Chapter 69
1.
The moment Kim Seojun took the stimpack and boarded the suit, surprisingly, the suit began to move.
The suit immediately demonstrated ruthless destructive power.
CRASH!
It smashed the rocks blocking the path leading to Doctor Space's secret research lab as if crushing cookies.
In an instant, it created a path large enough for a person to enter.
It finished a job in one minute that would have taken all day even with heavy machinery.
Afterward, Kim Seojun finished the work and stepped out of the suit.
"Good work!"
Noah Winston lightly patted Kim Seojun's shoulder and immediately went into the newly created path.
That was all.
"Private First Class Park Boseop will stay behind to help Staff Sergeant Kim."
"Yes!"
Everyone except Private First Class Park Boseop immediately entered Doctor Space's secret research lab.
They did not say a word to Kim Seojun.
Because they knew.
“We do what we have to do.”
The best thing his comrades could do for Kim Seojun right now was not to offer empty words of encouragement, but to complete their given mission as quickly as possible.
Private First Class Park Boseop, who remained behind, also did not say anything unnecessary.
Having personally worn and moved in the suit, Private First Class Park Boseop knew it all too well in his bones.
“Staff Sergeant Kim must be on the verge of exhaustion right now.”
Kim Seojun was on the brink of passing out.
Kim Seojun's expression right now indicated as much.
He was wearing a dazed expression.
However, the reason was not what Private First Class Park Boseop and his comrades thought.
It was certainly exhausting.
‘It's more manageable than I thought.’
But the reason Kim Seojun was surprised right now was that moving the suit was easier than he had expected.
And there was one more reason he was surprised.
“...If used properly, it can produce ridiculous power.”
The power this suit possessed was beyond imagination.
First of all, its destructive power was immense, as seen just a moment ago.
Just the simple physical destructive power while wearing this suit was enough to destroy boulders.
It boasted tremendous strength.
And Kim Seojun knew.
“With this, I could fire a heavy machine gun like firing a pistol.”
That the level of firepower he could use while wearing this suit was that of a battle tank, or even greater.
“I could even fire a railgun... like a sniper rifle.”
Furthermore, it could even withstand the recoil of a railgun.
This was on an absurd level.
Even Uroe, which was evaluated as China's mistake, required a considerable amount of readjustment time after every single railgun shot due to the tremendous recoil.
But is firing such a railgun like firing a sniper rifle?
The firepower emitted in that moment would never fall short even when compared to a space battleship.
And Kim Seojun had it.
“Supply is not an issue.”
A perfect supply system capable of supporting that massive firepower.
That was the reason Kim Seojun was astonished.
An unbelievable weapon had fallen into his hands.
Of course, Kim Seojun was not purely overjoyed by that fact.
He did not forget the fundamental question.
“Just why was such a ridiculous weapon created?”
For what purpose, and to face what, did Doctor Space create such a fearsome suit?
Kim Seojun did not ponder on that for long.
There was no way an answer would come just from thinking about it anyway.
“Once I secure the Core Cube, it will then be sorted out.”
If he were really curious, he could just ask Doctor Space directly after returning to Earth.
A radio transmission came to Kim Seojun immediately.
- Seojun.
Noah Winston, who had gone inside, spoke.
- I know you're exhausted, but I think you need to come inside.
"What is it?"
- Uh, well, the thing is.
To Kim Seojun's subsequent question, Jo I-Hyeon answered.
- I think my grandfather has passed away.
2.
The moment they entered Doctor Space's secret laboratory, Jo I-Hyeon spoke.
"It's best not to get your hopes up too high. grandfather absolutely hated anyone else handling his things. He wouldn't even tolerate someone touching a single pen of his."
At those words, everyone nodded.
In the first place, there was only one reason they had entered this secret research lab.
The objective is to find the Core Cube that might be somewhere inside.
However, that attempt did not come to pass.
The moment they entered the space that appeared to be the research lab, everyone could hear it.
[Jo I-Hyeon has been confirmed.]
[In accordance with the Master's orders, all authority over this research lab is inherited.]
At the same time, with a Bzzzt! sound, all the functions in the research lab began to activate.
And inside that research lab, everyone, including Jo I-Hyeon, froze.
That is, they did not miss it.
"The word 'inherited' just came up, and I'm not the only one hearing things, right? It definitely said inherited, right?"
"...Yes."
In that moment, Noah Winston did not deliberate for long.
