CIA Director James Wilson, who had rushed into the situation room after receiving the urgent report, raised his voice.
“Report the current situation!”
His gaze was fixed only on the situation board, without even thinking to wipe the sweat streaming down his balding forehead.
The situation room was taut with tension as well. The top intelligence officials who had similarly run in gathered around him and stood before the screens.
One analyst began his report in front of a panel filled with live feeds and satellite images, pointing to a location marked in red.
“At 03:20 local time, a large-scale subsidence was detected at the Yongchang Residence, currently believed to be Kim Jeong-heum’s primary place of residence.”
“Subsidence? Not an explosion? Have any casualties been confirmed?”
“Yes, it was not an explosion. No casualties have been confirmed yet. Director, however, judging by the scale of destruction, the subsidence point is presumed to have been completely obliterated.”
Director James Wilson let out a deep breath, pressed a hand to his forehead, and lowered his head for a moment.
“…How… how is something like this possible? What about the possibility of explosives detonated underground? Any nuclear reaction?”
Another analyst answered this time.
“There is no nuclear reaction. If we regard it as an attack, the closest possibility would be a supermassive kinetic weapon such as the Rod of God, but according to satellite data, nothing entered from outside the atmosphere. Above all, since no distinctive seismic waves were detected… even that is only speculation, to be honest. The probability is low.”
James Wilson’s eyes darted back and forth as he muttered in a low voice.
“Who… who on earth could carry out an attack like this…?”
“It may be a natural phenomenon. The analysis team is also leaving open the possibility that a massive sinkhole occurred.”
“Russia and China, and even our allies, are all denying involvement. Even if we view it as an external attack, it is difficult at this point to identify what force is responsible.”
“This is absurd… Something like this happened naturally…? But only a handful of countries should possess kinetic weapon technology… C-could it possibly be the work of Admitis?”
At those words, another analyst shook his head.
“Impossible. There is no Admiti with the large-scale destructive capability to strike such an extensive area.”
“Right, of course… Intelligence team, analysis team, analyze all data immediately and gather every piece of related information. If it is a force hostile to us, this is a threat we cannot ignore. Investigate while leaving every possibility open. For now, I will report the current situation to the President.”
Director Wilson ran out, and everyone in the situation room, their faces filled with complicated emotions, returned to their seats.
No one could rashly predict how this incident would affect the international order.
* * *
“Analyze immediately what impact this incident will have on our national security, and use communication channels with North Korea to determine the exact situation.”
President Choi Yunseong spoke in an agitated voice, and Minister of National Defense Lee Junbeom immediately responded.
“We are already attempting to contact North Korea, but the North Korean side is not responding to communication. We are also proceeding with preparations for a military response.”
“We will strengthen intelligence sharing with the United States and China to swiftly determine who is behind this incident.”
Even as he listened to the answer from National Intelligence Service Director Park Minsu, the President’s sigh deepened.
Naturally, the financial markets reacted sensitively, volatility in the stock market increased, and foreign investment funds flowed out like the tide. From the outside, it looked like a security crisis on the verge of military conflict.
“If the North Korean military loses control or hard-liners seize the initiative, the situation will spiral out of control… Actively state through every channel that the South Korean government has no connection to this incident, and strengthen the security posture.”
A bolt from the blue, an absurd calamity in the dead of night, had descended upon the entire Korean Peninsula.
* * *
CNMN Breaking News
Early this morning, a large-scale subsidence occurred at North Korea’s Yongchang Residence, leaving the life or death of Chairman Kim Jeong-heum uncertain. Experts are cautiously suggesting that this subsidence may have been caused by a supermassive kinetic weapon such as the Rod of God launched from outside the atmosphere, while the international community is urgently joining forces to find those behind the incident…
In front of the screen in the White House situation room, where the news report was playing, the President opened his mouth heavily.
“Finding out who is behind this incident is our top priority. We must cooperate with every intelligence agency and reach a conclusion as quickly as possible.”
“We are already mobilizing all resources to investigate. However, the nations or forces capable of using a weapon of this form are extremely limited…”
At the Secretary of Defense’s words, CIA Director Wilson nodded as well.
Then the Secretary of State added a comment.
“We are currently investigating every possible scenario. Though there is no precedent, we are also keeping in mind the possibility that a massive super sinkhole occurred.”
