EP 28 – No Country for Superman (13)
It wasn’t funny at first. A giant monster that passes under the ground. What nonsense is that?
The monsters ran away because they were afraid of the giant snake in the basement? It was not an opinion that could be accepted in the common sense.
“No, common sense-”
But when I brought up the word ‘common sense’, I suddenly realized it. This world is no longer a world that repays common sense.
I decided to agree with Yeo Do-yeon.
“… … Then let’s find out first. What is the rationale?”
“gorge. Look at the structure of the canyon.”
“hey. Chae Won-ah. pack your luggage Go to Darwin Air Force Base. Just in case you don’t know, call Lumiere.”
So, at 4 a.m., the WPO Chairman and Vice-Chairman arrived at the US Air Force Base. We set foot on a military base at the edge of the desert.
The generals and soldiers who were sleeping were in a state of emergency and inspected, but without delay I ran to the headquarters and knocked on the door.
“Satellite image. Let’s see some satellite pictures.”
“yes? Yes?”
“I’m Han Seung-moon… … .”
“Oh, no. He, the company, must have the approval of the superior.”
“Then I will ask President Trump for cooperation.”
When I really took out my cell phone, the commander came running and gave me permission to access the system. The signalman displayed a satellite image on a large monitor.
“Ugh. okay. there. A little bit closer.”
I observed the canyon that Yeo Do-yeon discovered. And I set the date back one day.
click. click.
Each time the signalman clicked his mouse, the picture changed slightly. However, there was no significant change in the appearance of the canyon, returning to the past day by day.
But something strange happened in the picture from 12 days ago.
The canyon disappeared in an instant.
“… … what?”
“… … .”
“Wait. I can’t do this… … .”
What this meant was simple.
That great canyon,
It happened in just one night.
* * *
“… … A canyon that did not exist on September 4th. It was created on September 5th. The land that used to be intact collapsed overnight.”
“… … .”
“As I said, it is impossible unless a huge monster passes through the basement.”
I notified the results of the investigation to the people who had gathered in the office. An official announcement has not been made yet, but this is only a matter of time.
A canyon was formed overnight. Geologists have found that erosion has occurred deep underground. However, scientists have not been able to ascertain the cause.
It’s probably a sandworm. giant sandworm.
Underground monster.
In fact, the results were quite similar when compared to the ground erosion caused by other sandworms. It was possible to infer the underground movement route from the shape of the canyon.
However, the canyon was cut off at some point.
It is said that the sandworm descended to a deeper place, and some said that it had moved to a different location. One thing was for sure, the fight with him wasn’t going to be easy.
At this, Lumiere asked me.
“The canyon is broken… … If so, did the tracking fail?”
“no. There are more canyons nearby. There are not one or two canyons built that way. There are similar canyons all over the continent. It has been roaming the underground of this land for years already.”
Dasol Yeo added a question.
“Then why hasn’t it been known until now?”
“I do not know. The continent of Australia is wider than Europe. On the other hand, the population is less than half that of Korea. Besides, we should be lucky that he didn’t even come close to a human habitation.”
If it had passed through places like Sydney, there could have been hundreds of thousands of casualties.
Fortunately, no such disaster has occurred yet.
The unfortunate thing is that such a disaster could happen soon.
* * *
“Are there any additional earthquakes or ground collapses?”
“Sorry, I’m sorry. Because the land is so wide and full of monsters, it is difficult to investigate. In addition, the number of artificial satellites that can be deployed is also reaching a limit-”
“Then what about the magic stone reaction?”
“There are too many top monsters, so the detector is dead. Even if you put in Observers and Pathfinders, it’s hard to figure out the location because it’s a monster underground… … .”
“What do geologists and physicists say?”
“Well, it looks like you have a strand.”
Scientists have done what satellites and detectors couldn’t. That’s why people seem to have to go to science.
They connect canyons and canyons, measure the distance and time period, and estimate travel time and elevation. Finally, he succeeded in figuring out the monster’s movement path.
But as always,
The problem arose from a political point of view.
“… … The next haunting location overlaps with the American hunting grounds?”
“Yes, two of the seven major guilds were put into the Calamilli area. Riversides, lakes, deserts, and rocky mountains are located here. As there are various monsters, the risk is high, and the types of manastones and by-products that are collected are diverse, so it is a highly profitable place.”
“Did you contact the guild leader?”
“… … It is difficult to take immediate action.”
Shit. I knew it would be like this
No matter how large the subterranean monster is, it is only an infinitely small monster compared to the area of the hunting grounds. Because the jurisdiction of the super-large PMCs was larger than that of Korea.
Even the seven largest guilds in the United States are multinational corporations.
It was a place where giant corporations such as Amazon, Apple, and Google collected hunters from all over the world by pouring money, so they had more hunters than any other small country.
