Chapter 68
3.
"We kidnap the Major General. After extracting information, we immediately steal Dr. Space's item."
Kim Seojun's operation was simple.
"After that, we destroy the Third Headquarters."
Stealing and destroying.
That was a crazy act by common standards.
First of all, kidnapping the commander of a headquarters, and a general officer at that, was a massive incident in itself.
Normally, getting out of there as quickly as possible was the most basic common sense at the moment of the kidnapping.
But were they going to the armory to seize what they wanted immediately after kidnapping a general officer?
And are they not even stopping there, but continuing their terror?
An act no different from a suicidal act!
"Staff Sergeant Kim."
Brigadier General Lee Yeong-Jun, having heard Kim Seojun's operation plan, spoke on behalf of everyone.
"Good luck."
He offered his support.
That meant Kim Seojun's comrades knew.
That destroying the Chinese Third Headquarters was an incredibly easy task for Kim Seojun.
There was no way it would be difficult.
First of all, Kim Seojun had the Stealth ability.
Combined with the Haste skill and Teleport ability, and catching Kim Seojun inside the headquarters base was impossible for regular Space Marines.
Kim Seojun didn't need to worry about supplies.
Because if he went into his Inventory, weapons that were already reloaded were laid out like a buffet.
"Operation End."
Like that, Kim Seojun declared Operation End just one hour after infiltrating the Chinese Third Headquarters.
He hadn't completely smashed the entire Chinese Third Headquarters.
And there was no need to do so.
No matter how livable Planet Kingclench was, it wasn't a place where one could survive without proper supplies and materials.
In other words, just by definitively striking the places with supplies, he could condemn those here to a terminal life.
On top of that, what if he destroyed places with communication facilities, such as the command headquarters?
Requesting outside help wouldn't be easy either.
Of course, Kim Seojun could have dealt an even bigger blow here.
But as always, excessive greed came with a price.
He had to draw a line where he could retreat in any situation, and from Kim Seojun's perspective, that line was always the same.
‘I retreat when the Stealth effect ends.’
And when that time came, Kim Seojun retreated from the Chinese Third Headquarters without the slightest hesitation.
He escaped from there with all his might.
Afterward, when he entered his Inventory, Kim Seojun aimed his gun at Major General Liu Hai-Bin.
Upon realizing this, Major General Liu Hai-Bin freaked out.
"S-Spare me!"
He begged for his life.
"T-This is a vi-violation! A vi-violation of Space regulations!"
He was spitting out every word he could.
"Y-You think China will j-just sit still? I-I'm a M-Major General! I-If you kill a general officer!"
He spat out everything he could.
It was that moment.
Kim Seojun suddenly lowered his gun, and everyone made a surprised expression at that fact.
On the other hand, Major General Liu Hai-Bin rejoiced more than ever.
And he thought.
‘R-Right, you c-can't kill me!’
No matter how reckless they were, they wouldn't commit the crazy act of killing a general officer of the People's Republic of China.
That would be like crossing a river of no return.
It was around then.
"Should I handle him instead?"
Noah Winston opened her mouth.
"Should we use the great American shield?"
At those words, Major General Liu Hai-Bin's face turned stark white.
If America stepped up, the reality was that in many ways it would be difficult for China to easily make an issue out of it.
"No."
Kim Seojun shook his head at her suggestion.
Then he picked up Major General Liu Hai-Bin.
"U-Uh?"
He took the surprised man and soon exited his Inventory, where he threw Major General Liu Hai-Bin onto the floor.
BANG!
And immediately after pulling the trigger, he returned to his Inventory.
Seeing that, Noah Winston smiled and said.
"Ah, you did that because it'd be a pain to clean up? I thought you were going to spare him."
It went without saying, but Kim Seojun had no intention of showing sympathy here.
Such things had already been eliminated long ago when he served on active duty.
Furthermore, the Chinese Space Force here were people who didn't warrant even a speck of sympathy.
"I dug up more information, and they even committed a civilian massacre here. I was going to tell you that too, but there was no need."
They were war criminals.
People who deserved to die.
Rather, if they were left alive here, they wouldn't receive proper punishment later for one reason or another.
Delivering summary judgment here was a way to mourn even a little for those who had been sacrificed.
"But you killed a general officer, so the aftermath will be huge. The implications are a bit different, isn't it?"
"We might have to eliminate two more in the future."
Also, their relationship with China had already become irreversible.
That was a decisive factor.
"And honestly, a Behemoth is scarier."
