A Space Marine Got a Status Window

When Kim Seojun climbed into the battle tank, he was quite confident.

‘There’s no reason I can’t take down an infected Psyker who lacks mobility.’

It wasn’t unfounded confidence.

Kim Seojun wasn’t a tanker, but he had operated battle tanks so many times that he could proudly say he had killed more Mog using them than most veteran tankers.

The only thing he didn’t have was a license. He even knew how to drive a battle tank to some extent.

In any case, Kim Seojun was quite confident in his aim.

Furthermore, he thought that with his Dynamic Vision, he could achieve even better results than before.

‘Although it’ll take some time.’

Even so, he had considered the possibility that it would turn into a prolonged battle.

A battle so long that he would have to use all the shells stored in the battle tank and then resupply with additional ammunition.

‘I’ll manage somehow. If we lose the Polish headquarters here, we honestly won’t have any alternatives left.’

It wouldn’t be easy.

But, put another way, they didn’t have many cards available either, so he had no choice but to choose that one.

Of course, all those concerns disappeared as soon as he sat in the gunner’s position.

As soon as he saw that red light.

All his concerns had been unnecessary.

He was inside a battle tank whose shots could now hit without missing, facing an infected Psyker equipped with a Block Suit that practically lacked mobility.

There was nothing to think about.

He didn’t even need to get closer to increase his accuracy.

He could do it from far away.

“Stop.”

“What? I think I misheard you. You said to stop, but I heard wrong, right?”

“You heard correctly.”

“We’re stopping here? You can’t even see him from this distance!”

“I can see him.”

It was such an absurd distance that even Park Boseop, who was driving the battle tank, was bewildered.

At a distance slightly beyond the effective range of the battle tank’s shells, Kim Seojun immediately began manipulating the controller.

“Perfect.”

And then he pressed the button.

BOOM!

As soon as he did, the interior of the battle tank filled with the deafening roar of the cannon.

They could even feel an indescribable vibration running through the air.

Normally, a prolonged silence followed that.

Once a battle tank fired its first shot, it needed quite a bit of time to aim again.

The reason was very simple.

Its accuracy wasn’t particularly high.

For starters, the first shell was normally used to adjust the aim, and the gunner’s true skill was demonstrated by whether or not he managed to hit with the second.

‘Now Sergeant Kim will aim again.’

Park Boseop naturally expected Kim Seojun to do exactly that.

BOOM!

‘Huh?’

But Kim Seojun shattered that common sense and immediately fired another shell.

BOOM!

‘Eh?!’

The same thing happened with the third shot.

At that point, it couldn’t even be considered aiming anymore.

Kim Seojun fired as soon as each shell finished loading.

He was practically firing indiscriminately.

BOOM!

He even immediately fired a fourth shell.

Beeeeep!

At that instant, a warning appeared inside the battle tank.

The cannon had overheated due to the speed at which he had fired the shells, and the system warned him that he had to let it cool down.

“S-Sergeant Kim!”

Only then did silence return.

In the midst of that silence, Park Boseop spoke in a trembling voice.

“W-What just happened?”

Although he asked, Park Boseop naturally thought Kim Seojun had just fired a series of absurd, uncontrolled shots.

He thought some problem had occurred.

That Kim Seojun would declare the combat a failure and give new orders.

“Private First Class Park Boseop, the situation has changed.”

Kim Seojun spoke.

“The battle against the infected is over.”

“What?”

At Park Boseop’s surprise, Kim Seojun continued.

“Just as I said. I took down the infected Psyker.”

Even as he spoke, Kim Seojun avoided saying that he had killed him.

The vitality of the infected was extraordinarily tenacious.

Even so, he declared the battle over because he was convinced that, even if he was still alive, he would have been left in a state that prevented him from continuing to fight.

And an infected Psyker who had lost a couple of limbs or had only his upper body remaining had no chance of defeating Lee Hyena while she remained in perfect condition.

It was then.

A series of notifications rang in Kim Seojun’s ears.

[Combat has ended.]

[Due to the mission, all points obtained will be multiplied by 3.]

[You have eliminated a Feather-class Mog creature. You have obtained 3,000 points.]

[You have eliminated a Feather-class Mog creature for the first time. You have received a Gold Ticket.]

[You have fulfilled the mission conditions. You have received a Platinum Ticket.]

As soon as he heard them, Kim Seojun spoke without hesitation.

“Infected Psyker eliminated.”

He informed Lee Hyena and all his companions in the distance that he had eliminated the monster.

“So get ready.”

And then he added.

“For the next battle.”

After finishing speaking, Kim Seojun raised his head.

Naturally, he hadn’t missed that grotesque vibration emitted by the Cyclops either.

Rather than merely not missing it, Kim Seojun had heard that sound better than the others.

It wasn’t because his hearing was particularly good.

Kim Seojun simply rarely overlooked anything that could endanger his life.

In any case, he knew what it meant.

A terrifying army of Mog could arrive at that place at any moment.

‘Come.’

And Kim Seojun was willing to face that army.

He had confidence to spare.

‘As long as we have a battle tank, I don’t intend to lose. No, this is actually an opportunity. An opportunity to accumulate points.’

It was then.

Kim Seojun heard it again.

Kiiiiiiiiiiii!

The Cyclops emitted that sound again.

“Son of a bitch! Enough already, fuck! Enough!”

Park Boseop cursed without even realizing it.

Just when it seemed like they could finally catch their breath, the Cyclops had emitted that sound again.

It meant that hell was approaching!

“Private First Class Park Boseop.”

“Yes, Sergeant Kim! I’m ready! Today I’ll see this through to the end!”

Park Boseop mentally prepared himself for what was coming.

However, Kim Seojun told him.

“Stay alert. But it’s very likely that no more Mog reinforcements will arrive.”

“What? How do you know?”

Kim Seojun replied.

“It’s a feeling. Just a feeling.”

And Kim Seojun’s words soon became reality.

As soon as it emitted that sound, the Cyclops began moving away.

Even after an hour passed, there was no sign of the Mog.

It was the moment when the battle finally came to an end.

There was no additional attack from the Mog army.

As soon as he confirmed that, Kim Seojun immediately got moving.

“Clear.”

He finished eliminating the infected who still remained inside the Polish headquarters.

“First, we have to deal with the Mog Virus. Activate the sterilization system.”

After that, they began taking measures to decontaminate the Mog Virus.

Every area of the Polish headquarters was sealed off one after another, and a powerful disinfectant liquid began spraying everywhere.

Psssssssh!

At the same time, the survivors, still equipped with their suits, began disinfecting the corpses of the infected using sterilization extinguishers.

In Lee Hyena’s case, she was immediately placed in quarantine as a precaution against any possible problem.

“Major, I know this must be difficult after everything that has happened, but I ask for your understanding.”

“I understand perfectly.”

Lee Hyena, who had gone directly into the disinfectant liquid while still wearing her Agent Suit after the battle ended, didn’t express the slightest complaint.

Meanwhile, Kim Seojun began organizing the situation.

“We have 57 survivors. Who currently holds the highest command authority?”

“I do now.”

Major Jan Zabłocki had become the acting commander of the Polish headquarters.

“My condolences.”

“I appreciate your condolences. And I also thank you for saving the Polish headquarters.”

From Major Jan Zabłocki’s perspective, that was truly the worst possible situation.

It meant that all his superiors except him had died.

At the same time, it meant that the lives of all the survivors now rested on Major Jan Zabłocki’s shoulders.

Just imagining it was enough to make one feel dizzy.

“Tell me what you need. As acting commander of the headquarters, I promise you our full support.”

On the other hand, from Kim Seojun’s perspective, that meant he could practically do whatever he wanted.

And Kim Seojun was more than willing to take advantage of that situation.

“Prepare for combat.”

“Combat?”

“Yes.”

Kim Seojun continued.

“Before long, an enormous Mog army will arrive here.”

Everyone was surprised by those words.

“What do you mean? Didn’t the Mog retreat? We confirmed that the Cyclops withdrew!”

Everyone had believed the battle was over and was finally letting out sighs of relief.

However, Kim Seojun knew.

“The Mog I know don’t have anything like the option of retreating. If they retreated anyway, it was probably to gather an even larger army.”

Kim Seojun knew perfectly well what kind of creatures the Mog were.

He knew it wouldn’t end there.

“Of course, this isn’t a normal situation. I can’t say for certain either. It’s only a prediction based on my experience. But given the current circumstances, we have to prepare even at the slightest sign that something might happen.”

Even if Kim Seojun was wrong, in the current situation they had to prepare with everything they had for any eventuality.

Major Jan Zabłocki nodded.

If they followed his words and all that effort ended up being unnecessary, that would instead be a reason to celebrate.

“We’ll prepare.”

“And one more thing.”

As soon as he heard that answer, Kim Seojun added another request.

“I want to examine the corpses of the infected Space Marines.”