In the first place, it is not that hunters are treated as rare entertainers, but it is strange that Korea has so many social stratifications.
Anyway,
They stated that they could not make fun of a hunting ground larger than the Korean Peninsula because of the presence or absence of a subterranean monster.
If hunting was interrupted even for a single day, the damage it would cause was truly astronomical.
Marshal Jo Jung-sik lamented seeing this. He usually pretends to be cool, but he seems to be the Apgujeong faction who liked Kim Chun-sik after all.
“shit… … ! Can’t we just make it public and push it?”
“The US government staked its political life on this war, and the Democrats are desperate to ruin this war. What the US military is doing now is trying to get this job done as quietly as possible.”
“If damage still occurs, it is not too late.”
“I know what you mean. Things aren’t that simple. It’s like urging individual entrepreneurs who make billions of dollars a day to take down the shutter while offering conspiracy theories… … . It is an international business involving hunters, corporations, and the government, so if you make a mistake, you can get a political headwind.”
“… … I don’t think the political headwinds are important right now.”
“I don’t know. When there is a political headwind, the administration is paralyzed. When the administration is paralyzed, the budget hardens. Then any action will be impossible.”
Things in the world didn’t work out that way. Because each has its own position and situation. From a political point of view, even more so.
And to be honest.
Even if the monster pops out, it’s a loss over there, and even if the monster doesn’t come out, it’s the main shrine over there. But we insisted and evacuated, but the monster didn’t come out? Then we’re the only ones swearing
It’s their fault if they don’t listen and lose money, so why would we take care of them while swearing at them?
So, my calculation is that it is better to give only a certain amount of acknowledgment as long as you don’t swear.
“Anyway, wait. The experts will take care of this. It’ll take a while, but I’ll hit the shobu with your leadership… … .”
“no.”
“… … ?”
“There is no time for that.”
at that time. Lumiere, who had been watching quietly, stood up.
She tucked her shimmering hair behind her ears, pulled out her cell phone from her coat pocket, and started texting someone.
She muttered in a dry voice.
“… … So far, tens of millions of people have been one step behind and have not been saved. If you’ve failed that much, it’s time to learn a lesson.”
“… … .”
“We evacuate everyone by making it public. I will take all responsibility. He is the Chairman of the WPO.”
She really ordered the Knights HQ to start reporting. The embargo put on by the US was released.
And without hesitation, he instructed the Hunters.
“Stop all hunting. Also, issue evacuation orders to nearby shelters and bases.”
“… … .”
“If we confirm that the underground monster is approaching, we will take action so that we can move immediately. hurry!”
shit.
Why do you make people so humble?
Of course, I couldn’t lose either.
“… … hello? Yes. Prime Minister Yoo Jae-kyung. That’s me. I just sent you a document. Can you post that as breaking news on the 3 broadcasters?”
A support shot like this would be shooting with foam in its mouth. It was the news guideline of each country, and whatever it was, it sounded an alarm in the international community.
Lumiere glanced at me and twitched her thin, long eyebrows. I stared at her and grinded her teeth.
of course,
So I evacuated,
The monster did not appear.
* * *
“While the Australian War has been temporarily suspended due to concerns about the beast, astronomical losses are continuing day after day due to the spread of fear. Meanwhile, the WPO Council expressed its intention to organize a large-scale raid party… … .”
“The government was unaware of the existence of the underground monster. And the WPO, who stalks the entire continent to catch a monster. It is the result of a disastrous tabletop administration. People’s resources are wasted due to a show-style war that takes into account the presidential election… … .”
“Does the monster even exist? Maybe there is some kind of intention? American hunters are bleeding because of the fight between Europe and Korea. How long the shepherd boy’s lies will last remains to be seen. But our government… … .”
A week has passed.
Thirteen large-scale evacuations took place.
But the monster did not appear.
“… … ha.”
Just watching TV makes me sigh. As public opposition to the repeated false evacuation grew stronger, the US Democratic Party launched a full-scale offensive.
Of course, the US military is predicting the fate of the monster. However, American political forces cannot touch the US military, which is inviolable.
So all the blame fell on me and Lumière.
At this, I poured out my frustration to Lumière.
“No, is there even a monster?”
“It would be nice if you didn’t. However, earthquakes do occur periodically. The epicenter is moving little by little.”
“If the prediction was accurate in the first place, we should have found the monster by now. Flashing east, flashing west… … . Just saying that there are a lot of earthquakes these days seems to be a more realistic guess than a giant monster roaming underground.”
“Is it realistic to see monsters pouring out of a hole in the sky?”
“… … You speak Korean a lot.”
“thank you.”
tt So, don’t say a word. I casually folded my arms, and Lumiere watched TV with an insignificant smile.
