Episode 172 [ Age of Mana (4) ]
Outskirts of Ansan.
A warehouse caught fire. It was a warehouse owned by a small business.
Many people were injured in the fire.
It was always a busy warehouse, but many people were guarding it that day.
People went missing.
Although they looked like ordinary people on the outside, they were all people who belonged to the National Intelligence Service and a specific organization.
Unlike the terrorist incident that took place the day before, the fire and disappearance cases were all buried as simple incidents.
*
Basement of the Blue House.
The President had a headache again today. He pressed his fingers to his forehead like always.
“The head of the National Intelligence Service is missing! “What on earth are the police doing when they haven’t even caught the criminal yet?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
The police chief, who had been summoned to the National Security Council, was sweating under a barrage of reprimands.
In the President’s opinion, the other people were no different.
The Vice Ministers of the National Intelligence Service sitting in the corner were acting like idiots, and the other Ministers were eagerly criticizing the Commissioner General of the National Police for fear of being reprimanded.
I took a breather as the disaster known as the cataclysm seemed to be slowly subsiding, but this time, terrorism erupted.
“Have I been relying too much on my luck?…”
The President sighed.
Unlike Africa, where the entire continent was destroyed, and other countries that suffered great damage, Korea suffered little damage from the cataclysm.
The monster wave was blocked in the north by North Korea and Russia, and the nuclear fallout created in China was returned by a cloud driven by a monster.
Additionally, thanks to being the epicenter of the Mana Revolution, the economy was still sustainable.
The dangerous gold issue has been resolved… but suddenly this is a terrorist attack.
Fortunately, the theft of the gold bars occurred before handover, so there was no need to take responsibility.
Amid continued reprimands, the police chief barely managed to report on the situation.
“There are no witnesses and nothing remains on CCTV. And because the circumstances of the terrorist attack at Incheon Port and the two other terrorist attacks were different…”
There were also reports that they seemed to have been carried out by different terrorists, but the police commissioner could not bring himself to say such a thing.
“It would be better to send in the military . “How about we do that? Now it seems difficult to respond with just the police.”
At this point, the military wants to step up and
say, “Please allow the National Intelligence Service’s domestic department to operate again. We will find out for ourselves.”
The Vice Minister of the National Intelligence Service tried to rebuild the domestic organization.
The President’s expression twisted.
“Are you asking us to impose a military law? Or are we going to go back to the past?”
Hearing the president’s words, the two people took a step back, but this time even the quiet prime minister said,
“I heard that the terrorists include awakened people. Wouldn’t the police alone be enough?”
The terrorist attack that occurred at Incheon Port was a terrorist attack involving awakened people.
After the cataclysm, many people awakened. The numbers were not as small as before and it was difficult for the government to control them.
Uncontrolled awakened people wielded their power on the world.
Most of them were criminals. It led to this.
Among the general public, dissatisfaction and fear of awakened people rose again.
In such a situation, a terrorist attack involving awakened people took place.
Of course, it was a terrorist attack carried out with ordinary people, but people only thought of the awakened people.
In the words of the prime minister , The President shook his head. Not yet.
“Then seek help from the Awakened Society.”
“But the Awakened Association is a private organization. There will be a lot of talk.”
Again, counterarguments came in, but the President did not back down.
“We cannot deepen the rift between the awakened people and the general public. “Let the Commissioner work with the Awakened Association to catch the culprit.”
“All right. “I will definitely catch it.”
The Commissioner of Police was grateful for the opportunity to come down again, and the Prime Minister sighed at the President’s stubbornness.
After the president made his decision, the chief of staff carefully introduced other agenda items.
“Why not postpone the opening ceremony of the transcontinental railroad? “It would be a big problem if an accident happened at a time like this.”
The Chief of Staff’s words made the President feel dizzy again.
Transcontinental railroad opening ceremony.
It was a big event taking place in Seoul a few days later.
It was a large event where the leaders of South Korea, Russia, and North Korea gathered in one place and the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Korean Trans-Korean Railway were connected.
