Chapter 111: It’s God’s Punishment
―Korea, under attack!
―Terrorist attack in the middle of Seoul by a large aircraft… The location is the Silla Group headquarters building.
On the evening of March 25th, the major media and communities in Korea were covered with breaking news due to the terror.
Until now, the exact number of casualties was not known, but as the chaos grew, ominous rumors began to circulate.
―There were a few employees and President Yu Ji-ha in the Silla Group headquarters building.
―The president didn’t die, but he was seriously injured and unconscious.
―The traffic lights in Gangnam all turned red to move the president to the hospital.
The rumors were quite detailed, and they matched what Baek Seongmin, the chief secretary, had heard.
He checked the location of the terror and the president’s whereabouts, and felt his heart sink.
‘Please, please let it not be true…’
As he headed to the scene with his secretaries, more breaking news kept coming in.
―Silla Group headquarters building, fire caused by aviation fuel explosion.
―22-story building completely collapsed… Casualties are unconfirmed.
And in the middle of it, he got a call from the head of security.
“This is Kim Wonseop. He has severe burns on his upper body and fractures. He is unconscious but his life does not seem to be in danger.”
“We are currently using an ambulance with license plate 2511 to take him to Gangnam Mo Hospital.”
“Phew…”
Baek Seongmin, the chief secretary, breathed a sigh of relief for now.
It was a miracle that he survived in that situation, but he had no time to think about that.
The important thing was that the president was alive.
He quickly ordered his secretary to turn the car around.
Soon after, an ambulance and several black vehicles gathered at a hospital in Gangnam.
The emergency team at the hospital was shocked to find out that the patient was the president.
“He is currently unconscious. You must save him.”
The security guards pushed their faces forward with excitement, and the doctors stepped back hesitantly.
What could they say in this situation?
“…We will do our best.”
The stretcher carrying Yu Ji-ha and the doctors entered the emergency room one after another, and the security guards blocked the door.
Baek Seongmin called his secretaries together and gave instructions.
“Request an embargo on the media for now, but give them only the minimum information. Tell them that his life is not in danger. And where is the Minister of National Defense?”
“He’s on the phone right now.”
“Give it to me.”
He informed him of the president’s safety, and then he finally let out a long sigh.
“I thought a war had broken out.”
“Depending on who’s behind this, it might still happen.”
Well, since the president was like that…
It was not an ordinary thing to crash a plane precisely into a building in the capital of a country, let alone one where the president was.
When the president regained consciousness and the culprit was revealed, a war might break out.
No, there was no way to resolve this situation without a war.
The secretaries hurriedly contacted other ministers while Arma entered through the front door.
“Chief Secretary.”
“Oh, you’re here.”
Baek Seongmin had never heard the word “heart” from the president as a chief secretary.
The real heart was Arma Ashford.
That’s how important her existence was, and she was often said to be higher in rank than the chief secretary in the media and elsewhere.
It was unfair for Baek Seongmin as a chief secretary, but after seeing her work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he had to admit her ability.
She was the one who managed to keep up with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs even though many diplomats, including ministers and vice ministers, had been cut off due to her work characteristics.
There were many things that could not be solved by androids and required improvisation, but she handled them meticulously.
Many media outlets tried to dig up her past from America, but they found almost nothing.
How could she not be an android?
She was always calm and composed as usual even in this situation.
“The president…”
“He seems to be fine for now. He may need to watch his prognosis because of his upper body burns.”
“That’s good. But who do you think is behind this? Even Russia didn’t predict it.”
She seemed to be just an artificial intelligence that showed overwhelming performance in data analysis and calculation.
Baek Seongmin looked around and whispered lowly.
“Judging by the fact that the flight used for terror was a cargo plane from Iraq, it must be them.”
“Iran, or terrorists of another nationality wearing their shells.”
“I heard that former IS members are gathering in Afghanistan these days. It could be them.”
And they also talked about the incident that caused the blackout.
“Two substations in Gangnam went down and caused a blackout, and several bodies were found. The police and drones are on the scene, and we should be able to identify them soon by checking their entry and exit records.”
“What do they look like?”
It would be good to ask the police, but Arma, who could check the drone system, was more accurate.
She showed him a tablet.
“Be careful, it’s a gruesome picture.”
It must have been a picture of the terrorists.
He prepared himself and saw traces of long beards.
“…Muslims grow their beards long, right?”
“I can’t be sure, but they were the ones who incited terror against the president on SNS and elsewhere. They were mostly in Afghanistan.”
That’s right…
There had been frequent protests against President Yu Ji-ha in the Muslim world lately.
The hatred that had been built up by drones and androids exploded due to the Iran situation.
They all expected terror, but they never imagined that they would use the same method as they did in the past against the United States.
How did they know where the president was and crash the plane exactly?
When Baek Seongmin mentioned that point, Arma tilted her head.
“Maybe the president’s presence didn’t matter. Maybe the building was just the target.”
That was possible, but unlikely.
They had to assume that there was some connection with the Muslim forces in Korea.
If they checked the flight path of the plane later and found that it had changed, it would be 100%.
