Chapter 185
Chapter 185
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 185
Chapter Title: New Exploration (1)
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Suhyun shook his head.
Wu Shangkai didn’t stop giving him those pleading eyes.
“You’ll have to handle that yourself.”
“You bastard…!”
“What?”
“No, I misspoke… I just say stuff like that sometimes.”
“Well, after this mess, he’ll behave for a while. Though he’ll start acting up again soon enough.”
From Suhyun’s perspective, it was a good thing Jin Luo-gong was keeping quiet. There was some benefit to leaving him be like that.
“For a while? How long is that?”
“No idea. Anyway, we’re done talking, so get him to prepare an apology statement and take him with you. No more causing trouble for the people at this base.”
“I wish he’d just stay out of trouble for half a year…”
A scream rang out from behind them. Wu Shangkai jumped in surprise and hurriedly opened the door.
Jin Luo-gong was lunging at the throats of the other Chinese superpowered users.
* * *
“…and I am truly ashamed of what happened. I beg forgiveness from the mercenaries who suffered because of my mistake.”
“Good. That’ll do.”
Suhyun clapped lightly from behind him. Jin Luo-gong’s face, after reciting the long apology statement (which Wu Shangkai had mostly written for him), looked like that of the world’s most depressed man.
On Earth, they would’ve called a press conference with reporters for an official apology. But on Cameron Planet, that wasn’t possible—or necessary.
‘Have to settle for the abbreviated version.’
Suhyun patted Jin Luo-gong on the shoulder. While Lee Joong-young and his teams worked hard, Suhyun would use this incident to make his name known once more.
The hostility toward foreigners illegally invading their territory was as strong as ever—especially on Cameron Planet, where all eyes were focused.
Suhyun suddenly grew curious. How much weight did his name carry back on Earth? He was an absolute force here on Cameron Planet, but Earth was a different world altogether.
* * *
“Have you lost your mind?! You come back after issuing a damn apology like that?! Are you seriously insane?!”
“I had no choice! That was the best negotiation I could manage in the situation. Sure, we lost a bit of face, but people will forget soon enough. And we didn’t lose anything substantial—no one got imprisoned, nothing was confiscated. This is the best outcome possible.”
“Hmm…”
Li Hejun was slightly thrown off by Wu Shangkai’s unexpectedly firm stance. He had a point, after all. Jin Luo-gong’s capture could’ve escalated into a major incident, and minimizing the damage like this was undeniably impressive.
“Fine. I get it. How’s Jin Luo-gong doing since you got back?”
“He’s reflecting and keeping to himself!”
“Really?”
“…Yes!”
“Manage that guy properly. I’ll overlook it once, but not twice. We brought him here expecting a Liu Xin type, and instead we get some lunatic…”
“I’ll make sure to handle him right!”
“Got it. Now go.”
Wu Shangkai bowed deeply and ended the call. With things wrapping up like this, a wave of gratitude toward Suhyun welled up from deep inside him.
‘No, wait. If he hadn’t let that guy go, we wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble in the first place?’
Feeling thankful in a situation where Suhyun had essentially caused the problem and then fixed it made Wu Shangkai flinch. Had he become this subservient…?
“How’d the call go?”
Wu Shangkai jumped at the voice from behind. Xiao Mei was standing there. Ever since his conversation with Suhyun, even dealing with this subordinate felt tricky.
“It… went well. You’ve been handling your tasks, right?”
“Yes, I processed everything as ordered and reported back.”
Xiao Mei had checked the given coordinates, reported the resources, and returned.
‘She’s great at stuff like this, but…’
Wu Shangkai smacked his lips. Part of him wanted to grab her by the collar and make her spill everything she knew.
“Understood. Go rest.”
“Yes.”
As Wu Shangkai turned and walked away, Xiao Mei watched him with a look of pity. The respect she’d once shown was gone. A superior caught with a weakness by the enemy earned no respect.
* * *
“But is it really okay to be this relaxed right now?”
“Hm?”
“The Chinese go without saying, but the Russians, Americans, and everyone else are racing to plant their flags everywhere. Step outside for five minutes, and you’ll run into a mercenary team.”
“So?”
“Well… shouldn’t we be planting some flags too?”
Kwak Hyeon-tae hesitated before continuing. Having joined recently and owing Suhyun a huge debt, his position here was still weak. He was already shrinking back after just a couple of words from Suhyun.
“Basically, you want to scout profitable spots and make some money? Did you already blow through what I gave you last time? It wasn’t a small amount.”
“There’s still plenty left, but…”
Kwak Hyeon-tae had quickly blended in with the team members. Through conversations, he’d learned something astonishing: the sheer amount of money they’d earned so far was beyond imagination. And these were just regular squad members, not even team leaders! It made him wonder why they hadn’t retired.
Naturally, that fired him up too.
Suhyun wouldn’t have brought him here without reason, so he planned to showcase his strengths aggressively—using the scouting plans and intel he’d built up in the military.
“If you allow it, I’ll take a few squad members and plant a flag on some promising spots.”
“Planting a flag” was slang for claiming first dibs on resource scouting. Suhyun chuckled. Kwak Hyeon-tae did have a knack for that sort of thing.
“Have you already surveyed the area?”
