Chapter 56
5.
The moment they heard the conference proposal from the British Headquarters, Kim Seojun's group said it was a trap.
- I know.
Major Jan Zabłocki was not unaware of this either.
- When people who have stayed quiet until now suddenly show goodwill, it's always a trick. And Britain is by no means a trustworthy country.
Furthermore, Major Jan Zabłocki absolutely did not trust England.
- They are absolute sons of bitches.
It made sense; Major Jan Zabłocki was a descendant of the Polish cavalry unit, and he knew the history of World War II better than anyone.
- Let's not trust those British bastards. That is our family motto.
And during World War II, Poland had suffered through utterly desperate days because of England's decisions.
When Germany invaded Poland, England, which had signed a mutual assistance treaty, did not provide a single piece of proper, practical support.
Later, Churchill, the British Prime Minister, handed Poland over to Russia, and Poland suffered absurd massacres while being occupied by Germany and the Soviet Union.
Of course, as a lot of time passed since then, the feelings between the two countries had faded significantly, but Major Jan Zabłocki could not let it go.
The blood flowing in his veins did not allow it.
In any case, Major Jan Zabłocki knew it was a trap.
- So if you want to use me as bait, I will gladly let you.
And he also knew that if it were Kim Seojun, he would be formulating a plan to use that trap in reverse right now.
"Thank you."
- I'll say it again, but if you need me as bait, do not hesitate to use me. Fishing fails the moment you spare the bait.
At Major Jan Zabłocki's words, Kim Seojun felt a deeper sense of gratitude than ever before.
"Yes, I will keep that in mind."
Knowing that, after the radio transmission ended, Kim Seojun began to agonize more deeply than ever.
In truth, the answer was already there.
"Are we doing it or not?"
"We have to do it."
This opportunity was too good to miss.
"If we refuse, they will think we caught on in that moment and won't make a move again."
And rightfully so, there would be no next time.
"The problem is..."
"You don't know if the guys from the Chinese Headquarters are sharks, whales, or megalodons, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
However, right now, Kim Seojun's group had no way of knowing what cards the Chinese Headquarters was holding.
"With the England headquarters added to this, it won't be easy."
Let alone the fact that the England headquarters had now decided to completely side with China, which meant it would definitely do its best to destroy the Poland headquarters.
And the forces that the England headquarters had stationed on Planet Amotia were by no means at a level that could be ignored.
It wasn't overwhelming, but in terms of rank, they were 11th.
If he misjudged his level, Major Jan Zabłocki's life would be blown away.
"It's good to value human life, but didn't Major Jan Zabłocki say, “If you want to catch them, you have to throw the bait right away”?"
Knowing that, Major Jan Zabłocki was also willingly telling them they could use his life.
"To be exact, he probably already told the England headquarters that he would go to the conference himself."
"He probably did."
And given Major Jan Zabłocki's personality, there was a high chance he had already bet his life.
That was why Kim Seojun agonized even more.
He had to succeed no matter what.
‘Fortunately, a card came in.’
In such a situation, what served as Kim Seojun's source of comfort was the Skill Upgrade Ticket (A) that had appeared a little while ago.
Here, Kim Seojun did not use it immediately.
That was only natural.
Currently, the skills Kim Seojun could raise to A-rank were these three skills—Clairvoyance, Telekinesis, and Haste.
‘I have to check the Chinese Headquarters' card and apply it to the optimal skill.’
They all had different characteristics, and as such, he had to choose the one that could properly target the opponent to rank up.
Ultimately, it meant he had to figure out the opponent!
At that point, Kim Seojun raised his head.
"Do you happen to have any opinions?"
He asked for advice.
The first to offer an answer to that was Noah Winston.
"First of all, they probably sent an elite few. If they had enough forces to send a large-scale force, there would be no reason to do something this troublesome. They could just send a space battleship and drop a nuclear missile, right?"
Hearing her words, Major Lee Hyena offered her own opinion.
"They would have sent a specialist in melee combat."
"melee combat?"
"Their objective is not the Mogs, but the headquarters base. When it comes to destroying a headquarters base, a specialist in melee combat is advantageous."
"I agree too."
Noah Winston expressed her agreement with Major Lee Hyena's words, and at that moment, there were no further rebuttals.
Kim Seojun's thoughts were the same.
A ranged specialist like Hawk Eye was also a terrifying existence, but conversely, a ranged specialist had a fatal flaw called resupply.
