The TDM building Suho returned to was still bustling with on-alert Admiti and soldiers.
It had been close to midnight in Central Africa, but by the time he returned, it was only around dinner in Korea.
Suho quietly called the leaders of each defense group into one room—the special forces unit commander, Lee Seojun, who was commanding the clan’s Admiti, the security team leader sent by the Administration, and the others.
“You must all be very tired. You can stand down now. The situation is over.”
“Pardon? What do you mean, over?”
“We don’t know when the OAE will attack!”
“We’re still fine.”
Suho considered how he should explain it, then simply repeated the same words.
“It’s difficult for me to explain in detail, but it’s true. Everything is over. Please stand down, and everyone except the Sanarae Clan may return. Ah, before you leave, I’d appreciate it if you could escort the civilians temporarily staying here so they can get home safely.”
“What on earth…”
“Even so…”
Suho drove the point home firmly.
“They won’t attack. They’ve decided to reflect on their actions permanently. You may report that to your superiors in each organization.”
The commanders gathered there only blinked at the incomprehensible statement.
“Well, you’ll understand once the news breaks soon enough. Also, I will never forget that you all stepped up like this. I won’t forget, and I’ll express my gratitude properly, so please make sure to leave me a list of everyone who participated.”
“Oh, no… That isn’t necessary. We didn’t do this hoping for compensation. We merely did what we ought to…”
Aside from Lee Seojun, the other leaders waved their hands at the words “Suho’s gratitude,” yet they couldn’t keep the corners of their mouths from rising.
After all, Suho’s wealth had always been beyond imagination.
And so, Suho sent back all the personnel gathered at the TDM building.
The Admiti security personnel sent by the Tower Management Administration and the Admiti Security Office, the Admiti acquaintances gathered by the Sanarae Clan members,
the battalion-sized special forces unit dispatched by the military, and even the many civilians Suho had intended to protect—all of them were finally able to return home after several days.
And sure enough, a few hours later, breaking news appeared across the world.
[Magnitude 8.0 Earthquake Strikes Jungle of Central African Republic, Fears of Unprecedented Disaster]
Michael Reed, CNMN, April 12, 2039.
A powerful magnitude 8.0 earthquake has occurred in the dense jungle region of northeastern Central African Republic (CAR). The earthquake struck at approximately 11:30 p.m. local time and has been recorded as the strongest quake ever observed in the region. As the jungle area is known to be one where earthquakes rarely occur, this event has come as an even greater shock.
The epicenter of the quake was a remote jungle region of the Central African Republic, an area famous for its concentration of diamond mines. Fortunately, it is far from densely populated areas, so initial reports of casualties have been low. However, satellite imagery and preliminary reports indicate that a significant portion of the jungle region has suffered severe damage. Trees have fallen across dozens of kilometers, and there are concerns that the terrain itself may have undergone drastic deformation.
The international community has begun an immediate response to the earthquake. The UN and various international relief organizations are being dispatched to the area to assess the scale of the damage and take measures to prevent further secondary disasters. The government of the Central African Republic has declared a state of emergency and requested international support.
Geologists are investigating whether this earthquake was caused by natural tectonic activity or by external factors. In particular, as the jungle region where the quake occurred is an ecologically sensitive area, concerns are growing over the impact this earthquake may have on climate change and environmental protection…
After receiving every report and watching the news, An Yonggeon, the head of the Tower Management Administration, summoned the bureau director with trembling hands.
Director Kim Gyusik came running immediately.
“Sit. Did you see the news?”
“I did… The earthquake in the Central African Republic…”
“You’re saying Admiti Jeong Suho predicted this?”
“Yes. He reportedly withdrew all personnel, saying that once we saw the news, we would know the situation was over and that everyone should disperse.”
“…Was it also Jeong Suho who leaked information to the Ashen Oath Execution Corps and led them to the meeting place?”
“That is correct.”
“The earthquake in Central Africa and the destruction of the OAE cannot possibly be unrelated. Nor can Jeong Suho be unrelated to it…”
“Circumstantially, that seems to be the case, but…”
“I know. No matter how S-rank he is, he’s still ultimately only a production-type. How on earth could he…”
“Exactly…”
“But these incidents are happening far too often. Massive events that we cannot help but connect to Jeong Suho.”
