Chapter : 51
Kakrida Valley (1)
“Gathering worn-out mercenaries from Cameron Planet to form another team isn’t a bad idea, but it’s not cost-effective. There are countless mercenary companies with such thoughts, but those kinds of people know their own value, so they rarely come easily. Bring in soldiers. There are still plenty of people on Earth who have illusions about this place.”
Even with just Team 1, there were countless people dreaming of striking it rich by following Jo Seung-hyun.
“Bring those people. I’ll handle their adaptation here.”
“…!”
“Team Leader Lee Jung-woo, did you hear?”
“What is it?”
“Uncle Jo Company sold their rights to the Redwood Forest.”
“What? When?!”
Lee Jung-woo, who rarely changed his expression, was surprised at this. If there was an auction for the rights to the Redwood Forest, word of it could not possibly have been contained.
“An auction? When exactly?”
“No, it wasn’t an auction. They negotiated separately… and handed it over to the Guseong side.”
“Guseong?”
“Yes.”
“…They’re making a stupid move. Those guys too.”
“?”
The teammate who spoke tilted their head in confusion. Lee Jung-woo sighed. Psychics often received special treatment for their abilities, even if other skills were inferior to ordinary people. In that regard, his subordinates were somewhat lacking in intelligence.
“Do I really have to explain this one by one? Listen. Uncle Jo Company doesn’t have the ability to manage the Redwood Forest on their own.”
“But we stopped them last time, didn’t we? If it weren’t for them, we’d have taken serious damage too.”
While the operations team might not know, most of the field agents had a favorable view of Uncle Jo Company, largely thanks to Su-hyun. They had saved lives without considering profit; no one held resentment for that.
“What a foolish guy. I’m not denying their achievements. But can they stop recurring problems and manage them alone?”
“That… would be difficult, right? They didn’t have many people either.”
“Exactly. In the last fight, if we hadn’t been there, they would have been crushed immediately.”
Lee Jung-woo wasn’t underestimating Uncle Jo Company. They had detected the ambush, eliminated the attackers, and disrupted the battle from behind. That alone was commendable.
But the decisive power in the fight came from the psychics of Team Jindo 1. That’s what Lee Jung-woo believed. He could never imagine Su-hyun luring the enemies away, handling them separately, discovering the psychic-cancellation device, and intentionally destroying it. That was beyond imagination.
“Selling it is simply the most profitable move. I don’t know who’s trying to take it, but now that they’ve been stopped immediately, selling it is the optimal time.”
“So they sold it?”
“Foolish guy. I said they sold it through private negotiations, not an auction. Still don’t get it?”
“??”
“They were trying to get in with the government. Selling it to Guseong is no coincidence—they’re practically a government-affiliated company.”
“That’s okay, isn’t it? And being recognized by the government is good.”
“You… you need to learn to think as well as you use your powers. If they had auctioned it, they could have earned multiples more than Guseong’s offer. We could have intervened too…”
Lee Jung-woo clicked his tongue regretfully. The territory lost due to Choi Jae-ho’s mistake was truly a shame.
“And cozying up with the government requires strategy. Handing them one thing doesn’t mean they’ll treat you well. If you have nothing to offer, you’ll just be discarded. They’re trying shortcuts instead of building proper influence. It’s only the agents who end up wasted.”
“They seemed competent there.”
“Healing psychics?”
“No, the other agents. They killed quite a few before the open-field fight. They fought uniquely… using arrows. You saw that, right?”
On Cameron Planet, there were plenty of people with unusual fighting methods. Arrow-based traps were nothing surprising. Seeing the bodies hit by arrows, they assumed Uncle Jo Company had trapped them.
“Maybe it was because they weren’t psychics that they fought so well. Unable to rely on powers, they learned how to fight on their own.”
“Sir, you shouldn’t say that. You’re the strongest psychic.”
“Who said otherwise? I’m just pointing out that non-psychics can fight effectively too.”
“I’d rather just fight with my powers than get into all that small-scale combat.”
Hearing his subordinate, Lee Jung-woo went into thought. The reason their powers hadn’t activated was still unresolved. Even if temporary, it had been a horrific situation.
“Those guys… still unidentified?”
“Yes. All are unknown.”
“Then it’s hopeless. What method did they use?”
“Maybe smoke?”
“Smoke?”
“They disappeared temporarily, then reappeared… seems most plausible.”
Su-hyun, knowing the future, had precise information, but they could only guess.
“They definitely disappeared temporarily, then came back.”
“Don’t worry too much. This time they rushed out because of the ambush, but next time, they won’t fight like this.”
Unlike Lee Jung-woo, his subordinates were at ease. They didn’t expect their powers to be blocked again. If it worked like a smoke effect, it was easy to avoid—and recovery was quick, indicating no issue with antidotes.
‘The problem arises when it’s not that simple.’
Lee Jung-woo gave up pondering and stood. Worrying here would change nothing. As Team Leader of Jindo 1, he had plenty of other responsibilities.
