Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: A New Beginning (5)
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Physical prowess and a belligerent nature that shied away from no fight—these traits made this line of work a perfect match for orcs.
Pestering the orc who was clearly on guard against him would only backfire. Suhyun abandoned any further attempts at small talk, unpacked his gear with minimal fuss, and climbed onto his bed to lie down.
‘Right. I’m not here to sightsee. I’m here to work. Just focus on doing my job well.’
Truth be told, what Suhyun needed most right now was money. The inheritance from his parents was practically nonexistent. That was why he’d enlisted right away without hesitation.
At the very least, he needed enough to support himself.
‘Damn it. All that money I scraped together through hellish times... I never even got to spend it properly...’
The pay as a soldier hadn’t been great, but the benefits had kept him afloat. Of course, after the accident, the surgery bills wiped it all out in an instant.
‘Tch. Just thinking about it pisses me off.’
Clenching and unclenching his fist, Suhyun sank into thought. The ambush on him and his squad had definitely stemmed from leaked intel. There was no hard evidence, but his gut screamed it.
Right after it happened, he’d been too out of it to think straight. But looking back now, the shabby treatment he’d received felt suspicious too. He’d been a company commander in a special forces unit that had pulled off several high-profile public ops and even more classified ones successfully. No matter how stingy or corrupt the military was, that level of neglect didn’t add up.
‘Filing that formal complaint about the intel leak was a stupid move. Should’ve kept my mouth shut and investigated quietly.’
Suhyun had officially protested, claiming the incident wasn’t his screw-up but due to leaked information. On reflection, anyone who could leak that kind of intel had to have serious pull. Whoever it was would’ve seen his complaint as a threat and moved to eliminate him.
If he’d just shut up and reported it as his own mistake, he might’ve gotten proper care. But he didn’t need that anymore. The opportunity he’d gained now was far more powerful than any of that.
‘First, make money. Build power... then investigate.’
Cameron Planet was the land of opportunity. With cash and influence, your options were limitless. The revenge Suhyun craved was entirely feasible. His target wouldn’t even know what hit them.
“Krahahahahaha!”
“Human. You crazy?”
Gorgan stared at Suhyun—fist thrust toward the ceiling, laughing his head off—with a look that said he’d seen every weirdo in the book.
* * *
“We’ve got a job!”
“...”
“Why isn’t anyone smiling? Come on, smile. It’s good news.”
“I’ll smile once I hear the details.”
“Fine, whatever, Lee So-hee. Don’t smile. It’d be terrifying if you did. Anyway, here’s the rundown: resource survey.”
Resource survey. One of the standard gigs for mercenaries on Cameron Planet. The planet was overflowing with resources of immense value, but they didn’t just pop up wherever you stepped. You had to go out, search, and verify them firsthand.
Of course, that meant being ready to tangle with monsters whose turf you were invading.
“Newbie. Know what the job is?”
Jo Seung-hyun addressed Suhyun. He wasn’t really expecting an answer. This was just light chatter to ease the rookie’s nerves and help him feel like part of the team.
“Head to the marked coordinates as safely as possible, scan for resources with the detector, secure the route, and get back.”
“Spot on. You done this before?”
Jo Seung-hyun sounded surprised. Sure, anyone could look up what a resource survey entailed. But Suhyun had nailed the essentials.
Most clueless types, parroting half-heard info, would ramble on about how to find resources.
But that wasn’t the real priority. Finding them benefited the client, not the mercs. For mercenaries, safety came first. Securing the route on the way back was a detail rookies often overlooked.
“No... no way I have.”
“Yeah, figured. Still, good call on the key points, newbie. Most here are green on this. Stay sharp. Lee So-hee’ll lead you well. Oh, and one more thing before we head out: a little gift.”
“?”
Before Suhyun could voice his question at Jo Seung-hyun’s words, the man stepped back and yanked off the covering cloth. Beneath it stood a hulking steel figure, about three meters tall.
“Ta-da! What do you think?”
“Where the hell did you get this?!”
Humanity had hit the limits of conventional weaponry against Cameron Planet’s ever-shifting terrain and its even deadlier monsters. Tanks were still powerful, but too sluggish for narrow spaces where threats could strike from nowhere.