“Not perfectly, but you find some decent spots when you look around, right?”
“Let them be.”
“Pardon?”
“Let ‘em be. Doesn’t matter if others take them.”
“??”
Kwak Hyeon-tae couldn’t comprehend it. Sure, Suhyun had amassed a fortune elsewhere, but more wealth was always better, wasn’t it?
“There’s a lot that looks promising and abundant, but it’s all small stuff. Claiming it just takes effort with no real payoff.”
“But… you haven’t even gone out to check. How do you know?”
“I’ve got my ways.”
Suhyun had combed every inch of the surrounding area himself, so he had a feel for it without needing to look again.
“The real money’s deeper in. Getting there requires planning and a long haul. And we’re not in that much of a rush right now, are we? Better to watch and move. No need to rush sloppily.”
A bit further out, the area would soon be swept clean of monsters to the point where finding one would be hard. Once that happened, people would push farther, and paths would naturally clear up.
“I see.”
“What, you don’t believe me?”
“No, it’s not that. You’ve given me so much already—if I mess up like an idiot grinding beans into red bean paste, that’d be on me. No complaints here. Just one thing I’m curious about…”
“What?”
“How long do you plan to keep working in the field, Team Leader?”
“?”
“No deeper meaning—just that most mercenaries retire after making enough. Whether heading back to Earth or building a mansion here to chill. You’ve already hit that level, haven’t you?”
“If I retired… the government officials would come crawling first, begging on their knees. They complain about me working too much, but if I actually stopped, they’d be suicidal.”
Cameron Planet was vast, teeming with unknown monsters. What the government wanted was for Suhyun to take it easy, only stepping in as their hidden ace when absolutely necessary.
The Twin-Headed Ogre, the underground golems—some monsters were nearly impossible for regular forces or superpowered users to handle. But Suhyun had cleared them.
Though the government was cutting him off sharply, offers kept coming steadily from the US and Russia. They’d provide top-tier support and teams if he’d just take out monsters in their regions.
“Uh… you actually care about that stuff, Team Leader?”
“Nah, not really.”
“Knew it.”
“Retirement? Might think about it if my body starts failing me. But I’m not even 30 yet.”
“Almost there, though.”
“And with the physical enhancement surgery, I’ll probably stay spry till a hundred.”
“You plan to keep going till a hundred?!”
“No… not that.”
Kwak Hyeon-tae’s question seemed offhand, but it suddenly gave Suhyun a lot to think about.
Before returning to the past, he’d never had time to consider retirement. Honestly, he hadn’t expected to live long enough for it. Life had been that perilous.
But this time, as long as he didn’t do anything stupid, he’d live a very long life.
“Usually, only total failures retire in their 40s or 50s. Superpowered types or enhanced team leaders from big mercenary companies—like I said—can go till a hundred.”
“The latter don’t usually stay in the field, though.”
“True.”
“If I may be bold…”
“Just say it. Skip the ‘bold’ crap.”
“…I think you’ll keep going in the field forever, Team Leader.”
“That’s my personality. And realistically, if my combat power drops, things tilt fast.”
Suhyun stretched his legs onto the table and leaned his head back.
He definitely liked Cameron Planet.
What it held, what remained unknown, what lurked in uncharted places…
Unlike Earth, where everything was mapped out, Cameron Planet still brimmed with secrets. Even if he dove in nonstop while alive, he wouldn’t uncover them all.
That curiosity drove him. Sure, after returning, he’d vowed revenge, to never be victimized again, building strength—but at the core, it was curiosity.
“Did I say something dumb?”
With Suhyun silent, Kwak Hyeon-tae asked anxiously.
“Nah, that was a great question. Here’s a bonus.”
“!”
“Now get out.”
Kwak Hyeon-tae bowed and left. Alone now, Suhyun sank back into thought.
He’d grown incomparably strong compared to his past self. The idea of losing to a monster didn’t even cross his mind.
But his team members weren’t there yet.
They were older to begin with—a few more years, and staying active might get tough. He could get them all enhancement surgeries for physical prowess, but their own desires mattered.
Who’d keep throwing themselves into danger after earning enough?
‘Yeah. Should’ve asked them individually back then. Slipped my mind.’
The squad members overly revered and felt indebted to him. He’d pulled them from nothing and elevated them.
But he had no intention of dragging along anyone unenthused for future explorations. They’d fulfilled their roles amply. If they left, he wouldn’t complain.
As a mage, if Suhyun called, people willing to risk life and limb for expeditions with him would line up. Rebuilding a team was no big deal.
‘After this job wraps… individual meetings.’
How long they wanted to keep working, when they’d retire. Suhyun planned to respect their choices.
“I’m back!”
“Oh, good work. What’d they say?”
“It’s… kinda weird.”
Luis Lil had gone to the wandering orc tribe’s area on Suhyun’s orders. It had been nagging at him—what powerful monster could’ve driven them out.
“They said… humans chased them off?”
“What?!”
Suhyun was genuinely shocked. Chased off by humans? How soon after the paths opened had someone rushed in to drive out the orcs?
“Who were they?”
“I know what you’re thinking. You figure it was new mercenaries from here, right?”
“It wasn’t?”
“No… it happened over five years ago.”
“?”