"I'd be confident too if I had someone like Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun, but having such a wonderful partner is impossible."
Because not everyone had an all-purpose inventory like Kim Seojun.
Then the story came down to this.
Just who did they send?
"There are a few candidates that come to mind, though."
Here, the psycher agents representing China came to the minds of everyone, including Kim Seojun.
"Shall we say the names of the Chinese psychers one by one? Who knows? Maybe there's someone who gives us a strong feeling? I'll go first. First of all, the one that comes to mind first is Iron Fist Bai Ziqing..."
"Please be quiet!"
At Jo I-Hyeon's sudden outburst, Noah Winston, who had been speaking, shut her mouth and blinked her eyes.
She looked genuinely flustered.
It was understandable, as Noah Winston had never heard such words in her entire life.
It was the same for the others.
Even Kim Seojun kept his mouth shut and just blinked, seemingly bewildered.
"Quiet, please be quiet. It's important right now."
Even under those gazes, Jo I-Hyeon still emphasized silence to everyone.
Of course, by this point, everyone knew.
Jo I-Hyeon wasn't actually a hidden spy for China, unable to hold back and expressing anger at the words insulting China.
She was trying to listen to something truly important right now.
Crucially, she is wearing headphones right now.
This meant she was listening to something important!
So everyone willingly kept their mouths shut, and in that silence, Jo I-Hyeon's eyes moved rapidly.
Eventually, she took off her headphones and spoke.
"I just received a radio transmission."
"A radio transmission?"
"Hold on a second."
And then she quickly began to write down on a piece of paper with a pen the contents of the radio transmission she had heard.
- Currently, space is occupied by the Mogs.
- Most of the space battleships are in a destroyed state.
- Only a small number of space battleships have evacuated to the planets.
When they saw that, the facial expressions of everyone stiffened hard.
"E-Excuse me, Jo, Jo I-Hyeon."
At that point, Private First Class Park Boseop asked.
"W-Who on earth told you this?"
At that question, Jo I-Hyeon stopped writing and spoke.
"Gate No. 9."
"Excuse me?"
"From Gate No. 9, located here, this is the content the survivors just sent."
At those words, everyone froze even more.
So she had just exchanged radio transmissions with the gate?
Something no one else had been able to accomplish?
"We got those Aitenium shards last time, right? I gathered them and made a new device. Like I explained back then, Aitenium grants tremendous stability to radio waves. And the moment it was finished, I sent a transmission toward Gate No. 9."
As she spoke, Jo I-Hyeon pointed her finger at the sky.
"Right now, as we calculate the rotation of Planet Amotia, we are looking at Gate No. 9 in a straight line , perfectly."
The moment they heard those words, everyone understood.
Just how much genius was required to be acknowledged by Doctor Space.
Anyway, the moment they heard those words, the expressions of everyone, including Kim Seojun, changed drastically.
First of all, they were surprised.
But soon, they stiffened.
‘Oh my god.’
So according to the words of the survivors at Gate No. 9 right now, didn't it mean that space had become a domain where humanity could do nothing?
A despair even more miserable than what they had imagined had arrived.
However, Kim Seojun was different.
"Is a transmission still possible right now?"
"Considering the rotation speed, it's possible for about one more minute. I can't send a lot."
"Just one question, please."
At this moment, Kim Seojun spoke with eyes shining colder than ever.
"If nothing can move in space, how is China moving?"
"Ah!"
Even in this situation, Kim Seojun looked for the hope that could be found.
Meaning that if China could move, by using that method, it too would have a way to live.
"I-I'll send it right away!"
Jo I-Hyeon immediately sent that content, and the reply came soon after.
- In a situation where we cannot trust your side, providing any further information is impossible.
The moment they heard that answer, a sense of disappointment surfaced on everyone's faces.
It was the same for Kim Seojun.
But on the other hand, he understood.
"They have enemies."
From the perspective of the survivors right now, in a situation where there might be external enemies, they couldn't do anything hastily.
And there, Kim Seojun thought.
"There is a high probability that the enemy is China."
At this point in time, the only enemy capable of threatening them has to be China.
There, Kim Seojun pondered.
For about three seconds.
During that brief time, Kim Seojun truly squeezed out every bit of deliberation he could.
"Jo I-Hyeon."
"Yes?"
"Please relay this exactly as it is."
After that, he spoke.