But the President’s sharp gaze fixed on the Secretary of State as if he found the statement pathetic.
“There is no way something like this is a natural phenomenon, but whether that is true or not, this incident is bound to have political consequences. Do you think North Korea will say, ‘We were unlucky and got hit by a massive sinkhole’?”
“Ahem…”
“What exactly is the scale of North Korea’s damage?”
When Director Wilson moved to answer that question, everyone leaned forward and listened closely.
“Based on current satellite observations, it appears that a mass large enough to cover the entire Yongchang Residence fell onto the area. The ground has subsided by more than one hundred meters, and everything within that range has vanished as if swallowed by a sinkhole. However, since no major shock wave or seismic wave was observed, even if there was a kinetic impact, the drop point is presumed not to have been very high.”
“A mass didn’t fall from outside the atmosphere, yet it could inflict that level of damage…? Is that physically and engineering-wise possible?”
No one could answer that. They simply did not say it aloud, but no such weapon existed on Earth, and at the same time, such a natural phenomenon was difficult to imagine.
Breaking through the brief silence, Director Elaine, who served as head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Tower Security Bureau and Admiti Protection Bureau, opened her mouth.
“If we were to forcefully look for a common point between the two countries where incomprehensible incidents have recently occurred…”
“By two countries, do you mean Russia and North Korea?”
“That is correct. The common point between the two is Admiti Jeong Su-ho.”
“Jeong Su-ho? The new S-rank from Korea? The one with the world’s only class, Item Collector?”
A brief commotion arose in the meeting room, as if people were wondering why such an out-of-nowhere topic had been raised at this important meeting, and many gave her sharp looks, but the President dismissed it with a single remark.
“From the perspective of the Tower Security Bureau, explain why you see Admiti Jeong Su-ho as the common point.”
“Yes. The intelligence agencies of those two countries recently collected a large amount of information on Jeong Su-ho. Needless to say, that included public data, but they also gathered massive amounts of material circulating on the black market.”
“Hmm… That alone is…”
“In addition, while it is currently only an assumption, in North Korea’s case, analysis of South Korean police data suggests an infiltration through an underground tunnel. As for Russia, they already attempted to kidnap Admiti Jeong Su-ho, failed, and the terrorists are currently being detained by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.”
“Who doesn’t know that? The South Korean government made a huge issue out of that affair. We backed out of it, but… in any case, are you saying that the two countries that tried to harm Jeong Su-ho got smashed to pieces?”
When CIA Director Wilson raised his voice, Elaine subtly backed off.
“My apologies. Of course, it may be mere conjecture. I only wished to point out that such a perspective exists.”
The President, who had been listening carefully, slowly nodded.
“No… It has credibility… This may be a warning.”
“A warning? Mr. President, there is still no evidence whatsoever…”
“The reports from the agents we sent as envoys last time were also unusual. In reality, they returned without accomplishing anything. America should be careful as well… I don’t know how it was done, but… it feels as though that message is being broadcast.”
“Mr. President.”
“Messing with Jeong Su-ho will get you into deep trouble—if you mess with Jeong Su-ho, you’re fucked.”
A bitter smile appeared on his lips.
* * *
Ever since the day Su-ho secretly visited North Korea, hurled an enormous Obelun across the entire Yongchang Residence, then immediately stored it away again and fled,
the whole world had been thrown into an uproar.
After Russia, even North Korea’s top leadership had effectively been annihilated.
Everyone and anyone rose up, pointing fingers at each other as the culprit and growling that they would not shrink from war.
Fortunately, the only ones who had seen Su-ho take out the Obelun were Danbi and Jiho.
And even that had been only once, when he had taken it out to tamp down the foundation of Elysium Heights.
Even those who suspected that Su-ho was at the center of the issue based solely on motive for retaliation could not connect the scale and method of the damage to Jeong Su-ho.
That was how tremendous North Korea’s damage had been.
A few days later, North Korea’s State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jeong-heum appeared on Korean Central Television as if nothing had happened.
He emphasized that he had been at another residence, and that Yongchang Residence had been empty, so he had suffered no harm whatsoever from the accident.
“Hmm… It’s a body double. No doubt about it.”
“Right…”
Su-ho muttered as he watched the news showing the Kim Jeong-heum regime still intact, and Danbi agreed.
