Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

173 – South Korea’s Security

 

Following Myung-jun’s orders, Soo-bin quickly began setting up the barrier devices inside the DMZ. For the last two devices, she effortlessly leaped over the barbed wire fence of the DMZ. Despite the bionic suit’s lesser strength augmentation compared to other power armors, it still significantly enhanced the wearer’s physical abilities, making the fence an easy obstacle for them.

Surprisingly, the North Korean military did not respond to their movements. Instead, they kept their distance, watching from afar as if they were observing living nuclear bombs. This was the result of the North Korean leadership’s astute decision not to provoke the overwhelmingly powerful Liberal Clan. With the Gate Crisis escalating, North Korea knew they might need the Liberal Clan’s help if an overflow occurred within their territory. Additionally, they saw an opportunity to possibly incur a debt from the world’s strongest private Awakener clan through this crisis.

The global consensus on the Liberal Clan was that they were a group that could be highly beneficial if cooperated with, but unpredictable and dangerous if antagonized.

Of course, not everyone welcomed Myung-jun’s aggressive actions. A Ministry of National Defense official, upon realizing that Soo-bin and Kei had crossed the DMZ without authorization, was furious. He raged at the Liberal Clan members for crossing the DMZ without the Ministry’s permission, accusing Myung-jun of recklessly performing actions that could potentially trigger a war.

Myung-jun, with a relaxed demeanor, addressed the shouting general, whose hat bore a single star.

“Calm down. There won’t be any war.”

“How can you be so sure!? Are you some kind of military expert? Don’t be mistaken! Even though the Liberal Clan is here at the EDA’s request, the DMZ is under the jurisdiction of the South Korean Ministry of National Defense! That means, no matter how powerful the Liberal Clan is, you must follow the Ministry’s command here!”

“Once again, while the DMZ itself may fall under the Ministry of National Defense’s jurisdiction, the authority over Gate-related operations belongs to the EDA. We are simply acting under the authority delegated to us by the EDA.”

Despite Myung-jun’s explanation, the general showed no signs of backing down. This was expected. From the moment the general approached Myung-jun, he had been determined to bring the Liberal Clan under his command.

The general recalled the conversation he had with his operations officer earlier.

“General, you must seize the command authority for this operation using this border crossing incident as leverage.”

“But this is a Gate situation, and legally, the EDA holds command authority over all Gate-related operations.”

“However, the EDA doesn’t have authority over border crossings. One incident could lead to another, and there’s a risk that the equipment the Liberal Clan installed north of the DMZ could fall into North Korean hands. General, this is an opportunity granted by the heavens.”

The general had shown interest in the officer’s earnest words.

“Go on.”

“Unlike the current EDA Director Yoon Se-ah, the former Director Moon Hee-cheol was a South Korean military officer. Back then, the relationship between the Ministry of National Defense and the EDA was one of equal cooperation. But what about now? You’ve seen how arrogant the EDA operatives dispatched to the Ministry have become in their attitude.”

“So?”

“If this situation is resolved under your nominal command, you could become a specialist in Gate crisis management, a status no other general in South Korea holds. In a military where Gate crisis management has become more important than national defense, your position would skyrocket.”

This was the general’s true aim. While he pretended to be there to lodge a complaint, his real objective was to gain nominal command authority. When he first approached Myung-jun, he did so with a seemingly considerate attitude towards the Liberal Clan, suggesting that if Myung-jun handed over command responsibility, the general would take the blame for the border crossing incident, not Myung-jun. He even assured that Myung-jun would still handle the actual command.

However, Myung-jun, having read the greed typical of military superiors in the general’s eyes, had flatly rejected the offer. This rejection only made the general’s voice grow louder.

When the general began to talk about war and tried to hold Myung-jun accountable for the border crossing, Myung-jun finally shifted from a gentle refusal to an active rejection.

“Would you like me to show you?”

“What do you mean, show me?”

“I’m asking if you want to see firsthand why there won’t be a war.”

“If you can show me, go ahead.”

Yoon Se-ah, standing beside Myung-jun, was left speechless by what happened next. Myung-jun got up, approached the general, and delivered a powerful punch to his stomach. Despite being a production-class without any special physical enhancements, Myung-jun had well-trained muscles from countless hours of hammering. Moreover, the power armor he wore amplified his physical capabilities beyond that of an average person.

The general, hit squarely in the stomach, was sent flying nearly four meters, crashing into the tent’s solidly fixed floor. As the general writhed in pain on the ground, Myung-jun approached him and said,

“There you go. A civilian just beat up a frontline general. Now go and report to your superiors, and shout that we need to go to war with the Liberal Clan. I’m curious to see what they’ll say.”

War is something that can only be initiated when the opponent seems weaker. The Liberal Clan, however, was a force formidable enough to challenge even the world’s strongest military, the U.S. Army. Knowing this, Myung-jun had sent a provocative message and dispatched his clan members north of the DMZ.

