A Space Marine Got a Status Window

Just as Doctor Space had been astonished to discover, among the abilities of Psykers, there were many that ignored the laws of the universe.

There were abilities that allowed people to pass through matter, others that made the human body move at astonishing speeds while ignoring the laws of physics, and even abilities capable of transcending the body to the point of allowing someone to breathe and move through space with their body completely exposed.

“So, you’re saying the ability of this Prophet’s artifact is mind reading?”

In a world of Psykers like that, a mind-reading ability that allowed someone to know another person’s thoughts seemed almost too normal and realistic.

Naturally, finding a Prophet’s artifact that possessed such an ability was absurdly difficult.

To exaggerate a little, it was as difficult as playing in an elementary school playground and finding a one-kilogram bar of pure gold.

“And Jo Yihyeon has the ability to use mind reading?”

Furthermore, finding a Psyker compatible with a mind-reading ability was also extremely rare.

“My God.”

For both things to appear simultaneously was practically a miracle, so there was nothing strange about everyone being surprised.

“Um, Sergeant Kim, this……”

“Yes, that’s right.”

However, at that moment, Kim Seojun’s group wasn’t surprised solely for those reasons.

“Thanks to Jo Yihyeon, the situation has changed considerably. An opportunity has presented itself.”

At that precise moment, the ability to read minds was the perfect key to solving the problem troubling Kim Seojun’s group.

After all, what currently concerned Kim Seojun was seizing the Chinese headquarters’ spaceship.

Naturally, at that moment, only the elite of the elite remained on the Chinese headquarters’ side, and even if they captured one of them and tortured them, there was practically no chance they would reveal the location of the spaceship.

Furthermore, in a situation where a spaceship was more valuable than ever, there was no way they would have stored it somewhere that could be found simply by searching thoroughly.

But now they had mind reading.

“Now we just have to capture them. Capture them alive. That’s all.”

That meant all they had to do was capture someone from the Chinese headquarters, anyone who was still alive, to get an answer!

That was why everyone was so surprised.

Jo Yihyeon was no exception.

“I never imagined I’d be compatible with mind reading.”

She had thought she didn’t possess any useful ability.

Who would have imagined that, in reality, she possessed an extraordinarily special talent?

“How interesting. Normally, they perform every compatibility test possible. And among those, they can easily test compatibility with mind reading as well.”

In reality, it was extremely unlikely for something like that to happen.

For starters, Psykers were extremely valuable, and when someone was discovered to possess talent as a Psyker, the country they belonged to performed every compatibility test possible.

In fact, compatibility tests for special abilities such as mind reading were among the first ones performed.

It wasn’t particularly difficult either.

To perform that compatibility test, all they had to do was have the person come into contact with the corresponding Prophet’s artifact.

Naturally, the situation was different for extremely underdeveloped countries that lacked the conditions necessary to perform such tests.

After all, a Prophet’s artifact with mind-reading capabilities was such a valuable national resource that even one the size of a fingernail could hardly be purchased with money.

“But for this to happen with a Psyker who has American citizenship is anything but common……”

However, Jo Yihyeon was a citizen of the United States, a country that could be considered the world’s greatest power in that field.

“I suppose geniuses on another level really are different.”

Despite that, Jo Yihyeon had been able to live without discovering it because she possessed such extraordinary genius that she didn’t even need to be a Psyker.

In fact, mediocre talent as a Psyker might even have been considered a blemish on the genius she already possessed.

“I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. On the contrary, we were lucky. If they had known you were compatible with mind reading, you never would have come to planet Amotia.”

Naturally, from the perspective of Kim Seojun’s group, this was an opportunity sent from heaven.

“All right, then the answer is pretty obvious now.”

And faced with that opportunity, there was only one thing Kim Seojun’s group needed to do.

“But I suppose the person in command has to speak first, right? What do we do?”

“We’ll head to the Polish headquarters. After that, we’ll move to capture the remaining forces of the Chinese headquarters.”

As soon as they established that objective, Kim Seojun’s group headed toward the Polish headquarters without hesitation.

— This is Polish headquarters.

While they were traveling, as if they had been waiting for precisely that moment, they received a communication from the Polish headquarters.

— We’ve just received a proposal to hold a meeting.

“A proposal for a meeting? What kind of meeting?”

— They want us to hunt the Queen together.

“Which country?”

Major Jan Zabłocki answered the question.

— United Kingdom.

For a long time, space had been an object of fear for human beings.

That didn’t change even after technology advanced to a certain extent.

Space remained a terrifying place.

And that was inevitable.

“It’s insane to go out into space, where you can’t survive for even a second without a suit.”

Space was a place that the human survival instinct simply couldn’t accept.

Despite that, during the space age, many people became space adventurers.

And there was only one thing that made it possible.

“We can return! As long as the Gates exist!”

The confidence and hope that they could always return home were the forces that allowed them to venture farther and farther into space.

Then, naturally, a question arose.

What would happen if the Gates, that symbol of hope, stopped working?