The fact that Kim Seojun was currently fated to a terminal life was true.
That was the most important thing to Kim Seojun's comrades as well.
"Yeah, if Seojun dies, we're all dead meat too. Honestly, I don't have the confidence to live in this space without Seojun either."
Because the chances of the others being fine when Kim Seojun died were infinitely low.
"Because we can absolutely never go back to that past where we couldn't just go into the restroom whenever we wanted to rest, take off our suits, take a warm half-bath, and drink a cola fresh out of the fridge."
At Noah Winston's words, which were trying to encourage him somehow, Kim Seojun lightly nodded his head.
Then he turned his head.
"So, have you figured out the location of the secret research lab?"
"Yes, I figured it out!"
Now it was time to move to the next destination.
"It's not far from here! It's a distance we can reach if we ride Uryong in 3 hours!"
And at the words he heard, Kim Seojun's expectations grew.
"But there's a slight problem."
Jo I-Hyeon said to Kim Seojun.
"They said they killed everyone. I mean, China killed all the people in the secret research lab."
The moment he heard those words, Kim Seojun's eyes grew cold.
It wasn't that he couldn't understand.
From China's perspective, messing with Dr. Space was a highly burdensome task in many ways.
In such a situation, the best they could do was to somehow eliminate the eyewitnesses.
Still, he couldn't just let go here.
"We will move to the secret research lab. Please organize your Inventory while we move."
Thus, Kim Seojun closed his Inventory and immediately started to sprint toward the secret research lab.
Without a single stop.
Thus, he arrived at the secret research lab, and at that moment, Kim Seojun could see it.
‘…They set off a bomb at the entrance.’
The cave entrance had collapsed severely due to an incredibly powerful explosion.
In a way, it was a given.
They had to mobilize all means and methods for the destruction of evidence.
Especially China, even if it was sloppy with other things, when it came to this area—meaning stealing other people's things, committing robbery, or similar deeds—it was more thorough than any other nation.
Furthermore, it was also a very effective method.
Collapsing it was possible with a few bombs, but breaking through it again required the help of heavy equipment.
Doing anything about this with human power was practically impossible.
But Kim Seojun didn't give up here.
‘It won't be easy, but still, if Major Lee Hyena and I step up, we can do it.’
They didn't have heavy equipment, but they had Major Lee Hyena, who could exert physical destructive power equal to heavy equipment.
Furthermore, Kim Seojun's muscle strength was also not ordinary.
If the two of them worked hard holding hammers and smashing stones, and then used a battle tank or similar to tie and pull the boulders, making an entrance big enough for a person to enter wouldn't be a problem.
It would just take time.
So Kim Seojun didn't hesitate.
The best thing to do was to move right away if what needed to be done was clear anyway.
"Inventory."
Kim Seojun immediately opened his Inventory and went inside.
And Kim Seojun could see it.
‘This is?’
A massive 5-meter steel giant.
The moment he saw its existence, Kim Seojun felt instinctively overwhelmed.
Just as when he saw incredibly powerful beings, things like Mogs.
‘It's a weapon.’
Here, Kim Seojun could once again tell that this was a very powerful weapon made by Dr. Space.
It wasn't just Kim Seojun who got that feeling.
Everyone was staring at this giant in a daze.
"Huh? You're here?"
It got to the point that they belatedly noticed Kim Seojun had arrived.
"How did you open the box?"
"Our genius did it again. I don't know how, but she managed to find a gap there and persistently targeted it."
"Ah, I was just lucky with that."
At that time, Jo I-Hyeon gave an explanation.
"To be exact, it was a method Grandfather told me about in the past. Luckily, this was also sealed using that method. I didn't solve it with my own knowledge."
As she spoke, Jo I-Hyeon's eyes still hadn't left the giant.
Kim Seojun asked her.
"Is it an amazing item?"
"Yes?"
"Ms. Jo I-Hyeon, if it's enough for you to be this engrossed, it doesn't seem like an ordinary item."
"I-I'm sorry. Was I being rude?"
At that, Jo I-Hyeon hurriedly turned her head to look at Kim Seojun and bowed deeply at the waist.
She sincerely apologized, and at that sight, Kim Seojun smiled faintly.
"It's fine. You can look at it as much as you want. If it hadn't been for you, Ms. Jo I-Hyeon, we wouldn't have even been able to see it."
Naturally, he didn't say it to scold her.
Rather, Kim Seojun was genuinely curious, just as he said.
Just what was this giant?
