Past Life Returner - Chapter 360

Chapter 360

All-source Situation Room at the World Awakened Association Headquarters.

The general situation room was filled with subtle blue light from a large monitor. On the five hundred-inch long monitor, the program presented the location of the Awakened as a dot on the world map, which was connected to a Geographic Information System (GIS). Many of the dots were disappearing as the Awakened were entering the other world at the moment.

However, the information presented wasn’t detailed. Most of the dots overlapped because the location of the Awakened was displayed as dots.

Lee Ga-Hee didn’t have the authority to handle the central monitor, so she couldn’t zoom in to a location and split the monitor to show the personal information of the key Awakened. That was solely the responsibility of the head of the situation office to lead the department by displaying information on a large monitor. Therefore, Lee Ga-Hee was a mere employee who had been dispatched from the Korean branch to the general situation room of the association’s headquarters.

Like everyone else, Lee Ga-Hee was also watching the monitor. Awakened from other countries were among the groups of three or five moving dots.

However, she wasn’t paying attention to the Awakened of foreign nationalities who had entered Korea. After all, those people were subsidized by conglomerates groups such as Jeonil, Ilsung, and Daehyun. In addition, they had been approved to use the passageways open to Korea.

「World Awakened Association, “First Day of Extraterrestrial Arrival, a Monumental Step.”」

Furthermore, she wasn’t listening to the media talking about how long they had been waiting for this day. One of her duties was to send the location of the Awakened to the Security Bureau if they committed a crime, so keeping a close eye on breaking news was one of her tasks.

Then, information about a dungeon in Korea grasped her attention.

「 Registration number: A – 92

Location: Ronsius Holy Knight (Franklin Dukedom, Greenwood Continent)

Status: Entering」

That was the only dungeon in Korea that was in an entry state. Lee Ga-Hee had not heard about it before.

It was the first day of the Awakened entering the extraterrestrial space. She knew that the association had established a reconnaissance team composed of parties and attack teams with significant private capital. Consequently, she was designated as a mandatory checkpoint that these teams had to go through before entering.

What if there was an error in the middle? What if the Korean branch is making a mistake?

Although the association practiced a lot using the first day of entry as D-day, it was inevitable that mistakes would happen on the first day. Lee Ga-Hee was suspicious that that would have been the case now.

「 Not permitted to log in. 」

She raised her hand, looking at the message. A man with broad shoulders walked over quickly from a distance. The middle-aged man was the chief of the department.

“It’s obvious that you can’t access it because it’s an operational area within the association. But good catch. Keep up the good work.”

After relaxing a bit, Lee Ga-Hee recalled that the chief was a general who was in a high position in the U.S. Department of Defense. She felt like she was in the middle of a huge military operation.

As she looked around, she noticed details that had escaped her notice earlier due to her tension. Lee Ga-Hee was under immense pressure to avoid making any mistakes, identify any flaws, and make significant contributions to the association. The high-tech facilities in the situation room, combined with the presence of individuals dispatched from branches worldwide, added to the already heightened tension. On top of that, men with guns that she would have seen only in movies were standing guard next to each door.

She somehow felt like her body was heating up. Her heart pounded, and her fingertips tickled with a strange excitement. She noticed that where she was, where different languages were spoken all over the place, was the most secretive place in the world right now. She was proud of herself for taking part here.

Right then her phone rang with a notification message. An encrypted chat window popped up on the screen.

「Entry Plan

Entry Zone: No. E-49 (Baron of Baran, Franklin Dukedom, Greenwood Continent)

Entry Date: May 22, 2018, 14:00

Number of People: 5 Association members / 25 Civilian agents

Association members (5)

1. Kim Il-Won 2. Park Woo-Kyung 3. Kim Shin-Tae 4. Shin Yeong-Seok 5. Oh Soo-Min

Civilian Agents (25)

1. Lim Jin-Cheol 2. Baik Yoo-Seok 3. Ki Dong-Jin 4.Son Koo 5. Jang Seung-Hyun 6. Kang Si-Woo 7. Hur Pyo 8. Lee Kyu-Hyeok 9. Yang Seong-Min 10. Park Seong-Hoon 11. Lee Sae-Yeong 12. Kim Ha-Neul 13. Han Rae-Won 14. Kim Min-Jae 15. Yoon Shin-Soo 16. Park Ki-Yang 17. Kang Jeong-Hwan 18. Hwang Il-Hoon 19. Song Chang-Seob 20. Ko Hyun-Il 21. Kim Chang-Min 22. Kim Jong-Woo 23. Lee Joon-Hyung 24.Lee Jang-Hyun 25.Hwang Bo-Seung-Hoon

* The above civilian agents are former Korean National special forces. They were scouted by Whitewater and private security companies, and detailed information about their experiences is attached.

