Chapter 392 – East China Company Project (1)
There are two reasons for operating unmanned patrol ships.
The first is to prepare for the risk that, in the unlikely event that China’s remaining forces come across the sea and make a fuss.
However, before the construction was completed, an all-out war broke out with North Korea.
The Chinese brigade, which had gathered all its soul, fought well, but was ultimately annihilated.
Since the mainland is a hell of monsters and radiation, the probability of the ‘China threat’ scenario now converges to 0.
Still, the ship had to float.
“We need resources. “More resources.”
If this continues, the limit of the mineral resources available to the shelter will be reached.
Tok tok tok.
The sound of my fingers tapping on the desk rang out from the central control room.
The more I read resource reports awaiting administrator payment, the more my eyebrows furrow.
Storage of organic-based resources such as food and medicine is on the verge of collapse.
However, the outlook for storage volume and arrival/export of minerals and rare earth elements is bleak. The more I read, the faster I tapped on the desk.
The military consumes the most resources.
But this has also decreased significantly. Because now there are no units in our army made up of 100% metal.
Biological tissue was used not only in the Stalker series, but also in drones, helicopters, combat vehicles, unmanned turrets, and autonomous weapons.
Harmonious fusion of inorganic and organic matter!
Outsiders can immediately tell whether a vehicle or drone belongs to a shelter just by looking at it.
It also acts as an authority that shows off our overwhelming technological superiority.
It is also good for production and maintenance. Unlike metals or polymer compounds, which have a limit to the amount of mining, biological tissue can be obtained indefinitely through culture.
However, beyond recovering the lost army, we need to grow it larger and conduct multi-faceted research for scientific advancement.
We needed infinite resources.
Tok tok tok tok!
However, the information on Korean Peninsula resource stores in my hand is giving me the middle finger.
“Anyway, it’s really shit.”
“Use dignified expressions.”
A light hand slap landed on the back of my head as I was tying my head.
No matter how tightly we hold the Korean Peninsula, the land itself is barren to begin with.
In the end, I had no choice but to turn my attention overseas.
Gulp.
I swallowed my saliva when I saw the next page of the report.
Beyond the West Sea facing our shelter.
There is a huge land where governments, peoples, and borders have completely disappeared.
‘The place that used to be China.’
“After 5,000 years of invasion, causing nuisances like fine dust, illegal immigration, drug smuggling, and diplomatic interference for generations, we are finally getting help.”
“You have a very emotional face. Is it that much?”
Artemis was trembled at the sight of me shaking and holding my hands together as if praying.
“Artemis you will never understand. “It’s a feeling you can only understand after living as a Korean for decades.”
“Are you ignoring me? “I know much better than you about the resources and strategic advantages that can be gained there, right?”
“This is a matter of history and sensibility, not profit.”
I shook my head and pointed at Artemis with an exaggerated gesture.
“You’re young, so you don’t know~.”
“… The tone is annoying.”
Wow!
Her fingers tugged at my cheek, but it didn’t erase my smile.
Even while the couple was having a trivial conversation, the patrol ship advanced powerfully through the water.
It is impossible for us to travel by land through Manchuria, but it is easy to go there by sea and laugh.
Therefore, training a fleet was essential.
Because we have to rule out risk factors at the landing site where infectious agents lurk, scout the site, and escort the cargo ship.
Currently, our military has taken over the destroyed shipyard and is building a cargo ship.
If you want to transport more than hundreds of tons of resources, you have no choice but to use a ship.
“After being beaten for so long, are you finally going to knock? Well, the only ones that will welcome you are monsters.”
It’s something we often say after the infection war, but we really don’t know what’s going on in the world.
* * *
An event occurred while the upset Artemis was being comforted by sitting on her lap.
“Something was caught on the patrol ship’s sonar.”
With her words, Artemis launched an underwater drone.
I sense something that has an abnormal shape that could hardly be considered a seafloor topography.
“If you really need to tell me, it’s not a sunken ship… It’s a sea monster, isn’t it? Are you a crustacean type? Or the vertebrate type?”
“Judging by the shape, it’s not a bone.”
“Then it must be a shell.”
“The drone has arrived. “I will print the screen.”
The sunny spring sea level that reflected the sun’s light has disappeared.
Blue and dark shadows appear here and there on the walls of the central control room.
In an instant, a fantastic scene was created as if the entire place was submerged in the sea.
All kinds of fish move around in groups.
If you were to exaggerate, you could say it’s half water and half meat. The resilience of fish stocks after overfishing is astounding.
Below, on the dark seafloor, a huge shell lies like a dinosaur fossil.
It has lost a lot of its color and is closer to pink, and the thickness makes me wonder if it would be like this if a titan in mythology were wearing armor.
“I’ve seen that before.”
My eyes focused on one place. A fist bigger than the iron ball used to demolish buildings.
What the patrol ship caught was the remains of a sea monster that resembled a mantis shrimp.
“Is this the guy who disrupted the maritime prison escape operation?”
