Actually, Dad Was a Hero

Chapter 31: Pattern

“Kuh, this is art.”

Ogre kept exclaiming in admiration as he examined Jin Beom-Min’s new car from all angles.

It was late afternoon when Jin Beom-Min arrived at the headquarters, driving a heavy black truck. The vehicle registration and acquisition process had taken quite a long time.

However, the wait was worth it. The 450-horsepower engine exuded powerful strength, and the comfortable ride, unusual for a truck, felt like sitting on a sofa at home.

After a pleasant drive, it was purely coincidental that he ran into Ogre in the parking lot upon arriving at the headquarters.

Ogre, who had been taking something out of his car, couldn’t close his mouth from the moment he saw Jin Beom-Min’s new car.

“Wow, look at these tires. They’re huge… A real man should drive a car like this.”

“Haha, want to try it out?”

“Should I…? Well…”

Jin Beom-Min felt a sense of pride and accomplishment seeing him fussing over the car. He also thought, this is why people buy expensive imported cars.

Vroom—! Grumble!

Ogre, getting into the car, started the engine and stepped on the pedal, commenting on various aspects of Jin Beom-Min’s new car. There were many things Jin Beom-Min couldn’t quite understand, like torque and RPM, but it seemed like he was saying it was a good car.

He wondered why Ogre was always the one driving during every operation, but it seemed he was quite the car enthusiast from the beginning.

After talking for a while, spitting with excitement, Ogre suddenly changed the subject as if he had just remembered something.

“Oh right, Dr. Oh was looking for you.”

“Dr. Oh?”

Dr. Oh Jin-Woo was the head of the research lab at the Monster Incident Response Headquarters. He was a genius with two doctorate degrees and a former senior researcher at the Agency for Defense Development (ADD).

According to Lee Sang-Jun’s introduction, he was in charge of researching the magic scrolls Jin Beom-Min had acquired and the biological characteristics of the monsters.

However, Jin Beom-Min guessed that he also aimed to analyze magic and create some new weapons.

Either way, it didn’t matter. If he could develop weapons capable of dealing with monsters armed with defense magic, it would lessen Jin Beom-Min’s burden.

“He said something about… pattern analysis, or something like that? You should go to the lab.”

“Alright.”

Leaving Ogre behind, who was looking at his old SUV with a pitiful gaze, Jin Beom-Min headed towards the headquarters.

The Monster Incident Response Headquarters, which had been under messy construction until recently, was now fully operational.

Employees with badges indicating their security clearance levels were busy moving around and carrying out their tasks, and soldiers armed with rifles at the security gates installed everywhere were sending out fierce glares.

However, Jin Beom-Min, who held the highest security clearance, could enter the lab through the security gates without any restrictions.

“Ah, you’re here just in time.”

Dr. Oh, who had been looking at some complex figures on a large screen, greeted Jin Beom-Min.

With a chubby physique, a round face, and round glasses, he was the perfect embodiment of the word “round.”

“Yes, you were looking for me?”

“Yes, yes. Please take a look at this.”

Pointing at the complex figures displayed on the screen, Dr. Oh spoke. As expected of a competent scientist, there were no unnecessary pleasantries.

“As you said, the patterns drawn on the scroll seem to form a certain pattern. For now, I’ve tried classifying them into several types…”

Bright lines were drawn on the complex patterns on the screen, dividing them into specific sections. Jin Beom-Min couldn’t understand what was so specific about them, though.

“Judging by their shape, they resemble logic gates or capacitors in electronic circuits. But I still can’t figure out exactly how they work.”

“I don’t understand it either.”

“Haha, well, we’re both in the same boat.”

Dr. Oh said with a cheerful laugh.

When faced with something they don’t understand, people usually react in two ways: They become afraid and uncomfortable, or they become excited about the possibility of gaining new knowledge.

Dr. Oh definitely belonged to the latter. His eyes sparkled with interest, and his tone was filled with excitement.

“For pattern analysis, we need more data to compare. More scrolls, or… something else with similar magic patterns engraved would be helpful.”

“Something… else?”

Jin Beom-Min immediately understood the meaning behind Dr. Oh’s words.

Objects engraved with magic patterns could only be from Jindar, and most of them were in Jin Beom-Min’s possession.

“Yes, anything. It’ll only take a moment. It doesn’t take long to figure out the internal structure with non-destructive testing.”

“Hmm…”

Jin Beom-Min hesitated for a moment. Although Dr. Oh was a trustworthy person, he was still uneasy about handing over his precious items.

Moreover, most of the items he possessed were rare and difficult to obtain.

“They absolutely cannot be broken or damaged.”

“I promise. I’ll analyze them carefully.”

After much deliberation, Jin Beom-Min allowed his armor and sword to be used for analysis.

Of course, he didn’t expect Dr. Oh to achieve any significant results by analyzing them. The magic of Jindar operated on completely different principles from modern science and technology and had developed independently for thousands of years.

No matter how intelligent a person was, they couldn’t grasp such alien technology in a short period.

However, if there was a possibility of discovering technology that could help Jin Beom-Min, or even humanity, it was worth a try. As long as he didn’t break his belongings in the process.

