Chapter 104
Chapter 104
Sungyoon decided not to think about it for now . It was prudent to ask Jimin or other Connectors about all this .
‘What should I do now?’
The Moon Surface Vehicle was broken . Since it could no longer move, he couldn’t do anything until the rescue party came . He still had his supply of water and vitamin packs . But, he had driven five days straight without sleeping to reach Armstrong . So, the rescue team wouldn’t arrive, at the very least, for five days . He had nothing to do during that time .
The only thing he could do was to enter the labyrinth .
However, the idea didn’t sit well with him . Sungyoon looked at his own Devices . Most of his Gems had lost their color and turned gray . He couldn’t hunt monsters with them .
Still, he didn’t want to stare at the empty Moon and s.p.a.ce for five days .
Sungyoon suddenly looked towards Soobin’s corpse . Devices and Gems glimmered on the corpse .
‘Should I use them?’
He felt conflicted .
If it were up to him, he wanted to go hunt in the labyrinth right now . It wasn’t just about pa.s.sing time . Emotions were swirling inside his chest . He had just experienced killing a human, and his feelings were boiling over . He desperately wanted to redirect his emotions to a different place .
Even if it had been self-defense, he had killed a person . He wondered if he would be at a disadvantage later on if he took Soobin’s Devices and Gems .
In the end, Sungyoon reached for Soobin’s Devices . He wanted to calm down the roiling emotions in his chest .
‘I’ll just take one . ’
He unequipped the bracelet on Soobin’s left wrist and checked the Gems . Surprise appeared in his eyes .
‘This is why I was at such a disadvantage . ’
The bracelet was simple . It had three slots, each having a high-rank Gem equipped . The wedge-shaped Gem was the weapon, and it was right below the B&W Gems . It was a Red rank Gem . The strength-enhancing Gem was in the shape of a star, and it was an Orange rank Gem . The X-shaped Gem was the armor, and it was also an Orange rank Gem .
Soobin had only gathered high-rank Gems, and it was the reason he had been so smug about himself .
Sungyoon tried to activate the Gems .
Ssssk!
The halberd, which used to be Soobin"s weapon, appeared in Sungyoon’s hands . At the top, its body had a rounded blade of an ax, and at the bottom, a sharp spear . Then there was a pretty large hook on the backside . He swung it a couple of times . It felt a bit awkward . However, having used a spear before, he quickly familiarized with the halberd .
Then, he tried activating the physical ability-enhancing Gem . It was the same type of Gem that Sungyoon possessed, and increased the user’s strength . The only difference was the fact that this Gem was superior to his Gems . It enhanced his strength by seven-folds . It was more powerful than his two strength-enhancing Gems combined .
Also, the armor was a Lamellar outfit shaped like a vest .
‘This should be enough . ’
At the very least, he’d be fine fighting on the 1st floor . He didn’t plan on overdoing it .
Sungyoon entered the labyrinth with his new equipment .
* * *
Fortunately, his trauma from killing a person didn’t prevent him from hunting down the monsters . Sungyoon was able to hunt as usual .
After six days, the rescue party arrived . They had contacted Sungyoon a day before, so he knew they were coming . It was why he hadn"t entered the labyrinth, and waited for the rescue party .
Two Moon Surface Vehicles arrived in front of the labyrinth, and seven people got off . Three were Connectors, and the remaining four were regular people wearing s.p.a.cesuits .
Sungyoon put on the s.p.a.cesuit they brought . It would allow them to communicate with him . The s.p.a.cesuit was uncomfortable, but he welcomed the oxygen it provided . He then showed them his damaged Moon Surface Vehicle and directed them towards the corpse . Explaining what had happened, he also told them he had used some of Soobin’s Gems and Device as he handed everything over to them .
Everyone frowned upon seeing Soobin’s corpse . They asked questions as part of an investigation, but Sungyoon didn’t feel offended and answered all of their questions . Even if he was the wronged party, he had killed a person . Of course, they would do a thorough investigation .
After finis.h.i.+ng a long conversation, Sungyoon got on one of the Moon Surface Vehicles with one Connector and one investigator . The three of them returned to Armstrong . The rest remained behind to continue their investigation .
After arriving at Armstrong, Sungyoon was put in detention . On the next day, he would be sent to Korea . It had been the same with Nicholas in the past . Suspects and prisoners were sent back to their country of origin . There was no jail in Armstrong . It was expensive to keep prisoners in Armstrong, and they didn’t want to waste precious resources on criminals .
