Translator: Dreamscribe
"Ugh!"
Ah. It was a dream.
Eileen let out a sigh of relief.
She looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings.
It was a hospital.
"Are you awake?"
"Wh, why am I here...?"
"You collapsed while receiving reports coming in from Turkey. We rushed you to the hospital."
Only then did the events of the previous day co back to her.
"What happened with Turkey...? Is it true there are no survivors at all?"
At her trembling voice, the secretary quietly nodded.
"No, ma'am. None. An explosion occurred inside the building when the earthquake struck, killing everyone."
"An explosion?"
"Yes. Whether the explosion was caused by the earthquake or deliberately set off under cover of it will require further investigation. But even without the explosion, they say everyone would have died under the rubble anyway..."
Had they intentionally triggered the explosion to make absolutely certain no evidence remained?
This confird it.
Kwangwoon had known this earthquake was going to happen.
No. They had clearly caused it themselves.
"What about the others?"
"They've all left."
"L-left?"
"Yes. After hearing the news, most of them disappeared without a trace. There's no one left in Congress willing to stand with you against Kwangwoon, Bureau Director. The handful of Republicans who had been cooperating with us have all fled the country."
In other words, Eileen was now on her own.
"......"
But she couldn't bla them.
If she hadn't fainted, she would have made the sa choice.
"On top of that, Kwangwoon is distributing compensation to everyone who died in this earthquake. Even to our people."
"Everyone?"
"Yes. And they sent this, addressed to you, Bureau Director."
It was a ssage from Kwangwoon, sent directly to Eileen.
"They're asking you to reschedule."
"Re-reschedule?"
"Yes. They say since the investigation in Turkey couldn't be properly carried out due to this natural disaster, you should set a new date and let them know, and they'll fully cooperate."
"......!"
What did it an, telling her to co back on a new date?
It ant the mont she set one, they would do exactly the sa thing all over again.
It was a threat: they would kill every last person, leaving no one behind.
"Ah..."
"B-Bureau Director!"
The words on the surface were perfectly polite, but the aning lurking beneath them was nothing short of terrifying. Eileen's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed once more.
* * *
"A-are you serious?"
"I am. I've made up my mind."
"B-but..."
John Hamilton was taken aback by Aiden's sudden declaration.
The man who had despised Kwangwoon so deeply was now saying he would join their side.
What could this possibly an?
"I know. My political career is over. If I hadn't tried to oppose Kwangwoon, the current administration would have run smoothly, and I would have served out my presidency just fine. But as you're well aware, the era of the Democrats is over. And that's the price we paid for defying Kwangwoon."
That was why Aiden had been deliberately pretending to have dentia, putting on the act of a confused old man.
But after the Turkey incident, he realized none of that was of any use.
"The Turkey incident, you've heard about it?"
"Yes. A massive earthquake struck, and all the Aricans who had gone to investigate the headquarters were killed..."
"Right. The dia is praising Kwangwoon for taking responsibility despite being subjected to an unfair investigation, handing out compensation to the families of the victims. On social dia, people are consoling Kwangwoon, saying the governnt's blundering only got innocent people killed and cost Kwangwoon money."
The world had already lost its mind.
With Kwangwoon having conquered the dia, people's thoughts were being reshaped to their liking.
"It's only going to get worse from here. Now that Kwangwoon has swallowed up Wizney, they're set on warping children's minds from an early age, indoctrinating them."
"......"
But there was no one left to stop it.
Because anyone who dared criticize them was branded as just another deranged conspiracy theorist.
And on top of that, Eileen, the Antitrust Bureau Director who had been holding the last line of defense, had resigned just yesterday, taking full responsibility.
Responsibility in na only. Eileen had been scared and run.
"Kwangwoon knows I gave the final approval for this operation. No. They probably already knew I would. And they've almost certainly known all along that I was putting on the senile old man act."
"Are you afraid of retaliation?"
"Yes. They've already turned my administration into a vegetable. So what happens if they take it one step further?"
