[Ergency earthquake alert. Please be cautious of strong tremors in Fukuoka Prefecture, Saga Prefecture, Tsushima Island, and Iki Island.]
Following the announcent by the NHK announcer, all Japanese broadcasting stations simultaneously issued earthquake alerts.
Soon after, tsunami warnings were also sounded, and people began evacuating in unison.
Japan was a country accustod to experiencing earthquakes several tis a day, so they were familiar with this level of seismic activity.
However, this earthquake was different.
There was no clear epicenter or aftershocks, and the origin point continued to shake incessantly.
It felt as if soone were excavating the ocean floor with a gigantic shovel.
Usually, earthquakes with a Richter scale magnitude below 3 would quickly subside, and people would regain their composure.
But this earthquake had been shaking the ground relentlessly for two hours, just like it did in the beginning.
Moreover, the land near the beaches of Fukuoka City had instantaneously liquefied, causing buildings to sway dangerously.
The citizens of Fukuoka City were filled with terror.
“This is the prelude to a massive earthquake! The big one is coming!”
While the Japanese were immune to moderate earthquakes to so extent, they harbored imnse fear for massive earthquakes.
They had experienced them multiple tis in the past, and scholars had constantly issued warnings.
As a result, the citizens of Fukuoka City began to quietly escape.
“Please remain calm! Do not leave the city!”
The police hurriedly intervened, but there was no way to quell the deep-rooted fear.
Although the actual damage was not significant, the ongoing earthquake made the areas near the city perilous.
As tens of thousands of people tried to evacuate the city, the major roads transford into parking lots in an instant.
Northern Kyushu had fallen into a state of paralysis.
The Japanese governnt urgently established a crisis managent center and started assessing the situation, but there was very little they could do in practical terms.
anwhile, at the epicenter of all this chaos, the settler ship was continuously flipping the land using a gravity crane at a depth of 2,700 ters underwater.
Without even having ti to process it, the Black tal was literally being sucked in and the cavity quickly filled up.
Arma expanded the Aether field widely, enclosing the settler ship with Black tal.
As a result, the settler ship appeared like a massive rock formation.
“We need to secure the space.”
When the Black tal went beyond the range of the Aether field, Arma made the decision to move these entities.
As the settler ship slowly moved away from the coastal waters of Japan, the earthquake temporarily ceased.
However, two hours later, when it returned and flipped the land again, another earthquake occurred.
The Japanese people were filled with terror, believing that this was even worse than the devastating Kumamoto earthquake that occurred ten years ago.
Scholars had advised evacuating Fukuoka City, which was close to the epicenter, but the Japanese governnt did not easily accept this suggestion.
And two days later, the earthquakes suddenly subsided as if nothing had happened.
There were no aftershocks, and life returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
However, the areas near the epicenter had suffered significant damage.
Hundreds of thousands of households experienced power outages, and the water pipes ruptured, causing widespread flooding.
Although there weren’t many buildings that collapsed, over 300 locations were reported to have suffered severe liquefaction.
The Japanese governnt hastily deployed 20,000 self-defense forces to search for missing individuals and provide support to the disaster victims.
And they were observing everything through the maintained Sibiri artificial satellite.
“How many casualties are there?”
“There have been 15 deaths, over 1,700 injuries, and 320 missing persons reported so far. There is a possibility that these numbers will increase as ti passes.”
“Surprisingly, the number of deaths is relatively low.”
“That’s because it’s sothing that happens frequently. Japan is considered one of the leading countries in earthquake preparedness worldwide.”
“It’s sowhat fortunate, then…”
This is hypocrisy.
Considering it fortunate that there were fewer casualties caused by the entity who orchestrated the earthquake.
However, he was capable of committing any atrocity for the sake of rebuilding the United Human Alliance.
In the future, he may have to directly or indirectly kill millions of people.
Many will revile and curse him.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t stop.
From the mont he arrived here, dragging the settler ship, his fate was sealed.
With a somber expression, he gazed across Japan before turning his gaze away.
“If there’s any communication coming from Japan, connect it to imdiately.”
[Understood.]
…
The Japanese archipelago was plunged into shock by the continuous earthquakes over the span of two days.
However, there was sothing else that truly mattered.
The Japanese governnt had major concerns about the overlap between the location of the Black tal deposit and the epicenter.
As the earthquakes subsided, they quickly dispatched survey teams.
And the results were shocking.
“The Black tal… has completely disappeared!”
“It seems to have been concealed deep under the seabed due to the aftermath of the earthquake. Currently, the possibility of mining is close to zero.”
Upon hearing this report, Pri Minister Genzo Fujimoto’s body wavered.
Surrounding officials hurriedly supported him and helped him into his seat.
“Hmm…”
A deep sigh escaped him.
The sense of loss from losing the Black tal was several tis greater than the impact of the earthquakes or the plumting economic indicators.
Japan was a large country, and its finances were sound.
The repercussions of the earthquakes could be managed, and indices like the Nikkei would quickly recover.
