Chapter : 121
Haimken (1)
Until further contact arrived, Suhyun spent his time frugally—mostly training Gu Jung-chul.
Gu Jung-chul was like a sword whose edge had dulled. Rust had even formed on it, making it difficult for most people to recognize his value—but Suhyun believed in his true potential.
“So… what do we do?”
“Where else would we go? Run together.”
The other operatives tried to slip away while watching Gu Jung-chul tumble frantically, but they were caught in the act.
“You’ve gotten lazy with nothing going on lately. Especially you, Kim Chang-sik. You’re a psychic, yet you don’t focus on developing your abilities?”
“What’s the point of developing my abilities…?”
“You won’t know until you develop them. Complaining without even developing your powers? Don’t whine if your ability has good efficiency!”
As he pushed the operatives mercilessly, Suhyun fell into thought. Looking at the future of Uncle Joe Company, he expected that a few more psychics should have emerged from among them. Yet, surprisingly, even after considerable time, there had been no response.
I didn’t mess up the future, did I?
One of Suhyun’s biggest concerns was how the future might have changed because of his appearance. The overall flow hadn’t changed much, but the lives of individual members of Uncle Joe Company must have shifted dramatically.
The awakening conditions for psychics were completely irregular. If they missed their awakening due to the altered future, it would become a serious problem.
In the end, all Suhyun could do was trust and wait.
If we’re going to keep moving with this team, it’d be nice if two or three more showed up…
“Keep moving your feet! Just because you’re strong doesn’t mean you can take every hit. Dodge what you can and only block what needs blocking!”
Suhyun shouted while pounding on Gu Jung-chul. His ability was specialized for defense, but that didn’t mean he could ignore evasion. Among monsters and other psychics, there were plenty who could pierce his defense.
A fight of spear against shield was only necessary in unavoidable situations.
“Team Leader, there’s a message…”
“From where?”
“From the Development Planning Bureau.”
“Bring it here.”
Suhyun frowned at the report sent by the Development Planning Bureau. He hadn’t requested much from them—mostly just updates on a government-led team project.
Of course, even this was nearly top secret. In his previous position, he wouldn’t have been allowed access. But now, his status had changed.
Before, he was just a member of a government team. Now, he was part of one of the few strongest cards the government had—and he himself was a magician.
“They’re advancing quickly. Indeed, they are capable…”
Suhyun’s interest focused on two things: the creation of a special unit within the military, and the recruitment via the conventional private mercenary company method.
Currently, Joo Won-jun was advancing rapidly using the latter method. He had already completed four missions, cleverly exploiting the gap created by the Dragon Slayer project.
Better to take him out before he becomes troublesome.
In the past, he had been a competitor, almost an enemy, and possibly one of the causes behind Suhyun’s previous accident. Leaving him alone would yield no benefits.
Fortunately, Suhyun had already found a weakness in Joo Won-jun. To exploit it properly, he had sent the orc team led by Mogok, who had not yet returned.
“What are you looking at?”
“Nothing much. More importantly, what’s going on? Want to join in if you’re bored?”
“Absolutely not. The orcs have returned.”
“!”
“And so have the guests.”
“Who?”
“They’re from Blue Bear.”
“Tell Mogok he did well and let him rest for a while. Sorry, but I need the goods first.”
There was only one reason for the Blue Bear team to arrive at this time: the items sent by Chairman Charles.
“Narrow place, isn’t it?”
“If this is narrow, most places would be.”
Suhyun immediately realized who was trustworthy. Seeing Charles himself leading the Blue Bear operatives, he was surprised—Charles wasn’t someone who should be directly involved.
“I didn’t expect you to come personally.”
“Just shows how much I like you.”
“I like you a lot too, Chairman.”
The expressions of the Blue Bear Team 2 members standing behind changed slightly.
What is… this?
“Sometimes, getting out like this is good for your health.”
“Good to hear. I’ll take it easy then.”
This guy…
Suhyun did indeed act casually when told to. Charles clicked his tongue.
“Bring out the goods.”
Whitman carefully brought over a sealed metal box.
“Even while transporting it, secrecy was maintained. You understand the significance, right?”
“Means it’s something easily abused, I guess.”
“Yes. It’s quiet now, but terrorism isn’t always by non-humans. If we focus just on terrorism, humans are actually more suspicious than other races. How many of the so-called non-human terrorist acts were really done by humans?”
Charles was sharp. Having observed Cameron firsthand since its early days, he knew things differently. Suhyun had learned many things through personal experience; Charles knew through observation and analysis.
Cameron was a land of opportunity and a place where surveillance was weaker than on Earth. One could cause chaos and have ample places to hide.
Countries entering Cameron all had enemies. There weren’t many who could confront China or the U.S. directly, but there were many who disliked them.
In this sense, the monster guidance device was arguably more powerful than a bomb. With monsters nearby, one could instantly incite terror.
This was not an item meant for civilians, but neither Suhyun nor Charles worried about that.