That’s where robots and powered exosuits came in. Bipedal war machines piloted by humans: power armor, humanity’s ace in the hole. Sizes, performance, and designs varied wildly, but any power armor was a force multiplier—like a 21st-century tank.
Not just anyone could get their hands on one. On Cameron Planet, you’d only see them with major militaries: Korea, China, Russia, the US.
Everyone gathered there gawked at Jo Seung-hyun unveiling a power armor. But Suhyun was stunned for a different reason. He knew this model all too well.
‘This... it’s a “Black Bear”!’
Slightly low center of gravity for stability, mechanical joints enabling agile movement over any terrain, and heavy weapons mounted on both arms. That’s how it had been hyped on debut. But Suhyun knew what it was infamous for later.
‘Most notorious nickname: widowmaker, right?’
The Korean military had touted it as their first homegrown power armor, no foreign tech needed. But the reality was a disaster.
Frequent breakdowns, and a fundamentally flawed main engine that malfunctioned often—usually screwing over the pilot. Plenty of pilots had been shredded in accidents while riding one.
It only got investigated after the scandals leaked to the press, revealing corruption with defense officials pocketing bribes. The Black Bear got scrapped. Suhyun remembered it well; it had been huge news.
-Captain. Feels like I rode that thing more than ten times...
-Quit complaining. I’ve done ten times that.
The banter with his subordinates still rang clear. The power armor they’d risked their lives in had been a potential deathtrap. Chilling stuff.
And here it was again. By his timeline since returning to the past, the Black Bear was brand-new. Its flaws hadn’t surfaced yet.
‘Unbelievable. Running into this again here.’
“Wow, that’s insane. Even for the boss, pulling out something like that...”
He heard Kim Chang-sik mutter in awe beside him. Come to think of it, Suhyun realized he was curious too. He’d been thrown by seeing the defective model again, but procuring one at all was mind-blowing. And this wasn’t civilian gear—it was straight from the Korean military’s development program.
“Don’t worry, it’s not stolen. I did a favor for a Korean military contact, got this as payback. All the paperwork’s clean, legally sound. Repainted it completely too.”
“Ooh...!”
‘What’s there to “ooh” about?!’
As the others admired the power armor, Suhyun clicked his tongue inwardly. Walking around with a ticking time bomb.
The Black Bear wasn’t total garbage, though. Suhyun had piloted it in combat before the scandals broke. A power armor was still a power armor.
‘The issues were the constant minor glitches and the occasional life-threatening malfunctions!’
No point saying anything; they wouldn’t listen. He could only hope it didn’t glitch. Without that, it was decent.
Suhyun silently cursed the faceless military official who’d smuggled out military gear without a shred of conscience.
“No one here knows how to pilot it, right? Figures. Lee So-hee, you’re up.”
“Got it.”
‘Hell, even I know how, but...’
No one here had more experience than Suhyun. Still, he had zero desire to climb back in. He kept quiet.
“Alright, briefing before we move out.”
* * *
Calcutta Jungle Zone. Head southeast from the city, and you’d step into a dense jungle that seemed ancient, greeting intruders with open hostility. Even on Earth, jungles were hazardous—predators lurking anywhere, venomous snakes and bugs.
But Cameron Planet’s were incomparable. Even the beasts here earned the “monster” label for a reason.
Lee So-hee’s briefing was concise yet crystal clear. She laid out the essentials, confirming understanding from each member one by one. Suhyun was quietly impressed.
Their mission was straightforward.
Penetrate the Calcutta Jungle Zone where resources might lie, reach the given coordinates, confirm any deposits, and done.
Of course, handle any monsters or surprises along the way.
“By the way, meant to ask earlier but didn’t get the chance.”
“What?”
Kim Chang-sik, marching in line with nerves on edge, half-heartedly tossed back the question from Suhyun behind him. He was genuinely tense. With him on alert, the newbie probably was too—so he’d humor a question or two to loosen the kid up.
If he’d turned and seen Suhyun’s calm, serene face, though, he’d have been shocked.