Ark the Legend 1-12
Page 205
Hyun-woo and Lee Myung-ryong communicated with their eyes. The two of them were on good terms. Then Gwon Hwa-rang asked Lee Myung-ryong.
“What? That is the surprise?”
“Hey, I am his Hyung-nim. What surprise at this age?”
“You’re the one who told me it was a surprise first!”
“I….”
Lee Myung-ryong flinched and closed his mouth. And he looked at Gwon Hwa-rang absentmindedly before exclaiming.
“Yes! Why didn’t I think of it before?”
“What? Why are you looking at my face like that?”
“Hyung-nim, I want to talk to you for a moment. Hyun-woo, you come as well.”
“Omo? What? Taking all the boys, perhaps this is bullying?”
“I’m sorry Sister-in-law. It will just take a moment.”
“Hohoho, it is just a joke. Take your time speaking. I’ll be in Hyun-woo’s room.”
“Thank you!”
Lee Myung-ryong pulled Gwon Hwa-rang and Hyun-woo out of the room. And Gwon Hwa-rang spoke in a low voice once they entered the next room.
“Why are you making a fuss? Is it the real estate problem I asked you to investigate previously?”
Shortly after he was ambushed in the hospital’s parking lot, Gwon Hwa-rang asked Lee Myung-ryong to investigate the real estate problem. Gwon Hwa-rang remembered about it after Lee Myung-ryong’s actions.
Lee Myung-ryong had expected this and shook his head.
“I’m sorry but that’s not it.”
“Why? Did you receive a case?”
“I did but it isn’t an ordinary case. Hyung-nim has heard the name Lucifer. He is the artificial intelligence created by the ones who made New World. This talk is related to the artificial intelligence. It might be hard to believe…..”
“Myung-ryong hyung, t-this…..”
Hyun-woo interrupted frantically.
He could guess what Lee Myung-ryong was about to say. It was related to Lucifer. But that was still a state secret. Hyun-woo hadn’t even mentioned it to his father Gwon Hwa-rang. However Lee Myung-ryong just laughed and continued.
“It doesn’t matter. It is fine if he knows. Hwa-rang hyung-nim was once a police officer so he knows to keep his mouth shut. There is no reason to hide the reasons from Hyung-nim. I will take responsibility for this.”
“But……”
“There seems to be something serious.”
Gwon Hwa-rang grasped the serious atmosphere.
“I don’t know what is going on. You can trust me.”
Hyun-woo couldn’t keep it from Gwon Hwa-rang any longer. Hyun-woo sighed and Lee Myung-ryong started to confess all the events related to Lucifer.
Lucifer occupied a nuclear power plant and threatened to blow it up unless they beat him in the game called Galaxian. Thus the government mobilized gamers and a Lucifer hunting team that Lee Myung-ryong and Hyun-woo were related to.
“It is hard to believe….”
Gwon Hwa-rang glanced between Lee Myung-ryong and Hyun-woo before sighing.
“But it seems to be true.”
“I didn’t want to believe it either. The government allowing themselves to be threatened by an artificial intelligence? This is why I hate machines.”
“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell in advance.”
“No. You were worried about your own decisions. It also isn’t easy to reveal state secrets. Myung-ryong knows this as well. Nevertheless, what is the reason you’re telling me? Is there a problem?”
“I need your help.”
“Of course I will help you. But how can I help?”
“I have the right work for you Hyung-nim.”
Lee Myung-ryong smiled and began to talk.
“The Lucifer hunting team that I spoke about is divided into two factions and they are hindering each other. So now I’m going to enter the game to watch them directly. But how am I supposed to watch two teams at the same time? So it would be nice if Hyung-nim could keep an eye on one group.”
“But I’m not a member of the Lucifer hunting team. Will the team listen to me?”
“I’ll take care of it. Sister-in-law is pregnant so doesn’t that mean Hyung-nim can’t go to Africa for a minimum of 1~2 years?”
“That is true.”
Gwon Hwa-rang nodded his head.
“Okay. I don’t know what will happen but I will do it for the moment. The nuclear power plant might explode in the country that my daughter will live in so I can’t do nothing.”
Hyun-woo sighed at Gwon Hwa-rang’s agreement. He had expected this from the moment Lee Myung-ryong started talking. This was Gwon Hwa-rang. He wasn’t a person who could stay still after hearing such words. And when he thought about it, Gwon Hwa-rang was the most qualified person.
He was a person silly about his unborn child but he was also a legendary detective. He had various combat techniques and was an expert at leading people in battle. Gwon Hwa-rang showed a considerable ability in New World under the name JusticeMan.
‘Yes, this might work out well.’
In fact, Hyun-woo had also been frustrated about the matter. There were many times he wanted to tell everything to his mother and Gwon Hwa-rang but couldn’t.
But Lee Myung-ryong was the advisor to the Lucifer hunting team so he didn’t need to worry about such things. He was the type to throw his heart into everything. Lee Myung-ryong was such a man. He had no doubt about that part.
“Well, let’s talk specifics.”
Lee Myung-ryong smiled and spoke. The plan to move JusticeMan from New World to Galaxian began to proceed steadily.
