Chapter 33
Being recognized by Doctor Space was no easy feat. Just the fact of his recognition could make someone incredibly famous.
But that wasn't always an advantage.
“To be recognized by Doctor Space is to have your genius acknowledged.” On the contrary, some said.
“And what geniuses of that caliber face is the colossal wall that is Doctor Space.”
Being recognized by Doctor Space was like coming face-to-face with a wall of despair and lamentation. Some might ask, “What”s the big deal?’, but for those involved, it was different.
It was like this: Let’s say a genius, with his or her own goals and romantic ideals, conducts research. But upon seeing the results Doctor Space produced during his or her research, those geniuses would realize that what they were doing was no different from children playing in a sandbox. They realized it was simply futile.
At that point, geniuses had two choices: Give up and find peace, or do something utterly insane to overcome the wall.
Jennifer Jo was the latter. She struggled with all her might to escape her grandfather’s shadow.
“I’m going to surpass my grandfather.”
Of course, it started with bravado. As time passed, she felt that her grandfather was truly an absurdly brilliant being. Yet, she didn’t give up. She thought,
*“Space, the answer must be in space.”*
On the contrary, she believed that even Doctor space couldn’t know everything about space, so she ventured into it. Traveling throughout Space, she conducted all sorts of research.
America gladly supported her. She was a genius, and the results she produced were nothing short of astonishing, even for America.
Of course, quite a few people told her, “Space is dangerous.”
“You’ll die out there someday.”
But she scoffed at such warnings. There were two reasons.
One was that she was American. Even if the Space Era was dominated by China and India, America was still America. Its capabilities were beyond measure.
But the biggest reason was the second one.
“Surely I won’t die?”
She firmly believed she was a chosen one, destined for a life far from a dog’s death.
However, things in the world rarely go as planned. She was about to face that moment.
“...*Fuck*.”
She was left alone in an air-raid shelter located within the American Headquarters on Planet Amotia. What’s more, there was nothing in the air-raid shelter she was in: no food, no weapons like guns.
\[Oxygen levels are low.\]
She was even about to run out of air. Faced with a situation she could never have imagined in her life, she knew one thing for sure:
“I’ll survive. How the hell have I lived my life until now! I absolutely cannot die here like this!”
Her will to live was incredibly strong.
“I’ll do anything.”
So, in that extreme situation, she racked her brain as much as possible, and then she made her decisive move.
“China! Yes, even if I have to sell out China!”
She disseminated the research China was secretly conducting on Planet Amotia throughout the planet. She exposed their secret. That, of course, was a suicidal act. Even if she were rescued now, she would face assassination threats from China in the future.
Moreover, she knew that the Nation of America couldn’t perfectly protect her, That within the Nation of America, there were quite a few people bribed or co-opted by China.
Nevertheless, she said it because she was simply cornered. If she was going to die anyway, whether this way or that, doing anything was the right answer for her.
Of course, the moment she sent that Rescue Request signal, Jennifer Jo squeezed her eyes shut and said, “I must be crazy.”
In other words, she knew.
“Who would believe such bullshit?”
“The possibility of it being Jennifer Jo has increased.”
The awakened Kim Seojun immediately held an Emergency Meeting for the Jennifer Jo Rescue Operation.
“If we can save her, we must.”
First, Kim Seojun highly valued Jennifer Jo.
“If we save her, America will come to rescue her, but not for us.”
Frankly, in the current situation, the Polish Government or the Korean Government was unlikely to send a rescue ship for Kim Seojun’s group or Major Jan Zabłocki’s group. Send a rescue ship just for a few people? Honestly, it wasn’t a profitable venture.
Furthermore, the current situation was more serious than expected.
“Especially if the gate cannot be repaired.”
According to Jennifer Jo, she was the only one who could fix the gate at this point. If that was true, the situation was extremely dire. If the gate wasn’t working, everyone currently centered around it would effectively be unable to receive support. This meant everything, from ammunition to food, was in a limited state!
That meant they would have to play a zero-sum game, and the most important thing to survive that zero-sum game was to reduce the number of players. But Jennifer Jo was different. If it was to save her, there was a high probability that everyone would exhaust all means and methods. In any case, her rescue operation had now become an important option to consider for survival.
There was only one problem.
“Is Jennifer Jo’s Rescue Operation even possible?”
The situation implied that American Headquarters had been attacked and its functions were virtually paralyzed. But how could Poland Headquarters’ forces handle a situation that even America couldn’t? It was literally like hitting a rock with an egg.
“Assessing the situation should be the priority.”
Even if you’re hitting a rock with an egg, it’s best to first gauge the size of that rock. Of course, that was by no means easy. The distance between American Headquarters and Poland Headquarters was so far that it would take three days even traveling at full speed on a Hoverbike. And naturally, actually moving would take even longer. They would have to avoid Mogs hiding anywhere, and for the Hoverbike, they’d need additional time for battery charging. They had to account for at least four days.
Not only was it a matter of time, but it was also extremely dangerous.
“I’ll send a Search Party immediately.”
However, Major Jan Zabłocki gave the OK without a moment’s hesitation. Considering the debt Poland's Headquarters owed Kim Seojun’s group, it wasn’t the time to think about the cost of lives. Furthermore, even if it wasn’t at Kim Seojun’s group’s request, this situation absolutely had to be handled if a Rescue Operation was possible, even with some risk. Because if Jennifer Jo died like this, everyone on Planet Amotia could die, just as she warned.
“It’s fine.”
But Kim Seojun refused Major Jan Zabłocki’s consideration.
“Jennifer Jo said she’s running out of oxygen. Sending a Search Party is meaningless. We have to decide within an hour whether to go or not. And the situation can’t be good. If it were, Hawk Eye would have handled it alone.”
The moment they heard that, everyone let out a gasp of realization. It was true. If the situation at American Headquarters was something that could be handled with moderate effort, someone, including Hawk Eye, would have already done it. Everyone’s expressions hardened at the fact that the situation was bad in many ways.
Of course, Kim Seojun thought,
*“A mission Hawk Eye can”t handle is better than Hawk Eye dying.’*
There were even worse scenarios. In any case, everyone’s concern at this point was one thing:
“Then how do you plan to carry out the Rescue Operation?”
Kim Seojun answered that question.
“I’m going to think about that now.”
The moment they heard that answer, everyone thought.
*“He”s going to have a tough decision to make.’*
That Kim Seojun would fall into deep anguish wasn’t a completely wrong thought. Kim Seojun began to agonize. Only, it wasn’t the kind of agony everyone imagined.
*“Which skill should I make A-rank? I”ll decide today.’*
The moment the meeting ended, Kim Seojun said, “I need some time to think. I’ll be outside alone for a bit.”
No one questioned his words.
*“He has no choice but to agonize. All the Survivors at Poland Headquarters are looking to Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun.”*
Because agonizing over the lives of others, not just one’s own, was more painful than one could imagine, it was, moreover, a decision Kim Seojun had to make alone, a profoundly solitary contemplation. So, at Kim Seojun’s words, everyone offered a wry smile and allowed him to do as he wished. They let him be alone outside Headquarters.
“Status Window.”
The first thing Kim Seojun did after stepping outside was to check his Status Window.
\[Kim Seojun\]
- Strength: 42
- Stamina: 39
- Magic Power: 35
- Owned Skills: Clairvoyance (D), Inventory (A), Stealth (F), Teleport (F)
- Owned Talents: Dynamic Visual Acuity (C), Hawk Eye Talent (E)
- Owned Points: 1,141
- Owned Tickets: Skill Upgrade Ticket (A), Talent Upgrade Ticket (D), Skill Upgrade Ticket (D)
The moment he saw the Status Window, a long sigh escaped Kim Seojun’s lips.
“Hoo.”
The sigh echoed inside his helmet. It wasn’t a lament.
*“The situation isn”t bad.’*
On the contrary, Kim Seojun saw the current situation as very good. In many ways, Kim Seojun was in a position to gain a tremendous boost in performance. That’s why he came outside. He wanted to confirm something.
“Use the D-rank Talent Upgrade Ticket on Hawk Eye Talent.”
And Kim Seojun immediately began to confirm.
\[Hawk Eye Talent rank has increased to D-rank.\]
At that moment, the world Kim Seojun saw changed. Kim Seojun’s vision, which had been fixed on a distant rock, suddenly became clearer, as if zoomed in.
*“Amazing.”*
Kim Seojun let out an exclamation of admiration at that fact. But his admiration wasn’t great.
*“What”s left is...’*
Now the real decision began.
*“Stealth and Teleport.”*
Kim Seojun had to decide which of the two skills to make A-rank. In many ways, the decision was bound to be significant, as the utility values of the two skills were vastly different.
*“I don”t know the benefits of a rank-up.’*
And another thing, Kim Seojun didn’t know what would happen when Stealth and Teleport skills ranked up. In the case of Stealth, it could currently be used for 10 minutes every 6 hours.
“Teleport Info Window.”
\[Teleport\]
- Rank: F
- When used, it moves to a visible location.
And in the case of Teleport, this brief information was all the information it had. At this point, Kim Seojun didn’t hesitate.
“Teleport.”
He immediately used Teleport, and at that moment, Kim Seojun’s body suddenly *fizzled!* and disappeared. And then, *flash!* Kim Seojun appeared at the location he had been looking at.
*“What is this?”*
*At that moment, Kim Seojun turned around, looked at the spot where he had just been, and his expression quickly changed to one of surprise.*
*“I moved 30 meters?”*
The travel distance was 30 meters, even though it was only an F-rank!
\[You can move 0 more times for 1 hour.\]
In exchange for moving a considerable distance, the number of uses was only once per hour. That was a fairly critical limitation. However, Kim Seojun didn’t complain about that fact. There was no reason to.
*“If I use it with Stealth, something absurd will be possible.”*
A distance of 30 meters was by no means short, and if used in conjunction with Stealth, this Teleport skill was no different from giving Kim Seojun an extra life every hour.
*“Though I can only go to visible locations.”*
Although there was the drawback of not being able to move to places he couldn’t see, from Kim Seojun’s perspective, that drawback wasn’t a major consideration. At this point, Kim Seojun stopped agonizing. The answer had come.
“Use the D-rank Skill Upgrade Ticket on Stealth, and the other A-rank one on Teleport.”
Kim Seojun chose Teleport as his A-rank skill. He thought,
*“The range is likely to increase.”*
The benefit gained through the rank-up would be the range. That was why he made Teleport A-rank. With F-rank already at 30 meters, if the movable distance increased, it would increase significantly!
The Status Window informed such a Kim Seojun:
\[Teleport rank has increased to A-rank.\]
\[You can move 31 more times for 59 minutes and 11 seconds.\]
*“Huh?”*
It wasn’t the distance, but the number of uses that increased. At that fact, Kim Seojun’s thoughts momentarily froze. The current situation was that absurd. Was he using a Teleport that could move 30 meters at once, 32 times every hour?
At this moment, the possibility of Kim Seojun dying in an ordinary battle was virtually zero.
And that wasn’t all.
\[Stealth rank has become D-rank.\]
Even for Stealth, which became D-rank, its cooldown changed from 6 hours to 3 hours, and its Duration changed from 10 minutes to 30 minutes.
At this moment, all calculations Kim Seojun could make changed in his mind. Or rather, calculations became unnecessary.
Kim Seojun immediately entered Poland Headquarters, and he said to everyone waiting for him, “I will move to rescue Jennifer Jo.”
The first to react to his words was Major Lee Hyena.
“I’ll get ready.”
She had expected this answer and was willing to become a shield for Kim Seojun.
“Major Lee Hyena.”
To her, Kim Seojun said, “This Rescue Operation will proceed only with Private First Class Park Boseop.”
At those words, Major Lee Hyena’s expression stiffened.
“What kind of nonsense is that!”
“S-s-Staff Sergeant Kim! Th-that’s too dangerous, sir!”
No matter how great Kim Seojun was, Major Lee Hyena’s presence was extremely important. Especially, the Superhuman Strength and Performance Major Lee Hyena displayed were irreplaceable for Kim Seojun.
“Even Major Lee Hyena must remain here to prepare for the worst-case scenario.”
Despite Kim Seojun’s seemingly reasonable words, Major Lee Hyena immediately said, “Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun, your death is the worst-case scenario.”
It was that moment.
*Flash!*
Kim Seojun’s figure vanished.
“Major Lee Hyena.”
And then Kim Seojun appeared behind Major Lee Hyena and said, “There’s no chance of me dying.”
*At that moment, there was no further rebuttal.*
*Vroooom!*
Ten minutes later, a military truck from Poland Headquarters began to charge east, towards American Headquarters. Forty-nine hours later, Kim Seojun and Private First Class Park Boseop could see it.
“Staff Sergeant Kim, it looks like this place has become a Hatchery?”
The place that used to be American Headquarters is now filled with Mog Eggs.