Chapter 46 : Project Taegong Net

The first thing revealed was a large aquarium filling an entire wall.

Inside the tank, a massive great white shark swam leisurely.

“It cost quite a bit to haul that guy up from the sea. We plan to use it for experiments. Unfortunately, we couldn’t catch a whale, but this one weighs about four tons.”

Assistant Park said proudly.

Indeed, it was an imposing sight.

The enormous great white shark was about six meters in length.

“Why are you salivating, hyung?”

“If we chop off its fins and make soup, it’d be really delicious.”

Back when we were on the island, there was no fish we hadn’t tried.

But now, eating anything other than monsters just ruins the appetite.

“Is that the ordered item?”

Yuseong pointed to something half-submerged at the top of the aquarium.

It looked like a silver rod.

A cable hung from its end, stretching just above the water’s surface.

“Yes, that’s right. Our foundry put all its effort into making it. That’s the Taegong Net.”

The silver rod was named after the legendary fisherman Gang Taegong.

“Looks just like a fishing rod.”

It was indeed a fishing rod.

“Heh, let’s power it up right away.”

At Assistant Park’s gesture, a researcher standing before a complex control panel pulled a lever.

Wheeing, clanking.

The Taegong Net was suspended from a clamp-like device, which moved to stretch out the fishing line.

The weight hanging from the line floated quietly near the shark’s snout.

The weight had a lure shaped like a worm attached.

The shark hesitated briefly before opening its huge jaws and swallowing the lure whole.

Satisfied, it resumed swimming.

The fishing line of the Taegong Net was still attached to its jaws.

“There’s a strong paralyzing agent coated on the fishing hook of the Taegong Net. The shark won’t even realize it swallowed the hook.”

Indeed, the great white shark seemed completely unaware of the hook and line.

Unlike an ordinary fishing rod, the cable connected to the Taegong Net stretched endlessly without irritating the shark.

“The cable length was calculated to be up to 24—should be fine.”

“Extend it by another kilometer. Serpents are very fast.”

“That will cost more.”

“Tamyun will cover that.”

As Yuseong said this, Park Mi Sun’s eyes widened.

But she had no choice but to nod in agreement.

Serpent subjugation was one of Tamyun’s major tasks.

Few countries worldwide have ever caught a serpent.

Those who managed to catch one reaped enormous benefits.

Explorers who participated in serpent hunts received exceptional perks.

Because those perks were extremely useful in underwater combat, the overall skill level of explorers in those countries rose dramatically.

Moreover, the materials obtained from a serpent’s body were rare and valuable resources used in various industries, and weapons made from their horns were inherently cold in nature.

The value of the magic stones obtained alone was worth billions.

Assistant Park handed Yuseong a terminal with a button.

“If you press this, an electric current will be sent through the cable.”

“How much power can it output?”

“That depends on transmission time and the amount of magic stone consumed. But by our calculations, it can definitely paralyze a serpent. The chance to use it is only once, though.”

Yuseong’s ingenious plan was to paralyze a serpent with an electric shock fishing rod.

He came up with the idea after seeing his grandfather, Baek Uncheon, fishing in a lake on the island.

They used to catch fish by stunning them with car batteries, though it was illegal. The fish protected by unbreakable gifts were surprisingly tasty.

“Wait, aren’t weapons like that prohibited in the Abyss?”

Jang Dojin asked.

He was right.

Except for cold weapons, the use of firearms or explosives inside the Abyss was impossible.

They couldn’t even get past the gate.

“Electric shock… is that allowed?”

Could low-lethality electric weapons be used?

Jang Dojin started to voice his doubts.

Park Mi Sun stepped in to explain.

“The International Explorer Federation has experimented with this to see what the Abyss permits.”

She was an expert in this field.

“Basically, electronic devices can be brought in. Communication is only possible within the same layer, and internal organs can’t be used. Electric cars are also prohibited.”

The Federation tested many methods to see how much of human technology could be used inside the Abyss.

What they learned was that the Abyss was extremely strict.

Abyss conquest had to be carried out mostly by human strength.

Technology could only be used as a supplement.

Technology couldn’t be the main factor in clearing routes, exploration, or extermination.

If humans tried to cheat the Abyss, “Punishment” would be imposed.

“So, what if we bring parts and assemble weapons inside the Abyss?”

Jang Dojin asked sharply.

“That was tested too. Ten people each carried parts of a firearm and entered the Abyss.”

“Oh? What happened?”

“The moment the parts were assembled and fired, the gun exploded. The person pulling the trigger died. The gun had no defects.”

“Ugh…”

“We tested explosives the same way. The person pressing the remote detonator from a distance exploded and died.”

The Abyss reacted to human attempts by instantly detecting and neutralizing them.

“Then we can’t even bring the Taegong Net in, right?”

“Well… there is a small loophole.”

But as humans always did, there was a trick to solve the problem.

“Completely deceiving the Abyss’s ‘eye’ is impossible.”

Park Mi Sun called it the Abyss’s eye.

The Abyss was like a conscious observer, detecting human tricks.

If you tried to use non-weapons as weapons, you’d always face punishment.

“If you attack monsters with anything other than the allowed cold weapons, you get punished. So you can’t output enough power to kill monsters. The entire subjugation team would be electrocuted to death.”

