Chapter 142: The Empire of Evil
“I know it sounds a bit boastful to say this about my own daughter, but she is a former Miss Russia. She is going to graduate from Moscow State University next year. A Russian beauty and a Korean ruler… don’t they seem like a perfect match? It would be a true union.”
He was delusional on a grand scale.
Yu Ji-ha forced a smile and cut him off.
“I have Arma.”
“Isn’t she your secretary? Stalin had several secretaries, but he also had a wife. It’s fine. Russians don’t ask about what happens under the desk.”
He might have said that to show his generosity, but to Yu Ji-ha, he looked like a fool who wasted his years.
What kind of nonsense was he saying to a foreign politician who was not even his ally?
“Maybe you misunderstood something, but Arma is not only my secretary, but also the person who will become my wife.”
“Really? How come I didn’t know that?”
“Because there was no reason to tell you.”
In fact, Yu Ji-ha had carefully planned to make himself the successor.
Arma would get pregnant this year and give birth to a healthy child.
Of course, that child would not be a normal life form, but a dummy.
Even Arma’s pregnancy was fake, since she was an android.
Everything was focused on making the real Yu Ji-ha, who was stored in a bio-bag, able to rule the United Human Federation in about 30 years.
If he didn’t know these things, he would find their relationship strange.
As the silence dragged on, Congressman Borchenko hurriedly changed the topic.
“Anyway, you have to admit that the land that Korea took is too much.”
“Let me tell you in advance. I can adjust the border line with Russia a little bit, but I can’t back down an inch otherwise. If Russia officially comes out with a renegotiation argument, I will think again.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean, I will treat Russia normally.”
“Ha ha… Are you trying to be gentle because of your relationship with the former president? Do you even know how much he fought because of that?”
“He gave up that much land as a condition of the deal, so he must have had a lot of disputes.”
“It was not just a lot of disputes. Seventeen people died. The parliament was almost in a state of war. There was too much opposition.”
It took a long time for the agreement to pass because President Putin needed time to sort out his internal affairs.
The land was so vast that there were no joke of people who opposed it, and President Putin must have crushed all the opposing opinions.
Yu Ji-ha remained silent and Borchenko spoke more passionately.
“We sold Alaska for a cheap price and we have regretted it ever since. But the land we agreed to give to Korea is several times bigger than that. Just for some technologies.”
“Some technologies? You are belittling the things that made Russia what it is today.”
“What made Russia today is the Russian people. Of course, technology also contributed a lot, but…”
“But isn’t it strange? Why hasn’t the average wage in Moscow changed in 10 years?”
President Putin accepted Yu Ji-ha’s technology and greatly increased Russia’s competitiveness and GDP ranking.
But it was not easy for the Russian people to enjoy the fruits of that.
It was because of the Russian-style vested interests like Borchenko and Dmitri.
What if they had nuclear fusion plants?
The companies of the United Russia Party members who swore loyalty to Putin would suck them dry in the middle.
The two Russian psychers he recruited before also complained that their salaries were too low.
When Yu Ji-ha pointed out that injustice, Borchenko’s voice lowered.
“I acknowledge your deep connection with Russia, but I don’t appreciate your interference in our internal affairs.”
“I’m just asking. Where did all that money go?”
“You seem to want to pin the blame on me, but I’m just a servant. If you knew about the former president’s hidden assets, you would be shocked.”
“I don’t care about his hidden assets. What I want to say is, we already made an agreement and it can’t be reversed.”
“It was just a verbal promise from the former president.”
“It was an agreement that passed the Russian Senate.”
“That can be reversed if the Senate decides. It hasn’t been officially announced yet.”
“What do you and Russia gain by doing this?”
“The former president was blinded by technology and gave up too much land. By the way, Minister Dmitri thinks the same way.”
“Then you have no choice but to reverse everything to before 2026. Do you want that?”
“Of course not. I just think we need some partial renegotiation.”
“I have no intention of doing that.”
“So we’re back to square one.”
“Make your choice. Either reverse everything or keep your promise.”
“I would like to choose the third option that has not been offered to me.”
