Chapter 170: The Couple Con Artists
Not all Americans welcomed the kidnapping of Yu Ji-ha.
On the contrary, most people with manners were appalled by the insane act.
—They kidnapped a foreign president who came for a summit? Is this really America? Or are we having a nightmare?
—Where did they get that stupid idea that the AI would obey them if they kidnapped its master?
—This is madness. They should release the president and his wife and apologize as soon as possible before the situation gets worse.
The hardliners of the Democratic Party had a helpless stance on these reasonable demands.
—What can we do? We already did it. Our task is to turn this situation to our advantage.
—For now, the United Human Federation’s army is not moving. They can’t do anything rash while we have Yu Ji-ha. We don’t know what will happen if we kill him, but it’s not like a war will break out right away.
—Think about it. They talk about cooperation, but in the end, we have to bow down and follow them. The United Human Federation will never care about our situation. So we don’t have to care about theirs either.
The issue was not simple, and it turned Washington politics upside down, as well as the White House, the Pentagon, the media, and the financial sector.
Most of the media were covering the kidnapping incident, and nearly a third of humanity was focused on it.
Some people said there was no way for a happy ending.
—If they resort to such an extreme method like kidnapping, either America or the United Human Federation will die.
—I don’t think Russia will just let it go. Is this going to be World War III?
—The AI won’t just sit still either. Let’s go to the market and buy some food. The earth might be destroyed.
Both the side that caused this crisis and the side that got involved were superpowers that would be second to none in military might, and Russia was not behind in nuclear power.
There were fears that a full-scale nuclear war might break out if Yu Ji-ha died.
The representative of such a position was Martin Conrad, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States.
He was not only shocked but also enraged by this situation, as he was the person who represented the US military in place of the vacant Secretary of Defense.
“I don’t have military authority, but it’s unacceptable that the White House mobilized the Marines behind my back. But that’s not the real issue. I need to see the president.”
Despite numerous inquiries, the White House did not respond.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had a direct line to talk to the president, but it was jammed.
Unable to bear it, Conrad mobilized his friend and former president Bernstein’s network to contact the White House.
President James, who barely answered the phone, sounded very tired.
“What is it?”
“It’s only two miles from the Pentagon to your office, but it’s very hard to reach you.”
“I’m so busy, what can I do? Tell me what you want.”
“You have to release President Yu right now.”
“If that’s your request, I’ll hang up. The senators are enough to talk nonsense.”
“Mr. President, this is not good for America. How can you imprison people who came to America for a summit? How will the world see us?”
“I’m a person who cares more about interests than eyes. You understand? America’s interests.”
“Can holding him be ultimately beneficial for America? The army of the United Human Federation is already…”
“Chairman, did the United Human Federation’s army move?”
“Not yet, but…”
“Did the AI find him or something? What’s the problem?”
Conrad, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, realized that the president had no intention of reversing this situation.
But he couldn’t give up here.
“Then you should at least send the first lady.”
“It would be better to stay here together. We’re a couple, aren’t we?”
It was a remark that made him doubt the author’s sanity.
“Please, Mr. President… What are you going to do if President Yu escapes on his own? It would be less damaging to let him go now.”
“He won’t get out of prison unless we let him go. He has no choice but to cooperate with us, you understand?”
They were on parallel lines.
He hung up the phone and called the commanders of each branch of the military.
It was originally the exclusive authority of the Secretary of Defense, but the government was in chaos and no proper appointments had been made.
Fortunately, the commanders had realized the seriousness of this situation early and responded to the call immediately.
“I gathered you here to emphasize that we can’t be swept away by the White House.”
The White House was the center of the US administration and the institution that represented the US.
The military naturally had to follow the will of such a White House as a priority.
But the situation was not that simple.
President James had committed a crime of kidnapping a foreign president and his wife on his own, which was an intolerable act.
The problem was that James refused to listen to any advice or warnings from outside.
The administration was in disarray and the parties were fighting with venom.
In this situation, Conrad decided that the role of the military was more important than anything else.
“Each branch must maintain a readiness posture, but never make any remarks or actions that provoke the United Human Federation, Russia, or other countries. This is our clear mistake.”
A commander hesitated and asked.
“Will anything change by doing that?”
“We have to step up. The White House is crazy right now. What do you think will happen if President Yu escapes on his own? You have to be prepared for a reactive bomb dropping on at least one of America’s major cities.”
The commanders were terrified by imagining a reactive bomb that had proven its power on Mars dropping on an American city.
It was close to 100 megatons.
Considering the technology of the United Human Federation, they would easily ignore this side’s air defense network and come in.
The result was America’s destruction.
Conrad, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke with force.
“Maybe this is all his own drama. The stupid and pitiful president got dragged into it. Rather than arguing about that, we need to solve this tangled situation first. Mobilize all the available forces and find him and get him out.”
It was a difficult task to get him out before Yu Ji-ha escaped on his own.
How did they know where he was and find him?
Even if they found him, the security forces of the detention facility would not be quiet, so a battle would surely break out.
It was possible that a civil war-like situation would erupt on American soil.
Nevertheless, the combat commanders knew that they had to do this.