Life in a detention center wasn’t a pleasant experience . However, Sungyoon was able to come out after a week"s detention on Earth .
“Here . ”
Jimin had come to meet him . She pushed something towards him .
“What is it?”
“Since you were coming out of a cell, I thought this might be appropriate . ”
He could see a white tofu within the black plastic bag .
Duhp-suhk!
Sungyoon took a bite . The unique nutty taste of tofu filled his mouth . After his stay in Armstrong, most foods tasted good to him now . He quickly ate all the tofu, not even choking once .
“What about s.h.i.+nhae?”
“She’s at home . Even if you are innocent, I didn’t want her to see her father get out of a detention center . ”
Sungyoon agreed with her words .
The two of them got into Jimin’s car and left the detention center .
“Even though I killed a person, I got out unusually fast . ”
Sungyoon spoke .
“It happened in Armstrong, so this incident was judged using their special laws . Armstrong was pretty much created by the US, so, of course, US laws had a strong influence when Armstrong came up with their own laws . And US laws are very lenient towards self-defense . ”
He forgot it was a thing in the US .
“Mr . Sungyoon was locked-up because they wanted to check if your actions were really self-defense . ”
“Did they confirm it?”
“In the first place, your attacker had entered someone else’s labyrinth . That’s one strike against him . Moreover, the black box of the Moon Surface Vehicle captured the footage of him destroying the wheels . When they considered all the evidence, Mr . Sungyoon was deemed innocent . ”
“Still, it happened so quickly . ”
“If Connectors of Armstrong are detained for a long time, they can"t bring in moonstones . Companies lose incredible amounts of money as a consequence . This is why, compared to other countries, Armstrong has speedy trials . There are criticisms that the haste creates sloppy work, but it worked to our favor . ”
Jimin pressed down on the accelerator as she increased the speed of the car .
“Still, they’ll continue to investigate this incident . They have to find the motive behind the attack . You should rest, Mr . Sungyoon . They said even after everything that had happened to you, you continued to go into the labyrinth . ”
“I had nothing to do . If I did nothing, my emotions would become unsettled . I needed something to take my mind off the situation . ”
Jimin glanced towards Sungyoon .
“… I’ll go over everything you missed in detail next time . However, you should get plenty of rest right now . It is an order . ”
“Understood . ”
Afterward, the two of them didn’t speak for a while .
“I heard it was Kim Soobin . ”
Jimin broke the oppressive silence . Her words were extremely heavy . The silence was less oppressive compared to the tone of her voice .
The initial investigation had been completed, so Jimin probably knew most of the information . This was why Sungyoon calmly spoke the truth .
“Yes . ”
“ . . . It might have been my fault . ”
Sungyoon looked towards her .
“He called me not too long ago . He wanted to rejoin my company . Of course, I insulted him and hung up on him . ”
He had heard about this . During the battle, Soobin had complained about Jimin .
“You did the right thing . ”
That was all he said . He didn’t need to bring up all the dirty words boasted by Soobin . Also, Sungyoon really felt she did the right thing .
“He might have developed negative feelings toward Mr . Sungyoon because of my actions . I heard the report . He planned on entering my company by killing you . ”
‘I guess she already heard about it . ’
It seemed the story he told to the investigative team had entered into her ears .
The light changed to red . Jimin’s car came to a stop, and she spoke in a small voice .
“I caused you harm once again . ”
‘Huh?’
Sungyoon frowned . It felt as if he had gone through this before .
He looked at Jimin’s cold face, on which a dark cloud had formed .
‘This is the same situation as what I went through with Ms . Chelsea . ’
When he had been attacked by Nicholas, Chelsea had felt responsible for the situation . It seemed Jimin also felt responsible for the situation with Soobin . Sungyoon inwardly let out a sigh . Wasn’t there a saying that went like attracts like? Jimin was like her friend . They both were stupidly kind and felt responsible for useless things .
“It isn’t your fault . The motive behind his attack is still unknown . ”
He decided to take the initiative . However, he knew Jimin wouldn’t back down at this point . He really didn’t want to get in another awkward situation where she would suggest giving her body as recompense . Hence, he offered a reasonable price that she could pay . It was what he had done with Chelsea .
