A Space Marine Got a Status Window

“We’ll head to the place where Hawk Eye’s last message came from.”

When Kim Seojun said that, no one raised any objections.

Kim Seojun had already clearly explained why rescuing Hawk Eye was necessary and justified.

All they needed was determination.

And with that determination, Kim Seojun’s group left the Polish headquarters and set out.

The journey presented no major problems.

That is, they didn’t have a single encounter with the Mog.

For Kim Seojun’s group, that wasn’t particularly strange.

Until then, they had managed to avoid encounters with the Mog thanks to Kim Seojun’s eyesight and Park Boseop’s hearing.

However, this time the situation was different.

“It’s very quiet, sir.”

At those words from Park Boseop, both Kim Seojun and Major Lee Hyena felt a chill run down their spines.

“It’s too quiet. No matter how much I sharpen my hearing, I can’t hear any sounds from the Mog.”

Because they understood.

“Sergeant Kim, this can’t be a good sign, can it, sir?”

“It’s proof that the Queen’s influence is increasing.”

Upon hearing that, Park Boseop also felt a chill.

Because it meant the Mog were gathering at the Queen’s nest.

“It’s also proof that we’re getting closer to the Queen’s nest.”

After hearing that, Park Boseop said nothing more.

Amid that silence, Kim Seojun’s group reached their destination.

“This is the last trace.”

There was a small box at that location.

A box that only had radio communication functions.

“Hawk Eye definitely left it.”

And on top of that box was an empty can of cola.

“Now we’ll find the nest.”

After confirming it, their next objective was naturally to locate the Queen’s nest.

And it didn’t take them long to find it.

“Sergeant Kim.”

Park Boseop turned his head as he spoke.

“Over there, over there……”

He couldn’t continue.

Park Boseop was unable to keep speaking after hearing what was there.

Kim Seojun didn’t ask what was wrong.

Because he immediately understood.

At that moment, Park Boseop’s ears were hearing the sounds produced by an unimaginable number of Mog.

And anyone who heard such a sound could lose their mind.

Kim Seojun had experienced it several times.

It was precisely thanks to those experiences that Kim Seojun didn’t stop in the face of that overwhelming situation.

But he didn’t rush either.

Kim Seojun’s group slowly walked in the direction the sounds were coming from.

And shortly afterward, the three of them were able to see it.

“That mountain.”

A gigantic rocky mountain.

“That mountain is the nest.”

And the countless Mog completely covering that rocky mountain.

Faced with that unimaginable number, Park Boseop was left speechless.

The same happened to Major Lee Hyena.

Even she, who until then had charged without hesitation at any Mog, couldn’t help trembling before that overwhelming number.

There were more than a hundred thousand.

They seemed to be approaching a million.

Kim Seojun was no different.

He also froze.

However, the reason Kim Seojun had frozen was different from that of the other two.

He hadn’t been intimidated by that overwhelming sight.

Because for Kim Seojun, this wasn’t the first time he had seen something like that.

That was precisely the reason.

‘I promised myself I’d never enter a Queen’s nest again, but in the end, I’m going to do it again.’

He had once again seen that sight.

However, Kim Seojun didn’t allow himself to be dragged into memories of the past.

“We don’t have time.”

Every additional minute they spent thinking there could mean Hawk Eye’s death.

That was why Kim Seojun immediately opened his Inventory.

And took something out from inside it.

“Then we’ll begin the search.”

Whirrrrr!

The reconnaissance drones began to move.

In the space age, drones were useful in many ways.

However, against the Mog, reconnaissance drones weren’t a particularly effective tool.

The reason was simple.

“Operating a reconnaissance drone against the Mog is like playing on a terrible computer. Even if you’re a professional gamer, if the game lags even once in the middle of a match, there’s nothing you can do.”

Remote control could be interrupted at any moment.

Kim Seojun knew that too.

He had experienced it several times.

He had seen drone operators confidently claim that there was no need to conduct any reconnaissance, that they could trust them because they had won medals in drone competitions on Earth.

And less than ten minutes after beginning the reconnaissance, those same operators would end up with completely pale faces, saying.

“Uh…… could you retrieve the drone, sir?”

Furthermore, although Kim Seojun knew how to pilot drones, his skill wasn’t at an extraordinary level either.

Even so, there was a very simple reason why he had brought reconnaissance drones to the Queen’s nest.

‘If I use Telekinesis, I can extend the reconnaissance time.’

