episode_0620

Ernest’s argument also had some merit.

Draining the population through unauthorized immigration is an act that directly contradicts Jamad’s intention to develop the planet. Naturally, if caught, it will be quite a disaster.

In a way, what the man was doing might have been short-sighted judgments that were causing long-term damage to the entire planet.

‘But that doesn’t mean the existing inhabitants should sacrifice themselves to this planet. And Jamad isn’t developing the planet without any gain.’

He let out a cynical laugh to himself.

Space refugees are caused by conflicts between planets, battles with bugs, the overrun of some scientific research facilities, cosmic disasters, and even unbalanced civilization development between planets within a single planetary system.

In the case of Frontier-7016, the cause was a cosmic disaster and the aftermath was a struggle to restore civilization.

Jamad was administering this planetary system under the pretext of supporting developing planetary systems and helping them become self-sufficient.

They say it is their duty to restore civilization and rebuild the cities.

But that was ultimately just groundwork before other space companies entered developing planetary systems.

Although operating under the banner of the Galactic Organization, it was a well-known fact to anyone with access to information on extra-planetary systems that the Jamads received most of their operating funds from a number of intergalactic corporations. However, due to Jamad’s censorship, even this information was not easily accessible to the general public.

Of course, Ernest, who had a smuggling route to the outside world, was well aware of the information.

“You know very well that the purpose of the Jamad bastards is to grow this planet and sell it anyway, right? It’s also difficult to keep irritating them. Planets with small populations are less valuable. I wonder how you’ve survived until now.”

Ernest looked at the man as if he were looking at something great. It was a genuine admiration, but it was not filled with anything like respect. It was simply the look of someone observing something curious.

In these developing planetary systems, corporations and groups like Jamad also serve a law enforcement function.

The punishment was simple, so it wasn’t much of a problem.

This can be done by assigning them to work in places where life may be at risk, or by relocating them to the least developed planet in the same planetary system and entrusting them with the initial terraforming.

Among the more severe punishments, terraforming was the punishment.

In some ways, it may seem like they were giving the honor of being a pioneer, but considering how dangerous an unterraformed planet can be, it was almost like a death sentence.

Unlike the workplace where you only need to prepare for known risks, terraforming is a daily battle against the unknown environment and threats from indigenous organisms.

As Ernest had said, once the development of the developing planetary system reached a certain level, Jamad would disappear under the pretense of moving to another planetary system in need, and the pan-space corporations would take their place.

The deal was such that Jamad would get the credit for restoring civilization, while the space corporation would get a planetary system in perfect condition for exploitation of its material and human resources.

As you can see from Star Capital, a game based on the original Nova Empire, everything in the human empire revolves around money.

No matter how advanced warp technology was and how innovative energy technology was, massive amounts of capital were needed to govern and logistics on a galactic scale.

A planetary system like Frontier-7016 could be considered a colony necessary to sustain such a system.

It is reasonably safe and civilized, but the resources there are either non-existent or new to the central galaxy, like those of dangerous outlying planets. There is no way that the pan-galactic corporation could just sit back and watch this kind of mess.

Rather, we try to exploit as efficiently as possible.

Block-structured buildings that can be moved or discarded at any time, corporations acting as governments without the intervention of noble families, and the residents surviving off of the goods given to them by the Jamads who buy up resources in bulk.

It was all a system for that.

The reason the man worked as an immigration broker was to save people who would inevitably be exploited by someone even as civilization developed.

It was for similar reasons that criminals like Ernest were still alive and at large.

His presence did not cause any problems to their exploitation, or rather, it helped them indirectly.

As public security becomes more unstable, residents have no choice but to rely on them, and they need to be given some breathing room in this way so that dissidents cannot run wild in places they cannot detect.

Ernest probably thinks he’s smart enough to have avoided being caught until now.

The man who knew that felt sorry for him, who was trying to increase his power without fear.

‘This guy won’t live long either. If he had just been content with being a back alley boss, he could have lived a few more years.’

So it was nonsense to say that it was safe to go under Ernest. If anything, it might attract more attention.

Still, I didn’t say that thought out loud right away.

“You probably don’t feel the need to touch a pyramid like me.”

