Warriors who were now freed from the long fall hunting duty enjoyed their rest as they enjoyed the sweet fruit that they had gathered. Leftover fruit were dried in the sun or were stored with honey to preserve them. Some were also buried deep in underground storage.
Fall was a wonderful season as it overflowed with food. The abundance of food also seemed to ease the monsters’ aggressiveness, most of them becoming more docile.
Galfus and the four cubs, who had grown to the size of large bulls, roamed freely around the fortress hunting for food. They no longer looked like helpless pups. Joonbum was kind of sad to see them all grown up, but at the same time, it also filled him with pride.
“They will leave this place during the winter as the food source in this area becomes scarce. Don’t be surprised when they suddenly disappear.”
He remembered Doral’s explanation as they prepared for winter. With his explanation, Galfus and the four cubs would leave for the southern part of the forest for better hunting environments during the winter.
‘I guess it can’t be helped.’
It was sad to see them leave, but there was no other way.
‘But at least…’
The good news was that going south would mean that Galfus would mate with a male from a different pack, gaining a male wolf in Galfus’ pack. The cubs would also gain hunting experience from the other wolves.
‘That’s good.’
Joonbum was worried that there might not be any other wolves, but that was now solved. He smiled at the thought and stood up, wiping the sweat off of his forehead.
‘Let’s get back to work.’
Joonbum started his chainsaw and started cutting down branches that had been blocking the road.
“TIMBER!”
A shout was heard from a distance, followed by a loud breaking sound caused by a falling tree. There were a lot of Ainos warriors who were using chainsaws to cut down trees by the side of the road. As with Doral and Gazlow, all of the other warriors had no problems with learning how to use the chainsaw. They quickly adapted to using the chainsaw and worked fast to chop down the trees.
‘They sure are blessed with their physical abilities.’
Joonbum was surprised many times at their prowess and ability to learn new things.
Trees that were chopped down were quickly trimmed of their branches and twigs and were moved to the side. These trees were stored to be used as fuel and materials for fences.
The excavator then moved through, pulling away all the tree trunks that were left. The powerful machine pulled up trees by entire roots, creating holes full of bugs that various birds gathered to feast upon. The birds feasted as the excavator pulled up the tree trunks one by one. When the basic process of removing the trees was complete, Sunsook and the women used the bulldozer to fill up the holes and level the ground.
As the days went by, the forest now had a wide road connecting Joonbum’s fortress and the Ainos village. They wanted to create a pathway to easily move between their old and new settlement so they eagerly helped Joonbum create a road.
‘I will soon visit human land once I’m done with this.’
Joonbum’s purpose of connecting the fortress to the village was to utilize the other existing road that led to the human village.
Doral, who had been working hard with his chainsaw, stopped to take a break.
“This is so fast. Connecting a road between two villages required years, but now…”
“Is it?”
“Yes, Joonbum. It would’ve required at least a year for a road of this distance. I don’t think that having everyone working, even with Durans, would be this fast.”
Joonbum thought about the Duran, or the cow-like an elephant, that they saw before. It was an extremely powerful animal, but it was very docile, which allowed the Ainos to keep it as livestock. It was an important part of Ainos life as it was used in many instances. One was to pull up tree trunks. This kind of work would’ve required all the Durans they had as a large-scale construction job.
“Here are the snacks!”
Agelie, the wife of the Chieftain Howen, shouted as she approached with a large basket. There were a lot of other women who each had a basket. The sound of chainsaws and vehicles stopped as the women approached.
“Nice! I was getting hungry.”
“I was waiting for this!”
‘They’re not that much different from us,’ Joonbum thought as he watched them approaching excitedly. Their special physical prowess was outstanding, but they also had really good hearts. It was relaxing and fun to stay with them. All the hard work was done happily as he worked together with the Ainos.
“Son, come quick. There won’t be anything left if you are slow.”
“I’m coming.”
Joonbum smiled.
*
A vehicle stopped among the darkness and two tall, well-built men got off the car.
“Mr. Park?”