“So…”

“There are two conditions. First, the output must be low enough not to kill. Second, more than fifty subjugation team members. The design approaches the punishment level indirectly to minimize it.”

That was Yuseong’s proposed method.

Assistant Park continued the explanation.

“As long as the purpose isn’t killing serpents, the Abyss’s punishment is minimal. Of course, if the Taegong Net is activated, a tremendous current will flow, and the punishment will come back. Normal humans would die, but our subjugation team isn’t just one person.”

“Meaning…”

“Yes. Fifty explorers gather, share the electric shock, and endure it together.”

“What?”

“We calculated it. Strong explorers would endure it with only some minor pain and numbness in their limbs afterward. Because the shock is divided among fifty people.”

Jang Dojin’s complexion paled.

Even so, having fifty people share the punishment was a blessing.

But then Yuseong made a thunderous declaration.

“Yes, this is a prototype, and the actual Taegong Net is ten times larger.”

“W-what? Then won’t the electric shock be ten times stronger too?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Insane…”

No matter how much Jang Dojin held his head in frustration, Yuseong laughed confidently.

With the ‘Two Hearts’ perk that doubled all resistance, electric shocks weren’t a big threat to Yuseong.

This idea came from past experience.

While fishing in a puddle on the island, they accidentally triggered the tent’s lighting, electrocuting the monsters inside.

Those monsters flipped over, stunned, and floated up. The electric shock even reached Yuseong, who was far away, as punishment.

But he endured it well, and they used this method for a long time to catch fish.

Eventually, the Abyss properly punished them, but this was before that.

It was a usable method.

Park Mi Sun worried whether approving the Taegong Net project had been the right decision.

More than anything, she admired Yuseong’s amazing plan.

She had initially been skeptical but now saw it as a brilliant strategy exploiting a loophole in the Abyss.

“How does he come up with ideas like this?”

The more she looked, the more unyielding Yuseong seemed.

***

The Taegong Net project was revealed to Yuseong.

Days later, when the subjugation team recruitment was complete.

Though it was the weekend, the chairman was in the Taeyang Group’s office.

Taeyang Group had risen to the top of Korea’s business hierarchy after Chairman Han Jeongmun took the helm decades ago.

Taeyang Chemical was the group’s origin.

Before the Great Cataclysm, it was just a refining and steel company ranked around tenth.

But it was the first to adapt to the energy revolution using magic stones.

Chairman Han Jeongmun showed remarkable foresight leading Taeyang Chemical.

Taking crisis as opportunity, Taeyang Chemical secured a global position in the magic stone industry.

His efforts didn’t stop there.

Taeyang Electronics, Apollo Bionics, Phoebus Hotel, Sun Entertainment, Moon Expedition.

Apollo Bionics supplied fifty percent of the country’s energy, and Moon Expedition was the strongest explorer organization domestically.

He transformed a single company, Taeyang Chemical, into the vast Taeyang Group.

Having it all, the man who achieved everything.

If Chairman Lee Woo Do was called the Iron-blooded Chairman, then Chairman Han Jeongmun deserved to be called the Cold-blooded Chairman.

Dressed in a pristine white suit, he listened to reports with a cold expression.

“Hmm, serpent subjugation. Chairman Lee Woo Do is stirring up something interesting.”

“According to intelligence, this isn’t initiated by Chairman Lee Woo Do.”

“Then, could it be Tamyun?”

“A rookie explorer recently sponsored by Cheonghwa suggested it. The informant is reliable, so it’s not a lie.”

“Hmm, to think even our Moon Expedition would try to subjugate a serpent just on a rookie’s idea. That old man is really something.”

He leaned back in his armchair and raised his whiskey glass.

He was also a member of the General Assembly and a man who enjoyed fine food and drink.

“Well, work is done for today. By the way, have you contacted Chairman Park yet?”

He asked his secretary about the matter he had instructed.

Chairman Park owned a 102-year-old whiskey.

Chairman Han Jeongmun had long coveted that whiskey.

He had proposed buying it several times, but Chairman Park was a man without money worries.

In the end, he still hadn’t acquired it.

The secretary hesitated and said,

“Um, he refused again this time.”

“That old man. He’s gotten greedier with age. It’s not like he can take it with him to the afterlife.”

Chairman Han Jeongmun’s expression darkened slightly.

Even a man who had everything had things he still couldn’t have.

At that moment, the intercom in the chairman’s office rang.

— Chairman, your youngest granddaughter has arrived.

Immediately, the cold expression that had lingered on Chairman Han’s face brightened.

“Oh, tell her to come in.”

Although he was called the Cold-blooded Chairman, he was unusually soft toward his youngest granddaughter.

She was so pretty and cute.

He worried she lacked some social grace, but even that felt like a painful reminder of how precious she was.

The door opened, revealing none other than Han Seoryeon.

“Oh, my dear. You’re here.”

Han Jeongmun stood and warmly welcomed his granddaughter.

But Han Seoryeon’s expression was different from usual.

Most would think it was her usual blank look, but Han Jeongmun recognized it.

Something was troubling her heart.

“Your expression isn’t good. Did something happen?”

“Grandfather.”

Han Seoryeon looked up at her grandfather.

Her eyes were filled with doubt.