Chapter 30: Moon Base Lighthouse (1)
Underground Great Hall briefing room.
A space where ironclad security was thoroughly maintained.
Several Ghostcatchers had gathered there.
“Did you make it.”
As Diesel stepped into the room, cutting through the crimson lighting, Raksha greeted him with a crooked grin.
“Looked like there was some trouble, but you somehow pulled it off, rookie.”
“…….”
“There were problems on your side too, Raksha.”
When the angel shot back in Diesel’s stead, Raksha ground his teeth.
“Ha! All that happened was some guys with strength using a bit of strength. How is that a problem?”
Twenty applicants had ended up unconscious.
It had been an incident that occurred in the Security and Guard Department where Raksha had been.
What was funny was that such behavior had actually been reflected as bonus points for Raksha.
“By that logic, didn’t you cause trouble too, Seriel, you bitch?”
“What did I do?”
“The interview was already over, but those things you call your ‘friends’ are still hanging around like residue. How are you planning to deal with them?”
“Don’t worry. I just got a little closer to them.”
“Hmph, getting a little closer and they quit the interview halfway?”
“Alright, alright, either way, everyone worked hard. If it ended well, that’s what matters. Let’s focus on the next procedure.”
Little Sister clapped her hands, pat pat, lightening the mood.
“They’re moving busily over there too.”
“Over there?”
“I mean the Witch of the Electrosphere.”
When Sis gestured into the air, a photograph appeared.
“This is the Podvig data center located deep in the Bering Sea. Just yesterday, it was hacked by someone and the entire facility was sunk.”
“That someone is the Witch of the Electrosphere?”
When Raksha asked, Sis nodded.
“There’s a high probability. This data center was the facility responsible for the firewall of the Podvig moon base. With this, the security network on the moon base side will be a bit lax for a while.”
To sink a megacorp’s data center through hacking alone.
Just how great was the power the Witch of the Electrosphere possessed?
“As you all know, the moon base tour schedule starts from your first day of work.”
“Yeah. Those corporate bastards emphasized it to an annoying degree.”
“Then let’s seriously talk about how we’re going to catch the witch.”
Sis brought up a holographic view of the moon base.
“As I said, the witch is trying to carry out a terror attack on the lighthouse located on the moon base to destroy the facility.”
“Expected time of the attack?”
“Around the day after you arrive on the moon. First, the witch will paralyze the moon base’s power supply to cause confusion. Then she’ll try to infiltrate the main server and carry out the real terror. But the moment she enters the server—”
Sis snapped her fingers, and the light of the hologram crackled.
“I’ll shut down the entire facility. From that point on, you can think of it as the real work beginning.”
“Shut down?”
When Diesel asked, Little Sister flipped the hologram and answered.
“Literally forcing a disconnection from the Electrosphere.”
“The entire moon base facility?”
“Yeah. Once the base is shut down, communication with the Electrosphere from the moon will be impossible for a while. Naturally, that means communication with me on Earth will also be cut off, so you need to prepare thoroughly in advance.”
“How in the world do you even do something that absurd?”
“You shouldn’t ask industry secrets so easily, Raksha.”
Sis smiled faintly and continued.
“Anyway, once it’s shut down, the witch won’t be able to escape into the Electrosphere, right? That’s when our Ghostcatchers move.”
She took a thick chip out of the bag she had brought.
“What you have to do is simple. Go to the main server room and just plug this in.”
“What kind of chip is so stupidly big?”
As Raksha said, the chip was larger than an average man’s hand.
“It’s a zettabyte-scale chip.”
“Zettabyte?”
“Just think of it as a ridiculously big and ridiculously expensive chip.”
Holding the chip, Sis walked up to Seriel.
“Could you open it up for me, angel?”
Without a word, Seriel turned her back to Sis and smoothly took off her top.
Then, from the spinal bone between her wings, a mechanical component popped out like a CD-ROM drive.
When the chip was carefully inserted there, the prosthetic body slid smoothly back into its original place.
