Hunt (1)
"Of course we have to put it in gold!"
"What are you talking about, sis? Stocks are the way to go."
While Min Cheol-woo and Yuri were locked in a heated debate, Yulia popped open a bag of bread and snacks with a bang. She crunched into her potato chips with a crunch-crunch, settling into the prime front-row seat where she had a perfect view of the two. And with that, she quietly began enjoying the show.
"You built that bunker, stocked up on missiles, went all out—wasn't that because you figured Australia would eventually see its government collapse and turn into a lawless wasteland?"
"Yeah."
"Then it's gotta be physical gold, no question. If Australia and the US both go down the tubes, the financial system collapses. Stocks, bonds, cash—all that turns into worthless data scraps or bits of paper. In that kind of endgame hell, the only thing holding value is physical gold."
"I get what you're driving at, sis, but that's exactly why gold's a no-go."
"Why!?"
"We've already prepped plenty for the apocalypse. The bunker's got self-defense weapons, and we've got ability users on our side. Betting any more on doomsday is overkill. So the leftover cash? Better to put it in stocks with higher expected returns than gold."
"What if the apocalypse hits and those 100 billion won vanish?"
"Then that's the risk we take. Every investment carries risk. Regular folks lose their financial assets and have nothing left, but we've got the bunker and our own hides to fall back on. Even without 100 billion in gold, we'd still end up filthy rich. At the very least, we could hold down the Newcastle area."
"Ahh..."
Yuri had started off pushing back hard, but as she pieced together Cheol-woo's logic, she nodded along. In short, they'd been betting on a global government and financial meltdown up to now. From here on, they could hedge both ways—assuming the apocalypse doesn't come. If the world ended, they'd have a fighting chance; if not, their stocks would pay off handsomely.
Going all-in on physical gold only worked if doomsday hit. Otherwise, they'd just watch every other asset skyrocket while sitting on their gold. A balanced bet felt smarter.
"You know, that actually makes sense... So, defense stocks again this time?"
"Nah. We should diversify across sectors. The pot's gotten bigger, and who knows what'll explode next."
"Yeah, makes sense."
Ah—huh? Already over? Yulia flopped back onto the bed, looking disappointed. She didn't understand Korean, but the yelling match had seemed like fun entertainment. By now, Yuri had slipped back into her usual compliant mode, and the argument was done.
Ugh—boring—
Soon enough, after a long back-and-forth, Cheol-woo and Yuri finalized their asset allocation. About half went into US tech stocks, weighted by market cap. With red ore driving breakthroughs, those innovations would most likely come from American tech giants. And according to the SMR exec they'd met in San Francisco, small modular reactors using red ore for massive efficiency gains were on the horizon. Power demand would spike in collapsed infrastructure zones, so an aggressive 20% into SMR-related stocks made sense. The remaining 30% spread across financials, consumer goods, bonds, real estate, deposits, and more—allocation complete.
Even 1% was over 10 billion won, so divvying it up took ages, dragging out the process.
"O-okay, so today we'll order 4 million AUD worth... and the rest in daily dollar-cost averages... Eek! Ch-Cheol-woo! It just jumped over 10 million won! Ah, aaah! Now we're down 20 million! Gasp, it's climbing again...!"
"Sis, put the stock app down. We'll decide together, but I'll handle the orders."
"Y-yeah, that sounds good. Watching this is too much for me..."
Yuri started freaking out again, so Cheol-woo snatched her phone. Those minute-by-minute swings weren't doing her any favors mentally or physically. Timid types like her shouldn't trade solo anyway—needed someone watching their back.
"Haa... I really don't vibe with stocks..."
"Yuri. Quiet."
"Huh?"
"Be quiet."
That's when Yulia pressed her ear to the wall and put a finger to her lips.
Quiet? Suddenly? Yuri clamped her mouth shut, clueless. Spotting Yulia's grave expression, Cheol-woo thought, No way? He placed a hand on the wall. Moments later, every hair on his body stood on end.
Thump—thump—
"You feel it?"
"...Yeah. I feel it."
"What? What's going on?"
"That big one."
"...!"
It was a faint vibration, but the pattern was enough to trigger déjà vu. It was that thing. Yuri's teeth ground together as realization hit.
