The general’s expression soured at the words that I would deal with someone higher up.
But he did not get angry.
“Understood. I’ll inform the Party.”
He merely said so with a stiff expression.
After finishing my conversation with the general, I also said goodbye to Secretary Li.
Secretary Li would report to the Chinese government from here, then return to “Taiping” with the necessary supplies and personnel.
From now on, he would have to manage on his own.
Keeping the secret that there was no “water” on that planet to himself, what could he accomplish by using his position as deputy administrator of the spatial transfer ruins?
I felt both worried and expectant.
“I’ll see you next time.”
When I said that while taking his hand, Secretary Li nodded with a look of firm resolve.
“I’ll do my best.”
Had he realized what I was thinking?
It seemed he believed that when we met again, my response would change depending on the results he had produced.
He wasn’t wrong.
I had not decided how I would treat the Chinese people who would go to that planet.
I, too, merely hoped things would turn out well if possible.
Magreta also said goodbye to Secretary Li, and we headed for the airport.
Unlike when we had arrived, only the two of us headed to the airport, but the security was far tighter.
Several military vehicles moved with us at the front and rear, and military helicopters flew in the same direction overhead.
This time, there were no roadblocks.
There were hardly any cars on the road toward the airport, but the opposite lane was filled with an endless stream of vehicles.
Trucks loaded with supplies and vehicles carrying people.
All of them were heading for the ruins.
Before long, we arrived at the airport.
The airport seemed to have been reopened, but now it looked less like a civilian airport and more like a military airfield.
Attack helicopters and fighter jets flew through the sky, and numerous drones were monitoring the entire airport.
This time as well, the car did not pass through the terminal but headed straight for the runway.
Unlike when we had arrived, the car was inspected before entering the runway.
“The atmosphere is strange.”
“Yes?”
Magreta, who had been on the phone, looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“It’s nothing. I was talking to myself.”
I shook my head.
I had not been speaking to Magreta.
[Indeed, the atmosphere is on edge. It doesn’t seem like simple tension.]
As expected, Soph was thinking the same thing I was.
[It feels less like they’re guarding against an outside enemy and more like they’re watching each other.]
Even during the war, I had been able to recognize this kind of atmosphere easily, but after gaining heightened senses, I could feel it even more clearly.
The two groups of soldiers guarding the airport were bristling at each other. Neither side was aiming their guns, that was all.
[The local forces stationed here and the units sent down from the capital, I suppose?]
[Judging by their unit insignia, that seems to be the case.]
I had heard there was a risk of civil war and even seen spies on the other planet, but the situation here was even more dangerous than that.
[I wonder if the ruins will remain intact until the destruction.]
If the atmosphere elsewhere was as vicious as it was at this airport, a civil war would likely break out before the world ended.
If that happened, it would be difficult for the ruins to remain safe.
But it was all right.
[Even if the ruins on this side are destroyed, there are ways to reach that planet.]
The spatial transfer ruins on the other planet had already been connected to other ruins.
Even if the ruins in Tibet were destroyed, I could travel through the ruins at Baekdusan or Trappist.
If the ruins were destroyed, it would become impossible to cross from Earth to that planet, but I couldn’t worry about that much for them.
Contrary to the hostile atmosphere, no one interfered with us after we entered the runway.
We got out of the car and boarded the United States government’s private aircraft waiting on the runway.
The procedures had already been completed.
As soon as we boarded, the plane departed.
Feeling the plane take off, I asked Magreta,
“Did the report go well?”
She had been reporting via satellite phone until just moments ago.
She was likely reporting to higher-ups about what had happened in China and what had happened in “Taiping.”
“Yes. It seems they already received word from China. The President asked me to tell you that you did well.”
Could it be that the higher-up was now the President of the United States?
Since Deputy Director Samuel was there, that probably wasn’t the case.
Still, to think I would be sitting in a private aircraft and receiving thanks from the U.S. President.
I could truly feel how much things had changed from before.
“And before we go to Trappist, they said they’ll send the compensation from the U.S. and Chinese governments for this matter.”
“They’ll give it in money, right?”
“That’s all they can provide immediately.”
Money was continuing to pile up in my bank account.
I needed to find a way to convert that money before it became useless data.
If there was one small mercy, it was that this time, I was to receive various physical goods before going to Trappist.
I was to receive supplies from the Korean government and weapons from the U.S. government.
“We’ll be busy if we have to stop by Seoul and then Pyongyang.”
If we had to stop by the warehouse in Namyangju and then the military supply warehouse in Pyongyang, we would have to move quickly.
The unplanned visit to China and another planet had consumed a great deal of time.
I trusted the people on Trappist, but too much time had passed, and I was worried.
“Ah, you probably won’t have to stop by Pyongyang. They said they’ll send the weapons to Gimpo Airport.”
My eyes widened at Magreta’s words.
“They’re handing over weapons at Gimpo Airport? Weren’t they supposed to give me surplus weapons?”
I had been extremely careful to avoid revealing that I could use the box on Earth.
This time, too, I had only told Samuel through Magreta that I needed weapons.
