Chapter 167: According to Plan
Among the world leaders, few had suffered as much terror as Yu Ji-ha.
Even before he became president, he had faced various attacks, such as plane hijacking and terrorist infiltration.
After he became president, he was shot and even kissed a plane.
He miraculously survived a building collapse, but he had a major surgery that put his life at risk.
Anyone who had gone through that would have surely devised countermeasures.
That was common sense.
Moreover, he was the one and only leader of the United Human Federation.
The United Human Federation would not function properly without him, and that was evident from the precedent of Korea after he disappeared.
Considering all that, his security level should have been the highest in the world.
But according to Congressman James’s investigation, that was not necessarily the case.
“From what I can see, his security level is not that impressive. It’s just handled by the security office and a few drones follow him. He has one combat android, but that’s only enough to deal with a small unit.”
“Doesn’t he have an artificial intelligence? We still don’t know its exact performance. And the United Human Federation launched over a hundred satellites recently.”
“Isn’t it impossible to take clear pictures from geostationary orbit? And even if it’s an artificial intelligence, it’s hard to monitor other countries’ events completely. How will it monitor him when he goes inside a building?”
People realized then that Congressman James was in his right mind.
In other words, he was serious about kidnapping the president of the United Human Federation.
Whether it was possible or not was secondary, but they wondered if he had a proper sense of reality.
How would they deal with the space monsters that would come in the future without him?
Congressman James gave an absurd answer to this question.
“I’m not going to kill him. I’m going to hold him for a long time and persuade him to become an American.”
“He’ll hardly cooperate after being kidnapped.”
“Then he won’t be able to leave America. Forever.”
“…”
Something was going wrong.
It was none other than Congressman James who had provided information for the documentary that aired recently, digging into Yu Ji-ha’s past.
He probably had his aide do it, but he must have checked the information and confirmed Yu Ji-ha’s viciousness.
The document said that Yu Ji-ha was a master of staged plays and assassination was his hobby.
That was what the mainstream members of the Democratic Party were suspecting, and there was no doubt about the evidence, and there was plenty of proof.
It was just hard to be sure because the opponent was the president of the United Human Federation.
And Congressman James, who knew that better than anyone, tried to kidnap him?
He felt the suspicious gaze that came to him and leaned back on his chair in a relaxed posture.
He knew it sounded crazy. He had wondered himself if he was being dragged into his plan. But he wasn’t. His mind was clear and the possibility was enough. They had to secure his new weapon for America.
“Are you sure you’re okay? What if you fail…”
The person who said that left out the phrase ‘America is doomed’.
It wouldn’t really be the end, but war would be inevitable and America’s prestige would be buried underground.
Kidnapping, and that of a foreign leader who visited America!
The attendees who thought that far unanimously decided it was too risky and raised their hands.
“This is impossible.”
“I agree. No matter how urgent our situation is…”
“We shouldn’t do this, regardless of the success rate. Even if he’s a dictator.”
James smiled faintly at those words.
“Then we have nothing left but to slowly perish.”
“We won’t go down easily. What kind of country is America? We have maintained our status as a superpower for almost a century.”
Someone spoke back, but James’s smile only grew thicker.
“China, Japan, and Russia probably thought the same. The result was the same. Now they are trembling under the breath of the United Human Federation. Our future will probably be similar. We can’t even handle one space monster right now, can we?”
“…”
“Even if you look at the economy, the US GDP growth rate in the first half of this year is below -15%. This is the worst since the Corona crisis in the early 2020s.”
No one in this room was ignorant of the cause.
The United Human Federation.
They had created a closed economic single block.
The megacity was closed and a self-contained ecosystem.
The population was estimated at about 100 million, but surprisingly there were not many imports.
That was because there were so many items produced by the megacity itself.
At most, they imported a few food items, luxury goods, and resources, but even that was constantly decreasing.
In other words, the megacity had a trade system that exported a lot but imported little, which was very annoying from the US perspective.