The two called in people who were responsible, such as the chief of police, and discussed how to deal with the situation.
And not long after, they got a call from the hospital.
.“The president is looking for you.”
He had regained consciousness already.
The two entered the intensive care unit with light steps.
***
“…”
President McKinley was speechless as he watched the video of the building collapsing.
It looked like a footage from September 11th, 29 years ago, but it wasn’t.
The building was smaller and the surrounding scenery was somehow unfamiliar.
The place where the video was filmed was not America, but Seoul, Korea.
That meant that the capital of Korea had been attacked by a plane terror.
The situation was serious enough, but what was worse was that the president of Korea was among the victims.
He didn’t know why he was in that building, but he received intelligence that he was taken away by an ambulance.
The local agents testified relatively in detail about the chaos at the time.
“Korean airspace has been closed. All planes were forced to land at nearby airports and scrambles are currently underway.”
“They pushed away all the cars and moved the ambulance. It happened to be rush hour, so some sections of the road were no different from parking lots.”
“They are investigating the reason why the iron beam and the air defense unit were late to respond, but it is speculated that a sudden blackout was the cause.”
“It seems that the president did not die on the spot.”
If he didn’t die, he could somehow save him.
There must have been a fire, so his body wouldn’t be intact, but what mattered was his head.
President McKinley rewound several videos and pressed pause, then looked at his aides.
“The important thing is the future situation. Assuming that President Yu suffered serious injuries but survived, how do you think it will turn out?”
“War. It’s not possible to let it go when they did a terror on someone of his importance.”
“It’s likely that the culprit is a Muslim again. It doesn’t make sense to make all Muslims enemies and they will probably narrow down the target to a few countries.”
Was that really the case?
President Yu’s mentality was something that even President McKinley couldn’t understand.
It was clear that he ran full speed with some purpose, but sometimes he crossed the line.
If he had been normal, he would have stopped selling drones before the Muslim society protested.
But even now, Korean-made drones were being sold all over the world.
Humphrey, an aide, spoke up.
“In the worst case scenario, he could start a war against the entire Muslim society. He would lay drones in the Middle East and hunt down terrorists.”
“That doesn’t make sense. That kind of surveillance system is only possible in Korea, which has a small territory.
How big is the Middle East?”
Iran alone, which was suspected to be the cause of this incident, had 16 times more territory than Korea.
There were also lands that North Korea or Russia might have ceded, but if you look at only the land that had practical meaning, that was it.
President McKinley thought so too.
“That drone system is definitely an innovative system, but it has its limits. It doesn’t make sense to monitor the entire Middle East with it, and he will probably narrow it down to two countries.”
“Iran, Afghanistan.”
By then, the intelligence that he had paid attention to Afghanistan a while ago became significant.
Why did he contact the Tajikistan government?
Why did Korean agents go into Panjshir in Afghanistan and check out the village situation?
There were many other suspicious aspects.
According to Korean media, the plane was a typical cargo plane that turned its course right after getting landing permission from Gimpo Airport.
The problem was the air defense network.
It was less than 15km from Gimpo Airport to that area, and the air defense unit could have responded sufficiently.
Considering the importance of the matter, it wasn’t strange to shoot it down.
Of course, shooting down a cargo plane in downtown was very difficult.
If you make a mistake, it could crash into a busy street.
But even such discussions were not properly conducted.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff did not give enough instructions to the air defense unit.
He didn’t know exactly why, but Korean media speculated that communication confusion was the cause.
One of the aides sorted out the data and lowered his voice as if he found something suspicious.
“…It could also be a self-made play.”
“Any evidence?”
“The fact that there was a very appropriate and accurate blackout in that area, that there was confusion in the command line and not enough instructions were given to the air defense unit. And also that the cargo plane pinpointed exactly where the president was.”
It was suspicious enough.
But it was difficult to bring up this suspicion now.
“Don’t put that remark on paper. If we leak that we made such a guess, we’ll have a headache.”
“Yes sir.”
Even if there was a possibility of a self-made play in this situation, there were few countries that could bring it up.
From now on, Yu’s anger would pour out.
Considering his influence on the world, everyone would probably condemn the terror and issue a statement of condolence for Korea and Yu.
Who would say otherwise in such an atmosphere?
You could be excluded from all his plans in the future, not to mention never recovering the relationship.
Except for some reckless Middle Eastern countries.
After that, he predicted that he would negotiate with Pakistan.
Iran may be one thing, but Afghanistan is a landlocked country.
They can’t solve everything with drones, so they will eventually have to send ground troops. But to do that, they have to pass through the airspace of either Pakistan or Iran.
Iran may be one thing, but Pakistan was the biggest supporter of the Taliban.
During the 9/11 terror attack, Pakistan opened its airspace obediently under the threat of the United States.
But would they do the same for Korea?
McKinley, who was already tired, slumped into his chair.
“Let’s deal with Pakistan later, depending on their future actions. Prepare an urgent statement in my name for now. It should contain enough condolences for Korea and the Yu Ji-ha family, and state that the United States firmly opposes terrorism. And also mention 9/11 a little bit. Say that we understand the situation of Korea because we experienced such a horrible incident.”
