Chapter 401: That’s why we’ve ended up in this state (1)
The South Korean governnt’s response to the latest unfolding crisis was unusually swift. Didn’t matter what the severity of the crisis facing the nation, this governnt was infamous for how slow it was with their response but at least this ti around, they were quick to go beyond the boundaries of the constitution and made rapid counter moves.
They quickly declared the state of ergency, and the chain of command was unified under the president. The preparations to engage the monsters at a mont’s notice was completed very quickly. The military released the locks on the old armoury, and finished up the maintenance on all of their vehicles to ensure that regardless of when and where a situation reared its head, a sizeable force could be deployed at the snap of a finger.
As for the civilian side of things, the governnt ca up with a newer, far more comprehensive set of evacuation protocol in order to minimise the potential casualties as much as possible.
All the hard work Song Jeong-Su had put it at the expense of his sleep turned out to be even better than his own imagination, in other words.
However, a new problem raised its ugly head next.
“This isn’t a pensioner’s community centre or sothing, so how co...” (Song Jeong-Su)
Song Jeong-Su stared at the bureaucrats currently slumped over the couches in the ergency response centre’s main office and clicked his tongue.
He couldn’t bring himself to slag them off, though.
These poor folks had to forsake the comforts of their own hos and had to do the proverbial overnight march since no one knew when the crisis would break out.
The thing was, though, when that march had to go on for three nights straight and nothing of note happened in the anti, it was bound to tire out everyone involved to the extre degree.
“Why isn’t there any movent?” (Song Jeong-Su)
Even at this mont, the United States, China, and Germany were engaged in brutal battles. Although the old-school weapons almost didn’t work at all against the monsters, they simply had no choice but to deploy ability users and regular soldiers despite the heavy sacrifice this would cost them.
But, contrary to all the events happening everywhere else, South Korea, located closest to a ‘spot’, was enjoying probably her most peaceful days in a very long ti.
“...What’s happening in Pyongyang?” (Song Jeong-Su)
“There has been no movent, sir.”
“Mm...” (Song Jeong-Su)
Song Jeong-Su could only stare at the giant monitor with sowhat hollow eyes.
Monsters were pouring out from the various spots in the world like water gushing out from a tap turned all the way open, yet only the one in Pyongyang was completely silent.
No one could tell whether that was because Yi Ji-Hyuk had rampaged around there once already or because there was so other hidden agenda.
The South Korean president Yun Yeong-Min fake coughed to clear his throat and spoke up.
“You know, it feels like we have a bit too much leeway at the mont.” (Yun Yeong-Min)
“Indeed so, sir. So much so that I’m feeling a bit sorry about what’s happening in the Ministry of Finance.” (Song Jeong-Su)
It was as if an actual bomb had gone off in the world of finance at the mont. It was understandable, however, seeing how three nations arguably at the centre of the world’s finance were struck by the explosions of monsters. Not only were the stock markets in a free fall reminiscent of the gushing waters of the Niagara Fall, even the international export and import had co to a grinding halt, as well.
Because of this developnt, both Ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs were kept really busy trying to secure the food supply in case sothing went wrong sowhere.
“That side was a complete warzone the last ti I was there.” (Song Jeong-Su)
Song Jeong-Su paid a visit to the related ministries earlier to question them on the progress only to be chased out of there by the vice minister, saying they were too busy to entertain a guest right now. Rembering that spectacle, he ended up sighing grandly before asking a question.
“Why aren’t monsters showing up?” (Song Jeong-Su)
The defense minister replied with a pouting expression.
“Even if you ask that... It’s not like I’m the resident Gate specialist or anything...” (defense minister)
“Urgh.” (Song Jeong-Su)
What’s even more perplexing was that, after these dinsional gateways opened up, the monster-spewing regular Gates stopped appearing altogether.
If they opened as normal, then maybe the forces currently ward up and ready to go would’ve had a place to vent so steam, but now that the regular Gates weren’t showing up at all, the KSF and the military could only stay stuck in the seemingly-aningless standby for the ti being.
“Has there been any request for assistance?” (Song Jeong-Su)
“...No, sir.” (defense minister)
Germany and the United States were currently sending nonstop SOS signals to their neighbouring countries. European nations knew that Germany’s fall would an their own destruction would be next so they chose to send all of their available forces to the frontlines as no Gates were opening anyway. As for the U.S, they were continuously asking for reinforcents from Canada as well as their allies in Latin Arica.
However, none of them were asking South Korea for support.
‘Well, we’re the closest to a spot, after all.’ (Song Jeong-Su)
Logically speaking, the one most likely to get swept away was none other than South Korea. So, it made so sense that no one was requesting assistance from such a country.