No one knew the answer.

Since Doctor Space had created the first Gate, there had never been a single problem with any of the thirty-three Gates spread throughout the universe.

But then it happened.

The ninth Gate was destroyed.

And humanity on planet Amotia, which was located within the area corresponding to that Gate, was plunged into indescribable fear.

A large number of people panicked.

And the situation on planet Amotia was even worse than they had imagined.

“Why the hell can’t we establish communications?!”

Under normal circumstances, a rescue ship from the warships waiting in space should have arrived.

But not only had no rescue ship arrived, they couldn’t even establish communications.

And that wasn’t all.

“What the fuck is wrong with those Mog?!”

Rescue requests began pouring in from everywhere, reporting that they were being attacked by the Mog and asking for help.

Among them was even one from the American headquarters.

“And what the fuck is wrong with those Chinese?!”

In the middle of all that, the Chinese headquarters even declared war on every country present on planet Amotia.

“They’re going to use nuclear weapons?”

The final blow was the nuclear weapons.

As soon as they appeared, the survivors on planet Amotia suffered an indescribable psychological shock.

They ended up completely losing their minds.

However, not everyone reacted that way.

There were also those who, spurred by their survival instincts in that extreme situation, managed to regain their composure.

Colonel Ian Haig, commander of the British headquarters base on planet Amotia, was one of them.

In reality, he wasn’t a particularly competent person.

Far from being competent, he came from a British aristocratic family and had obtained his current position through his connections.

He was the type of person who valued his own interests and his own life above national interests or any greater cause.

That was why, faced with that desperate situation, Colonel Ian Haig found what he considered the best answer for survival.

“China and Poland are fighting right now. If we want to survive, we have to side with one of them.”

If they remained there doing nothing, they really would end up dying.

“In this situation, anyone can see that we should side with China.”

Colonel Ian Haig didn’t need to think about it for long.

It wasn’t something that required reflection.

“How the hell could Poland compete with China?”

If a tiger and a dog were fighting, there was no reason to waste time thinking about which one to bet on.

And furthermore, what they were betting there wasn’t something as trivial as money.

It was their own lives.

“That’s right!”

“I agree with you as well, Colonel.”

The other officers thought the same way.

So those present only had to think about one thing.

“Then what should we do to get on China’s side?”

“How about we hand the Poles over to them?”

“The Poles?”

“Yes. Right now, Poland is the only country that maintains a hostile relationship with China. We can hand the Polish commander over to them.”

“You……!”

As soon as he heard that answer, Colonel Ian Haig exclaimed in surprise.

“You’re brilliant!”

He expressed his astonished admiration toward the officer who had found such an excellent answer in such a pressing situation.

Naturally, from the perspective of common sense, it was absurd.

Were they really going to sell out Poland to curry favor with China?

However, the United Kingdom was a country that had spent a very long time naturally doing such things that defied common sense.

Even on Earth, the United Kingdom remained the source of many existing problems, and the United Kingdom of that time wasn’t too different from the United Kingdom of the space age.

Above all, Colonel Ian Haig was a man who valued his own life more than anything else.

“Let’s do it immediately!”

There was no hesitation, and they acted quickly.

“Contact the Polish headquarters. Tell them we want to hold a meeting.”

They immediately prepared a trap.

“When Poland responds, contact China. Tell them we’ll hand over the commander of the Polish headquarters.”

And shortly afterward, a response came.

“What did you say?”

Gwangma, Lin Zihan, began laughing like a madwoman as soon as she heard the news Major Lin Jiayi had brought.

“So, the United Kingdom will hand the Poles over to us in exchange for us sparing their lives?”

“Yes.”

“People often tell me I’m crazy too, but this seems even crazier to me. Who’s the commander of the British headquarters?”

“Colonel Ian Haig.”

“I don’t know that name. I suppose he’s nobody important.”

“That’s right.”

After that, she stopped laughing and said.

“In other words, they want to arrange a tea party for us, right? And they’ll even include a gift. We have no reason to refuse. Tell them we’ll go.”

She would accept the British headquarters’ proposal.

Major Lin Jiayi didn’t say anything in particular at those words.

Naturally, she knew that it wouldn’t be as simple as it seemed.

For starters, they couldn’t rule out the possibility that this was a trap jointly prepared by the Polish and British headquarters to capture the Chinese.

That meant if they recklessly entered the British headquarters, they could end up being the ones captured!

“You’re not worried, are you?”

“No, I’m not.”

However, although Major Lin Jiayi was aware of that possibility, she wasn’t expressing any concern.

The reason was simple.

“Of course, there’s nothing to worry about. Major Lin Jiayi can find out with mind reading, right? Whether they’re lying or not.”

Major Lin Jiayi was a Psyker compatible with mind reading, and as soon as she saw someone from the British headquarters, she would be able to tell whether they were lying or not.

“If it’s a lie, we’ll simply kill everyone at the British headquarters.”

Above all, the person speaking to her at that moment was Gwangma, Lin Zihan.

