Chapter 169: Justice is Served
One night in December 2033.
Camp David, which had been bustling, quieted down around midnight.
A group of intruders penetrated the outskirts.
The three drones that were supposed to detect their entry did not deploy from the container because their power was cut off.
They also could not send any abnormal signals to the communication satellite because the radio waves were jammed.
The two guards who were supposed to monitor them were knocked out by the strong whiskey that President James had practically forced on them.
“Who would dare to touch you in America? President Yu seems to enjoy drinking too, so let’s have a drink. We’ll take responsibility for everything.”
America would take responsibility.
It was a tempting statement for the Blue House guards.
More than anything, they could not resist the temptation of The Macallan 1946 that President James personally offered.
If they refused the highest quality vintage whiskey that the incumbent president personally offered at the president’s villa in America, they would regret it for the rest of their lives.
Still, the guards tried their best to decline, but President Yu Ji-ha added that one drink wouldn’t hurt, so they ended up drinking it.
Thanks to that, the Recon Marines were able to access the external VIP accommodation without any resistance.
“Clear. Begin infiltration.”
The agents quickly picked the lock and entered.
There was no alarm because the power was cut off.
An android came out of the hallway as if it heard their footsteps, but it stumbled because of the adhesive stuck to its sensor and camera.
“Machines are hopeless after all. Neutralize the rest.”
The muscular agents used tasers to incapacitate the guards who came out late and sealed their mouths with towels.
As they opened the door and entered, they saw the president of the United Human Federation, whom they had confirmed countless times through video and photos, standing up with a surprised look on his face.
“Who are you?”
“We’re sorry. You’ll have to come with us for a while.”
Yu Ji-ha sighed as he checked that it was dark outside through the window.
“So even the president was in on it.”
“Not all Americans know about this. There’s just someone who needs you.”
“This will start a war if it gets out. Can you handle that?”
The Recon Marine captain clenched his teeth.
“We don’t fear the United Human Federation, unlike other countries.”
“Yeah? Maybe I should have left you alone during the Manhattan incident.”
The agents wavered and the captain forgot his instructions to be polite as he pressed his gun against his temple.
“Don’t talk back with your big mouth. My brother died in that incident.”
“I’m sorry about your brother, but is that a reason to blame a foreign president? Tell me. What did I do wrong?”
He was right.
The Manhattan incident was entirely caused by the politicians’ misjudgment and the soldiers’ mistakes.
The captain tried to say something but bit his lip and looked away from his eyes.
“Take him there. Watch him closely.”
Soon, a cloth soaked with anesthetic covered Yu Ji-ha’s mouth.
He had undergone various treatments that made him immune to such drugs, but he had to pretend to lose consciousness.
The captain’s anger was also due to his worry that they might abort the mission and turn back.
They had to kidnap him and start a war.
A few moments later, when the signal of securing the target came, gunshots began to ring out.
Tatatata―
The bureaucrats and guards from Korea ran out of their lodgings in surprise at the noise.
“What’s going on? What happened?”
“Mr. President, secure his safety first!”
“Flares!”
Suddenly, several small suns appeared in the night sky and people groaned with their eyes closed.
Military flares were incredibly bright, unlike what the public thought. They could make one’s vision and mind go blank.
Then flashbangs exploded and Camp David seemed like a war zone.
Secretary General Bae Seongmin heard the sound of several vehicles escaping in the midst of it.
His body flinched for a moment, but he was able to endure it because of the note that the president had given him.
Instead, what occupied his mind was the anger towards America for causing this.
‘They’re crazy. The president tried to help America as much as possible.’
If he really hated America, he wouldn’t have helped them with Earth Fleet.
He sent messages several times to stop the confrontation and fight against the space monsters together, but America ignored them and even committed terrorism.
‘This can’t be overlooked.’
President Yu Ji-ha seemed to have guessed that a war would break out.
No, a war had to break out.
What he was curious about was how the president knew about this beforehand.
‘Maybe Minister Arma knew too.’
He wondered if President Yu Ji-ha had planned all this in advance.
It would have been an absurd imagination for anyone else, but Bae Seongmin’s boss was someone who had enough ability and guts to do it.
‘There’s nothing I can do…’
He turned his head fiercely at the soldiers who approached him.
“What’s going on? What’s all this commotion?”
A gun was pointed at his forehead.
“Are you Secretary General Bae? You’ll have to come with us for a while.”
***
Yu Ji-ha was dragged away somewhere in a rattling truck.
His hands and feet were tied up and his mouth and eyes were covered.
It seemed like they wanted to hide where they were taking him.
