1.
“Take the supplies?”
“Yes.”
The moment Major Lee Hyena heard Kim Seojun’s plan, she didn’t raise any major objections. First off, Kim Seojun’s group hadn’t managed to properly secure anything at the Hongwon Mining Site. There was no helping it; loading supplies onto the Military Truck, increasing its weight and slowing its Mobility, right before a battle with the terrifying Tank Beetles, would have been nothing short of a Crazy Act. As such, leaving those supplies behind was regrettable in many ways. Of course, the question still arose.
“What’s the route?”
“According to Private First Class Park Boseop, there won’t be any problems. However, the travel time to Poland Headquarters will increase by about eight hours.”
“Eight hours.”
Was it worth investing such a significant amount of time? Normally, perhaps not, but their destination was Poland Headquarters, and according to Major Jan Zabłocki, while Poland Headquarters was short on personnel, it wasn’t lacking in Supply Materials. While more is always better, eight hours was by no means a short time on Planet Amotia, which had become an Apocalypse. Kim Seojun knew this too. Nevertheless, his reason for making such a proposal wasn’t solely due to his Inventory ability.
“After securing the supplies, we need to blow that place up.”
“Blow it up?”
There was something just as important as that.
“Yes. There will definitely be Surveillance Equipment there. We need to deal with it, and the most certain way is just to blow up the Mining Site.”
Chinese Headquarters was the most powerful faction on Planet Amotia.
“These are guys who steal even when the Gate is destroyed. They won’t just leave alone those who took their stuff. Even if those people are the rightful owners.”
Moreover, they were among the worst people to deal with on Planet Amotia.
“No, if they find out the rightful owners took their own stuff, they’ll be even more determined to kill them. It’s the perfect situation for destroying evidence.”
Upon hearing that, Major Lee Hyena no longer questioned him. Besides, she didn’t have the authority to. The command authority rested with Kim Seojun. Only one thing remained.
“The supplies, you mean?”
It was time to explain to Major Jan Zabłocki, who would be accompanying them to Poland Headquarters from now on.
“I’m not so shameless as to argue about the destination, being a freeloading passenger.”
Of course, he didn’t raise any objections either.
“Alright, then, let’s depart.”
*Vrooom!
The prepared vehicle began driving towards Hongwon Mining Site once more. There were no major problems on the way. It wasn’t peaceful. Everywhere, packs of Mogdogs, around ten or so, had taken up positions. They were like landmines. They were living landmines created by the Mogs to deal with humans across the vast Planet! And they were quite lethal. The moment anything entered a Mogdog pack’s range, it would shriek wildly, summoning all nearby Mogdogs.
“There’s a pack of Mogdogs about one kilometer ahead. Avoid them.”
“Yes, sir.”
Despite this, there were no problems, thanks to Kim Seojun’s eyes. His talent, Hawk Eye, had reached E-rank through a newly acquired item.
My eyesight increases by 1 every time a rank goes up.
And though it wasn’t certain, Kim Seojun’s eyesight had become 4 with this rank-up. The difference between 3 and 4 was, naturally, enormous, and Private First Class Park Boseop keenly felt that difference.
“Thanks to Staff Sergeant Kim, it’s quite comfortable.”
Kim Seojun didn’t respond to Private First Class Park Boseop’s words. Instead, he hardened his expression.
There are a lot of landmines.
In his view, the number of Mogdog packs in this area was by no means normal.
It’s true the Tank Beetles were dealt with.
That meant the Mogs had focused their attention here, and there was no reason for it. But Kim Seojun knew. The Mogs couldn’t simply react this quickly. More precisely, the Mogs each had their own leaders, special individuals, and these individuals moved independently, like tribal chiefs. So, even if they cooperated, they never did so this quickly.
Even so, moving this quickly means a Queen is about to be born.
Except for one single case. That fact made Kim Seojun ponder.
Even if we find a Queen, Space Support is impossible in the current situation.
It went without saying that when Psychers found a Queen, they didn’t challenge it to a fair one-on-one duel right there and then to catch it.
It wasn’t that there were no Psychers capable of such a feat, but they were extremely few; most Psychers, upon discovering a Queen, would have waiting Space battleships concentrate their fire on it.
And naturally, with the Gate destroyed and Space in chaos, there was no possibility of proper support.
In any case, from Kim Seojun’s perspective, everything was at its worst.
That’s why supplies were crucial.
*I have to survive on my own.*
Poland Headquarters might have many supplies, but it was impossible to put all of them into his Inventory. On the other hand, the supplies currently at Hongwon Mining Site were different. Since China had conveniently “laundered” them, he could freely put them into his Inventory and use them when needed. In many ways, Kim Seojun absolutely had to go to Hongwon Mining Site, and after a long drive, everyone arrived.
“There are no signs of anyone having entered since we left.”
