Chapter 221
The next morning.
“Most of it has disappeared. Your recovery is really much faster than mine.”
Yong Yeohong sighed as he applied medicine to the bruises on Seong Geonwoo’s back. The bruises were the aftermath of combat training. Even though the medicine had only been applied once, the bruises had already faded this much.
At that moment, Seong Geonwoo spoke seriously.
“The more you get hit, the higher your resistance becomes. You should try it too.”
Yong Yeohong smiled awkwardly.
“Haha, how could I endure if I got hit by the team leader? You’re amazing. You’re already using that much strength just after recovering from illness. I guess you don’t usually use your full power.”
Seong Geonwoo laughed.
“If I used my full power in training, we’d only be able to train one day a week. The biggest problem is you. Every time you train, you’d probably be bedridden for a week.”
Yong Yeohong wanted to argue, but in the end, he could only nod.
As they were talking, Seong Geonwoo suddenly turned his head and looked outside.
Jang Mokhwa had already gone to the next room, borrowed Baek Saebyeok’s help to apply medicine, and was now outside the door, waiting for the visitors.
“Captain Han.”
“It seems your exoskeleton device has arrived.”
After saying this, Seong Geonwoo jumped up and got dressed.
Yong Yeohong, unable to hide his excitement, ran toward the door.
As soon as Seong Geonwoo put on his mask, he opened the door.
The first things he saw were Han Myeongho carrying a rifle on his back, two worn SUVs, and the Redstone Market village guards.
They were moving a wooden crate toward Jang Mokhwa.
“This is an AC-42 standard exoskeleton. Please check it.”
Han Myeongho said in a businesslike tone.
Sensing their presence, Jang Mokhwa turned toward Yong Yeohong and smiled.
“Come and check it out.”
Yong Yeohong and Seong Geonwoo immediately approached, opened the wooden crate, and examined the black metallic exoskeleton device.
At the same time, Jang Mokhwa said to Han Myeongho:
“Weren’t we supposed to wait two more days?”
Han Myeongho, unusually without a mask, smiled.
“How could I delay when you came all the way to the precinct to rush things?”
Moreover, the village guards in charge unanimously approved the matter.
Jang Mokhwa laughed.
“You really were that intimidating?”
“Yes.”
One of the guards moving a crate of supplies quietly replied.
Fortunately, Jang Mokhwa didn’t hear that clearly.
Soon, Seong Geonwoo began humming a song.
“A young monk comes down from the mountain to beg…”
But upon seeing Jang Mokhwa’s glare, he couldn’t continue the next line.
Han Myeongho, witnessing this scene, spoke with some emotion.
“In Ashland, there are plenty of relic hunter teams strong enough to destroy a major base on their own. To the villagers of Redstone Market, your team is just that strong.”
The powerful awakened merman who appeared that night had cast a deep shadow over the minds of the Redstone Market residents. Their awe and fear of the Jeon Hayan team were far from exaggerated.
Jang Mokhwa, receiving the compliment, replied modestly.
“Redstone Market is a large base protected by Daljigi. It’s not a place that could be destroyed, even by relic hunter teams like us.”
As soon as she spoke, several guards simultaneously turned their eyes toward her, as if to say, “So you really did think of destroying Redstone Market.”
‘A bit too cautious, maybe? Being overly sensitive isn’t always good.’
Jang Mokhwa swallowed the thought.
Soon, with Seong Geonwoo’s help, Yong Yeohong put on the black exoskeleton device. Although the modules were rather crude, after moving his body in various ways, he felt the device’s strength once again.
After a brief test, Yong Yeohong spoke with joy:
“No problems!”
Meanwhile, Baek Saebyeok checked a few boxes of supplies and confirmed the quantity was fine.
Then Jang Mokhwa said to Han Myeongho:
“The deal is officially complete.”
Han Myeongho exhaled in relief.
“Didn’t you ask us to collect information related to Machine Heaven within a week?”
“You’ve already collected it all?”
Jang Mokhwa was surprised.
Han Myeongho shook his head.
“Not yet. But we did find one problem with the data we’ve gathered so far.”
“What problem?”
Seong Geonwoo quickly interjected.
After a moment’s thought, Han Myeongho said:
“No one has actually seen a human from Machine Heaven. Those who’ve dealt with Machine Heaven have only encountered intelligent robots.”
“I see.”
Jang Mokhwa was not the least bit surprised. Lord Heo Yangwon of With City had also mentioned something similar.
After finishing the conversation, Han Myeongho briefly surveyed the surroundings. Some of the accompanying guards were keeping their distance, ready to hide if necessary. Han Myeongho lowered his voice and asked:
“I want to ask something.”
“What is it?”
Jang Mokhwa asked.
After a moment of thought, Han Myeongho began.
“Do any of you know what happened on the night when Bishop Renato was urgently summoned to the Precinct headquarters?”
When the rescue team remained silent, he continued briefly:
“This morning, we conducted a preliminary prisoner exchange with merfolk and mountain spirits. You know Gaudi returned, right?
Gaudi had been captured by the merfolk and overheard their conversation. They said that originally they planned to prepare for about a month longer before attacking, but Bishop Renato suddenly left the village, and the new bishop hadn’t arrived yet, so they moved the plan forward.
Since the operation failed and they lost a gentleman, they began blaming each other and spilling out this information.”
Jang Mokhwa understood why Han Myeongho was saying this.
“So someone sold that important information to Aryu-in?”
“That’s what I think.”