“And if it’s true, we’ll kill them all together with the Poles.”

No matter what kind of trap they prepared, she was confident that she could not only escape it, but crush it completely.

And she had more than enough reason to possess such confidence.

“After all, there won’t be anyone faster than me.”

‘It’s a trap.’

When they heard about the proposal to hold a meeting from the Polish headquarters, Kim Seojun and the others immediately thought it was a trap.

‘There’s no reason for the United Kingdom to suddenly act so friendly.’

Until just a few days ago, those people hadn’t responded with a single word when they were asked to hunt the Queen together.

And now, all of a sudden, they wanted to participate in the Queen hunt and, under the pretext that the commanders needed to discuss it, were inviting Major Jan Zabłocki to the British headquarters?

Their true intentions were far too obvious.

‘Even so, considering they’re doing everything they can, they’re not ordinary.’

Regardless of that, Kim Seojun acknowledged to some extent the decision made by the British headquarters.

After all, from the perspective of Kim Seojun, who had suffered all kinds of hardships as a Space Marine, the worst commanders were those who did absolutely nothing.

Even if they did nothing, the Mog would continue doing whatever they wanted.

Only by doing something was there any possibility of finding a solution.

‘Although it would be absurd for them to ally with the Polish headquarters in this situation.’

Furthermore, from the perspective of common sense, choosing to ally with China was the logical decision.

In fact, from the perspective of the soldiers and employees of the British headquarters, their commander’s decision was something they could welcome.

After all, the commander had tried to find the best possible way to ensure everyone survived.

In any case, under other circumstances, they never would have accepted something like this, but now the situation was different.

‘When the prey falls into the trap, the hunter comes to collect it.’

This gave them an opportunity to meet the hunter.

And now, if they could capture that hunter alive, they could solve a large portion of their problems.

That was why, for starters, Kim Seojun’s group told Major Jan Zabłocki to agree to participate in the meeting.

If at any point they thought something wasn’t right, they could always come up with all kinds of reasons and cancel the meeting.

There was no reason to back out from the beginning.

In other words, only one concern remained now.

‘Can we capture the hunter?’

Kim Seojun couldn’t hastily answer yes.

The Chinese headquarters had abandoned its own base without the slightest hesitation.

That meant they were convinced that the additional forces they were bringing in were more powerful than all the forces the Chinese headquarters had possessed.

It meant that an extremely powerful Psyker had appeared.

Furthermore, this time, simply killing them wasn’t enough.

There was the additional condition that, somehow, they had to capture at least one of them alive.

Inevitably, the difficulty was completely different.

While Kim Seojun pondered that as he drove the Wulong, he saw a warning light up.

[10% battery remaining.]

At the warning that little energy remained, Kim Seojun immediately stopped the Wulong and opened Inventory.

He entered it together with the Wulong.

“Sergeant Kim! Give it to me!”

Private First Class Park Boseop, who was waiting, quickly took the Wulong and immediately began working to change its battery.

“Oh, you’re back already?”

Noah Winston, who was waiting inside the air tent, smiled broadly and greeted him with a wave of her hand.

Major Lee Hyena, who was waiting beside her, also nodded slightly when their eyes met.

On the other hand, Jo Yihyeon was so focused on working with the Aitenium fragments they had obtained earlier that she didn’t even notice Kim Seojun’s arrival.

“What are you doing? Come in and at least have a cola. Changing the battery isn’t something that can be done in an instant either, right?”

At Noah Winston’s suggestion, Kim Seojun shook his head.

“I’m fine.”

“Come on. Anyway, thinking about this any more isn’t going to make an answer suddenly appear, right? No matter how much you think, the cards in your hand aren’t going to change.”

As soon as he heard those words, Kim Seojun’s gaze changed.

‘Wait.’

Only then did Kim Seojun remember something.

‘You idiot! I haven’t used the points!’

He had killed no fewer than 255 Antlions and obtained 15,550 points.

Adding them to the points he already possessed, he had no fewer than 20,553 points, and he still hadn’t used any of them.

Too many things had happened, and it had simply slipped his mind.

In any case, as soon as he realized it, Kim Seojun immediately used his points.

“Buy two Gold Tickets.”

He murmured it in a very low voice.

It was then.

“Hmm?”

Noah Winston, who was watching Kim Seojun from the air tent, suddenly stood up.

“What is it? What happened?”

Hawk Eye.

Living up to that nickname, she possessed vision superior to anyone else’s and had noticed something at that instant.

“Seojun, what happened?”

Kim Seojun’s eyes had trembled violently just a moment ago.

Kim Seojun answered her question.

“Nothing happened.”

However, that answer wasn’t true.

Kim Seojun was deeply surprised.

And it was inevitable.

Because he had just heard it.

[Congratulations! You have obtained a Diamond-grade reward.]

[You have obtained a Skill Upgrade Ticket (A).]

〈 End of Chapter 54: Falling into a Trap (1) 〉

Author’s Note

As you can probably tell from the subtitle, this is the frustrating part for the protagonist.