Fortunately, it was exactly as they had left it. To be precise, the small stones Kim Seojun had set up inside the entrance, just in case, so only he would recognize them, were still there.
“Only the Major and I will go in.”
Knowing this, Kim Seojun led Major Lee Hyena without hesitation towards where the stolen goods were. It was a familiar path, and they quickly arrived at the Warehouse, where they saw supplies piled up like mountains. Seeing this, Major Lee Hyena felt a pang of regret. Because they couldn’t even take a quarter of a quarter of these. Just then.
“Major.”
Kim Seojun spoke to her.
“This is my ability.”
“Ability?”
In front of her questioning gaze, Kim Seojun demonstrated. The piled-up supplies disappeared.
“Huh?”
While Major Lee Hyena was surprised by this, Kim Seojun repeatedly placed the supplies into his Inventory.
“Wh-what in the world!”
As Major Lee Hyena finally grasped the meaning and gasped in astonishment, Kim Seojun spoke.
“There are two reasons I’m showing you my ability, Major. One is that the current situation is that urgent and dangerous. The other is my trust in you.”
At his words, specifically the word “trust,” Major Lee Hyena’s expression changed. She nodded.
“Thank you.”
She offered her thanks, then asked.
“Is there any way I can help?”
“It’s not easy to pick up each one individually and put it in. So, please hand me the supply boxes.”
“Understood.”
At his words, Major Lee Hyena immediately moved.
“Here.” Using her Superhuman Strength, she handed the heavy supply boxes to Kim Seojun.
“Here.”
Again.
“Here.”
Repeatedly.
“...Here.”
Many dozens of times.
“...*Crazy*.”
And when the count reached triple digits, a gasp of astonishment escaped Major Lee Hyena’s lips. Because all the supplies that the Chinese Space Force on Planet Amotia had diligently stolen—that immense quantity—had now all fit into Kim Seojun’s Inventory. Kim Seojun was surprised too.
It really all fit in.
He knew its approximate size, but actually putting the supply materials in showed him it was no joke.
There’s even enough space left for a Hoverbike.
Far from being insufficient, there was a significant amount of space remaining.
“We won’t have to worry about supplies for a while.”
Kim Seojun stated this briefly, and Major Lee Hyena thought. With this much material, by Kim Seojun’s standards, he wouldn’t need any more supplies until he died, not just for a while.
“So, if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
At Kim Seojun’s subsequent words, Major Lee Hyena let out a hollow laugh and nodded.
“Underst—”
- Respond.
Just then, where they were, a voice suddenly echoed, and both of them fell silent. Their gazes sharpened. They looked towards the source of the sound. There was a radio there.
- Respond.
And a voice spoke from the radio.
- This is Headquarters. Respond.
Major Lee Hyena thought at the subsequent voice.
No need to stir up trouble.
Let’s ignore it. Just then, Kim Seojun moved in front of Major Lee Hyena, who was even holding her breath. He approached the radio, fiddled with the language pack a few times, then pressed the radio’s Call Button and spoke.
“Responding.”
2.
“Responding.”
The moment Major Lee Hyena heard the Chinese coming through the Chinese language pack, she was utterly astonished.
*What the!*
It was no different from breaking into someone’s house to steal and then answering the homeowner’s phone.
Kim Seojun’s story didn’t even end there.
“I apologize for the lack of response. There was an accident.”
He immediately continued the conversation.
- An accident? Why wasn’t it reported?
Kim Seojun answered the follow-up question.
“There was an explosion during the process of dismantling the Psycher Supplies.”
- An explosion?
“It was a very large explosion. There was significant damage as a result.”
- What’s the status of the Psycher Supplies?
“They are too severely damaged to be recognizable. I apologize. I will return to Headquarters as soon as the situation is cleared up.”
- No, remain there for now and sort out the situation.
“Thank you.”
After that, the moment the conversation ended, Kim Seojun removed his finger from the Call Button and gave Major Lee Hyena a look., indicating she could speak.
“Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun, what is your intention?”
And Major Lee Hyena immediately posed her question, to which Kim Seojun replied.
“Our relationship wasn’t good to begin with, but now we’ve crossed a point of no return with China.” “What does that have to do with answering the radio call?” “Headquarters will soon dispatch troops here to eliminate the subordinates who are currently here.” “Eliminate?” “Yes, because no Superior Officer would just leave alone a subordinate trying to embezzle their property.”
At his words, Major Lee Hyena recalled the conversation Kim Seojun had just had, and then understood.
“An explosion causing the loss of goods, and even the disappearance of a Psycher Agent’s items—who would believe that?”
From a Superior Officer’s perspective, this would undoubtedly look like a trick.
“Rather, they’ll think this: something incredible came out of the supply boxes, and so the subordinates are risking their lives to embezzle the stolen goods. In that situation, Major Lee Hyena, what would you do?”