“I’m Taesoo Park.”
“Where should I unload it?”
“In front of that house.”
“Understood.”
The men turned around and yelled at the car.
“Changsuk, place it down at the back of that house!”
“Careful, careful! More. More!”
A large item wrapped in covers was placed down at the back of Joonbum’s shooting range store. Taesoo was relieved to see it done.
“Brother, did it arrive safely?”
Taesoo nodded automatically at the sound from the phone and then answered.
“Yes. They’re unloading it right now. Are these people trustworthy?”
“Don’t worry. Those kids are my relatives. They will keep it quiet. I don’t want to return all of my earnings, so don’t worry.”
“Yeah. It’s a relief to see it done.”
Taeshik laughed softly at Taesoo who seemed to be really relieved.
“So, have you decided now?”
“Yeah, I will join you. But I will only deal with the Americans.”
“Sure. I guess we can go abroad now then. Haha.”
Taesoo hung up the phone after he finished talking with Taeshik. He then turned to the men who had finished unloading.
“We’re done, Mr. Park.”
“Thank you. Go have a nice dinner with this.”
The two men hesitated as Taesoo handed over a white envelope which obviously contained money. Taesoo quickly realized why they were hesitant.
“Grab a nice dinner and have a drink. You’ll forget everything that happened today. You know what I mean, right?”
“Oh, yes. Of course.”
The men replied and accepted the envelope. They left in the special vehicle that was used to deliver the item. After they left, Taesoo glanced around and entered the store.
“Is it over?”
Joonbum, who was waiting inside, asked as he saw Taesoo walking in. Taesoo sat down on a chair while letting out a loud sigh.
“Whew.”
“Want some coffee?”
Joonbum opened an instant coffee package and started brewing a cup of coffee. Taesoo laughed.
“Haha, isn’t that a bit cheap for all my work?”
“Do you want canned coffee then?”
Taesoo grinned at Joonbum’s joke.
“Ha. How much is that? About 150 won?”
“No. It’s now 180 won each.”
“Ha.”
Taesoo took the hot instant coffee and started drinking. Both fell silent as they drank the coffee.
“So, the product has been delivered as promised.”
“Yes. Here’s the payment.”
Taesoo glanced at the large case handed over to him and opened it up slightly to check the contents.
“So, what about the other half that’s left? There’s still a lot even with that purchase.”
“I will need half in cash and half with the other products.”
“You still need something?”
“Yes. I need drones.”
Taesoo, who did not expect such a request, stopped and shook his head.
“You sure can surprise people. You need drones?”
“Yes, about 100 drones. I also need spare parts and repair tools.”
“I have to look into it. I know it’s being sold to the public now, but that makes it hard to purchase it secretly.”
“They don’t need to be military ones.”
“I will see what I can do.”
Taesoo took out a cigarette and lit it. White smoke rose from the cigarette as Taesoo watched it, and questions filled his mind. He wanted to ask the reason for all these purchases.
“Oh, and also…”
“Hold on, hold on.”
Taesoo stopped Joonbum abruptly. He let out a big breath for a while and turned to Joonbum again.
“Is it possible to maybe purchase a minigun?”
“Huh? Are you trying to start a war? Or maybe launch a terrorist attack? I hope not! No, nevermind. I will pretend I didn’t hear that.”
Taesoo frowned at the request while shaking his head as if to shake away any terrible thoughts he had conjured up.
‘Well, I guess I even bought the Marauder.’
It was a vehicle made for the public with even a TV show that reviewed it. But it was much more powerful than a regular vehicle. It allowed the driver to run through a house without any damage, and it could withstand a mine explosion beneath it.
‘I guess I can even run on a rampage through the city with that…’
Joonbum stopped imagining.
“No, I don’t plan on such a thing. It won’t even be featured in the video, just like the Humvee. Just consider it more of a collection item.”
It was not enough to convince Taesoo as his request exceeded any reasonable kind of collection.
‘I guess he would not have cooperated if he wasn’t in that kind of situation.’
