Chapter 59
3.
Many things had changed since the Space Era began.
Among them, the biggest change was, naturally, the military.
The militaries of all nations were now entirely reorganized around the Space Force operating in space.
All military power stemmed from the Space Force, and to succeed as a soldier, one naturally had to wear a suit rather than a standard uniform.
Furthermore, opportunities for success overflowed.
"Every time a Gate is created, stars are born."
While the military on Earth was trending toward reducing the number of stars it already had, space was seeing an increase in stars.
Of course, it wasn't all good.
Proper surveillance was impossible in space, and naturally, it wasn't managed properly either.
Corrupt individuals were overflowing, and the incompetent outnumbered the stars.
At the same time, there were also highly competent individuals.
Kim Seojun had quite a few connections with such competent soldiers.
Of course, it wasn't because he was lucky.
From the perspective of Kim Seojun, who had navigated all sorts of absurd battlefields, those who survived them had to be competent.
"Staff Sergeant Kim."
"Yes, Company Commander."
"Do you think I'm doing a good job?"
"Why are you asking that all of a sudden?"
"I just suddenly felt skeptical about my military life: whether I'm doing well or just holding on without any abilities."
"From what I've seen, Company Commander, you are the best."
The most competent commander Kim Seojun had ever seen was his Company Commander, Captain Lee Yeong-Jun.
For one, Captain Lee Yeong-Jun wasn't the Company Commander of a unit composed of simple Space Marines.
Fundamentally, the Space Force had a different system from the Army, Navy, or Air Force.
In the first place, dividing such concepts one by one on the stage of space was meaningless.
So units were usually divided by their primary roles, and what Captain Lee Yeong-Jun led was the Space Support Fleet.
In other words, it was a unit that waited in space, moved to a planet in a truly dire situation, and then dropped Space Marines from the fleet onto that planet.
They were usually described as a suicide squad, but the unit led by Captain Lee Yeong-Jun was deployed when something truly had to be accomplished no matter what.
It wasn't like that from the beginning.
They simply received that treatment as their achievements piled up.
"Really?"
"Yes, if it weren't for you, Company Commander, everyone including me would have died."
Furthermore, the stages where Captain Lee Yeong-Jun built his achievements were the ones Kim Seojun had experienced—in other words, absurd stages.
They experienced operations where succeeding just once was more than enough to cover the cost of drinks at a bar later, as if such successes were monthly events.
"Thanks to you, Company Commander, I earned a ton of Hazard Pay."
That was why Captain Lee Yeong-Jun had earned such a nickname.
"Somehow, your tone makes it sound like it's my fault that the situation goes to shit whenever we're deployed?"
"Isn't that obvious? That's why your nickname is Trouble Maker, Company Commander."
His nickname meant he caused trouble wherever he went.
"Why is that my fault? It's because of you, Sergeant Kim."
"What do you mean?"
"Incidents didn't blow up to this extent before you joined my unit, Staff Sergeant Kim!"
Captain Lee Yeong-Jun claimed that Kim Seojun was the troublemaker, not he, but anyway, the important thing was that Captain Lee Yeong-Jun was capable, and thanks to that, they were able to succeed in all sorts of absurd missions and operations.
From Kim Seojun's perspective, he was someone to be thankful for in many ways.
So on the day of his discharge, he smiled and said:
Let's never meet again.
- Why are you here?
Yet that meeting had come to pass.
- No wonder absurd things kept blowing up as soon as I got here. It was because of you, Sergeant Kim.
It is a completely absurd situation.
It was surprising in many ways, and Kim Seojun was surprised.
There were many things he wanted to talk about.
- I'm a Staff Sergeant now.
- A Staff Sergeant? You reenlisted as a Non-commissioned Officer? Why?
- I did it for the money.
- Crazy bastard.
If they started talking, a whole day wouldn't be enough to cover everything.
- The communication status isn't good.
However, the time given to the two who had met after such a long time was extremely short.
- We have secured an Emergency Escape Spaceship. We have enough fuel. Can we be rescued in space?
He asked the most important question, and an answer came back.
- I will give you an answer tomorrow after running the calculations.
Twenty-four hours later, Kim Seojun's group received its answer.
- If you can reach the following space coordinates in 82 hours and 33 minutes, I will send a rescue ship.
4.
The moment D-Day was set, the first thing Kim Seojun's group did was to have a conversation with Major Jan Zabłocki.
It wasn't a pleasant conversation.
"Major Jan, we are going to space now."
From the perspective of the Poland Headquarters, it was like a bolt out of the blue.
The only reason the Poland Headquarters has been able to hold out until now is thanks to the support of Kim Seojun's group.
But now Kim Seojun's group is leaving?