————————————————————————–
–Did it work?
A voice came from a 3D image. A black form with red eyes asked the image in a low voice. A man in a hood bowed and replied.
“It proceeded with no problems.”
–It is good that I entrusted it to you.
The black shape nodded with satisfaction.
–I heard that Uranus was destroyed by the investigation teams from the 3 powers. We’ve been preparing for a long time so this loss isn’t small. But we also obtained something. The 3 powers won’t have any more concerns about antimatter. Because the antimatter they are chasing is just an illusion.
“It is what Grand Duke hoped for.”
-Yes, the valuable Uranus was lost but we’ve obtained something better. There is still lots of work to be done. Our tasks will start now. –Do you understand?
“Yes, I will put everything in order and return.”
The hooded man bowed again and the 3D image disappeared.
The black form turned and a wide plains area stretched before him. However, there wasn’t any grass on the plains. The plains was filled with endless bodies and blood!
“It is starting from now on…..”
And he looked around before a huge obelisk caught his eye. A large number of complex patterns were etched on the obelisk. The man looked at the obelisk for a while before muttering.
“Yes, the point of a game is to enjoy a prolonged war.”
————————————————————————–
The galaxy changed with the emergence of the magic circle.
Investigation teams from the 3 powers were formed to study this. An extremely hazardous material called antimatter was detected from the magic circle. While the investigation teams were searching for the organization behind it, the governments of the 3 powers were also seeking solutions. They immediately dispatched special envoys to the Council. These special envoys had two major purposes.
The first was to support the activities of the investigation team. The area they were investigating was the space frontier. Moreover, the identity of the organization was still unknown. Large or small problems could occur on the frontier once they started investigating. In some cases, the Council could be involved. The 3 powers knew this and dispatched special envoys beforehand.
&n
bsp; And the second goal was to get permission for their regular troops to enter the frontier. The 3 powers planned to throw their regular troops at the frontier in order to solve this situation as quickly as possible.
But it was extremely difficult for the Council to allow regular troops to enter the frontier. The Council feared that they would lose the autonomy of the region. Therefore, the special envoys were in negotiation with the Council for 3 days.
Then shocking news was revealed to the Council.
-Antimatter reaction detected!
The antimatter reaction was detected once again. It was the antimatter reaction the investigation teams sensed from the black hole. That’s why the spaceships from the 3 powers and the Council showed up on the battlefield.
If the antimatter problem was settled then the 3 powers would have no more justification to enter the frontier. The Council had rallied its fleet and flew there as soon as the antimatter reaction was detected.
However it was too late. Ark had already eaten the quest item. But the Council had been most worried about the pressure from the 3 powers.
–Ark, I pay respect to your achievements!
The special envoy for the Galactic Federation heard the situation from the fleet and saluted before speaking.
Hawk, the Rama and the Aschulat who emerged later couldn’t do anything with the situation like this. No matter how mad they were, they couldn’t attack Ark in front of the Council’s fleet. They had no choice but to push down their anger.
Clean-up after that was very simple. Now Ark was an incredibly important person!
–Ark-nim, we will guard you until we reach the territory of the Galactic Federation.
Ark was escorted to the boundary of the frontier by the Council Fleet. A Galactic Federation fleet was notified in advance and they met him in order to escort him to Istana. The trip was enjoyable.
“This is the first time we’re flying together.”
Irina boarded the Silver Star with him. And it took a few hours to reach the boundary of the frontier and then Istana so he had plenty of time to talk to her (minus the time spent with Lee Myung-ryong).
When he thought about it, this was his first space travel with Irina. People dating in reality met in Galaxian but didn’t spend a lot of time together because of the game.
Nothing special happened. Ark was just satisfied that he could spend a relaxing amount of time with Irina.
But there was one person who wasn’t comfortable. He wasn’t sure why but Melina couldn’t hide her uncomfortable expression since Irina boarded the Silver Star.
Kaya studied Melina’s face before giving Irina a sharp glance.
“When are you returning to your spaceship? Your spaceship isn’t that far away so why are you on this ship flirting with the Captain?”
“Unni, stop it.”
“What do you mean? Did I say something wrong? If you have something to say then you should say it clearly….”
“It’s okay. It’s not like that.”
Melina entered a cabin with a grumpy expression. Kaya pouted and also left.
“What the, those people? Why are they like that when we’re finally returning after working hard? Irina-nim, don’t worry about it. Kaya is sometimes like that.”
“I don’t think Kaya-nim is the problem…..”
“Huh?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Irina smiled and shook her head. There was an uncomfortable feeling but he didn’t question it closely. There were numerous competitors like Hawk but he had obtained the item for the
And after 20 hours.
Chwajijijijijik! Chwajijijijijik!
Particles of light spread around the Silver Star.
It was the phenomenon caused by warp travel. There was a small vibration before the Silver Star exited near a planet that shone like jewels. And the centre of the Galactic Federation, Istana could be seen!
A smile formed on Ark’s mouth.
“I’m back!”
Space 7
Details of the Magic Event
Tatuine the capital of Istana.
