Everything nuclear technician Chen Ming had said about hearing of me and the relics from Secretary Li was true.
I was curious how much he had heard, but for now there was something I needed to hear from him first.
I asked him.
“If you heard from Secretary Li, then please tell me what I need to do to use the nuclear missiles I secured.”
“You intend to use them on the monster from that star, don’t you?”
Seeing as he brought up the monster right away, it seemed he had heard quite a lot from Secretary Li.
“Yes.”
At my answer, he began to explain.
“Understood. If that is the reason, then I should tell you. A hydrogen bomb uses nuclear fission as its trigger…”
A nuclear technician was no different from a magician.
From the very start, words I could not understand poured from his mouth.
I raised a hand and stopped him.
“Wait a moment. Please explain it as simply as you can.”
Nuclear technician Chen Ming looked me up and down, then nodded.
“The hydrogen warheads mounted on these missiles have been reduced in size, but their detonation method is the same as that of existing hydrogen bombs. To put it simply, you detonate a conventional explosive, that explosion sets off an atomic bomb, and the atomic bomb’s explosion sets off the hydrogen bomb.”
As if he was unhappy with his own explanation, he sighed even as he spoke, but it was an explanation perfectly suited to me.
At this level, even I could understand it.
“Then I just need to detonate the conventional explosives.”
After hearing his explanation, I knew what I had to do.
At my answer, he looked troubled.
“That is correct, but the same pressure must be applied to the nuclear device, so the entire explosive charge has to be detonated simultaneously. After that, there is also the issue of the pressure from the nuclear fission having to be directed toward the center of the core, but that does not need to be controlled separately, so…
“As you said, you need to detonate all the explosives simultaneously. However, to prevent that, multiple control devices have been attached, so unless the proper signal is sent, causing a nuclear explosion is nearly impossible.”
Chen Ming shook his head as he spoke, but that was not a problem.
I had a way to do the things he said would be impossible.
“If all I have to do is detonate the explosives simultaneously, there is no problem. I have magic.”
With my magic, Soph’s magic, and my super-senses that could check the inside of the bomb, detonating the explosives simultaneously should be more than possible.
However, Soph’s thoughts differed slightly from mine.
[I still think we will need more advice and testing.]
[…I suppose so.]
Hearing Soph’s words, it seemed I had been overconfident.
It would be difficult to replace a hydrogen bomb’s trigger with magic after hearing only such a simple explanation.
I needed more help.
I asked nuclear technician Chen Ming again.
“Where will you be going after this operation is over? I doubt you will be able to remain here.”
With the nuclear base in that state, he could no longer stay in rebel territory.
At my words, he shook his head with a bitter expression.
“I don’t know. I accepted this operation on the condition that my family be sent to ‘Taepyeong,’ but I’m not sure what will happen to me afterward. Whether I’ll be sent to America, or repatriated to China… Or perhaps I’ll be left behind in Korea, the intermediate stopover.”
He had said it was because of Secretary Li, but in the end, he had become a spy for the government forces to save his family.
He had given up his own life in order to save them.
His expression was gloomy, but the fact that he had nowhere to go was helpful to me.
I spoke to him bluntly.
“Then how about going to Trappist?”
I needed him to handle the hydrogen bombs, but Chen Ming, an expert, was also needed to develop the underground city.
At my words, Chen Ming looked bewildered.
“Pardon? By Trappist, do you mean the star said to be connected to the Baekdu Mountain relic?”
“Yes.”
“But I heard that star was one only energy users could go to… My God, you can take ordinary people to that star as well.”
As expected, scientists were fundamentally intelligent.
This man needed no separate explanation either.
“You want to take me because of the hydrogen bombs.”
He immediately realized why I wanted to take him as well.
Having realized that much, he smiled bitterly and shook his head.
“If I go to that star, I suppose I could live too. But I’m sorry. I refuse.”
Chen Ming refused my offer.
I could not understand it. To think he would throw away an opportunity to survive like that.
When I looked at him in puzzlement, he gazed at the western sky and told me the reason.
“Because if I go there, I will never see my family again. It would be the same even if I remained on Earth, but if I’m not going to see my family anyway, it would be better to spend my final moments on Earth.”
I could tell from the fact that he had become a spy to save his family, but this Chinese man valued his family to an astonishing degree.
He had saved them, so he could simply save himself as well, but it seemed that, to him, not being able to see his family was more important than survival.
I did not understand it, but that did not mean it was something I could not grant.
“Has your family left for ‘Taepyeong’?”
“Yes. I heard they departed when I agreed to the operation.”
Well, of course he would not have done something like this without confirming that his family had left.
In that case, his family should now be on the planet ‘Taepyeong.’
If his family was on another star, it would be difficult to take them with him when he left.
But it was not as if there was no way.
“If you go to Trappist, I will bring your family from ‘Taepyeong’ as well.”
