Chapter 657

“Who the heck are you?”

Hae Young inadvertently hit the compass on her wrist with a cylindrical object. At that moment, the compass turned violently. The needle, which was spinning as fast as an electric motor, broke off of the spike. The needle that broke away hit a tempered glass cover and rolled up in one corner in an ugly way.

“Oh my, why is this acting this way (in southern Korean dialect)?”

The forgotten dialect popped out of Hae Young’s mouth out of surprise. Compass is a necessity for geologists out on the site. Hae Young’s face looking at the broken compass dilapidated from displeasure. Come to think of it, it’s a birthday present she got from Robert. Annoyed, she unbuckled the compass and threw it aside.

“Wait. An object with a powerful magnetic force!”

Hae Young realized the meaning of the broken compass. Magnets would not react violently to just stone tools or fossils.

“Metal!”

She inhaled. Although it was difficult to distinguish the geological era due to inconsistency and large-scale intrusion, strange metals suddenly popped out between the Mesozoic and Paleozoic strata. It was not a low-grade tool. It was not a modern component. It’s an Ooparts (out-of-place artifacts). Hae Young’s heart fluttered.

What did it mean by “Ooparts from the Mesozoic era”?

It was an event that would turn the academic world upside down, better yet, the world upside down. She could imagine herself being interviewed by CNN. In Hae-young on the cover of Time magazine! In Hae Young on the mass media all over the world! Life would turn around.

It is said that sparrows die of feed, cats die of curiosity, and tiger moths die of light. Hae Young opened the hell gate again because of her resonance, even though she previously caused a misfortune because of her resonance.

******

As dusk fell, Eungsim-je (the House of Accepting Hearts) had a gentle atmosphere. Kim Mal Soon took care of her son’s meal and bed, even school bags and lunch boxes, as if she was pouring out an affection that she had not been able to give. Jin Soon willingly gave up her seat to her future mother-in-law. No, she became a daughter.

The wishes of Mu Ssang were his mother, a tile-roofed house, and boiled rice. Mu Ssang who achieved his wishes was happy. His foresight read an unusual precursor, and as he knew that a peaceful life would not last long, he devoted generous affection to his mother and family.

There is no more vague concept than happiness and misery. A person living in a spacious, shiny apartment misses the days of a small room in a slum where tap water does not even come up, and a self-made businessman misses the times they harrow the field with a spotted brown cow.

The younger generation envies the older generation because they got a good job whenever they’d finish college, and the middle-aged generation complains that it is hard to even cross the threshold of college back then. The old man rebukes if one knows the misery of their days and the hunger of the Korean War. Historians teach that those born in 1580 who suffered from the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592, the Chinese invasion of Korea in 1627, and the Manchu War of 1636, are the truly unfortunate generation.

The pastor teaches that faith is happiness, while the monk teaches that happiness and unhappiness are in one’s heart. That’s true. The roots of happiness and unhappiness lie in distinction and comparison. Some deplore that their parents have not handed down any inheritance, and others say that they can work hard, thanks to the healthy body they’ve inherited.

It is happiness if you appreciate that there is a place to lie down even if you live in a slum neighborhood where you have to slowly crawl up the icy hill when it snows. Happiness and unhappiness are not external; they are internal. Enjoying life makes you happy, and living to be happy makes you unhappy.

Kim Mal Soon was happy. Although the sudden change in environment had her bewildered, she engraved the hardship and pain of the past in her heart and enjoyed the life she was given. She raised purified water the moment she opened her eyes to pray for her husband to be reincarnated in paradise, and then she prepared breakfast for the large family to eat. She learned math and Korean from Jin Soon, and when she took the time to go to work, she listened to the employees’ hardships and even secretly helped them financially. This month, she made a nursery and kindergarten in the company. Living was rewarding and happy.

******

“Wow! That’s amazing, mom.”

Mu Ssang, who received the notification of passing the post-elementary school qualification exam shouted hurrah.

“Well, Your mother isn’t old yet.”

Kim Mal Soon put strength on her shoulders in high spirit.

“Mother, you’re amazing.”

Jin Soon smiled wide and circled around, holding Kim Mal Soon.

“Haha, I barely pass. It’s a little embarrassing.”

“It’s been less than two months since you started studying. Who would study and pass like that at your age, mother?”

“Thank you, baby.”

Kim Mal Soon shed tears. She had never been to school. She couldn’t be more jealous of the kids going to school, but she had been blessed with such fortune in her late years that she got to wear a school uniform. She was just so thankful for Jin Soon, a lucky charm.

“Time for celebration! Time for celebration! Older sister, let’s have a party.”

