Resumption of Communications (9)
When Seo Jinsu formally declared our intervention to the Yeosu garrison command, Gohung was also mobilizing its forces. This was Gohung garrison territory. Soldiers marched in perfect formation. Even in three columns, their length showed it was a massive force.
Some carried assault rifles. Others shouldered machine guns. Mortars. Anti-tank weapons. Military flamethrowers standardized during the infected war. "Is there any enemy that can stand against the Republic of Korea Army's advance? Even a hundred million troops are but a fleeting moment!" The heavily armed soldiers' military song echoed across the heavens and earth.
But it was nothing like the image of Republic of Korea troops on the march. You'd picture lines of fresh-faced twenty-somethings, led by officers five to ten years older. The ones belting out the song at the front weren't green, though. They were old. Faces etched with the ugly stubbornness accumulated over half a lifetime.
A captain scarred across the face from battle. A warrant officer with deep nasolabial folds. A sergeant major with sunken eyes ringed in fine wrinkles. A sergeant with an eyepatch over one eye. A major slinging a sniper rifle. A lieutenant colonel riding beside him on horseback. Veterans who'd rolled through battlefields longer than anyone, hesitating at neither killing nor corpses.
"Souls and limbs of iron strong enough to overturn the earth and still have strength left!" Their chorus was valiant, but not beautiful. Valor twisted with stubbornness like Siamese twins. They would never change their line of march. Even if it strayed from humanity, even if it led straight to the underworld.
The overcast sky made their song even more somber. It was a resolve no green conscript could withstand. Several civilian vehicles had been converted into technicals, rolling alongside. Armored cars and tanks dotted the formation here and there. Plenty of self-propelled guns mounted with anti-air missiles or AA cannons.
Most technicals were modded for anti-air fire, and drones constantly scouted the skies. Extreme wariness toward inland forces that might intervene—or their drones.
Far off in a reed thicket.
> Enemy forces assembling from various locations.
A prone Stalker Robot observing the Gohung troops' movements reported via secure channel.
> Anti-air network is extremely tight.
The robot's eyes scanned the marching troops' uniforms and insignia.
> Numerous civilian conscripts mixed in without proper uniforms. Armament level equivalent to reserve force gear.
The Geneva Conventions were ancient myths to Gohung's leadership. In all-out war, Yeosu couldn't win against this disparity. The Shelter's full army could take them, but at huge cost. We couldn't avoid shedding blood from unwilling draftees or those just supporting families. That's why I opted for a more surgical approach.
* * *
That night. Outskirts of the Gohung command headquarters building. With full war footing, Lee Man-cheol had set up temporary quarters here for sleep and meals. It was 3:30 a.m. Pitch black, the hour when sentries slack off, thinking, Another night passes like this.
Shadows writhed on a hillside. Stalker Robots. A spec-ops squad modded for the mission.
> Operation commencing.
Tech from dissecting the shape-shifting infected Assembler yielded two big gains. One: Instant hardening armor for my Nano Suit. Two: Camouflage tech on these prone robots, mimicking cuttlefish—blending perfectly with grass, dirt, roots, rocks.
They rose slowly, all in balaclavas, no rifles. Optimized for infiltration: mobility and stealth armaments. The mission added a headache—minimize sentry casualties. Robots don't complain. They obey, devote, compute for that 0.1% edge.
A wall needing a two-step ladder? Breached in two seconds. Barbed wire atop it? Just light scratches on their surfaces. Tough skin, no pain, no blood.
The squad scattered on landing beyond the wall. Heading to pre-set targets.
"Ugh!"
"Argh!"
Deflating gasps and thuds as tranquilizer rounds dropped sentries.
"Hear something?"
"Dunno, sounded like something fell."
Two soldiers approached the noise, passing a parked car. A matte-black arm shot out from underneath.
"Huuu..."
Before the gasp finished—BAM! They slammed onto concrete, minds blanked. Dragged under the car. ZAP! ZZZT! Strong shocks to the necks knocked them out.
Moments later, two robots slipped out stealthily. Their optic feeds showed another comrade hiding the unconscious soldiers.
> Main gate sentries unaware.
The main gate—most guarded—still oblivious. THWACK! A corporal smoking in the trash area crumpled. CREEEAK. Stripped and stuffed in a dumpster. Robot wedged a board for air.
It donned his clothes, headed for the HQ. Others finished assignments, converging.
Lee Man-cheol's position: already mapped.
