Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

079 – Yankees Betrayal

‘The government messed up.’

Of course, it was a story about the new enforcement decree of the Awakener Management Act announced through TV yesterday.

Awakeners affiliated with civilian clans above Rank 4 are obliged to be under the control of the Awakening Management Agency, the ESP Defense Agency (EDA), managed by the Republic of Korea government.

According to the decree, everyone sitting at this conference table had to be affiliated with the government of the Republic of Korea.

Even the weakest among the members here was an Awakener exceeding Rank 4, with the help of Soo-jeong, Myung-jun displayed the main contents of the decree on the conference room screen, explaining the contents of the bill in an easy-to-understand manner.

And then, he spoke to the members who were not the subject of the bill.

“Of course, this may not apply to foreigners like Kei or Taylor without Korean nationality, but from this moment on, I, Senior Soo-jeong, Mr. Ho-chang, and Mr. Byung-tae must follow the control of the Republic of Korea government. Moreover, according to the announced decree, national-affiliated Awakeners are unable to engage in individual clan operations or participatory activities, so liberal clans must disband.”

Despite the serious expression of the clan leader, there was no change in the expressions of the clan members gathered in the conference room.

None of them would naturally think that Myung-jun would dissolve the clan obediently following the government guidelines.

At that moment, a woman in a nun’s dresss, who had been dozing off a little to the left of Myung-jun, raised her hand and spoke.

“Um… since no one here thinks the leader will dissolve the clan, can you just explain the next step? I. If I don’t have to fight, I’d like to go to bed….”

‘Sister of Halo, Lee Soo-bin.’

Arin could recall her name as soon as she saw the attire of the woman who spoke with a half-closed sleepy eye.

As if the eight small circles embedded in various parts of her body were originally patterns, eight shining rings embedded in her nun dress naturally.

As if the rings, no matter how hard the metal was, would cleanly cut through it in an instant.

Those who saw the eight shining rings protecting her, flying around in all directions as if they had a will on their own, gave her the nickname ‘Sister of Halo’.

But Arin knew another nickname hidden behind her sacred-sounding name.

‘Sister of Sloth.’

Perhaps, if you were to name the hunter who eats up gate conquests the most among existing hunters, she would be above Myung-jun.

The eight halos she possessed did not follow her will but automatically moved to eliminate threats to her body.

Thanks to that, she had even fallen asleep on the grassy field throughout the conquest battle with external clans.

Of course, while she was asleep, her halos neatly severed the necks of all the enemies approaching her without missing a single one.

Even though the gate was the ‘Survival-type gate’ where this form appeared the most, the number of enemies her halos eliminated easily exceeded three digits.

Only after the gate was cleared did she slowly rise from the midst of the corpses reeking of blood, and seeing her appearance resembling the saint of death, other clan hunters gave her the new nickname ‘Sister of Sloth’.

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‘Mr. Ho-chang for defense, Mr. Byung-tae for transportation, Mr. Kei for tracking, Ms. Taylor for attack. Then, Ms. Soo-bin, are you in charge of the war of attrition?’

Whether this unique member composition was according to Myung-jun’s intention or Soo-jeong’s intention, Arin felt like she knew what the liberal clan’s style of ‘few elite’ was.

Each regular member of the Liberal Clan, one by one, had abilities that were either nonexistent in Myung-jun or superior to what Myung-jun possessed.

‘Overall, it can be said that the balance is well-maintained. I heard that the members of the Liberal Clan rarely unite to conquer gates together, but if they form a party with only Liberal Clan members, it would be formidable.’

Of course, as of now, there was no gate that the Liberal Clan members ‘had to’ unite to clear, so such a thing would not happen.

Even the worst gate incident so far, the Brazil incident, was resolved sufficiently with the intervention of Myung-jun and Ho-chang alone.

Arin could clearly see that the current Liberal Clan was blatantly overbalanced. In this period, just about a year since the Awakener Management Act was passed, the Republic of Korea government wanted to forcibly bring the entire clan under government control, as evidenced by the enforcement decree.

Curious about Myung-jun’s response to the current situation, Arin eagerly waited for Myung-jun to speak.

However, instead of announcing his plan, Myung-jun began to gather specific information about the current situation by handing over the baton to someone else not present at this location.

“Before revealing the specific future plans of our clan, I think it is important to accurately understand the current situation. So, for today’s meeting, I have called Hannah O’Hara, a lobbyist affiliated with the Liberal Clan, currently dispatched to the U.S. House of Representatives.”

