Life Mission

‘They won’t tell me even if I ask.’

He asked Odin what the side effects of the 5th and 6th stages are to the mind and body. He did not say as per usual. He kept his silence even when Cha Jun Sung threatened him, asking if he won’t tell even after putting the virus in Lifers’ bodies.

If he wants to know for sure, he needs to meet the party members who are in contact with level B Lifers or go through body modification to feel the changes for himself.

Cha Jun Sung scrolled through the pages. What will millions of Lifers be thinking of Life Mission?

[Couldn’t it be Earth’s future? It feels like the time period is slightly ahead, so they’re bringing manpower of the past together to save a collapsing future!]

[You’re saying the virus is forming on Earth? You have a wild imagination. Do you think this is Resident Devil or something? You’ve watched too many movies.]

[Don’t strike the imagination. Life Mission itself doesn’t make sense.]

[I’m sure the scientists inside the mission have created the ability to move between dimensions in order to save their world, whether we die or not.]

[If that place is the future, we’ve been infected and have become mutants as well. Then forget about missions, everything is over.]

Lifers argue among themselves. A lot of points were brought up, but nothing made him feel like ‘This is it!’. It only went in the clear direction.

Whenever the argument looked like it was starting to get serious, there were always one or two pests who ended the flow. When that happens, they stray from the main purpose to start fighting and reach the point of chaos. Cha Jun Sung moved to a different place each time.

[As a scientist myself, Life Mission’s super science can only be achieved in hundreds of years but definitely not in the next few decades.]

[Most people are focused on the ability to move between dimensions. Returning to reality, the briefing room, Mechanic City, or even the store.]

[The Earth now is an uncivilized civilization compared to that kind of science, but what could they be trying to get out of us that they’re doing this?]

[It could be that they are experimenting. Things like biomarkers.]

Cha Jun Sung looks interested. This is the most novel of the ideas that have come out until now. The man’s thinking is original as a scientist.

“According to the documents from the Biological Institute sample extraction mission, the virus spread violently all of a sudden one day. All of a sudden? There is a start to everything.”

Did Life Mission spread it? Into that world? Is it the same reason they used to inject the virus into Lifers’ bodies?

“They have ulterior motives.”

Cha Jun Sung mumbles as he looks at his PDA. He does not hold private conversations with Odin as he used to. He leaves the power off unless he needs something. He found out that there is a superior to the helpers. It is uncomfortable even though he knows that Odin did no wrong.

He looked through various discussions but they are all of the imagination. They will all end as discussions of the imagination unless Life Mission reveals everything. Though Cha Jun Sung knows a lot, he is just a Lifer.

“Experiment.”

The word keeps catching his attention. Mutant? Lifer experiments? He cannot tell what it is. It could be neither, one or the other, or both.

They cannot dig beyond a certain level because they cannot be sure.

“As long as this has happened, let’s go all the way to the end to level S.”

He started out not knowing anything and came to find out this much. If he gets to level S, he will be in contact with more and come to find out more.

Beep!

Cha Jun Sung turned the PDA on. He checked on his party’s return in intervals. This is the fastest way to check.

“Huh?”

2 of the 4 party members’ connection status was turned on and 2 were still off. This means that they are currently returning.

***

A full moon in the sky. A giant mutant resembling a wolf looks at the moon and howls. It is Pennil, the king of wolves.

It is a level 7 known for moving in groups and is strong in fighting individually and as part of a group. Pennil is surrounded by wolves. The battlesuit counts them. There are at least 10,000 level 5s. There are also 12 level 6s near Pennil.

Engines of the hundreds of battlesuits turn on. It is the sound that cars make right before they go out in rapid acceleration.

The number of Lifers is about 10% of the wolves at exactly 350. 3 forces and 5 parties, level B missions where there is no limit to personnel. The World Federation and ally guilds have entered Roaring Wolf King.

The current situation is a confrontation between the 2 forces. Rankers and supporting Lifers, and Pennil and its supporting wolves, are facing each other.

“This is our 3rd level B mission, but they make me shiver every time.”

“It feels like we’re handing over our lives. But what can we do when the points we’re rewarded each time is about 50 million?”

They stay inside a mission for at least 1 month each time they go in. If it takes longer, they drift inside a mission for 2 months. They earn a lot of points for hunting because a lot of mutants appear.

There is more to gain from completing 1 level B mission than several C missions. Of course the amount of danger follows the difficulty level.

But if more than 3 forces of level B Lifers come together like now, they complete the missions without much damage. Thankfully, the World Federation set those conditions. It is headed by rankers. 9 combinations of know-hows are coming through.

They remodeled basic battlesuits to create battlesuits of their own. Lifers with 5 or 6 combinations have the skill to take on lower level 6, while Lifers with 7 or 8 combinations have the skill for middle to higher level 6. Only rankers who succeeded in 9 combinations take on top level 6s alone.

All there is left to do is to strengthen the combined battlesuits to the limit of their functions. They expect that this is possible if they open store A.

10 rankers in World Federation, 10 allied rankers. That means there are 20 rankers who have entered this level B mission Roaring Wolf King.

Park Jin Hyuk and a few strong new Lifers combine their strength with rankers to take on level 7, and the rest of the Lifers face off against level 5 and 6. Everyone has their own roles. The time where ability becomes prioritized over anything else has come. Even level B Lifers only have 1 life.

Pennil shows its eerie teeth and scratches the ground with its nails. The nails are as sharp as swords, and etch the ground.

“It’s coming.”

“Ready!”

Wiing!

Lifers set up an automatic cannon with considerable power. It comes in handy when fighting a mass of enemies as they are doing now.

They need to annihilate Pennil and the wolves in order to complete the mission. There is nowhere to hide. They need to face off and kill them all. The end of the other 2 missions they completed were like this as well.

“It’s going out.”

The automatic cannon flames. They thought about using a bomb like white phosphorus from a distance, but they need to know the enemy’s location in order to do that. Level 7’s senses exceed imagination. They can smell and hear things that are dozens of kilometers away. They would be discovered and sanctioned before they could even approach.

They could just drop it in, but each weapon of mass destruction costs millions of points at the least. They cannot use them so haphazardly.

Kung!

Wolves as big as houses come running while getting hit by the automatic cannon. There are so many of them that it looks like a wave is coming in. Lifers retreat. If they go forward, they could get hit by the automatic cannon. They will only take on the ones that get past the cannon.

The smell of mutant blood entrenches the battlefield. Atop a large boulder, Park Jin Hyuk watches Lifers mixed among them without strength.

“Jin Hyuk.”

“Huh?”

Park Jin Hyuk responded drily to Kyoko. He was normally okay, but became locked in deep thought whenever he entered a mission. It is because of Cha Jun Sung, who died in this place. Kyoko nods to the front. The wolves are swarming in.

“Alright.”

Park Jin Hyuk holds up his gun. His cloudy eyes look poisonous. He remembers Cha Jun Sung being dragged into a pit every time he sees them. It is a nightmare. A horrible nightmare that he will never be able to shake away from.