HQ lobby. A soldier stood rigidly under bright lights.
> Hold position.
One robot perched in a tree, watching command center. Beyond the window: duty soldier fighting sleep, before comms and CCTV screens. He nodded off.
> Now.
THWIP! Lobby soldier clutched his neck, staggering—but didn't fall. A robot blitzed in, yanked him to a corner. Another caught, stuffed in a toilet stall.
Flesh-toned balaclava robot wore the exact same uniform. Even in light, hard to spot without close inspection.
> 45 minutes to lobby relief.
A minute later, gate sergeant glanced at lobby from 100m away. No notice of the body-snatcher.
> EPS room secured.
Ready to cut main power, black out building and perimeter.
> PD room secured.
Ready to trigger all sprinklers, disrupt rushing guards.
> Soldier from 2F lounge heading to bathroom. Neutralizing.
One robot entered bathroom, shut door. Yawning soldier, half-asleep, grabbed handle. ZZZT! Convulsed, collapsed without scream. CREAK. Door cracked. Robot gripped opposite handle, blue sparks flying. Limp body dragged in.
> Moving to target.
As they neared the objective, squad took positions, numbers dwindling. Almost done.
Three reached Lee Man-cheol's quarters door. Faint light leaked underneath. Still awake?
"...we must!"
"I understand fully, sir."
Voices inside.
"You have a speech at dawn tomorrow. Please rest."
"No, fuck! You get what I'm saying?"
Agitated Lee Man-cheol, calm subordinate.
"General, mind your dignity."
"You fucking bastards! Quit the 'General' bullshit and listen, you..."
Click. Robots drew pistols in unison.
> With subordinates. Using argument distraction to breach.
No need to count or signal. Brief radio ping synced them.
CRUNCH! One robot twisted handle hard—lock shattered, door flew open.
> Weapons down!
Veterans with enhancements. Lightning reaction to the crunch—pistols out. Mexican standoff.
> Drop your weapons!
"Who the hell are you?!" A thirties man with captain's insignia barked, pistol aimed.
Beside him: forties sergeant major, also aimed. Behind: elderly man surely Lee Man-cheol, and a trembling private cowering in corner. Tray, spilled glass, tea soaked floor by private.
Capture if possible. Injury irrelevant. If not, kill. Don't miss.
Algorithms weighed orders vs. situation, optimized.
Judgment instant—but one beat faster.
BANG! Sergeant major dropped, forehead bloodied. Smoke curled from Lee Man-cheol's pistol behind.
"Shit!"
Shocked captain swung on his general, forgetting intruders—
THWIP! THWIP! Suppressed rounds punched through temples.
"Phew."
Lee Man-cheol sighed relief, kicked captain's corpse savagely. FLICK! Lights out building-wide—pitch black. Gunshot meant stealth over; Plan B: sow chaos, escape.
"Kah! Ptui!"
Finished venting, Lee spat on captain. "This fucker, I was gonna kill someday."
He eyed ceiling CCTV. Ignored captors aiming at him.
Stared at intruders. "Who sent you? Jeju? Yeosu? Inland? Fuck it! Doesn't matter."
Human spec-ops? Stunned. Robots: unflinching aim.
"Oh, this?"
Finally noticed his gun, tossed it. "Here to grab me, right? OK!" Hands up.
"I'll cooperate fully! Just take me!" Desperate face.
* * *
"What the...?"
In the APC commanding ops, I was dumbfounded.
> Evacuate immediately!
Robot feed: Lee eyeing ceiling camera more than aimed squad. No time regardless.
Planned on-site kill, but things went smooth—capture tempted.
"Secure and evac now."
> Roger!
One robot drew cuffs.
> Lee Man-cheol, you are...
"Ah, fuck! Not now..."
Neither finished.
BOOM!!! Explosion engulfed room in flames on screen.
> [BEEP-]
> [BEEP-]
> [BEEP-]
No signal from breach team. WHOOSH! Outer robot feed: HQ engulfed in massive fireball.
> Exfiling.
Unexpected, but op over. Survivors rushed evac route. Blackout, sprinkler deluge, blast aftershocks, spreading fire. HQ and perimeter guards in chaos—survivors extracted clean.
Mouth to laced fingers, I pondered.
"No way that's suicide."
Lee vs. officers. Subordinates' arrogance. His displays. Info thin, but one conclusion.
"Fucking puppet boss, huh?"
I'd boasted of shooting him down. But subordinates' bomb did it instead.