Chapter 435 – The Final Puzzle Piece
I would like to spend a leisurely day surrounded by my loving family, but that is not possible due to my location.
The world is slowly recovering, and the Korean Peninsula is at the center of it.
If any culture is to be restored from the destroyed past, the starting point has always been us.
The Korean professional soccer league, which had been suspended for over 7 years, has been revived, albeit clumsily.
-Damn it, what kind of pros are these things!
-Hey Mr.! Do you know this is baseball? Stop hitting home runs!
-This is the first time in my 30 years as a soccer fan that I have seen a player being carried away with an injury after kicking the ground. It’s so damn bad.
The crowd reaction started with swearing from the start of the game and ended with swearing.
But even in the meantime, there was a smile on everyone’s lips.
-Buy corn~!
-We sell rat skewers!
There is no chicken, beer, cola or fries.
Still, the Korean Peninsula was the only place in the world where you could watch professional sports while eating something.
It was naturally my role to give the first opening ceremony congratulatory speech.
The speech Artemis wrote spread throughout the Korean Peninsula and beyond through my voice.
-Surrender! I surrender unconditionally! Please save us!
Jeju Island surrendered.
To be exact, 60% surrendered and 40% attempted to resist to the end.
However, it was quickly suppressed by the Shelter Army and the surrendered Jeju Island Allied Forces.
It was my voice that declared the end of the civil war on the Korean Peninsula by sending medical supplies and food to survivors on Jeju Island who were living miserable lives.
-We got it first! Where are you trying to intervene?
-Fuck the condescension for coming three hours earlier! Let’s see if you can say something like that even with a bullet stuck in your head.
It is also my responsibility to mediate when there are signs of bloodshed between fairly large powers.
I thought it would be easier if I brought the vaccine, but as the threat of infectious agents decreases, it feels like the work is increasing.
Today was especially busy as there was a party inviting military commanders from all over the country.
Not only commanders from the Korean peninsula but also Russian warlord commanders attended, and it seems like they shook hands at least 100 times.
When the party ended after midnight, I took a night walk on the roof of the shelter to take a breather.
It couldn’t have felt better to have Artemis massaging his shoulders for his hard work.
“Is everyone sleeping?”
“I guess so. If it were Seyoung, I might wait until you get off work.”
Even if you can’t wake up your cute daughters, it’s okay to watch their sleeping faces carefully.
With such anticipation, Artemis stopped as I was getting ready to leave work.
“Jinsu.”
She has a strange expression.
It seems like she has some good news, but she has a complicated face that she doesn’t want to share.
“What’s going on?”
“A communication request has been received. To be precise, it is a one-way message. “Can I say it’s a recorded letter?”
I checked the time.
“What is the concept of sending a message when it’s almost 1 am? I’ll listen to it tomorrow. Because I’m mentally tired today.”
“Would you regret it if you put it off?”
“I don’t regret it.”
“Really?”
Artemis smiled. It’s strange that she came out like this.
“Who on earth sent this message?”
She pointed her index finger to the sky.
When I looked up, all I could see was the clear night sky. There is no pollution, so clean darkness reveals the stars and the bright full moon.
“It’s not like the other party was communicating from space, so what…”
My face, which had been laughing hard, hardened.
“Seo, really?”
“No way. “I will receive the communication now.”
After a while.
[It’s been a long time.]
A familiar voice. A profound voice that I really wanted to hear again.
[Am I a little late?]
“Young Master!”
Old Man Solaver’s voice was heard over the communicator.
The final puzzle piece of the Tanis Expedition and my friend. A mentor worthy of respect.
“As I said, this is a recorded one-way message. There is some waiting time, perhaps due to technical issues.”
Artemis glared at the communicator as she spoke. I guess I still have something in store for you.
[I apologize in advance if I have interrupted your good time with Artemis.]
“Anyway, it has a good feel.”
Artemis clicked her tongue.
“Don’t hate the old man too much.”
[No matter what she says, just stay still. It would have been the same if I were in that position. Your wife is a truly great spouse.]
“This is a recorded message, right?”
How many moves ahead are you looking at? I didn’t serve as a diplomat and chairman of the Space Federation for nothing.
The old man’s voice, which I heard after a long time, was as optimistic as ever.
[First, let me start with my condition: I am safe. Only the arrival coordinates were different from others.]
When I wondered why it was discovered so late, I found out that it just didn’t head to Earth.
[I was sorry to leave empty-handed, so I was preparing a gift. Your loyal subordinates should have been sent right away, but there’s no need for me to do the same. I’m already showing off to my wife, so I should take something useful.]
“No, it’s really okay.”
[You may welcome it, but your wife will not. Because they will stare at you like, ‘What are you trying to do to my husband again?’ To be honest, your wife is a bit scary.]
Even the veteran Universe 007 is afraid. She is also my wife.
[There is a planet that was being colonized just before the infection spread. Although it is small, it is a place where various resources lie dormant. It is not an environment where living things can live, but it is also safe from infectious agents. There, automated mining equipment sends resources to mining castles.]