Then, a hologram of a woman sitting in a chair in the middle of the table appeared.

“It’s been a while, everyone. Are you all doing well?”

Even if you looked at her a lot, her appearance, which seemed to be in her early thirties at most, looked kind rather than beautiful.

She unintentionally broke down the walls of the heart and had a unique charm that made others pay attention to her opinions.

“Hannah, have you heard the news from Korea?”

She answered Myung-jun’s question.

“About the new enforcement decree in Korea? The U.S. Congress is in turmoil because of that. Not only in the House but also in the Senate.”

“For that reason, I would like to hear Hannah’s comprehensive judgment on the current situation.”

“I’m sorry, but there are limits to the information I can access with my abilities. So, my judgment contains a considerable amount of subjective speculation to piece together fragmented information available in the current situation. Is that okay with you?”

“I request it because I believe in your subjective speculative ability.”

In response to Myung-jun’s trusting words, she smiled kindly once again.

Then, with a serious expression, she began to talk about the current situation she had grasped.

“First of all, one thing is certain. All of this didn’t just happen overnight. A considerable number of U.S. House members I contacted knew specific information about the new enforcement decree announced in Korea secretly, and White House officials were also aware of the specific details.”

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“Are you saying that the new enforcement decree of the Korean government was carried out with the tacit approval of the U.S. government?”

“I guess you could say that.”

Upon hearing this, Soo-jeong, who was listening to the conversation, stepped forward and asked Hannah.

“Then isn’t it strange? A year ago, because of the asset law announced by the U.S. government, the enforcement decree of the Korean government this time is meaningless. If any Awakener does not like the attitude of the Korean government, they can seek protection from the U.S. government in the form of asylum. The Korean government must be aware of that fact, so why are they pushing such a forced bill?”

“If it were before the Brazil incident, Soo-jeong’s words would be correct. But now the situation is a bit different. There is one condition attached to overseas Awakeners receiving protection from the U.S. government based on the asset law. That is…”

“They have to get approval from the U.S. government.”

Hearing Myung-jun’s point, Hannah nodded, and Myung-jun continued.

“But we have made a deal with the U.S. government. In exchange for transferring awakener equipment and strong wire coating equipment…”

“We promised to receive protection from the U.S. government. I am aware of that deal as well. However, as of now, the U.S. government is very dissatisfied with that deal.”

“So, are they taking everything they can get?”

Myung-jun’s words were a fact.

In reality, Myung-jun had delivered all the promised quantities and equipment. Moreover, Myung-jun had even provided special training through Ho-chang to some EDF members, and for the members cherished by Ho-chang like his own student, he personally crafted dedicated equipment.

In such a situation, Myung-jun found it extremely difficult to accept the fact that the U.S. government had grievances against the Liberal Clan.

However, Hannah’s subsequent inference clearly pinpointed the reasons for the U.S. government’s dissatisfaction with the Liberal Clan.

“Of course, the U.S. government received all the promised compensation. However, the utility was too short-lived. Perhaps even Myung-jun did not expect it, but no one could have predicted that the inflation of this type of monster Rank would progress so rapidly.”

The equipment for producing strong wire coating, which allowed even regular firearms, not specialized firearms sold by the Liberal Clan, to hunt monsters of this type, was undoubtedly of great value at the time Myung-jun handed it over.

However, in the short period of one year, as the Ranks of monsters appearing worldwide increased significantly, the advantage of strong wire coating in hunting monsters of Rank 3 or lower was greatly diminished, according to her explanation.

“In the end, to hunt high-Rank monsters, you need special equipment exclusively sold by the Liberal Clan. The U.S. government wants to obtain that exclusively or, if that is impossible, at least receive priority supply. That is the biggest reason why the U.S. government implicitly accepted this enforcement decree.”

The U.S. government’s choice was simple but powerful. They would use the Korean government as an agent to pressure the Liberal Clan and, in the process, if Myung-jun applied for asylum for the application of the Asset Law, they would secure the priority supply rights for awakener equipment produced by the Liberal Clan in the future.

And if Myung-jun and the Liberal Clan followed the newly announced enforcement decree and entered under the jurisdiction of the Korean government, the U.S. government would prioritize receiving awakener equipment from the Liberal Clan under the control of the Korean government.

“Whether way, the U.S. government has nothing to lose. Even in the worst-case scenario, if necessary, they can apply the existing Asset Law and relocate Myung-jun and the entire Liberal Clan to the U.S. mainland.”