Kim Seojun possessed the skill Telekinesis.

And by using Telekinesis, he could make a drone perform movements that ignored the laws of physics.

He had already finished the tests.

Only one thing remained.

To test it in a real situation!

And now Kim Seojun began that test.

Whirrrrr!

The reconnaissance drone advanced at high speed toward the rocky mountain that appeared to be the Queen’s nest.

Screeeeech!

The Mog gathered on the rocky mountain immediately reacted to the sound of the drone.

Screeeeeeeeech!

That reaction was on a completely different level from that of every Mog Kim Seojun’s group had encountered until then.

It was a chilling and incomparable aggression.

The aggression of beings whose mission was to protect their Queen.

They immediately began attacking the reconnaissance drone.

Thuk!

The Thorn Snakes drove their tails into the ground and began firing thorns at the reconnaissance drone.

The number of thorns launched toward it was so enormous that it looked more like a downpour than a rain of projectiles.

It was then.

The reconnaissance drone suddenly stopped in midair.

And immediately afterward, it began to dive.

It was a movement that a reconnaissance drone normally couldn’t perform.

It wasn’t that drones were incapable of descending sharply, but when they did, most of them lost their balance.

However, that drone was different.

After diving, it suddenly began flying backward.

At the same time, it began moving in violent vertical zigzags.

Faced with those absurd movements, the Thorn Snakes that had been firing thorns without stopping interrupted their attacks for an instant.

Screech?

No matter how much they were in a situation where they had to attack indiscriminately, it was impossible to shoot at a reconnaissance drone moving like that.

While the Thorn Snakes hesitated, the reconnaissance drone moved quickly again and resumed the reconnaissance.

It was an astonishing movement.

That was the reason Kim Seojun was confident that he could carry out the reconnaissance.

And there was another reason behind that confidence.

‘Find something. Anything. Anything that can serve as a clue.’

Kim Seojun was properly observing the images transmitted by the reconnaissance drone, images that would have made a normal person lose track of what they were seeing.

And that wasn’t all.

Kim Seojun analyzed everything perfectly without missing a single instant.

Park Boseop and Major Lee Hyena watched Kim Seojun from beside him while holding their breath.

‘Even for Sergeant Kim, I don’t think this is possible.’

Naturally, neither of them expected Kim Seojun to manage to find anything useful.

The situation before them was far too unfavorable.

Furthermore, every circus act had to come to an end.

Bzzzzzt!

No matter how much Kim Seojun used Telekinesis to make the reconnaissance drone perform acrobatic maneuvers, sooner or later it would end up being destroyed.

“I’ll send the second drone.”

Whirrrrr!

Then, Kim Seojun took another reconnaissance drone out of his Inventory and resumed the reconnaissance.

He still had a large number of drones inside his Inventory, but Park Boseop and Major Lee Hyena couldn’t find any comfort in that fact.

And little by little, their fears seemed to become reality.

Bzzzzzt!

Kim Seojun’s reconnaissance drones began to be destroyed one after another.

Before they realized it, the number of drones that had crashed had already far exceeded ten.

At that point, Kim Seojun also took a moment to catch his breath.

‘I’m running low on Mana.’

He temporarily stopped the reconnaissance and rested.

No one told him that he should stop.

Because, at that moment, no one was more desperate than Kim Seojun himself.

And no one had needed to prepare themselves mentally as much as Kim Seojun had to come this far.

Furthermore, losing even more reconnaissance drones would mean a huge loss now that supplies were more valuable than ever.

That was why Kim Seojun clearly established a limit.

“If we don’t find any trace of Hawk Eye after using up to thirty reconnaissance drones, we’ll stop the search and rescue operations.”

As soon as they reached that limit, they would leave without continuing to cling to any hope.

Whirrrrr!

After resting, Kim Seojun sent out another reconnaissance drone.

And then, when he sent the seventeenth drone, it happened.

“……I found her.”

“What?”

Words neither of them had dared to hope for came out of Kim Seojun’s mouth.

Park Boseop and Major Lee Hyena flinched in surprise.

Kim Seojun didn’t waste time explaining anything to them.

He made the reconnaissance drone perform an emergency escape and, immediately afterward, captured the image of what he had seen and showed it to both of them.

“Huh? Is this……?”

“That’s right.”

Then both of them were able to see it.

“A can of cola.”

There was a bright red can of cola on one part of the rocky mountain.

“Unopened.”

The tab on the can hadn’t even been touched.