“You probably want to move the public opinion in Russia and ally with the US or France to pressure me. You might also reduce the export of raw materials.”
Yu Ji-ha listed the plans that Borchenko and Dmitri had discussed, and he awkwardly cleared his throat.
“If you join hands with me, I will cancel all those plans immediately. You will get both my daughter and Russia.”
Would it really be like that in a few decades?
Yu Ji-ha could bet everything that Borchenko had no intention of doing that.
“I refuse.”
“That’s a pity. Oh, by the way, I’m not saying that Russia is hostile to you.”
They wouldn’t openly be hostile.
But they would subtly interfere with the resource exploration and give orders to the local bureaucrats.
They would also collaborate with the US or France in Aether research.
From that point of view, Borchenko was a very narrow-minded person.
He fell for France’s gravity show and wanted to cooperate with them.
He wanted to break the agreement and end the war after taking advantage of the troops gathered near Estonia.
After the call ended, Arma updated the information on Borchenko and Dmitri.
“It seems that they gained confidence in Russia’s military power after taking control of the troops near Estonia.”
“Isn’t that half of what we made?”
“People tend to forget that when they receive orders. They feel like they can do anything with the military power in front of them.”
The bottom line was that their actions were based on unfounded confidence.
He wanted to shatter that confidence, but it was not a good time to pay attention to foreign affairs.
“What can we do? If we assassinate them, it will only make them more alert… Is there a better way?”
“I want to suggest a traditional method here. To boost our momentum.”
“Boost our momentum?”
“People like Borchenko and Dmitri tend to be obsessed with appearances. They would feel that Master and Korea have high technology, but not much overall national power.”
“They must have received the report on this war from the intelligence agency.”
“People usually pick and choose the information they want to see.”
“Summarize their young days and make a presentation.”
Arma showed him the data that made him nod his head.
Their lives were filled with money and violence.
“They are just neighborhood thugs. They are not fit to be senators.”
“President Putin abused his excessive authority to his cronies for his power consolidation. As a result, people like Borchenko, who lack substance, got high positions.”
“So what do you think we should do?”
“I want to suggest a military parade to celebrate the victory of the East Asian War. You just need to give the order.”
Yu Ji-ha frowned.
He hated that kind of show.
“Would it be efficient?”
“It would be quite efficient. Traditionally, a large-scale military parade was a good way to show off national power in the Eastern bloc.”
The US didn’t do it, because they knew well that they were the undisputed number one in the world.
On the other hand, Korea and the United Human Federation were new forces, so their impression was weak.
People who didn’t know much about the East Asian War would think that they got lucky and ended it quickly.
Even China and Japan, who were involved, started to make such claims after he withdrew the 7th Army and the landing force.
How much more would Russia do?
“If we’re going to do it, let’s gather all the land, sea, and air forces and do it properly. It would be nice if the superconducting train prototype could debut too.”
Russia had a lot of interest in trains because of its vast territory.
How many countries would not be interested in superconducting trains?
“Okay. And Master, according to the roadmap, I’m supposed to get pregnant this year…”
“That’s right. Replace it with a slightly swollen belly and produce a dummy.”
He intended to make them mistake the dummy for his son and expose it to the media.
He couldn’t just bring his real body, so he had to use a dummy.
He would have to replace it as he aged, but he could just show some videos of a nanny taking care of him.
Android nannies were common these days.
Yu Ji-ha wanted to stop using the dummy after faking his death, but he had no choice.
‘I use a baby-shaped dummy for dictatorship… I’m an irredeemable villain.’
He chuckled as he imagined the mechanical army marching in the parade.
What a splendid empire of evil.
***
Aether research was lively in various countries around the world.
Especially, gravity control was easy to get funding for.
It was because they could show it to politicians without much explanation.
Even those who were indifferent to Aether research would be amazed by seeing things floating in the air.
Naturally, the public interest also increased, and gravity control became a hot topic everywhere.
—It has been hundreds of years since Newton got inspiration from a falling apple about gravity, and we finally can control it directly.
—The principle will be revealed by many physicists. We just have to choose how to use it.
Finally, gravity shows entered TV shows.