"Impeachnt...!"
"Even as the head of a dead administration, that's one disgrace I'd like to avoid."
The only thing that could deal a fatal blow to Aiden's legacy was impeachnt.
After all, in the entire history of Arican presidents, not a single one had actually been removed from office through impeachnt.
Aiden was terrified of becoming the first.
"The Republicans have been screaming about impeaching day and night. But that's just a tool to keep our administration from functioning, not sothing anyone actually thinks will happen."
"But you believe Kwangwoon could make it happen if they set their mind to it."
"Exactly. And I know you've been making the rounds lately, eting people across both the Republican and Democratic sides."
"That's not lobbying, it's just routine..."
"You don't have to hide it from . Sure, maybe for you it's routine etings. But the people you've t see it differently. None of them think of you as my forr Chief of Staff. They see you as an envoy sent on behalf of Kwangwoon."
John had been deliberately eting more people than necessary, even without orders from above.
An ingrained fear drove him: the knowledge that if he failed to perform, he could be purged at any mont.
"I've heard you've been recruiting people into so kind of organization."
"Ah. That's..."
"Could I join it too?"
"You, Mr. President?"
"Yes. That organization was created by Kwangwoon, wasn't it? Joining it would an receiving Kwangwoon's protection."
"That's true, but..."
"Tell . What's the na of this organization?"
John hesitated for a mont before answering.
"Trinity."
"Heh. A na that absolutely reeks of conspiracy. Who's running it?"
"The Secretary of Comrce."
"Ha. He was on Kwangwoon's side too? No, I suppose at this point it's harder to find soone who isn't. Anyway, can I get in?"
"If I bring it up with the Secretary of Comrce, it should be possible. But there is one condition."
"A condition. I'm prepared for anything."
A secret organization like this would surely require so kind of initiation ritual before joining.
That's how it always was in every movie and drama he'd ever seen.
And this was an organization far more massive than anything depicted in those shows.
So he was ready for whatever ritual they demanded.
Even if he had to offer his blood to the devil!
"Mr. President. Do you, by any chance..."
Aiden swallowed hard and waited for John's next words.
"Do you know how to play video gas?"
"...What?"
* * *
"Really?"
"Yes. They say there are no plans for further investigation. All they said was that they send their gratitude to Kwangwoon for extending compensation even to the fallen agents. And Eileen, the Antitrust Bureau Director who had been spearheading this, has resigned."
"It sounds like there's been a lot of backlash in the U.S. over the earthquake. All those Aricans who went to investigate died, after all."
The dia was pinning the bla on Eileen and the U.S. governnt, calling it a tragedy born from a reckless investigation pursued without evidence.
It seed that public pressure had led to the withdrawal of the investigation.
"It's hard to call this good news, exactly. People on our side died too, along with the governnt's people."
"Yes. As you instructed, the compensation has been delivered, and we'll be handling the funerals according to the families' wishes."
"Good. Well done. And please have Sentinel Headquarters rebuilt. This ti, make sure it can withstand an earthquake."
"Yes. I'll pass that along."
It had been a terrible disaster, and I didn't want to dwell on it any longer.
The compensation had been handled properly, the aftermath managed cleanly. It was ti to move on.
"Any other matters?"
"It seems sothing has co up with Shipping."
"Shipping?"
"Yes. As you know, we've been experiencing a record-breaking drought from last year into this one. It's climate change-related damage, and apparently it's affecting the Panama Canal."
There are two waterways known as the world's great canals.
The Suez Canal and the Panama Canal.
They are the most heavily trafficked shipping routes, and if either one is blocked, it spells disaster for the shipping industry.
Because bypassing these canals and taking the long way around adds over a month to delivery tis.
That is why these two canals must never be blocked.
"The Panama Canal draws its water from Gatun Lake, an artificial lake. The freshwater is used to operate the locks, but the worst drought since records began in 1950 has left Gatun Lake critically low."
"Is it really that serious?"
