Afterwards, he spoke about how much sacrifice there had been due to psychics not being born uniformly. Making eye contact with the entrepreneurs who had built leading companies, he added as if joking.

“Of course, this is an era where the balance in other fields has also been disrupted. Let me briefly share a personal secret here. I used to own quite a bit of stock in Thunder Button……”

He deliberately trailed off, causing people to chuckle.

Thunder Button was a company that had been dedicated to a business using a new energy source. However, a substance that overwhelmed that resource was recently discovered in a dungeon. Thanks to this, the enormous amount of business they had been pursuing instantly became worthless. Needless to say, the stock value plummeted.

“Even I couldn’t escape the imbalance of information.”

Geum Gang-seop gained the sympathy of the audience with his misfortune, then subtly relaxed his expression. The men who had looked suspicious also adopted a more lenient posture than before. Some were even whispering lightly to the person next to them.

The inviter praised the people gathered on the deck as prophets in a smooth voice.

“I know that your patience has reached its limit. But the people outside this ship do not know about your patience. Nor do they know that you are enduring losses while pouring in limited resources.”

Those who were sick of losses sympathized with him.

“If the tables were turned, your honor would continue to be damaged by losers who are holed up in safe bunkers and can’t even step on the threshold of a rift. I have watched this for a long time, and I couldn’t help but ask myself.”

Walking to a higher part of the deck and turning his back, Geum Gang-seop faced the audience. The lights brightly illuminating the deck cast a long shadow at his feet. The shadow swayed like a living creature, moving dramatically.

“Which side is the one unqualified to board the ark?”

The voice asking the question was louder than before.

“Returning to the imbalance, let me be direct. There is a shortage of psychics on this planet right now.”

Everyone agreed with Geum Gang-seop’s words. It was true that the number of espers was insufficient.

Arguments clashed fiercely between those who claimed that this should be overcome using robots and those who claimed that a way should be found for ordinary people to use the same psychic abilities as espers. The pros and cons of each were clear, and there wasn’t a research field that was overwhelmingly leading, so the confusion was increasing.

“An incident a few years ago shows how dangerous imbalance can be. An A-class gate-type rift occurred in a lawless zone, and there were two groups within the radius of its occurrence. One was a small research team from Arc. The other was a religious group living in that area despite the recommendations of international organizations. Considering that Gaia had more personnel in the latter group, they deployed stronger agents there.”

A sharp sneer hung on Geum Gang-seop’s lips.

“You know the conclusion. The research team was annihilated, and all the espers who went to rescue them also died.”

Gaia valued everyone equally. Since the difference in numbers was very large, they deployed personnel considering that.

“Only the fanatics who called themselves sons of the sun survived.”

Continuing his words, Geum Gang-seop expressed his bitter feelings. The heads of corporations, who would feel the loss of highly skilled research personnel more acutely than anyone else, nodded.

“This is a time that requires bold and swift decisions. Various data and statistics say it. If we continue like this, we will decline.”

Cheon Beom-joon’s mouth gradually widened as he listened to Geum Gang-seop’s subsequent plan.

This guy is crazy.

He had been able to live as a normal person until now because he was completely insane. Because it was extremely difficult to distinguish between someone who was intricately mad and a normal person.

Did his father conspire with such a person? He was skeptical. Chairman Cheon was hot-tempered, but he didn’t think he was the type of person who would agree with the current claims.

‘Maybe my father was a bigger bastard than I thought.’

Could he have misjudged Chairman Cheon? Cheon Beom-joon felt a headache coming on and observed the audience’s reaction. Half of them actively agreed with the plan. The other half still doubted the plan’s effectiveness. However, even they seemed to agree with Geum Gang-seop’s claims themselves.

“We must reduce the number of people we have to protect and increase the number of people we can protect.”

Geum Gang-seop concluded his words calmly, just as he had begun. At that moment, a young businessman raised his hand.

He demanded proof. Proof that rifts could be opened. And it was an extremely reasonable statement that they needed assurance that the monsters that came out of the rifts would obey Geum Gang-seop’s words.

“Of course. The reason I invited you here was also because there was something to prove.”

Cheon Beom-joon turned his gaze to the railing. The number of masked men had increased since the beginning. Heavily armed, they were watching the sea with vigilance. He didn’t know what that madman might do. He fiddled with the weapon disguised as an expensive watch he had brought in.

“Gaia. Open the cradle.”

Geum Gang-seop’s voice swept over the sea. For a few seconds, nothing happened. But after a moment, an ominous tremor awakened the calm sea.