They all enjoyed floating fruits in the air.
The politicians exaggerated and the media echoed them, so it felt like there would be a revolution in human life soon.
But if you looked closely, there were also quite skeptical views.
Gravity control required Aether cores, which were scarce in number.
The US and China had relatively many, but most countries had none at all.
As a result, there was friction when they rented Aether cores.
France and some other countries tied up their Aether cores after passing the psycher outflow prevention law.
They locked them up at the national level so that they would not leak abroad.
It was also revealed that psychers who had to control Aether cores had difficulties.
One psycher anonymously agreed to an interview with the media and gave some shocking testimony.
“We are slaves of the government. This is happening while the president sings about freedom and human rights.”
“That’s surprising. Can you tell us more?”
“It takes dozens of psychers a month to make one railgun barrel. You saw the documentary on the production process, right? It looks easy when they just touch it. It’s not at all.”
“It must be hard. How exactly is it?”
“When you spit out that Aether or whatever it is, you get exhausted in an instant. You can’t breathe, and your body loses strength. Sometimes my right chest hurts too.”
“And you have to keep doing this harsh labor…”
“We don’t get enough rest time. They force us to work hard to meet the deadline. We are not soldiers, but they also demand group action from us.”
“Why is that?”
“If the wills of dozens of people don’t match, the transform phenomenon doesn’t happen well. Sometimes it gets deformed, but the government never sees that.”
“Isn’t there a decomposer or something? Korea uses it a lot.”
The psycher shook his head bitterly.
“It’s enough for small things like batteries, but not for big things like railgun barrels.”
He also exposed that he couldn’t leave the research institute on weekdays and was allowed to go out on weekends, but with surveillance.
When this human rights violation was reported to the public through the media, there was a lot of criticism.
—This is happening in France? Did they boil the constitution and the soup togAether?
—We asked the government to improve several times, but all we got back was that it was inevitable for the national interest.
—Marie Le Pen! Aren’t you ashamed of having the title of a defender of freedom and human rights?
In the meantime, it was also revealed that this kind of treatment of psychers was not only in France, but also in many other countries.
Even in the US, some psychers were forced to join the military and used.
They were also subjected to high-intensity training that was almost brainwashing.
Of course, lawsuits followed, but it was uncertain what would happen with the government and the military involved.
The public rose up like a swarm of bees and attacked the government.
―What are you doing? Shouldn’t you at least be better than the evil empire ruled by a dictator?
―We can no longer trust the government. They must disclose all the research and facilities related to Aether and psychers.
The governments of various countries could no longer endure and came up with lame excuses.
―The cases that are happening in some research institutes are exaggerated, and they have been improved or are being improved.
―Rather, we should be wary of whAether this situation is not someone’s conspiracy.
Someone probably meant Yu Ji-ha, the ruler of Korea and the United Human Federation.
He had the world’s largest Aether research facility under his control, but he never revealed any information related to Aether and psychers.
He didn’t even disclose how many psychers he had.
This was a perfect way to attract public criticism.
The world media speculated that the treatment of psychers in the western countries that valued freedom and human rights was terrible, so Korea must be hell.
Naturally, they poured out their condemnation.
―We know you don’t care about human lives, but wouldn’t it be better to at least reveal the number of psychers you have?
―The facility is certainly impressive and clean in size. But no one knows what horrible things are happening inside.
―Please, I beg you, I hope it’s not human experimentation.
Yu Ji-ha did not react to the sharp criticism.
Rather, dozens of videos that refuted him poured out through platforms like YouTube.
They were videos of the lives of psychers and researchers who worked at the Aether research facility.
The people who saw the videos had various reactions.
―Are they the ones who are suffering? They all look fine.
―What are they doing? They should at least be better than the evil empire ruled by a tyrant.
―We can no longer trust the government. They must disclose all the research and facilities related to Aether and psychers.
The governments of various countries could no longer endure and came up with lame excuses.
―The cases that are happening in some research institutes are exaggerated, and they have been improved or are being improved.
―Rather, we should be wary of whAether this situation is not someone’s conspiracy.
