Chapter 12
4. Talk of the Space Era began in the early 21st century. By the 2020s, serious discussions about space had begun, leading people to think:
“Even in the Space Era, America will ultimately dominate everything!”
That prediction wasn't far off. As time passed, the technological gap between America and other nations widened. But everything changed with the appearance of Doctor Space. His technology was like introducing a gun — “This is a gun. Shoot it, and everyone dies” — into a debate between chipped stone tools and polished stone tools. In the Space Era where all technological superiority had become meaningless, two things were important: How large was one's human resource pool? And how ruthlessly could those human resources be utilized? In other words, how much could human rights be disregarded?
“The Space Era belongs to China and India!”
In that regard, no other Nation on Earth could surpass these two. These two Nations, China and India, established a powerful Two-top System in the Space Era. Thanks to that, Humanity witnessed:
“I never knew that a world where China was number one could be this *fucked up*.”
It was an era worse than anyone could have imagined. In any case, China was incredibly powerful in the Space Era and simultaneously engaged in tremendous bullying. Stealing items from other nations was a trivial matter among their acts of bullying.
VROOOM!
The three Chinese soldiers riding in the military truck speeding across Planet Amotia were no different.
“See, you gotta live a good life. Who knew we’d get our hands on something like this!”
Belonging to the Chinese People's Space Force, they gazed at the large iron box loaded in the back of their truck, smiling with more joy than ever before. The box clearly bore the Korean Flag, but they didn't care. It wasn't that they didn't know it belonged to a Psycher, something an ordinary Regular Soldier couldn't touch.
“Psycher Supplies, huh? I wonder what’s inside?”
In fact, that was precisely why they had traveled so far to steal it.
“But isn’t it a bit dangerous to mess with Psycher Items?”
“Dangerous?”
They were confident.
“What can those *ppangjjeu bastards* do?”
The confidence that Korea couldn't possibly do anything to them existed.
“They won’t even know it was us. Haven’t you heard the rumors? Something happened at the Korean Headquarters on Planet Amotia. We only have one thing to worry about: how to open this lock, that’s it.” “But can we open it? We haven’t even managed to open the one we recovered earlier, have we?” “If we can’t, we’ll just blow it up.” “But Sergeant First Class, they say those Psycher Supplies in the Workshop belong to Hawk Eye, is that true?” “What nonsense are you spouting? Why would Hawk Eye come to a planet like this? Huh?” BANG!
At that moment, the military truck they were riding in lurched violently with a sudden explosion.
“Ughhh! What, what was that?!”
At his shout, Xiaopeng, the Military Driver, yelled:
“S-Sergeant First Class! The t-tire burst!”
At his words, the other two frowned. But that was all.
“Damn it, just my luck!”
The two didn't attach much significance to this incident. On the harsh Planet Amotia, tire problems were commonplace.
“Why are other Nations’ tires fine, but *Our Country’s* tires keep bursting and acting up?!”
In particular, Chinese-made tires caused more trouble than expected, so they weren't surprised. And it wasn't really anything to be surprised about.
“I’ll slow down a bit.”
No nation would use a military truck that couldn't continue driving just because one tire burst. There was no problem with driving.
BANG!
“Ughhh!”
However, the moment another rear tire burst, the story changed. There was a problem with driving.
SCREEEEECH!
At that point, it wasn't just slowing down; the truck stopped, and all three immediately exited the vehicle. They prepared for tire replacement work. It was at that moment that they turned their Emergency Tire Repair Kit towards the rear tire.
CRACK!
The sound of a Battle Suit helmet cracking rang out, and a stream of blood spurted from outside the helmet at that instant.
“Ughhhk!”
And a scream followed. It meant he hadn't died despite being shot. On Earth, that would have been incredibly lucky. But this was Planet Amotia, not Earth, and its atmosphere was like poison to humans.
“*Kk-ka-geu-eu-kka-euk*!”
The moment he inhaled Planet Amotia's atmosphere while screaming, an utterly grotesque sound emerged.
THUD!
His body immediately collapsed to the ground. At that, the remaining two looked around in surprise.
“Wh-who’s there?!”
“W-we are the Ch-Chinese People’s R-Republic!”
They scanned their surroundings, but nothing came into view. Nothing *could* come into view. The one targeting them, Kim Seojun, was currently a kilometer away. From that distance, Kim Seojun was aiming his rifle at the target through a scope. In truth, this was a very awkward task for Kim Seojun. For one, most Space Marines didn't use scopes. The reason was simple. It was best not to engage Mogs that were so far away they required a scope, and if a battle did occur, the Mogs would come close enough that a scope wouldn't be needed. Kim Seojun was the same. This was his first time experiencing something like this. Of course, it wasn't difficult.
