Chapter : 41
Rewards and Change (4)
While fierce negotiations were happening in places unseen, Jo Seung-hyun was already taking action, just as Su-hyun had advised. With just a few clues Su-hyun had given him, he had already gotten a sense of the situation.
If a mercenary company of that caliber was trying to acquire it, there had to be a good reason.
“Did you call me?”
“Ah. Sit down.”
“Judging by your expression, it looks like you figured it out. Don’t beat around the bush—did the proposal succeed?”
“The negotiator on the Person side was flustered, but they had no reason to refuse. We’re just taking a share of what Jindo Dog would have gotten.”
“I’m sure Jindo Dog wouldn’t have stayed quiet.”
“Of course they showed their dislike openly…but beyond that, they couldn’t really say much.”
This was somewhat interesting. Of course, given the enormous difference in capability, it wouldn’t have changed anything even if Jindo Dog had refused. Handling it too unfairly would have caused problems for the Person side as well.
But it was curious that they hadn’t come out strongly. Surely they had really wanted it. No one would be satisfied with just splitting the share.
‘Didn’t want to cause a scene?’
Now, the reason became even more intriguing.
“You said they couldn’t speak up. Did you find out why?”
A confident smile briefly crossed Jo Seung-hyun’s face at the question.
“Of course. For one, it seems they couldn’t act strongly because of the things you’ve done. But after investigating, it turns out that’s not the only reason.”
“Obviously.”
“Do you know where the Redwood plantations are?”
Of course, Su-hyun knew. There were a few unofficial ones in unexplored areas, and several official ones near cities. Jo Seung-hyun was clearly referring to the latter.
“No. Mostly, if it’s not near a city, someone who preempted it is controlling the information, right?”
“Exactly. There’s no reason to make it public to the general population. But one of the plantations got destroyed. Not an accident—someone attacked it.”
“?!”
Su-hyun stared at Jo Seung-hyun in shock. She had considered that something might have gone wrong at a plantation. But destroyed? Most of the Redwoods secured by humanity were near the cities.
The city was located near the dimensional gate, and the area around it was, for Cameron Planet, rare blessed land free of monsters. Humanity had built the city there for good reason.
In other words, there were basically no monsters around. Accidents rarely happened in such places.
“Destroyed? Which area?”
“I couldn’t find the exact location. I heard it from people involved. Judging from the response, it seems somewhere fairly close to Pyongyang.”
“…!”
Pyongyang. Once the name of a city in old North Korea, now it referred to a different city. One of the cities humanity had built on Cameron Planet under Korean management. Su-hyun and Jo Seung-hyun were currently in Pyongyang.
No nation would resist the immense potential on Cameron Planet. But not everyone could send troops through the dimensional gate. Only the four countries—Korea, the U.S., China, and Russia—had official agreements for troop deployment. Others could only operate unofficially or as private contractors.
Since the expansion on Cameron Planet was tied to national interests, there was naturally more than one city. While Korea built a city named Pyongyang, the other three countries also established cities as the spearhead for their own expansions. Their militaries were naturally stationed near their respective cities.
If Su-hyun remembered correctly, there were Redwood plantations near Pyongyang. She had a guess about which one had been destroyed.
‘But isn’t that one managed jointly by the military and a private company? …What’s going on?’
Monsters couldn’t have attacked, and considering it was successful, it wasn’t an ordinary act.
“Were there any rumors? Something like that can’t go unnoticed.”
“You’re sharp. Yes, there were rumors. But they’re hard to believe…”
“?”
“The culprit is said to be a xenogeneic terrorist.”
“…That’s not entirely impossible…”
The power gap was immense, and humanity had rules to regulate itself, so major conflicts were rare. But it was only natural for collisions to occur when new species met. Even now, conflicts were constant.
Among them were extremist groups. Xenogeneic beings who had acquired human knowledge and weapons to attack humanity. They viewed humans entering unexplored areas for resources as an invasion. Su-hyun had encountered them several times.
They were not to be underestimated. Their sheer strength, knowledge of the planet, and even psychic abilities made them potentially more dangerous than powerful monsters.
