Ichorium is volatile. Every pound could cause a grenade-like blast if handled without caution. Five ships were ready to submerge into the deep bowels of the sea where the Ichorium should be. The drilling method employed by the breaker companies is rather controversial because of the somewhat non-subtle way they make use of fracking techniques to detect the ichorium that has embedded on the seafloor.

  The mechanised drones do most of the work. Armored and equipped to handle the deep waters a breaker couldn’t handle. A breaker guards the automated drones and handles anything that tries to get close to the area where the miners are. The amount of paperwork was hellish when it comes to dealing with ichorium mining. Lady Romanov, Jakob Stoll, and the Red Valkyrie stood next to each other while she made a speech about how she is grateful to the Japanese government for allowing her to mine near the outskirts of the nation. Her speech was in her native tongue, while the translator spoke her language. Lady Romanov was fluent in Japanese, and many languages. Gaston guessed that this was one way to avoid responsibility when things go bad for the mining group.

  It wasn’t a new tactic, but one doesn’t have to enjoy such a tactic. Gaston thought it was beneath them to do such petty tricks, but they proved him wrong with how indirect her speech was. When the speech was over, she sauntered to shake hands with the investors, representatives, and future sponsors of the company, charming them with her pretty smile. Gaston remained on the side, watching the show, wondering how long until this show was going to last.

  The reporters of the world were in the ceremony area, asking questions about the operations and what the plans of the Company were in the foreseeable future. Lady Romanov’s answer was concise, and curt, not entertaining questions from reporters about the damages done in the Ward and the controversies that the company masterfully sidesteps. By the time the interview was over, and the ships deployed to the mining areas. Most of the guests were wondering about the technological marvel as the staff member introduced the latest technologies of various sponsors and saw them in action.

  Ignoring the scarcity of resources, and the recent introductions of particles had made progress despite society almost collapsing because of the appearance of split-realms that tore through fabrics of space and released monsters from an unknown source.

  Sure be cocky, Gaston thought. Feels like we won’t learn a single shit if the world doesn’t end. Not that I want it to end. Hmm, perhaps it would solve my debt problems if it does? Nah, I rather not. Gaston’s thought flew far as he noticed that most of the guests were leaving after the staff ended the ceremony. He wondered if there was going to be a dining reception, but it seems the guests were busy. One by one, the guests of the event left the reception area, the Lady herself bidding them goodbye.

  With the guest gone from the scene. Gaston joined the command center. A refurbished warehouse decorated to the liking of the Company. Gaston had a small office in the warehouse's corner. He twisted on the swivel chair, operated his workstation, typed in his identification code, and started monitoring the assets of the company. His role in the company was rather simple. He had to be the meditator and the person they contact when they want to deal with matters regarding the company.

  He had some data coming from the mining drones deployed by the company, but data, like how many carats the mining drones harvested from the deep sea, are non-accessible to him. Gaston simply didn’t have the access to such data unless there is a request from other parties that they need an examination of how many carats of ichorium they have harvested. Twenty-five thousand carat of ichorium usually are equal to five kilograms.

  The screen told me they have harvested about forty kilograms of ichorium since deployment. It was rather impressive, considering that the mining drones were operating below fifteen thousand seven hundred fifty pounds per square inch. Not to mention they have to operate the drones back to surface, attach the cables, and store them in the ship's storage. Gaston's expectations regarding their ability to mine made an impression, not to mention that most of their equipment was brand new.

  “Yasha Industries.”

  The brand name of the equipment they were using was new to him. Gaston accessed his AR-module and searched for the company website of the brand. The brand’s founded in Germany. A South Korean Company called Hodoen recently bought a large part of the company, and has manufactured low-class equipment that are a tier inferior to the ones bought by the Company. On the ‘about’ page of the website, he even saw the logo of the Babaika Company. The lion biting down chains is quite noticeable. Gaston also checked the background of the two companies and found out that recently they had four lawsuits regarding their practices.

  There were clear signs that they were experimenting on the equipment. From the looks of it, the Babaika Company had recently involved themselves in funding technologies that could hasten their mining. Not to mention that Yasha Industries and Hodoen have a connection to a manufacturer in the United states and are waiting for government approval for acquisition of the stocks involved.

  Gaston inwardly wrestled with himself about continuing this probe. As much as it interested him, he rather not know the scale of how many acquisitions that the company has done in the past years. He wasn’t some investigator working for the UEDF and even if he was working for the UEDF. He wasn’t stupid enough to do it while inside their domain. They could accuse him of corporate sabotage and double his debts. Gaston had enough of his debts and rather not triple it if he could help it.

  Either way, it’s none of my business. This Company has too much influence for now, Gaston thought. He closed the tabs he opened and went back to the data screen where he was receiving compiled information from the operators and the mining drones at the same time.