“Oh! “No way?”
Artemis, who was quick to notice, made a surprised face after hearing her nuance.
[As the host planets were destroyed by a cosmic disaster, unmanned cargo ships full of resources were also waiting. It changed its coordinates to Earth. The resources contained there will be of great help in research on the landed spacecraft. I hope this bribe will appease her wife’s anger.]
“No problem.”
Artemis was already swelled with great anticipation and desire.
It’s a world away from the calmness I felt when I was pregnant with my daughter. As her husband and her father, it’s a bit complicated.
[It took a while to complete this task. The cargo ship’s arrival will likely take about two months from the time I received this message. The coordinates are in the sea near the shelter, so be prepared.]
At those words, Artemis looked toward the sea. It looks like she’s already planning her salvage project.
[I will be on that cargo ship too. I’m definitely looking forward to a happy reunion.]
“Even if you come empty-handed, you are always welcome.”
With that, the recorded communication ended.
“Tsk!”
I stretched out as much as I could.
“You damn old man. “I see you are doing amazingly well.”
Contrary to what she said, Artemis’ face looks full of anticipation for the old man’s arrival.
“Isn’t there anything better than a bribe to improve relationships?”
With a small smile, he wrapped his arms around his wife’s shoulders and went down to the house.
Things I thought were lost are coming back to me one by one.
“Finally, there is an elder in the family.”
“He seems like he would be good at raising children.”
The already strange family will become even more bizarre, but the warmth and happiness will increase.
“You look good on a horse, right? The height is also high. “My daughters will really like it.”
“He was a man who didn’t seem to care much about life, but the cuteness of children often causes rocks to collapse.”
A part of me that was feeling uncomfortable became comfortable with Artemis’ words.
“Yes, I’m sure it will. “My daughters’ cuteness is the greatest in the universe.”
I think I will be able to sleep much better today than usual.
* * *
There is one more person I call old man.
“You will soon be able to see it with the naked eye.”
[Oh, there’s an armored vehicle approaching.]
Mr. Hudson responded over the communicator.
[The old man said he wanted to die in his hometown, but you used a cruel special move.]
“Haha, so you’re not going to watch it?”
[Of course you should see it! I can’t die before I hug my daughters!]
Old Man Hudson is my friend and the person who provided the clue to technology recovery through the expedition.
He communicated with the American survivor network through various means of communication and provided useful information.
I don’t want to see people end their lives in poor quality air-raid shelters without receiving proper care.
But the situation was not good. The battle between the New the house Coalition and the Mexican warlords became serious, and the call spread to the area where the old man was hiding.
-No, old man! It’s about to become a battlefield right now. Mexican drug lords can push up at any time.
-How much longer will I live? Even if I die, I will be buried in my hometown.
Artemis intervened when the old man was getting frustrated with his stubbornness.
-Why are you going so hard to persuade me? There is a much simpler way.
There was nothing like a baby’s smile to break the stubbornness of an old man who had lived long enough.
Video chat On.
And ‘Smile!’
Luna, who had pale skin and blinked golden eyes just like her mother, solved the problem at once.
-I’ll go right now!
That’s how old man Hudson greeted the stalker convoy I sent at the bomb shelter.
[Mr. Hudson. We have been ordered to escort you and lead you to the shelter.]
[Are these your soldiers?]
The old man’s voice full of surprise.
[Yes. These guys are stronger than the T-800. Please take care of us comfortably.]
The convoy’s sensors detected marauders watching nearby, but they did not dare to intervene.
They just exchange shocked communications with their own gang.
The armored vehicle carrying the old man departed vigorously, boarding an ocean-going warship waiting on the coast.
“I just remembered that the ship is a one-way operation.”
[Do you think I’m a fool? I can see what your plan is.]
Old man Hudson, who speaks naturally and responds as if he already knows.
“Oh my gosh!”
[I’m just grateful that they take care of the old man like this.]
The old man’s voice, which spoke openly, contained the loneliness that he had been trying so hard to hide.
A future where you die alone in a dark, narrow bomb shelter without meeting anyone. No matter how important your hometown is, who would like it?
“Nothing is free. You should come and give our daughters a ride on a wooden horse.”
[Please leave it to me. Taking care of children is my specialty. But there are three daughters and three mothers! You really are a great guy. It won’t be easy to manage the house.]
“It’s okay. The hostess is perfect at maintaining discipline. “Please order anything you need from the lady riding with you while you’re on the way.”
[… Honestly, I’m a bit scared to ask for something.]
Old Man Hudson spoke in a whisper.
“On the outside, he is a very nice and sincere child.”
I also whispered an answer.
“Hippolyte? “Please take care of the old man.”
[We will serve you with all our sincerity.]
A quiet voice came from beyond the communicator.
In this way, another favorite was added to the PDA.
It is a shelter warship that powerfully cuts through the current off the Pacific coast of the United States.
Another puzzle piece to complete happiness is coming this way.
It comes from space, and from beyond the sea.
