Moon's Labyrinths

Woosung continued to look at Sungyoon with suspicion . In fact, his suspicion had deepened . He had insulted the man, yet he hadn’t shown any signs of displeasure towards him . It made him think Sungyoon had an ulterior motive, and he had worn a mask of kindness to dodge the fallout . Basically, Woosung saw what he wanted to see .

However, Woosung couldn’t reveal his thoughts right now .

“We’ll be going now, noona . ”

“Uh? We are leaving already?”

Woosung had been trying to come up with a way that would allow him to monitor this man . So, he became surprised when he heard Woosang’s words .

“What do you mean ‘We are leaving already’? Noona probably has work to do . She isn’t on vacation like you and me . ”

“S . . . still, it has been a while since we’ve gathered in one place . Shouldn’t we talk a little bit more?”

“You should do that . I can come at another time . ”

Sungyoon tried to help out from the side, and Woosung’s opinion of him rose a little bit . However, Woosang shook his head from side to side .

“No, we shouldn’t let personal affairs mix with business . We are adults and productive members of society . ”

After saying those words to Sungyoon, Woosang spoke to his little brother .

“Also, do you really think noona will talk to us in her current state?”

Woosung’s gaze naturally headed towards Jimin .

Jimin had her arms crossed, and she was tilting her head, looking at her brothers . They had known each other for a very long time, so Woosung knew what Jimin was trying to say with her body language .

‘Buzz off . ’

He had no choice . He quietly followed after his hyung .

“You have a good family . The way they express their love is a bit clumsy, but they are really worried about their noona . ”

After she saw her two brothers exit through the office door, Jimin replied .

“They are still very immature . ”

She had spoken in a flippant manner . However, Sungyoon didn’t miss seeing the corner of her mouth lift a little bit .

“Let’s stop talking about those boys . Let’s talk about business . ”

Jimin erased the smile from her face and once again put on the cold face of a president .

“You said your party members were called the Ross siblings? I contacted their company . The company already knew about the siblings partying up with you . ”

“What did they say?”

“I get a feeling that they aren’t opposed to it . Still, we need to be precise in our dealings . When Mr . Sungyoon goes back to the moon, I plan on entering into a simple contract with them . Do the three of you divide the moonstones into thirds?”

“Yes . ”

“Then, things will remain relatively the same . The unofficial contract between the three of you will become a contract between the two companies . Just think of it like that . ”

“What about the Devices and Gems?”

For a variety of reasons, the Ross siblings had conceded their loot to Sungyoon in a one-sided manner . Sungyoon worried their actions might cause problems with their company .

“They don’t really care about that . Their company only has rights over the moonstones gathered in the labyrinth . The Devices and Gems acquired in the labyrinth are strictly given to the Connectors . Although there are some companies that are quite vicious in taking Devices and Gems for profit, the Ross siblings aren’t involved with such a company . Since the Ross siblings have not conceded the rights to the Devices and Gems, the company has no say in this matter . ”

Jimin had seen through his worries . She spoke as if to reassure Sungyoon .

“That is a relief . ”

“However, this agreement only pertains to the Beginner’s labyrinth for now . After being assigned a Personal labyrinth, the party will be disbanded . This is the term set by the other company . If the Ross siblings receive a top-grade labyrinth, it’ll be very hard for you to form a party with them . ”

“Understood . ”

He had already expected this . It couldn’t be helped, so he spoke in a calm manner .

“Here is the next order of business . ”

Jimin placed a document in front of him . It was a contract . Sungyoon was meticulous in reading the contract .

“You are going to hire a transport company for the moonstones?”

“Yes . I’m sure you will be acquiring much more moonstones from this point on . You can’t carry them all into the spaceship . The carry-on fees will be massive . From now on, when you pass a certain threshold, the moonstones will be transported to earth . Please use this company . ”

She placed another paper in front of him . It was a map of Armstrong City . It depicted the Aldrin Space port at the center of the city, and it had all the roads and buildings drawn in . His eyes were drawn to a building with a red dot .

“It is a map of the way to that company . They will fill in the rest of the details . ”

Sungyoon folded the paper and put it into his pocket .

“Lastly, we have to talk about the man named Nicholas . ”

Jimin’s mask-like face was colder than ever . Sungyoon’s eyebrow twitched . He had a low sense of self, so he was able take insults without blinking an eye . However, he couldn’t easily forgive someone that had put his life in danger .

“He was arrested after that day, and he is stuck in a detention center somewhere on earth . He is denying most of the charges, but the investigation brought up too much evidence . His guilt is a foregone conclusion, and they’ve found a motive too . ”

“He had a motive?”

It hadn’t been a prank or a mistake? He never expected someone to have a motive behind wanting to trap him in the sealed region .

“Do you remember a Connector picking a fight with you when you were with Chelsea?”