The majesty of splitting a ship in two with just a few punches was so impressive that it is still vivid in my memory.
“I don’t know. There are not just two such entities. In the South Sea and East Sea alone, we found five remains of the same individual.”
“Isn’t this the first time it’s been discovered in the West Sea?”
“The scope of activities is so wide.”
The lower part, composed of tentacles responsible for propulsion, has completely disappeared.
Since it was a lump of flesh, it would have been eaten before it rotted. Sea creatures are fascinated and fascinated by huge corpses.
Countless fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans used the marine monster’s shell as their home.
“At this level, you can think of it as an underwater village.”
“Since ancient times, sunken ships have served as good refuges for marine life. “Wouldn’t that be even better because it contains nutrients and doesn’t have the metal smell that fish hate?”
Because it was so huge, it felt more like a kind of undersea dome village rather than a relic.
“We will arrive at the eastern coast of China in one hour.”
Artemis told me.
“Chinese people in heaven, we will use the resources you have left us for good purposes.”
I put my hands together as if praying.
“The expression on his face is so villainous.”
“You don’t want to see it?”
“No. It’s good to see you’re ambitious. “Smile more viciously.”
“Like this?”
“Ahahaha!”
As I imitate the expression of the villain I saw in the movie, Artemis laughs and hangs on my neck.
Side! Side!
I kissed her arm and finished reading the report in her hand.
The next page of the resource deposit map of the Korean Peninsula shows China’s resource map.
When you see this, you can’t help but smile evilly.
“Wow, there really is no such thing as a pot of honey.”
Unlike the Korean Peninsula, which is a lump of shit, the map of eastern China is filled with various resources.
The current patrol ship is headed to Shandong Province.
Geographically close, it has a large oil field and is also home to China’s largest gold mine. Even rare earth elements were abundant.
As we turn our attention to overseas, this is the place we have no choice but to target first.
“If we can just solve the infectious agents and radiation issues, it will bring us great benefits.”
Artemis nodded with a soft smile.
This is because the issue of resources was a topic she also struggled with.
“What is the possibility of interference from other forces?”
“It’s not that we don’t have competitors, but they are the ones we can outpace in the race.”
When Artemis snaps her fingers, a picture pops up on the screen. It is a very famous work that everyone has seen at least once.
“I know that one. I saw it in the textbook. “I don’t know the title.”
“Pies of kings and emperors.”
“It was that kind of name.”
It is a famous painting that satirized the great powers who divided China between themselves in 1898.
The German Emperor sticking a knife into a pie with CHINA written on it, the Queen of England and the Russian Emperor on either side, Marianne of France looking on, and a Japanese samurai.
Finally, hurrah! Li Hongzhang of the Qing Dynasty, angry with his attitude.
Perfect!
Artemis snapped her fingers once more and the picture changed.
Viva! Lee Hong-jang, who is in middle school, has turned into a walker who is crying out loud.
The German emperor who places his sword in the middle has been replaced by me.
With a needlessly glorified face, he is elegantly slicing his pie with a fork and knife instead of a knife.
However…
“I don’t have that gangster hairstyle?”
I was wearing a Regent perm that seemed to go well with rock and roll. In line with that theme, he is also wearing a scientist’s coat.
“It’s noisy.”
“Is this something you like? It looked like that even when they were manipulating special-duty videos before the war. It seems like they are subtly encouraging this.”
“…”
No matter how much they pursue intelligence, is there something that draws women to gangsters?
The Queen of England and the Russian Emperor on either side were transformed into stalker robots holding guns and keeping a watchful eye on the surroundings.
The samurai touching his chin remains the same.
This is because Japanese warlords in Tsushima, Kyushu, and Hiroshima areas are also likely targeting them.
Marianne of France was changed to an Asian race.
It seems to symbolize rival warlords in Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
“Currently, the place we are targeting is Shandong Province, but there are many places besides that are delicious.”
At Artemis’ words, several cities along China’s eastern coast glow red.
These were resource deposits or strategic locations where materials and technology could be plundered.
However, southeastern China is closer to Japan and Southeast Asian warlords than to us.
“Doesn’t care. For now, just eating well in Shandong Province is enough. Even if I get too greedy, I can’t control it.”
“That’s right. In terms of climate, China is the place where the vaccine will have the least impact. Therefore, the risk of infectious agents is the greatest in the world. “You can’t plant a flag without fighting, so your competitors won’t be able to get their footing easily.”
The screen changed back to a sea view. The patrol ship has now entered deep into the coast of China.
“Do you have a name in mind for this resource acquisition project?”
Artemis asked.
“Naming is always difficult, but this time it was easy. Because there is a similar precedent historically.”
“Hoo?”
Artemis, who is curious, urges me to answer.
“East China Company Project.”
As soon as I finished speaking, I could faintly see the port of Shandong Province in the distance.
[Ready to sortie completed.]
Inside the patrol ship, landing troops and reconnaissance drones prepared for battle were displayed as pop-ups.