Ha Dong Daek threw an envious celebratory comment.

“A party? What party? I told you, you should have studied with me.”

Kim Mal Soon shoved it in her face with blame.

“Oh my God! How would I go to middle school at this age? It’ll be embarrassing.”

Ha Dong Daek waved her hands. Mal Soon was smart and young like a maiden, but at the age of being a wrinkled grandma, she had no intention of studying with a headache and taking the post-elementary school qualification exam.

“No. Since I started working at a company, I saw that people, whether old or young, need to be educated.”

“I can’t because I have dumb little head. I’ll continue to live just like this.”

Ha Dong Daek left like a wind. She felt like if she stayed, then she would be stuck studying.

“Hahaha! It’s hereditary”

Jin Soon laughed quietly. Her brother studied well because he took after his mother, and she, herself, took after her mother.

“Ssang, I heard you’re dating a foreign girl”

Kim Mal Soon shot a question suddenly.

“Argh!”

That freaked out Mu Ssang, and he glared at Jin Soon. Jin Soon shook her head and hinted fiercely at the door, indicating that the person who asked was her mother.

“Baby, I’ve heard you accepted her, too.”

The arrow went towards Jin Soon.

“Yes, mother! A lady from an English aristocratic family. She’s beautiful and has an angelic heart.”

“Oh, you’re too soft! Seed cannot be divided.”

“As long as I can be next to Mu Ssang, I am happy. You’ll like her if you meet her, mother.”

“Yeah? If you accept it, I’ll stop now. But what are you going to do with the family registry later on?”

Kim Mal Soon glared at Mu Ssang.

Mu Ssang was left speechless.

Mu Ssang became mute. Talking about this and that was making the story long and pathetic.

“Mother, don’t worry. There is a country that my brother founded in Africa. Edel will live there and I can live here. I don’t mind if we live together, either. He’s a softie with me. Hahaha!”

Jin Soon shook her fist.

“Ssang built a country? What are you talking about?”

She’d never heard of it. Kim Mal Soon’s eyes have grown so big. She knew her son was outstanding, but she couldn’t believe that he founded a country, and she was speechless.

“Yeah, I just happen to see… the people who didn’t have a place to go, the people who were on the verge of death. It just happened that way.”

“Oh wow, so did my son become a king?”

“Yes, mother, you are the king’s mother, a queen dowager.”

Jin Soon’s face was taken over by a content smile.

“That’s too much for my head to handle. If Ssang did a good deed, then that’s good. Anyway, let’s take a look at the western maiden. Should I take this opportunity to travel abroad?”

She didn’t care about the country. The attention was all over her daughter-in-law.

“Sure thing. I’ll prepare for it.”

“Well, thanks to my distinguished son, I’ll get on an airplane. I’ll just continue a normal life. What would I do if I were a king’s mother? I’m gonna go study”

Kim Mal Soon went up to the main house.

“I think she’s shocked. What do we do!”

“What do you mean ‘shock’? And if it’s too absurd, it doesn’t even feel real. I live thinking it as what it is.”

Jin Soon shook her head. There were a lot of things that she couldn’t understand even though she had been living with Mu Ssang since she was a little child. If you try to understand something you don’t understand, you’ll only have trouble.

“Dad, when is Wangnun coming?” Mina, who was unable to intervene in the adult conversation, asked.

“Well, it’s here already, but…”

Mu Ssang stuttered. Garuda came back on Christmas Eve. Mu Ssang himself had a jaw-dropping experience with Garuda’s new look. It was a fortune that he came back at dawn. If he came back in broad daylight, it would have been a mess.

“Where is it?”

“The East Sea!”

“Eeek! Why is it in the sea?”

Mina’s eyes opened wide.

“Wangnun has become an adult. It’s too big to live in a house.”

Korea was too small for Garuda to hide. He freed the predator in the East Sea as a protective measure.

“Is it taller than Dino?”

“10 times. No. 20 times!”

“Wow, but my house is big.”

“It’s still too small for the Wangnun to live in.”

“Daddy, I miss Wangnun.”

“Oh man, What do we do?”

Mu Ssang, who loved his daughter dearly, was in an awkward situation. Even if Garuda shrank and converted the body, it reached 20 meters in length. It could be reduced to a maximum of 6 meters, but then it could not demonstrate its stealth capability. The family would be okay with that, but the impact of the giant UIF was too big. For him, someone who wanted to live quietly, that was such disturbance.

“Oppa, call it. I miss it, too.”

Jin Soon supported Mina.

“Oppa, I miss it, too.”

The Young-a also stepped up.

