froze the moment an A-Rank Skill Upgrade Ticket appeared from the Platinum Ticket.
*Something unbelievable appeared.*
The appearance of that Skill Upgrade Ticket was enough to make Kim Seojun gasp in shock.
That was all.
Kim Seojun didn't ponder what to upgrade with this Skill Upgrade Ticket.
There was no reason to ponder.
*It's Inventory.*
According to Kim Seojun's calculations, a B-Rank Inventory was 8 meters in width, length, and height, while an A-Rank was 16 meters in width, length, and height.
*An A-Rank Inventory will fit the Uroe.*
And a space of that size would be more than enough to store the Uroe currently here.
Moreover, if he could secure the Uroe, all the fear it had inspired would now be directed back at Chinese Headquarters.
Of course, Kim Seojun didn't immediately use the Skill Upgrade Ticket on his Inventory.
To take the Uroe, he first needed to ascertain one crucial thing.
With Kim Seojun's current abilities, it was impossible to lift the Uroe and place it into his Inventory.
*If it moves, I can take it.*
Therefore, the Uroe had to be movable.
So, Kim Seojun immediately ran towards the Uroe and opened its hatch.
*At that moment, Kim Seojun prepared Plan A and Plan B in his mind.*
*If it moves, Inventory. If it doesn't, Stealth.*
Fortunately, the hatch was open.
And the moment he entered, Kim Seojun saw it.
*It's running.*
Not only was the key in the ignition, but the engine was already running.
He then sat in the Cockpit, gripped the controls, and the Uroe slowly began to move.
There was no more hesitation.
“Use Skill Upgrade Ticket in Inventory.”
\[Inventory's Skill Rank has increased to A-Rank!\]
“Inventory.”
After that, Kim Seojun immediately activated his Inventory, and while still inside the Uroe, he could see it.
A 16-meter-cubed inventory.
*Ah.*
The moment he saw it, Kim Seojun froze.
It was the expected dimension.
However, the sheer presence of a 16-cubic-meter Inventory appearing before his eyes was overwhelming.
And it was no wonder, for this was no mere box.
It was a warehouse large enough to fit several cars, and this inventory was even 16 meters tall.
In fact, its height was what was truly overwhelming.
*The Inventory is larger than this space.*
It was so enormous that the Inventory couldn't even fully manifest within the space Kim Seojun was currently in.
*Is the next one 32 meters? And after that... if it gets even bigger, a Space Battleship could fit.*
The thought that it could grow even larger filled Kim Seojun with a sense of vastness.
Of course, only one thing mattered now.
*Putting the Uroe in is no problem.*
This was a heaven-sent opportunity, and Kim Seojun was not one to let such a chance slip by.
*Drrrrrr!*
*At that moment, Kim Seojun moved the Uroe.*
It wasn't difficult.
While Kim Seojun couldn't pilot a battle tank with the same freedom as Private First Class Park Boseop, he could still operate it.
He also had experience driving Chinese-made Battle Tanks.
More importantly, what Kim Seojun was doing now wasn't anything extraordinary. He was simply driving it forward a bit and parking it.
*Drrrrrr, thunk!*
After parking the Uroe in his Inventory, Kim Seojun immediately exited the tank and said,
“Inventory.”
The Inventory, with the Uroe inside, vanished, and Kim Seojun gauged the time.
*I'm over the estimated time.*
The moment he realized his Stealth Duration was running out, Kim Seojun sprinted towards the exit with all his might.
And a few hours later, Kim Seojun could see it.
“U-Uroe? Is this really the Uroe?”
Major Jan Zabłocki gasped in shock the moment he saw the Uroe.
The Uroe was such an elusive entity to those currently on Active Duty in Space.
“H-How did this get here? It shouldn't even be in Combat Deployment yet, should it?”
Furthermore, the Uroe hadn't even entered mass production; only a select few were operated by China itself, and seeing one on the Battlefield was far rarer than seeing a unicorn.
That was why.
“W-Wait a minute.”
Major Jan Zabłocki's expression changed.
He instinctively understood why such a state-of-the-art strategic weapon was on Planet Amotia.
“Could it be?”
“That's right. China brought it here to deal with the other Headquarters on Planet Amotia.”
Kim Seojun explained to him.