The US trade balance and jobs were being shattered one by one, thanks to them.
It was not because the people who hated Yu Ji-ha and fell into conspiracy theories were stupid.
Congressman James exaggerated a bit as he spoke of that fact.
“If we go on like this, we will suffer irreversible damage in 10 years. We will not be a superpower, but a patient who suffers from the cough of the United Human Federation.”
“And soon, this will be written in the history books of America. The fall of America began with the politicians who ignored the rise of the United Human Federation… That’s what it will say.”
“…”
Their faces were flushed with excitement.
The economic situation was bad enough, but they couldn’t even imagine such a future.
Or maybe they were ignoring it.
Hoping that it wouldn’t happen in their generation.
“Don’t wait. Now is the time to act for our homeland, America. What if you get booed for not using fair means? It’s trivial compared to what he did. Human methods are only valid for the same humans.”
He argued that Yu Ji-ha was close to a beast and should be treated accordingly.
Ironically, Bernstein, who advocated that beast theory, was plotting a conspiracy with Yu Ji-ha.
It was a strange thing.
Congressman James scanned the faces of the attendees.
Some were scared and some looked hesitant.
Then he had to push them.
“You can’t hope for a great hero to come and solve the problem. Although what we plan to do is far from heroic, it’s something we have to do, even if we have to wear infamy.”
Soon, people were looking only at his face.
He spoke with force.
“Will we slowly fall, or will we create a stepping stone for our revival, even if we get criticized… That’s up to us. I won’t force anyone to participate. If you’re interested, please contact me individually. I promise you a good position when I take over the power.”
The people were more surprised by Congressman James’s intention to challenge the next regime than by his terror plan.
What had gotten into him, who had always avoided responsibility?
Maybe he too had a hard time watching his country fall.
That’s why he thought of such an extreme method.
Anyway, his proposal was quite tempting.
The current president had declared that he would resign as soon as the Manhattan incident was resolved, so he had about a year left in his term.
His successor could serve as president for up to nine years.
That meant that anyone who participated in this huge plan would be treated well for a long time.
Of course, this was all based on the assumption that the plan would succeed.
What if it failed?
The participants didn’t want to imagine what would happen next.
They also knew that they couldn’t deny their involvement after hearing this plan.
They all got up with heavy faces and greeted Congressman James and left.
He wasn’t mistaken when he felt that their expressions had hardened with determination.
‘Now I just need to secure the appropriate troops and location. The rest will be taken care of by the American system.’
He had a baseless belief that his country would fix everything once he did it.
It was a strange thing.
Since when did he act without any strategy?
Was it because he felt that Yu Ji-ha could swallow up America?
The more he thought about him, the more he felt annoyed and angry, and he couldn’t come up with a logical plan.
He also found it strange that he had developed this obsession, but his head hurt when he thought deeply about it.
‘…’
James lifted his soaked face before he knew it.
He didn’t know that even this situation was well controlled.
He just thought he should see a doctor.
***
“The Typhon worked well.”
“Yeah…”
Yu Ji-ha was listening to the conversation through the nanomachines injected into Congressman James’s body.
The obsession and headache that James had experienced were caused by the Typhon drug injected by the nanomachines.
The drug was originally for pilots who went to the front line, to eliminate their fear of death and boost their morale.
The effect lasted for at least a few hours and the side effects were not severe.
It was a decent drug.
But the pilots didn’t like it very much.
It was because Yu Ji-ha, who was an Uber pilot and a senior, avoided it.
He said that even cigarettes or light drugs could mess up his mind and never did them. He always demanded his juniors to have the right mindset.
“There’s no proof that ether responsiveness comes from a proper mindset. But in my case, I did better without it. So I hope you guys don’t do it if you can.”
Yu Ji-ha was a hero of the Unified Space Force and a living legend among the pilots.
Few could go against his advice.
That’s why Typhon was shunned by the pilots and had a low production volume.