Of course, the announcer is hotly scolding us.
“The council is moving with strong arguments from Europe and Korea. However, no monster was found, and statistics show that the amount of loss is equivalent to one year’s welfare budget in New York City… … .”
“… … .”
okay. know. That there must be monsters.
But I’m a little worried about that.
I don’t know if I’d rather be dealing with people, but dealing with monsters was always reluctant. Because I was closer to a politician than a hunter.
So I’m a half hunter.
In fact, if you can’t do politics even with Pi Chae-won, you’d be a fool. Now that I’m in this situation, I can feel that I’ve been very dependent on him.
After the Australian crisis is over, we should give them a vacation or something. Anyway, it feels like both me and I have been sprinting sprinting on a two-legged tripod for too long.
As I was immersed in thought and relieving my anxiety, Lumiere, who was watching TV, suddenly spoke to me.
“Minister.”
“Yes.”
“The most important thing in hunting is to wait.”
“… … Yes?”
“We are fighting the beast. Self-defense is paramount when confronting madness with no intention or purpose. So be sure.”
“… … Be careful when looking into the abyss. Does that sound like that?”
“ah! Do you know Nietzsche? Philosophy is a French friend. Since my job is a job, I am also very interested in biophilosophy-”
“I do not know. It’s all I picked up on the internet.”
“ah… … .”
Lumière, who had been smiling softly, turned pale.
She spoke with a sad expression on her face.
“Hmm… … After all, the noisy people now are mostly journalists and politicians. Hunters are quietly following the evacuation instructions. Some even voluntarily give up hunting.”
“That’s why manastone production has plummeted, isn’t it? The media is saying that the economy has collapsed due to the spread of fear. Well, it’s Korea. They’re having some fun while reselling the gemstones they’ve been collecting… … .”
“Hunters know.”
“… … Yes?”
“The monster is coming soon.”
Lumiere’s words had no clue. Unlike her usual, there was a strange feeling. Like a fortune teller or a shaman.
She smiled lightly. The soft halo gave me a mysterious feeling.
“Minister. It’s a bit of a superstitious story… … The Awoken have a great sense of humor.”
“… … Are you talking about your sixth sense?”
“yes. Such an instinctive premonition. We notice each other’s intentions just by looking at each other, and in a dangerous place, we feel uneasy… … . There is such a thing.”
It wasn’t a scientific story, but it was convincing.
It’s not the first time I’ve seen Yang Pan-seok hit something while in politics. Even the serpents in the political world had a unique animal sense.
There was no guarantee that the superhumans who crushed iron plates with their bare hands, created flames in the air, and twisted mountains and seas, had no sixth sense.
So Lumiere’s words came to me very heavily.
“Coming soon.”
“… … .”
“Let’s see.”
* * *
“… … Write.”
Yeo Do-yeon has lost her appetite. something was wrong I felt like I could hear tinnitus in my ears, and for some reason I felt like I was choking my breath.
But looking around, there was nothing strange about it. A common emergency evacuation order was issued today, and the hunters were moving their luggage to the truck while grumbling.
Yeo Do-yeon looked up at the sky.
The crescent moon in the desert was truly beautiful. The Milky Way spread out in the dark sky. It was a scene that could have appeared in A Thousand and One Nights.
The night breeze was chilly, but to the superman of the Geumgang Buddha Valley, it was just a cool breeze. The sand breeze on a gloomy moonlit night quietly brushed my hair.
At that time, only the gentle breeze could be heard.
She stood tall.
“… … .”
She stopped and looked up at the sky. The only thing moving was her hair blowing in the wind.
Suddenly, the world began to move slowly.
Clouds covered the crescent moon. The wind twisted strangely. The desert began to shake little by little. Every twist in the world reached her.
something, something is wrong
I had that certainty.
She ran away like a madman. They raced between the temporary tent and the container truck. And we arrived at the outpost’s outer watchtower.
The guards recognized her and saluted her, but she held out her hand.
“… … flares.”
“Yes?”
“Give me.”
When the soldier stupidly held out a flare, she took it and sprinted somewhere.
It was the horizon.
The desert horizon is always wriggling. This is because the huge sand dunes are blown away by the wind. It is called a sand dune (沙丘).
It was the same that day. The dark horizon was wriggling little by little. But in Yeo Do-yeon’s eyes, it looked different.
Darkness was creeping in.
“… … .”
The moment she fired a flare into the great darkness.
The horror hidden in the veil of the night was revealed.
“This is what… … .”
The monster wasn’t huge at all. It just reached the chest of Yeo Do-yeon. If I had to compare it, it was at the level of a slightly larger wolf.
However, there are just countless.
“… … ant?”
What filled the horizon was the jaws of bugs that flocked like waves.