“That’s not entirely impossible? Pyongyang has the Korean military nearby. How could xenogeneic beings pull off something like that?”
“The act itself isn’t the problem. Although it’s a Redwood plantation, the area around it probably wasn’t secured like a fortress.”
In safe areas, vigilance is weaker. Su-hyun hadn’t seen it, but she could guess the security around the Redwoods. Standard protocols would have been followed… but for someone capable, standard measures are easy to exploit.
“And extremists aren’t easy opponents. Once they clash with someone, that kind of rumor would vanish.”
“So, did they really do it?”
“No. It doesn’t seem like the work of xenogeneics.”
“What? Then what did you mean earlier?”
“They’re capable, yes, but it doesn’t make sense. Extremist terrorists usually attack those entering unexplored areas. Why would they come near a city just to destroy a Redwood plantation?”
Su-hyun pondered. Reaching this far was already surprising, but attacking a Redwood plantation after all that didn’t add up.
If the rumor circulating seemed strange, there was only one answer: someone had deliberately spread it. Su-hyun felt an idea flash through her mind.
“Damn it.”
“?”
“The culprit hasn’t been caught yet, right?”
“Judging by the reaction, no. If they had, it would’ve been publicly announced.”
“I may not know who they are, but I think I know why they did it. Most likely, someone who has secured another Redwood plantation. Destroying the one near Pyongyang reduces supply and skyrockets the price.”
“What?!”
Jo Seung-hyun shouted in shock. Su-hyun’s suggestion was surprising, but more so, he couldn’t understand how she had reached that conclusion.
“That theory is far more plausible than some random xenogeneic terrorists. That crude rumor? Definitely spread by the one who did it.”
Su-hyun knew very well what went on in the shadows of Cameron Planet. Resource-targeted terrorism could happen at any time, either by states for profit or by companies.
As Su-hyun spoke seriously, Jo Seung-hyun’s expression became grave. If it wasn’t xenogeneics but someone committing terrorism for profit, the situation was serious.
“Can we catch them?”
“How? There isn’t just one suspect. They didn’t fight the military, just bypassed security, attacked the plantation, and escaped. Any competent mercenary company could do that. Even just the ones securing plantations make for a full list of suspects.”
Jo Seung-hyun looked disappointed. If Su-hyun found persuasive evidence, they could report it to the Korean military, creating leverage. That was always valuable.
“So, catching them isn’t feasible, huh?”
“Hmm. Maybe not necessary. If my guess is correct, we’ll probably meet them.”
“?”
“The Redwood plantation we found. It’s big enough that I think the terrorists’ attention would turn there. They destroyed one, and now a new large plantation exists. And it’s deep in the Calcutta jungle, still undetected. If I were them, I’d probably come here next.”
Only then did Jo Seung-hyun understand why Su-hyun swore. If a group did terrorism for profit, the most dangerous target now was the newly discovered Redwood plantation. Its size and remote location made it an ideal target.
“…Shit.”
He had thought of it as a goose laying golden eggs, but it turned out to be absurdly dangerous. A plantation at risk of terrorism.
“Money, right? It’s profitable?”
“It is profitable.”
“The problem isn’t money. As you said, masked people might come with explosives.”
“Possibly, but let’s not get scared already.”
Su-hyun’s words were meant as comfort, but they didn’t help much. There was a strange persuasiveness to her logic. Even as a hypothesis, Jo Seung-hyun thought it likely to be correct.
“If that’s true?”
“Then we have to stop it. Would you just watch while someone else destroys it?”
“Our team came here to hunt monsters and gather resources, not fight terrorists. I’m worried it might be too much for us.”
“Well, fortunately, we’re not alone.”
“?”
“Jindo Dog also has authority over the Redwood plantations.”
“…!”
The revelation was shocking enough that Jo Seung-hyun had almost forgotten it. That’s right. Jindo Dog also had rights over the newly discovered plantation.
“Do you think they know about this?”
“Whether they know or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that we can use it.”
