Chapter 4: The Veteran Reduced to Rags - 3

In the pitch-black darkness.

In the sleep chamber, where the only light source was the faint blue glow emitted from the sleep capsule, I was staring straight ahead, feeling bewildered.

My face, with a foolish expression, was faintly reflected on the bulletproof glass lid of the capsule.

‘It works?’

This works?

When you type /admin in the chat window, it says in English, "Character [name] has been granted admin privileges." It's an English-language game, after all.

- Captain 'Jin Taylor' has been granted admin privileges.

The information that had just flooded my mind was the same.

"Wow, this works."

I had said it half in doubt.

"/admin."

I typed admin again.

- Captain 'Jin Taylor's' admin privileges have been revoked.

"/admin."

- Captain 'Jin Taylor' has been granted admin privileges.

‘The game is over!!’

They say there's always a way out, even if the sky falls!

Rattle!

I stretched out my arms and silently cheered. My joints loudly hit the closed lid, but I didn't care.

Although it's a sandbox game, the admin functions aren't that extensive, but the ones I know will be more than enough to help.

Let's see if it works!

I opened the capsule lid and quickly got up.

"/itemspawn ironore..."

I wondered how big the iron ore would be and hesitated about whether to add the word "fragment."

Game item size ratio? Or real-life size?

After hesitating for a few seconds, a massive iron ore, about 2 meters in diameter, appeared in front of me.

"Amazing."

When I touched the rough, reddish iron ore, it wobbled and seemed to say hello.

"/destroyitem."

I said this while moving my hand as if I were using a cursor and touched the iron ore.

The rock disappeared just as it had appeared, leaving no trace.

Wow, this is revolutionary.

Next.

"/itemspawn deadspacearmor1."

A heavy suit of armor fell from the air in front of me.

The armor, with three blue eye slits arranged horizontally, was impressive.

It was a modded armor from a famous space horror game, exuding a menacing aura as if it were about to wield a plasma cutter and eliminate aliens.

‘Mod items work too!’

I clenched my fist. With this, even becoming the richest person in the universe isn't a dream.

But...

‘I can't use it recklessly.’

My body, which had been heated up like it was about to explode, gradually cooled down.

I won't abuse this system. No, I can't.

First, I need to know the item code.

Except for some complex ones, I can infer them, so that's not a big problem.

Second, only things "implemented in the game" are possible.

This is reality, not a game. There are many things that don't exist as items in the game.

For example, forks and spoons. Simple items, but they don't exist as items in the game, so I can't spawn them.

Third, I can't create credits as they are not treated as items.

And one more thing.

‘I have to pay taxes.’

There is a state here.

A vast empire that claims to be a constitutional monarchy.

Although it wasn't mentioned in the game, the word "empire" is deeply embedded in the memories here.

Suppose I use the item spawn function to produce minerals. If I sell them in the market or use them to produce goods.

The Imperial Tax Bureau will immediately start an investigation.

Without owning a mining planet, without registering a mine, without any mining activity records, and without any mineral import records, how did you produce and sell them? Did you smuggle them? Provide the source?

They will push the investigation warrant in your face and lock you in a deep underground interrogation room for days, conducting a grueling interrogation.

‘I don't want to go through that.’

Here, I am a diligent businessman who pays taxes and applies for mining rights when mining on various planets.

I'm so diligent that the central government even reduces my taxes.

Why would an individual have a credit storage system that is usually only available to banks? It's because I'm a famous person who pays taxes well, with a credit rating of SSS.

I already have a certain image built up.

So I won't do anything to destroy it.

This isn't a dystopian world where you can only survive by committing crimes. There's no need to take that route.

Moreover, I have a memory of becoming a wealthy and honest person here.

‘I had a huge cruiser! And I didn't have a single loan! Of course, it wasn't a standard military ship, but I saved money by welding and expanding it myself!’

So, if I walk the path I've already walked, I can definitely amass a fortune.

Therefore, the method I chose is to use the item spawn function to revive the main production equipment on the ship. Equipment is where a lot of money is spent.

For materials, I can't explain the lack of transaction records, but for facilities, it's different.

I can say that I barely managed to bring them when I escaped or that I just had them without using them elsewhere. Since I have a factory owner registration, there shouldn't be a problem.

Once I gather money, the first thing I need to do is...

‘Revive the crew.’

***

Revival.

In games, it's usually implemented through divine power or miracles, or perhaps a rare skill.

But this is an SF game.

Here, revival is the concept of reassembling quantum information.

A part of the body is frozen, and within a certain period, the person is "restored" to the state they were in when the remains were secured.

I don't fully understand how it works, but you can revive a dead crew member by paying at a restoration facility (also called a revival facility).

The cost increases sharply as the crew member's rank goes up.