Furthermore, Planet Amotia was in a situation where it could not receive any support from space.
They had just learned that the space above their heads was filled with Mogs, let alone reinforcements.
Chak!
In such a desperate situation, what Major Jan Zabłocki did was none other than salute.
He gave a sharper salute than ever before.
"Thank you for everything."
He expressed the greatest gratitude he could to Kim Seojun, who would be leaving for space now.
That was all.
Major Jan Zabłocki didn't say anything more.
He knew.
Whatever words he uttered here would only be a burden to Kim Seojun.
From the perspective of Major Jan Zabłocki, who already owed his life several times over, he didn't want to place a burden on the departing man's shoulders, let alone ask for more help.
Above all, Major Jan Zabłocki knew.
“Please, Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun, I pray that boundless luck will be in your future.”
That the space Kim Seojun was about to leave for was not a stage of dreams and hopes, but a stage of new hardship and adversity.
Crucially, nothing would change even if Kim Seojun remained on Planet Amotia.
Until the Gate was repaired, it was practically impossible for the distant Earth to provide help here.
For everyone to live, Kim Seojun had to go to space.
Therefore, the fate of humanity on Planet Amotia, and furthermore, all the planets around Gate 7, rested on Kim Seojun's shoulders.
Seeing Kim Seojun willingly shoulder that heavy burden and move forward, Major Jan Zabłocki instead felt a sense of sympathy.
Knowing Major Jan Zabłocki's feelings, Kim Seojun didn't say anything unnecessary either.
He saluted.
"I will return with good news."
With those brief words, the two looked at each other and nodded.
That was the end of their conversation on Planet Amotia.
Kim Seojun turned around and began preparations to go to space.
First, he started preparations to launch the Emergency Escape Spaceship, or rather, the rocket.
In truth, this was a very difficult task.
In normal cases, one simply had to go up into space.
You would pierce through the atmosphere, go up into space, send your coordinates, close your eyes inside the spaceship, and watch a 2-hour and 11-minute video; usually, before the end credits rolled, you would rendezvous with a rescue ship sent by a Space Battleship.
There was no need to do any difficult calculations.
The problem was that such a thing was only possible in a situation where the Gate was intact, and Space Battleships were roaming space, radioing each other with things like, 'I'm bored, want to play a word chain game?'
"We have to do calculations to reach the coordinates."
Right now, Kim Seojun's group has to reach a specific point in the vast space at an exact time on its own, without anyone's help.
By firing a rocket from the constantly rotating Planet Amotia.
Furthermore, no matter how much technology had advanced, a rocket launch was bound to change in real time depending on the planet's environment.
It wasn't just punching numbers into a calculator; they had to employ absurd formulas based on all sorts of given data.
In other words, the kind of calculations that would make someone ask, “Why are there more English letters than numbers in these formulas?” when a math genius writes on a giant chalkboard in the movies.
"Can you do it?"
"It won't be easy."
So Jo I-Hyeon also said:
"The calculations change depending on the environment at the launch time... So I think it will take over 30 minutes to do the math. I'm sorry, I'm not confident I can do it any faster than that."
This meant that even a genius like her needed time to do the calculations.
"...I'm counting on you."
Of course, the moment they heard that, Kim Seojun and the others stopped worrying about the spaceship.
"Come to think of it, it was weird to worry about the granddaughter acknowledged by Doctor Space. So let's think about more realistic concerns now."
Instead, they worried about something else.
"Let's think about how to decorate the room."
The concern is what to fill Kim Seojun's Inventory with.
It was an important concern.
Considering the current situation, it seemed almost impossible to receive proper supplies in space.
This means that Planet Amotia might be their first and last resupply.
"First off, we absolutely have to stock up on cola."
"Cola?"
"Sounds a bit crazy bringing up cola out of nowhere, right? But honestly, it's big enough that we can just throw it in, isn't it?"
"That is true."
Of course, considering the size of Kim Seojun's Inventory, no matter what he filled it with, there wouldn't be many occasions to use it all.
"Alright, shall we clean up first?"
Furthermore, the most urgent matter right now was disposing of Mad Demon Lin Zhihan's corpse.
Kim Seojun hadn't opened his Inventory even once since catching her.
It wasn't even a one-in-ten-thousand chance, but if she happened to be alive, it could become a headache.
"Inventory."
With that, Kim Seojun opened his Inventory and went inside.
Once inside, he immediately came back out and spoke to everyone.
"She's dead."
Mad Demon Lin Zhihan was dead.
In a way, it was a given.
No matter how incredible Psycher Agent Mad Demon Lin Zhihan was, surviving in a completely sealed space filled with anti-tank mines was impossible.
Even if she had survived, she would have suffered a fatal injury, and she couldn't have sought any rescue or treatment inside.
