Moon's Labyrinths

Done with the business for the day, the four of them went out to eat dinner. They chose a famous Korean BBQ restaurant.

Since the restaurant was famous, it was very costly. However, Jimin and the Ross siblings didn’t even blink an eye at the price.

Jimin insisted on buying the meal as the company president, and the Ross siblings didn’t protest. They agreed without a fuss. It was completely different than the time on the Moon when they had felt very bad about Jimin footing the bill for dinner.

But they were now in a BBQ restaurant on Earth, not in a crazily expensive restaurant on the Moon. The price of meat here couldn’t even dent her wallet.

The meat sizzled as it let out a delicious smell.

Clink!

They clinked their soju glasses. Sungyoon and Jimin drank first, with Tim and Emily drinking next.

“Koooo. This tastes a bit odd.”

It seemed the soju wasn’t to Tim’s taste. Emily didn’t look too good either.

“Shall I order you guys beers?”

“I think we might prefer that.”

Tim was a bit embarrassed since he had insisted on trying soju. And he didn’t turn down Sungyoon’s recommendation.

The siblings tilted their heads in puzzlement when they tasted the Korean beer. However, they didn’t complain.

“Did you have a good funeral service?”

Sungyoon asked.

“Yes. The funeral service was small, and I only invited my relatives. My mother can rest in heaven without any worry now.”

Tim’s face looked a bit more at peace. It seemed a part of him was always bothered by the fact that he couldn’t have a funeral service with his mother’s body present.

“When are you two going back into the labyrinth?”

Instead of answering Sungyoon’s question, the Ross siblings looked toward Jimin. The president chewed and swallowed the remaining piece of meat in her mouth before giving an answer.

“I reported your employment with Jungbum and sent the required papers to the relevant Canadian government office. Both of you can go into a labyrinth any time you want.”

“Then we’ll tie up some loose ends, and after we get used to living in this country, we’ll head right up to the Moon.”

Tim spoke.

When he realized everything was mostly in order, Tim downed the half-full beer in joy.

“How long will you be staying down here?”

Sungyoon asked. Hearing this, Tim folded his arms and briefly thought about it.

“Well, the only thing left is finding a construction company to build our house. We’ll also have to familiarize ourselves with this country. We’ll use it as an excuse to travel the country. I’m thinking that’d take us about a week or two.”

“Then I’ll head up to the Moon first.”

At Sungyoon's words, the three of them became surprised.

“D... did we say something wrong?”

Emily quickly asked. Since she wanted to get familiar with this country, she was thinking about sightseeing. But did he have some objection to that plan?

The siblings were going to live in this country for the near future, so they had to get used to living here.

Emily wondered if Tim had said something that might have offended Sungyoon. Regardless of the reason, Emily was about to execute the ‘Shin Kick of Justice’ against Tim.

“No. Mr. Tim and Ms. Emily became stronger when both of you acquired new Gems. So I really feel the need to strengthen my battle capability right now.”

He had lured the Ross siblings away from their previous company so that they all could go to the Great Labyrinth together. He felt the need to get stronger. If he acquired new Gems and Devices by killing monsters, it would be great. If that didn’t happen, he could work toward evolving his Gems.

Emily looked a bit disappointed.

“I wanted Mr. Sungyoon to guide us around Korea.”

“I’m boring. You’ll have more fun hiring a professional tour guide.”

Sungyoon’s answer was like a steel wall. Emily had wanted him to be the guide because she could use it as an excuse to go on a date with him. But now, she had no choice other than to give up on her plan.

Tim patted his sister on her shoulder. And as Jimin observed this sight, an odd look appeared in her eyes.

***

Despite the objection shown by everyone, Sungyoon went up to the Moon to enact his plan. However, he didn’t head straight to his labyrinth. He had something else to do before that.

“Welcome, Mr. Sungyoon.”

Chelsea stood in front of the International Research facility. She no longer wore the stylish clothes that she had worn on Earth. Instead, the stained lab coat and the large glasses had made their reappearance. She looked dowdy once again as she shuffled forward.

“How have you been?”

“I’m doing ok. Life on the Moon is all the same.”

She pushed aside her messy hair as she grumbled. But the next moment, she slapped her cheeks a couple of times.

“Ah. No, no. If I start complaining, it’ll be endless.”

She looked depressed, so Sungyoon took out something from his storage Gem. It was bread and a drink he brought from Earth.

“Oh my god!”

Chelsea rejoiced as she quickly took the food. The man had bought sweet red bean bread from a franchised bakery and orange juice from the supermarket. She looked really happy at the sight of food. It was as if she was seeing the independence of her country.

“If you want, I can give you more.”

“I won’t turn you down. This is why it is important to make personal connections.”

She glanced at his Device.

“You acquired a storage Gem?”

“Yes.”

“Lucky. That’s the Connector’s ability I covet the most.”

Her eyes were filled with greed. She looked like a thieving cat stealthily eyeing the fish store. As soon as Sungyoon had brought food out of thin air, Chelsea knew he had acquired a storage Gem and had used it to bring food from Earth. That was why she didn’t turn down his offer.

“The connectors who have storage Gems usually make side money by becoming a distributor. Do you plan on doing that?”

“I’m not interested in that.”

“I should have known. I was just informing you.”

On the Moon, goods were delivered in large quantities by the spaceships. Theoretically, a storage Gem might be able to revolutionize the supply chain. However, the item wasn’t revolutionary in practice.

First, there were too few storage Gems. Moreover, Gems were expensive in general, and Storage Gems even more so.

Not to mention, only Connectors could use these Gems. But they didn’t show intentions of becoming full-time distributors.

If they wanted to use the storage Gem to become a distributor, they would have to frequently go back and forth between Earth and the Moon. Naturally, the Connector’s time on the Moon would decrease.