Regardless, his location was being transmitted in real time by the Siberi satellite.
‘He’s heading to Hagerstown.’
He was sure to be searched and interrogated in that small city before being moved elsewhere.
He wanted to hear what President James had to say, but he decided to wait since he was kidnapped.
Fortunately, Arma, who was in the same situation, was following behind him.
The escort soldiers didn’t say a word to him, as if they had received orders, and thanks to that, Yu Ji-ha could rest comfortably.
After resting for 30 minutes, the car stopped.
He was imprisoned in the basement of a secluded house on the outskirts of Hagerstown.
‘Three floors underground… They prepared a lot.’
He had to go through several security doors and iron bars before he could be locked up in a cell.
Soon after, Arma was also locked up in the next room and they were searched at the same time.
There wasn’t much to find out from Yu Ji-ha and Arma didn’t reveal his identity either.
“Are you feeling frustrated? I’ll take off your blindfold.”
Along with someone’s voice, the blindfold was removed and he finally saw the room and a few people who were imprisoned.
They had patches and covered their faces, but there were clearly some Marines and a white man in a black suit looking at him.
Yu Ji-ha didn’t know who he was, but Arma showed him his identity through the biochip in his sight.
‘He is Joseph Clipper, a secret agent under the National Intelligence Agency. He is one of President James’s aides and supervised this operation.’
There must have been more than one or two people involved in this, but Clipper seemed to be in charge of the scene.
He took off his sunglasses and sat down on a chair in front of Yu Ji-ha.
“I know you, but you’ve never seen me before.”
“Joseph Clipper.”
His face twitched as he said his name.
“Should I call you the greatest dictator of all time? Even someone like me knows you.”
“You can’t ignore the president’s aide as a low-level.”
“Fine. Let’s have a practical conversation as you like. You’re smart, so you must understand the situation. And the fact that you can never escape.”
“Do you really think so?”
Yu Ji-ha tilted his head and he gave a faint smile.
“You seem to be thinking of escaping, but it won’t be easy. Even if you find out where we are by some means, we can move you somewhere else within 10 minutes.”
They must have dug an underground tunnel as well.
Seeing that they prepared this much while avoiding Arma’s surveillance, he could tell how obsessive James was.
Yu Ji-ha grumbled inwardly that it was too good to be true even if he escaped.
Clipper interpreted his silence differently and said with a clenched jaw.
“As I said before, you can’t leave this room on your own. You should keep in mind that your time here can increase depending on your decision.”
“What decision are you talking about?”
“You have to decide to cooperate with us. You have to work for America.”
Yu Ji-ha laughed at the ridiculous statement.
“Did you kidnap me without knowing who I am?”
“We know very well. A psychic with incredible ether abilities, the de facto owner of the Silla Group, the dictator of the United Human Federation that rules the second largest territory after six megacities and Russia, President Yu Ji-ha.”
He wanted to add that he was also the owner of the ark ship Settler and that he came from the future, but he decided to hold back.
“And you still think I’ll cooperate with America?”
He nodded as if he understood.
“People who haven’t been imprisoned for long react like you. After a few days or months of intense interrogation and persuasion, most of them give up. I wonder how long you’ll last.”
“You’re talking as if you’ll keep me locked up for life if I don’t cooperate.”
“That’s right. You’ll never see the sun again if you don’t work for America.”
It was a chilling remark, but it only sounded funny to Yu Ji-ha.
“That’s too much. I’ve helped America more than once.”
“That’s true. Especially this Manhattan incident, you owe us a huge debt. But you are… too dangerous.”
“In what way?”
“In the sense that you’re uncontrollable. We never know what kind of technology will pop up overnight. We can’t even reverse-engineer the Taran Tula that you started mass-producing recently.”
“I don’t know either. I just use what Russia makes in their smart factory.”
“You’ll use your abilities for America, including that artificial intelligence.”
“So you can’t give up the leadership, huh?”
Yu Ji-ha grumbled and Clipper relaxed his posture.
“Since Europe first discovered India and America…”
“Discovered? You mean invaded. What about the natives?”
“…Anyway, we’ve been the firm rulers of the earth for hundreds of years. Until you showed up.”
“Now you want to make a white-dominated world again? Isn’t that a delusional dream? What are you going to do about the space monsters if I don’t cooperate?”
“We have some time left since the Manhattan incident just happened. We’ll convince you. We also need to see how that artificial intelligence works. One thing is certain: you can’t have a normal life unless you promise to cooperate.”
“Do you think the United Human Federation will sit still?”
He spoke threateningly and Clipper looked around the room.
