Chapter 164: A Lot of Work
A lot of data came in as the cocoon fell in the North Pacific.
The Plague entity that came this time was a Knight-class, which had a bigger cocoon and a higher concentration of side field than before.
“The comparison of the field concentration shows that it is similar to the initial Knight-class.”
“That means it’s a proper one.”
It meant that it could imitate Earth’s life forms or weapons more efficiently.
It was also strong enough that it wouldn’t die from a 1-megaton explosion.
“Send the Earth Fleet to block the side field. I need to see how it comes out.”
The reason why they couldn’t blast the cocoon with a reaction warhead from a distance was because they had installed a valuable side field blocker on the Earth Fleet.
If it was a frontal battle, winning was the top priority, so they didn’t have to worry about the side field.
But they didn’t know who sent it, so they couldn’t take any risks.
They had to prepare a blocker and a reaction warhead to kill Plague.
Arma controlled the Earth Fleet and approached the sea where the cocoon fell.
The deep sea was boiling as a whole due to the heat of the cocoon.
“Blocker activated… The side field is completely blocked.”
There was nothing in the sea, so they didn’t have to worry about psychers.
But there was a problem.
As soon as the Earth Fleet approached, the cocoon opened and Plague suddenly popped out.
“It is identified as Gamma One at this time. It is a Plague Knight-class… Oh, it’s running away.”
It felt disadvantaged as there was nothing nearby and its side field was blocked, so it quickly ran away.
It was a proper Knight-class, so it changed its shape by imitating a whale that passed by.
A 100-meter-long mechanical whale dived into the seabed.
Yu Ji-ha nodded as he saw it.
“That’s more like Plague.”
Plague was not a simple monster that ran wild without distinguishing front and back.
It was a dangerous life form that used the given situation to its fullest and struggled to survive.
The two entities that came to Earth before were a bit dull in that aspect.
But this one was real.
“Gamma One has gone down below 2,000 meters of the seabed. We might have to lure it if we want to detonate a reaction warhead.”
It could move anywhere in the deep sea as it was active in space.
It would feel as comfortable as home by absorbing manganese nodules or nearby metals.
“There’s no choice. I have to go.”
To pull up the scared one, they needed an entity that could spread the same side field.
Since the blocker was activated, they had to spread it with an enormous concentration, and Yu Ji-ha was the only one who could do that.
“Prepare an assault armor. Let’s go.”
“Armed pod ejected.”
As he boarded the assault armor that came to Seoul with Yu Ji-ha, he looked around at the situation of the cocoons that fell in various regions.
“The others fell in areas with few people, but New York is a problem.”
“The evacuation order has been issued in New York City, but the evacuation rate is not even 70%.”
“Why don’t they run away?”
“They believe it’s a conspiracy by Master and the government. Many people think Plague itself is fake.”
“They doubt its existence?”
“Yes. Many people claim that they can’t believe it until they experience it themselves. Even if they do, they will change their words suddenly.”
“Do they also not believe that there is a base on the moon?”
“If I may speak for Americans only, at least 20% do. They overlap with those who believe in flat Earth theory.”
Yu Ji-ha had intended not to take any action except for the entity near the United Human Federation.
He only had to protect the megacity, after all.
But he had come back to this era to destroy Plague and protect humanity.
He had killed many humans in the process of rebuilding the United Human Federation, but it was not enough to be accused of losing his original purpose.
No one would believe him, but he thought so himself.
But seeing the conspiracy theorists made him lose his energy.
“Should I just leave them alone… No. There are people who can become citizens. Arma.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Record all those people. They like to show off, so they will babble online in some way.”
“Should we deny them entry to the megacity?”
“Of course we should. Believing in conspiracy theories is their freedom, but not letting them into the megacity is also our freedom.”
If they let those people into the megacity, they would surely cause trouble by bringing up conspiracy theories.
It was better not to accept them at all.
“Master, there is Plague right below us.”
Yu Ji-ha fixed his assault armor at 100 meters above the sea level.