“You don’t seem worried, Chairman.”
“That’s because I won’t be harmed by this.”
Charles was bluntly cold.
“This can only cause terror at bases near monsters. Are there monsters around Washington? No one’s going to bring monsters close to a city for terror. A bomb would be more straightforward anyway.”
“That’s true, but…”
Suhyun tapped the metal box.
“Reality always surpasses imagination.”
“Don’t worry. I always prepare Plan B. My surroundings will be safer than most U.S. bases.”
“Of course.”
The psychic bodyguards nearby weren’t his full strength. Suhyun thought as he extended his hand.
“Anyway, thank you for coming.”
“Can we say we’re closer now?”
“We’ve always been close, let’s leave it at that.”
“….”
“Don’t worry. Even if others approach me, I won’t sever ties with you.”
“…!”
Charles smiled and shook Suhyun’s hand. At the last moment, Suhyun gave him the words he wanted—a master of negotiation.
As Charles rose, his aides followed. After helping him put on his coat and adjusting it, Charles remembered something.
“Oh, one more thing.”
“?”
“It’s difficult to go outside now, but once restrictions lift, come to Washington. I have a very good offer for you.”
“Immigration?”
“Not that. Of course, it would be good for me if you came to the U.S. Will you?”
“Not really. The Korean government wouldn’t let me anyway.”
“True. I’m not in the business of causing unnecessary problems. I can’t explain here, but it’s really, really a good offer.”
Suhyun looked at him skeptically. It seemed Charles was unnecessarily packaging the proposal.
“Fine, understood.”
“Then next time… wait, where’s Maria?”
Charles scanned the Blue Bear operatives and asked in confusion.
“Maria? That niece? Did you bring her?”
“She insisted on coming, so I brought her…”
At that moment, Kim Chang-sik’s scream was heard from afar.
“…I know where she is.”
“You really worked hard. But… why is the team still the same size? And why does Mogok’s face look like that?”
The returning orcs piqued Suhyun’s curiosity. It was understandable that they couldn’t bring any survivors, but Mogok’s face was swollen to twice its size from some previous beating.
“…I’m sorry.”
“No need if you did your best. Let’s treat the injuries first.”
Suhyun activated his healing ability after a long time. Mogok looked astonished as his wounds vanished instantly.
“Couldn’t bring survivors, face is a mess… something happened, didn’t it?”
“The captain did his best!”
“Good. Now tell me exactly what happened.”
One by one, the orcs began speaking. Suhyun’s expression twisted as he listened.
- That person? They left before.
- Left quite a while ago.
- Just recently left.
Every time the orcs tried to follow the survivors’ trail, they were a step behind, forcing them to take longer routes.
“So, how far did you go?”
“Haimken.”
“To Haimken?! Where in Haimken?”
“Haimken City.”
“…Next time, report mid-mission instead of going all the way.”
Since it was their first mission, they had run persistently to succeed. Even without seeing it personally, Suhyun could imagine.
Haimken—the region handled by China and Russia, located north of the gate. In that region, Haimken City referred to the orc city. In Cameron, where most non-human races lived in tribes or villages, non-human cities were rare.
“That place is hard to enter without permission from China or Russia… Ah, it was fine since they’re orcs.”
No one stopped moving non-humans for ID checks. Plus, Haimken would be full of orcs.
“So? You weren’t caught entering, and you reached Haimken. No problem, right? It’s an orc city, not other non-humans.”
“Yes, I thought the same, but when we said we were looking for Malok, their attitude changed immediately.”
Malok—the surviving orc’s name.
“We were immediately surrounded and taken to the tribe chief. When asked our purpose, we said we were here to find Malok and have him testify in a human court.”
“And got beaten for that?”
“…Yes, they said we had no pride…”
“Orcs may not follow agreements if annoyed, but this is extreme. Haimken orcs aren’t foolish.”
Relations between humans and non-humans were always delicate. Non-humans familiar with humans remained cautious. They knew they could be wiped out if they provoked certain forces.
Haimken orcs had frequent contact with humans since Cameron’s early days. Unlike distant non-humans who acted recklessly, they knew what humans were capable of when needed.
“You said where you came from and why, yet they beat you? That’s important. Be precise.”
“Yes, we explained clearly…”
“Good. At least there’s justification.”
If they refused survivors under the pretext of protecting victims of human massacres, Suhyun would have been in trouble. Humans had to respect non-human isolationist tendencies.
But beating an envoy like that? That was a different matter.
“I don’t know exactly what happened, but thanks to it, I can intervene. You worked hard. Go rest.”
“No, we couldn’t even bring them back…”
“You found them, made contact, and were rejected. That’s beyond your capacity. No need to blame yourselves. You did well.”
“Thank you!”
Unexpected things were happening. The orcs’ performance exceeded expectations. Suhyun hadn’t anticipated they would find the survivors by going directly.
And the Haimken orcs’ attitude was also unexpected. Such aggression was puzzling.
Something’s going on…