Did they put it on the Settler because they expected a rough journey to the Prophet’s homeland?
Yu Ji-ha decided to use Typhon to control Senator James.
It wasn’t exactly control, but making him fearless. But the effect was certain.
Senator James had always harbored hatred and fear for Yu Ji-ha and the United Human Federation.
And he also had a strong desire to kidnap him and control him as he pleased.
So Typhon’s effect was easy to seep in.
But he didn’t expect the side effects to occur so often.
“Is it because it’s for pilots? Maybe it doesn’t suit ordinary people.”
“It won’t kill him, so don’t worry.”
“He can’t die. He’s a symbol of the old age who deserves to be locked up in a space prison.”
They had already planned out the roadmap after making America surrender.
Those who led this terror would be imprisoned in a space prison as symbols of hindering unification.
America wouldn’t be destroyed, but it would have to give up a lot.
It wasn’t meant to humiliate them, but to make them yield to the United Human Federation and follow them diligently.
It wouldn’t be easy to resist, since it was such a big country, but they would gradually realize it after going through war and various things.
That following the United Human Federation was the only way for them to survive.
Yu Ji-ha outlined the whole roadmap.
“It’ll be quiet for a while once we subdue America.”
“Probably because there’s no force on Earth that can oppose the United Human Federation. Assuming that we can stop the Plague’s attack, that is.”
But they didn’t have much time.
The number on the real Golden Record had changed.
This number was probably the time when the Plague’s attack would occur.
It used to be 2080, but it changed recently.
“It’s moved up by 10 years. I’m worried how much more it’ll move up.”
“If the Prophet is really sending the Plague, then we don’t have to worry. He said he would send it according to our level.”
“I hope so, but…”
It was mid-2033, so they had less than 37 years left.
The only consolation was that they had almost finished unifying the Earth.
Now they had to develop medical technology and build spaceships and assault armors at the same time.
Yu Ji-ha had to give up his leadership and return to being a pilot.
He didn’t need the position of a leader to go to the Prophet’s homeland.
He planned to relinquish all his power and let the Supreme Council rule the United Human Federation instead.
“I wonder if the Supreme Council will let me go then.”
“Maybe you can hide the warp gate that leads to the Prophet’s homeland?”
“Then I’ll have to go alone with the Settler, not with the pioneer fleet. Turn on the route for a moment.”
The route to the Prophet’s homeland was a long journey that took almost 50 years, even with the Settler’s tremendous thrust.
It was impossible to go with one ark ship, and they had to mobilize a fleet, but that would risk being exposed to the Supreme Council.
“And if I disappear with my power, there will be chaos…”
“How about secretly building a fleet with stolen materials? You can hide it in Knox.”
“Well, Knox is so far away…”
The distance between Earth and Knox in 2070 was calculated to be about 700AU, which was a huge distance that required 60 days of sailing with the Settler.
It would be difficult to attempt sailing with a spaceship equipped with an antimatter reactor if they hid the ether fusion reactor.
It would be easier after they exterminated the Plague, but by then they would have already escaped.
Yu Ji-ha smirked at his situation.
“I wonder how many I have to hide… I don’t know if I can save people like this.”
“That depends on what you do, Master. As the son of a dictator, you’ll be deployed as an assault armor pilot without any training. People will pay attention to you.”
“It’ll be less than when that idiot woke up from a vegetative state.”
Yu Ji-ha had possessed the body of a chaebol’s third son eight years ago and came this far.
After rebuilding the United Human Federation, he would live his second life as an assault armor pilot.
His last life would probably end during the 50-year journey to the Prophet’s homeland.
“Maybe I’ll be locked up in prison for hundreds of crimes by the United Human Federation I created.”
“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen, Master.”
“That’s 40 years from now. Let’s just finish this well for now.”
“Yes.”
***
One thing changed as the United Human Federation dealt with five Plagues.
People no longer recognized America as a superpower.