“I never knew sniping could be this easy.”
Hitting a target a kilometer away was now a trivial matter for him.
THWACK!
Kim Seojun pulled the trigger once more, and another Chinese person beyond the scope fell immediately.
THWACK!
After firing one more shot, Kim Seojun took his finger off the trigger and surveyed the situation through the scope. Finally, he broke his silence.
“It seems there are no more. We can approach.”
At his words, the other two remained silent. They simply stared at Kim Seojun with astonished eyes.
“Major, your orders.”“Ah.”
Only after Kim Seojun called out to Major Lee Hyena did she finally snap out of it and speak.
“W-we’re approaching.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The moment she spoke, the three approached the Chinese Military's Military Truck on foot, not in their own vehicle, keeping in mind the possibility of the Chinese Military appearing from the surroundings.
“Clear.”
Soon, the three reached the Military Truck, and after Kim Seojun quickly scanned the area, he gave the all-clear signal.
But his words didn't register with the other two.
*“How is this possible?”*
The two simply stared blankly at the Chinese military corpses sprawled on the ground. Kim Seojun understood their feelings. Even he found it absurd, so others would surely find it astonishing. Regardless, Kim Seojun's body was moving without rest because he knew there was no benefit to staying here long. First, Kim Seojun confirmed that the highest rank among the Chinese military was a Sergeant First Class.
‘A Sergeant First Class wouldn't be capable of something like this.’
No matter how brazen China was in the Space Era, stealing Psycher Items wasn't something a Sergeant First Class would be involved in. More precisely, it was impossible for a mere Sergeant First Class to acquire this kind of information independently. That meant there was a higher authority involved, and if a Delivery Accident occurred, they would surely take action for a matter of this scale, assuming they weren't fools—not just a Non-commissioned Officer. So Kim Seojun said.
“Private First Class Park Boseop, bring the vehicle over.”
“Huh? Oh, yes, sir!”
While sending Private First Class Park Boseop, he simultaneously spoke to Major Lee Hyena.
“Major, can you unlock this now?”
Major Lee Hyena didn't ask any questions. She immediately unlocked it.
WHOOSH!
The moment Major Lee Hyena inserted the key she carried, a large box, 1.5 meters in length, width, and height, opened with a rough sound. The first thing that caught her eye was a suit. It didn't look much different from a Space Marine's Battle Suit. Its color was the common ochre found on Planet Amotia. However, Kim Seojun knew.
*“An Agent Suit.”*
The price of just one of these Agent Suits could save Kim Seojun's money-obsessed life five times over. It was an absurd price, and it came with just as many functions.
“It contains Behemoth Scale Alloy.”
Among its features, what made this Agent Suit most expensive was the use of materials obtained from a Behemoth. It was remarkable in many ways, and it was impossible not to be drawn to it. Next, axes were visible. Not just one, but three axes were there, and while their appearance was ordinary, their feel was different. It was then.
“I want to put on the suit right away.”
“Please wait.”
At Major Lee Hyena's words, Kim Seojun immediately pulled out an Air Tent Box from his bag.
WHOOSH!
While the Air Tent was being set up, Major Lee Hyena began gathering the Agent Suit, axes, and other supplies. It was then.
“Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun.”
“Yes, Major?”
“Use it if you need it.”
Major Lee Hyena, who was gathering supplies, gestured with her chin towards a spot as she spoke. And the moment he saw it, Kim Seojun's expression turned to surprise.
“You don’t mean... the Gauss Rifle, do you?”
Its official name was KG-16, a weapon known as the Gauss Rifle in Space. Unlike ordinary firearms that used gunpowder, it was a weapon that propelled objects using powerful magnetic force, like a coilgun. Its power was on a completely different level from the rifles used by Space Marines. Naturally, its price was the same. To buy one of these, a Regular Space Marine would have to save five years' worth of salary without spending a single penny and invest it in a decent-yielding fund — only then could one afford such an item. It was a weapon difficult even with money to acquire.
“I have no talent for using firearms. It would be much more useful if Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun used them.”
However, Major Lee Hyena handed it to Kim Seojun without the slightest hesitation. Kim Seojun didn't hesitate for long.
“Thank you, Major.”
In the Military, refusing something offered by a Superior Officer was, in fact, disrespectful around that time.
VROOOM!
Private First Class Park Boseop arrived with the Military Truck, and the moment he did, he frantically began transferring items from the Chinese Military's Military Truck to their own. By the time that task was finished, Major Lee Hyena emerged, wearing her new suit. At her appearance, Kim Seojun felt more reassured than ever. From now on, Major Lee Hyena's combat power would be on a completely different level from what she had shown against the Fly-class Mogdog just a few hours ago.