She immediately sent a radio transmission to Kim Seojun, and Kim Seojun promptly entered the research lab.
"Ah."
And the moment he received the situation report, Kim Seojun let out a long sigh.
It was not a sigh let out simply out of surprise.
He was certainly surprised.
But the biggest reason that made Kim Seojun sigh in this moment was none other than comprehension.
That is, Kim Seojun now understood.
"So that's why, that's why China did this."
Why was China carrying out such an absurd operation here?
"You thought so too, Seojun? I too."
It was the same for the others.
Honestly, not everyone had properly understood the intent behind China's current operation.
Although China was originally a nation that acted recklessly, it was not reckless enough to do something when an entity like Doctor Space existed.
But what if China had anticipated Doctor Space's death?
Furthermore, that anticipation was not impossible.
Predicting the future was absolutely impossible with the logic or technology that a human could handle.
"Because it wouldn't be strange if there were something among the Prophet's relics that could see the future."
However, in space, there existed things that eclipsed human logic and ignored the rules of the universe.
Of course, there were doubts.
In Kim Seojun's thoughts, Doctor Space was someone who could not die physically even if he wanted to.
"Jo I-Hyeon."
"Yes?"
"This is a very rude question, but do you really think your grandfather has passed away?"
So he asked that question, and to that question, Jo I-Hyeon answered.
"In my opinion... I actually don't know why grandfather would stay alive. To grandfather, the world is like a movie where he already knows the ending. And grandfather doesn't have the personality to quietly watch a boring movie. Of course, that's just my thought. I don't know grandfather well. I've only seen him in person eight times."
She thought it was an insufficient answer, but conversely, upon hearing her answer, Kim Seojun clearly accepted Doctor Space's death.
And the moment he accepted that death, Kim Seojun felt an indescribable sense of desolation.
His body began to tremble, and a severe dizziness washed over him.
It couldn't be helped.
“What will happen from now on without Doctor Space?”
Doctor Space was the entity who opened the Space Era, and he was like the only sun that gave light to humanity in the Space Era.
But that sun had disappeared?
It was like the only lantern disappearing, and now humanity was in a position where it had to navigate the distant pitch-blackness of space without a lantern.
‘Even if I can't see anything.’
What made Kim Seojun move here was none other than experience.
“I still have to move.”
He knew from experience that in order to survive in any hell, one must first continue moving forward.
It is the same now.
What Kim Seojun had to do here was not worry about the future of humanity that had lost its lantern in the Space Age, nor engage in philosophical agony.
"Jo I-Hyeon."
"Yes?"
"Have you inherited all authority over this research lab?"
"Ah, well... I'll check."
"I know you must be uneasy in many ways, but please gather and organize all possible information."
First, they had to grasp the situation, and that was accomplished quickly.
Jo I-Hyeon, who had checked the research lab's main system, spoke.
"This is a secret research lab created solely for one thing, the production and development of the suit. There was no other information or research besides that. And the name of the suit is... the Xeno Project. There is no mention anywhere about the purpose for which it was created."
They learned the name of that unidentified suit, and at that fact, Noah Winston let out a chuckle.
"Still, it's a relief to find out the name of Doctor Space's posthumous work. More than that, Xeno suit gives off an alien vibe and sounds cool."
"And the second thing is... the coordinates where the Core Cube fell."
"What?"
Everyone was startled by Jo I-Hyeon's words that came out just then.
"You found that out?"
"Yes? Ah, yes. It just gave it to me right away."
The moment they heard those words, the image of the Blue Star, the Planet Earth, came to everyone's minds.
"That's great. Let's go retrieve it right away."
With the method to return to their hometown right in front of them, it was meaningless to worry about anything else.
Only one person, Kim Seojun, was different.
Unlike the others, he did not say they should go find the Core Cube right away.
Instead, he deliberated.
It was naturally not because he didn't want to go home that he was deliberating.
He wanted to go right this instant.
"There is no possibility that only China caused this mess at Gate 7."
But could Earth truly be considered safe right now?
"In the end, we will go to war with China."
In Kim Seojun's view, the reality he would face the moment he returned to Earth was seeing his family's faces and then putting on a suit and leaving for space again for the war with China.
Even if no one ordered him to, Kim Seojun would do so.
Because he could do anything to protect his family.
"In such a situation, leaving this place just like this is not a wise judgment."
