“NEW” God’s Hammer (2)
A kind of scouting offer? No… more precisely, it was a parachute offer to get Jun Hyeok employed somewhere safer.
“Whew, hold on a second. How are you saying something like this so casually?”
Jun Hyeok let out a long breath, trying to steady himself.
From his perspective, it was only natural to be shaken… his cousin Seon Yul suddenly appeared, claimed to be “AbsoluteSafetyFirst,” and told him to come work with him.
“The world on the other side… what they call Earth–001, is not an easy place. I don’t know what preparations Woosung Group has made, but… It’s not somewhere a mere corporation can handle on its own.”
“At Woosung, we purchased ‘K-Baekho’ from the Korean government and are assembling a large expedition force.”
Since things had come to this, Jun Hyeok decided to hide nothing and told him everything.
“K-Baekho? Ah, that artificial mana system… Even with that, it’ll be tough. Just come with me. That’s the best option.”
“Is it really that dangerous over there?”
“The monsters you’ve fought in this world? Think of them as nothing more than a tutorial.”
“Damn……”
Jun Hyeok fell silent for a while, organizing his thoughts.
After some time…
“So, boss, what kind of salary are we talking about?”
Jun Hyeok said it with a grin.
Having accepted everything, he was now calm enough to joke.
“We operate purely on performance-based pay. But lodging and meals are provided at the highest level, free of charge.”
“Damn~ nice benefits.”
“Once you actually go over there and start working, you’ll realize just how incredible those ‘top-tier accommodations’ I’m offering really are.”
“But I’m a core user at Woosung Group, so I can’t just quit whenever I want…”
“What’s the issue? Want me to handle it?”
“No, if you step in, it’ll probably get more complicated. I’ll take care of it myself… just give me about a week.”
“Alright. Wrap things up cleanly within a week and resign. If anything gets difficult during the process, contact me.”
After taking care of his aunt and now his cousin Jun Hyeok as well, Seon Yul headed to a warehouse building he had purchased in Sangam-dong before the Great Cataclysm.
This warehouse had been practically free.
At the time, rumors of the impending catastrophe had caused real estate prices to collapse across the board. As long as one could pay in mana stones instead of currency, properties could be bought at dirt-cheap prices.
This Sangam building had been purchased for just 5 kg of mana stones.
It had four basement levels and ten floors above ground, all usable as storage. Now, it was packed with goods Seon Yul had gathered from all over the world using the unique properties of his Absolute Space.
In truth, Seon Yul possessed everything needed to become the world’s greatest thief.
Absolute Space, Real Painting’s “The Door” and “Camouflage,” and even Cheon Li Yu’s Divine Eye ability that had helped him back then…
If they set their minds to it, there was nothing they couldn’t steal.
So before the Great Cataclysm, the two of them had traveled the world, gathering vast amounts of resources.
To be precise, it wasn’t really stealing… more like picking up things that would have been abandoned anyway.
The four basement levels, once parking garages, were now filled with drums of oil.
Gasoline, diesel, kerosene…
These had been “collected” from oil-producing regions in Central Asia.
Above ground were floors packed with long-lasting canned goods, preserved food, generators, and various daily necessities… mostly taken from supermarkets around the world.
And on the top floor level 8, were neatly displayed results of artificial mana systems stolen from the highest-security facilities of various nations.
Japan’s Eva, Korea’s K-Baekho, America’s M-Type…
As well as systems from China, the EU, the UK, and many others.
Not only that, but one section of the 8th floor was filled with components related to small modular reactors (SMRs).
All of this had been painstakingly gathered by Seon Yul and Cheon Li Yu.
Naturally, if anyone found out what was stored here, it would be a disaster. So just before the Cataclysm, Seon Yul sealed every possible entrance to the building with concrete.
Even the windows.
At this point, the only person who could enter without destroying the building was Seon Yul himself.
A single door stood alone at the center of the first floor.
Using Real Painting—The Door, Seon Yul accessed the building through it.
Wiiiiing
After entering, he immediately started the installed generator.
A short while later, the lights flickered on, illuminating the interior.
“First, I’ll gather some items to sell on Earth–001…”
The reason Seon Yul had opened a shop in the Fortress of Freedom wasn’t just to sell monster materials… it was also to sell the vast stockpile of goods stored here.
In a sense, he considered himself to be running a shop selling specialty products from Earth–104.
He believed that the intelligent beings from various origins in the Fortress of Freedom would be willing to buy these “specialties” at a reasonable markup.
And if that worked, he figured he could make mana stones as easily as Bongi Kim Seondal selling water from the Daedong River.
While he was gathering items, the call he had been waiting for came.
Cha Seong Hyeon.
Seon Yul stopped what he was doing and answered.
“So everything’s good, except there’s a shortage of tungsten ore?”