He opened his sealed side field and got a reaction from the seabed.
‘You’re experiencing side field for the first time, huh? I’m not your enemy.’
Yu Ji-ha’s side field was comparable to a Leviathan-class Plague.
He could emit intense thought waves, but he didn’t have many chances to use them in frontal battles.
But it was excellent for luring lower entities.
By now, it must have mistaken Yu Ji-ha for a higher entity.
As if to prove that, Arma reported with a happy voice.
“Gamma One is moving. It’s surfacing.”
It was like fishing.
Yu Ji-ha liked fishing, but he didn’t have time for it.
‘I’ll have to do it a lot when I get some rest.’
He doubted if that was possible.
Anyway, he made his assault armor rise slowly into the air.
Gamma One’s speed also increased gradually.
Finally, a huge metal whale emerged from the sea level, and only one reaction warhead was left where the assault armor had been.
Antimatter and matter combined and spewed pure energy.
Gamma One’s sturdy shell collapsed in one shot.
“Gamma One down confirmed.”
“There’s the core.”
Yu Ji-ha retrieved the core and returned to Terra Island.
Megacity Pacific opened its entrance and welcomed him.
***
The other Plagues did not move from their cocoons.
Yu Ji-ha invited the leaders of the countries near him to a video conference.
There was a UN emergency meeting, but all the leaders participated in Yu Ji-ha’s meeting.
They knew well that the UN would only continue to discuss without presenting any practical measures.
The US had withdrawn, and Russia had shown signs of withdrawing soon, so the current UN was nothing but a scarecrow.
What would replace it was probably a bipolar system of the United Human Federation and the US.
The US tried to form an efficient alliance with its solid allies, but the United Human Federation did not take any action.
Most of the issues were settled by Yu Ji-ha’s decision, so they didn’t need any cooperation.
If they had to cooperate, they would just have a meeting like this.
Anyway, the US did not participate in this meeting.
President Bernstein originally wanted to put aside his conflict with the United Human Federation and join, but the Senate expressed its opposition.
“Do you plan to go there and just listen to their orders? Please be aware of who you represent.”
“The US can defeat the space monsters without the help of the United Human Federation. We will imprint that on the world this time.”
He felt like saying that they were useless, but President Bernstein showed his patience.
He had become a puppet of Congress, but he had to endure his term anyway.
It was his duty as a president.
He talked to Yu Ji-ha, who did not express his willingness to participate.
“The US seems confident.”
“No. It’s just pretending because of pride.”
He didn’t seem to have much intention of re-election either.
After McKinley, Baldwin, Bernstein… who would be next?
Maybe someone who would faithfully follow the Democratic Party’s policy would be chosen, but he would feel it as soon as he took the seat of president.
That the US was walking on the wrong path.
Anyway, President Bernstein expressed his gratitude for helping him with the antimatter warhead.
He asked him subtly.
“Can my family go to the megacity?”
“Currently, the megacity does not limit residency rights as long as you pass the screening.”
“That means there is no advantage. I understand.”
“But are you sure?”
“Why, because I’m president?”
“You will have former in front of it in a year or so, but anyway, there has never been a former president who became a citizen of the megacity.”
“The Democratic Party bastards are probably planning to put a retriever who listens well instead of me. So I have to find a way to live too.”
Bernstein was from a famous family on Wall Street and had a lot of influence in politics even before he became president.
After his retirement, he would receive various favors and even have a grand funeral as a national funeral.
He gave up all that and wanted to move to the megacity, which meant that the situation was serious.
But there were many people who didn’t know that and didn’t want to know.
If they accepted Bernstein, the US would be in a serious position.
It would be an unprecedented situation for a former president to live in another country, let alone in the United Human Federation.
It seemed like it would be fun in its own way.
“If you apply for residency, we will review it carefully.”
It was as good as an OK sign.
Bernstein finally relaxed and ended the conversation.
After that, the leaders of various countries held a countermeasure meeting against the Plague and agreed to let Earth Fleet intervene.