“…It would be better to be court-martialed than to have America destroyed.”
“It would be at least life imprisonment. I hope you will let us go, sir.”
Conrad, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, smiled faintly.
“I’m going in too, so what do you mean by letting go? Maybe Bernstein will save us.”
“The former president…? Did you hear any rumors?”
“Just a feeling. He seems to know something. Anyway, don’t forget that we have to get that couple out by any means.”
The conversation ended there.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff thought hard in front of the computer and slammed his desk.
“What are those bastards in the administration doing? Don’t they know that they can revoke his authority if they know he’s out of his mind?”
According to Article 25, Section 4 of the Amendment Constitution, the vice president and each department of the administration, or the Congress, can suspend the president’s authority.
There were various conditions and plenty of time, so it wouldn’t be much help for the current situation, but wouldn’t it be enough for pressure?
The Congress was also a problem and the administration was swayed by the president.
“No, America as a whole is a problem…”
Everything was messy because the president changed three times in a few years.
Conrad, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, felt dizzy imagining that the couple would escape on their own and declare war on America.
It should never happen, but he couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling.
“…I have to prepare for the worst situation.”
He got up from his seat.
***
The second Seoul-class combat cruiser, Pyeongyang, was different from the first one in many ways.
This ship was built for real combat with Plague, not for training and data acquisition like Seoul.
It had almost twice the displacement and was not ready to carry combat officers, but it had enough weapons systems.
The main difference between Pyeongyang and Seoul was that it had the facilities to operate assault armors.
Assault armors were quite bulky, so 100,000 tons was not enough to properly operate many of them.
Pyeongyang was the minimum level that could be deployed to the front line against Plague.
This ship was made entirely of black metal, so it had a semi-permanent lifespan.
It meant that it could be used continuously unless it was sunk, as long as the equipment and facilities were replaced.
It also had a different dimension of propulsion from the existing impulse thrusters.
Antimatter reactor.
It used the enormous energy generated by the annihilation of particles and antiparticles as propellant, controlling it precisely.
Thanks to that, Pyeongyang could travel between Earth and Mars in a day.
The price was expensive, but there was no need to worry about that in the war with Plague.
Anyway, this ship arrived at Earth’s geostationary orbit about a day after leaving Mars.
As soon as it approached, it activated the optical camouflage net, so there was no fear of being detected.
The detention facility was under radio jamming, but it was meaningless to exchange data with quantum communication.
“It’s time to escape, Master.”
Arma cut off the rope and opened the nanomachine capsule to hack the hidden CCTV remotely.
Then the monitor in the control room flickered slightly.
From now on, they wouldn’t notice anything inside from outside.
The blast door lock was smashed in an instant and the door opened.
Two armed guards were startled and pointed their machine guns, but they shivered with electric shock.
“Kreuk!”
Smoke rose from their bodies.
Arma went straight to the room where Yu Ji-ha was detained, taking out two more guards on the way.
When the blast door was torn off, Yu Ji-ha finally lifted his head.
“Master, I came to pick you up.”
“What’s the situation outside?”
“The US military has identified this place. They are expected to send a rescue team soon.”
“We have to escape before they rescue us.”
That’s how the strange escape began.
The control room detected something suspicious, but they couldn’t communicate with the outside.
There was a problem with the wired network.
“Why is this happening? There’s no response.”
“Someone seems to have cut off the communication line. We need to restore it immediately.”
“Before that, we need to go down and check. The guards are too quiet.”
The guards were supposed to send a signal every 10 minutes.
It was very suspicious that the signal didn’t come and there was no change on the screen.
The attempt to connect the backup communication network also failed.
The nanomachines that Arma had released started to interfere with the radio signals by sticking to the cables.
At this point, the control room was in chaos and Joseph Clipper, who had been sleeping soundly, woke up.
He frowned as he received the situation report.
“…Order all forces. Kill them as soon as you find them.”
“That will make things worse.”
“It’s more of a problem if they escape. They must never get out of here.”
“Yes, sir.”
A state of emergency was declared throughout the detention facility.
The lights brightened and all the doors were sealed as the reserve forces were deployed.
A pile of heavily armed soldiers were startled to see a pair of men and women walking in their pajamas in the corridor.
“Fi, fire!”
Tatatata―
Countless bullets rained down on them, but none hit.
Arma’s plasma shield blocked the bullets.
As the captain who gave the order to fire tilted his head, Aether lasers shot out of Arma’s eyes.
The soldiers and weapons evaporated at once by the power that could destroy a ballistic missile in one second.
As the narrow corridor filled with a foul smell and heat, Arma broke the wall and made a way.
Joseph Clipper, who noticed it belatedly, widened his eyes.
“…Wasn’t she human either? How’s the search… Seal this facility right away. Blow up the entrance with a bomb!”
A few moments later, the bomb installed at the bunker entrance exploded.
The entrance collapsed completely, but it failed to stop their escape.
The assault armor ejected from Pyeongyang created a strong Aether field.
The assault armor couldn’t control gravity as widely as a settler or a mining ship, but it was enough to clear the debris.
