Chapter 236
The three degenerates munched away at cookies and tuna cans with their dull eyes, savoring every bite. Han Yaseong waited a while until they seemed satisfied enough, then slowly broached the main topic.
"So, I dug up a spaceship..."
He recounted the whole story of discovering what looked like a battleship buried underground. The trio showed little reaction, just kept eating. They must have already known about the ship buried there. No surprise from them at all. Well, Yadong hadn't been shocked either. No, it was Yadong who'd told him about the ship underground in the first place. These guys had probably seen it long ago, just like Yadong. Hell, they might have even witnessed it getting buried.
Figuring the ship wouldn't hook them, Han Yaseong switched to the gold bar.
"About that gold bar..."
He told them how he'd nearly died to a monster bird while out hunting with it. Sure enough, their milky eyes flashed with interest. But it felt like they were bummed about something—like they'd been the ones trying to crack its secret.
Sensing some shady scheming, Han Yaseong skipped the details, like how the bird had drawn blood. These creeps didn't seem to know the bar's secret anyway, so no need to hand them hints. Then a stray thought hit him: What if it's related to blood? Like, maybe his blood on the bar triggered something special. A clichéd hunch, sure. But unlikely. Yadong had brought it back with blood on his face, and nothing happened. So no dice there. Unless it only reacted to human blood? Nah, that didn't make sense either—no reason for it to.
Everything was shrouded in suspicion. The trio kept scarfing food without much fanfare, but Han Yaseong could feel them plotting among themselves. They weren't focused on eating; they kept flashing signals at each other. Just going through the motions with the snacks.
What's their game?
His gut twisted unpleasantly, so Han Yaseong quietly drew the hand axe from his belt. They noticed and immediately acted like nothing was up, resuming their meal. Untrustworthy bastards, every one. Stupid of him to pity them even for a second. They had ulterior motives, slimy as they come. Nothing like Yadong. That lazy, rebellious mutt had no schemes. If he did, Han Yaseong would've kicked him out ages ago.
Yadong growled low, baring his wariness. Traumatized from the earlier beatdown, no doubt. He even flashed his fangs and crouched into a fighting stance, ready for round two.
No gains here, just exhaustion. Time to bail.
"We're out. Don't go scheming your lives away."
A parting shot, but as he turned to leave, they let out a kyarr. Glancing back, he saw them scratching a picture in the dirt with their claws. Shining his flashlight revealed a rough outline: a massive whale-like shape.
The spaceship? Hard to tell yet, but one of them marked a spot and drew an entrance, mimicking pushing a finger inside. Upper part of the whale's body. No clue where that was, though.
"You think you tiny shits can get in there?"
They dotted a speck of dust. Very small. The ship was enormous. Ant to an aircraft carrier. Kilometers long and tall, easy.
"So how deep do I gotta dig?"
Dozens, maybe hundreds of meters to the entrance. Han Yaseong's face fell. No way. He'd nearly died at ten meters—now this? A sigh escaped him. And no precise location; their sketch was vague. He'd need to excavate at least twenty meters wide, fifty or a hundred deep. The sky spun at the thought. Years, maybe.
"What a hell of a road ahead."
Couldn't quit now. Had to see it through. Giant's relic, cosmic mysteries, alien civs—no backing out. Finish the damn dig.
"Fine. A few years it is. Nothing else to do anyway."
Take it slow. Rushing was the problem—thanks to Reina. Her fault for making him hurry. Solo wouldn't cut it. Bait her into digging together, or hide it from her and sneak digs during surveys. Plenty of time to plan.
"Later."
Leaving them to their kyarrs and Gollum antics, he and Yadong exited the pyramid. They clearly knew the gold bar held ring-level power, but no attachment—nice to have, whatever. If it mattered, they'd follow. They didn't.
Retracing their path, they surfaced. Brushed off the dirt, refilled the hole. Heading back to camp, a sigh slipped out.
"Gotta keep digging. Dozens of meters at least..."
That was the takeaway. Dig forever. Goal too distant for greed now.
"Yeah, take it easy as a hobby. Who knows how many years."
Dig a couple months' worth daily. Reina spotting the ship? Fine. She wouldn't know what it was, no gold bar anyway. If she cracked it, she'd be the owner—congrats and scraps for him. He'd be admiral to her captain. No big ambitions.
Han Yaseong and Yadong strolled back casually. He started a ten-meter-wide pit. Deeper it got, the harder the soil—solid rock. How'd the ship get buried? Not shovels. Neutron beam or some shit, then covered up. Old as hell, by the compaction. Or alien tech hardened it quick.
Anyway, pickaxe swinging, he delved deeper. Lucky Yadong pinpointed it. Temple ruins marked the ship's central flank edge. Forest 0 spanned the burial zone. Temple built atop it. Bones, no metal—cultural symbol for giants, like Korea's wooden pavilions for tradition.
Destroyed in some cataclysm. Metal would've survived; this whole area would've cratered.
Whatever happened, Han Yaseong pieced the history while digging. Giants arrived, buried ship under Forest 0. Built temple to commemorate something. Unknown disaster wrecked it, end of days. All dead, ship slumbers tens or hundreds of thousands of years.
Seemed plausible. Gold bar? Mystery. Giant's what? Effect on him? Secrets galore. So he dug on. Someday, find the entrance, uncover truths.
Three, four months passed.
"Man, I'm a digging master now."
Over a year in, he knew every trick. Grinning, pickaxe flew. Routine now—no strain, no annoyance. Steady pace, calm mind.