When Lee Hyena emerged from the sterilization process, Kim Seojun was waiting for her.

He took her to the morgue.

“Major.”

Then he asked.

“This wound on the head, did you make it?”

“Yes.”

Lee Hyena immediately nodded.

“Is there a problem?”

Kim Seojun replied.

“It’s the only wound he has.”

“Because I finished him with a single blow.”

Lee Hyena spoke confidently.

Kim Seojun replied.

“Doesn’t that seem strange to you?”

“Strange?”

“Normally, when someone becomes infected while wearing a suit, it happens after they’ve been attacked. However, the infected this time don’t have any significant wounds despite having been wearing their suits.”

At those words, the expressions of everyone present, including Lee Hyena, changed.

First came confusion.

Shortly afterward, their expressions hardened.

Because they immediately understood what that meant.

“Uh, Sergeant Kim, you’re not saying that……?”

“There are only two possibilities. The first is that the infected Space Marines voluntarily put on their battle suits after becoming infected. The second is that they were infected with the Mog Virus while they were already wearing their battle suits.”

Naturally, there was no possibility that those infected, beings consumed by extreme rage, had thought.

‘Now we have to kill everyone, so let’s put on our battle suits. The procedure for equipping them is as follows.’

And then all calmly put on their battle suits.

That left only one conclusion.

Someone had deliberately spread the Mog Virus.

In other words, someone had used that absurd disease as a biological weapon.

That was an extremely serious matter.

“But isn’t using the Mog Virus as a weapon prohibited?”

After the problems caused by the Mog Virus, every country on Earth had established that its use as a weapon constituted an extremely serious crime.

If a country was discovered to have weaponized it, it would receive severe condemnation from the international community.

“Yes. They regulated it. Just like what happened long ago with nuclear bombs.”

Of course, Kim Seojun and everyone else knew perfectly well that those regulations didn’t mean much.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the process of turning the Mog Virus into a weapon was probably already practically complete.

Nor was it particularly difficult.

There wasn’t even any need to modify the Mog Virus.

It was enough to use it in the same way as any other existing biological weapon.

And there was something else Kim Seojun was certain of.

“The main suspect is China.”

There weren’t many countries capable of doing something like that.

And at that moment, there was only one that was especially suspicious.

Kim Seojun also imagined another possible scenario.

‘A planet where a Queen appeared just as the Gate was destroyed. It’s the perfect place to test a weapon based on the Mog Virus.’

It was possible that they were conducting an experiment on planet Amotia.

Of course, that was nothing more than a hypothetical scenario, so Kim Seojun didn’t say it aloud.

“We have to be careful.”

The only indisputable fact was that the Mog were no longer the only threat on planet Amotia.

Faced with that reality, everyone present remained silent.

Although, naturally, they were all thinking practically the same thing.

‘This seems like China’s doing.’

‘It has to be China.’

‘It was definitely China.’

There was only one country they all considered capable of turning the Mog Virus into a weapon and using it in an experiment.

And their suspicions didn’t come from nowhere.

For starters, the original cause of the Mog Virus’s appearance had been China ignoring international regulations and secretly conducting research on part of a Queen’s corpse.

Even after that, China had received international criticism dozens of times for conducting secret experiments related to the Mog.

Of course, even if China really was responsible, there was no possibility of verifying it at that moment.

‘Entering the Chinese headquarters would be madness.’

After all, the Chinese headquarters possessed the largest force on all of planet Amotia.

‘Even if we managed to enter a place under that level of surveillance, we wouldn’t be able to do anything.’

Kim Seojun thought exactly the same thing.

Although he suspected China, he had no intention whatsoever of trying to do anything about it.

That was why he didn’t continue thinking too much about the matter.

‘There’s no reason to obsess over something I can’t do. The first thing is to deal with the problem in front of me.’

Above all, what Kim Seojun had to deal with immediately was the attack by the Mog army that would probably be heading toward the Polish headquarters.

‘We have to stop them no matter what. If we lose the headquarters, it’s over. Putting everything else aside, with this many survivors, we won’t even be able to get enough food by relying solely on the bunker supplies.’

To prevent that, Kim Seojun was willing to use absolutely every means at his disposal.

That was why he decided to immediately use the rewards he had just obtained.

And he started with the most important one.

“Use Platinum Ticket.”

As he used it, Kim Seojun thought that anything he obtained would be an enormous help.

So he should be satisfied no matter what the result was.

Then he heard a notification.

[You have obtained the skill Stealth (F) from a Platinum Ticket!]