And yet they were going to hand over weapons at Gimpo Airport.
That was no different from saying they knew I could use the box on Earth as well.
Seeing my expression, Magreta shook her head.
“There were the things that happened when Hyeon came to Earth, and last time, you completely emptied the armory. They couldn’t help but be suspicious.”
At Magreta’s words, I could only scratch my head.
I had thought I had handled it well, but apparently not.
Come to think of it, it wasn’t just the armory at Pyongyang Airport that I had swept clean.
The department store goods and the Namyangju warehouse had all vanished as if by magic as well.
Ever since coming to Earth, I had been scattering hints everywhere.
“That’s troublesome.”
Being able to use the box on Earth was no different from being able to use my abilities.
Some people might think I could only use the box, but others would suspect that I could use my abilities on Earth.
If that happened, there might be people who thought I was connected to the recent nuclear explosion.
At my question, Magreta nodded.
“Of course there would be.”
Magreta raised her index finger and covered her mouth.
“But no one will say it. Pretending to know something like that couldn’t possibly lead to a good result. There’s an old saying that sometimes, we have the right to be blind.”
It seemed to have a different meaning from the metaphor I knew, but I understood what she was trying to say.
The private aircraft carrying Magreta and me crossed Chinese territory under the escort of Chinese fighter jets, then crossed the East Sea.
On the way to Korea, I watched the news inside the plane.
Other countries’ broadcasts were the same, but Korean broadcasts kept showing grim news.
Protests sweeping through the streets, the hazy skies over cities, even National Assembly members grabbing each other by the collar and throwing punches.
But even those scenes were not as hard to watch as rotting grain and green seawater washing over the coast.
—This year’s harvest is expected to be the worst on record. Although temperatures are high, a lack of sunlight will drastically reduce grain yields, and mass die-offs at fish farms are expected to continue due to algal blooms.
Prices remain stable for now, but that is because major grain companies have stepped in to defend the market. However, it remains uncertain how long their market defense will continue.
Watching the news, it seemed humanity would die from running out of food before Earth itself was destroyed.
After that came the Korean president’s policy statement, but even the announcer broadcasting it seemed uninterested in his words.
—Despite President Lee Hangyeol’s announcement that there will be no martial law and that citizens should not worry and continue with their livelihoods, stocks and bonds continue to plummet. Given that panic buying is still ongoing, it seems to reflect the president’s popularity, which has been in free fall since the war.
There was nothing more to see.
I turned off the screen.
A short while later, the private aircraft landed at Gimpo Airport.
At last, it was time to part ways with this plane.
It was a plane I had boarded to go to America, yet I had ended up riding it like my own private jet all the way back to Korea through China.
It was more comfortable than I had expected.
If I had more time, I would have wanted to buy a similar plane.
Before getting off, we said goodbye to the flight attendants.
After shaking hands with the captain last, I disembarked.
Someone I had not expected was waiting on the runway.
There had been another reason the United States had sent the weapons to Gimpo Airport.
It was to keep me at Gimpo Airport.
I did not know whether it had been at the request of the U.S. government or the request of the man standing before me, but in any case, I ended up meeting him.
“Good to meet you. I finally get to see you.”
The person I had seen on TV just moments ago.
It was the President of Korea.
Thanks to having rolled around on the battlefield, he was not a president I liked, but even before the war, he had been a president popular with the people.
Unlike presidents of the past, he was a president elected by the support of the people.
Because of that, it was said that he had not received support from vested interests such as the ruling party leader or chaebol chairmen.
He had maintained his popularity among the people until the war ended, but as I had seen on the news, he was now being shunned by everyone.
The president extended his hand to me with a bitter smile.
“I wanted to meet you, but it wasn’t easy. I only managed to make time after speaking with the United States.”
Come to think of it, I had seen the Korean president far too late.
I had gone to China, met the U.S. government and its power brokers, and met Korea’s power brokers as well, yet I had not met the Korean president.
When I thought about it, it was absurd.
After shaking hands with the president, I asked Magreta,
“Where are the weapons?”
“They should be loaded on a military aircraft.”
“Then let’s go that way.”
I climbed first into the car the president had arrived in.
The president looked at me with surprised eyes.
It was something I could not have imagined doing a few months ago, but after meeting all sorts of people, I could do it without hesitation.
The president shook his head, then climbed in beside me.
Magreta took the passenger seat, and she told the driver where to go.
When the driver looked at the president with startled eyes, the president said,
“Go where she tells you.”
The car started moving.
In the distance, I sensed the escort personnel moving.
After the car departed, I asked the president,
“Then, shall I hear why you came to see me?”
At my question, the president looked at me with a strange gaze.
“You’re different from what I expected.”
I was indeed behaving rudely right now.
But now, it no longer mattered what he thought.
There was no reason to talk at length with a lame-duck president whose strings had been cut.
Seeing my expression, the president’s face hardened.
Then he bowed his head to me.
“Tell me. What should we do so that as many of our people as possible can survive? Please, tell me the way.”
With sincerity, he pleaded with me.
Korea (2)