“Thank you. First, I’ll use ultrasound or X-rays to read the patterns inside. Then, I’ll use deep learning technology to analyze the patterns, and…”

As Dr. Oh excitedly explained the analysis method, shrugging his shoulders, a loud sound suddenly echoed.

[Jin, Ghost Squad. Please come to Conference Room 3.]

Lee Sang-Jun’s voice boomed from the speaker mounted on the wall.

“That damn speaker needs a volume adjustment.”

Dr. Oh frowned and shook his head. However, Jin Beom-Min was just happy to be freed from the tedious explanation.

“Then, I’ll see you next time.”

******

“Did you all see the North Korean news?”

As soon as Jin Beom-Min and the Ghost Squad members gathered, Lee Sang-Jun cut to the chase.

“We saw it.”

Reaper replied nonchalantly. He was wearing tight-fitting workout clothes, as if he had just finished exercising.

“What do you think?”

At Lee Sang-Jun’s question, the Ghost Squad members and Jin Beom-Min looked at each other and tilted their heads.

“What do you mean, what do we think…? Those guys up north are always launching missiles and causing trouble, aren’t they? I don’t really have any thoughts on it.”

When Jin Beom-Min answered, Lee Sang-Jun shook his head and said,

“Normally, yes… but this time, it’s a little different.”

Lee Sang-Jun brought up a map of the Korean peninsula on the conference room monitor and continued.

“According to our analysis, it seems like the missile launched this time didn’t crash mid-flight.”

“Then what is it?”

“Looking at the trajectory… there’s a strong suspicion that it was launched targeting North Korean territory from the beginning.”

“They fired a missile at their own land…?”

Wraith asked incredulously. Usually, missile launch tests are conducted targeting the sea to prevent any potential damage.

“…A coup?”

Sandman muttered in a grave voice.

At that moment, everyone’s faces hardened.

A military coup. It was one of the worst-case scenarios imaginable regarding North Korea.

With luck, it would end with a change of regime in North Korea and the emergence of a new dictator. However, if things went wrong, it could escalate into a Second Korean War.

And in the worst-case scenario, with the intervention of China and the United States, Russia and Japan, it could even escalate into another world war.

“…I think…”

Lee Sang-Jun raised his hand to calm the tense atmosphere and continued.

“I think monsters have appeared in North Korea.”

“What?”

“Are you sure?”

Surprised by Lee Sang-Jun’s unexpected words, the Ghost Squad and Jin Beom-Min asked back with astonishment.

“It’s just speculation for now. We need confirmation.”

“Why do you think so?”

When Jin Beom-Min asked, Lee Sang-Jun nodded as if he had asked a good question and continued.

“First, just based on the launch angle…”

As Lee Sang-Jun pressed a button, the trajectory of the missile launched by North Korea appeared on the screen.

“It’s certain that they launched the missile targeting a point near Hamhung, not the open sea. The problem is…”

The map zoomed in, centering on the missile’s crash site. The solid line representing the missile’s trajectory was abruptly cut off near the ground.

“It seems like the missile was shot down before it hit the surface.”

“…They shot down a missile?”

Wraith asked in a bewildered voice.

“Isn’t that possible? If it’s a military coup, they would have anti-aircraft missiles…”

At Jin Beom-Min’s words, Wraith shook her head and replied.

“It’s nearly impossible to intercept a surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a conventional anti-aircraft missile. Maybe with the West’s latest anti-aircraft missiles, but with North Korea’s technological level, it’s absolutely impossible.”

“But does that prove that monsters have appeared?”

This time, Imp asked, unable to understand. Lee Sang-Jun shrugged and answered with a question.

“Then what did they shoot it down with?”

“That’s…”

Everyone fell into thought, but a clear answer didn’t emerge.

“Even THAAD can’t intercept a ballistic missile at such a low altitude. There’s no weapon in the entire world that can do that.”

Lee Sang-Jun continued with a confident expression.

“…But if it’s a monster, it might be possible.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Jin Beom-Min. Jin Beom-Min waved his hands with a flustered expression and replied.

“Uh, I don’t know either. I couldn’t do it if you asked me to… but… hmm… a seasoned magician… maybe…”

Jin Beom-Min scratched his head. Could a monster or someone from Jindar shoot down a ballistic missile?

It was a very difficult question. In the first place, magic wasn’t developed with something like ballistic missiles in mind.

However, he couldn’t flatly deny it. He already knew just how amazing things high-ranking magicians could accomplish.

“Hmm… then, for now, let’s gather more information. Until then, please stay at the headquarters, even if it’s inconvenient.”

“Ah…”

“Sigh…”

Sighs and groans leaked out from here and there. As it was already nearing evening, overtime was confirmed.

“But doesn’t the NIS know the most about North Korea? Why hasn’t the truth been figured out yet?”

Just as the meeting was about to end in a disarray, Wraith asked Lee Sang-Jun.

Lee Sang-Jun’s face hardened for a moment, then he answered as if it were nothing.

“Department 2 is in charge of North Korea… but they’re not cooperating very well, haha.”

“…Aren’t they the same agency?”

“Yes, well… I’ll try my best to request their cooperation.”

With that vague answer, the meeting concluded.