"Could you explain the reason for your surprise?"
At that question, Jo I-Hyeon looked at the giant again and then said.
"Well, that is… First of all, I honestly can't believe Grandfather made this."
At those words, everyone tilted their heads, and Jo I-Hyeon answered that question.
"Grandfather doesn't make weapons."
At that answer, everyone racked his or her brains for a moment and soon realized it.
Just as she said, none of the weapons made by Dr. Space had ever gained fame.
"By Grandfather's standards, the firepower of weapons is already sufficient. It is enough that there is no shortage of means to destroy humanity. He thought there was no need to make anything stronger. That's also why I took an interest in weapon manufacturing, because it's a field Grandfather didn't enter."
The moment he heard those words, Kim Seojun was the first to realize something.
"…That's a terrifying thought."
Kim Seojun's facial expression stiffened, becoming very serious as he looked at the giant, and seeing that, Brigadier General Lee Yeong-Jun asked.
"Staff Sergeant Kim, what's wrong?"
"If what Ms. Jo I-Hyeon says is true, Dr. Space made this weapon because he judged that there is an enemy incomparable to anything we've encountered so far."
"Huh? Uh?"
The moment they heard that explanation, everyone's expressions changed like Kim Seojun's.
They were filled with astonishment.
Does this mean an enemy that surpassed even those incredible Mogs, even humanity with its mighty destructive power, has appeared?
It didn't end here.
Kim Seojun said.
"And out of this vast space, there must definitely be a reason why he specifically made this planet Kingclench."
That something might be near them right now, and nowhere else.
At that moment, Kim Seojun thought.
‘The thing that killed me might not have been a Behemoth.’
With that, Kim Seojun also examined the giant here and there.
First of all, its appearance was closer to a person than a machine.
It just looked like a scaled-up person.
However, if it were to be called a complete person, its arms and legs were a bit longer, and its torso was small compared to the length of its arms and legs.
Its head was similarly small.
"What is the material?"
"I don't know. It's a material I'm seeing for the first time too. It's not recorded anywhere. But its durability is… incredible."
"To what extent?"
"It's stronger than Behemoth hide."
And its durability was at a staggering level.
"But what's truly amazing is the power source. It's a Planet Reactor!"
"What is a Planet Reactor?"
"Ah, so it's a next-generation nuclear reactor made using the Starium atom that Grandfather was researching, and he gave it that name because making just one could supply electricity to an entire planet. I heard he was researching it, but I didn't know it was to the point of miniaturizing it for combat deployment!"
Surprisingly, there was also an internal power source inside this giant.
"Ah, but it's not omnipotent. To make a true planet-class one, the reactor size has to be at least battleship-class. If it's miniaturized like this, there's a limit to the energy produced. I'd have to calculate it properly, but basically, it can move for about 30 minutes; if it goes into maximum output, it won't even last 3 minutes."
There was a limit, but it was a limit that didn't need to be worried about at all.
"How is it used?"
"That's… that's the problem."
The problem was one thing.
"It's manual."
"Excuse me?"
"I mean, it's not operated by brainwaves or a controller like that. It's manual. You go inside and move it with your whole body."
"Then can I just move it?"
"That's… that's true, but I mean, how should I explain this…"
At that point, At that moment, Kim Seojun could see that only one person—meaning Private First Class Park Boseop—was sitting on the floor panting, and the moment he saw that, he could tell.
It was very difficult.
"First of all, it requires tremendous strength."
Furthermore, Major Lee Hyena was also panting along with him, next to Private First Class Park Boseop.
"But the biggest problem is that if a human suddenly becomes a 5-meter giant, even walking properly is hard because they can't find their center of gravity at all. Even standing isn't easy. Think about babies. It takes 1 year to walk, and 2 years to run clumsily. It takes 3 years to use scissors properly."
The moment he heard the explanation that it was very difficult, Kim Seojun didn't hesitate.
"I will try riding it once. Is that all right?"
It was impossible to understand it intellectually even though it was explained.
And if it couldn't be used, there was absolutely no reason to rack their brains over this any longer.
"Yes? Ah, yes!"
At Kim Seojun's request, Jo I-Hyeon immediately set the stage.
Boarding wasn't difficult.
Inside the massive body, there was a space big enough for a person to board, and inside that, there were specially shaped holes to put arms and legs into.
The moment he put his limbs into those holes, black liquids wrapped around his arms and legs immediately.
At the same time, a view popped up before his eyes.
6 monitors were showing the situation from all sorts of directions.