Someone probably meant Yu Ji-ha, the ruler of Korea and the United Human Federation.
He had the world’s largest Aether research facility under his control, but he never revealed any information related to Aether and psychers.
He didn’t even disclose how many psychers he had.
This was a perfect way to attract public criticism.
The world media speculated that the treatment of psychers in the western countries that valued freedom and human rights was terrible, so Korea must be hell.
Naturally, they poured out their condemnation.
―We know you don’t care about human lives, but wouldn’t it be better to at least reveal the number of psychers you have?
―The facility is certainly impressive and clean in size. But no one knows what horrible things are happening inside.
―Please, I beg you, I hope it’s not human experimentation.
Yu Ji-ha did not react to the sharp criticism.
Rather, dozens of videos that refuted him poured out through platforms like YouTube.
They were videos of the lives of psychers and researchers who worked at the Aether research facility.
The people who saw the videos had various reactions.
―Are they the ones who are suffering? They all look fine.
―Why does it look better there to me? Where is hell?
Some media claimed that it was propaganda, but there were too many videos and testimonies.
Among them, there were many psychers from the western countries, including the United States.
“I don’t understand why everyone sees this place so badly. It’s like heaven for us.”
“If you look at the streets, you’ll see that it’s a complete melting pot of races. And yet, it’s surprisingly free and active.”
“Evil empire? I get what kind of perspective you have on this place, but there’s nothing like that.”
There were some bad reviews, but they were only about the lack of variety in products and the similar scenery everywhere that bored them.
As these testimonies continued, naturally, the mention of related issues decreased.
They couldn’t criticize their own government, so they decided not to report it as instructed by their superiors.
Meanwhile, news of a victory parade in Korea drew attention from various countries.
―They eliminated most of the war machines and yet they hold a parade that is the epitome of inefficiency. How ironic.
―They said they would abolish conscription, but do they have such an army?
But they couldn’t help being interested.
Korea and the United Human Federation had fought several wars and won every time, but this was the first time they had such a public event.
Some people even hoped that something new might appear.
And soon after, the schedule and location were announced.
A huge crowd gathered on the newly built highway between Kaesong and Pyongyang.
***
After Yu Ji-ha declared a 10-year closure, access to North Korea was completely blocked.
The military and some NGOs were allowed to enter, but people didn’t know what was going on inside.
They only heard that Mega City North was going to be built there.
But in February 2032, a highway leading to Pyongyang was opened.
This highway used to be poorly maintained and comparable to Korea’s local roads, but it was newly built this time.
It had 10 lanes each way and looked pretty cool with black metal.
People admired the long road and imagined Mega City North that would be built in Pyongyang.
“They said they accommodated even Kaesong citizens. It must be huge by now.”
“They released some photos taken by spy satellites from the US. The site is much larger than the existing Pyongyang city.”
“In a few more years, we’ll be able to go straight to Pyongyang on this highway.”
Soon after, the parade began.
The 7th Division led by K-3A2 tanks, which were called the world’s first flying tanks, showed their appearance.
Following them, the Landing Division that first entered Tokyo also marched proudly.
But what caught people’s attention was something else.
It was thousands of androids and combat walkers without skins that were quietly placed on one side of the highway.
They were the actual ground forces of the United Human Federation.
The army of machines that filled up the 10-lane highway gave an immense sense of pressure.
A murmur spread among the people.
“It looks like an Sci-fi movie when machines march like that.”
“The movements are perfectly synchronized. It looks neat but somehow it feels like an evil empire.”
“It would be perfect if they added Hell March music to this.”
Korea’s parades in the past were somewhat loose to avoid looking too rigid, but today was completely different.
And then, hundreds of KF-31 and Caliber drones flew from the distant sky and covered the air.
“Wow, can they fly that low?”
“They usually lose their substance if they are like fighter jets, but they look fine.”
But what really drew people’s attention was something else.
It was a few trains that were quietly placed on one side of the highway.
Everyone wondered why the trains were there.
“There are no rails here. Why did they bring them?”
“Well, the design is well done, but…”
Then the trains rose into the air with a roar.
People’s faces were filled with horror.
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