Full Throttle Through the Hatchery
During his active duty days, Kim Seo-jun had entered a Mog hatchery three times.
One was a mistake.
He'd crawled into some cave to survive, only to realize too late it was a hatchery.
The other two were rescues.
A transport carrying some big shot had crashed into a hatchery, so he'd gone in to pull them out.
That's when Kim Seo-jun learned one key lesson.
'A hatchery is like the Mogs' barracks. Safer than you'd think.'
No matter how elite the soldiers, they slacked off in the barracks like they'd lost a few screws. Same with Mogs in a hatchery—their tension and alertness dropped way down.
'Just avoid trouble.'
Don't stir up a fuss, and slipping in and out was easier than expected.
'But trouble always finds you.'
Yet in those two rescues, he'd run into problems both times.
'The rescuees.'
And the source? The people he was saving.
Of course, that made sense.
Rescuees were usually in extreme mental distress.
Realize you're smack in the middle of a hatchery?
Passing out would be ideal, but most screamed or flailed like drowning rats, turning into dead weight.
And naturally, you couldn't just ditch them.
Go through all that hell to save them, then bail?
'No escape plan matters anyway.'
In the end, Kim Seo-jun took away one solid lesson from it all.
'So just floor it.'
And he put that lesson to eager use this time.
Weeeeng!
The moment he burst out of the building, he pulled out the Wuryong, fired it up.
Then, with Jennifer Cho riding pillion, he gunned it straight across the hatchery.
It was insane on every level.
The place was packed with eggs of all sizes.
Even if the hoverbike could hover some, plenty of those eggs were massive.
Plus, the hatchery crawled with Mogdogs, Thorn Snakes, and all sorts of Mogs—not on full alert, but still there.
Some might even be specials.
Dodging them at top speed? Impossible without freakish reflexes and dynamic vision.
And that was exactly why Kim Seo-jun bet on it.
'I can pull it off now.'
Of course, Jennifer Cho saw it differently.
The instant the Wuryong accelerated, she felt her mind unraveling.
"Guhhhhuuuh!"
Her best move? Clamp down any screams.
Eyes squeezed shut, she prayed.
'Please let me live, please let me live, please let me live.'
Over and over, relentlessly.
That's where Jennifer Cho's memory cut off.
Weeeeng!
The crushing g-forces from the Wuryong's insane acceleration.
Kieeeek!
The terrifying Mog cries echoing from every direction.
"Guhhhhuuup!"
Piled on the exhaustion and stress from holing up alone in the bunker, it finally shorted out her brain.
Her body went limp—and Kim Seo-jun actually welcomed it.
'Finally passed out.'
No more wild cards. Just drive.
That's how he blasted out of the hatchery, then kept hauling ass without pause.
Kieeeek!
Mogdogs swarmed after him like mad.
Then, at some point, Kim Seo-jun slammed to a halt.
"Private Park Bo-seop!"
"Here, sir!"
He linked up with the private lying in wait, then gave the order.
"Got Jennifer Cho out. Take her to B-point!"
Hearing that, Private Park Bo-seop didn't ask what about you, Sergeant Kim?
He already knew the plan.
"I'll handle the Mogs coming our way, per the op."
"Yes, sir!"
So Park Bo-seop shouldered the unconscious Jennifer Cho, hopped on the Wuryong, saluted Kim Seo-jun, and peeled out full throttle.
Kim Seo-jun turned to face the horde.
Mogdogs charging from afar.
Obviously, they couldn't catch a maxed-out Wuryong.
But he stopped anyway. Simple reason: the Wuryong's full-throttle time was limited.
And Mogs were tenacious as hell.
Especially since Kim Seo-jun knew.
'Mess with their hatchery, and they chase to the death.'
He knew what it meant to raise hell in a Mog hatchery.
So here, he had to make maximum noise—pull every last eye off the Wuryong.
He wasn't worried.
'Active duty or now, same game.'
This was Space Marine work.
Hell, his situation was better than back then.
Without hesitation, he shouldered his weapon at the oncoming swarm.
Click!
Combat initiated in the hatchery.
Event mission generated.
Points earned in this battle will be tripled.
9.
The moment Jennifer Cho opened her eyes, an unfamiliar ceiling greeted her.
She blinked at it, frozen in place.
Then she smiled.
'Even my dreams are dogshit.'
"Phew."
Convinced it was all a dream, she sighed in relief and closed her eyes again.
Pulling the blanket up proper, her lips twitched in a smirk.
'What a joke.'
She had every reason.
'Trapped in a bunker, some guy shows up out of nowhere, pulls a hoverbike from thin air? Total bullshit.'
Everything she'd "seen" was nonsense from start to finish.
Nothing physics could explain.
Dismissing it as real would trash every theory she'd built her life on.
'Stress must be getting to me bad. First dream this crazy since I met Grandpa. Man, that was nightmare fuel. Made me solve one problem, then ripped me apart when I couldn't...'