“And I too.”
Furthermore, Kim Seojun, now holding the Gauss Rifle, was confident he could display a performance entirely different from before. His Survival Probability on this planet, which had become an apocalypse, had risen considerably. That was why he was confident.
“So now, I need to make things clear.”
Kim Seojun spoke.
“Major Lee Hyena, may I ask a question?”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you have any other missions besides the Queen?”
At Kim Seojun's words, Major Lee Hyena's eyes narrowed.
However, Kim Seojun wasn't intimidated by her reaction and continued.
“Eliminating the Queen is an important mission. However, Planet Amotia is not particularly beneficial to Our Country. There’s simply not enough to gain for a Korean Psycher Agent to step forward to eliminate the Queen.”
In truth, he had a question the moment he first saw Major Lee Hyena. And he already had a partial answer to that question.
“Unless something like a Prophet's Relic is involved.”
At that conclusion, Major Lee Hyena nodded without hesitation.
“My goodness.”
Private First Class Park Boseop, who had been carefully listening to their conversation, was startled. Could it be that a Prophet's Relic was actually here? Of course, Major Lee Hyena herself possessed a Prophet's Relic, but the Prophet's Relic being discussed here was a different item. To be precise, if a Prophet's Relic is a Gemstone Ore, Psycher Agents use its fragments. Even those fragments were priceless, and the value of the raw ore itself was, as the saying goes, *infinite*! More importantly, it was something that couldn't be bought with money; in the Space Era, it was truly a National Strategic Asset. It was a reason to dispatch a Psycher Agent, even if there was no Headquarters on Planet Amotia. That was why Kim Seojun had asked such an incredibly sensitive question.
“...That’s right.”
And Major Lee Hyena willingly answered. It was surprising, and at the same time, it was proof that Major Lee Hyena now trusted Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun.
“Thank you very much for your answer.”
Kim Seojun was genuinely grateful. However, his expression wasn't good.
*“Psychers will be swarming Planet Amotia now.”*
As of this moment, the Survival Difficulty has yet again increased here.
*“My life is truly *fucked up*.”*
Kim Seojun sighed inwardly at that fact. But he had no hesitation.
“Then please give your next order.”
Because no matter the situation, the need to struggle with all his might to survive hadn't changed. Also, he wasn't particularly surprised, as he had expected it.
“Can you offer your opinion?”
At Kim Seojun's question, Major Lee Hyena requested Kim Seojun's opinion, and Kim Seojun replied as if he had been waiting.
“The vehicle currently operated by the Chinese Military had Destination Coordinates entered. It’s likely a collection point for stolen goods.”
At his words, Private First Class Park Boseop and Major Lee Hyena nodded. Even if China was arrogant, it wouldn't take stolen goods directly to its Headquarters. Not out of pangs of conscience, but because supplies naturally had Location Tracking Devices, and several “laundering” steps were required to erase them. This much was common knowledge. So the question was: Why was Kim Seojun stating the obvious?
“I believe raiding that location is the best option right now.”
“What?!”
“Huh?!”
At his words, both were naturally startled. So, he was suggesting they commit theft? Kim Seojun said to the surprised duo.
“It is indeed a criminal act. If caught, the perpetrator would not only incur punishment but also become a national issue.”
He himself knew this wasn't a good thing to do.
“However, there are a few differences: First, we were attacked first. Any subsequent actions would broadly fall under self-defense.”
But now, they had justification.
“In a situation where supplies are urgent, an opportunity to secure a large quantity of supplies with justification doesn't come easily.”
And now was not the time to be picky. Crucially, Kim Seojun thought.
“Most importantly, even if we are punished for this, it will be after a rescue ship saves us and we return to Earth.”
Upon hearing that, Private First Class Park Boseop wore a more bewildered expression than ever. It wasn't that he didn't understand Kim Seojun's words. On the contrary, he deeply agreed. The problem was Major Lee Hyena's reaction. Wasn't he essentially telling the great, noble Psycher Agent to commit theft? Moreover, Private First Class Park Boseop was a soldier, and Kim Seojun was a Non-commissioned Officer, but a Psycher Agent was different. If theft was added to her career, it would be virtually impossible for her to advance further. In many ways, an unexpected reaction was bound to occur.
“The Major might even give me a Summary Judgment!”
While Private First Class Park Boseop worried about that, Major Lee Hyena spoke.
“Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun.”
“Yes, Major.”
She looked at Kim Seojun and then said.
“As of this moment, all command authority is hereby delegated to Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun.”