President Mikhailov of Russia decided to accept their help as a gesture of friendship with the United Human Federation, even though he could handle it with his own power.
The cocoons in North Africa and the Atlantic seemed to have no countries to deal with them.
“How are you going to deal with the cocoon that fell in New York?”
Someone asked and Yu Ji-ha answered slowly.
“That’s up to the US. They’re a superpower, so they’ll manage.”
The leaders nodded.
The US had been losing face lately, but it was still a country that could represent humanity.
They should be able to kill the space monsters.
Some leaders requested a one-on-one meeting and Yu Ji-ha accepted them.
The first one was President Mikhailov, who spoke in a serious tone.
“The threat of the Plague is getting worse every day.”
“It’s peaceful now. In the future I saw, humanity was extinct.”
The extinction of humanity didn’t really hit him until a few months ago.
It was hard to believe that this world could be destroyed overnight.
But seeing five Plagues appear at once made him think that it wouldn’t be strange if they were wiped out.
Especially Russia, which had been closely cooperating with the United Human Federation, was very sensitive to this situation.
Russia was currently undergoing a massive purge and was very chaotic.
President Mikhailov was holding the center and taking Yu Ji-ha’s advice well, but it didn’t show.
In such a situation, five space monsters appeared and it was noisy as if the end of the world had come.
―Space monsters are coming to destroy Russia!
―The only way we can survive is to enter the megacity.
―Damn, it’s annoying. Why don’t we just merge with the United Human Federation? It would be easier.
Russia had been like that before, but it became closer to the United Human Federation after Putin’s death.
It became even more so after it was revealed that the fastest and most certain way to enter the megacity was to obtain the United Human Federation nationality.
Of course, the Megacity Administration Bureau explained that there were no restrictions other than screening, but it was true that it was easier to be in the United Human Federation.
Some Russians even married United Human Federation workers who entered Siberia for this reason.
In the process, some Russians were shocked by Yu Ji-ha’s appearance.
They thought all the unionists looked like Yu Ji-ha they saw on TV, but they were wrong.
Anyway, integration was a huge trend and Russia couldn’t change it either.
President Mikhailov’s concern was also about that.
“It’s good to have people move into the megacity, but I’m worried about what to do with the rest.”
“There are idiots in the US, in Russia, and in the United Human Federation. Don’t worry about them. They’ll fall out on their own.”
“Are you saying you’re abandoning everyone outside the megacity?”
“That’s not an appropriate word. They didn’t choose. The conditions for entering the megacity are not too harsh, are they?”
“Well, I guess so.”
President Mikhailov seemed uncomfortable with the idea of abandoning his people, but he couldn’t persuade Yu Ji-ha.
Well, the megacity would accept anyone who wasn’t too bad.
Even those who had protested for democracy in Russia were not rejected, so the conditions were not harsh at all.
Anyway, they confirmed that the same conditions applied to the citizens of Ukraine Administrative District after a detailed discussion.
“There are no Ukrainians. They’re just Russians. So they can move into the megacity anytime.”
“That’s good. I have something to say in Ukraine. Actually, I’ve been getting a lot of inquiries from Eastern Europe lately because of this. Estonia even seriously proposed a merger.”
It was hard to give up one’s national identity, but the former Soviet satellite states seemed to have different positions.
Well, France almost collapsed and even the US was in a precarious situation.
How would small Eastern European countries fare?
He prayed that the space monsters would not fall on his land.
He trusted that the United Human Federation would take care of everything, but still.
He had to accept the fact that if he joined them, he would get the same deal as Russia.
President Mikhailov smiled and turned off the screen, and greeted the next leader.
***
While Earth Fleet was orbiting the planet, extracting and destroying the Plagues from the cocoons, the US was shocked by the damage that was much greater than expected.
The White House celebrated that the cocoon had landed in the sea, not on land, thanks to the United Human Federation, but the mood turned cold as they received the damage report.
―Too many citizens did not evacuate. At least thousands of people were confirmed dead, and Brooklyn was reduced to rubble.