“Even if that is the case, it is a ridiculous reason for him to attack me . He is trash . But, if you do continue to feel guilty about it, you can continue to look after s.h.i.+nhae for me . That’ll be enough for me . ”
Jimin looked at Sungyoon, and he didn’t avoid her gaze . The two of them locked eyes for a brief moment .
Beeeeeeeep!
Someone honked from behind . The two of them looked forward at the same time . The light had changed to green .
“The light has changed . ”
Sungyoon pointed at the light, and Jimin quickly pressed down on the accelerator . The car smoothly moved forward .
Once again, silence descended between the two of them . However, something was different this time . Before the car had stopped at the red light, the silence was oppressive . But right now, comfortable silence filled the luxury car as it moved down the well-paved road . At the very least, it felt like that for Jimin .
“Thank you very much, Mr . Sungyoon . ”
“It was nothing . ”
Jimin still spoke in a cold voice . However, a sliver of a smile had appeared on her lips .
* * *
The car entered Sungyoon’s apartment complex . Sungyoon gave a short goodbye and unbuckled his seat belt, as he tried to get out of the car .
“Mr . Sungyoon . ”
Jimin called out . Sungyoon looked towards her . He wondered if she was going to bring the previous topic up once again . However, when he saw her expression, he realized this wasn’t the case . A crack had appeared on her cold face, and the emotion that was revealed wasn’t guilt . It was one of worry .
“Are you really ok?”
He instinctively knew what she was asking about .
“I’m fine . ”
“I only say this out of concern for you . You really did nothing wrong . You know that, right?”
“I’m really ok . Thank you for worrying about me . ”
Jimin was worried that Sungyoon felt guilty about killing a human . Sungyoon kept saying he was fine . Jimin continued to be worried, but Sungyoon’s face remained expressionless . She asked him to contact her if something happened . She extracted a promise from him before leaving his apartment complex .
Sungyoon entered his apartment building . He had yearned for his home . He had come back quicker than expected, but this didn’t lessen the joy he felt .
He entered his house .
“Dad!”
His only treasure in this world ran towards him . Sungyoon let out a bright smile as he hugged her in his arms .
“Aigoo! My cute daughter!”
He hugged her tight . s.h.i.+nhae was seemingly growing every day, and she was his pride and joy .
When he finally returned home to feel the warmth of his daughter, he finally felt it . He had returned to his warm home . He had returned to his lovely daughter .
“… Dad?”
s.h.i.+nhae tilted her head . Sungyoon’s shoulders were shaking .
Until now, he had acted as if nothing was wrong . He had desperately put on a mask of steel, but as soon as he felt s.h.i.+nhae’s warmth, that mask melted away . It was all stripped away from him .
“Are you crying, dad?”
s.h.i.+nhae had her chin on her father"s shoulder as she hugged him, so she couldn’t see his face . However, their cheeks were touching, and she could feel a warm wetness on her cheek .
“N . . . no . Dad isn’t . . . crying . ”
He bit his lips . A sob had almost come out of his mouth . He desperately pushed it down .
He was just a bit worn down . However, he couldn’t make his daughter worry . Sungyoon tried his best to stop his tears .
“Mmm… . ”
For a moment, s.h.i.+nhae fell into deep thought . Then her short arms tightly hugged Sungyoon .
Tap tap!
“You are nice . You are good . ”
Sungyoon became surprised . s.h.i.+nhae was acting like a mother consoling her child . She patted his back . Her arms were too short, so she couldn"t reach the center of his back . However, she did her best to extend her arms as she tried to pat her father"s back .
“You are nice . You are good . ”
She repeated those words . He wondered if s.h.i.+nhae was copying her teacher . One of the basic methods in consoling a crying child was to hug the child and pat the child"s back . s.h.i.+nhae was using this method on Sungyoon . She was probably trying to comfort him .
Sungyoon smirked . At the same time, he was moved by his daughter’s caring heart . She was trying her best to console her crying father . He could feel the child’s heart .
“Dad is . . . good?”
“Yes, dad is good!”
Sungyoon hugged s.h.i.+nhae tighter . It felt as if the chains suffocating his body had been severed . A strong curse had haunted Sungyoon after he killed Soobin . And when he heard s.h.i.+nhae’s words, he felt the curse completely lifted .
Sungyoon and s.h.i.+nhae hugged each other for a while like that .