The two most important buildings belonging to the Galactic Federation were there. One of them was the Galactic Federation Central Headquarters that Ark had entered a few times. And the other was the Royal Palace. It was the place where the Emperor who reigned over the Galactic Federation lived.
And now!
Dozens of nobles were gathered in the central hall of the Royal Palace. Nobles wearing a uniform were lined up on one side with Marquis Martin while on the other side, Marquis Jyubel and other nobles were wearing court clothes. The military and political factions of the Galactic Federation were gathered in one place. And the person in the centre….
‘I feel awkward.’
Ark scratched his head and looked at the nobles.
Once again, Ark and the investigation team had returned to Istana a few hours ago. 6 spaceships in the fleet had sunk due to the Hornets and carrier. Before the carrier exploded, it had shaved away nearly half their power. And 3 members were killed in the battle inside the carrier.
9 out of 14 team members had been killed. Apart from Ark and Irina, only 3 other members had survived until the end. But the identity of these 3 members were unexpected. Taking out Hawk, the remaining 2 were Mario and Neidu.
Mario was a merchant that belonged to the military faction while Neidu was a merchant from the political faction. It was ridiculous that all the warriors died in battle while the merchants survived.
Of course, there was a reason for it.
It could be understood when looking at Mario’s spaceship. A merchant’s spaceship had much higher defence than that of a warrior’s. In a space fleet battle, their survival rate had no choice but to rise. The problem was the battle inside the carrier’s interior….
-I was with Ryu, Mirinae and Cayenne when entering the interior. Yet Ryu and Cayenne joined forces to turn on Mirinae. There were negotiations between members of the same faction. They didn’t help Mirinae in battle so he ended up being killed first. And the remaining two also died after that. However, Hawk left even when he knew Ryu and Cayenne was locking out Mirinae. Ryu and Cayenne weren’t helpful in a crisis. On the contrary, in a crisis Ryu and Cayenne would make their subordinates retreat. It was clear that Ryu, Cayenne and Hawk’s subordinates were deliberately moving secretly to the rear.
He had asked Irina about it while they were heading to Istana.
Hawk’s reason was obvious. The target of the investigation team was right in front of him. In that situation, it wasn’t necessary to worry about the other members of the team. The members would take care of each other and he would absorb their subordinates.
Irina, Mario and Neidu could survive due to that. The quest item that was the target of the investigation team was located on the bridge. And the warrior type unit led by Hawk had the best chance to obtain the quest item.
The moment he entered the carrier, everyone else was just a competitor to Hawk. But Irina was an inspector from the Galactic Federation and Mario and Neidu were in charge of resources. Therefore they weren’t Hawk’s targets. He didn’t feel the need to bother with them. No, they were people that he could take advantage of. There would be unnecessary suspicion if he was the only one who survived.
‘Hah, I figured he would do that.’
Ark was expecting that. This was why Ark moved independently from Hawk. Well, it wasn’t his only reason….
‘That’s the biggest mistake you made. Hawk!’
Ark laughed as he saw Hawk frowning. Hawk had absorbed the subordinates of the other members. However, a subordinate’s power could fluctuate by up to 30% of the president of their Agent died. In addition, morale would fall and the special effects of the Agent skills couldn’t be used.
‘If you had utilized Cayenne and Mirinae then the boss cou
ld have been handled much faster. But you were anxious about getting the quest item first. That allowed me to catch your ankle.’
As a result, Ark managed to get his hands on the quest item before Hawk. It was 90% due to luck. The remaining 10% was due to Hawk’s results.
No matter how he thought about it, Ark hadn’t expected such results. But Ark was composed.
‘The only thing that matters is the result! I got one over Hawk!’
The result was good so he decided to generously (?) forget about it. But not everyone was as generous as Ark.
Right now Ark, Hawk, Mario and Neidu were gathered at the Royal Palace to receive compensation. The surviving team members’ hard work was recognized and they were brought to the Royal Palace. Naturally it was to celebrate.
But not everyone was pleased like Ark.
There was Hawk. Hawk had the quest item stolen from right in front of him so he was glaring at Ark. The nobles standing on the left side who belonged to the political faction were doing the same thing. They were bitter that all the achievements were taken away by a member of the military faction.
Those weren’t the only expressions. Mario was laughing because he didn’t expect to receive the best achievements yet he had someone managed to enter the TOP 4.
‘Look Hawk! The simplicity of an innocent merchant who is satisfied with what he has! Aren’t you embarrassed about killing your fellow colleagues for your greed? You can learn from him!’
These were words he wanted to say to Hawk. But Ark wasn’t in a position to tell someone that.
Mario and Neidu weren’t the only ones with a happy expression. The nobles of the military faction that Ark belonged to were making satisfied expressions. Marquis Martin who recommended Ark was able to gain a superior position to the nobles in the political faction. In addition, the military could now monopolize the information on antimatter. However…..
‘It doesn’t matter as long as I receive the compensation but…..’
In fact, there was a story hidden here.
————————————————————————–
“Huh?”
Ark was puzzled. The Marquis Martin clicked his tongue and started to talk.
“I heard it just now. The box you brought was sent to the research centre but the contents had nothing to do with antimatter.”