Chapter 148: Road to Space.

There is nothing more suitable than a Slime for dealing with the vast amount of trash floating in outer space.

Slimes can perform better in space than any other creature or robot.

With the [Convert+] skill, they can use solar energy and even radiation as energy sources.

With the [Control+] skill or the [Barrier☆] skill, they can resist environments without air.

With the [Pressure+] skill, they can move freely even in outer space.

They need neither water nor oxygen.

If we were to handle space trash with means other than Slimes, just how long would it take? It would be impossible until humans develop technology to leave Earth freely at a low cost.

Even if such technology were developed, would space trash disappear?

Humans who have continually ignored ocean trash despite having plenty of technology to deal with it?

I can declare with certainty that space trash would continue to be neglected due to issues of money and rights.

If they can’t do it, then I will.

That’s why I had Road connect the earth and space.

I created an orbital elevator.

If my goal were only to deal with space trash, there would have been no need to mobilize Road.

Getting to space is simple. You just need to keep ascending without falling due to gravity.

By consistently using the [Pressure+] skill, one can escape the atmosphere.

Just like floating balloons, I could have sent up a large quantity of Glutton Slimes (Space) into the air.

Once outside the atmosphere, the Glutton Slimes (Space) would have roamed space, devouring space trash.

If I had done that, the entire world would have annoyed me, claiming I was trying to steal technology and secrets.

That’s why I erected a pillar connecting the earth to space.

Could anyone possibly refuse this appetizing bait that will become the starting point of space development?

They won’t.

However, a weapon that is too appetizing comes with risks.

Instead of paying me a fair price to use the orbital elevator.

They might try to occupy it by force or argue that humanity should manage it collectively.

To refuse this, I needed power.

I’m not talking about military force.

Of course, some military force is necessary.

Without at least a minimal level of force, they’ll look down on me.

But I don’t want to subdue those who oppose me with force.

War must not be started.

This is about cleaning up trash.

I can’t turn civilization back into trash for the sake of such a purpose.

Most countries in the world adopt democracy as their governing system.

Sovereignty lies with the people.

The more people who side with me, the more burdensome it becomes for others to choose to oppose me.

That’s why, even if it means taking a detour, I gathered popularity.

Various Slimes, the world’s best products, loans, ocean trash cleanup.

The plan to gain popularity with these things has indeed succeeded, and my popularity is skyrocketing.

I prepared a just cause.

I will clean up space trash and open the space age.

Denying this is equivalent to denying the space industry, which has been nurtured with enormous budgets so far.

Even if they try to undermine me through public opinion, I hold strong influence over the media.

Slime Land provides a versatile filming location for movies, dramas, variety shows, music broadcasts, and ads, regardless of genre.

Many people from all over the world come to Slime Land for filming.

Since the pillar supporting broadcasters is tied to me, the media has no choice but to be mindful of me.

With this, I have laid the foundation to establish the orbital elevator.

At this level, they won’t try to stop me or exploit me recklessly.

Honestly.

Do I really have to go this far just to clean up some trash?

Doing the right thing is really hard.

***

As the pillar was erected, Hans immediately took action.

Lime had been talking for a while about creating a passage to space.

She had also mentioned entrusting that role to Road.

However, the timing for establishing the passage had not been clearly disclosed.

How to coordinate with the governments of various countries was also not yet decided.

Yet Lime declared that she would establish it right away.

If Lime wished for it, making it happen was Hans’s role.

If he had judged it absolutely impossible, he would have opposed it, but given the current public opinion, the situation wasn’t bad.

Hans immediately contacted reporters.

[AlchemySlime Company. <Road to Space> Project Revealed.]

[Slime Pillar Piercing the Sky. Is the Space Age Coming?]

[Willing to Issue Road Usage Rights Under Certain Conditions.]

Articles were published not just in Korea but around the world.

Following that, Hans secured a spot for a press conference.

At that venue, Hans.