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  Gaston took a break from observing the flow of data. He went outside of the former warehouse, went to the edge of the port, and took in the air from the city. As he stared at the distant horizon toward the Pacific ocean. Gaston heard footsteps coming his way. He recognized Boris. Behind him was the Rook Squad, patrolling the area.

  “Adjutant,” Boris hailed, followed by Yumina and Shion Jin. Gaston gave them a breathing, and asked them if they were on a break as well. Boris replied they were going to be guarding the night shift and later on to do some cleaning of the coastlines around Japan to prevent any type-class monsters from approaching the area.

  “So there’s that. Better than a storming event, right squad?”

  The two members of the Rook Squad nodded their heads.

  “Yeah, I'd rather not experience accidents like that if I can.”

  Yumina said. Shion Jin wanted to say something, but it seems he felt that his fluency was rather less compared to Yumina, so he barely said anything.

  “Don’t worry,” Boris thumped him on the back. “The Adjutant is friendlier than most.”

  “I learn to be this way the hard way.”

  His time in the African states taught him to be friendlier to any breaker, small or big. That was the mistake he made when he strode in the states of Africa as if he was superior to them. Then again, it was a common mistake to be a douchebag. Being chased around by bolo-wielding cultists had changed his mind about showing such a side to anyone. Then again, he was still a young asshole back then.

  “So what do you think of our company, eh?”

  Boris leaned his rifle on his shoulder. His eyes pointed to the horizon as well.

  “Impressive in real life, as they really say on paper. Most of the tech is still not used by others as well. Makes me wonder what else you guys have that most breaker companies don’t.”

  The pay of the breakers employed under their care were high. They are well-equipped and most of them are loyal to the Lady herself who treats them like her private army. Even without the charisma of Lady Romanov, it would be hard not to be captivated to join such a company with such records. The benefits alone were astounding. No wonder their recruitment page was always full and lagging.

  “This is the result of hard work, Adjutant.”

  “Aye, true. I’ve seen the company fight in your early days in Arabia.”

  “Oh, you were in Arabia? Ah, must have been lucky, adjutant. The storming event in Arabia was quite hell.”

  “It was. I was lucky enough to evacuate before the Arabian states dropped bombs on the desert. I know how this company fights during true storming events where we aren’t so lucky to have one of the most prized air carriers in the states just around the corner.”

  “True,” Boris agreed, “without the USS Sable to thin the horde, it would have been a disaster. Sacrificing most of Tenryu Ward was a small price to pay.”

  “Sometimes we forget that the end of the world has already happened, eh?”

  “Yeah.”

  Gaston nodded. The Rook Squad left to tend to their break, leaving Gaston alone. The end of the world had come when the split-realms tore through continents. It was only through the stubborn resilience of humanity that they could live on even though the world caves in before them. Sometimes when he sees the state of things, it makes him forget that all of this was nothing more than an illusion of a broken world trying to recover from a crippled disaster that almost took everything from everyone. Most of the first world countries made it out of the disaster, but what about the rest who had to strive harder than everyone? Humans are sturdy and battered down. They always rise to their feet, raise their hands above their heads and give the world a big middle finger rather than go down without a fight.

  Not today.

  Never.

  Humanity will never go gentle into that good night. That was what they heard and sang when the world was dark and monsters roamed the streets. Gaston could recall those days where everyone held on to the light as if it was the only way. Some lost their way, and some fell to the dark and let the ichor fill them with energy, corrupting them into mindless beasts. They say that one day that the world wouldn’t be able to sustain. Whatever happened, it clarified that after a few years, they would overrun mother earth until the monsters took everything from them.

  The big one was coming. Those attuned to the energy of the world know that it is coming. One may wonder why humanity was so eager to gather resources such as ichorium so haphazardly and investing a lot of money in Bioenergy shielding? The development of spaceships that could do longer distance dimension jumps? Indeed, they are harvesting ichorium for the sake of profits, but the truth was much scarier.

  Everyone was afraid that the end may come. Even fools could understand that the storming events, the split-realm openings, and the constant evolution of the biomass entities present a danger to humanity. Some theorize that another universe was merging itself and that because of this, monsters appear everywhere. The restoration of faith, the miracle-like bioenergy that manifests as if they were a gift from God. Time such as these makes one think that maybe it truly was the end of all things.

  Humanity stood when space itself was tearing apart. It even stands when the threat of monsters and space was still present, even today where the threat of extinction was still around the corner. There are many things to look forward to, and his original intention for why he had come to this nation was still his aim.

  The multiple split-realm opening that will happen in the Ocean, leading to a full-scale assault on Okinawa. Dr. Artyom’s collected data and CERN’s warning were still present in his head. The problem with the Ahra Cult was only third priority to Gaston. Faced with the idea of such a massive event. Gaston couldn’t find it in his heart to take the work with the Babaika Company and the investigations of the Cultists. The world might end, and he rather put his mind on the chances that he could help against what will come if the Doctor and CERN were right about their prediction.