“Moreover, if you look at the barrel, you'll see it's a railgun. Its range has been maximized even further. It wasn't modified to fight Mogs. Anyone can see it's meant to attack Headquarters.”
Kim Seojun then described what he had seen there.
When he heard about the research on Lightweight Cyclops, Major Jan Zabłocki instinctively understood.
“It's clear that China is conducting something of national importance, here.”
The scale of the incident had changed in dimensions.
That fact threw Major Jan Zabłocki's mind into confusion.
Fear clouded his face.
“The deployment of the Uroe means China's preparations are far from ordinary... My goodness.”
It went without saying that China wasn't foolish enough to simply drop one Uroe on Planet Amotia and call it a decisive move.
It was highly probable that, besides the Uroe, formidable forces and firepower, incomparably greater than what was publicly known, were hidden throughout Planet Amotia.
Moreover, in the Space Era, moving such powerful forces was very easy.
No one would object to the claim, “Mogs are interfering with Resource Mining, so we're sending troops and weapons to kill some Mogs.”
On the contrary, it was an era that actively encouraged heavy investment in combating Mogs.
If the Mog population decreased, the effort and cost for their Nations to conduct Resource Mining on that Planet would also decrease.
“Major Zabłocki.”
Kim Seojun spoke to Major Jan Zabłocki, who was still reeling.
“The Uroe is in our hands. As long as that's the case, its railgun won't be aimed at us.”
The moment he heard those words, Major Jan Zabłocki's eyes changed.
He nodded.
“And the best we can do is to modify this Uroe right now so we can use it. I have two requests. First, please remove the Location Tracking System from this Uroe.”
“That will take some time.”
“Next, if you can get a manual, please do. Even if it's for a Chinese-made Battle Tank, that would be fine.”
Major Jan Zabłocki nodded at his words.
“I'll check the Headquarters Database for a relevant manual. I'll get right to it.”
Immediately after, Major Jan Zabłocki set to work.
About ten minutes later, Major Jan Zabłocki brightened and said,
“Fortunately, there was a manual for a Chinese-made battle tank!”
“How is that possible?”
“China lobbied our Government to sell us Battle Tanks two years ago. It almost went through, so they provided a prototype and a manual! Then, four of our Ministers—those damn bastards—were caught taking bribes, so the contract was canceled... Anyway, luckily, it remained in the Database.”
The secured manual was immediately handed over to Private First Class Park Boseop.
Afterward, Private First Class Park Boseop boarded the Uroe and began testing various things.
“How is it?”
After moving the Uroe a few times, Private First Class Park Boseop said,
“Uh, well, honestly, I'm quite flustered right now.”
“Flustered?”
Kim Seojun had expected it to be difficult to operate, but Private First Class Park Boseop replied with a genuinely bewildered expression.
“I mean, I can't believe the Chinese made this.”
“What do you mean?”
“It's incredibly well-made. , to the point of being astonishing. Honestly, I always thought everything with wheels made by the Chinese was trash. Even their cars look flashy on the outside, but inside they're absolute garbage. , without a single exception. And when you drive them, everything from the controls feels like junk... but the Uroe is different.”
“In a good way?”
“Yes, it's really well-made. The interface is simple, and most importantly, the controls are excellent. I'm not an expert in this field, but there's no way the Chinese made this. The Chinese can build powerful weapons, but they absolutely cannot make something like this.”
The moment he heard those words, Kim Seojun's expression hardened.
If some entity was truly involved in China's weapon development, including the Uroe, it meant that the Chinese-made weapons they would encounter in the future would be extremely powerful.
And whenever China gained power, it has never been good for Humanity throughout history.
“That's fortunate.”
Separately, the fact that the Uroe was operational was good news.
Only one thing remained.
“By the way, Staff Sergeant Kim, this Uroe's Main Weapon is a railgun. Have you ever used one?”
Kim Seojun needed to adapt to this new weapon system.
This was actually quite problematic.
“No.”
During his Active Duty Days, Kim Seojun had handled a wide variety of weapons, even using weapons from the co-pilot's seat of a fighter jet, but he had never used a railgun.
From the start, a railgun itself wasn't a weapon suitable for a Space Marine operating in the field. It was a weapon used only on Space Warships.