Sungyoon went through his memories .

“... yes! I remember him . ”

It was the time when the princess had rescued the two of them .

“No way . . . ”

“That’s right . He is the culprit . ”

Jimin placed another paper in front of him . It was a picture with a familiar face on it . It was only a 2D print, yet one could tell that this man had a flippant attitude . Sungyoon recognized him .

“This is the guy, right?”

“Yes . ”

Sungyoon was someone indifferent to what went around him, but it had been an impactful meeting . It was why he somewhat remembered Nicholas . It also helped that this picture gave off the same flippant attitude displayed by Nicholas in person .

“It seems after he got into an argument with Chelsea and you... No, it was more of a one-sided argument initiated by him, Nicholas held a grudge . So when he saw you enter into the Beginner’s labyrinth, he pushed you into the sealed section . ”

Sungyoon was baffled . He had never expected someone to push him into a death pit for a minor disturbance .

“He is trash . ”

The words came out unbidden . Nicholas almost reminded him of his ex-wife and ex-best friend .

“Yes . He is trash . He committed the cardinal sin of messing with a beginner within the Beginner’s Labyrinth . Moreover, he had pulled off this stunt while he had been entrusted with cleaning the Beginner’s labyrinth . The upper management of Armstrong city is very angry, so he won’t be able to get out so easily . ”

Needless to say, Jimin didn’t plan on letting it end there .

“Of course, we have to take him for all he is worth for all the harm he caused you . He is a pretty high-rank Connector, so he won’t be able to claim that he lacks funds . ”

It was as if her ice-like visage cracked, and it revealed a sharp smile . It was a scary smile, like a blizzard that entrapped victims in the bitter, cold land .

It showed how angry she was by what had happened .

“I’ll leave it all to you, president . ”

By the look of her, there was no way she would extract less compensation for him . She will probably take him for all he was worth . This was why Sungyoon decided to leave the matter to Jimin . He would focus on the labyrinth once again .

“Don’t worry about it . ”

It seemed that she wanted to lessen Sungyoon’s burden . Jimin had spoken forcefully, so he would be less worried .

“Do you have any other item you would like to discuss?”

“No . We did everything we can accomplish right now . ”

“That means we have something to do in the future . ”

“It isn’t anything difficult . I just have to confirm something . ”

Jimin took out her planner and rifled through the pages . Soon, she revealed her schedule written within the small calendar . She took out a pen, and she circled a date .

“You plan on going to the space center this Sunday?”

“Yes . ”

It wasn’t too long before Sungyoon would have to go back to the moon .

“I’ll confirm it at that time . ”

She closed her planner as she spoke .

* * *

After a short vacation on earth, it was the day when he would be leaving for the moon once again . Jimin brought Shinhae along like last time . They came together to the spaceport with Sungyoon .

However, this time, Jimin wasn’t here only to send off Sungyoon with Shinhae .

Sungyoon looked at the bracelet-type Device on his wrist . There were brilliant Gems embedded on the dull surface of the Device . On the moon, this Device had been like a wedding ring, and it had never left his body . But it felt a bit weird wearing it on earth .

He looked at his surrounding . He was encased in a room . The walls were made out of solid concrete, and the door was made out of thick steel . It looked like a jail cell or a fallout shelter . There was no furniture in the room . There were a couple of lights on the ceiling that illuminated the room, but the light had the effect of making the room look more cold and gray . It made one feel more depressed .

Of course, this room served its purpose . It was a place to check the power of a Gem so that he wouldn’t be able to cause any harm outside of the room .

Still, it wasn’t a place where he wanted to stay for a long time . Sungyoon decided to quickly check his Gems . He wanted to leave as soon as possible .

Jimin’s words could be heard inside his brain .

-Do you know why the space center collects the Devices and Gems from the Connectors?-

If one thought about it, it was an oddity .

-If I posed this question, most people would guess it is to stop Connectors using Devices and Gems for crimes . However, one would soon think that it couldn’t be true . Connectors can only use Devices and Gems on the moon . That would be the truth . Most Connectors can only use their Devices and Gems on the moon .

Most... There was a significance to the word Jimin had used .

Sungyoon raised his hand . It was as if the Device on his wrist sparkled for a brief moment .

-Yes . Most . It means there are exceptions . Most people would be right in their guess . The Devices and Gems are confiscated on earth, so Connectors can’t commit crimes using them . -

He circulated his magical energy and let it flow into his Gem . The image of his very familiar mace was projected in his mind .

-It is a precaution against Connectors that can use Devices and Jewel rank Gems on earth . -

He was on earth . If he went outside, he could see the blue sky and the blue ocean . Fresh air and gentle breezes were about . It was a place full of life and energy .

However, one thing was different . Sungyoon was holding the weapon that he had held on the desolate moon .