Daniel Castro—a tall man with a sturdy, well-groomed build and dark brown hair—had gone through many twists and turns before becoming the head of the WFP today.
Born in rural Colombia, he had lived exposed to poverty and violence. When his family lost their farmland to the civil war and moved to the city, he experienced unimaginable destitution and hunger.
His childhood and adolescence had been so poor that he recalled, “I don’t remember ever falling asleep with a full stomach.”
The poverty he had experienced was carved deep into his soul, becoming the driving force that pushed him down this path.
After majoring in international relations at the National University of Bogotá and earning a master’s degree through research connected to the UN hunger relief program, he later earned the opportunity to pursue a doctorate in international development at the Kennedy School.
From his late twenties, he participated as a WFP field coordinator and gained practical experience in hunger relief projects across South America and Africa. In particular, he drew attention by successfully leading WFP emergency relief operations in Chad and Yemen, and in 2032, he was appointed Executive Director of the WFP, taking on the role of its leader.
He had spent years struggling to change the fundamental structure, pointing out that “the problem of hunger is not a natural problem, but a political problem and a systemic problem,” but...
The wall of reality was high.
Because all those efforts were, in truth, no different from striking a rock with an egg.
Every time he saw the selfishly twisted structures rampant throughout the world, he felt as if his insides were burning black and his lifespan was being shaved away. Even now, as the head of the WFP, what he could do with his own authority was extremely limited.
Especially at times like these, when larger and more numerous issues were occupying the United Nations.
He had been biting his lower lip hard in agitation, and when he realized blood was seeping out, he was pulling out a tissue.
At that moment, the moderator’s words lodged in his ears.
“We will now hear remarks from Mr. Jeong Suho of the Republic of Korea, attending as a special envoy on the issue of sustainable energy supply.”
In that instant, Daniel’s head rang, and then began spinning furiously.
‘That Jeong Suho...!’
His eyes flew open, and he searched for Jeong Suho as he spoke.
The tall Korean man speaking into the microphone at his table was seated on the exact opposite side, dozens of meters away from Daniel’s seat.
Not a single word of the statement entered his ears. Daniel simply fixed Jeong Suho’s figure in his eyes.
He was known as an S-rank or higher Admittee, but Daniel knew very well that his value was not merely on the level of a single top-class Admittee.
Wasn’t it something everyone in positions of power around the world knew—that he had supplied tens of millions of tons of Etherium to the world by himself, effectively resolving the global energy crisis and greatly contributing to the issue of abnormal climate phenomena?
A person who held the world’s economy, energy, and resources in the palm of his hand.
A person who now influenced even the rise and fall of nations due to the Tower.
If it was Jeong Suho, whose abilities surpassed humanity and transcended common sense—if it was the tremendous resources he possessed—could he not open up some path through this bleak reality?
Moreover, his character was already well known as well, especially the fact that he was not a cold-blooded, heartless person.
After all, it was quite famous that he had implemented unprecedented policies for Korea’s poor, making Korea the only country in the world with not a single person living in extreme poverty—an unprecedented nation in history.
Perhaps...
Rather than having this issue addressed more formally at the United Nations, having Jeong Suho alone take an interest in it... might be a far more effective, and at the same time faster, approach.
In reality, the UN and hunger relief organizations around the world had worked hard for a long time, but far from being resolved, the number of people suffering from hunger increased every year.
Despite the fact that so many people were making such efforts, the reason this problem was not fundamentally resolved was because the causes of hunger were highly complex, with many factors interacting with one another.
Political causes such as civil war and political instability,
Structural and economic causes such as wealth inequality and the failure of resource distribution,
Environmental causes such as heat waves, droughts, floods, and environmental destruction,
International causes such as unequal trade policies and war,
And even the limitations of aid systems...
The current efforts to solve the hunger problem were, in truth, no different from “pouring water into a bottomless jar.”
The complexity and interconnectedness of the problem, unsustainable short-term solutions, structural limitations...
The reasons were so numerous and tangled together like a spiderweb that they could never be listed easily.
How long had he felt a deep despair while dealing with this problem, one that neither the United Nations nor any hunger relief organization had been able to solve, over the past several decades?
And yet he could not stop all these activities.