“AlchemySlime Company’s top priority is the cleanup of space trash. Currently, in space-.”

Pointed out the trash problem hindering the space age.

“Our AlchemySlime Company can start cleaning up space trash right now. However, we cannot act recklessly because that trash, which could fall on our heads at any moment, has owners.”

Instilled a sense of crisis.

“Launching a satellite costs tens to hundreds of millions of dollars. On the other hand, through Road, you can set foot beyond the sky at a very low cost.”

Spoke about the feasibility of the space age.

“In the near future, an era will open where anyone can go to space, gaze at the blue Earth, and float around. Our AlchemySlime Company is ready. The world just needs to accept it.”

Unfolded a dreamlike story.

After this press conference, articles poured out in droves.

[Alchemy Slime Reveals Ambition to Clean Up Space.]

Major media outlets published articles that seemed to be mindful of national interests, but reporters and W-tubers hungry for views used unrestrained language.

[Trash Has Rights Too? Fulfill Your Duties First.]

[Offering to Clean Up Poop Left in Public, and They Criticize and Obstruct?]

[(Real Story) Alchemy Slime. “I’ll Clean Up Space Trash, So Give Up Ownership of the Trash.”]

As the news exploded, ordinary people began to take interest.

-Yeonseul, is this real? How long has it been since you said you’d clean up ocean trash, and now you’re aiming for space?

└ I’m still hungry. Next is space.

└ Why is Yeonseul so serious about cleaning up trash?

└ Slime instincts?

└ I wish they’d clean up human trash too.

-Can we really go to space and see Earth?

└ Flat Earth believers are all set to get their heads bashed in.

└ Nah, even after seeing it with their own eyes, some humans will still claim Earth is a circle, not a sphere.

└ LOL

-When can we go to space?

└ They say it’s still dangerous because of the trash.

└ If they don’t have the ability to clean it up, why don’t they give up ownership?

└ Even trash is full of technology and secrets.

└ Must have done some dirty deeds they don’t want revealed.

└ Aliens are real!

-But if this happens, won’t the space industry be controlled by Alchemy Slime? Does it make sense to hand over space to an individual?

└ It’s Yeonseul doing it, so what’s the problem?

└ Rather, it’s a relief that Yeonseul is doing it. Imagine if another country had built the orbital elevator. They would’ve abused their authority in all sorts of ways. Look at Yeonseul. The first thing he does is deal with trash.

Posts welcoming the orbital elevator appeared regardless of country.

There were those watching this situation gravely.

***

Sometimes, absurd monsters emerge from migratory dungeons that have been neglected for ages.

There are times when a crisis arises that requires mobilizing S-rank Hunters from every country.

To prepare for such situations, a line for unofficial summits existed, ready to be opened at any time.

Alchemy Slime’s orbital elevator was judged by the leaders of each country as one such threat.

“If anyone has something to say about the orbital elevator built by Alchemy Slime this time, please speak.”

At the chairman’s words, a national leader spoke up.

“I’m quite taken aback by this act done without a single word of notice.”

It was a criticism of Alchemy Slime’s behavior, not the orbital elevator itself.

“In terms of international law, it’s quite ambiguous.”

If it had been launched as a rocket, they could have taken issue with it under international law.

But it’s not a rocket; it’s a structure extending into the sky.

Since the rights over the airspace of the island Alchemy Slime created were acknowledged, they couldn’t exactly say he shouldn’t build such a thing.

What exactly it was and what laws should apply to it were also unclear.

After all, no law had ever been made assuming a Slime extending from the ground would reach outer space.

If there had been laws related to orbital elevators, it might have been different, but this too was considered a matter of the distant future.

So, no preparations had been made.

However, laws are made by humans and interpreted by humans.

If the top leaders of the world interpreted the orbital elevator as illegal, it would become illegal.

Or they could create new legislation.

This was a gathering of such power.

“Isn’t demanding the relinquishment of launch rights a bit excessive?”