“What? Trappist and ‘Taepyeong’ are connected to different relics, aren’t they? If Earth, where the relics are, is destroyed, then traveling between the two stars would be…”
He stopped mid-sentence and looked at me with an incredulous expression.
“Don’t tell me you can travel to other stars without being bound by the relics?”
[His imagination really is remarkable. If he became a magician, he might be worth nurturing…]
It was just as Soph said.
This nuclear technician realized a great many things without me having to say them.
I did not know whether that was an ability that would help a magician grow, but I nodded at his words.
“Not everything is possible, but basically, yes.”
After hearing me, Chen Ming let out a sigh.
“If that is true, then I have no choice but to go.”
He had changed his mind because of my words, but perhaps something still weighed on him, for his expression looked somewhat complicated.
So I added one more thing.
“One more thing. People will not be able to continue living on ‘Taepyeong.’ The people there will have to come to Trappist before it is too late.”
I had not said it directly, but this much was enough.
Because his expression hardened, and he nodded fiercely.
“I will go! Just tell me what I need to do.”
Once he agreed, I had him make a security pledge, then released the soundproofing magic.
My ears, which had felt a little muffled, cleared at once.
The forest was quiet.
From the base behind us, the sounds of things collapsing and burning still came, but the insects and animals in the forest held their breath as they watched us.
We quickly passed through the forest and arrived at the clearing where the helicopters were.
When we reached the clearing, the dark sky was slowly beginning to brighten.
The sun had risen.
The sun itself was not visible, and the sky was hazy and murky, but even so, I could tell that dawn had come.
Seeing that the helicopters were safe, the operatives let out sighs of relief.
It had been a dangerous operation, and there had been combat as well, but the mission had ended safely.
Fortunately, no soldiers had died during the operation.
There were soldiers wounded in the fighting, but everyone had made it back here alive.
None of them had received healing magic.
I had tried to use healing magic on the wounded soldiers, but after seeing the nuclear technician who had received healing magic, every one of them refused to be treated by me.
The operatives all began boarding the two helicopters.
All the operatives climbed aboard the helicopters, and the nuclear technician boarded as well.
I intended to take the nuclear technician to Trappist, but for now, he had to return with the Americans.
After even the nuclear technician had boarded, the unit commander was about to climb into the helicopter when he looked at me and said,
“You should board first.”
It seemed he intended to be the last to get on.
As expected, he was an exemplary commander.
However, I had no intention of boarding the helicopter.
“I have somewhere to stop by. I’ll go separately.”
“Pardon? But this is the middle of rebel territory. It won’t be easy to get out on foot.”
I shook my head at his words.
“I don’t intend to leave on foot.”
“Don’t tell me you intend to travel underground?”
It was something I had not expected at all.
Without realizing it, I ended up making a dumbfounded expression.
“My mistake. I suppose there is no need for me to worry about you.”
Perhaps realizing he had said something strange, the unit commander scratched his head and climbed into the helicopter.
After boarding, he raised his hand to his head and saluted me.
“I am Lieutenant Colonel Adam. It was an honor to carry out this operation with you.”
I also raised my hand and returned his salute.
Dudududu.
The two helicopters rose into the sky.
They immediately headed west.
I also cast a spell at once.
“Rise. Gravity Reversal.”
Shuaaaak!
My body shot into the sky.
I could sense people murmuring inside the helicopters as they grew farther away.
It seemed they had seen me fly.
I waved toward the helicopters, then flew off in another direction.
Toward the place where the rebel command, which was heading for Baekdu Mountain, was said to be.
As I flew toward Manchuria, I took out the satellite phone.
Then I called Magreta, who had gone to America.
Because if I was going to extract the nuclear technician midway, I needed to inform America in advance.
Magreta was dumbfounded by my call.
That was because, after sending her to America to recruit experts, she had never imagined that I would bring in a Chinese nuclear technician.
I had not known either that the first step in recruiting experts would be a Chinese man, but I had no intention of caring about nationality when gathering specialists.
In any case, people from countless countries had already come to Trappist. Nothing would change just because a Chinese person was added.
***
A day after the nuclear base had been neutralized, the rebels advancing toward Baekdu Mountain stopped their march.
The reason they stopped advancing was that their command had been annihilated.
According to what was being said, the reason the command had been annihilated was that the explosives they had piled up at headquarters had detonated from high heat.
However, neither the Allied Forces headquarters at Baekdu Mountain nor the American government believed that to be the real reason.
Naturally, the one who had annihilated the command was me.
After annihilating the rebel command, I headed to Pyeongyang Airport. It was to take the nuclear technician with me.
However, there, I met someone I had never expected.
Magreta’s older cousin, Maxwell, was waiting for me at Pyeongyang Airport.
“If you can use magic on Earth, why not try going to Antarctica once?”
The moment he saw me, he said something strange.
“We discovered a relic in Antarctica, where carbon dioxide is spewing out.”
It was something I had never imagined.
It was difficult to simply ignore the news that a new relic had been found on Earth.
On the Way to Antarctica