“...It works.”

Looking at the crew management window in front of me, I sighed.

It feels like I'm going to spend my whole life sighing today...

The photos of four crew members, excluding researcher Ena, had red X marks.

Below each X, five yellow stars shone more brilliantly than ever, as if mocking me.

Below the stars indicating rank, a red number, which I couldn't even count how many zeros it had, was boasting about its value.

‘This could buy a few ships.’

It wasn't this expensive before, which is strange.

‘Is it because of the massive explosion?’

I heard that the cost of retrieving quantum information varies depending on how the person died, but to this extent?

‘Is this really not a game but reality?’

In the original GalaxyBound, crew members were just spaceship inhabitants who gave buffs and weren't good at fighting.

But I didn't like that, so I installed crew enhancement and crew selection mods.

Using these, I set five out of the 12 crew members allowed in the game to the highest 5-star rank and configured their combat and buff abilities to the highest level.

The remaining seven are purchasable androids, also the most expensive 5-star rank.

‘But the revival cost in the game wasn't this high.’

Is it because it's the first time they died? In the game, my crew members had never died.

‘I must revive them.’

These crew members, who can provide administrative or combat buffs based on their positions or have player-level combat abilities.

It's not just because of their performance.

I poured affection into them in the game (since they were hard to get through the gacha system), and combined with the memories of spending a long time together here, I can't give them up.

No matter how much it costs, leaving them behind isn't something a person should do.

I bit my lip tightly.

The determination to earn money again became even stronger. And I need to do it quickly.

The period to retrieve quantum information is quite long, but with such a huge amount of money, there's a risk of missing the revival period.

‘Assuming I have the equipment, how do I obtain the materials?’

I considered taking a loan, but the universe's recognition is as cold as its average temperature.

If the information that my ship was lost becomes known, my credit rating will plummet like it's being sucked into a black hole.

High-interest loans are obviously crazy, and I can't rely on a noble patron because I'm ignorant of politics and fear being used and discarded.

So, there's only one option left.

‘I have to work hard.’

Mercenary work.

Although it feels a bit strange due to my Earth memories, I have extensive combat experience here.

I've experienced everything from small requests to large wars, making me a seasoned veteran.

‘With my reputation, I should be able to find a place somewhere.’

Although I need to hurry, the future isn't completely uncertain, and I can breathe a sigh of relief.

Ah, right. I need to check one more thing.

I took out a pistol from the item window. It was a custom pistol with top-tier specifications that I usually use.

A massive 40mm caliber pistol.

The gun was as big as my head. At this size, it might as well be called a cannon. It's so heavy that I once used it as a dumbbell for fun.

Naturally, the recoil is enormous. According to the game, an unmodified human would have their hand torn apart, bruised, and even fractured bones.

I once broke my arm after firing it without armor in a tense situation.

I took it out to test one of the admin functions, "invincibility."

A character with admin privileges doesn't lose health. They can enter an acid lake or magma without harm.

‘If invincibility is properly applied, my hand should be fine too.’

I pulled out the bullets from the massive pistol, which I could barely hold with both hands, and checked that the chamber was empty by cycling the slide.

I loaded one bullet and aimed at my left hand.

Swallow

It's tense. Firing a gun at yourself in a clear state of mind is something only a person with extraordinary courage can do.

My hand was trembling, and I bit my lower lip hard without realizing it.

My finger, which felt like it was stuck in a piece of metal, didn't move.

The hesitation was long, but the decision was instantaneous.

I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

A massive firing sound, fitting for its caliber, and a loud crash.

When I opened my eyes, my hand, which was right in front of the muzzle, was fine, but the sleep capsule was destroyed.

Smoke rose from four places.

The muzzle, my palm, the floor, and the sleep capsule.

It was simple to calculate that the bullet, which hit my hand and ricocheted, hit the floor and then shattered the capsule.

The capsule's glass was shattered, and a large hole appeared in the wall beyond the mattress.

This thing was supposed to block laser cannons or something. Maybe it was just exaggerated advertising, or maybe it's because it's a top-tier pistol.

I flexed my left hand.

‘It doesn’t hurt at all.’

I could even withstand the gun's recoil. Despite firing it bare-handed, which I had to do, there was no difference in my body's condition.

Wow, I really am invincible?

I fearlessly turned the gun and faced the smoking black muzzle.

Holding a gun, you shouldn't point it at yourself, whether there's a bullet in the chamber or not, but since I'm invincible, I wanted to try it.

‘Really... Wow, it's amazing.’

At that moment, the sleep chamber door burst open.

"Captain, what's going on...!"

Ena's face turned pale when she saw me facing the gun.

"No, Captain! Please!"

Ah, it's not like that.

I'm not thinking of doing anything bad.