“Enough. If it’s gone to Guseong, the Korean military will be there. For cooperation, they’re more reliable than Uncle Jo Company.”
“It’d feel better if we sold it ourselves, though.”
“Are you out of your mind? What would we gain?”
“True, true.”
“And…”
“?”
“Tell the lower ranks to keep an eye on Uncle Jo Company.”
“Excuse me? Why?”
“They’re unpredictable. Choi Jae-ho failed, but healing psychics are valuable. It’s worth another try. If they waver, we’ll take them.”
“Understood. We’ll do that.”
Such scouting carried no risk. The subordinate smiled and left the room. Alone, Lee Jung-woo rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought. Somehow, Uncle Jo Company’s team leader left a strong impression on him, for reasons even he didn’t understand.
Apart from healing powers and judgment, there was nothing notable about him. Lee Jung-woo assumed Su-hyun had already assessed him—but the uneasy feeling remained. He didn’t realize it was instinctive—a predator misjudged as a cat.
“This is the current government’s list of uncharted territories.”
“Even just looking at the data is chilling. Three teams failed, two disappeared. The companies attempting this must be hurting.”
“This isn’t someone else’s problem. We could be in that situation too.”
“Just trust me.”
“That’s easier said than done… Ah, you were trying to scout someone from Team Jindo?”
“Ah, that? Who told you? I’ve set the bait, but I’m not sure how it’ll turn out.”
‘If we’re going to recruit, it has to be before awakening as a psychic.’
Once Kang In-gyu awakened, recruitment would be virtually impossible. Psychics aren’t released easily, and attempting to recruit would require risking life and limb.
The problem was Kang In-gyu was unexpectedly formidable. His timid, fearful nature made recruitment difficult. If he were confident or arrogant, it would have been easier to manipulate and recruit him—but that approach failed completely.
After the fight, they continued contacting Kang In-gyu while helping Team Jindo, but the outcome remained uncertain. A serious attempt would have to wait until after the next mission.
“Is he worth the effort?”
“Hmm…”
Su-hyun trailed off. As a curse user, he was valuable. Beyond being a psychic, with no other psychics in the team, his ability to curse was extremely precious.
“If handled properly, he’s definitely worth it.”
“Really? Should I try contacting him?”
“Would backfire. He’s timid; if I, then the boss, contact him, he’ll probably be scared off. Leave him be. He’s not the priority now.”
Su-hyun selected one from the list.
“Kakrida Valley. That will be our next destination.”
Hearing this, Jo Seung-hyun reviewed details on Kakrida Valley. The teams that had failed…
“All five teams disappeared…?”
“That’s due to lack of ability.”
Kakrida Valley was unusual, even by Cameron Planet standards. Before Su-hyun’s team conquered it, many had died there.
But once its nature was understood, it was surprisingly easy. That was often the case—people risked their lives for one simple fact.
“So, we just go in, identify the risks, and come back…”
“By the way, how will you explain this to the agents?”
“Oh, simple. Only take those who want to go.”
“Really? Is that okay?”
“This isn’t the military. We can’t force anyone who refuses.”
Su-hyun didn’t see it as dangerous, but others might. He wouldn’t force anyone; he was confident he could handle it alone if needed.
“Explain the rewards, and let only those who want participate. Nothing more is needed.”
“Got it. I’ll do that.”
Since they were handling government missions, everyone had guaranteed compensation—a base sum in the hundreds of millions. But mercenaries willing to take on such tasks rarely acted for money alone.
‘Exploration discoveries usually give priority to the mercenaries.’
Once resources were found, those who risked their lives got priority. For now, Uncle Jo Company’s strength required full government involvement, but as they grew, they could claim shares.
Jo Seung-hyun gathered the agents and explained Su-hyun’s plan: the risks, the rewards, and that participation was voluntary. After the explanation, Team 1 of Uncle Jo Company decided to participate fully.
“Kakrida Valley? Isn’t that reckless? And Kakrida Valley of all places? Did you explain it properly?”
“I explained it properly!”
“Well, no one would do this without understanding… Uncle Jo Company hasn’t been around long, right? How many psychics do they have?”
“Only the team leader is a healing psychic, as far as I know.”
“And they want to challenge Kakrida Valley? Hmm… I feel guilty letting them risk their lives after taking everything. Feels like sending people to slaughter after taking the spoils.”
Lee Won-jae, head of the Development Planning Bureau, clicked his tongue at the report. He knew of Uncle Jo Company’s exploits. They had recently earned high merit for the Redwood Forest incident.
Since the request came from such a group, he couldn’t refuse, but it still seemed beyond their capacity.
“There’s no choice. They applied after checking everything themselves.”
“That’s true.”
No matter how dangerous, the final choice was personal. Uncle Jo Company declined other rewards, choosing this mission, so there was no reason to stop them.
“Fine. Approve it, and tell them to request anything they need.”