That's when it hit.
Her thoughts froze solid.
Blood turned to ice.
No more sleep.
She bolted upright, wide awake.
Glanced around—and saw a medic staring at her.
"Uh, you're awake?"
The medic, who'd been waiting for this, spoke carefully.
"This is Polish Base. We rescued you on request."
Confirmation she was saved.
One face flashed in her mind.
"Wh-where is he?"
10.
"Sergeant Kim Seo-jun."
The second he heard Jennifer Cho was up, Kim Seo-jun came straight to her and greeted her.
She nodded back.
"Th-thank you for saving me."
He turned to the attending medic.
"Mind giving us the room? Got things to discuss."
The medic nodded and stepped out.
Alone now, Jennifer's eyes scanned Kim Seo-jun quick.
"Rescuing you took some serious risks," he said.
"Huh? Oh, thank you."
Genuine gratitude.
"This debt—I'll repay it my whole life if I have to. Whatever it takes."
Without him, she'd have suffocated in that bunker.
"Keep everything you saw or heard classified."
"Pardon?"
"Everything I showed you. Top secret."
Her eyes wavered.
She got it.
He wasn't here for thanks or well-wishes.
This was a warning. A threat.
Spot on.
Kim Seo-jun hadn't planned to hide his abilities during the rescue—couldn't save her otherwise.
But broadcasting them? Hell no.
Exposure would come eventually; no need to rush it.
And he was confident.
"G-got it. Lips sealed. Even if Grandpa asks."
She'd keep the secret tight.
Not because she was a knockout beauty.
"Thanks."
Not some intel on her, either.
"One more request."
Just one reason.
"Dying U.S. Space Marines scrawled your bunker location all over the base halls."
The dead had shown it themselves.
"Thank them too."
She was worth dying for.
"Huh?"
"Photos here."
Stunned, she stared at the printed shots from the op.
"Jefferson... Mr. Carlton...!"
Tears flowed as she named the mangled Space Marine corpses.
"Thank you, thank you, so much."
Seeing her pour out thanks, Kim Seo-jun sighed inwardly in relief.
Only then did he loosen his white-knuckled tension.
Truth was, after linking with Park Bo-seop, he'd worried over her limp form.
'Feared she'd snapped...'
What if she lost it?
Not paranoia.
She'd lived tough, sure—but to him, a greenhouse flower.
The type who never dreamed of dying.
Her ordeal? Traumatic as hell.
Plenty cracked under less—even Space Marines yelling "death's always knocking!" blacked out from back-to-back ops.
That's space.
If she snapped? Catastrophe.
Broken Space Marine? Discharge and replace.
No replacing her.
'Dodged a bullet.'
Then—
Knock knock!
Knock at the door. Kim Seo-jun turned.
"Come in."
"Sergeant Kim!"
Private Park Bo-seop entered—and Kim Seo-jun sensed fresh trouble.
"What is it?"
"The Wuryong."
Bingo.
"Problem."
"What kind?"
"Won't even start. Something's busted... Polish mechanics won't touch it."
Temples throbbed.
He'd half-expected it.
Hoverbikes weren't tanks.
Built light for speed, durability sacrificed.
Wuryong? Extreme—performance over everything.
Abused without proper maintenance? Bound to break.
What came, came.
'Grateful it held till Polish Base.'
Lucky break.
Still gutted him.
No replacement mobility.
He frowned.
"Hey."
Jennifer Cho, who'd overheard, spoke up.
"Wuryong—the Chinese hoverbike?"
"That's it."
"Can I take a look?"
Kim Seo-jun and Park Bo-seop's faces shifted—what good'll that do?
She caught it.
"My major's mechanical engineering. I develop weapons, test new gear here. Didn't know? Oh, right."
She remembered.
"Classified, huh."
Then he got why Space Marines treasured her.
To frontline grunts, a weapon-upgrading genius was a god.
Why the U.S. hid her? Obvious—no one wants enemy planets hoarding top arms experts.
But Kim Seo-jun didn't hesitate.
"Can you fix the Wuryong?"
"Piece of cake."
She scoffed.
"Some of its tech? My designs."
"What?"
Park Bo-seop gawked; she grinned.
"Tons of my tech in there."
"Wait—U.S. tech in a Chinese bike...?"
"China stealing foreign secrets a shock?"
"Ah."
Instant buy-in—for both.
And hope surged.
She'd fix it.
"Let's go. I'll handle it now. Glad I can earn my keep!"
Her fire was real; no dousing it.
"Appreciate it."
'Problem solved.'
Then—
Knock knock!
"Come in."
"Sergeant Kim."
Major Lee Hye-na entered.
One look, and he knew.
Bigger shit incoming.
"Word from Japanese HQ."
"Rescue request?"
"Worse."
It was.
"Ghost Bats showed up."
"...Fuck."