Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 217

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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217
“Haven’t we already established that the Destruction God is merely a cosmic calamity? Our true adversary is the Manager, and the Manager sacrifices our universe in place of their own.”
One of the attendees leaned back deeply into their chair and posed the counterargument. Everyone was busy, so they resented how the mere mention of the Destruction God prolonged the meeting.
It hadn’t always been this way. The name alone—Destruction God—once sent tension rippling through the conference chamber. But when an invisible threat persists for too long without causing significant damage, people inevitably grow numb to it. Even to apocalypse itself.
“Precisely. We’re already conducting investigations and research in cooperation with nations worldwide to prepare for the Manager’s inevitable assault. Today’s discussion concerns something entirely different.”
A vast cosmos materialized across the conference room’s display.
“While the Destruction God devours dimensions, it doesn’t consume this entire sprawling universe indiscriminately. The Destruction God only swallows where change has occurred.”
“Hmm?”
The attendees tilted their heads in confusion at my words.
“For instance, consider two Earths—one where Napoleon succeeded in conquest, and one where he failed.”
The screen split. The left displayed Earth in a blue universe, while the right showed Earth in a verdant green universe.
“To eliminate one of these, destroying the entire universe would be inefficient. Instead, it simply edits away the Earth where change occurred, excising it like cutting with scissors.”
The green Earth was severed along dotted lines and discarded into a trash bin. The two universes then merged into one.
“Then… you’ve found a way to defend against this cutting process?”
Those who had attended the meeting with bored expressions suddenly leaned forward, their eyes alight with anticipation. Numb though they’d become, everyone shared the same desire to eliminate unknown threats.
“No? How could we possibly prevent such a thing?”
…
At my teasing remark, several attendees simultaneously ground their teeth.
“However, we can make the process more difficult. For example, what if we expanded the territory to include Mars?”
The dotted line gradually expanded outward from Earth, growing to encompass Mars.
“Just as scissors cannot cut through thick branches, expanding the territory requires greater force. In other words, while we cannot completely prevent it, we can make it far more difficult to sever us.”
“So you’re suggesting we colonize Mars?”
“But Mars is different from the Moon. Development won’t be easy.”
Murmurs rippled through the assembly. Mars colonization wasn’t something one could discuss as casually as visiting a nearby neighborhood.
“Correct. It wasn’t easy. Or rather, it wasn’t easy before. But now, it is.”
My gaze turned toward Ban Adamant.
“Me? Really?”
Ban Adamant, looking sheepish, pointed at his own face with his finger.
“Just as lunar development yielded Moon Stones in quantities comparable to magical stones through large-scale acquisition, Mars overflows with boundless potential. However, Mars development proved difficult because, even if we solved the distance problem through Gates, the environment there is far too harsh for human habitation.”
The display showed Mars wreathed in violent dust storms.
“In this age of advanced magical science, there’s nothing preventing us from terraforming Mars into a habitable world for humans—but it demands astronomical sums of money and time. However!”
I extended both palms outward, drawing everyone’s attention to Ban.
“With the cooperation of the Metalim, who require neither oxygen nor sunlight and can function in both extreme heat and cold, we can drastically reduce development costs.”
At my words, Ban lowered his head deeply.
“… I cannot turn our people into expendable laborers once again.”
The Elchai incident had exacted a heavy toll on the Metallanet population. Moreover, given that they now depended on Earth’s aid, it was only natural they couldn’t imagine being conscripted as workers to another planet would result in fair treatment.
“Ah, my explanation was incomplete. We will allocate a specific region on Mars. Everything mined within that territory belongs entirely to the Metalim.”
“… Is that truly so?”
“Of course. You may trade the extracted resources with us as you have until now and purchase whatever materials you need. While development discussions must occur between us, I promise you here and now: the Metalim will never face unfair treatment in this Mars colonization endeavor.”
Ban still found it difficult to make a swift decision.
“Your Majesty.”
Ridi, who had come as an escort, called out, and Ban turned to look at her.
“Why not place your trust in your benefactors? This is an opportunity to expand your influence beyond what Earth offers.”
After hearing Ridi’s words, Ban gazed once more into Jae-in’s unwavering, confident eyes.
Mining on Earth certainly presented challenges. With so many humans inhabiting the surface, extraction required considerable caution. Developing Mars’s barren wastelands would allow them to harvest far more ore at a much faster pace, and it was clear the people could be fed abundantly.
Ban, having made his decision, nodded.
“Thank you. I’ll work out the details as we proceed. Phase one involves Metalim establishing a forward base underground and mining raw materials for Mars development. Phase two comes next—the entry of various nations.”
“You’re saying Mars will be shared?”
Grant, the representative of Aegis, the United States’s largest defense contractor, swallowed hard.
During lunar development, he had lost the initiative and received only scraps. But if he could enter Mars—empty land—and participate from the earliest stages of development, the profits he could generate were thrilling to even contemplate.
“I have no intention of monopolizing Mars. The purpose, after all, is the survival of all Earth. Therefore, once Rigen and Metalim establish a forward base underground, I will invite you all. You may organize your groups as you wish and develop Mars freely.”
“…Freely?”