“Shall we look into his background?”
“No. No, absolutely not. Don’t do that. If we’re caught and our government loses his trust, that would be the real disaster.”
“Then…”
“Hmm… The timing is just right, so I’ll ask him directly. I’ll call him myself.”
After a few short rings, Suho’s clear voice came through the commissioner’s phone, which had been placed on speaker.
—Hello?
“Good day. Admiti Jeong Suho, this is An Yonggeon from the Tower Management Administration.”
—Ah, Commissioner. It’s been a while. Have you eaten? What brings you to call?
“I’m contacting you regarding the earthquake in the Central African Republic.”
—Aha, yes.
“Circumstantially, we simply cannot understand this incident separately from you, Suho-nim, so I am contacting you despite how rude it may be. There are many things we are curious about…”
—That’s right.
“Pardon?”
—I said you’re right that it’s connected to me.
“What on earth… What in the world happened?”
Suho pondered for a moment.
As usual, he almost glossed over it vaguely, saying he didn’t really know, or that the timing was strange, or that he’d gotten lucky.
Then he changed his mind and created an imaginary friend.
Imbuing it with the meaning: “I am not merely a man with a lot of money, so if that is your assessment of me, you would do well to revise it completely.”
“Mm, it’s nothing much… It’s not something worth bragging about, so I’ll just let you in on it quietly, Commissioner. The truth is, I have a friend. He isn’t human… but he’s the sort of friend who could lightly crush a city or two anytime I ask him to. His name is Obelun. Pretty incredible, isn’t he?”
—O… Obelun…
The commissioner’s groan came from beyond the phone.
—A-Admiti Suho, then, perhaps what happened in North Korea as well…
“Who knows about that. Oh dear, Commissioner, I’m a little busy right now.”
—Ah, yes, yes. Thank you for answering. I’ll contact you again next time.
“Yes, yes. Enjoy your dinner.”
Suho ended the call without giving a precise answer.
For some reason, laughter escaped him.
After all, the friend named Obelun did exist. The strongest friend, close with gravity. Wasn’t he a wonderful friend?
A few days later,
perhaps because of what Suho had said, a discreet message came from the commissioner.
The OAE, the Ashen Oath Execution Corps, had originally been a criminal organization scattered across the world, threatening the Admiti management agencies of various nations and other capable Admiti. Yet for some reason, during the period when the earthquake occurred, most of the single members and most of the double members had gathered at what was believed to be their headquarters, deep underground in Bria, Central African Republic.
Because of that, most of them had died in the unprecedented Bria Great Earthquake that occurred that day.
Having lost most of its high-ranking Admiti between ranks 1 and 100, the OAE had effectively been annihilated and disintegrated overnight.
When the commissioner said he had contacted him because Suho might be curious about the result, and asked him to pass the news along to his friend, Obelun, Suho barely managed to suppress the laughter that threatened to burst out.
* * *
Peaceful days passed for a while.
After the collapse and fragmentation of the ultimate high-ranking Admiti villain organization, the worst and most dreadful OAE, there were no threats worth mentioning.
Of course, the members of the large organization known as the OAE had not disappeared completely.
However, without any goal to pursue or leader to guide them, the organization that had lost its center in an instant was nothing more and nothing less than a rabble.
Those sorts of people could no longer pose a threat to Suho.
Occasionally, there were people who thought Suho was merely a nouveau riche and tried to break in, but most of them were subdued by the security androids before they could even meet a member of the Sanarae Clan and were handed over to the police.
The Administration, which had only suspected that Suho was connected to a series of enormous incidents, became even more cautious toward him after learning of the existence of his friend Obelun.
After all, just imagining that he had a friend capable of delivering a blow on the level of a nuclear attack if he so chose—and doing so without leaving behind any radiation or other evidence of an offensive weapon—was chilling.
Amid those peaceful days, Suho shut himself in the subspace warehouse and devoted himself to crafting for several months, but soon lost interest.