At his words, only one answer came to Major Lee Hyena’s mind.
“I’d send troops.”
“Yes, they would. Someone reliable and highly skilled who can come here as quickly as possible to recover the valuable items is required. And in this Space, there’s only one type of being capable of that.”
“A Psycher?”
“Yes.”
At that, Major Lee Hyena said, surprised.
“Surely you’re not thinking of killing a Psycher?”
“I have no such intention.”
Kim Seojun immediately denied the question. He knew. Just how monstrous Psychers were. That unless one could definitively kill them, they were beings to be avoided.
“What I want is to confirm something.”
Nevertheless, the reason he did this was simple.
“If this incident was orchestrated at the Major level, then dispatching a Psycher would be impossible. However, if a Psycher is dispatched here without any hesitation, it means the theft of supplies was commanded by someone higher up.”
“Higher up?”
To more accurately identify the enemy. And regarding that, Kim Seojun already had one certainty.
“I believe that a Colonel-level officer, specifically the Branch Commander of the Chinese Branch on Planet Amotia, is involved in this matter.”
3. The Amotia Planet Chinese Headquarters boasted the largest size and power on Planet Amotia. The biggest evidence of such power was none other than the rank of the Branch Commander of Chinese Headquarters. Unlike other nations, which appointed Majors or Lieutenant Colonels as Branch Commanders, China had a Senior Colonel, meaning a Colonel-level officer, serving as Branch Commander. Of course, that didn’t mean the Branch Commander position on Planet Amotia was a key post for powerful figures. If it were such a land flowing with milk and honey, other nations wouldn’t have held back on their investments. It was clearly a backwater post, and there was only one reason a person with the rank of Senior Colonel would be stationed in such a position. He was someone who couldn’t earn a star, someone whose career path had ended. Senior Colonel Wang Lei was such a person. Once highly successful, he was immediately relegated to a backwater post when the faction he was aligned with lost in a power struggle. And the moment he was pushed to a backwater post, his life’s goal became one thing.
“To make as much as possible before I’m forced out.”
The first thing Senior Colonel Wang Lei did upon his assignment to Planet Amotia was to establish a system for plundering supplies. Of course, he wasn’t trying to make money by collecting Regular Supplies. His objective was Psycher Supplies, and he had cast bait everywhere, waiting for a big catch someday. And finally, a big fish was caught on that bait. Hawk Eye! He had identified the drop location of the supplies requested by that Psycher Agent, representing America. And while those supplies were being stolen, news arrived.
Now that there’s a problem with the Gate.
That something enormous had happened in Space. In truth, it was a terrifying development, but Senior Colonel Wang Lei wasn’t worried in the slightest. It was dangerous for other soldiers, but it posed no problem for Senior Colonel Wang Lei. He had the strongest air-raid shelter on Planet Amotia, and even an escape vessel to evacuate to Space in an emergency. There was no reason to be afraid when he could escape to Space at any time.
This is a golden opportunity.
Instead, he thought this chaos was an opportunity, a chance to gather everything he had stolen so far and return to Earth. So, Senior Colonel Wang Lei waited for the “gift box” to arrive with more excitement than ever before.
“It seems they’re trying to embezzle the goods.”
However, the news that arrived, far from exciting him, made his anger surge. Senior Colonel Wang Lei didn’t say much at that fact. He immediately pressed a button on his office desk, and a man appeared right away. The slender man saluted the moment he appeared, and Senior Colonel Wang Lei spoke to him.
“How much time do you need to deal with everything and recover the goods?” “24 hours will be enough!”
That immediate answer was surprising. It took over 10 hours one way by a military truck from here to the destination, Hongwon Mining Site. Yet, to deal with it within 24 hours? That was an absurd claim. However, the one who spoke could make it possible. A Psycher! That special being disregarded the standards of ordinary humans. But Senior Colonel Wang Lei was not satisfied with that astonishing answer.
“Deal with it within 15 hours.”
He gave an even tighter deadline, and the Psycher Agent looked surprised by this. Even if he was a Psycher, that was an impossible task.
“I will provide you with Uryong.”
But the moment he heard the word Uryong, the Psycher Agent’s expression changed. He couldn’t help but react that way. Uryong—it was the most advanced Hoverbike among all those currently produced by China, so incredible that valuing it with money was meaningless. Currently, only three Uryongs were deployed at Amotia Planet Chinese Headquarters. And those three weren’t for soldiers fighting on the Battlefield. They were for Senior Colonel Wang Lei to use when escaping in a dire emergency. The moment he heard that, Major Jiang Wei said without hesitation.
“I will deal with it and return within 12 hours!”
Three hours later, Senior Colonel Wang Lei received a report.
“Contact with Agent Jiang Wei has been lost!”