“It’s not a launch vehicle; it’s space trash that can’t be dealt with. And if that trash collides with this Slime, whose responsibility will it be?”

“It’s something already out of our hands. There’s nothing to lose by giving it up. Unlike certain countries, that is.”

Remarks were exchanged little by little.

No one explicitly criticized Alchemy Slime outright.

‘Sly foxes.’

‘They’re being too cautious with their words.’

It’s an orbital elevator to space.

It’s a gateway to the space age.

Considering the astronomical value it holds, it’s too precious to crush under the guise of danger.

What if they couldn’t use that gateway?

That alone would mean falling behind in space exploration.

Everything comes down to money.

Using the orbital elevator, satellites can be manufactured directly in outer space. Not just satellites, but spaceships and space stations can be built too. Sending resources to space stations becomes easier as well.

Instead of spending hundreds of millions of dollars to launch a rocket into the sky, you just need to hand over a small sum to Alchemy Slime.

The costs involved are on a completely different level.

Whether or not you can use this orbital elevator creates an enormous gap.

The only thing gained by giving up on the orbital elevator is ending up on the Slime’s blacklist.

It would be more reasonable to establish under international law that the gateway cannot be blocked for the public good of all humanity.

Everyone held this thought.

There was no one in this room who wanted to oppose the orbital elevator.

But the reason they didn’t mention it directly was that they hoped someone would be left out.

If there were a country that criticized Alchemy Slime and opposed the orbital elevator,

They were full of intent to exclude that country from using the orbital elevator.

There was no one foolish enough to fall for that.

In the end, the meeting moved to the next stage.

There is a treaty stating that no one can claim ownership of space, but that’s an old story.

Now that space exploration is possible, a new treaty is needed.

Since it was no different from a territorial dispute, the meeting dragged on for quite a while.

But everyone was busy. They couldn’t continue an unofficial summit indefinitely.

An atmosphere of adjournment began to form.

At that moment, a national leader spoke up.

“I hope no one resorts to underhanded tactics.”

To gain a favorable position, they might take someone close to Alchemy Slime as a hostage.

Beyond moral considerations, it was a sufficient option to put on the table.

“Alchemy Slime has achieved mutually assured destruction.”

“Mutually assured destruction? Has Alchemy Slime developed nuclear weapons or something?”

“There’s no need for something like nuclear weapons. Just imagine that thing falling.”

It has been confirmed that the orbital elevator is a Special Slime.

If it severs its connection to the ground and fully enters outer space, there would be no way to interfere.

Lasers would be completely absorbed by its energy, and missiles could simply be dodged.

Even if Hunters were sent, they would surely be intercepted before reaching it.

What if it increases its mass in space and falls to Earth?

There are research results showing that a Slime can use the heat generated from air resistance as energy to accelerate.

In other words, a projectile that barely loses speed even upon entering the atmosphere would crash into the ground.

Its weight can’t be precisely estimated.

But it’s certain to be a mass exceeding a million tons, tearing through the atmosphere and colliding with the ground.

“Good heavens. We’d end up like the dinosaurs.”

Humanity would suffer a blow close to extinction.

At the very least, the country where that Slime falls would receive irreparable damage.

“Surely Alchemy Slime wouldn’t do such a thing.”

“Everyone has a trigger that can set them off. A situation of hostility with Alchemy Slime? That’s horrifying.”

Some lowered the priority of the hostage strategy.

But that was all.

No one seriously considered a situation where Alchemy Slime would start a war.

It was a thought mixed with complacency.

After all, Alchemy Slime had always shown actions for the sake of humanity.

This time, too, he stepped forward to deal with space trash.

Even a national leader is still human.

Their judgment was influenced by emotions.

***

Ash came to Gongsooni Island.

I approached Ash, who was looking up at the Road.

This isn’t an amusement ride.

I do intend to use it for tourism soon, but not yet.

“What’s the matter?”

Ash, who had been looking up at the Road for a while, spoke to me.

“I’m disappointed.”