People panicked at the vibrations rising from the abyss and gathered in the middle of the deck. Geum Gang-seop moved in the opposite direction. Standing at the railing without any weapons, he spread his arms as if to say it was okay.

The heavy vibration stopped after about 30 seconds. A door to another dimension was not created. No threatening alien life forms were visible. Nothing had changed.

Someone stepped forward to protest. At that moment, Cheon Beom-joon noticed a swaying shadow beneath the black sea and reflexively ducked.

콰아아!

At the same time, the surface of the water surged, and an enormous amount of water poured onto the deck. Staff members, who he didn’t know had approached, unfurled black umbrellas over them. Splashes of water pattered on the fabric.

Despite being covered by umbrellas, everyone’s knees were wet. Because the life form that had emerged from the water was so voluminous.

“A snake……”

Cheon Beom-joon was stunned, looking at the enormous snake that opened its jaws as if to swallow the moon. Its torso was thick enough to cut a cruise ship in two, and each scale looked as hard as a diamond.

As the staff quickly folded their umbrellas, someone let out a low, fearful groan. Bright yellow eyes looked down at the snacks on the deck. But when Geum Gang-seop gestured, the snake almost folded its torso in half and presented its head to him.

Standing in front of the railing, he placed his hand on the snake’s scales. Those watching retreated with fearful faces.

As if mocking them, the snake obediently closed its two eyes. When the massive ship began to move forward, the snake followed behind as if escorting it.

\*

Having left the hotel, Yoon Tae-ha arrived at the rendezvous point Chertan had mentioned.

On her way here, she had circled the city once to shake off any potential tail. Before arriving, she also meticulously checked her coat pockets and the soles of her shoes. In case there were any transmitters or small listening devices transmitting her location. Even though she knew the meaning of her actions, she couldn’t stop checking.

Fortunately, there was nothing. Having finished checking, her face was a mess of self-loathing and self-disgust. Her cold fingers didn’t even feel like her own.

She hated the brain that doubted Cheon Geon-young. This was a really bad habit. What had she imagined? That he would follow her and arrest her? Should she scrub her past memories with bleach? Would she be able to escape these doubts then?

Just one expression had made her this anxious.

The hot feeling of wanting someone couldn’t completely erase old scars. Realizing that, it felt like all the hope she had filled in the pit was pouring out. The bright future she had wanted to spend with him seemed like it would eventually be ruined because of her.

Yoon Tae-ha, her steps heavy, arrived in front of the Black Lizard’s aircraft. The door opened, as if her identity had been confirmed from inside. Her face was dark even as she stepped inside.

Greeting the people, she looked for where Chertan might be.

Chertan, who was standing with Mago in front of a holographic map, was the first to spot Yoon Tae-ha. He greeted her with a serious expression she hadn’t seen in a long time.

Mago, who had just arrived next to Yoon Tae-ha, explained the overall plan. Chertan carefully observed Yoon Tae-ha’s noticeably poor expression.

Yoon Tae-ha, who had been listening quietly to the explanation, unfolded the internal structure of the Green Hive again. While getting confirmation from Mago on the memorized routes, Chertan suddenly interjected.

“Are you sure you’re prepared?”

The two women, who had been discussing how to attack the chimeras, raised their heads. A guild member approached Chertan and said that preparations for departure were complete. He gave the order to take off. As the heavy aircraft prepared to rise, a low mechanical hum began.

“The manpower deployment at the Green Hive is sufficient. I think thirty assault troops are too many. Combat support will be on standby separately, right?”

“No, not our guys. I’m talking about the guest members.”

Yoon Tae-ha stared at him with a blunt face. At the same time, Mago gracefully lowered her head to her tablet. But her ears were wide open.

Just before Lev approached with a bounce and opened his mouth, Mago warned him with her eyes. The boy alternated his gaze between Yoon Tae-ha, who looked displeased, and Chertan, who was more serious than usual.

“Am I a guest member?”

“Or a special invitee.”

“That’s not important right now. I’m ready. There hasn’t been a single instance of a guiding shortage recently either. Assuming the Crow Prince didn’t deceive us about their strength, there shouldn’t be any problems occupying the Green Hive.”

“If you know so well, why did you come into the aircraft with that expression?”

At his stern voice, Yoon Tae-ha shut her mouth.

“If an S-class has that expression during a dangerous mission, what about the anxiety of the others? If you don’t want to cause harm, fix your attitude first.”

Why had this harsh atmosphere started? Since when had Yoon Tae-ha been someone who smiled brightly and spread cheer? Lev, who was checking the operation while wearing his custom-made special goggles, looked puzzled.