Even if it was a bottomless jar, the moment they stopped pouring water into it, the world’s vulnerable would tumble into the worst possible situation, one they could not endure. The days when he had no choice but to struggle flashed past him like a panorama.
Daniel had been that sort of man, and yet today, as he looked at Suho, he felt as if a ray of hope were descending like light.
‘Yes, this is not something to resent just because the issue isn’t being handled as a major agenda right now... The issue is Jeong Suho. Jeong Suho has the key.’
The problem was how to meet him.
All of Daniel’s attention focused entirely on that.
“How do I get him alone...”
Daniel roughly scratched at his uncooperative head and frowned.
It was not a simple matter.
Even the president of Korea, to which he belonged, or even the president of the United States, could not meet Jeong Suho simply because they wanted to.
Under ordinary circumstances, it would be almost impossible not only to contact him, but even to approach anywhere near him.
In that case, it was fair to say that this time, when he could sit in the same space under the pretext of the UN General Assembly, was essentially his only chance to meet him.
An opportunity that came only once a year. And even then, there was no telling whether such an opportunity would ever be given again.
He carefully put away the manuscript he had intended to present, then waited for the break between the end of the morning session and the start of the afternoon session.
But... sure enough,
As soon as the break began, people gathered around Jeong Suho like clouds.
Representatives from countries all over the world were lined up, hoping to greet Jeong Suho or at least appeal to him in some way.
Seeing that there was absolutely no opening to squeeze in, Daniel felt at a loss.
At that moment, he saw the woman who had been standing by Suho’s side leave him and go somewhere, and his eyes flashed.
This was an opportunity.
The person beside him was probably the woman known as Korea’s S-rank Admittee, Lee Danbi.
He had heard that she, who had once been the leader of a world-class clan, was now staying by Suho’s side.
Was it simply as a bodyguard? It did not seem to be only that.
Seeing that Jeong Suho took her with him wherever he went, he guessed there was a high possibility that their relationship was not ordinary. Besides the fact that only the two of them had come, he had also caught, with hawk-like eyes, the small acts of physical affection they exchanged, so he instinctively knew they were close to some degree.
“Now or never...!”
Daniel sprang to his feet and ran toward her without hesitation.
Approaching Lee Danbi, who seemed to be coming out after using the restroom, Daniel stood before her and immediately bowed at the waist.
“Hello! Clan Leader Lee Danbi!”
At those words, Danbi looked flustered, but she smiled brightly with a pretty smile and gave a slight bow.
“Hello. And you are...?”
“I-I’m someone like this.”
When Daniel Castro held out a business card with his name on it, Danbi accepted it and widened her eyes.
“Wow, you’re the head of the WFP. You’re someone doing wonderful work. It’s nice to meet you. And also, I’m not the clan leader anymore. Suho is the clan leader now.”
Seeing her enchanting crescent-eyed smile, Daniel squeezed his eyes shut.
“Ah..! I-I see. Then the clan you were originally with...”
“Sanarae is now being led by the former vice clan leader, who became the clan leader. They’re doing even better than when I was in charge.”
“Ah, I see...”
It seemed the story that the S-ranks who had led the world’s foremost clans had abandoned their own clans and joined Ultimate Line, founded by Jeong Suho, was truly factual.
As he paused to choose his words, he felt Danbi’s gaze staring directly at him. Perhaps the silence had become uncomfortable.
“It was nice meeting you.”
The moment she bowed again and was about to leave, Daniel felt as if every opportunity were draining away like the ebbing tide, and he urgently stopped her.
“J-just a moment!! Ms. Lee Danbi!”
Perhaps because his voice had been too loud, Danbi turned back with a startled expression.
“H-half the world is starving!”
“Pardon...?”
“When monsters kill humans, it’s obvious violence, so anyone can focus on it easily... But hunger kills people too slowly, making it an invisible threat.”
Once he began speaking, his firm gaze blazed.
“Right now, the whole world is getting worked up only over the Tower, war, and energy problems... But even at this very moment, far... far too many people are sinking into irreversible destruction.”
Realizing what Daniel was trying to say, Danbi suggested that he sit on a nearby bench.
He kept Danbi there for a brief time and poured out words like rapid fire.