When such a big picture was being drawn, it was not a wise thing to just leave China's forces on Planet Kingclench and abruptly move to Earth.
"Under the assumption that Doctor Space is dead, there is no guarantee that the next destination will be Earth. Isn't that right, Jo I-Hyeon?"
It was even unknown whether they could go to Earth.
"That's. We'll have to see, but if there's no response from Earth's side, going there is impossible."
What if a problem occurred with the Gate on Earth's side?
Even if they activated the Gate on this side, there was a limit to their movement.
"At the very least, we must leave behind a force capable of managing Gate 7 here."
If Kim Seojun's group abruptly crossed the Gate like this, those remaining here would essentially be decisively trapped.
They would be in a position where in this distant space they could no longer return to their hometown called Earth.
Not only those on Planet Kingclench, but even those on Planet Amotia!
"Fortunately, there is currently a resistance here. If we help them and bring down the Chinese headquarters, management will not be difficult."
Of course, Kim Seojun was not saying here he would become a hero who burned his body to bring down China.
That is, he was confident.
"It is not difficult to bring down the currently identified forces of the Chinese headquarters through guerrilla warfare."
Our focus is on achieving victory in this war.
It was not just Kim Seojun who felt that way.
Everyone here had clearly seen what kind of results Kim Seojun had produced at the Chinese Third Headquarters.
In this space, there was no entity capable of stopping the abilities Kim Seojun possessed, at least not among humanity.
"I'm in favor."
At that point, Noah Winston immediately raised her hand.
"Even if I go to Earth anyway, I don't have a husband or kids to welcome me. Honestly, the container in the inventory over there is more comfortable than my own house."
Following her, Brigadier General Lee Yeong-Jun also met Kim Seojun's eyes and nodded.
In truth, Brigadier General Lee Yeong-Jun's choices were obvious.
He was a general officer of the Korean Space Force, and he had to burn everything for victory in this war, from the position of leading the military.
Even if he wanted to return home, he had to step out onto the battlefield ahead of anyone else.
Major Lee Hyena was no different.
The only ones left were two, Private First Class Park Boseop and Jo I-Hyeon.
Of course, the choices of these two were no different.
"I still have over a year left until my discharge, sir."
"Me too..."
It was then.
[An emergency rescue request signal has been caught.]
An announcement sound was heard in the research lab, and the moment they heard that announcement, everyone's expressions changed.
[An emergency rescue request signal has been caught.]
At the subsequent words, everyone looked at Kim Seojun.
Here, Kim Seojun did not panic much.
"It seems the resistance is being attacked."
He had already fully grasped the situation on Planet Kingclench while interrogating Major General Liu Hai-Bin.
The Chinese Third Headquarters was currently in trouble, blocked by the resistance.
That China was putting in all its effort to bring down such a Resistance currently.
"It must be Mogs, the ones those Chinese bastards raised with beta gas. They must have sent those Mogs to the resistance's headquarters."
And he also knew that China on Planet Kingclench was currently secretly supplying beta gas from the Mog Hatchery to produce Mogs.
"Can we know the details of the radio transmission?"
"Yes? Ah, yes! Play the rescue request message!"
[We need support! We need support! We are currently under a Mog attack! We are under attack by an enormous number of Mogs!]
And that prediction was mostly correct.
The reason for using the expression 'mostly' was that one thing was different.
[This is the Second Headquarters! This is the Chinese Second Headquarters! We need support!]
"Huh?"
The ones requesting support were not the resistance, but the Chinese side.
It didn't end there.
[This is the Chinese Fourth Headquarters! Requesting support! We are under a Mog attack!]
[We are requesting support from the Chinese Fifth Headquarters! We have confirmed Mogs swarming to this location! It's too massive a number! We are requesting support!]
Three other Chinese headquarters were simultaneously sending emergency rescue request signals with the same content.
At that point, everyone intuited it.
"Those Chinese bastards caused another accident. Typical."
A massive problem had occurred in the plan the Chinese side had prepared.
It was then.
[Requesting support.]
Once again, a rescue request message was heard.
[We are the resistance of Planet Kingclench. A large-scale group of Mogs is coming to the headquarters where we currently are.]
The last resistance remaining on Planet Kingclench spoke.
[Anyone is fine. Please, we just want the children here to be rescued. Please, please, anyone is fine. We beg you to rescue at least the children.]
The moment he heard that incredibly desperate voice, Kim Seojun spoke.
"We will move out."