[Yes, that’s correct. From what we’ve confirmed, the tungsten ore stored at POSCO is only enough to produce about 1,000 tons of tungsten. To make the 10,000+ ton sphere you want, we need more ore.]
“Is it impossible to obtain more?”
[No, it’s possible. Fortunately, there’s a place called Ssangjeon Mine about 100 km from POSCO where a large amount of tungsten ore has been mined.]
“Then we just bring it over, right?”
[That’s right… But the problem is, under current conditions, we have no means of transportation.]
While 100 km wasn’t far, vehicles were unusable in the current situation.
And transporting enough ore for 10,000 tons by hand was obviously impossible.
“Hmm… so I just need to move the ore, right?”
[Yes, that’s all.]
“Then I’ll handle it.”
[Huh… are you really able to?]
“You brought it up because you thought I could, didn’t you? I know you’ve already figured out some of my abilities. So there’s no need to pretend otherwise.”
[Ahem… my apologies. It just seemed like you disliked others trying to learn about you.]
“That’s true. But I also know some things will inevitably be revealed. So if you’ve learned something naturally, you can acknowledge it.”
[Understood. Then… when can you move the ore? Also, the anti-mana field generator for Pohang is already in production. It should be completed within ten days. When should we schedule the installation?]
“I’ll move all the ore within ten days. Just send me detailed info about the mine, its situation, and exactly where inside POSCO to deliver it.”
“Understood. I’ll compile and send that immediately.”
Seon Yul was willing to do this much if it meant upgrading God’s Hammer.
The amount of ore would be enormous, but the key was completing a tungsten sphere exceeding 10,000 tons.
Once that was done, God’s Hammer’s power could increase two to three times.
It was already comparable to a tactical nuclear strike… at that point, it would practically be a real nuclear attack.
***
Transporting the tungsten ore from Ssangjeon Mine to a warehouse inside POSCO wasn’t difficult for Seon Yul.
However, due to the sheer quantity and weight, he had to make many trips back and forth.
Since the safe zone at POSCO hadn’t been established yet, there were no witnesses.
So he freely used Absolute Space to move the ore repeatedly.
Deciding to move everything while he was at it, Seon Yul transferred all the ore stockpiled at the mine.
After finishing, he reviewed his remaining tasks.
“Moving the ore is done… Next is installing the anti-mana field generator, powering it with my soul stones… then letting them handle production… and bringing Jun Hyeok over.”
Not much remained.
But every remaining task was important.
Click. Whiiiiiing!
The anti-mana field generator activated, nullifying mana fields.
Tssssssss!!
In an instant, part of Pohang transformed into a safe zone.
As promised, Seon Yul supplied ample soul stones to power the generator.
Now it was the government and the Management Bureau’s turn to uphold their end of the deal.
“They said they’d handle the rest… so I’m done here!”
With that, Seon Yul opened Absolute Space and returned to Seoul.
Soon, Management Bureau users who had been waiting would move in, secure the generator, and proceed with follow-up measures.
Waiting for him in Seoul was Jang Jun Hyeok.
As promised, he had cleanly resigned from Woosung Group.
“Now I’m basically blacklisted in this industry, so you better take responsibility.”
“Don’t worry. If you want, I can even get you a job at the Management Bureau.”
“Hearing you say that really makes it sink in… you’ve become a huge figure.”
“A huge figure? Don’t care about that. I can at least take responsibility for you.”
“Well, of course. If it’s AbsoluteSafetyFirst, unofficially ranked number one among users… that’s the bare minimum!”
“Stop talking nonsense. Tell your mom. And in about two days, we’ll head to Earth–001.”
“That soon?”
“It’s not soon. I’ve already delayed too much. I have a companion over there… I’ve left them alone for too long.”
“Wait, you have a companion?”
“Yeah. Probably someone you know too.”
“Someone I know? Who?”
“You’ll see in two days.”
“Damn it, you always do this… making me curious and then not answering.”
“You don’t need to prepare much. Just bring combat gear.”
“What about spare clothes, water, and food? Those are essential for crossing the Main Gate.”
“You won’t need any of that. Just bring your gear and yourself.”
“…You’re not scamming me and selling me off somewhere, right?”
“If it feels like a scam, don’t come. I’ll just get you a job at the Management Bureau instead.”
“Hey, I was joking. I’ll do my best, boss.”
The two joked casually, as they always had.
After explaining everything to his mother, Lee Hyun Ah, Jun Hyeok received her full support.
Everything was ready.
All that remained was to cross over to Earth–001 again.
Seon Yul asked Cha Seong Hyeon to completely clear the area around the Main Gate at a specific time.
At that moment, he and Jun Hyeok quietly crossed it.
His third visit to Earth–001.
This time, not with Cheon Li Yu…
But with his cousin, Jang Jun Hyeok.
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