“...So, what exactly should we be doing now?” (Song Jeong-Su)
“I wonder about that myself.” (defense minister)
“Mm.” (Song Jeong-Su)
Sowhat ironically, South Korea was experiencing what seed to be her most peaceful period post-Black Monday.
*
“Argh, freaking hell?!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk yelled out as he watched his avatar die.
And Choi Jeong-Hoon watching this spectacle could only murmur morosely.
“Whether it’s the fool playing a computer ga in the current situation, or the company still operating the servers in the current situation...” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Of course, you had to make money regardless of what was happening in the world, so the company running the servers certainly didn’t deserve to be blad. The one at fault had to be this fool, right here.
‘But, it is a bit hard to criticise him, isn’t it.’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Because, it wasn’t just Yi Ji-Hyuk alone. Every NDF agent was also dazedly staring at their monitors right now.
“We really don’t have anything to do, now do we?” (Kim Dah-Hyun)
Kim Dah-Hyun piped up, and Yun Hyuk-Gyu nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders.
“How should I fra this... Yeah, so. Back when we were being dispatched every single freaking day, I was like, this is crap and I can’t stand it anymore, but now that we haven’t seen any action for a few days, even this is crap and I can’t stand it anymore.” (Yun Hyuk-Gyu)
“You think so, too?” (Kim Dah-Hyun)
“Won’t we end up unemployed at this rate?” (Yun Hyuk-Gyu)
Choi Jeong-Hoon eavesdropped on the two n’s conversation, then sneakily turned his head towards the head desk. Seo Ah-Young was sitting there with a mirror, and was currently repeating the action of putting on so make-up before rubbing it off, only to apply so more again.
“...What are you doing, ma’am?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
She glanced at Choi Jeong-Hoon, before replying nonchalantly.
“I’m testing which make-up suits the best. I was too busy to find it out earlier, so I might as well use this opportunity.” (Seo Ah-Young)
“Ah. Of course.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Choi Jeong-Hoon smiled awkwardly, then while mouthing a cigarette, walked outside the office.
‘I can’t get used to this and it’s driving nuts.’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
He had no problem with the agents taking it easy and doing nothing. Honestly speaking, he thought that this was a well-deserved and necessary rest for them after everything they had gone through recently. So that they would be able to endure in the upcoming battles without breaking down.
What Choi Jeong-Hoon had a real problem with was that he too had nothing to do right now.
Not even once during the past ten years did he have nothing to do like this. So, he simply had no clue what he should be doing when no work required his attention.
If he was a regular salaryman, then he’d have found out a long ti ago what to do next when no work presented itself. Too bad, he was not a regular salaryman at all. His computer was filled with nothing but work-related stuff, too. No need to ntion his phone, either.
‘Should I just sleep?’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
The sleeping quarters had been set up exactly for monts like this, but he got used to crashing in there while suffering from the extre level of fatigue, so he didn’t feel confident of falling asleep when his mind was functioning so perfectly like this.
“Urgh...” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Just as Choi Jeong-Hoon began contemplating what he should do next, the office door was flung open and Yi Ji-Hyuk making a very crumpled expression waltzed out with a cigarette stuck to his mouth, too.
“Argh, gim a freaking break. Those crazy b*stards, why are they playing gas when the world is in this state, anyway?!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
‘Hey, you’re also one of those crazy b*stards, too.’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Choi Jeong-Hoon knew oh-so well that this thing called ‘truth’ had to be concealed if peace was to be maintained, so he quickly decided not to say what’s in his mind and shatter the calm that ca to visit them after such a long ti.
“It’s not working out for you, then?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“Only the invalids are populating the servers now so the difficulty has gone through the roof. They are a bunch of slackers with nothing better to do.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
‘But, you’re also one of those slackers too, aren’t you?!’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Yi Ji-Hyuk was still persisting with spitting in the air when he was lying on his back right now.
“Do you know why there hasn’t been any movent in Pyongyang?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“Why are you asking that?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“Well, that’s because you’re the most knowledgeable person on this planet when it cos to the demon world.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“...Why am I the expert all of a sudden?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Maybe he inwardly agreed with Choi Jeong-Hoon’s assessnt, because Yi Ji-Hyuk then began opening his mouth.
“I also don’t know the exact reason. Maybe they are scared after getting hit pretty hard the last ti and decided not to co here, and if that’s not it, then maybe the spot’s accessibility isn’t so good.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“What do you an by accessibility?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“Let’s say that you want to go to another place, but one of the Gates is next to the Han River while the other one is at the top of Mount Everest. Which one do you think you’re going to choose?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“Hul?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Choi Jeong-Hoon hadn’t really thought about that.