The can was embedded in one of the numerous rocks located on the mountainside.

As soon as he saw it, Kim Seojun was certain.

“Hawk Eye is still alive.”

What was the most important quality of a sniper?

The answer to that question was always the same.

Hiding.

That is, concealing one’s own presence.

That was precisely why Hawk Eye had managed to become one of humanity’s best snipers.

Hawk Eye knew how to hide better than anyone.

And now it was the same.

The rocky mountain that the Queen had turned into her nest was filled with countless rocks.

Those rocks formed a labyrinth.

And Hawk Eye had concealed her presence inside that labyrinth.

Naturally, that didn’t mean she had simply hidden behind a rock.

Deceiving hundreds of thousands of Mog with something that simple was impossible.

There wasn’t even a chance of succeeding.

That was why Hawk Eye was inside a rock.

She had used her penetration ability to enter it.

‘I didn’t think I’d end up having to resort to my last option.’

Naturally, that wasn’t a method she could use simply because she wanted to.

There were several restrictions on using it.

For starters, once Hawk Eye used that ability in that way, she was unable to use it again for at least ten days.

In other words, until someone came to help her, Hawk Eye would remain trapped inside the rock like a fossil, unable to do anything.

Even if she managed to get out on her own, her physical condition couldn’t possibly be the same as usual.

Although the Agent Suit provided her with oxygen and a certain amount of nutrients, remaining motionless for ten days deteriorated the body far more easily than one might imagine.

And, above all, there were hundreds of thousands of Mog outside.

That meant getting out of there was practically equivalent to receiving a death sentence!

Naturally, Hawk Eye hadn’t ended up in that situation because she wanted to.

‘It just had to be the Queen……’

The instant she encountered the Queen, Hawk Eye understood.

‘Who would’ve thought she’d have Fear……’

The Queen was a special individual.

And she possessed the ability Fear.

That was extremely problematic.

Humans already naturally felt fear when facing the Mog, but the ability Fear was something completely different.

It was like the difference between feeling afraid when seeing a lion from a distance and feeling it when that same lion roared right in front of you.

And the Fear emitted by the Queen wasn’t merely at the level of terrifying someone until they pissed themselves.

It was powerful enough to make the target’s brain and heart burst.

It was practically a weapon.

And against Fear like that, most countermeasures were useless.

Hawk Eye was proof of that.

As soon as she was exposed even slightly to the Queen’s Fear, she began trembling like a leaf.

Afterward, she fled with all her strength and eventually ended up in that situation.

She had hidden herself inside a rock.

Furthermore, it was already the eleventh day since she had entered it.

Frankly, Hawk Eye herself knew.

She could no longer be considered a living person.

‘So the day of my death really has come in the end.’

But she wasn’t afraid of dying.

For starters, if she had feared death, she never could have traveled through space alone hunting Mog.

‘At least I already prepared my gravestone.’

Rather, Hawk Eye felt satisfied that she had prepared a good gravestone on the rock before entering it using her penetration ability.

In other words, the can of cola embedded in the rock where Hawk Eye was located wasn’t there so that someone could rescue her.

Hawk Eye didn’t expect for even an instant that someone would come save her.

Because it was impossible.

Finding the exact rock she was inside on that rocky mountain, inside the Queen’s nest, in a place with hundreds of thousands of Mog, silently making their way through that horde, rescuing her, and then managing to get out?

There couldn’t possibly be anyone with that kind of capability.

‘Unless they’re some fucking lunatic, no one would come all the way here.’

And even if someone capable of doing it existed, they would have no reason to come unless they were a fucking lunatic.

It was then.

Thud!

‘Huh?’

The rock Hawk Eye was inside suddenly began producing a sound.

Hawk Eye tensed.

‘Don’t tell me the Mog……?’

She thought the Mog had discovered that she was hiding inside the rock.

It was a reasonable conclusion.

Thud!

Meanwhile, the sound came again.

And as soon as she heard it, Hawk Eye prepared herself.

‘Yeah, ending up as a fossil inside a rock wouldn’t be a good way to die either. What the hell, I’ll go out and go down with a spectacular bang!’

She prepared to emerge and fight her final battle.

It was then.

Thud! Tap, tap! Thud!

‘Is this……?’

The knocks against the rock began to show a certain pattern.

Hawk Eye realized it immediately.

It was space Morse code.

Hawk Eye listened carefully.

And shortly afterward, she understood the message.

‘We’ve come to rescue you?’