―Currently, 100,000 people are missing and the number is increasing. The National Guard can’t handle this!
―We need to deploy federal troops immediately.
President Bernstein convened a task force to mobilize all available resources, and also received a report on the situation of the cocoon.
“The cocoon is currently sunk 350 meters below sea level off New York, and the exact coordinates are as you can see.”
“There is no movement, but we are monitoring it from all directions, considering France’s case.”
They were intelligent.
President Yu Ji-ha said that the Knight-class could think properly, and it was proven in France’s situation.
Also, according to various sources of information, the ones that fell this time could take various forms.
The Gamma One that appeared in the North Pacific and was smashed first was reported to be in the shape of a whale, and the one in Siberia transformed into a polar bear and surprised the Russians.
It was rare for anyone to keep their composure when a giant mechanical polar bear of nearly 100 meters in length appeared.
‘I wonder what will come out on our side.’
They said they would take a form that suited their situation. How would it be?
President Bernstein decided to mobilize an aircraft carrier strike group after consulting with military generals.
“I have been contacted by an undisclosed source about luring them. He said we need to use strong psychics.”
None of the staff asked who the undisclosed source was.
It was obvious that it was Yu Ji-ha.
He had helped them with particle bombs and information despite their repeated snubs.
But it seemed like this was the end of it.
President Bernstein repeatedly emphasized that they had to solve it with their own power.
“He said he’s completely out of it. We can’t ask for his help anymore, so we have to do it ourselves. Chairman of Joint Chiefs.”
“Yes, Mr. President.”
“What means do we have to lure him?”
“Task Force 70 has been formed. This group includes an aircraft carrier strike group from the Second Fleet…”
As the report seemed to go on for a while, Bernstein cut him off.
“He doesn’t seem to want to change his old-fashioned doctrine. Is it because of factional fights within the navy? Anyway, listen carefully. The… source said we need a very fast platform to lure the Plague. A reconnaissance plane would be nice if possible.”
“Do you mean luring it with a reconnaissance plane and hitting it with an aircraft carrier strike group on standby?”
“Do you think he’ll follow us if we have an aircraft carrier strike group out there? We’ll have to use submarines. I’m telling you again, don’t forget that this one is much more delicate and smart than before.”
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
After the operation was finalized, there was a complaint in the navy that the president was trying to interfere too much in the battle.
Traditionally, American presidents were satisfied with creating an environment and delegating operations, then stepping back and watching.
The navy was also confident based on their achievement of smashing the first Plague.
―We can kill any alien monster, even if Hafnium-2 warheads don’t work.
―No one can underestimate us. Not even the United Human Federation.
―There are five space monsters this time, and the United Human Federation took four of them. We have to deal with at least one of them to save face.
The navy took such a stance because they were criticized for not being much help in fighting space monsters despite spending a huge budget.
There were more than one or two such forces, but since they boasted the largest scale in the world, they had to face public scrutiny.
Therefore, the US Navy had to destroy the Plague by themselves this time.
But it wasn’t easy to gather psychics to lure them.
Most of them refused to be bait, and they only managed to mobilize some researchers from the military, but there weren’t enough of them.
According to an undisclosed source, they needed at least 100 people, but they only got 70.
Meanwhile, the camera installed in the deep sea detected a crack in the cocoon.
The US Navy decided that they couldn’t waste any more time and had the psychics board the reconnaissance planes and wait.
Everything went smoothly until then, and the navy was sure of victory.
Now they just had to lure him and feed him a nuclear warhead.
Soon, the cocoon cracked and the Plague popped out, and he approached the surface of the water, showing interest in the three flying reconnaissance planes and following them.
“As expected, he’s a stupid monster.”
“Good, let’s proceed with the operation. Prepare to load the nuclear warhead.”
It was when a lot of work was started on the deck of the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier.
A message arrived to President Bernstein, who was watching Gamma Five run through the sea like a dolphin.
―That’s a fake. The real one is heading to New York.
A fake?
He felt a chill down his spine.
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