“This is just a temporary prison. You’ll be moved around irregularly. A well-trained battalion will guard the prison and special forces and armored units are on standby. We can blow you up anytime.”
“So you’ll kill me if you can’t have me?”
“No. It’s impossible for even artificial intelligence to find you, so just give up.”
He leaned his face towards Yu Ji-ha and whispered.
“Your wife is in the next room. If you say one word, we can help ease her fear. Don’t you miss your son who stayed at home? We’ll let you live together. Of course, under our surveillance.”
“I’d rather be tortured.”
“We won’t resort to such violent means for now. But that might change when we get permission from above.”
He took out a knife from his pocket and caressed it as if it was a subtle threat.
It would have been trivial to Yu Ji-ha, who had resistance to all kinds of pain.
“Whatever, torture or drugs, it wouldn’t be too bad. But there’s one thing you should keep in mind. If I get out of here, you won’t die peacefully.”
“That won’t happen. You’ll never leave American soil.”
“That’s a nice delusion.”
Yu Ji-ha closed his mouth as if he had nothing more to say.
In fact, he was just stalling for time.
America had to announce that they had captured him to justify their actions.
He could escape later.
“Fine. You have plenty of time to think. It wouldn’t be bad to watch the United Human Federation crumble.”
Finally, the room was quiet.
Around the same time, Arma reported that his interrogation was over.
‘The president is going to make a statement from the White House.’
It was finally starting.
***
Despite being well past midnight, the Oval Office was quite busy.
The reporters wondered why the president was here when he was supposed to be at Camp David.
Was it okay to leave his guest alone?
Soon after, President James appeared on the podium with a smug face.
“Today, we have achieved a great feat. You’ll be shocked when you hear this news. We have captured a dictator.”
At first, the reporters didn’t know what he meant.
Did they subdue one of the major factions in Africa?
But they knew that America had withdrawn from Africa recently.
President James seemed to enjoy their bewildered expressions and gave a faint smile.
“Ha ha, you’ll be surprised when you hear his name. He is a cruel and ruthless dictator who has made 40% of humanity his enemies and killed countless lives.”
At this point, the reporters held their breath.
Could his name be…
“He is also a destroyer of democracy and an enemy of freedom and human rights. By now, you should be able to guess his name. Let me introduce him. He is President Yu Ji-ha of the United Human Federation. Well, we’ll have to take away his title now.”
He spoke jokingly, but the reporters couldn’t breathe properly.
They captured President Yu Ji-ha of the United Human Federation, meaning they kidnapped him?
They kidnapped a foreign leader who came to America for a summit?
They were all dizzy and could only mumble.
President James continued his speech proudly with a smile.
“We have secured all his assets. And his wife too, of course. He is currently under the protection of the US Marine Corps and escape is impossible. So…”
“He has to do as we please. If he refuses our offer, he will never get out.”
“…”
It was a shocking statement.
They kidnapped the leader of a country and demanded his cooperation, threatening to keep him locked up forever.
Of course, Yu Ji-ha had clashed with America many times before.
But this kind of act would surely undermine America’s credibility in the international community.
One reporter couldn’t stand it and shouted.
“Are you insane? How do you think the world will see us?”
The security guards tried to move, but President James stopped them with a relaxed attitude.
“Ah, it’s okay, let him be. The world will respect and admire us. Because justice has been done.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. He is a cruel and ruthless murderer and a violator of human rights. From now on, we will hold him accountable for his crimes. He must atone for humanity for the rest of his life.”
“…And you’ll extract his technology while he’s imprisoned.”
“He’s too valuable to kill. He may have a terrible personality, but he’s a smart person. He’ll understand his situation and cooperate with us.”
The reporter shook his head in disgust and another reporter got up and asked.
“This is Mike from CNN. Do you think the United Human Federation will stay quiet?”
“Good question. Of course they won’t. It’ll be fun to watch how the artificial intelligence goes berserk without its master.”
“But before that… we want to make it clear that we have him in our custody. What was the name of that artificial intelligence? Lucia? It must have the ability to judge how to treat its master’s master.”
“Even so, if the United Human Federation’s army moves, we can’t guarantee his life. Fortunately, they’ve been quiet so far.”
“…Wow.”
This was tantamount to declaring war.
Not only the artificial intelligence that lost its master, but also the United Human Federation would never sit still.
Of course, it would be hard for them to act immediately if America revealed that they had captured Yu Ji-ha.
President James read the atmosphere and took out a remote control with a smirk.
“There’s a TV over there. If I press this button, you’ll see the worst dictator since Hitler. Of course, he’s in custody, so don’t be afraid.”