There were many problems in the world—war, energy, the climate crisis, and issues like the Tower—but more serious than any of them, the problem that threatened immediate survival, was none other than hunger. Yet regarding this issue, only sluggish solutions had been proceeding for years, no, for decades.
So please, could she arrange a chance for him to meet Suho just once?
In that short span of time, Daniel made an impassioned speech, pouring into it as much earnest appeal as he possibly could.
Danbi, who had been listening with a serious expression, nodded.
“All right. I understand what you’re saying. I’ll talk to Suho about it.”
“T-thank you! Any time, whether day or night or dawn, any time is fine, so please contact me! I’ll come running immediately!”
Danbi quietly looked at the business card he held out again, and at the trembling hand holding it, then nodded.
“You already gave me your business card earlier. I’ll contact you.”
“Thank you!”
As she turned her back and moved away from him, Danbi felt one corner of her heart ache and sting.
She was moved by the way he spoke of the world’s hunger problem as if it were his own immediate problem, with such desperation.
And as she imagined how much courage it must have taken for him to seek out not Suho, whom he could not meet even if he wished to, but Danbi herself, she quietly let out a sigh.
“Suho, what about lunch...”
Lunch was usually held from one to three, and meals were typically provided at restaurants inside UN headquarters, upscale restaurants nearby, or separate banquet halls.
It was a time often composed of official banquets or receptions, and luncheon diplomacy hosted by the ambassadors of each country to the UN was common.
Danbi had intended to eat lunch with Suho and tell him Daniel’s story, but he unexpectedly said something else.
“I have somewhere to stop by, so I’m thinking of stepping out during lunch.”
“Ah...? Where are you going?”
“I got a message from Dr. Choi, so I need to go see him for a bit.”
“Whoa...”
Just how far was it to Korea? And he was saying he would step out briefly during lunch to meet someone and come back...
If she had not heard all sorts of Suho’s secrets on the way to America, including the existence of the dimensional gate in his subspace storage, it would have been utterly incomprehensible.
“So, Danbi, for now, please eat here with the Korean representatives. I’ll be back in about an hour.”
“Yes, then... Be careful.”
Suho smiled gently at Danbi and vanished from the spot in an instant, and everyone around them cried out in shock.
* * *
“You said you’ve gotten some results?”
“That’s right. From what we’ve determined, the Mecha Drake’s intelligence does not appear to be an independent artificial intelligence, but rather a case of being controlled by something. In other words, it seems highly likely that it was a distributed intelligence connected to the Tower’s central system.”
“Hmm... Then that means...”
“I suspect that all machine-type monsters existing inside the Tower interacted with this central system, and when the central system delivered objectives and commands, they executed them... Of course, this is only an assumption for now, but while it appears to possess an independent will of its own, in reality, it is analyzed to have limited autonomy, forced to follow the Tower’s command structure. If that is the case, the Mecha Drake’s intelligence would have been specialized for goal-oriented thought, with command execution functioning as the highest priority, and it would have operated as a system that optimized all resources for that purpose.”
“Hmm... command-based intelligence, huh... Then now that the Tower has disappeared, it won’t be able to function properly?”
“That’s correct. In fact, that appears to be the case. Even when we provided temporary energy through a small module, there was no response whatsoever... Judging by that, if there is no signal from the Tower, even if it does not enter complete shutdown, it appears to enter a power-saving state similar to dormancy for the time being.”
“So it needs the Tower’s signal to make judgments, and it needs an Ether core to receive power. If we can get those two things in our hands, we’ll be able to revive and control it.”
“Yes, that is our preliminary assumption. Still, we don’t know what variables may arise. If we supply more than a certain sufficient amount of core energy, it may carry out autonomous actions based on previous command patterns or internal data even without the Tower’s signal.”
“Well, if that happens, I can just put it back into subspace.”
“Then I’ll give it a try. We’ll completely remove the organ that received the existing Tower command structure and modify it into a newly separated, independent intelligence.”
“Good. Tell me whatever you need.”
Whatever it took, all that mattered was making that gigantic Mecha Drake obey me.
The boss of the 103rd floor Tower as a subordinate. Just imagining it made Suho’s heart pound with excitement.