The entire world and Armstrong didn't want that. The Connectors had to acquire moonstones. Of course, they wouldn’t like Connectors being diverted to other tasks.

Therefore, Armstrong didn’t treat Connectors with storage Gems as regular businesspeople. A massive amount of tax would be enforced on them if they wanted to become a distributor. Therefore, the Connectors with storage Gems were limited to bringing food and personal-use items from Earth. But a small number of Connectors still chose to become a distributor as a side job.

Chelsea treasured the food she was given as she guided Sungyoon into the research center. The security guards were looking at only one thing, their eyes planted on the food in Chelsea’s arms.

Jealousy filled their eyes. For now, they were more interested in her food than her beauty.

“I can’t believe you have regular food in there. I thought you wouldn't store it inside since there is a chance it might interfere with your storage of moonstones.”

“That is why last time I only brought water and vitamin packs. However, the president scolded me when she learned about it.”

“…”

Chelsea shut her mouth.

It seemed she hadn’t been wrong.

It was the quintessential Woo Sungyoon. The thought popped into her head.

Chelsea guided him toward a room within the research facility. There was a sofa and a small desk inside. It looked like a sitting room for greeting guests.

She sat on the sofa and asked.

“Well, I heard Mr. Sungyoon found something amazing. Show me.”

Her eyes twinkled from the anticipation. It seemed she had been contacted by Jimin, and Jimin had hyped up his discovery.

“Didn't the president tell you what I found?”

“That girl said she didn’t really know what it was and dodged my questions. She just told me that Mr. Sungyoon found something very surprising. That is why I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

Since Jimin hadn’t seen the Golem for herself, she had dodged Chelsea’s questions.

“I know Mr. Sungyoon doesn’t like to exaggerate things. In fact, you are modest. That is why I waited with anticipation.”

“I’m not sure if it can live up to your expectations.”

He knew what he had found was amazing. But Chelsea was too hyped up to see it, so he tried to temper her expectation.

Without delaying any further, Sungyoon took out the broken Golem.

Boom!

The ground rang out a little bit as the remains of the Golem appeared.

“I have more.”

Sungyoon planned on taking out the doll and the door fragments he had picked up while running away. However, he didn’t get the opportunity to bring out the rest.

“… Ms. Chelsea?”

Chelsea didn’t respond even after Sungyoon called out her name. She looked like a crazy lady. Her mouth had fallen open, and she was dumbly staring at the Golem.

Then she started moving like a person sleepwalking and got very close to the Golem.

She ran around the Golem as if she were a little puppy asking its owner to play with it. Oblivious to her surroundings, she made observations of the Golem. Then she yelled out in a shrill voice.

“Team leader…! N... no! Who do I have to call right now?”

She frantically kept asking and then answering her own questions.

“Ah! Jeez! Team leader!”

In the end, she decided to call the head of her research team. And as if she were being chased by fire, she slammed the door and ran out. Sungyoon awkwardly watched her retreating figure.

After a moment...

“Ah, jeez. Why are you acting like this!”

“Just come with me for now!”

Chelsea was bringing a man who had a big belly and was showing signs of going bald.

Several more people were following them. They looked curious. All of them were wearing lab coats, so one could easily identify them as scientists affiliated with the research facility.

When they went inside the room, the annoyed team leader and the researchers froze in front of the Golem.

“What do you think? It’s amazing!”

Chelsea spoke confidently as if she was showing it off. However, the team leader was an experienced researcher. He quickly calmed down and looked at the Golem with suspicion.

“What the hell is this?”

It looked extraordinary at a glance.

It was letting out the five cardinal colors, and it looked like a humanoid object made out of some rare metal. However, fabrications were made to make it look unusual and rare.

“I have no idea. I went to get you as soon as I saw it.”

“Where did you get this?”

“That person over there brought it.”

When Chelsea pointed toward Sungyoon, the team leader turned to look at him. He had been too preoccupied with the Golem, so he had just realized Sungyoon's presence.

“Ah. Please excuse me.”

He quickly extended his hand toward Sungyoon.

“My name is Daniel Wilson.”

“Woo Sungyoon.”

Sungyoon gave a light handshake.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you come to acquire that?”

Wilson couldn’t shake his suspicions. However, the excitement was clear in his voice. It meant that the excitement and anticipation were counterbalancing the suspicion.

Chelsea looked displeased by Wilson’s suspicion. Her eyes rose in anger, but she stayed quiet since it was a reasonable reaction to seeing the Golem.

“Sure.”

It wasn’t a difficult request. Sungyoon sat on the sofa and started describing the circumstances around him acquiring the Golem. As they listened, Wilson and Chelsea sat on the sofa while the other researchers lined up behind the sofa.

Their expression kept changing as time passed.

None of the researchers had heard of anything like what Sungyoon and the Ross siblings had experienced.

Sungyoon finished his story. However, no one could speak. A brief moment of silence descended upon the room.

“… then we can’t really go investigate the cave.”

Wilson let out a small sigh.

“Highly unlikely.”

Sungyoon’s party had destroyed the last remnant of the door, and the Golem had probably sealed the entrance.

“The broken fragments of the door might still be there.”

“You think so?”

However, the fragments could be easily fabricated.

‘That means we won’t be able to check out the location where that thing was found.’

The possibility of this being a hoax was slowly getting higher.

But...

Wilson looked at the wreckage of the Golem.

‘… I should study this thing before jumping to conclusions.’

If he could verify that the Golem wasn’t a fabrication, it'd automatically increase his trust in the man named Woo Sungyoon.

Moreover, if his story was true, they might finally be able to solve one of the great mysteries regarding the Moon’s labyrinths.