But the vanished Black tal… Where could it have gone?
Amidst the global scramble to secure Black tal, with nations on high alert and even mobilizing military forces, they realized that “Divine tal,” Black tal, was the future of Japan.
However, that future had not entirely vanished.
Pri Minister Fujimoto clung to a faint glimr of hope in one final possibility.
Before a vote of no confidence could pass in the Diet, sothing needed to be done.
“Connect to the CEO of Silla Energy.”
In an unprecedented event, the Pri Minister of Japan made a phone call to the head of a Korean company.
ssages were relayed through diplomatic channels, and intense negotiations took place behind the scenes.
In the anti, the Pri Minister found himself surrounded by journalists, bombarded with questions.
“Is it true that Black tal has disappeared due to the impact of the earthquakes?”
“Are you planning to express regrets directly to Silla Energy? If that’s true, shouldn’t you reconsider?”
“What will your course of action be? Will you dissolve the Diet if a vote of no confidence is passed?”
During the question-and-answer session, it was revealed that the Pri Minister intended to personally express regrets to the head of Shin Energy.
Naturally, opinions beca sharply divided.
—It’s unthinkable for the Pri Minister to bow his head. Expressing regrets on an economic and industrial level is sufficient.
—Face reality. Can we really expect the person who declared Japan’s exclusion from the Black tal ecosystem to be satisfied with that?
—Sobody has to bear the bla.
In tis of crisis, it is common to assign bla to soone.
However, it was rare for the Japanese people to calmly pinpoint the responsible party.
Bla was directed towards the economic and industrial bureaucrats who made disrespectful remarks, the leaders of the two companies, governnt agencies, the Diet, the dia, and the online community.
The bla ga focused directly on those involved in the economic and industrial sector.
…
The unique phenonon of Easy ga, which is characteristic of Japan, had begun, and the bureaucrats, unable to withstand the turmoil, chose to commit suicide in economic and industrial buildings.
As all the evils ca back to haunt them, the leaders of the two companies imdiately held a press conference and declared their resignation.
—CEO Yu Ji-ha, we sincerely apologize for the trouble we’ve caused. We humbly request your kind understanding and ask for your careful attention to this matter.
The journalists roared during the ensuing commotion.
Watching it through the TV in his office, Yu Ji-ha muttered under his breath.
“I clearly told them to do it in front of .”
Shortly after, a call ca from the number given by the Presidential Office.
It was Pri Minister Fujimoto of Japan.
Only Arma, who overheard the conversation, knew what they discussed.
However, one thing was certain.
The Japanese governnt chose to bend rather than scratch their ego.
Yu Ji-ha wasn’t entirely satisfied, but he decided to stop at this point.
There was no need for further retaliation.
If he pushed it any further, Japan would not surrender, and it would only lead to unnecessary conflict.
He didn’t have ti to waste on this matter when there were so many tasks that needed to be handled in the future.
Rather than completely destroying the Japanese archipelago…
—Let’s finish the work as cleanly and quickly as possible. That’s the most important thing.
It was a phrase Lucía had often said, and he was deeply influenced by her.
After ending the call, he declared to the reporters waiting in front of the headquarters.
“We are lifting the Black tal embargo on Japan. From now on, Silla Energy will directly export Black tal to Japan and receive an appropriate level of investnt. That’s all.”
Although he didn’t ntion the scale of it, everyone could imagine that it would be trendous.
In an instant, the press conference ended, and he turned around.
“Wait, hold on!”
“President Yu!”
The journalists quickly stood up and rushed towards him.
…
As expected, Deputy Chief Martin extended his hand with a concerned expression.
―There are over a thousand people who witnessed the railgun experint. It’s impossible to control what they say.
“Well, even if that’s the case, what pressure did you put on the Korean governnt?”
―Using the term “pressure” might be a bit excessive. It seems that the White House felt the need for diation.
The United States had always taken Japan’s side whenever conflicts arose between Japan and Korea.
It was an unavoidable reality due to the difference in realistic national power.
“Doesn’t that an if sothing like this happens again, they can put pressure on as well?”
―To dispel such speculation, we need to discreetly inform you of the White House’s decision. The President wants to et you personally. After that eting, a decision on investnt will be made in the working-level eting.
Yu Ji-ha grumbled while holding his phone.
“It’s just adding another line to the list of investnt companies: the U.S. governnt.”
―If you know the scale, you’ll retract your words. Anyway, I didn’t get an answer about the visit.
“I suppose I have to figure it out myself. Let know once the schedule is set.”
―Haha, let’s discuss the schedule later. By the way, the Navy wants five Black tal cannons as soon as possible. They’re requesting it urgently.
“I’ll send them to Osan Air Base in three days.”
One crisis, not Yu Ji-ha’s personal crisis, but a crisis in general, ca to an end.
However, his father, Yu Kyung-seok, found himself facing a serious dilemma.
The realization that he had done nothing in this incident weighed heavily on him.
‘My son as a hostage… What a disgraceful situation.’
