Chapter 37
"I want range."
When Jo I-Hyeon gave him two options, Kim Seojun chose range without a hint of hesitation.
"Just give me 5 days."
At Kim Seojun's choice, Jo I-Hyeon named a time, and everyone was surprised the moment they heard it.
It wasn't because 5 days felt too long in this urgent situation.
‘Even a decent car tuning takes over a week, doesn't it?’
They were surprised that she could produce results in a mere 5 days.
Furthermore, the place she was currently in was not the American headquarters where all support was available, but the Polish headquarters.
Producing results in 5 days in such a place was like a miracle in many ways.
"I leave it in your hands."
And from Kim Seojun's perspective, it was a miracle he had no reason to refuse.
Of course, that didn't mean they could just relax.
"We don't know when the Mogs and China will attack."
It was a situation where an emergency could break out at any moment.
"Even if nothing happens, we must attack the Chinese headquarters in 5 days."
Furthermore, in 5 days, they had to go all the way to the distant Chinese headquarters and attack them—a completely nonsensical, crazy act.
It was a situation where they had to prepare for war, and an expedition at that, in just 5 days!
So everyone braced themselves.
That these 5 days would be busier, fiercer, and more desperate than ever before.
Also, that Kim Seojun would demand exactly that.
"Therefore, for the next 5 days."
Kim Seojun said to them.
"Let's rest as much as possible."
"Pardon?"
The moment they heard that, everyone had blank expressions, and Kim Seojun spoke to them more precisely.
"Get at least 10 hours of deep sleep a day, and increase your calorie intake."
He was telling them not to just rest casually, but to rest thoroughly.
Those words came from Kim Seojun's experience.
He knew.
Even if they prepared and practiced something for 5 days, it would only be scratching the surface.
In particular, Kim Seojun knew.
"Your physical and mental strength must be intact to improve the stimpack's effects and duration, and to reduce its aftereffects."
In the end, what determined victory or defeat in war was the power of drugs.
When they heard that explanation, no one questioned him.
From then on, everyone began to rest, and on the 3rd day, Jo I-Hyeon came and said.
"It's done! I increased the range! But the reload time will be about 1.5 times longer than usual."
She showed them the Thunder that had finished its upgrade.
At that, Kim Seojun's Group asked in surprise.
"Didn't you say 5 days?"
"Yes, but Thunder was seriously no joke."
And Jo I-Hyeon, who was answering, was also surprised.
"This was definitely not made by China. Even if they did make it, it wasn't with their technology. The machine's stability is superior to that of any battle tank out there right now. Even more than that of what I was developing in America. Anyway, it was easy thanks to that. I didn't have to do any reinforcement work."
It was good news in many ways, and from then on, Kim Seojun's Group began to gauge the timing.
"Excuse me, Staff Sergeant Kim, when are we going?"
The time has come to head to the Chinese headquarters.
Regarding that, Kim Seojun said.
"It will come soon."
"Soon, you mean?"
"There is a high probability that a support request will soon come from Japan, saying it is under attack by China."
At that answer, everyone tilted their heads, and Kim Seojun told them.
"If China can pilot the Ghost Bat, it will naturally use the Ghost Bat to destroy the Japan headquarters' main forces before using its troops to attack."
To everyone who was surprised by those words, Kim Seojun spoke with a stiffer expression than ever.
"I really hope that isn't the case, but..."
If the situation unfolded according to Kim Seojun's expectations, it meant that China could now pilot the Ghost Bat as well.
‘The bad things I think of usually become reality.’
But unfortunately, everything unfolded exactly as Kim Seojun thought.
- This is the Japan headquarters! This is the Japan headquarters!
31 hours after Thunder finished its range upgrade, a support request came from Japan.
- We are under attack!
And Japan said.
- China has attacked us!
Major Lin Jia'ai, when she gave the order to kill all survivors on Planet Amotia, most people thought
It would be a very difficult task.
But Major Lin Jia'ai was confident.
She couldn't not be.
"We will use the Ghost Bat to inflict damage, then send in the Mogs to shake them up. After that, we will finish them off."
Not only could she pilot the Mogs, but she also had as many as four Psycher agents under her command who had not been revealed to the public.
Above all, she had an ability.
"I will find the remaining stragglers afterward."
A very special ability that could figure out whatever they tried to hide.
The first target for this was decided to be the Japan headquarters, which ranked 7th in power scale on Planet Amotia.
The operation proceeded smoothly, and she could soon hear the results.
- This is the Japan headquarters! This is the Japan headquarters! We are under attack!
That radio transmission sent by the Japan headquarters to everyone on Planet Amotia was naturally picked up by the Chinese headquarters as well, and the moment she heard it, Major Lin Jia'ai waited.
"Good news should be coming soon."
And on the 2nd day after the Japan headquarters sent a support request across all of Planet Amotia, Major Lin Jia'ai could hear it.
KABOOM!
Along with a sudden roar, every part of the Chinese headquarters began to fill with the bright red color of warning lights.
"The headquarters is under attack!"
The moment she heard that, Major Lin Jia'ai's expression stiffened.
It wasn't an incomprehensible situation.
The Chinese headquarters had made a declaration of war against everyone on Planet Amotia, and it was known that they had attacked the Japan headquarters.
In that situation, the option of counterattacking the Chinese headquarters was perfectly valid.
However, at this point, there was no nation with the military strength and audacity to choose that option.
‘They're striking us when the American headquarters has collapsed?’
Because the very first thing Major Lin Jia'ai had done was to destroy the nation capable of doing so.
However, her contemplation did not last long.
The most basic principle one had to possess to survive in the Space Age was always the same.
The moment you were attacked, you had to choose one of two options as quickly as possible: fight or run away, and there was only one option Major Lin Jia'ai could choose here.
To counterattack!
"Who is the enemy?"
So she immediately sought to find the target for her counterattack.
"That is..."
The subordinate soldier could not give an immediate answer to Major Lin Jia'ai's question, and at that moment, Major Lin Jia'ai spoke.
"This is an urgent wartime situation. If you hesitate to answer from now on, I will carry out a summary execution."
"...I-I apologize!"
The moment he heard those chilling words, the subordinate answered.
"T-They are not visible!"
"What did you say?"
"T-The enemy is n-not visible."
At those words, Major Lin Jia'ai pulled out the gun at her waist.
It was a warning.
A warning that if he were spouting nonsensical bullshit right now, she would carry out a summary judgment as declared.
And she was certain.
That she would soon pull the trigger.
It made sense, as the Chinese headquarters was currently under a clear and obvious attack, and an attack by a very powerful weapon at that.
That meant the enemy had brought at least a battle tank or equivalent armored vehicles!
But their identity couldn't be figured out?
"What's caught on the radar?"
It would be one thing if it were something small like a person, but it was impossible for the radar not to catch such a massive object.
"There is N-Nothing."
However, the moment she heard the following words, Major Lin Jia'ai's pupils shook slightly.
That didn't mean she was completely shaken.
She knew.
‘It's an armored vehicle with a stealth function.’
There were plenty of functions that could render radar performance useless.
In times like this, there was no choice but to confirm it through physical methods rather than radar.
"Confirm the direction of the attack and send out the reconnaissance drones."
At her command, Reconnaissance drones immediately began to fly out from the Chinese headquarters.
"1 kilometer ahead, nothing!"
And the flying reconnaissance drones began to send back information in 1-kilometer increments.
"2 kilometers ahead, nothing!"
As if doing a countdown, everyone held their breath and waited for the numbers to stop.
"Seven kilometers ahead, there was nothing."
But when that number reached 7 kilometers, the atmosphere changed from then on.
"10 kilometers ahead, nothing."
Eventually, everyone could hear.
"N-Nothing is there."
Whiiir!
Hundreds of reconnaissance drones were passing over the wasteland, making an eerie sound.
And beneath that sound, Kim Seojun, Private First Class Park Boseop, and Major Lee Hyena were holding their breath with stealth cloaks draped over them.
Eventually, Private First Class Park Boseop spoke.
"Staff Sergeant Kim, I don't hear the drone sounds around us anymore."
At those words, Kim Seojun also opened his mouth.
"The operation is a success."
Kim Seojun, the moment he heard that the upgraded Thunder Railgun's range exceeded 15 kilometers, immediately told them about the operation.
They would strike the Chinese headquarters from 15 kilometers away at the moment their guard was the weakest.
And right after that, they would put Thunder into the inventory and go into concealment.
That was all.
Kim Seojun said there would be no additional attack after that.
The reason was simple.
‘If we aren't confident in annihilating the Chinese headquarters, we must find a way to deal maximum damage with minimum risk.’
This was the most efficient.
And it wasn't just good.
The headquarters was suddenly attacked, but they couldn't find a single trace of the enemy.
It was enough to drive anyone crazy.
‘When you feel fear while intoxicated with victory, the shock is multiplied several times over.’
Furthermore, the shock felt by the Chinese headquarters, who thought they had already won the game, was bound to be even greater.
And this place was currently a battlefield. It wasn't a place where one could complain of mental shock and say things like, I can't be a soldier anymore, please give me a medical discharge! or ask for sick leave to go see a psychotherapist for counseling.
To somehow figure out the true identity, to prepare for a mysterious attack that could come at any time, everyone in the Chinese headquarters would have to spend day after day without getting proper sleep.
‘The lower ranks are really going to be worked to death.’
Kim Seojun, who had risked his life going out on reconnaissance as part of a reconnaissance team in a hazy state without sleep, knew better than anyone how grueling that was.
On the other hand, from Kim Seojun's Group's perspective, there was zero risk.
They had already achieved results, and now they just had to quietly slip away from here, and that would be it.
In terms of cost-effectiveness, there was no better operation than this.
However, at this moment, no one smiled.
They couldn't.
"Staff Sergeant Kim, what's the next operation?"
Because Kim Seojun had set up a few more operations even after this one succeeded.
Of course, that didn't mean they were going to proceed with those operations.
It meant they were prepared to pull out a card depending on the situation.
And at this moment, Kim Seojun chose a card.
"I'm going to take a gamble."
12 hours had passed since the Chinese headquarters was attacked.
The Chinese headquarters was still filled with the bright red light from warning lights signaling an emergency everywhere.
However, there was no sound anywhere.
All the soldiers and staff of the Chinese headquarters were holding their breath and guarding their posts.
Everyone was maintaining the highest alert posture so they could move at any time.
Naturally, the fatigue was indescribable.
A person's body gets stiff just from sleeping for 12 hours, but waiting for 12 hours in a state of tension? It is enough to make anyone sick.
Furthermore, everyone wasn't just waiting.
‘A ghost, a ghost has come!’
They were spending 12 hours crushed by fear, still not knowing what had attacked them.
Due to that fear, dozens of people with weak mental fortitude had already fainted and were lying in the Infirmary.
In such a situation, everyone was waiting.
For their Commander to give them an answer.
‘Damn it.’
And Major Lin Jia'ai, who could give them an answer, had a stiffer expression than ever right now.
It wasn't because she didn't know the situation.
Rather, Major Lin Jia'ai knew very well what kind of situation this was.
‘A Psycher is employing deception to exhaust us.’
That all of this was the deception of a Psycher with a special ability, and the purpose of that deception was not an all-out war, but a war of attrition.
The reason her expression was stiff was that, despite knowing all this, there wasn't much Major Lin Jia'ai could do right now.
What could she do against an invisible enemy, especially one that had made up its mind to hold its breath and hide?
On the other hand, the Chinese headquarters couldn't let go of its tension here.
Because if, by any chance, an Additional Attack flew in, the fear would inevitably grow even larger.
Especially since the Chinese headquarters' core forces have currently gone out to attack the Japan headquarters.
Until they returned, they had to maintain this state of tension, this mind-numbing state.
So Major Lin Jia'ai was currently contemplating.
‘They will attack one more time.’
The enemy was highly likely to use a ploy to deal one more blow before then.
That would be the only time to somehow launch a counterattack.
Major Lin Jia'ai was aiming for that.
It was then.
"30 kilometers ahead!"
Someone suddenly shouted.
"Battle tank spotted!"
The moment she heard those words, Major Lin Jia'ai's eyes gleamed.
"What should we do?"
Here, everyone thought.
They had to go and catch it immediately.
If they just caught that, they could be freed from this damn tension.
Major Lin Jia'ai's thoughts were the same.
However, she thought here.
"If we send troops, they will run away unconditionally."
They weren't fools, and the moment they were tailed, they would take action.
Furthermore, they had a Psycher with a special ability capable of hiding a massive battle tank.
Approaching while making a fuss was a foolish act.
"Then what should we do?"
So, at the subsequent question, she looked at the map and spoke.
"Send in the Ghost Bat."