"It's heading this way."
"Yeah. For sure."
But they couldn't dodge it like last time. The vibrations were closing in straight on them. In this endless ocean, they were the only target around—meaning it was barreling directly at them.
Cheol-woo bolted from the cabin toward the bridge.
"Captain! In emergencies, I have unified command over the Australian expeditionary force's land, sea, and air assets. Correct?"
"Yes, sir. What seems to be the issue...?"
"I need partial command of the fleet transferred to me. Question for the Canberra's captain and fleet commander: Does our fleet have anti-submarine capabilities?"
"We have a full array of means to detect and strike underwater targets. Your orders, sir."
"Suspected hostile lifeform underwater ahead. Commence search and prepare to engage."
"Aye, sir."
The moment Cheol-woo stormed the bridge and invoked command authority, the captain and crew snapped into action without hesitation. No one questioned the bizarre order—they just executed. Doubts could wait till after.
"Lead destroyer's sonar picks up nothing. Launching anti-sub helos for search 30 klicks out, forward sector."
"Bearing 345 degrees."
He didn't know the exact range or position, but the direction was crystal clear. Soon, anti-sub helos lifted off from the Canberra-class landing ship, scouring the vast sea.
30 klicks at 345 degrees? That's a huge search area—good luck finding a needle in that haystack. The helo crew felt their breath catch. No way we spot an underwater target with half-assed intel—
Eh?
Staring down at the ocean, the crew rubbed their eyes at the bizarre sight.
"Strike immediately."
They'd been scanning like mad for a needle in the ocean, and boom—there it was. A colossal shape broke the surface like it was crossing some invisible boundary. Bigger than a whale, easily matching a dozen aircraft carriers linked end-to-end. The helo crew paled, but they dove into low-altitude attack run without pause.
Two light torpedoes dropped, parachuting down to splash and sink before self-propelling toward the target. Then—boom-boom—twin water spouts erupted.
"Gah!? What the—!"
A piercing screeeeech ripped through the air. Sonar operators yanked off headphones, clutching their ears. No sonar needed—the roar was thunderous enough to echo clearly on the bridge 30 klicks away. The captain's face drained white.
We just poked the wrong bear...
"Captain. All available firepower on target."
"Aye."
Destroyers and escorts fanned out in perfect formation. They couldn't let Canberra sink, even if it meant sacrificing escorts. Alarms blared as escorts tried drawing aggro, but the beast ignored them, charging straight for Canberra.
Does it know which one's the flagship? Parasites, sea monsters—why are they all so damn smart? Chilling.
The beast plunged between the spread destroyers, like diving into the heart of a crane formation. The captain barked fire orders.
"Now! Fire! Fire!"
Thwoom-thud—torpedoes streaked long wakes after it. Closing from both flanks, they hammered its sides. Boom! Booom! Spouts erupted amid hair-raising screeeeech-eeeek shrieks, but it didn't slow, barreling at Canberra.
No sign of deceleration.
"Run. It'll kill us all if it rams."
"Aye. Helmsman, hard 180."
The Canberra-class swung around, fleeing back the way they'd come, beast in pursuit. Destroyers kept pouring depth charges and torpedoes, but it shrugged them off, fixated on Canberra. They'd dumped enough firepower to sink twenty subs. And nothing?
The captain's pupils quivered.
"Damn it all."
Underwater strike options were tapped out. Deck guns? AA guns? Useless the moment they hit water—lost momentum fast, even in shallows. No real damage.
Now what? Despair loomed. A carrier-crusher closing in, no counters left. The captain's mind blanked—
"Captain. It's slowing a bit."
"I know. Still faster than us. We'll get caught and smashed like that US carrier. Damn it, launch all aircraft now, prepare to abandon—"
"Calm down. Evac's last resort after everything fails. Prep one helo for launch."
"A helo? What kind...?"
"Type doesn't matter. Just needs to drop us right on top of it."
"...Pardon?"
Right on top? The captain gaped at David Min donning gloves and checking gear, Yuri Min hastily sharpening her blade with a shring-shring. Did I hear that right? They're going after that thing themselves?
"Possible or not?"
"P-possible! Prepping now!"
David Min's irritated tone snapped the captain back. No time to zone out.