I don’t know what miracle North Korea performed, but the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Korean Railway were connected in such a short time thanks to the rapid repair of the North Korean railway.
It was truly something to be thankful for in this era of paralyzed distribution networks.
“I don’t think it would be a bad idea to delay it a little. “It will be a few weeks at the latest anyway.”
However, since such a terrorist attack occurred, there was no guarantee that the event would be safe. As the Chief of Staff said, it seemed like a good idea to hold an event after finding the terrorist.
The President thought for a moment and eventually shook his head.
“It’s not possible. Flights are difficult. “If you cancel an event, it could be pushed back by months, not weeks.”
There were almost no aircraft flying in the sky right now other than military aircraft.
In this situation, the leader of a country could not use an airplane.
It would have been possible to simply proceed with the opening, but as a politician, it would have been absurd to just throw away such a large event.
The cabinet members sighed at the president’s words. Each sigh had a different meaning.
The atmosphere in the conference room became darker.
Maybe it was thanks to the potion.
Perhaps because his shiny head was all covered in hair, the atmosphere in the conference room was much more gloomy than before.
*
That night.
The President returned to his bedroom late at night and was unable to fall asleep even after lying in bed.
The First Lady was not there. Although they were directing the show as a lovebird couple, it had already been 20 years since they lived in separate rooms.
Protecting your family while doing politics?
The saying, ‘The system of governing the country and the world’ is an unsuitable one for a politician.
“I just wish this migraine would go away. “Is there any potion that reduces headaches?”
A potion has been released that cures hair loss, humanity’s last disease, but migraines still show no signs of going away.
He was alone in the bedroom, but there was a voice answering his words.
“There are similar drugs.”
A glass bottle was placed on the bedside table.
The President looked at the person who put down the glass bottle.
He was an illegal trespasser in the dark of night. Moreover, the place where he was was the presidential bedroom of the Blue House.
It was ridiculous, but the president was able to understand the current situation by looking at his opponent.
The man was wearing a motorcycle helmet.
The most famous motorcycle helmet in the world right now. I heard that the helmet manufacturer was very popular.
Many people wore that helmet, but the only one who could get inside this place was the person who made that helmet famous.
“Helmet Man?”
-Even the president knows about it. He may be the most famous hero in history.
At Eve’s words, Kyung-hoon chuckled inside his helmet.
“If you’re Helmet Man, are you from EV?”
Fortunately, the president remained calm despite the unexpected situation.
“Yes, I’m from EV.”
An unfamiliar voice came from the helmet. It was Eve’s modified voice.
At Kyung-hoon’s words, the President got up from the bed. He put on the glasses that were on the table.
“I guess the fact that you came secretly in the middle of the night is not something to say openly. .”
“you’re right.”
The President got out of bed and sat down in a chair in front of the table in the center of the room.
“Sit down. “I’m old, it’s hard for me to stand up and talk, and I don’t have the hobby of looking up to other people.”
Kyung-hoon followed the president’s words. He sat down on the chair across from me.
“Are the guards okay?”
“I only fell asleep for a moment.”
“Thank goodness.”
After hearing that the guards were safe, the President opened his hands on the table.
“Now, what do you want to say? I guess celebrities didn’t come for no reason. “I will listen.”
-That’s interesting. I don’t know why people in positions of power always view others as lower than themselves.
Of course, it was also thanks to Kyung-hoon deliberately inducing me to do so.
Kyung-hoon took out a folder and a piece of paper from his pocket and placed them on the table.
“What is this?”
The President frowned.
There was writing written on the paper that looked like graffiti, and blood was splattered on it.
“This is a confession left by the Director of the National Intelligence Service before his death.”
“what?”
The president’s expression changed.
He glared at the helmet with a stern expression.
“The disappearance of the head of the National Intelligence Service and the terrorist attack were caused by EV?”
It was a voice mixed with anger and surprise.
Kyunghoon shook his head.
“What happened in Incheon was not my doing.”
The other two terrorist attacks were said to have been committed by him.
The president bit his lip.
“Was EV a terrorist organization? “I’ve been looking at EV favorably for a while… but have I been deceived?”
