Chapter : 63
Artifact (5)
“No, I mean… business or not… right now, Team 1 is missing. You’re saying you’ll help them, correct? Am I understanding this correctly?”
“You understood perfectly.”
Suhyeon, who usually claimed most things were as easy as breathing, was clearly overestimating this time. Jo Seunghyun’s headache started to return. Should he trust Suhyeon and go along, or should he trust his own reasoning and stop him?
‘This isn’t a runaway train…!’
“Hey, I’m still the boss, you know.”
“Who said you’re not?”
“Just… reassure me. Even if it’s a good opportunity, do you really have to risk your life doing crazy things every time? We finally got on track, so can’t we go safely for once…?”
Jo Seunghyun’s voice was desperate. Hearing a middle-aged man’s desperate tone wasn’t exactly pleasant. Suhyeon shook his head as if there was no choice.
“This isn’t really crazy. I’ve thought it through before saying this.”
“How?”
“Why are you opposing me?”
“First, Team Jindo is completely missing. Not a single one has returned. Right?”
“Right.”
“Then that means it’s an extremely dangerous place!”
“No, that’s not the case.”
Suhyeon wagged his finger.
“You can’t conclude that. Think about Karkrita Valley. You can’t jump to conclusions about what happens on Cameron Planet. I’m sure Team Jindo and others are thinking: ‘Some unknown powerful monster in the Kebaswak region attacked Team 1, and they were either annihilated or trapped inside.’ Something like that.”
Jo Seunghyun had roughly expected the same.
“No?”
“Team Jindo isn’t that weak. Monsters strong enough to wipe out the entire team are rare. And usually, monsters that strong don’t hide their presence.”
Karkrita Valley had been an extreme exception. Normally, Team Jindo could survive in most situations.
The possibility of a monster powerful enough to wipe out the entire team was low. Moreover, the Kebaswak region had been explored several times, and Suhyeon knew what could appear there. He was confident: there was no monster there capable of annihilating Team Jindo.
“I think differently. They probably encountered a unique monster. One that traps an entire team in a rare situation. We wouldn’t normally run into such a monster. Its identity is unknown.”
“…!”
“With time, Team Jindo might break out on their own if lucky, or perish if unlucky. But that’s not important. What’s important is that Team Jindo’s body is in danger. If we propose a negotiation for their rescue now, almost anything will be possible.”
Suhyeon’s eyes flashed intensely. He was already scheming to squeeze something out from Team Jindo. Seeing that, Jo Seunghyun sighed. It was too late to stop him; all he could do was hope Suhyeon would handle things well with his unique abilities, as usual.
‘He’s already on board.’
“You’re really sure about this?”
“As always, I’ll show you myself.”
Suhyeon’s confident demeanor made Jo Seunghyun realize that he knew something about the Kebaswak region—just like with Karkrita Valley.
“…Sometimes you scare me. Normally, you’d just be doing small jobs…”
“Haha, why say that now?”
Suhyeon was a top-tier talent capable of excelling anywhere. And yet, he was toiling in a small company.
“You seem to be thinking unnecessary thoughts.”
“Huh? No, no.”
“Are you thinking about why I work at a place like this…?”
‘The sharp kid!’
“You really are thinking that? Anyway, when you move on later, you won’t think like that anymore. Did my request to help decide the company’s direction seem like a joke to you?”
“Even if we tried deciding a meaningless company direction…”
“We just have to make it bigger.”
Suhyeon had a knack for speaking seriously about things others would laugh at. And he radiated the power to make what he said a reality.
“Anyway, it’s lucky the other side is Team Jindo. They might be tough elsewhere, but they’ll have no choice but to be shaken by us.”
Having worked with Team Jindo before, they knew exactly how Uncle Jo Company operated: carefully gathering information and maximizing efficiency.
“Send a proposal. Include a healer, and express willingness to rescue Team Jindo 1.”
“And our demand?”
“Obviously, the artifact.”
They couldn’t demand business concessions. Even if they got them, managing them would be problematic, and Team Jindo wouldn’t let it slide anyway. If they tried to take what Team Jindo had established in the Outerf region, Team Jindo would retaliate with sabotage. It was a delicate issue.
“Artifact… will they even give it?”
“I think it’s likely. They’re not idiots; they’ll hide the most important artifacts. We can’t get those anyway, so we’ll settle for the others on the list. We don’t have enough psychics right now.”
“That’s true.”
“Before negotiating with Team Jindo, contact Choi Hyunmin to finalize things. The government will also welcome it if possible.”
By now, Uncle Jo Company wasn’t some nameless company. It had rapidly built an impressive track record. A serious rescue proposal from them couldn’t be taken lightly. The government would also be glad if Team Jindo 1 returned safely, resolving the security issues in Redwood Forest.