Many had speculated that America would be different, but they too had no countermeasures against the monsters from space.
Especially after the details of Manhattan’s destruction were revealed, their prestige plummeted.
—They didn’t even know where the monster was until they got the information too late.
—I understand that it was hard to find it in the sea. But Yu Ji-ha warned that it was intelligent. They should have been more careful.
—I guess America was blinded by their arrogance as the world’s strongest and got what they deserved.
—They’re not the strongest anymore.
Instead, the United Human Federation rose rapidly.
This nation was not enough to be called a superpower, but they perfectly dealt with five space monsters.
The Earth Fleet was now familiar to ordinary people, but the bomb that killed the monster was still a mystery.
—They detonated it only in Chesapeake’s airspace and people are going crazy. Wasn’t it a nuclear bomb?
—A clean nuclear bomb without radiation… Maybe it was an antimatter bomb.
—Antimatter bomb? Is that even possible with our current technology?
—We can’t do it even in decades. But who knows with the United Human Federation.
—They’re amazing. You guys should be the superpower instead of America.
Admitting it didn’t change anything.
Rather, it only increased the burden on the United Human Federation.
People who felt threatened by the space monster applied for residency in Mega City en masse.
In July 2033, a whopping 7 million applications were received by the administration bureau in one month.
Many of them were young people, so each country expressed their concern, but they couldn’t stop them.
The brain drain problem became a serious issue at this time.
—45% of PhD graduates applied for residency and 2/3 of them emigrated. Isn’t this too much?
—The capital is empty because they took away the young generation. I wish they would moderate a bit.
This was not an exception for Seoul in the Korean Peninsula.
Apartment prices continued to hit the bottom and merchants complained that there were no people.
But no country openly expressed their dissatisfaction with the United Human Federation.
It was because they were economically tied to the United Human Federation in many ways.
Even America couldn’t say much, and political scientists speculated that it had something to do with the Manhattan incident.
—They received help, so they’re not in a position to make a fuss.
—Still, they have to give up the entire Pacific Ocean and lose their workforce. The damage is not trivial.
—The strange thing is America’s low posture. Even Senator James, who is likely to be the next president, is showing a conciliatory attitude.
—Maybe they decided to end their confrontation with the United Human Federation?
If that was true, it would be a fortunate thing for all humanity.
As the Manhattan restoration plan was established, President Yu Ji-ha decided to build a building made of black metal as a symbol of friendship.
The Americans also responded by marching with the United Human Federation flag in the ruins of Manhattan.
In such a situation, even the Democratic Party decided to stop issuing statements that demanded to overthrow dictatorship and bring freedom as they had done regularly.
Now the interest was focused on whether President Bernstein would resign as promised and whether Senator James would become president for about a year left in his term.
—President Bernstein will be lame duck even if he performs his remaining term with his aides replaced. So resignation is certain.
—The strange thing is Senator James. He was the most hard-line advocate, but when asked if he wanted to be president, he said he would never do that in his life. Why did he run for president?
—Maybe the Manhattan incident gave him a big shock.
-Yu Ji-ha has gone through three presidents during his rule. I hope James will be the last one.
A few months passed and President Bernstein announced his resignation as promised.
His rule was very short and full of mistakes, but at least he did his best to resolve the situation, so the Americans applauded him.
Now there was about a year left in his term.
According to the succession order, James, who was the interim Senate chairman, became president.
As he was a mainstream among the mainstreams of the Democratic Party, people expected that true harmony between America and the United Human Federation would be achieved.
And President James went one step further and wanted to invite Yu Ji-ha to America.
“I should have arranged visits to other countries, but I want to invite you to America, President Yu Ji-ha. We can have a deep discussion about the current situation in Washington.”
That deep discussion might be a threat after kidnapping him?
Yu Ji-ha sent a positive response and President James clenched his fist tightly.
“According to plan.”
“According to plan.”
Yu Ji-ha hung up his phone.
It was time for him to show his skills.
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