"Suddenly, I'm scared to go in there."
Everyone felt a chill at that fact.
Kim Seojun himself felt the same.
To think he would end up using this Inventory Ability in such a way?
"I'll clear out the remaining anti-tank mines first."
Aside from those sentiments, Kim Seojun immediately cleaned up the inside of the Inventory.
The last thing was Mad Demon Lin Zhihan's corpse.
There was nothing intact about her remains.
Even an Agent Suit couldn't withstand the Chain Explosion of Anti-tank Mines.
"Forget recycling the suit, we couldn't even make a Card Wallet out of the remaining scraps."
Only one thing was intact.
"This is the only thing worth using."
Noah Winston's expression changed as he held the single sword that Mad Demon Lin Zhihan had possessed.
"We're in luck."
It was inevitable.
"Are you sure it's a Monofilament Cutter?"
"China might have a knack for making knockoffs, but someone like the Mad Demon wouldn't have used a fake, right?"
Monofilament Cutter.
Just as the name implied, it was a blade that sliced its target at the molecular level.
It was extremely rare.
"More than that, it's fascinating. This is only my second time seeing one in person."
"I heard it's made from the horn of a Golden Beetle."
First of all, the material for this Monofilament Cutter was the horn of a Golden Beetle, a creature whose appearance was similar to a stag beetle.
Of course, its strength was on a completely different level from that of a mere stag beetle.
Its size was massive enough to make a decent Battle Tank look like a joke, and the most terrifying part was its stag beetle-like horns—more precisely, the two horns shaped like a stag beetle's mandibles, which could cut through anything humanity had ever created.
Furthermore, true to the name Golden Beetle, the toughness of its golden body could withstand a direct nuclear explosion.
It was a terrifying monster.
"Have you ever seen a Golden Beetle in person?"
"I have never seen one."
"Right, I figured. Honestly, people don't usually ask if you've seen one, but I asked just in case."
The only fortunate thing was that the number of times the Golden Beetle had appeared was fewer than the number of times a Behemoth had appeared.
Going a bit deeper, a Behemoth was impossible to miss the moment it appeared, whereas a Golden Beetle might have appeared without humanity even realizing it, making a simple comparison difficult. But anyway, it was a rare creature to see, and the Monofilament Cutter was made from the horn of such a Golden Beetle.
It was bound to be precious in many ways.
And at the same time, it was as powerful as it was precious.
"With this, you can cut anything."
It could cut through most things that existed in space.
"Physical things, that is."
The reason he didn't use the word 'everything' here was that there were quite a few things in space that ignored such logic.
Psychers were an immediate example, and even among the Mogs, there were those with abilities that ignored Physical Destructive Power.
Even taking that into account, the fact that it was an incredible item remained unchanged.
"However,"
There was one problem.
"Do you know how to use a sword?"
There was no one among the Space Marines who used a sword.
It wasn't even in the training manual to begin with.
Unless you were a cook, the only time you used a knife in space was to tear open the packaging of goods that came through the Gate from Earth.
Kim Seojun was the same.
"I don't know how."
The only time he had held a knife was when peeling fruit.
"Really? Then what are you going to do?"
However, there was no hesitation.
"I plan to give it to Major Lee Hyena."
Because he had a comrade who would use this sword very well.
"True, since she can swing an axe, she'll probably be good with a sword too."
A very reliable comrade.
“If push comes to shove.”
Aside from that, Kim Seojun also had a Scenario of his own in mind.
‘I'll use Telekinesis.’
In other words, he was using the Monofilament Cutter with his Telekinesis.
It would require training, but even just being able to retrieve it after throwing would give it high utility value.
‘Or I'll receive training from Major Lee Hyena.’
Or simply training hard every single day from now on to use a sword was another method.
In any case, how to use the Monofilament Cutter wasn't something worth worrying about.
"Are we all set then? We just need to fill the inside, right? Is there anything special you want to pack and put in?"
"There is one thing I want to try."
"One thing?"
Here, Kim Seojun had one concern.
"First, everyone gather around, please."
Facing that concern, Kim Seojun gathered all his comrades, and that fact made them tense up.
Gathering everyone to speak meant it was no ordinary matter!
To the tense group, Kim Seojun said:
"As you all know, space is currently dominated by Mogs. There is a chance we might encounter Mogs unluckily when we enter space. And combat is not easy in space."
At those words, a bleak future was imagined in everyone's minds.
"Ultimately, Concealment is important, and for that, please leave enough space to fit the Emergency Escape Spaceship when filling the Inventory. At the same time, everyone, please get ready."
"Get ready? Ready for what?"
To his comrades, Kim Seojun said:
"I am going to open the Inventory in space."
Whatever they imagined, they would see something beyond it.