“Yes. Mine resources, construct buildings, relocate populations. Since Mars is empty land, I will grant residential rights to whichever group claims territory first. Of course, there will be certain regulations and restrictions to prevent haphazard development.”
The executives stirred at such unprecedented terms.
“Then, Chairman! Why don’t you visit Mars this time?”
Ji-seok, who had been listening quietly, suddenly found himself volunteered.
* * *
[Chairman, can you hear me?]
“Yes.”
[You’ll arrive in about thirty hours. Just hold on a bit longer.]
Except for Jae-in’s transmission, nothing but the black void of space surrounded me.
Freed from conflict and child-rearing, suspended in this emptiness, my mind grew calm.
“We’re almost there.”
Mars came into view.
[Be careful even after landing. It wouldn’t be surprising if Mars has an incarnation like Luna.]
“Understood.”
[I’ll open the first Gate near the equator. Follow my guidance.]
Following Jae-in’s directions, I landed on the ground.
“This can actually be developed, right?”
Mars was cold, the air thin, and powerful sandstorms raged across the surface.
I would be fine, but the lower gravity meant ordinary people would suffer physical deterioration if they stayed long.
[Of course.]
Jae-in had never been wrong when she spoke with such certainty, so I asked no further questions.
I dug into the ground with my hands to prepare for opening the Gate through which Metalim would cross.
“I’m ready.”
[Yes, creating the rift now.]
The moment Jae-in finished speaking, a spatial tear appeared before my eyes, and I tore it open with my hands to create a Gate connecting to Earth.
“Ridi, Ban, come quickly.”
“So this is Mars… Titanium is quite abundant here.”
Ridi, who crossed through the Gate first, touched the ground and spoke.
“There’s Adamant too.”
Ban closed his eyes and sensed the surroundings.
“Excellent. Mine as much as you can and sell it all.”
At my words, Ban and Ridi’s expressions brightened.
The Metalim workers immediately swarmed in and began excavating. A massive ant colony took shape beneath the earth—a colossal space rivaling Metallanet itself.
“They’re incredibly fast. No wonder no one noticed when Metallanet was being built.”
“Ji-seok, that’s not quite it. Now, thanks to Jae-in, nearly all our citizens have undergone alloy reinforcement, and we’re receiving sufficient magical stones. The increased motivation compared to before is accelerating the work pace.”
Ridi explained from beside me.
“That’s a positive development.”
“Commander Ridi!”
“Paren?”
“You need to see this!”
I followed Paren, who was trembling with excitement as if he’d discovered something.
“There are countless of these embedded here.”
“Good heavens… This is… Flame Stone?”
Ridi and Ban’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“What is Flame Stone?”
“According to legend, it’s a stone from Metalim’s world that strongly contains the essence of fire. It’s far superior to magical stones as sustenance for us. To think there’s so much of it here…”
Softly glowing red stones were embedded endlessly in the wall, and Ban gazed at them with rapture.
Jae-in approached, picked up a small Flame Stone in her hand, and examined it before crushing it with force.
High-temperature flames erupted from Jae-in’s fist. As a creator skilled in manipulating fire, she controlled the blaze so that flames danced across her palm.
“It’s a stone infused with the essence of fire instead of mana. The applications are truly limitless.”
Beside Ban, Jae-in’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
As the Metalim workers’ supplies became more abundant, development of the underground base accelerated rapidly.
Ban inherited the previous Royal Family’s commitment to equality among all people and didn’t flaunt his position as king. He took the lead in everything—personally moving heavy rocks and using royal magic to excavate tunnels in one sweep, working harder than anyone else.
For Phase Two, Jae-in connected a core as the power source to the Earth Gate generator.
“Is that a newly made Blue Dragon core?”
I asked, having never seen this core before.
“…How could you say such a thing? You want me to kill our dragons?”
“Then what is this?”
“It’s an improved version of what I made before.”
“It won’t explode, right?”
“Stability has increased significantly, but it could still explode. However, even if it does, that’s fine—we’ll store the core far away and only extract resources. Actually, if it explodes, that’s even better.”
“Better if it explodes? Why?”
“The temperature is so low. We could trigger successive nuclear-level explosions to raise the temperature.”
Because of this, the core storage chamber was excavated in a location close to the surface but far from the city.
Given my unpleasant memories, I sincerely hoped it wouldn’t explode.
Thanks to rapid work, the foundation of the forward base was completed in no time. We would continue expanding, but Phase One was finished.
A magic circle was drawn underground to bind the atmosphere above and increase gravity.
Thanks to the magic circle, the surface storms were diverted, creating a dome-shaped space where humans could inhabit.
Now we could proceed to the second phase.
* * *
“Well then, representatives of the various nations.”
Multiple factions had participated in the development of Mars, and they crossed over to Mars the moment the Gate opened.
“You will all need to establish bases at your designated locations and draw magical formations there.”
Jae-in displayed a hologram depicting Mars’s surface. The bases were marked with red dots. It wasn’t just some of the bases—to stabilize the atmosphere across all of Mars, we needed to inscribe massive magical formations throughout the planet.
“The places where we draw the magical formations will become our bases, correct?”
“That’s right. The more you draw, the more territory you’ll gain, yes?”
The eyes of each faction’s representative gleamed with avarice upon hearing mention of flame stones and even Adamant.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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