“Alright. Let’s do this!”
Even while Jo Seunghyun was negotiating, Suhyeon didn’t rest. He intended to handle this alone.
In fact, it was easier to go solo since he didn’t need to hide his powers. Others might see him as suicidal, but he was used to surviving alone in unexplored areas.
To resolve this mission, he had to act flashy, but if he was too obvious, even familiar teammates would get suspicious.
“Once more.”
“Cough!”
“You still have strength left. Stand up. If you can’t use your powers, at least use the artifact properly.”
Suhyeon was training Kim Changsik. The best candidate to wield the Lightning Axe was awakened psychic Kim Changsik. His abilities were limited, so his advantage as a psychic had to be expressed through the artifact.
“You need to control it well enough to hit that target. If you hurt allies, you’ll be responsible. Even as a healer, I don’t want to fix every injury.”
“B-But… that’s so far…”
Suhyeon silently took the Lightning Axe from Kim Changsik and swung lightly. Blue electricity shot out, hitting the distant target perfectly.
“!!!”
“If I can do it, so can you. Simple principle. I’ll likely be away for work, so make sure you can do it while I’m gone.”
“This is cheating…! Let’s compete using something other than talent!”
“It’s not cheating. I’ve lived longer as a psychic, so control differences are natural. Stop whining and practice. Mastering an artifact takes effort, nothing else.”
While he spoke, Jo Seunghyun called him from afar. Suhyeon wiped his sweat with a towel and walked over.
“How’s it going?”
“The negotiation seems to be working. Even if they didn’t show it, they were thrilled.”
“Of course. If Team 1 is gone, the deal’s done. But what do you mean ‘seems’? Is there a problem?”
Suhyeon noticed something odd and asked.
“Hmm… we requested two artifacts, right? One in advance, one later.”
“Right.”
One as an upfront payment, one as a success reward for rescuing Team 1. Official documents were more complicated, but that was the gist.
“They resisted until the end. They said they’d pay the advance in money, so we’ll get the two artifacts as success rewards.”
“I can understand that… but…”
If Suhyeon returned and said, ‘We couldn’t help Team 1,’ Team Jindo wouldn’t have much ground to complain—they’d just lose one artifact for nothing. Artifacts were critical in the absence of Team 1.
“But the disappointing part is still on our side, right?”
“Yeah. So we tried coordinating with government officials, but Team Jindo was persistent.”
Suhyeon paused. From their reaction, Team Jindo probably wouldn’t concede further—they were scared of potential failure.
“Then take the money.”
“What?!”
Jo Seunghyun was shocked. Money was not trivial, but taking it would undermine the original plan.
“Advance payment. It’s hard for them to be bold in this situation. Instead, request three artifacts if we succeed.”
“…?”
“If we successfully rescue Team 1’s key personnel, three artifacts. More expensive, but worth it if successful. They’ll accept this.”
“Are you sure? If it fails…”
“Even if it’s risky, we have to go big. And I trust Team Jindo 1. With their skills, it’s a gamble we can take.”
“Alright. I’ll renegotiate.”
“Thanks. Oh, one more thing.”
“?”
“Won’t you tell the team? They need to prepare mentally.”
“Ah. This time, I’m going alone.”
“?!?!?!?!?!”
Jo Seunghyun was stunned.
“Alone?”
“It’s not a big deal. We’re not exploring or exterminating. If Team Jindo 1 is alive, treat and bring them out. If not, just leave. Solo is easier.”
The absurdity of Suhyeon’s logic somehow felt reasonable. Jo Seunghyun tried to steady himself.
“You’re not doing this because of Lee Sohee, right?”
He thought of a plausible reason—family-related matters could make one less cold. Suhyeon just stared at him, as if saying, ‘What are you talking about?’
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“…Lee Sohee is related to Team 1’s leader, right? I thought you said that…”
“Oh. Right? That’s good. She’ll be happy if we rescue them.”
Suhyeon casually mentioned bringing snacks back, like it was no big deal. Jo Seunghyun realized one thing for sure:
‘This kid has no blood, no tears.’
In situations like this, he was reliable—he wouldn’t be swayed by emotion. But Suhyeon hadn’t even remembered Lee Sohee’s possible concerns.
“Stop wasting time. Just negotiate properly with Team Jindo and don’t let yourself be hindered later.”
“It’s not a secret contract in a closed room. Government officials will be present… oh, I guess I need to tell them I’m going solo too.”
He imagined the officials’ reactions: staring as if he were crazy, or trying to stop him. The thought of convincing them all to proceed made him uneasy.
‘Good thing we didn’t ask for the artifact in advance…’
Two days later, the negotiation between Uncle Jo Company and Team Jindo was complete. The conditions remained as Suhyeon had revised.
The very next day, Suhyeon departed, fully prepared.