He pressed the button and Yu Ji-ha’s face appeared.
He was sitting alone in a dark room on a chair.
His head was slightly bowed, but his features revealed that he was Yu Ji-ha.
“I wish he’d lift his head a little… Ah, perfect.”
Yu Ji-ha smiled at the monitor installed in the room.
“…You’ll pay a terrible price for this.”
“Before that, you’ll have to pay for what you’ve done for years. You’ll probably have to serve America and humanity for about 100 years.”
“I swear, if I get out of here on my own, I won’t let any of you off the hook. I’ve lied a lot, but I promise to keep that one for sure.”
Yu Ji-ha spoke calmly, and James threw off his mask of hypocrisy and smashed the TV with a stick.
“You want to threaten me, but you’re in prison! There’s no one to help you!”
“I’ve never needed anyone’s help. So look forward to what I’ll do.”
President James was angry at his relaxed attitude and turned off the TV.
And he spoke to the reporters as if he was blackmailing them.
“I swear to God, that murderer will never leave American soil alive. And by now, you guys from the United Human Federation must have known. If you want to save Yu Ji-ha, don’t move that damn drone, got it?”
His eyes were filled with madness as he spoke.
Anyway, this press conference succeeded in waking up the leaders of the world despite the time zone.
They all rubbed their eyes and watched the news, speechless at the absurdity.
—President Yu Ji-ha of the United Human Federation, kidnapped after visiting America for a summit.
—His assets are currently secured by the US Marine Corps under President James’s orders.
—President James announced that justice has been done. He plans to secure his technology for America and humanity for the next 100 years.
“…He’s completely insane.”
Someone’s words represented the feelings of the world leaders.
President Mikhailov of Russia declared a state of emergency as soon as he heard the news and protested vehemently to America.
“If you hurt a single hair of President Yu, be prepared! I’ll show you what a nuclear shower is!”
“Ah, there’s no need to get so excited. By the way, aren’t you being a bit too arrogant? You’re nothing but Yu Ji-ha’s subordinates. How dare you talk to me like that?”
“This damn Yankee talks too much…”
Click.
The phone must have been broken.
President James tried to hide his nervousness and joked with his aides.
“If I secure Russia after the United Human Federation, will I become the ruler of the earth? Ha ha, that would be fun.”
“…”
The aides looked at him with bored faces.
They thought he would stay quiet for his remaining year in office, but he caused a huge mess.
How was he going to fix this?
The phones in the White House were ringing and President James contacted his former colleagues with a smug voice.
And time passed and morning came.
The world was shocked by the news that came late.
Russia was in an uproar, from the people to the military and the government, ready to go to war.
The other countries were alarmed, but decided to wait and see the situation.
If America really captured Yu Ji-ha, there was no need to confront them.
Of course, as always, there were people who thought it was Yu Ji-ha’s own drama.
It was mostly the voice of the anti-Yu Ji-ha faction in America, including the Democratic Party.
They demanded that Yu Ji-ha be killed.
—Kill him. If you don’t kill him now, you’ll regret it.
—Just kill him and think later. Trial? Leave it to his favorite artificial intelligence. We have artificial intelligence too.
As such extreme opinions emerged, Bae Seongmin, the chief secretary, returned home with his agents.
He bowed his head weakly in front of the countless reporters and bureaucrats who crowded the Blue House.
“All I want to say is please wait.”
As he tried to go in, the reporters swarmed him like bees.
“Did you just watch as America kidnapped the president?”
“What will happen to us now?”
The voice of anxiety began to rise in the United Human Federation as well.
The artificial intelligence represented by Russia seemed to have no problem for now.
But if Yu Ji-ha remained kidnapped, it was inevitable that problems would arise.
There were demands to drop the new bomb on America.
—What are they doing? They kidnapped our president! Kill them all!
—Destroy America!
But there was no one to make a decision since the president was absent.
There was no one who had access to the artificial intelligence.
As the whole United Human Federation boiled over, some Americans mocked them.
—Look, that’s what happens when you give all your power to a dictator.
—Now that we’re brothers, we should share. Open up the megacities quickly.
—Let’s take a look at that battle cruiser first. I’ve been curious about what it does.
The battle cruiser that some Americans mentioned with a chuckle was anchored in the sky above Seoul.
As many Seoul citizens sighed and wondered why the ship wasn’t moving, a Pyongyang-class battle cruiser that had departed from Mars arrived near Earth.
Arma opened her eyes when she received the signal.
She gave a light tug on her arm and the ropes made of kevlar fiber snapped.
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