Mu Ssang couldn’t beat the attack of glittering three-pair of eyes. Even if it wasn’t for this, he planned to go to Novatopia. Garuda was needed in Novatopia rather than in Korea.

“Chicken!”

“Mom, why are you calling me?”

The response came immediately.

“Oh, I’m going to be insane.”

Mu Ssang clicked his tongue. This fellow responded by calling him a mother when he called for chicken. Artificial intelligence was as good as human beings.

“Mina misses you.”

“The small female human that mom likes? Here I go!”

150 kilometers southeast of Dokdo, the sea in front of Oki Island bubbled. QUAA! A huge object popped out like a torpedo. A patrol boat belonging to the Korea Coast Guard, which was advancing toward Dokdo, was struck by misfortune.

BANG! The 1,000-ton patrol boat, which collided with Garuda, got its keel broken and the middle east of the hull cut off clean. The hull was sucked into the sea without time to send an SOS.

“Oh? It’s not my fault.”

The transfer of responsibility and “I don’t know” attitude were the main features of Garuda. PSHH! Garuda disappeared westward at a cruising speed of 20 times faster than the speed of sound. Kuung! Exactly 90 seconds later, Garuda landed in the backyard of Eungsim-je (the House of Accepting Hearts).

“Wow!”

The family members of Eungsim-je dropped their jaws together. Legs thicker than the pillars of Daeung-jeon Hall, a giant body comparable to the height of a 20-story apartment, a blue magnetic field wrapped around the body like a goblin fire, and even the darkness was surprised by Garuda’s dignity that feed on dragons, and stepped back.

“Oh my!”

Even Jin Soon, who had become accustomed to senselessness, could not keep her mouth closed.

“Ssa… Ssang, what’s that?”

Frightened Kim Mal Soon hid behind her son.

“Grandma, it’s Wangnun.”

Mina pointed at its sparkling eyes. Kim Mal Soon couldn’t even answer and dropped her jaw. Young-a ran and patted its leg.

“Too big. Way too big!”

“Got it.”

SHUUUU! Micro-lattice tissues compressed. The huge fuselage quickly turned into a petite 6-meter-size.

“Huh? Would you look at that!”

Mu Ssang was slightly surprised. Garuda had consciousness from the perspective of artificial intelligence but did not have consciousness from a human perspective. This meant that Animal Esper’s brain waves could self-coordinate with artificial intelligence. If so, it meant that the Houngan Kamuge could also affect Garura.

“Chicken, I am giving you an absolute order. Protect my family.”

“Mom, I got it.”

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Scouter imprinted images and brain waves of Kim Mal Soon and the Eungsim-je family.

“Why did you get so big, Wangnun? We can’t even play anymore.”

Mina made a complaint.

PURRRR! Garuda’s eyes curved like a half moon. It bent its neck and rubbed its head against Mina’s chest, just like a pet. Kim Mal Soon’s face straightened out. She raced through the sea in the South Sea on a whale. There was no way that the legendary King Yeong-jo could not appear.

“Go back. You can eat if radioactive creatures appear like last time.”

“I got it.”

After the meeting, Garuda returned to its original size. SHUUUU! The giant shot up into the night sky like a feather. The black shadow that covered the moon disappeared without a trace. Girls with disappointed faces and women who were mesmerized only stared at the sky.

******

The vast Sahara Desert, an altitude aircraft that crossed 16° to 19° north, could see picturesque blue islands between the southern tip of the Emi Koussi mountain and the Ennedi Plateau. Not to mention the rectangular blue land floating like a mirage on the endless yellow land was, of course, Novatopia.

The unified agenda, which was set ablaze by Mu Ssang, put multi-ethnic and multi-racial people in a large smelting furnace called Novatopian people. Their native culture was respected, but Korean and French were adopted as official languages.

Novatopia’s religious policies were based on freedom, responsibility, and versatility. Priests and religious groups were strictly prohibited from forcing religion and were required to pay taxes. Clothes or attaching symbols symbolizing a particular religion and preaching in public were also prohibited. The noise of worship, which caused many complaints from residents, was also subjected to a crackdown. Those who violated the principles and regulations were immediately sentenced to compulsory labor sentence. It was a rather drastic move, but the disputes and conflicts caused by religion disappeared efficiently and the Dubaiburupa formed the mainstream of faith.

Language integration, religious conflict resolution, strict personal punishment system, social structure that could be fruitful with effort, fair educational opportunities, and overflowing jobs were Novatopia’s agenda. The distinction between Kurdish, Arabs, Negroids, Caucasoids, Mongoloids, and Bushmanoids had disappeared, leaving only Novatopians.