"Yes. Every ship that passes through requires 200 million liters of freshwater. In the current conditions, that's simply unsustainable. So they've announced they're cutting traffic volu in half."
For the shipping industry, this was devastating news.
Every existing schedule had been thrown into complete disarray.
"So who's getting hit the hardest?"
"If these schedules get delayed, the two most affected parties are Kangseong and Apple. Critical raw materials are loaded on ships that can't pass through the Panama Canal, which ans they can't reach the factories."
"So production will be disrupted."
"Yes."
"What are the options?"
"The only imdiate solution is to source the materials from elsewhere and ship them by air. But that's extrely expensive, and more importantly, air freight is already at full capacity. There isn't enough room to cover both Kangseong and Apple. Even serving just one of them wouldn't provide sufficient volu."
So who should receive priority?
This was sothing I didn't even need my instincts for.
It had to be Kangseong, our own country's company, for the sake of Chairman Kang Sung-ho, who was practically a brother to .
* * *
"Yesterday it was the Panama Canal getting blocked. Now what's happening at Suez today?"
Chairman Kang Sung-ho had already called an ergency eting the day before when news broke that the Panama Canal was being blocked. Thankfully, Kwangwoon had reassured them by saying they would redirect every available shipnt by air.
But today, more news had arrived.
This ti, the Suez was blocked.
"Last month, the war between Israel and Hamas broke out. As a result, Houthi rebels in Yen have reportedly been attacking ships suspected of heading toward Israel."
"What!? Don't tell our ships were attacked too?"
"Yes. Officially, they're using Israel as a pretext for the attacks, but their real objective appears to be the goods on the ships. They're looting the cargo for their own use. One of the ships carrying Kangseong goods happened to be among those attacked."
"Damn it!"
Production had already been disrupted by the Panama Canal blockage, and now the Suez too!
This was a catastrophic situation.
"Wasn't Sentinel supposed to be providing protection over there?"
"Yes. But when the Turkey headquarters was destroyed in the earthquake, it seems to have disrupted the command structure and systems in the region. Besides, pirates weren't typically active near the Suez Canal, so security had been relatively lax. And these aren't ordinary pirates; they're rebels with an actual military force."
Kang Sung-ho was racking his brain.
He couldn't even begin to figure out how to handle this.
"But Chairman, setting aside the Panama Canal, don't you think there's sothing strange about what happened at the Suez?"
"What do you an?"
"The earthquake in Turkey. From what I understand, there's been a lot of talk about it."
Kang Sung-ho was aware of that.
The Aricans who had gone to investigate entered Sentinel Headquarters in Turkey, and the mont they did, an earthquake struck and killed them all.
That's why conspiracy theories were circulating, suggesting Kwangwoon might possess the technology to trigger earthquakes.
"But what does that have to do with this?"
"There is one company that suffered enormous damage from the Turkey disaster."
"Who?"
"Our biggest competitor: Apple."
"......!"
Apple, the undisputed king of smartphones.
They were a major victim of this earthquake?
"Apple originally had factories all across Asia, but as Kwangwoon and Kangseong grew more powerful, we managed to block Apple's factory expansion through various pressures."
"That's right."
"So the place Apple chose was Turkey. After the president over there pulled a reckless stunt and barely survived thanks to Kwangwoon's help, inflation was brought under control. On top of that, they declared they would welco all foreign investnt, so Apple moved in, lured by the cheap labor and developnt costs."
"Wait. Then don't tell ..."
"Yes. The earthquake apparently wiped out the factories Apple had built at astronomical cost. Worse, those facilities manufactured core smartphone components, so with them gone, the launch of their new product line is now uncertain."
And with both the Panama and Suez canals blocked, Apple's supply chain was being strangled even further.
In other words, the attack at the Suez Canal may not have been a coincidence.
"Chairman. If this earthquake really was caused by Kwangwoon..."
The executive delivering the report spoke with a faint tremor in his voice.
"It may not have been simply to protect Sentinel Headquarters."
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