2018. 05.10

(Co) Jeonil

Approval Code – DK2018511AW」

Lee Ga-Hee put extra pressure on her fingertips as she entered the approval code.

Click, click.

The personal information of the five members of the association was displayed on her personal monitor. She expanded the map of the area in Suwon City, registered as E-49, then began to send out the location where five dots disappeared.

***

Room One, World Awakened Association Korea Branch.

Yoo Won-Jin, the Director of Room One, was having a meeting with an uninvited guest.

The time has come.

The guest was the senior vice president of Daehyun Group, Jeong Woo-Seok. Yoo Won-Jin had only seen his name on the approval documents. He had never seen him in person before, as Jeong Woo-Seok never made an appearance at the company headquarters.

“Director Yoo is from our group, so I thought you would take care of us, haha.”

However, Yoo Won-Jin didn’t feel any pressure from Jeong Woo-Seok as various figures from the business community had been in contact with him since he moved his work to the association.

The best meeting he remembered was with the President of Finance, Park Choong-Sik. There were rumors about his death, but the old man showed off his robustness a lot. Remembering the meeting with him, Jeong Woo-Seok was no more special than anyone else. Thanks to the information that he naturally learned while focusing on the association’s work, there was no hint of any walls of status between them as they had already been broken down,

“Hmm… Why are we not getting the approval?”

Yoo Won-Jin sympathized with Jeong Woo-Seok’s apprehension. Although the information had not yet been released to the media, there were sources available to large corporations who kept their ears to the ground.

The association’s plan to open up an era of space colonization was a profit-making venture, which included an internal directive that they would not get involved in matters related to land and resource ownership. The directive resembled the practice during the age of navigation, where explorers would claim by planting a flag, thereby declaring it to belong to their conquering group.

The association only wanted one thing from the Awakened: conquer the extraterrestrial space.

“I don’t know the details of the conditions for approval, but I just wanted to let you know that it may seem unfair on the surface.”

“Today is only the first day.”

“But none of our plans have been approved.”

Yoo Won-Jin spread his hands open. “Why are you telling me this? I don’t have that much power. I’m just an employee. And wouldn’t it be safer to wait for the other attackers to return and gather more information about the aliens before entering?”

“That’s what we think. The Awakened are in a different position. They will think that the association is depriving them of opportunities.”

Yoo Won-Jin shook his head inwardly as he couldn’t say that only the Awakened who were hired by the Daehyun Group thought like that. The capital forces that reached the association’s leadership had one thing in common, whether they aggressively lobbied or utilized their connections to gain influence. It was that the entry plan they submitted was concentrated in a place called Franklin Dukedom.

In fact, not long after, higher-ups issued an instruction to approve only the plan for the Franklin Dukedom.

“Director Yoo… Did we get on the wrong side of the association?” Jeong Woo-Seok asked.

Yoo Won-Jin responded, “No way. Even if there were any biases, the association is fairer than you might think. Once the returnees are back, the guidelines for granting approval will naturally become clear.”

“Don’t you think one day will determine ten years… no one hundred years?”

“…”

“I won’t change the subject. You would know that we have a lot of defense companies in our group. We have plenty of room, so I’m confident that we will be able to do much more than Jeonil if we advance to outer space. Then, when that time comes, I will never forget how much of a help you were. If it’s actually hard for you to do, then just connect me to one person, please. I heard he is Korean.”

“Mr. Vice President!” Yoo Won-Jin raised his voice without realizing it, then he lowered his voice as he was conscious of the people outside of the room. “You’d better not talk about him because I can’t even talk to him.”

“That’s how urgent I am. Jeonil has literally devoured this country. What about Jonathan Investment Finance Group? They took control of the world. If the higher-ups really think that they should also monopolize outer space… What can I do? I have no choice but to stop.”

At that time, Yoo Won-Jin received a short message.

「 Honey, I’m out at the shopping mall with the Daehyun President’s wife. I won’t be late for dinner. Sorry! 」

Ugh, she is doing this again. Stop. Just stop hanging out with her.

Yoo Won-Jin quickly straightened his crumpled expression and raised his head. Then, he saw Jeong Woo-Seok’s anxious face. A new era of navigation unfolded, but he was unable to move to the sea despite the multiple ships he possessed.

What Jeong Woo-Seok said was true. The number of entries processed by the Korean branch today was only one of Jeonil’s squads.

