Chapter 89
3.
After the Zero Gate was attacked, the people in power on the moon were swept up in indescribable chaos.
They frequently crossed the lunar surface to hold meetings.
Of course, it wasn’t really a matter that required holding meetings.
The answer was obvious.
“China is targeting the Zero Gate!”
Anyone could see that the culprit was China, and all that remained was to make China pay a fitting price for its actions.
“Are we just going to sit still? We must condemn China!”
However, no one actually tried to do anything.
The reason was simple.
“Then you do it.”
Provoking China at this point was far too dangerous.
Especially since the most powerful military force stationed where it was on the moon, and in the surrounding space, was none other than the Chinese Space Force.
And unlike earth, the moon was not a place where one could just run away whenever one wanted.
The Chinese side was well aware of this fact, which was why Chairman Li Zhenping was fiercely furious when this incident broke out but did not take action.
“They will never be able to attack us.”
There was no way their safety would be compromised anyway.
Aside from that, it was true that Chairman Li Zhenping also felt wronged by this incident.
Usually, when a problem occurs in space, nine times out of ten it is indeed China’s doing, but not this time.
This incident was absolutely not China’s doing.
Rather, from Chairman Li Zhenping’s perspective, it looked like a trap and a trick played by another nation to pressure China and himself, plain for anyone to see.
And that fact infuriated Chairman Li Zhenping.
“So we will move first.”
Therefore, Chairman Li Zhenping intended to cause a bloodbath.
That was China’s way.
We are not speaking empty words, but leaving a definitive result through blood!
Of course, the reason this was possible was confidence.
Their military power in space was one thing, but China currently has a very powerful card in the closest place to the moon.
“What is the situation at the Shanghai Secret Research Lab?”
In Shanghai, on the chaotic earth, state-of-the-art weapons were ready to move at any time.
Of course, the fact that it was on earth was an unsettling factor, but Chairman Li Zhenping and his subordinates did not worry about it.
“There are no problems. And there won’t be any in the future.”
It had the best security measures in place.
So the subordinate spoke confidently.
“Unless they use something like teleportation, entering that place will be impossible.”
4.
“Clear.”
The moment Kim Seojun spat out those words, a voice immediately rang in his head.
[Clear here too.]
[Cleared this side as well.]
It wasn’t a radio transmission.
[But this is really convenient. this telepathy thing. We can communicate from anywhere, at any distance, right?]
It was the telepathy skill, one of the effects of the newly acquired Blessing of Hestia.
And its utility, naturally, could not even be compared to the radios they used before.
In any space, even while inside the inventory, communication was possible through telepathy.
[The stealth skill’s performance is crazy.]
Of course, what was even more surprising was that Kim Seojun could now give the skills he possessed as buffs to those belonging to his legion.
[haste is even crazier.]
Furthermore, the targets receiving Kim Seojun’s buffs weren’t just ordinary Space Marines, but Psycher Agents who displayed ridiculous, out-of-spec abilities.
It went without saying, but in front of Kim Seojun’s Legion, the security of the secret Research Lab China had built underground in Shanghai played no role whatsoever.
It wasn’t just that the security was rendered meaningless.
In the process of Kim Seojun, Major Lee Hyena, and Noah Winston eliminating everyone in the secret Research Lab, even those who realized they were being eliminated were extremely few.
As proof, even though the three of them had eliminated everyone in the fairly large underground secret Research Lab, the emergency warning lights were still not active.
This meant that, right now, no one knew that the Shanghai underground secret Research Lab had been taken over.
The abilities shown by Kim Seojun’s Legion were just that incredible.
Of course, Kim Seojun felt no particular inspiration from that fact.
“Then we will now begin resupplying.”
There was only one reason they came here.
Thus, Kim Seojun headed to the armory in this underground secret Research Lab, and the moment he arrived, he was surprised.
The Comrades who came out of the inventory were also surprised.
“My god, those precious Uroes and Uryongs are lined up here?”
Because the numbers of Battle Tank Uroes and Hoverbike Uryongs each exceeded ten in the armory alone.
That wasn’t all.
“They’re enhancement parts!”
Jo I-hyeon found parts to enhance the Uroes and Uryongs here.
It was an amazing achievement in many ways.
“Save the admiration for later. Let’s put them in for now.”
Of course, what everyone had to do was put the things here into Kim Seojun’s inventory right now.