The ground around the detention facility shook, and soon the debris floated up.
Thanks to that, Yu Ji-ha and Arma were able to reach the surface soon.
The dozens of soldiers who followed them were shocked to see the assault armor.
“Wha, what is that?”
“I don’t know…”
Joseph Clipper clenched his teeth.
He knew they had more than one hidden thing, but he didn’t know they had something like this.
The unidentified mobile weapon floating in the sky looked like a wasp.
Six wings on its back spewed dazzling gold light.
What kind of thing was it?
Suddenly Clipper’s eyes turned gold.
Something strange was ejected from the mobile weapon and then a laser shot out.
When Aether lasers were emitted from the reflector bits, they reflected in dozens of beams.
The armored units that approached with a strange hunch all evaporated.
Armored cars and tanks were all cut by lasers without exception.
The helicopter couldn’t withstand the power that cut through the tank’s armor.
The tail of the helicopter approaching from the sky was cut off and it started to fall with a loud noise.
Bang!
There was a huge explosion, maybe because the fuel tank exploded.
He approached the assault armor that slowly descended with Yu Ji-ha and Arma.
Clipper’s scream was heard from behind.
“You! Never! Go! Don’t!”
“It’s war! If you go, it means war! So you have to stay here quietly!”
Yu Ji-ha looked at him indifferently and muttered.
“That’s what I want.”
He didn’t know if he heard it or not.
When they boarded the cockpit, the assault armor spewed ether lasers around again.
All the ground forces, including Clipper, evaporated and the reflector bits around the assault armor were stored.
Yu Ji-ha fidgeted in his seat.
He couldn’t move because Arma was sitting in front of him.
“It’s a bit cramped because it’s not a double seat.”
“Should I squeeze into a corner? If I pull out my neck and legs, there will be more space.”
“…Let’s just go like this. It sounds like something out of a dream.”
It would be quick to get to Terra Island with an assault armor.
That’s how the couple disappeared and a few hours later, DEVGRU Gold Squadron rescue team arrived at the scene.
They looked around the mess and contacted Pentagon with drones.
Conrad, chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, closed his eyes at the report that they seemed to have escaped.
‘It’s over…’
He had many questions, but it didn’t matter in this situation.
The whole world was boiling over Yu Ji-ha’s kidnapping.
Who would listen to America’s words?
If Yu Ji-ha returned to United Human Federation, war would break out immediately.
He tried to contact the White House, but threw the phone down when he confirmed that it was still out of service.
“Damn James!”
Now war was inevitable.
***
At the point when Yu Ji-ha and Arma escaped, the Oval Office was showing the same video of the detention facility.
President James sipped his whiskey and felt satisfied.
“It feels like a toothache is gone…”
It really did.
His desire to catch Yu Ji-ha sometimes gave him headaches.
The doctor diagnosed it as a simple nerve sensitivity and he barely resisted the urge to punch him.
Anyway, he felt relaxed after catching Yu Ji-ha.
The surroundings were noisy, but it was too late to turn back.
‘We have to transform into greatness again.’
America had to be a being that received respect from many countries and sometimes inspired fear.
It shouldn’t be anxious about the technological development of United Human Federation and afraid of when a space monster would pop out.
He hoped that things would go well after this.
As long as he held Yu Ji-ha, neither United Human Federation nor Russia could move rashly.
‘Russia’s nuclear threat? Sorry, but we have more nukes.’
Ion beam was something both sides had, so the conditions were equal.
In the end, the nuclear threat would end as a threat and America was overwhelming in conventional power.
He couldn’t lose even if he had mass-produced Hafnium-2 explosives.
That was the story except for United Human Federation.
James put his legs on the desk that was 153 years old and enjoyed the screen leisurely.
It was a very monotonous video where Yu Ji-ha just bowed his head, but he always enjoyed it.
But someone knocked on the door of the Oval Office urgently.
“Mr. President, it’s your chief of staff.”
James was annoyed by this interruption of his peaceful moment, but he couldn’t ignore his few confidants.
“Come in.”
The White House officials, including the secretary, came into the Oval Office with a serious look.
“What? I don’t remember allowing you to come in like this.”
The chief of staff ignored him and opened his mouth.
“Mr. President, United Human Federation is making a major announcement.”
“It must be just a statement at best. What can they do without him?”
“According to the news that just came in, it’s an announcement in the name of the president.”
“What?”
Anyone would be surprised by this news, even if they were calm.
James jumped up from his chair like a rabbit and sighed as he looked at the monitor in the corner.
“What are you talking about? They must be using a stand-in. United Human Federation has good technology. It wouldn’t be hard to make an android that looks similar, right?”
The chief of staff looked around and finally spilled the beans.
“That screen is fake…”
“…”
“We got a call from the Pentagon. The detention facility was completely destroyed and their whereabouts are unknown.”
“That’s impossible…”
“We don’t have time. Let’s watch the announcement together.”
He changed the channel and a screen broadcasted by United Human Federation appeared.
Along with the buzzing sound of reporters, Yu Ji-ha showed up with a pale face.
President James’s eyes popped out.
“This is a scam!”
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