“Well, I suppose they calculated that North Korea still needs the Kim Jeong-heum system. If they come out like that, governments around the world won’t have to be too busy for the time being.”
It meant they intended to cover up the issue for now and use it as an opportunity for internal change, so there was a fortunate side to it as well.
Everyone clicked their tongues at Su-ho, whose face looked refreshed, as if he had relieved himself to his heart’s content.
* * *
Fortunately, no war broke out anywhere, and Russia and North Korea seemed to have had new forces take their places without any severe internal conflict being openly revealed. Various observations and analyses about that were also emerging.
The resulting changes in the global situation had not yet fully taken shape.
And perhaps because Su-ho’s discreet demonstration of force had been quite effective, no intruders targeting Su-ho and his family appeared for a while.
Several months flew by in the blink of an eye, the year passed, and as a new year, 2039, began, Su-ho also turned thirty.
The construction of Elysium Heights, which had originally been expected to take three years, had been dramatically accelerated due to Su-ho’s intervention. The main outline of the building was already taking shape, and the architect explained that at this rate, it could be completed in a total of about one year.
Taewoong’s Winky had grown as large as an elephant in just a few months, so even the gymnasium building Su-ho had built for it felt cramped.
It had now been eight months since it hatched, and they said it would become an adult in about two years, but it was impossible to get a sense of how big it would become when fully grown.
So construction of a new building for Winky began next to Elysium Heights.
And apart from the peaceful daily life of Su-ho and his companions, South Korea’s economic situation was deteriorating to an extreme degree, and this matter was not unrelated to Su-ho.
All of these problems began with the abnormal climate that the whole world had first faced.
As they encountered extreme weather events that caused record-breaking disasters every year, governments around the world agreed that they had to correct this problem “before irreversible abnormal climate conditions arrived,” in other words, “before crossing the threshold of natural recovery,” and proposed and resolved upon powerful policies.
The main point of the various policies was to severely restrict the use of fossil fuels as energy sources and apply strong pressure accordingly, and as a result, nuclear power plants increased in great numbers worldwide.
Along with this, issues such as the rising price of uranium and the disposal of nuclear waste came to the fore, and South Korea was not free from these problems either.
In particular, amid the accumulating nuclear waste, South Korea had failed to secure a high-level radioactive waste disposal facility capable of handling the core nuclear waste. As a result, it could not sufficiently expand nuclear power generation, and since it also lacked enough clean energy resources, it gradually began to suffer from power shortages.
With electricity consumption from everything, including androids and electric vehicles, already having increased, and with society highly dependent on other forms of electrical energy as well, the power shortages that began made the lives of ordinary people difficult. Not only that, productivity declined across various industries, ultimately weakening the nation’s competitiveness.
With the economically active population already shrinking due to the low birthrate, the weakening of productivity caused by the power shortage was far too great a blow.
Gradually, Korea’s sovereign credit rating fell, government bond yields rose and increased the fiscal burden, and as the value of the won plummeted, foreign exchange reserves were rapidly depleted. Then, as foreign capital withdrew en masse, the currency crisis became a reality.
The government implemented fiscal austerity, but it did little to help the economy recover.
In this situation, the fact that Suho possessed tens of trillions of won yet was simply hoarding it without putting it to sufficient use,
and the fact that this enormous sum of money was not flowing into the market, reducing liquidity in consumption and investment and slowing economic growth, also contributed greatly to Korea’s economic problems.
If money does not circulate, companies find it difficult to borrow funds, which naturally has a negative effect on production and employment.
As a result, the stability of the financial system declines as well, and as banks’ lending capacity decreases, economic activity is bound to contract again.
A vicious cycle begins.
The government and central bank lowered interest rates or carried out quantitative easing to stimulate the economy, but the effects of those policies were limited and failed to produce results.
On top of that, there was one more thing.
The issue with North Korea that Suho had struck at caused the financial markets to react sensitively, and foreign investment capital flowed out like the ebbing tide. That was the decisive blow.
From overseas, it still did not appear as though the security threat on the Korean Peninsula had been completely resolved, so foreign investment capital was slow to recover.
Amid problems piled upon problems, Korea’s economy was as precarious as a candle in the wind.
* * *
In early 2039, a heavy atmosphere pressed down on everyone gathered in the main conference room of the Blue House.