“But hang on, shouldn’t they be uniformly spread out, like how it is in a manga or sothing?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“That’s because a mangaka has never been to a demon world before.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“...Wow, that’s actually pretty convincing.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Choi Jeong-Hoon gained a renewed appreciation on how important the act of location scouting was. Could it be that the age of mangakas needing to visit the demon world if they wanted to draw a manga had dawned upon humanity now?
“Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“Yes?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“How long will this peace last?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“...How can you even mouth that word when other countries are sweating blood and sh*t just to stay alive?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
When Yi Ji-Hyuk stared back with this vague hint of contempt in his eyes, Choi Jeong-Hoon hurriedly waved his hands in denial.
“W-wait! I ant our country’s peace! Our country’s!” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“We’re supposed to be one family in the globalised world, yet this guy...” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“Are you going to keep painting as the bad guy?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Choi Jeong-Hoon grinned wryly. The honest truth was, the situation in other countries weren’t as bad as what others were making them out to be.
The initial prediction was that monsters would flood out and sweep away everything. But in stark contrast to that earlier projection, the monsters and the demon kings were not making any notable moves at the mont.
“I wonder about it myself. Like what I told you the last ti, the creatures of the demon world have this weird concept of ti compared to us humans, so... From their perspective, it’s probably like not even one hour has passed since the start of the invasion.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“aning, their perception of ti is much longer compared to ours.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“Well, yeah... If the other side decides to mop around and waste ti, then the event of us dying of old age before they start advancing could happen.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Choi Jeong-Hoon’s expression hardened a little just then.
‘Should I tell the others to stop attacking?’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
If what Yi Ji-Hyuk said was true, then attacking the demon kings and their monster armies needlessly and agitating them could very well be hastening the destruction of mankind, instead.
“Well, that’s true only if we’re dealing with the demons, of course.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“Excuse ?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“You know. Alpha.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Choi Jeong-Hoon’s expression crumpled instantly at that na.
“This whole thing was his baby so I’m guessing he’s not going to sit around and do nothing when everything seems to have hit a bit of a lull.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“...I think you’re right.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
The ‘Alpha’ Choi Jeong-Hoon saw that day was the perfect example of an intelligent psychopath. Now normally, soone that mad would more often than not act on impulse rather than reasoning. But Alpha, despite being an undeniable nutcase, only made moves after making foolproof calculations.
aning, he was the hardest type to fight against in the entire world.
It was hard to imagine that soone capable of putting in motion a sche to nearly kill the one and only Yi Ji-Hyuk, wouldn’t have any plans in place after the doorways to the demon world had opened up.
“By the way, just what happened to that guy that he turned into a wackjob like that?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“That’s sothing you should ask Christopher McLaren, not . From what I heard in passing, Alpha seems to be one of the test subjects in the ability user experints done by the Aricans.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“Oh, you an one of those illegal human experints?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“...Most likely.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Yi Ji-Hyuk tutted loudly.
“I’m telling you, those guys always pretend to be the most righteous out of everyone only to do all sorts of dirty stuff under the table.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Choi Jeong-Hoon grinned wryly again. Rather than anti-Arica, he leaned closer to being pro-Arica, but even then, he couldn’t really refute what Yi Ji-Hyuk had said. It was the truth, after all.
“In any case. It ans we need to deal with Alpha first and foremost.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“Well, yeah. If it’s possible, that is. That guy’s whereabouts always have been a mystery until now, right? So, will anyone be able to find him when it’s so chaotic out there?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
What Yi Ji-Hyuk said just now made so sense. However, Choi Jeong-Hoon held a different view on the matter.
“The only reason why Alpha managed to hide until now was because his existence has been kept under the wraps. The Aricans wanted to take him out, no doubt about that, but on the other hand, they also didn’t want anyone else to know about him, as well. His existence is a source of great sha to them, after all.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“...And that’s why we’ve ended up in this state.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“Exactly.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Trying so hard to hide your embarrassing secret would inevitably make it blow up in your face even harder than before. It was truly unfortunate, but this was one such case where the Aricans tried to hide Alpha’s existence only for the whole world to suffer the consequences.
“...Well, I’m sure the Aricans will take care of it sohow.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk shrugged his shoulders, then walked back inside the office building.
Choi Jeong-Hoon quietly stared at his departing back, and sighed softly under his breath.
< 401. That’s why we’ve ended up in this state -1 > Fin.
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