Fortunately, with the occurrence of the earthquake and the disappearance of Black tal, they narrowly avoided being boycotted by the Japanese governnt.
The chaebols in the business hierarchy would have been trembling, and Silla Group would have been in complete disarray.
“Phew…”
Chairman Yu Kyung-seok keenly felt his own powerlessness as he observed the series of events.
At the sa ti, he found his son, who had successfully navigated through such a crisis without any mishaps, to be reliable and trustworthy.
“I had planned to hand over the group to him in ten years…”
When a person reaches about forty, they gain insights and accumulate experiences.
But his proud son was only in his early thirties, taking care of everything on his own.
The fact that Silla Group had erged from its slump was also largely thanks to his son’s efforts.
“Phew…”
A deep puff of smoke was exhaled.
Chairman Yu Kyung-seok had already made up his mind deep within his heart.
Retiring at a relatively young age wouldn’t be a bad idea.
It’s ti to take a step back.
He picked up the phone.
“Ji-ha, if you’re free, let’s have lunch together today. Well… nothing special, just wanted to catch up.”
The fight between a Korean company and Japan ca to a quick end.
It was only then that the world realized Japan’s dirty tricks.
Toyota and Panasonic, who had been called to sign a contract and were locked in a warehouse, appeared 30 minutes later.
The scene was captured on CCTV and uploaded by dia outlets to mock them.
The Japanese governnt, in an effort to prevent damage to its own companies, had triggered an unfair boycott.
Lastly, they closed their eyes and ears, blaming Korean businessn while Japanese netizens followed suit with their disgraceful comnts.
When a video summarizing the incident was translated into 50 languages and uploaded on YouTube, it was t with a wave of ridicule.
As they watched others engage in argunts and get humiliated, they couldn’t help but feel sorry for those losers.
—It’s really pathetic how they call people and then bring them down. It’s like dealing with children.
—But why did he accept that? If it were , I would have excluded them from the beginning.
—Well, Japan is a powerful country. The US probably exerted pressure on them. And there are pro-Japanese factions in Korea too.
—If that’s the case, there might have been a hidden agreent. The Japanese governnt must have suffered significant losses.
But what about those people who said Yu Ji-ha was ruining Silla Energy? Where did they all go?
—They probably shorted the stock and went bankrupt. If you go to stock discussion boards, you can vividly see the history of their failure.
—That’s why they’re saying they need to ban individual short selling.
—I signed a petition three years ago asking for individuals to be allowed to short sell.
anwhile, on the Whisper Silla Group forum, praises overflowed instead of bla.
—If Japan had boycotted the group, we would have been in big trouble.
—At least the shipbuilding, electronics, and automotive industries would have been completely devastated. We had to trade with Japan because our dostic trading partners were blocked.
—But how could they tell the Japanese governnt to back off? They’re really gutsy.
—Rember when CEO Yu Ji-ha called it a show while having lunch at the company cafeteria?
—Looks like he made a mistake. He still goes to the cafeteria for lunch.
—But isn’t that blonde woman his girlfriend?
—I heard she’s his secretary. I wish I could work alongside soone like her.
—If I had around 1 trillion won, it might be possible.
—Hey, did anyone buy energy stocks that skyrocketed 50 tis? Anyone?
—Why the hell would you blow up a nuclear bomb?
—We were all in a selling mood back then!
—I doubt anyone predicted such a surge.
—Except for the CEO.
—Anyway, these days, the whole group is on the rise. It seems like the chairman’s shoulders are dancing.
—Energy is soaring to the sky, and Auto is no joke. And there’s a gradual increase in the shipbuilding sector due to the mining boom.
—But why isn’t Hi-Tech rising?
—That’s because you’re there.
—But isn’t it ti for a vice-chairman position?
—But CEO Yu’s managent skills are sothing else, right?
—You’d be surprised to see the Silla Energy employees leaving on ti.
—Exactly. Once they finish their assigned tasks, they go ho. No overti, and they have team dinners during lunchti.
—And the salaries have increased this ti. It’s truly a dream workplace.
—But so of them say they feel like they’ve beco re cogs in the machine. They just have to do as they’re told.
—In this day and age, if you can work at a company without being fired, that’s a good thing.
—Oh, I want to work at Energy too! Hi-Tech is really hopeless…
—Just wait a little longer. I have a feeling that the CEO will be promoted and take charge of Hi-Tech.
—Are you serious? Vice-chairman at the age of 33?
—He’s a chaebol. His position is completely different from ours.
—But why did he choose Hi-Tech? He could have taken over Auto or Electronics, which have rapidly rising stock prices.
—Well, my future is hopeless.
—Stay strong.
Note:
The term “Diet” refers to the National Diet of Japan. The National Diet is the bicaral legislative body of Japan, similar to a parliant or congress in other countries. It is composed of two houses: the House of Representatives (Lower House) and the House of Councillors (Upper House). The Diet is responsible for enacting laws, approving the national budget, and overseeing the actions of the governnt. It plays a crucial role in the democratic governance of Japan.
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