"Say that we are currently fighting China on Planet Amotia, and ask what we can do to earn your trust."
At those words, Jo I-Hyeon immediately sent the transmission without asking any questions.
A situation where every second was precious was urgent.
If the angle changed due to the rotation here, the transmission might not reach them just because they were one second late.
Fortunately, the transmission reached them, and they were able to receive an answer.
- China's Black Pearl psycher agents have been deployed to Planet Amotia.
- Their leader is Mad Demon Lin Zhihan.
The moment they heard that answer, everyone fell completely silent.
Only one person did not remain silent.
"Excuse me, but who is that?"
Private First Class Park Boseop carefully asked the question, and Noah Winston provided the answer.
"How do I look to you, Private First Class Park Boseop?"
"Excuse me?"
"How much of a crazy bitch do I look like?"
"Uh, well..."
To Private First Class Park Boseop, who was hesitating to answer, Noah Winston smiled and said.
"Seeing as no answer is coming out, I guess I do look like a crazy bitch?"
"N-No, you don't."
"I don't? Then that's a big problem. It's normal for me to look like a crazy bitch. Are you perhaps not normal?"
"W-Well, that's..."
"It's fine. I just said it to give you a comparison. Basically, she's such a crazy bitch that even I don't want to make eye contact with her."
At those words, Private First Class Park Boseop could understand why everyone had shut their mouths.
Having convinced Private First Class Park Boseop like that, Noah Winston looked at Kim Seojun and spoke.
"You know her well, right?"
"I've heard the rumors."
"Then the answer is obvious."
"Yes."
Kim Seojun answered Noah Winston.
"Operation Continuation. We are to catch Mad Demon Lin Zhihan. It's not certain, but we will assume so for now."
"Huh?"
And the moment she heard the answer that came out, Noah Winston immediately changed her expression and spoke.
"No, didn't you say you heard the rumors about Mad Demon Lin Zhihan?"
"Yes."
"But you're going to catch her? Say something that makes sense!"
She had no choice but to react that way.
"No one can catch that crazy bitch!"
Because the Mad Demon was an existence that even Noah Winston, who had the alias Hawk Eye, had no confidence in catching.
First of all, she was fast.
Fast enough to far exceed the boundaries of human common sense!
Catching such a Mad Demon was an impossible task.
Kim Seojun knew it too.
Having spent his own eventful active duty days as a space marine, Kim Seojun conversed with psycher agents a few times, and the psycher agents who heard about his life said this.
It was still a relief he hadn't met Mad Demon Lin Zhihan.
That was how much Mad Demon Lin Zhihan was like a running terror to those living in space.
"How are you going to catch her?"
Even so, the reason Kim Seojun said Operation Continuation, meaning he would catch Mad Demon Lin Zhihan, was simple.
"It's simple."
"Simple?"
"No matter how fast something is, it's useless if you lock it up."
The moment Noah Winston heard those words, Noah Winston made a dumbfounded expression.
"I think I know what you mean, but I'll tell you anyway. The sword Mad Demon Lin Zhihan carries around is a monofilament cutter. The price of that sword is similar to the price of a battleship."
Another reason Mad Demon Lin Zhihan existed as a terror was that she had a sword that could cut through anything.
Therefore, locking her up was impossible.
Kim Seojun knew it too.
That locking her up within the boundaries of common sense was impossible.
"There is one place where escape is absolutely impossible."
"Where is that?"
"The place you all use."
"Huh? Ah!"
And for Kim Seojun, there existed one space that fell outside the boundaries of that common sense.
"Coming in is up to them, but leaving is not."
The Inventory!
If he used that, catching Mad Demon Lin Zhihan wasn't an entirely impossible task, and at that fact, the expressions of everyone, including Noah Winston, changed.
They saw the possibility.
Of course, they weren't fully convinced.
"Alright. If you lock her in there, it will be certain."
There was still one problem.
"But to lock her up, you have to catch her first. Do you know what that bitch's top speed is? It varies by planet, but she's hit up to 300 kilometers per hour. She's someone who could enter an F1 race on Earth and step onto the podium with her own two legs."
Mad Demon Lin Zhihan was not an existence you could catch just because you wanted to.
"To catch her, Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun has to run at a similar speed. Is that possible? Can you run at 300 kilometers per hour?"
And that was the reason Kim Seojun showed confidence.
He was capable of it.
"Yes, I can run."
That had now become possible.