The work proceeded smoothly.
Most machines could just be driven in directly, and heavy items were no problem either.
Because they had Major Lee Hyena, who exerted tremendous superhuman strength.
[I will transport them.]
And they had Kasaknat, who possessed ridiculous physical prowess that made even Major Lee Hyena look like a child.
As everyone was moving busily like that, at that moment.
[Whoa, fuck!]
Suddenly, an incredibly intense voice echoed in everyone’s heads, and at that moment, everyone froze in place.
[Ah!]
And then telepathy, full of embarrassment, was heard.
[I-I’m sorry!]
Jo I-hyeon hurriedly apologized.
At that, Kim Seojun sent a telepathy.
[What is it?]
[Well, I saw something I’d only ever heard rumors about.]
[Rumors?]
[Yes! The Chinese guys made a Philastergun!]
At those words, everyone asked questions.
[Philastergun? What’s that?]
It was a word they were hearing for the first time.
[Ah!]
During that telepathic exchange, Jo I-hyeon immediately gave an explanation.
[Philaster is a rare metal discovered on Figara, a moon of Planet Igonas located at Gate No. 1. It has the property of generating powerful, unusual light energy when given a specific stimulus!]
[Hey, I-hyeon.]
Noah Winston said to her.
[So you’re saying it’s good? Enough to make you go, “Whoa, fuck!”?]
Meaning they wouldn’t understand even if she explained it like that.
[Ah.]
Only then did Jo I-hyeon calm her excitement and speak.
[Well, simply put, it’s a laser gun.]
[What?]
The moment they heard those words, everyone’s reactions changed.
From then on, telepathy wasn’t needed.
They gathered in one place. And Jo I-hyeon showed everyone a single rifle.
“This is a laser gun? It just looks like a rifle used by a Space Marine.”
Its appearance was similar to the Space Marine’s assault rifle, the most widely used in space.
There was almost no difference.
“It’s disguised. A Philastergun only needs to utilize Philaster anyway, so the exterior doesn’t matter. And on the battlefield, it’s best to hide rather than openly reveal that you’re special.”
Jo I-hyeon explained that, but no one was interested in that explanation.
Their interest lay in only one thing.
“So what is this laser gun like? Does it shoot lasers like we think it does?”
In the past, when humanity dreamed of the space age, the first things that came to mind were laser missiles or laser guns.
However, what humanity currently used the most in space was still gunpowder.
It wasn’t that there were no cases of using lasers as weapons, but that area was extremely limited.
The reason was simple.
The results were poor compared to the cost invested!
Especially against Mogs, insufficient firepower was as good as useless, so after encountering Mogs, most of the laser weapons under development were canceled.
Jo I-hyeon knew that as well.
“Yes, it shoots. It is something very powerful. That’s the characteristic of Philaster. It creates light of a completely different nature. Powerful and lethal.”
However, all that research changed after the discovery of Philaster.
“The manufacturing method is simple, and maintenance is simple too.”
“How much power does it have?”
“That can be adjusted at will.”
“Adjusted?”
Philaster showed the humanity of the space age.
“From the rifle you use, Staff sergeant, to a Gauss Gun, in the end, it’s a matter of output. As long as the conditions are met, there’s no reason it can’t produce power on par with a railgun, though it might be a bit difficult with this size.”
A new possibility for humanity to advance.
“There’s only one problem. It’s really rare. It’s so rare that using it as a weapon is meaningless.”
Of course, there was a reason why this remained only a possibility.
“So it’s expensive.”
“How expensive is it?”
“With the money to make one of these, it would be better to make a hundred strategic nuclear missiles like Ugwang.”
At those words, everyone let out a hollow laugh.
This meant that right now, this single Philastergun was as expensive as a hundred nuclear weapons combined!
It was an astonishing weapon in many ways.
Therefore, a question was asked.
“What’s the advantage?”
Just what was the reason Jo I-hyeon made an exclamation she didn’t normally use about this?
“It doesn’t need ammunition.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s a laser gun, right? You don’t need the concept of ammunition to shoot lasers. You could exhaust it all at once, or conversely, if you use it sparingly… If we set it to the power of an assault rifle, I’d have to check, but wouldn’t you still be able to shoot 10,000 rounds without recharging?”
The moment they heard that explanation, Noah Winston spoke on behalf of everyone.
“Whoa, fuck.”
And with that, everyone looked.