“Will the Korean government readily accept the results?”

“That’s where the core is. If the Liberal Clan enters under the control of the Korean government, they will prioritize supplying new equipment to the U.S. side, and conversely, if they enter under the U.S. government, they will make a back deal to provide awakener equipment to Korea’s EDA. Of course, it’s difficult to guarantee that such a back deal actually exists, but considering the circumstances and the information collected, it seems the most likely scenario.”

“If Hannah concludes it that way, I completely trust her judgment. In that case, we should decide the direction we will move forward based on the assumption that there is some kind of back deal between the Korean government and the U.S. government. Even if the Liberal Clan applies for asylum based on the Asset Law, I expect the U.S. government will not approve it immediately or will present new conditions.”

Instead of answering, Myung-jun, after looking at Hannah and nodding for a moment, threw another question to her.

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“There must be a reason why the U.S. government suddenly changed its attitude. Earlier, Hannah mentioned the Amazon incident. Do you know specifically what happened?”

This time, Hannah remained silent, and then turned to Soo-jeong and asked.

“Soo-jeong, is this communication line securely protected?”

“Assuming you are communicating using the communication equipment I provided, it cannot be hacked by any existing ability or technology. Are you also using the included wave-blocking devices at each corner of the room?”

“Yes. I have placed one at each corner of the room, as you suggested.”

“Then even if there were hundreds of wiretapping devices connected by wired connections in that space, they would all be neutralized. So, within that space, no electronic device other than the data from the communication equipment you are currently using can be used.”

“If Soo-jeong says so, I can believe it. I asked that question because the information I am about to say could be punished as a violation of national security law just by saying that I transmitted it to the private clan of another country.”

“If it’s difficult for you to say, you don’t have to listen, but…”

“No, it’s okay. I am also in opposition to the U.S. government’s decision this time, and I want to provide all the information I can to the clan I belong to. Even if it results in disobeying my home country, that’s what it is.”

“In that case, do as your heart dictates. However, no matter what happens in the future, Hannah, I and the Liberal Clan will be behind you. Even if the other party is the U.S. government.”

Myung-jun, respecting Hannah’s firm determination, allowed her to speak. Subsequently, with a serious expression, she bowed her head in gratitude to Myung-jun and then revealed the information she had obtained.

“After the Brazil incident, the U.S. government urgently conducted a war game involving key factors from various agencies. It included key staff from the U.S. Department of Defense, commanders of the state defense forces guarding each state, top-level Awakeners managing the awakener forces across the entire U.S. continent, and finally, Director Lee Jeong-hee of the Special Research Division for Exotic Organisms under DARPA, responsible for developing countermeasures against monsters within the U.S.”

The purpose of this war game was to simulate how much damage the U.S. would have to endure in the event of a disaster on the scale of the Amazon incident, such as the Brazilian crisis.

And the participants from the U.S. government gathered for the war game were left speechless by the shocking simulation results.

“The final result was that ‘unless nuclear weapons are used on one’s own territory, the situation cannot be rectified.’ Despite deploying all the awakener forces nurtured by the U.S. government to date and mobilizing the entire U.S. military power feared worldwide, the conclusion was that it is impossible to stop the Rank 8 monsters that appeared in the Amazon incident.”

Thinking about the strength of Banara that he could only stop after releasing his sealed Level 1, Myung-jun spoke to her.

“Probably so. If I remember correctly, I would have easily neutralized something like a small tactical nuclear weapon. However, the more it happens, wouldn’t it be advantageous for the U.S. government to have a close relationship with our clan? If, by any chance, a similar disaster occurs in the U.S. mainland, they can simply request assistance from the Liberal Clan, as the Brazilian government did.”

“For the U.S. government, that in itself is a blow to their pride. Moreover, in terms of Liberal Clan’s policy, the more significant disasters the clan solves, the stronger the clan becomes. In summary, the biggest problem now is that the U.S. government is not satisfied with the ‘snowball effect’ that Myung-jun provided as a price for being influenced by the U.S.”

However, Hannah’s following words carried a strong message that this situation would not end on such a scale.

“Whether Myung-jun thinks so or not, governments worldwide view the Liberal Clan as a goose with a stomach full of golden eggs. And if they can monopolize that goose, they believe it’s worth paying a high price even if they have to give up on the golden eggs the clan will lay in the future.”

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