Moreover, the operating principle of a railgun is completely different from traditional cannons or Gauss Guns.
It was like asking someone who's good at driving a car, “You're good at driving, so why don't you try driving this excavator?”
Kim Seojun had only one thing to rely on here.
*I can only hope that ability applies to the railgun too.*
And the time to find out arrived.
On the sixth day after returning to Poland Headquarters, Major Jan Zabłocki said,
“We've removed all Location Tracking Devices. The repainting is also complete. You can now proceed with Test Operation outside.”
The moment he finished speaking, Private First Class Park Boseop and Kim Seojun immediately moved to operate the Uroe.
*Drrrrrr!*
First, driving was not an issue.
“Wow, compared to our Black Panther, this is a sedan, a sedan! I think I could even drift with this!”
Far from being unable, Private First Class Park Boseop, sitting in the cockpit, adapted to the Uroe astonishingly quickly.
Moreover, the Performance the Uroe displayed was on a completely different level from that of the Battle Tank he had driven before.
First, it was light.
Yet, its output was high, making it very fast.
What was surprising was that it was also much quieter.
“My goodness, wow, wow, wow! How can a Battle Tank move better than a Military Truck?”
As Private First Class Park Boseop adapted, astonished by this fact, Kim Seojun simultaneously prepared.
He gripped the railgun's Controller and prepared for Bombardment.
And he could see it.
“Staff Sergeant Kim, how is it? Can you do it?”
“No problem.”
“Huh?”
“Absolutely no problem.”
A Red Light was emanating from the tip of the railgun's barrel.
The moment he saw it, Kim Seojun felt a sense of vastness.
*How far does it even go?*
That Red Light was extending to an immeasurable distance.
The Uroe's railgun range was that immense.
Instead of joy, that fact sent shivers down Kim Seojun's spine.
What if China had attacked the Poland Headquarters, leading with the Uroe and other battle tanks?
Would they have been able to respond properly?
*China is preparing something massive.*
Here, Kim Seojun recalled a topic he had been avoiding.
*Why Cyclops?*
What exactly did China hope to discover by researching Lightweight Cyclops?
He already had a rough idea of the answer.
The role of Cyclops within the Mog species was singular.
To command attacks and retreats.
*Gulp!*
And that fact sent even more shivers down Kim Seojun's spine.
*...If it's a Lightweight Cyclops, it could practically control all other Cyclopes.*
The answer was clear.
*China might have been trying to control the Mogs.*
They were aiming to weaponize the Mogs.
And this wasn't the first time they had attempted this.
*The Queen was the same.*
Though China denied it, when it conducted Queen Research, everyone naturally believed China was studying the Queen's abilities—the ability to command Mogs as subordinates.
From Kim Seojun's perspective, who wanted to return safely to Earth, this was in many ways the worst possible scenario.
However, Kim Seojun didn't complain about this fact.
*I'll somehow make it back alive.*
He had experienced countless times during his Active Duty Days that complaining wouldn't change the situation.
Furthermore, Kim Seojun knew what he had to do to survive here.
*I need to form an Anti-China Alliance.*
It was then.
“- Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun, Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun!”
Major Lee Hyena's voice came through inside the Uroe.
She, waiting at Headquarters, spoke.
“- An urgent request just came in.”
“What kind of request?”
“- A request came from American Headquarters.”
The moment he heard those words, Kim Seojun felt a sense of vastness.
“Did you say America just now?”
“- Yes.”
Is America, the second most powerful faction on Planet Amotia after China, requesting help from another nation?
That meant it was no ordinary matter.
“What's the situation?”
“- It's a Rescue Request.”
And the moment he heard that the subsequent request was a Rescue Request, Kim Seojun's expression changed.
“Surely American Headquarters hasn't been destroyed?”
“- It has.”
At this point, Kim Seojun had already come to a conclusion.
There was nothing he could do even if he responded to this request.
There was no benefit.
What could he possibly do against an overwhelming Mog Legion capable of destroying American Headquarters?
To Kim Seojun, Major Lee Hyena said,
“- I think we have to respond to this Rescue Request.”
“What's the reason?”
“- The one who made the Rescue Request is Jennifer Jo.”
And the moment he heard that name, Kim Seojun understood.
“You mean *that* Jennifer Jo, Doctor Space's granddaughter?”