Around the circular table sat ministers from each department and economic experts, while on the large screen hanging on the wall, stock prices and exchange rate graphs fluctuating in real time were displayed.
President Choe Yunseong, his face rigid, opened the meeting.
“This meeting has been convened for a matter of extreme urgency and importance. As you all know, our nation’s economic situation is precarious. If things continue like this, we may face another IMF bailout.”
The Minister of Finance and Economy took the president’s words and elaborated.
“Our foreign exchange reserves are currently decreasing at a rapid pace. Our sovereign credit rating is also at risk of being downgraded soon. Foreign capital is leaving in large quantities, leaving the financial markets unstable.”
The president looked around the conference room once and said,
“Please report the response plans from each ministry.”
The prime minister took the microphone.
“First and foremost, we need emergency measures to stabilize our foreign exchange reserves. In the short term, we must raise funds through the issuance of government bonds, and in the long term, we must improve the fundamentals of the economy through structural reform.”
The Minister of Economy and Finance continued.
“Strong regulation and supervision at the government level are necessary. We must secure fiscal soundness through cooperation with major corporations and resolve the issue of non-performing loans as a priority.”
For quite a long time, fervent reports and discussions continued among the ministers and experts, but
in the end, it was words, words, words... nothing but more words.
Everyone knew. They knew this was nothing more than armchair theorizing going in circles.
They all knew that the fundamental solution had already left their hands, yet they seemed to be deliberately ignoring it.
After the emergency meeting ended, Minister Bak Manyeol of the Ministry of Finance and Economy returned to his office.
When he heard the source of the call his secretarial office had connected, his eyes widened.
“Jeong Suho the Admittee? S-rank Jeong Suho?”
“That’s correct. He is requesting to be connected to you through the Tower Management Administration line.”
“Hm... Put him through.”
“Yes, sir.”
The phone rang again, and Minister Bak answered.
“You’re through. This is Bak Manyeol of the Ministry of Finance and Economy.”
“Ah, Minister, hello. I am Jeong Suho, an S-rank Admittee of the Republic of Korea.”
“Oh, Admittee Jeong Suho, I’ve heard a great deal about you. I’ve heard much about your achievements as well. You requested to be connected to me—may I ask what this is regarding...?”
“Minister, I know that the country’s economic situation is very bad right now. So I couldn’t just sit still. I contacted you because I intend to use my personal funds to support the foreign exchange reserves.”
Even if the sky collapses, there is a hole through which one can escape.
Minister Bak instinctively realized that this was exactly such a moment of opportunity.
Who was Jeong Suho? Was he not a man earning enormous wealth from all over the world?
Hearing the declaration of such a billionaire, his voice, unlike at first, began to tremble.
“Y-you truly made such a decision? That is truly... an extraordinarily precious decision.”
“Yes, Minister. I have lived in this country and enjoyed much of the infrastructure of this land. I think now is the time for me to contribute to the country. Of course, it may not be a great help, but if it can be of even the slightest assistance, I am willing to put in what I have without sparing anything.”
Suho did not bother to say, “Part of the current problem was caused by me, so my conscience is bothering me.”
Thanks to Narae’s efforts, Suho now had many people managing his assets and had begun receiving various advice from them. As a result, an economic sense he had never possessed back when he was merely working part-time jobs was slowly beginning to take root.
And he had also learned that even if he did nothing, simply “doing nothing” while holding an enormous amount of capital could shake the economy,
and he had heard from them just how difficult the Korean economy currently was.
They spoke of the instability of the Korean economy and recommended that he acquire foreign citizenship, but Suho lightly dismissed the idea.
After hanging up with Minister Bak, Suho moved through a dimensional gate to his land, which he had used in the past to install modular housing and receive pallets of cash.
Then, he took out and materialized a prefabricated warehouse there, one that had been manufactured as a finished product at a factory and delivered to him.
A prefabricated warehouse appeared on the empty lot.
It was a fairly large warehouse, measuring fifteen meters in both width and length, and roughly ten meters in height.
Standing at its entrance, Suho summoned his subspace storage.
“Ravi, fill this place with gold bars. About ten thousand tons’ worth, in twenty-kilogram gold bars.”
The moment Suho’s request was made,
more than five hundred thousand gold bars instantly piled up in a space roughly ten meters wide, ten meters long, and five meters high.
It was a speck of an amount of gold.