“Well, I wonder if that’s true. Okay, okay. If you feel that guilty, I won’t let you smuggle drugs. These days, Red… or something is famous. You just need to take care of the daily necessities. Even if you take a small commission, I’ll turn a blind eye to it. You don’t have to feel guilty.”

Ernest pretended not to listen to the man and just said what he wanted to say.

Ernest, of course, had no intention of supporting a man’s immigration business that had no money.

He simply wanted to use his skills at moving immigrants to open new smuggling routes.

‘It’s a matter of survival before conscience, you idiot.’

The man expressed his disgust inwardly.

Certainly, if you go under Ernest, your life might become more affluent right away.

With the money earned from smuggling, you can bathe in water from a bathtub instead of a disinfectant capsule, and eat real, natural foods instead of these synthetic foods.

But what is the meaning of such a life?

Working as an immigration broker right now wasn’t just about making money.

Although the fees he received as a broker were huge for the residents, he received little benefit himself.

It’s closer to pure service for the residents.

The personal pleasures that men enjoy are limited to small things like cigarettes and VR goggles.

He now declined Ernest’s offer in a familiar tone that was almost tiresome.

“Thank you, but I have to decline. The path I am using is not suitable for your intended purpose. Jamad is turning a blind eye to it for now, but I don’t want to draw more attention here for no reason.”

“Why do you decide whether it is suitable for my purpose or not? Just tell me and I will decide.”

But this time, Ernest seemed quite determined to come to see him.

He smiled fiercely and took a step closer to me despite my rejection.

Knock knock

Over the loud music, several men who appeared to be Ernest’s subordinates could be seen getting up from their seats and approaching the bar table.

‘…Is this how it ends up?’

The man let out a small sigh.

The biggest characteristic of these low-level criminal organizations is that pride is more important than anything else. Since they have nothing, they risk their lives for pride, which is ultimately meaningless.

Since she coldly rejected countless men’s love calls, it wouldn’t have been strange if she had taken it as an insult.

He quietly grabbed the knife in his bosom and stood up.

Although this bar was neutral territory, it was not a place that guaranteed the safety of its customers.

If something went wrong, it was obvious that both groups would be equally at risk.

He didn’t want to travel to the other world in a place like this, with such idiots.

If I was going to die anyway, I had to fight outside where I had at least a chance of survival.

‘Maybe today will be my last.’

“Let’s do the calculations when we come back.”

“… Yeah.”

The bartender nodded quietly.

Although the bartender knew the man, he couldn’t help him in this matter. It was a good thing for him that he didn’t charge him for the food, even though he was sure he would die at any moment.

Bam-

The man who kicked the door open quickly moved into the crowd of people in the market.

I could see Ernest’s gang slowly chasing him behind me.

He moved to the back alley and started running at full speed. His breathing became ragged.

“Hoo… Hoo… ”

Although Ernest’s gang had disappeared from sight, it was still difficult to feel at ease.

Of course, not all of the people in the bar were part of their gang.

Sure enough, as soon as I turned around with that thought, I saw two men blocking the alley in front of me.

He clicked his tongue and turned around again, but before he knew it, those who had leisurely followed him were blocking his way on the other side.

The man was eventually forced to stand still and watch as Ernest pushed his way through his men and stepped forward.

He spoke deliberately to buy time.

“How did you know I was coming here?”

“I recently bought something useful.”

I followed the finger and raised my head, and saw a drone floating silently in the air. A drone with the Jamad logo clearly printed on it.

They followed him, looking down from the sky.

The man ended up expressing his admiration in a negative way.

‘These crazy guys finally stole Jamad’s stuff too.’

I thought that there were many different ways to commit suicide.

Whether he was impressed or not, Ernest took a hooked knife out of his bosom and said:

“This is my last offer. Either come under me or become my product.”

“I… ”

The moment the man, prepared to die, was about to continue speaking, a commotion broke out behind Ernest’s gang.

“… … !”

“What, what is it?”

“Where did these kids suddenly come from?”

“Block it!”

“Mo, I can’t stop you! I’m too strong… ”

“Can’t you see what I’m talking about?! If someone comes, block them with your body!”

As soon as Ernest opened his mouth, a huge flame swept through the alley.

The man unconsciously closed his eyes at the brightness and force that was so strong it seemed like he would go blind, like the sun.

Hwaruruk-