Just as endlessly counting bundles of cash he had no use for could never be entertaining, making items he had no use for was the same.
“In the end, I never even got to try the Extreme Powered Armor…”
Suho muttered as he polished the powered armor, which had been carefully placed on its stand.
“Still, you used those wings with the long name well, didn’t you?”
“What do you mean, wings with the long name? Tem-pest-bane. Wings.”
“I have absolutely no desire to memorize it.”
“Hmph. Anyway, I’m saying it’s a shame I never got to use this powered armor, the masterpiece of my lifetime. Isn’t there anyone worth smashing somewhere?”
“…It seems EX-rank awakening also comes with the trait of making one’s personality more violent.”
“Ugh. I can’t say anything.”
He scolded Ravi, telling him not to make baseless accusations, but it was also true.
Whether it was the influence of immortality or some other factor,
Suho felt that a belligerence he had not possessed when he acquired immense wealth was growing vigorously within him after his EX-rank awakening.
* * *
“A Tower Break?”
“Yes. According to an acquaintance in the Administration’s situation room, one is likely to happen soon. A notice will probably go out across all of Seoul shortly.”
Fresh information he had heard from Lee Seojun.
Tower Breaks did not happen often, but they were not entirely unheard of either, so they were issues that were occasionally reported.
However, the Tower Break predicted to happen this time was a little special.
Because the tower said to be breaking was located right near Winky’s nest.
Suppressing his unease, Suho asked,
“If it’s forty-two floors, isn’t that not very high?”
“Correct… At forty-two floors, it’s normally a place that can be cleared well enough by B- to C-rank Admiti. A-ranks usually don’t enter towers of that height, and typically a B-rank Admiti carries the team. Since it’s small in scale as well, at forty-two floors, the capacity is probably eight people.”
“No, why would such an easy tower collapse…?”
“From what I heard… it seems several members of the clearing team lied about their ranks.”
“Whoa…”
Suho felt a twinge of guilt at that, but he managed his expression well.
“They say there were about five B-ranks and three C-ranks, but among the five B-ranks, three were like that. They were C-ranks who had committed fraud by claiming to be B-ranks.”
“Why would they do something that would be exposed so quickly…”
His face gradually grew hot, but he kept his expression calm.
“Even so, there are quite a few scum like that. After all, there’s a world of difference between C-rank and B-rank when it comes to salary and other treatment. They probably thought they could just make excuses here and there and avoid entering towers over the thirtieth floor.”
“Scum, you say… A-anyway, so they got caught.”
“That’s right. Since those bastards couldn’t climb past the thirtieth floor, they must have expected to be exposed, so when they briefly exited, they went into hiding. But the Admiti investigative agency tracked them down and arrested them. They’ll probably receive heavy prison sentences.”
“Whoa…”
“In any case, since clearing it is impossible with only the remaining members, it seems they’ve decided to halt the raid itself. No one can enter a tower except the original entrants, you see. They had no choice but to wait for the Break.”
“Hmm… But if it’s forty-two floors, what’s the maximum clearing period?”
“It should be around 126 days.”
“Ah, then there’s still quite a while until the Tower Break, isn’t there?”
“Oh, no. Only when the raid steadily proceeds and the altars on each floor are destroyed does an additional time of around three days per floor continue to be accumulated and renewed. That is how the maximum period of 126 days is granted. If the raid doesn’t proceed at all, as it is now, the tower becomes unstable and a Tower Break occurs immediately. The Break will probably happen within a week.”
“Whoa……”
Ordinarily, if he had heard something like this, he would have simply thought, “I see. I learned something new,” and left it at that.
But this matter was not someone else’s problem at all.
Ever since the forty-two-floor tower had risen near the nest, Winky had continued to show signs of anxiety, and Suho had no idea how it would react once the Tower Break occurred.
“The Break itself… will be suppressed quickly, won’t it?”
“It’s only around forty-two floors… Well, the Tower Break response team will resolve it somehow.”
It left a bad taste in his mouth, but what else could he do? All he could do was hope the Tower Break would be dealt with as quickly and safely as possible.
With an anxious heart, Suho headed for the forge.