Han Myeongho didn’t hide his speculation.
‘So Aryu-in knew that Bishop Renato had been summoned to the headquarters? Interesting.’
After thinking for a while, Jang Mokhwa replied:
“There were warners and guards at the church that day. Buzz and Biel too…”
They also knew that Bishop Renato was secretly suffering from heart disease. Han Myeongho nodded as he listened carefully.
“I’ll investigate step by step.”
Jang Mokhwa smiled.
“We might also be suspects.”
Han Myeongho remained silent for a while before responding:
“If you sold that information, it would be to lure the awakened merfolk and kill it to get the exoskeleton from us.”
“That’s a good explanation.”
Seong Geonwoo clapped his hands, clearly impressed.
By the afternoon, the rescue team, having finished preparations, reached the lakeside area and rented a motorboat from the village guards. They had already planned a route to bypass areas densely populated by merfolk with Han Myeongho’s help.
“What’s this?”
Near the ivory-colored motorboat, Jang Mokhwa saw guards pulling four bicycles along.
Han Myeongho looked at the lake, its surface glowing gold in the sunlight, took a deep breath of the chilly, damp winter air, and smiled.
“Even after arriving on the island, you’ll have to go a bit further to reach the temple. Wasting time moving is never wise. Some of the village guards decided to lend you a few bicycles as well.”
There was no way this small, crude motorboat could carry a car.
Seong Geonwoo was deeply moved by the gesture, almost wanting to call them brothers.
Meanwhile, Jang Mokhwa fiddled with the mask on her face and laughed.
“You’re not usually this generous.”
Han Myeongho replied honestly:
“We also want to quickly resolve the issue with the sleeping deity. Otherwise, we don’t know when another powerful awakened merfolk might appear and bother us like that day. If that happens, we’d have no choice but to ask Aidoln to protect Redstone Market. The Precinct would willingly send a fearsome bishop.”
Jang Mokhwa understood their caution regarding hidden dangers.
“That makes sense.”
Han Myeongho then pointed to the four bicycles.
“They’re all made by Union Industries. Not even a year old. As you can see, they imitate the early style of the old world and have back seats. I’ve always wondered why bicycles in the old world gradually evolved to carry no passengers. Isn’t that wasteful? They’re not practical at all.”
Jang Mokhwa had never thought about this, so she hesitated before speaking.
“Two of them are enough since they have back seats. If we put all four, the motorboat will be too crowded.”
Han Myeongho raised no objection and spoke casually:
“A smuggler from Union Industries once tried to sell us a Segway. It was small and convenient to carry. But it was clearly made without considering the road conditions in the ruins. If you rode one here, you’d definitely get thrown off by debris. The merfolk prisoner said the roads on the island are relatively intact, so a Segway would work. But we didn’t buy one then.”
Jang Mokhwa, laughing, suddenly asked:
“Captain Han, you’re talking more than before, aren’t you?”
Startled, Han Myeongho gave a wry smile.
“I guess I want to get closer to a team that’s shown such strength.”
After some casual conversation, Seong Geonwoo and Baek Saebyeok each carried a bicycle onto the motorboat, and Yong Yeohong struggled to carry the wooden crate with the exoskeleton. He hadn’t worn the device yet, to conserve energy.
Finally, Jang Mokhwa jumped onto the motorboat and waved at Han Myeongho and the others amid the loud roar of the engine.
Seconds later, the ivory motorboat began moving across the endless Furious Lake. A trail of golden, scale-like reflections stretched along the breaking waves.
The wind blowing from the lakeshore was unusually cold. Yong Yeohong curled his body up. He looked around and spotted a shoreline that looked like a single line. Several islands lay hidden in the deep lake like monsters.
“Team leader, why did we leave so late? Moving in the afternoon seems too conspicuous. Won’t the merfolk notice us easily…?”
Yong Yeohong thought that such operations usually only happened in the dead of night.
Jang Mokhwa chuckled and looked at Seong Geonwoo, who was squatting on the edge of the motorboat, trying to fish with his bare hands.
“Explain it to our little Red.”
Seong Geonwoo didn’t answer.
Jang Mokhwa called him again.
“Hey.”
Only then did Seong Geonwoo turn his head and ask a question.
“Do you know the way?”
Confused, Yong Yeohong asked:
“What way?”
Baek Saebyeok interjected.
“The way to that island.”
“I don’t.”
Yong Yeohong realized, only after speaking unconsciously.
“So if we move at night, we’d never be able to find that island?”
Jang Mokhwa nodded as she checked the course with the markers Han Myeongho had provided, confirming they were on the right track.
“Exactly. During the day, we can follow the planned route by comparing maps, instructions, and the surrounding environment. At night, though, neither we nor the village guards, including Han Myeongho, could find the way.”
In this lake region, the merfolk had absolute dominance. Naturally, the Redstone Market residents lacked familiarity with the geography. Moreover, this crude motorboat didn’t even have smart navigation.
Jang Mokhwa continued:
“Also, if you were a merfolk, when would you be most alert? Surely at night. The Redstone Market residents would worry about being attacked under the cover of darkness. During the day, they’d be relatively relaxed. Furious Lake is vast. As long as we avoid the areas where merfolk mainly operate, there’s no risk until we approach the island.”
Yong Yeohong, listening seriously, summarized in one sentence:
“Specific situation and specific analysis.”
The motorboat made a wide detour westward, gradually entering the deep parts of Furious Lake. Minute by minute, the sunlight weakened.