“I will prepare the statement.”
“And separately from the statement, I want to send a special envoy to the Korean government… Deputy Assistant Martin.”
“Yes. I will go and subtly ask them what they have planned.”
“The airspace is closed, but we’ll be fine. Go and deliver my condolences and intentions. Tell them that we do not oppose President Yu Ji-ha’s thoughts. But we hope that things don’t get too big.”
The Democrats would make a fuss, but President McKinley had no intention of compromising.
The most important thing now was to comfort the victims of the terror attack.
***
The world was shocked as the news of Korea being attacked by terrorists spread through the airwaves.
There had been no direct terror attacks using airplanes since 9/11, and most people had forgotten about that incident.
It was not unreasonable since it was almost 30 years ago.
But the terror attack that Korea suffered was very similar to 9/11.
The scene was controlled so that reporters could not enter easily, so the photos and videos from that time reappeared.
—According to testimonies and other sources, the situation was surprisingly similar to that time. The only difference is that the terror attack only targeted the headquarters building of Silla Group.
—The confirmed deaths are a few employees of Silla Group. The president’s survival has not been confirmed.
—Korea’s airspace has been completely closed, and shipping restrictions have been imposed on vessels. The economic loss caused by this is hard to estimate.
–-According to an internal informant, Korea has overcome the chaos and regained stability. It seems that they have received information that the president is alive.
The hospital in Gangnam where the president was presumed to be hospitalized was tightly guarded, making it difficult for journalists to cover.
Despite the lack of accurate sources, many media outlets reported almost simultaneously that he was alive.
A few hours after the incident, at night.
The hospital in Gangnam was covered with a heat of mourning.
No one instructed anyone, but citizens voluntarily gathered with candles in paper cups.
When this news spread through foreign media, other countries were surprised and held their tongues.
Yu Ji-ha might have been a cold-blooded dictator, but he was a warm person to his own people.
As the night deepened, the heat of mourning increased, and hundreds of thousands of people gathered.
It was not a protest to demand a change of regime, but a sincere tribute to a single person. It was not a common sight in the world to see such a case.
And in the dawn, the news that the president had passed the critical point hit the media.
“We have good news. The president has regained consciousness and is in stable condition.”
The cheers that erupted around the hospital were almost as loud as the 2002 World Cup.
People hugged each other, honked their car horns, and rejoiced at the safety of the dictator.
However, there was a rumor that he had suffered burns and his body was not the same as before, which made everyone solemn.
“He shouldn’t ruin that handsome face…”
“Come on, plastic surgery is so advanced these days. He has such good skin, I’m sure he’ll recover nicely.”
“Well, it’s not like he’s president for his face…”
Most people didn’t care much.
Some even said that he needed some scars to look more dignified.
He was not an entertainer, but a president.
The morning came, and various countries began to express their condolences and condemnations of the terror attack.
—Terrorism can never be justified in any case. The forces behind this incident must be held accountable.
—We send our sincere condolences to the Korean president and people for the shock and grief they must have endured. We hope for a speedy recovery.
—We almost lost our closest friend. It is hard to bear this sadness and pain. Just tell us what you need. Russia will stand with you wherever you are.
Russia issued a bold statement, making the atmosphere tense.
The next thing after the heat of mourning would be the rage of madness.
When the United States was attacked by 9/11, they literally went berserk, and no country could stop them.
At that time, the United States forced everyone to either side with them or become their enemy, and even North Korea issued a statement opposing terrorism.
But this time, things were different.
The developed countries had classified Korea as a major power for a while, but the Muslims in the Middle East did not have much awareness of that.
They were busy making ends meet and reciting the Quran, so their information acquisition was quite slow.
To them, Yu Ji-ha was just an evil Asian who made drones and killed Muslims for money.
So they were busy mocking and ridiculing him on SNS or the internet, rather than expressing condolences.
—What a pity. It would have been better if he died.
—It is God’s punishment. He should accept it gracefully.
—Don’t think you can pay for the blood of hundreds of thousands of Muslims with a little bit of your own blood.
—Jihad will never stop!
Countries like Iran also issued harsh statements.
—It is nothing but the fruit of the inhumane crimes committed by Korea. Remember the drones that killed Muslims and the Hormuz Strait.
The SNS known as the Taliban branch was also busy criticizing Yu Ji-ha.
—We are sorry that there are not more casualties, but we will hear more news soon.
—Many brothers are joining the organization. We will gladly fight against the devil’s seed.
These reactions provoked an immense anger in Korea.
Despite having experienced the Second Korean War, many people demanded an immediate war.
—I really want to kill those bastards.
—That religion never changes.
—They were scared of the United States during 9/11 and tucked their tails, but they think we are easy to deal with.
In this atmosphere, the news that Yu Ji-ha had woken up was heard.
He held a press conference from the intensive care unit, with the eyes of the world focused on him.
His whole body was wrapped in bandages, leaving only his eyes visible.
His eyes were burning with rage.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel