Chapter 45
The moment he realized he could even grasp the locations of the landmines through the minimap, Kim Seojun immediately headed for the Chinese headquarters.
There was nothing difficult about it.
“As much as they trust the landmines, their vigilance will actually decrease.”
From the perspective of the Chinese headquarters, they couldn't even imagine that something would evade a place heavily planted with landmines to approach them.
Furthermore, Kim Seojun wasn't just walking in.
He moved while using the Stealth Skill, using Teleport as needed.
It took less than 10 minutes to approach the Chinese headquarters.
The problem was what came next.
In the past, the Chinese Secret headquarters not only had lax internal security, but since the individual's goal in the first place was to cause a disturbance, he poured out gunfire as soon as he entered.
He hadn't cared whether he was caught or not.
But now it was different.
He was in a situation where he had to go inside, find the nuclear weapon, and secure it.
“The effective time for Stealth is 20 minutes.”
Accomplishing that in a mere 20 minutes was practically impossible.
On top of that, he had to wait 3 hours to use Stealth again.
In other words, Kim Seojun needed a space to hold his breath and hide for 3 hours.
“I have to go to the Armory.”
The optimal place for that was to move to the Armory, which was filled with all sorts of weapons, including armored vehicles and ammunition.
After entering, Kim Seojun slipped into the passenger seat of a military truck undergoing repairs among the lined-up trucks and held his breath.
And a moment later, Kim Seojun's Stealth wore off.
That was a very dangerous thing.
If his identity were discovered, all the Space Marines and Psychers in the Chinese headquarters would come to catch Kim Seojun at that very moment.
From the perspective of someone hiding, it was an event that would make one feel not just one's mouth going dry, but one's very blood drying up.
However, Kim Seojun was different.
He was tense, but his blood didn't dry up or anything like that.
The reason was simple.
“It reminds me of when I held my breath in the Hatchery for 5 hours.”
Compared to what Kim Seojun had experienced in the past, this was honestly no different from heaven.
Furthermore, Kim Seojun only lost his Stealth right now; his abilities were still incredibly vast.
Even if a battle broke out here, Kim Seojun was confident he wouldn't easily lose, and it would still be a profitable trade.
If he destroyed everything in the Armory, the Chinese headquarters would face many problems in waging war.
In addition, Kim Seojun had that.
“I can tell whether they are approaching me or not just by looking at the minimap.”
The ability to notice if someone was approaching him faster than ever.
“Since it can also zoom in.”
The minimap ability couldn't expand beyond a 3-kilometer radius, but it could zoom in.
“Hm?”
Kim Seojun's tension began to grow taut the moment silence fell over the Armory.
That is, the mechanics of the Chinese headquarters, who had been endlessly inspecting weapons including battle tanks, making repairs, and transporting ammunition to prepare for war until just a moment ago, suddenly stopped.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
And in that silence, the sound of rolling wheels rang out.
At that point, Kim Seojun carefully looked in the direction of the sound, and he could see it.
A large black box, a box 2 meters in width, length, and height, was making its appearance.
The moment he saw it, it was incredibly special, and because of that, Kim Seojun could immediately tell what it was.
‘It's a nuclear weapon.’
When Major Lin Jia'ai declared nuclear weapon usage, the people of the Chinese headquarters were astonished.
*At the same time, they thought.*
“Would she really fire it?”
There would be no actual use of a nuclear weapon.
And understandably so, firing a nuclear weapon, especially aiming it at another nation rather than the Mogs, was no ordinary matter.
Even if she did fire it, they thought it would be a matter for later.
In the first place, before using the nuclear weapon, Major Lin Jia'ai had clearly demanded a declaration of surrender.
That meant she would wait until the other national headquarters on Planet Amotia surrendered!
There was no reason whatsoever to fire it right away.
"Prepare the nuclear weapon."
"Pardon?"
"Prepare the nuclear weapon so it can be fired immediately."
However, on the third day after declaring nuclear weapon usage, Major Lin Jia'ai ordered preparations to use the nuclear weapon.
That wasn't the end of it.
"The first target is the India headquarters."
She had even decided on the target right away.
Everyone was astonished by that fact, and Major Lin Jia'ai said to them all.
"Our goal is the annihilation of every Survivor here."
From the beginning, Major Lin Jia'ai had no intention of keeping those who surrendered alive.
Bringing out the nuclear weapon was strictly for a situation breakthrough.
Since they couldn't just sit back and take hits, it was to bring out the maximum weapon they had and demonstrate that they shouldn't be messed with.
*At the same time, she thought.*
"The downside of a nuclear weapon is that few people have actually been hit by one."
While a nuclear weapon is powerful enough for everyone to fear, not many truly understand that power.
Therefore, to instill true fear, they needed visible results, not just verbal threats.
In that sense, targeting the India headquarters—which had a large population comparable to China, possessed a massive headquarters, and ranked 4th in power scale on Planet Amotia—was a very good choice.
The moment a nuclear weapon fell there, the remaining national headquarters would be crushed by fear and unable to do anything.
And that fear wasn't aimed solely at other nations.
"I will say it again. There won't be a second time. Prepare to launch the nuclear weapon."
"Pardon? Yes, ma'am!"
At Major Lin Jia'ai's words, all her subordinates no longer uttered any questions.
Now they felt it to their bones.
Their commander was a distant being on a completely different level from what they had thought.
Sensing that fear, Major Lin Jia'ai finally felt a sense of peace settling in.
"We have moved the three Ugwang units to the Armory."
From then on, she received reports on the progress status of Ugwang, the latest nuclear weapon created by China, in 10-minute intervals.
"We have taken Ugwang out of its case and begun work."
"We are inspecting Ugwang's functions."
"Ugwang one, no problems. Ugwang two, no problems. Ugwang three, no problems."
Every time she received those reports, a smile appeared on Major Lin Jia'ai's lips.
"All preparations for use are complete."
And the moment she received that report, Major Lin Jia'ai prepared.
"Everyone, stand by."
The preparation to launch this incredibly powerful nuclear weapon toward the India headquarters.
In truth, there were no more preparations to make.
While the nuclear weapon Ugwang was being set up, Major Lin Jia'ai had ordered other subordinates to pinpoint the coordinates of the Indian headquarters, and all necessary measures to fly the nuclear weapon Ugwang had been completed.
Only one thing remained.
Just giving the command: Commence operation execution.
And she did not hesitate.
Without caring in the slightest that thousands, tens of thousands of people would face death because of her command, she spoke.
"Commence operation execution."
She spat out those words, and soon she could hear it.
"E-emergency situation."
"What is it?"
"U-Ugwang has been stolen!"
"Pardon?"
Kim Seojun's group had fled at full speed as soon as Kim Seojun returned.
"Is that true?"
Everyone who heard the story from him wore surprised expressions.
"Those crazy Chinese bastards were really going to fire a nuke?"
First of all, they were surprised by the fact that China was genuinely trying to fire a nuclear weapon, not just making a threat.
If Kim Seojun's judgment had been slow, they might have already been watching a nuclear weapon fly through the air.
Of course, that wouldn't happen now.
Everyone calmed their startled hearts.
Eventually, Kim Seojun's group moved to an area out of the Chinese headquarters' surveillance reach, and there, Kim Seojun showed them.
"Jo I-Hyeon, this is the nuclear weapon I secured."
"Huh?"
The moment Kim Seojun took the nuclear weapon out of his Inventory like that, everyone was surprised.
"It's smaller than I thought, isn't it?"
First, they were surprised by its size.
Because the nuclear weapon that existed in everyone's minds was something with a giant rocket attached to it.
However, what Kim Seojun brought out was a box rather than a missile.
"Oh my god, this is Ugwang!"
On the other hand, Jo I-Hyeon immediately confirmed its identity upon seeing it and spoke in surprise.
"It's a nuclear weapon the Chinese guys made recently!"
And then she provided an explanation before even being asked.
"It's a modified thing so it can be fired from any projectile launcher! The power itself isn't much different from other nuclear weapons of the same size, but this case is special."
"What exactly does that mean?"
"That means... Ah, right. You can put this in a railgun and launch it!"
The moment they heard the ensuing explanation, everyone understood.
Why did China modify the Uroe into a railgun?
"Uh, does Staff Sergeant Kim then also possess the launcher right now?"
Furthermore, everything they had prepared had fallen into Kim Seojun's hands.
At that point, everyone shut their mouths.
Kim Seojun was the same.
Of course, what needed to be done was clear.
“I have to catch the Queen.”
Now that a weapon capable of catching the Queen had fallen into his hands, at this point, he had to mobilize all means and methods to catch the Queen.
So Kim Seojun was currently devising a method in his head.
In fact, devising a method itself wasn't difficult.
The Queen would be hiding somewhere in the cave inside the Rocky Mountain, a labyrinth like an ant nest.
And while the nuclear weapon was powerful, it lacked the power to eliminate a Queen hidden deep underground.
To sum it up, he had to break through that labyrinth, find where the Queen was, and then use the nuclear weapon.
It was around then.
"Hey."
Noah Winston opened her mouth.
"It seems like your superior is thinking up some ridiculous scenario right now."
At her words, Private First Class Park Boseop and Major Lee Hyena looked at Kim Seojun, and the moment their eyes met through the helmets, the two freaked out, saying.
"Staff Sergeant Kim, you absolutely cannot do that!"
"Absolutely not. That's a crazy act."
"Huh?"
And at that explanation, Jo I-Hyeon, who had been examining Ugwang this way and that, asked in surprise.
"Excuse me, what's going on?"
To her uncomprehending question, Noah Winston said.
"That Korean person over there is devising an operation to go into the Rocky Mountains and deliver a nuclear weapon to the Queen."
"Pardon?"
At those words, Jo I-Hyeon laughed and said.
"Hey, no way..."
But then, the moment she met Kim Seojun's eyes, Jo I-Hyeon erased her smile and said.
"...Really?"
To the four of them, freaking out like that, Kim Seojun said.
"I only thought about it."
Naturally, everyone freaked out at the very fact that he had even thought about it.
To such comrades, Kim Seojun said.
"I have no intention of putting it into action right away. Realistically, the success probability is too low. The probability is single-digit."
Hearing those words, Noah Winston let out a hollow laugh.
"A Single Digit? That means you would have done it if the probability had been 10 percent."
Kim Seojun didn't say much in response to Noah Winston's words.
Because it was true.
It wasn't 10 percent, but if the probability had been around 20 percent, Kim Seojun really would have intended to try that operation.
It wasn't strange.
Among the operations Kim Seojun had done during his active duty days, there were quite a few with a single-digit probability.
Anyway, even to Kim Seojun, blindly entering the queen's nest was meaningless.
"To increase the success probability, we have to attack the Queen's Nest and draw out the Mogs inside."
Ultimately, they had to carry out a massive operation.
"The Poland Headquarters's forces alone won't even be close to enough..."
And for that, the Nations on Planet Amotia had to form an alliance and step forward.
"There's no way the others will listen to us, though."
However, at this point, there was no chance that the national headquarters, busy finding their own ways to survive, would step up to fulfill Kim Seojun's support request.
Saying, "If we don't attack the Queen, we will all die!" would have no effect either.
"It would be great if humanity had good enough unity to break through a crisis together with one mind, but you all know, right?"
humanity had never once properly united in the face of a crisis for humanity.
Because that was human instinct.
So there was always only one way to unite such Humans into one.
Subjugation with overwhelming power!
"The American headquarters collapsing was too huge. If even the American headquarters had been intact, we could have tried something."
Currently, on Planet Amotia, only two countries can do that—China and America—and one place is already gone.
And the remaining place was one where they couldn't dare expect help.
It was at that moment.
Kim Seojun, who had been listening to Noah Winston's words, soon spoke to everyone as if he had thought of something.
"There is one thing I want to try."
When Kim Seojun's group left for the Chinese headquarters, it didn't tell Major Jan Zabłocki the detailed situation.
It was because they knew.
It would only make Major Jan Zabłocki to agonize anyway.
Thanks to that, Major Jan Zabłocki was able to avoid worrying too much when Kim Seojun's Group left.
Of course, that didn't mean the situation was comfortable.
Rather, he spent busier days than ever.
The reason was simple.
Right now, all the surviving national headquarters on Planet Amotia are discussing with each other how to respond to the Chinese headquarters' surrender request.
Of course, most of the answers were simple.
"A radio transmission came from the British Headquarters."
"Yes, sir."
"The contents?"
"They are asking us to surrender together to the Chinese headquarters and join hands."
Naturally, most national headquarters were planning to surrender.
There was no answer.
The Chinese Headquarters currently has the largest force on Planet Amotia, and it even has a nuclear weapon.
And right now, they couldn't expect even a speck of support that could restrain such Chinese Headquarters.
In their hearts, everyone wanted to surrender immediately.
Nevertheless, the reason they hadn't made a declaration of surrender yet was simple.
"If those British bastards are going to surrender, they should do it alone. Why are they asking us to surrender together?"
"That's... They want us to first surrender to the Chinese headquarters, and then act like we persuaded them... They say they will definitely repay this debt."
Simply bowing their heads here would put their positions at risk in the future.
So everyone was busy trying to find a plausible justification somehow.
"Those English bastards really never change."
At that fact, Major Jan Zabłocki let out a sigh.
Because he knew.
“Even in the midst of this, Staff Sergeant Kim is running around to save humanity on Planet Amotia.”
It was then.
"Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun's group has arrived!"
Kim Seojun's group, who had set out on their mission, returned, and Major Jan Zabłocki immediately went out to meet them in a single stride.
"Major Jan."
And upon meeting, Kim Seojun said.
"I want to form an alliance to attack the queen's nest."
The moment he heard those words, Major Jan Zabłocki spoke in surprise.
"Would that be possible? Everyone will reject the proposal, won't they?"
"Give and take. Please tell them that if they join the Alliance, we will provide support."
"Support?"
To that question, Kim Seojun replied.
"You just have to tell them that we will provide a nuclear umbrella."