“Our angel will be keeping the chip safe, so you don’t have to worry about inspections or anything like that.”
“Is there a chance Podvig is already preparing for the witch?”
When Diesel asked, Sis tapped the desk lightly and said,
“Surprisingly, they haven’t noticed a thing yet. That nickname ‘Hoguvig’ isn’t for nothing. There are probably all sorts of internal scandals exploding left and right inside the company, so they’re too busy dealing with that. They even pushed the moon base tour aggressively to divert attention, which makes it worse.”
“If it’s too easy, it’s no fun.”
“Still, security might be tighter than you expect. After all, it’s a large-scale project with all employees involved. But once Electrosphere communication is completely paralyzed, infiltration won’t be that difficult. If an emergency breaks out, high-ranking agents will focus on protecting VIPs first.”
“Hmm…… is that so?”
Raksha smacked his lips regretfully.
“Anyway, once we secure the Witch of the Electrosphere with this chip, you can just enjoy some sightseeing and come back. Of course, the moon base will probably be a complete mess, so it won’t be a comfortable tour.”
“It’s simpler than I thought.”
“I’ve sent your individual routes through a closed channel, so make sure you memorize them, and manage your condition well until the day of.”
At Sis’s words, Raksha cracked his neck.
“Then let’s all meet again on the moon.”
‘To think I’d end up going out into space.’
A road somewhere along the West Sea, thick with sea fog.
Even though the morning sun had risen, it was a day when the moon was clearly visible.
Following Podvig’s internal regulations, I wore a neat dress uniform and looked up at the sky.
Around me, employees from the Magic Engineering Department were getting off the bus.
[Move to your designated locations by team.]
Along with the notice, location information was delivered through the company’s internal network.
As I moved to follow the instructions, I heard someone calling out to me from behind.
“Um…….”
When I turned around, Kang Da-hee, a fellow recruit who had passed the interview with me, was standing there.
“What is it?”
At my question, she hesitated and couldn’t continue speaking.
As I indifferently turned my head away, she finally opened her mouth.
“H-how are you so fine……? After going through something like that that day…….”
Her voice trembled violently.
Kang Da-hee continued, fidgeting with her hands.
“I…… I haven’t been able to sleep properly since that day……. I even have nightmares every night…….”
‘It must have been quite a shock for a young lady who was raised gently.’
With that thought, I tossed out a remark bluntly.
“Why didn’t you ask your dad to get you a sleep-control implant or something.”
“…….”
After saying that, Diesel turned around.
Then Kang Da-hee hurriedly called out to stop him.
“Th-then…… Yuri Ivanov……!”
“…….”
“……I’m sorry.”
At words he had never expected, Diesel looked back at her again.
“At that time, I was really rude. I pushed the blame onto you without any basis at all. It’s late, but……. I’ll apologize even now. I’m sorry.”
She then bowed her head deeply.
‘Did the manners I was going to inject into the White Bear end up injected into her instead?’
No.
Rather than that, it was probably an apology forced out of fear that Diesel might have some kind of connection with the Half-dragon.
As that thought crossed my mind, a snort of laughter escaped me.
“Research and Development Team, this way!”
Just then, the assistant manager of the department Diesel and Kang Da-hee belonged to shouted.
“Then…… does that mean you’ll accept my apology……?”
“I don’t know.”
“…….”
Apparently she hadn’t imagined such an answer would come out, as Kang Da-hee’s face filled with confusion.
“Th-then what should I…….”
‘She really is something.’
Leaving her standing there at a loss, Diesel moved his feet.
The method of going to the moon wasn’t all that complicated.
At Podvig, a Megacorporation with outstanding magic aerospace engineering technology, there were machines Diesel had never even imagined.
‘So even something like this is possible.’
A massive gate that applied spatial-type magic had been installed at a certain port in Incheon.
“……Please be sure to follow the precautions I’ve just explained, and those who suffer from spatial movement sickness should take motion sickness medication now.”
〈Ar, you’re really okay, right?〉
〈I am fine. The fact that spirits can also use gates was already proven long ago.〉
Diesel asked out of concern, but Ar had already searched up information on her own and made preparations.
It seemed that if they manifested materially in the physical world, spirits could also undergo spatial movement.
“Alright, then we’ll begin entry! Please come forward one by one in order!”
As we moved according to the staff’s guidance, train rails laid into the floor came into view.
‘It feels like waiting for a roller coaster.’
That comparison fit perfectly.
In front of the large arch-shaped gate, roller-coaster-like trains were lined up in rows.
“Have you ever ridden a gate before……?”
Kang Da-hee, who was inevitably standing together with me since we were in the same intake, asked cautiously.
“No.”
“Then I’ll give you a tip. If you close your eyes tightly when entering the gate, you’ll feel less nauseous.”
“Sounds like you’ve ridden it a lot.”
“Not that much. I just rode it a few times when I was young because my family traveled a lot. Have you ever been to the island of Hawaii? It’s an island where the magic auroras are incredibly beautiful at sunset.”
As we made small talk like that, before I knew it, it was Diesel’s turn.
“Please confirm that your safety bar is secured, and refrain from unnecessary movement when entering the gate!”
Along with the staff member’s words, a recorded warning message repeatedly flowed from the speakers.
[The train will depart at high speed, so please hold firmly onto the safety bar and be careful not to let your head shake. The train will depart at high speed…….]
As I sat on the train according to the instructions, a thick safety bar automatically came down.
“Ha…… maybe because it’s been a while, I’m a little nervous.”
Kang Da-hee, sitting beside Diesel, muttered in a slightly trembling voice.
“It’s your first time too, Yuri, but you don’t seem very nervous?”
“…….”
Right now, words like Kang Da-hee’s weren’t even reaching Diesel’s ears.
That was because he was too busy reading the magic formula of the distant gate.
〈Ar, you’re recording everything I told you, right?〉
〈Ar is moving.〉
〈Good. If possible, I want to record everything that happens here.〉
〈If the master merely brings it to mind, Ar will record as much as possible.〉
〈That’s reassuring, my boy.〉
Since it was a magic formula combined with machinery, it was unclear how much it could be applied in actual combat, but it was still a first look at high-output spatial-type magic.
‘I should take everything I can get.’
“We will enter shortly! Hold the safety bar tightly!”
The moment the staff member’s shout ended, loud noises rang out from all directions.
“Ugh……!”
At the noisy sound, Kang Da-hee beside me tightly shut her eyes.
But Diesel did the exact opposite, opening his eyes wide to take in as much information as possible.
“Deploying the gate!”
At those words, a blue light flashed from the gate.
‘Oh…….’
To others, it would look like nothing more than blue-glowing mana light, but to Diesel, he could vividly see what was happening right now.
First, he felt the high-density liquid mana being injected on both sides of the gate.
As the mana was infused, a perfect harmony of magic that could only be described as beautiful occurred.
The mana that had been in a liquid state passed through the mana manifestation device and was refined into magical power, and that magical power manifested as magic as it followed the precisely drawn array of magic formulas.
Soon, a bluish-green light rippled in the hollow center of the gate, and with a tremendous noise, spatial-type magic tore open wide.
“Entering!”
The moment the signal ended, the train Diesel was riding launched forward at full speed.
The long steel procession pierced straight into the wide-open gate.
At the same time, the world suddenly plunged into pitch-black darkness.
‘Hmm, so this is why people get motion sickness.’
It felt as though heaven and earth were violently shaking, as if the world were being flipped upside down.
At that moment.
Something entered Diesel’s field of vision.
Something completely unexpected.
‘……?’
A gap that formed space and space.
A void between matter and matter.
Chaos between order and order.
A wrinkle of dimensions that leaped beyond spacetime.
In a fleeting interval where no existence could remain.
Diesel clearly encountered something.
‘That is…….’
The moment he realized what the vaguely seen presence was.
His expression twisted before he even realized it.
‘Older Brother……?’
It was none other than his own older brother, Lee Hamin.