He understood that no rational person would dare provoke an unleashed beast, knowing it would bite back ferociously. This applied to the South Korean Ministry of National Defense as well. No matter how strong their pride, Myung-jun calculated that they wouldn’t dare initiate a war against someone who had just beaten a one-star general.

The general, realizing this after vomiting the contents of his stomach from the punch, glared at Myung-jun with eyes filled with anger and frustration, tears welling up.

“You will pay for today’s actions.”

“Go ahead and try if you can. And if you keep acting so disgracefully, I’ll personally mention your name and withdraw from the operation.”

“Th-that’s…!”

“If you understand, get out. We have far more serious threats to deal with than South Korea’s so-called security.”

Before the general could protest further, EDA Director Yoon Se-ah snapped her fingers. In an instant, elite EDA agents appeared in the tent as if they had teleported.

“Escort the general back to his base,” she commanded.

The agents, understanding the true meaning behind her words, grabbed the general by his arms and forcibly dragged him out of the tent. Watching the general being taken away, Myung-jun spoke with a bitter expression.

“Do people really want promotions that badly, even if it means stooping so low…?”

“For a soldier, it’s one of the most important goals,” Yoon Se-ah replied.

“Seems like one star isn’t enough for him,” Myung-jun said, clenching and unclenching his fist to check his equipment.

He then pressed a button on his wrist communicator and asked, “Is the installation of the barrier devices complete?”

Soo-bin’s voice came through, reporting, [Installation is complete. We’ve covered both the southern and northern positions.]

“Good. Move inside the inner perimeter. We’re about to block everything within the barrier, down to the last oxygen atom.”

[Won’t there be a shortage of oxygen?]

“The barrier area is large enough that the personnel inside should be fine for up to a year.”

With that, Myung-jun switched the communication line to Soo-jeong’s suit.

“Senior, the barrier devices are ready. Just in case, please stay inside the perimeter with the Shadow Hawk. If we need any new equipment…”

[I’ll return to the lab in the subspace and make whatever we need. Shall we start the barrier?]

“Please do.”

In an instant, the same ‘barrier’ that had previously isolated the EDA’s Gate Technology Research Institute from the outside world began to spread widely between the pillars installed by Soo-bin and Kei. As the barrier field expanded to cover an area far larger than before, sealing off the entire surrounding region, Myung-jun began to move.

“We will now commence the search and elimination of Inspectors within the barrier zone. All clan members, proceed to your designated positions.”

[Aye, Captain!]

[We’ll be there in five minutes.]

The ‘designated positions’ Myung-jun referred to were small observation posts near the unit suspected of being infected by the Inspectors.

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***

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“Now that we’ve cut off the outside and reached the target location, what’s the next step?” Soo-bin, who had arrived earlier and was waiting for Myung-jun, asked.

Myung-jun extended his arm, and a 3D holographic map of the infected unit’s surroundings, scanned by drones, appeared above it.

“Considering the range of the area we’ve isolated, the likelihood of infected entities being outside is low. Inspectors typically don’t leave their territory until a certain number is reached.”

“So, does that mean the infection stage is relatively early?”

“It should be.”

“What do you mean?”

“If it’s not the early stage, we might have to eradicate all the residents in more than half of Gangwon Province.”

Of course, Myung-jun sincerely hoped that such a scenario wouldn’t occur. However, the Inspectors were such insidious aberrations that even he, a regressor, didn’t have complete information about them. He could only hope that the current capabilities of the Liberal Clan, built up since his regression, would be enough to resolve this crisis.

“According to the drone images, most of the infected soldiers are fully armed and taking turns resting while guarding the perimeter. They immediately respond to any anomaly by mobilizing troops to the affected area.”

“Capturing a few individuals by targeting them when they’re isolated seems impossible.”

“It would be difficult.”

“So, what’s your plan?”

“I do have a strategy in mind, but… if my senior finds out, she might try to kill me…”

Kei, knowing that the ‘senior’ Myung-jun referred to was Han Soo-jeong, wondered just how dangerous the plan could be for Soo-jeong, who loved Myung-jun more than her own life, to want to kill him.

With a sigh, Myung-jun explained to Kei, “According to the information, this infection spreads through verbal contact, meaning the infected need to isolate their targets in secluded places to infect them.”

Myung-jun then looked to his left, where a deuce-and-a-half military truck, loaded with corroded boxes bearing the Ministry of National Defense mark, stood as if waiting for him.

Kei, seeing the truck, asked, “That’s a military truck. What are you planning to do with it?”

“I’m planning to impersonate a soldier for a bit,” Myung-jun replied.

“If I drive that truck in, pretending to be an ignorant soldier, they might try to isolate me and infect me.”

Myung-jun’s ‘plan’ was to use himself as bait, infiltrating the infected unit by pretending to be a soldier.