“There are many cases where we have solved problems through force, but it is not much different from other countries.”
The President’s eyes widened as the words flowed from his helmet. The opponent viewed his organization as a country.
But the president did not stop his anger.
“No proper country would carry out terrorism like this!”
Kyunghoon shrugged his shoulders.
“It wasn’t terrorism. “It was a preemptive defensive measure.”
Kyunghoon pointed to the folder.
“Please read it first.”
The president opened the document with an angry expression.
Inside were photos, drawings, and a personnel allocation table.
These were materials about the opening ceremony of the transcontinental railroad.
“No way…”
The President hastily checked the blood-stained paper.
[Regarding the operation to sabotage the transcontinental railroad…]
The President’s expression kept changing. Disappointment, anger, and doubt continued to pass through his mind.
” The head of the National Intelligence Service and his organization planned to prevent the opening of the transcontinental railroad. The plan was to delay the opening or completely block it. To prevent the operation, EV cleared the NIS safe house and interrogated the NIS director.”
In reality, it was a completely different reason, but good ingredients happened to be available, so there was no reason not to use them.
The president’s hands were shaking.
According to what was written on the paper, the event venue was a mess and the lives of the leaders of each country were in danger.
The names of the accomplices were written at the bottom of the paper.
‘Chief of Staff, Vice Minister of the National Intelligence Service…’
Among the accomplices was a colleague who had been with him for decades.
“I can not believe it. Nonsense.”
The president felt like his head was going to explode.
“that’s right! Why why did EV get involved in this? “What are you aiming for?”
The president, who couldn’t believe it, ended up holding EV in his mouth.
“What do you think is the reason why the North Korean railway was completed so quickly? Why do you think Russia got involved in this?”
At Kyung-hoon’s words, the President looked at him blankly. What he had only heard in rumors was becoming reality.
“EV owns a majority stake in this railroad. Protecting its assets is important. “It’s natural.”
But he uses violence to protect his property.
“There are laws and rules in the world. Even EVs can’t kill people carelessly!”
Kyung-hoon laughed at the president’s words.
After all, this president was a powerful person like the Russian president.
“It seems like the president has always followed the law when doing things for the country.”
“That… that…”
The President couldn’t answer. Fortunately, President Lee had a conscience.
“And as it may be written there, he also committed other acts besides plotting terrorism. “It appears that gold bars were stolen from civilians.”
Kyung-hoon quietly inserted the topic of gold bars into the conversation.
The gold bars had already been recovered, but they were planning to receive additional compensation from the government.
“I plan to contact the person concerned. “It would be better for the Korean government to provide proper compensation.”
The President barely opened his mouth.
“There is no guarantee that this is true! “The only evidence is your words and this piece of paper!”
“Other evidence will be sent to the prosecutor or police in charge once the investigation begins. And the prosecution and police will have to find the remaining evidence. “Aren’t the police and prosecutors there to do that?”
The president suddenly thought of an assumption.
“But what happens if we can’t catch them all?”
“Well…”
Kyung-hoon trailed off. But Helmet was looking at the blood-stained paper. The
President gritted his teeth.
He calmed down his confusion and anger. Now was the time to cool down.
“Why did they do this? “You decided to do it? Do you know that?”
It was enough to say that the theft of gold bars was because of money, but the trans-continental railroad terrorism was a completely different issue.
“When the transcontinental railroad is connected, there are places that will suffer. Well, you can also say that it is because of the president.”
The president’s eyes widened.
“You rejected the Korea-Japan undersea tunnel, right? Japan may have had no other choice.”
“Such…”
Kyung-hoon stood up.
He thrust his helmet in front of the president’s nose.
“Leave Japan alone. Don’t protest and don’t pretend to know anything. “Japan is EV prey.”
Kyung-hoon pointed to the potion next to the bed.
“It’s a gift. The headache will go away. It’s a detox potion.”
The surprised President looked at the potion,
“Poison?”
When I turned my head again, I couldn’t see him.
The President grabbed the paper.