On the other hand, the situation on the foreign side was active. There was already a famous figure in this world. His name was Chris, a Wall Street financier who had hit the jackpot on the Day of Advent, and he said he built the system and manpower faster than anyone else. The performance of foreign capital, led by him, was remarkable.

But isn’t the Jeonil Group, the only one who has entered space, technically a foreign capital?

Although the Ilsung Group was scheduled to enter in a few days, it was far short in light of the current status of active foreign capital.

Shouldn’t we have at least one more in Korea besides Ilsung?

Upon reflection, Yoo Won-Jin realized that Daehyun Group would never be able to directly contact the association’s leadership. In the eyes of the super-wealthy figures in the business world, such as the King of Hell Jonathan Hunter, or Osiris Jonathan von Karjan, the Daehyun group would be considered insignificant.

Yoo Won-Jin made a decision.

“It’s a fact that will be known to the public soon.”

When Yoo Won-Jin opened his mouth, Jeong Woo-Seok corrected his posture and paid attention.

“This approval is limited to the Franklin Duchy…”

“Franklin Duchy… Why?”

“It must be a small country. The higher-ups must intend to settle first and gradually expand the realm of humanity there.”

“T…then, how many dungeons are left in Korea?”

“There is none left. There would be nothing even if you look abroad.”

Yoo Won-Jin refrained from mentioning that the allocation had already been decreased due to foreign capital. Jeong Woo-Seok’s face began to regain hope when he noticed Yoo Won-Jin’s smile and the way his upper body was tilted toward him. Yoo Won-Jin’s voice was so quiet that Jeong Woo-Seok could barely hear him by putting his ears close to his mouth.

“Try modifying your entry point to the Land of Whirlpool. Before it gets too late.”

Jeong Woo-Seok was touched.

The approval guidelines of the Land of Whirlpool were just released this morning. The leadership of the association seemed to believe that they would easily occupy the Franklin Dukedom.

Yoo Won-Jin wondered how many years would it have taken for him to obtain such authority and social status if he had remained in the Daehyun Group. Under the assumption that he would never be kicked out after dedicating his entire life, he would have been barely promoted.

In that sense, moving to the association was a successful gamble.

“We will see each other more often in the future, Mr. Vice President.” Yoo Won-Jin stretched his hand out to shake hands. “Going to outer space is important, but you’d better take care of your health first.”

Jeong Woo-Seok held Yoo Won-Jin’s hand with both of his hands.

“I will…never forget your help.”

***

Yeon-Hee and Seong-Il had left, but I remained at that spot in case of a possible crisis. I hoped that I would be able to wear her down, but things had progressed such that we agreed that we would bring the entire Franklin Dukedom to war and then I would be accompanied by Seong-Il.

It was almost time for darkness to fall, and nights in the hills came faster than flat land. The area around the A-92 dungeon, which led to the Holy Knight Ronsius’s area, had been left empty from the beginning, so it was natural that there was no light in the darkness like other areas.

「Warning

Civilian Restricted Area

This area is subject to the World Awakened Association Membership Agreement and people are strictly prohibited from entering the area outside of accreditation.

World Awakened Association」

Ssss-

As I traversed the barbed wire that was marked with the warning sign, I caught sight of some red lights. The reddest of the bunch emerged from the depths of the necromancer’s hood, shrouded in darkness. As Joshua’s crimson gaze dissipated, the members of the plague squad who trailed him arrived with their heads lowered.

Their presence exuded a sense of darkness even though they didn’t make a grim sound. Even Seong-Il often avoided Joshua, saying that he felt overwhelmed by Joshua’s eyes.

I had no doubt that these people who gave off such a nightmare vibe would open the door for me to enter the world of Franklin Dukedom. Other than for Yeon-Hee, they had the strongest firepower out of all the Awakened.

I said, “You should know what you need to deal with.”

Joshua responded immediately, “Holy Knight Caldoran of the Land of Whirlpool. I will cut his head and offer it to you.”

I had purposely set the dungeon with the closest passage to the Holy Knight aside.

I continued, “Go to the Cat Food Warehouse before entering. You will be able to check your equipment.”

“Yes, Master,” Joshua said.

The Holy Knight would have no idea what was getting closer to him, so Caldoran would be pitiful as much as the one who was facing Yeon-Hee now.

I looked at Joshua, who was already filling the darkness inside his hood with murderous intentions, then nodded briefly. Joshua and his squad vanished within one second as if they were the gods of death who didn’t exist in this world.

Ssss-