Just that alone was enough to make his head dizzy.
The real problem was after that.
Pshhh!
The suit closed, and at that moment, inside the sealed world, Kim Seojun could feel it.
‘This is it.’
His body suddenly staggered.
‘It reacts even to my small movements.’
That made sense, as it was impossible for any human to completely stop their muscle activity unless they were a corpse.
Even just staying still, a human's organs were active, blood was flowing in their blood vessels, and their muscles were moving minutely.
And this giant was reacting to all those minute movements.
That wasn't all.
Once the body staggered, naturally, an additional reaction occurred to avoid it.
Thud!
In the end, Kim Seojun couldn't do anything about it there and collapsed just like that.
Afterward, Kim Seojun barely got out of the suit with help.
"Are you okay?"
Kim Seojun didn't answer Jo I-Hyeon's subsequent question.
Instead, he thought.
‘It reacts too quickly.’
If reacting quickly was the problem?
Then maybe he just needed to make it slow.
Around then, Kim Seojun remembered.
He had an ability that made time infinitely slow.
Of course, that was related to dynamic visual acuity.
It was an ability that made fast-passing things look slow, and even though Kim Seojun currently had a B-rank dynamic visual acuity talent, in reality, he couldn't operate the suit properly.
That was why.
"I will try moving it one more time."
"Excuse me?"
In front of everyone who was surprised by those words, Kim Seojun spoke.
"Please prepare a Stimpack."
At the subsequent words, everyone looked even more dumbfounded.
But that expression didn't last long.
A moment later, they could see it.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
The sight of the giant smashing the massive rocks and debris of the collapsed entrance, with its bare fists was striking.
1 minute after that, Kim Seojun said.
"Entrance secured, moving in."
4.
First Chinese Headquarters on Planet Kingclench.
The place that oversaw all the headquarters on Planet Kingclench and the areas surrounding Gate 7, was on a different level from the other Chinese Headquarters in many ways.
The number of weapons and Space Marines it possessed, not to mention the number of psycher agents, was in an incomparable realm.
Among them, the most overwhelming was Lieutenant General Zhao Ming-De.
The significance of two stars was no ordinary thing.
China was in a situation where four-star generals practically didn't exist, and three-star generals practically held the highest real power in the military.
A two-star general was delegated the most authority on the front lines.
Furthermore, Lieutenant General Zhao Ming-De was someone who had followed only the elite course since birth.
Not only was he the child of a core executive of the Communist Party, but his mother was the second daughter of the chairman of Qilin Industry, a munitions company and one of China's top 10 corporations.
Power, money, and even technological prowess—Lieutenant General Zhao Ming-De was the one who truly had everything.
The reason why such a man of immense power, someone who could even aim for the highest position in the next Communist Party, came to Planet Kingclench was simple.
A human revolution that would change China's history would take place here!
This meant Planet Kingclench was now the region that would become the bridgehead for China's domination of space.
So Lieutenant General Zhao Ming-De said.
"Annihilate, annihilate everything."
The goal was to leave no being, no lifeform, that wasn't Chinese.
It wasn't just Planet Kingclench; an annihilation operation for everyone except the Chinese people was ordered on all Planets at Gate 7.
And that proceeded smoothly.
There was nothing difficult about it.
All the headquarters on Planet Kingclench delivered good news.
"Only the Third Headquarters is slow with its work."
Only from one place, the Third Headquarters, did good news not arrive.
In that situation, Lieutenant General Zhao Ming-De didn't particularly rush them.
He was just waiting.
For them to produce results.
If they couldn't?
"There's no reason to take incompetents along in this barren space."
Then he could just dispose of them together.
"Lieutenant General!"
Around then, contact came from the Third Headquarters.
"The Third Headquarters has been attacked!"
The moment he heard that, Lieutenant General Zhao Ming-De didn't spit out useless questions like who attacked or what the damage was.
He had already given them enough time.
If they still couldn't produce results, then there was only one thing left.
"What are the numbers of Mogs currently in the Hatcheries?"
"Currently, the Beta Gas supply has been stopped, so the numbers are no longer increasing."
"So what is the number?"
"That is… a little over 1 million."
The moment he heard that number, Lieutenant General Zhao Ming-De issued an order.
"Use them to wipe out the entire Resistance."
There was no hesitation in his order.
There was no wavering either.
Rather, at this moment, there was only one thought in Lieutenant General Zhao Ming-De's head.
‘That day is coming soon: the day The Only Sun disappears.’