“This is going into our Legion Commander’s hands?”
They looked at Kim Seojun; everyone was certain.
“That’s awesome.”
That this surprise would turn into a marvel the moment it was held in Kim Seojun’s hands.
Kim Seojun’s thoughts were the same.
He had gained a haul beyond his expectations.
However, he did not rejoice at that fact.
Because he knew
“Everyone, please hurry. We need to finish resupplying as much as possible before we warp.”
Right at this moment while they were talking, Kasaknat’s home planet, Pora, was being devastated by Mogs.
Above all, they had a very important mission to rescue Kasaknat’s son.
Everyone knew that too, so they didn’t chatter any further.
They quickly filled the inventory, and when all preparations were finished, Kim Seojun closed the inventory and spoke.
“Use warp skill.”
5.
Everything happened in an instant.
The world Kim Seojun was in, the sight of the Shanghai Secret Underground Research Lab, disappeared in a flash.
And what faced Kim Seojun instead of that scenery was none other than giant trees of unfathomable height, a forest made up of those trees.
Given the sight, Kim Seojun stared blankly at the trees for a moment.
The scenery before him was just that marvelous.
Trees that looked to be a kilometer tall were completely filling his surroundings.
In the midst of it, Kim Seojun felt as if his existence had become that of an ant.
It wasn’t just Kim Seojun who felt that way.
“Inventory.”
When he opened the inventory, his Comrades came out as if they had been waiting. The moment they saw the scenery before them, they froze stiff.
Kasaknat was the same.
Of course, the reason Kasaknat froze was different from that of Kim Seojun’s Group.
[Pora!]
Kasaknat was feeling an indescribable thrill at the fact that he had come to his home planet, Pora.
And that was natural.
Originally, Kasaknat was destined to meet his end and become stardust along with the behemoth.
Furthermore, even if that weren’t the case, the warriors of the Xeno species never returned to their home once they came out into space.
Because the very first oath they made before leaving their home planet was to sacrifice themselves for the balance of the universe.
Because even if they completed a mission, their next destination was not home, but another mission.
Even when he said his goodbyes on earth, Kasaknat hadn’t really thought he would come to his home planet.
He had merely harbored the resolve.
But to think he would actually come here?
“Kasaknat.”
Kim Seojun spoke to that Kasaknat.
“This is no time to get sentimental.”
[Ah.]
He made Kasaknat face reality, the cold, gruesome reality.
He crushed his emotion and fostered despair.
He knew it was a cruel thing to do, but Kim Seojun did it anyway.
They hadn’t come here for sentimentality.
Moreover, it wasn’t to offer comfort either.
[Thank you, Seojun.]
At that moment, Kasaknat pulled out the compass.
“Huh? It’s not moving?”
The compass he pulled out again had stopped. Everyone’s expressions stiffened at that.
Could he be dead?
[It is fine.]
Kasaknat said to them.
[He is not dead. It is highly likely that his life has been suspended for treatment.]
He wasn’t dead.
Of course, at that explanation, everyone’s expressions remained stiff.
In human terms, didn’t that mean he was currently hovering between life and death?
The situation could not be called good.
Therefore, there was only one thing they had to do now.
“We will begin the rescue operation.”
To move.
“I will scout the situation.”
Of course, moving right away blindly was dangerous here.
Grasping the situation was the priority, and from Kim Seojun’s perspective, there was a very easy method.
“Activate Minimap.”
Then, a Minimap showing the surroundings appeared before his eyes, and his Comrades, who now knew of the Minimap’s existence, asked a question.
“How is it?”
Kim Seojun answered Noah Winston’s question.
“…Enter the inventory immediately.”
“Huh? What?”
“There is a Mog Legion nearby.”
“A legion?”
At those words, Noah Winston smiled and asked,
“How many are there?”
An ordinary Mog Legion felt laughable to them.
To all of them, Kim Seojun said.
“I don’t know.”
“Huh? You don’t know?”
“Yes. The surroundings are marked completely red.”
A Mog Legion of an unimaginable size, one they had never encountered before, was here.
After that, no one made any more jokes.
They entered the inventory. And Kim Seojun moved while using stealth.
And a moment later, Kim Seojun could hear it.
[An event mission has occurred!]
The status window kindly told him.
[You have encountered 100 million Mogs.]
[The points you acquire in this planet battle will be tripled.]
This place was hell.