As Planned
I circled the area just enough to avoid real danger, getting acquainted with the key players.
“Incheon Autonomous Police Headquarters Special Operations Special Observer, Gwang Seok-jin.”
“Ko Mu-yeol.”
I shook hands with the young man who emerged with his police forces. He’d been inside a massive tent, overseeing the situation, and came right out the moment he spotted me peeking in.
He’s not actually that young—probably had some anti-aging work done, right?
Anti-aging was mainstream everywhere except among diehards in parties like the Progressive Innovation Party. Think LASIK back in pre-possession Korea—totally normalized.
“Thanks for showing up in this chaotic mess.”
“I should be thanking you for making this opportunity. Namdong Industrial Complex has been a thorn in my side for years, and now that dream’s finally coming true.”
“Glad to hear it.”
Gwang Seok-jin rated this whole operation sky-high. He’d clearly been itching to shove Namdong Industrial Complex out of the city in one clean sweep, held back by all the fallout until now. And through me, it was happening.
Sure, he was probably mulling over my motives, but did that even matter? Yeah, it served my selfish interests, but everyone knew Namdong Industrial Complex was a massive cancer on the city.
Land prices alone told the story: Incheon averaged 30 to 50 million won per pyeong, but around Namdong? A measly 10 million. All thanks to the crime syndicates hunkered down there.
And that was just the start. Songdo Future City—Incheon’s ritziest spot—was practically next door. It clung to its premium prices and economic perks only because of layered air defenses and filters. But wipe out the Namdong threat entirely and spin up a fresh development zone?
Land values could explode beyond belief. Hell, it might revitalize the whole damn city with new blood and projects.
Not because it was my scheme—objectively, this was a monumental win.
“Bit of a rude question, but you good with teaming up on this op with the prosecutors? After that whole mess?”
‘That whole mess’ meant Inaeun the special prosecutor turning the late Chief Jang Kyung-su into a shameless sex-submitting pervert during her probe. Her final case, really—and my doing.
Now she was basically running this show. No wonder the two orgs were prickly.
“Of course. Never dreamed the chief was that kind of scum, but it’s sparking a hard reset on personnel inside. Long overdue.”
“Oh? Really?”
“That’s why we’re all-in on this op—to shed the shame, renew our vows, and reborn as real cops.”
“Hmm.”
Looked like a sliver of ‘justice’ was flickering back to life in the police ranks. Made sense—Jang Kyung-su had gone even grosser than in the original game. Even in this dystopian hellscape, cops were supposed to enforce social order. A chief peddling drugs, whoring out, sex-submitting, all that filthy crap? Tarnished the badge.
The justice cryers inside would get louder, gain traction.
But Sua says it’s a tiny fringe... Wonder if it sticks?
We’d see.
The battle stayed overwhelmingly one-sided from start to finish.
The criminal sweep especially? Smooth as silk—too smooth, like, was this even allowed? They were getting mowed down, straight-up.
My aunt’s surprise backup helped big-time, but the real edge was forces that dwarfed theirs, morale sky-high, steamrolling ahead.
A few thousand geared-up troops? Terrifying. Tens of thousands? Pure despair.
No wonder infamous Namdong was folding without a whimper.
Logical, really. These weren’t random conscripted kids gunned down for no reason. Hesitation and guilt hit when your targets are faceless civilians—but Namdong? Pure criminal hive.
Sure, maybe a tiny handful of decent folks stuck living there against their will. But baseline? All crooks.
Even my adorable pet Danto had pickpocketing, theft, murder, hits, hacking—you name it, if you dug deep enough.
And they’d just shelled the city, sprayed bullets, launched missiles. Full-on terror psychos.
So no qualms trigger-pulling. And ditching that hesitation? Skyrockets combat effectiveness.
Exhibit A: Namdong crumbling like bamboo shoots after rain.
“Debris haul, waste disposal, eco-restoration, ground leveling—normalizing Namdong Industrial Complex? Minimum six months, max two years.”
“Cost?”
“Rough ballpark, 1 to 2 trillion won. But we haven’t fully mapped the mess yet—need more eyes.”
“Steep.”
I was sitting on about 16 trillion cash. And just scrubbing the ruins to reusable land? 1 to 2 trillion.
Ludicrous part: acquisition ran 40 billion. Restoration? Trillion-plus.
Absurd, but after the bombings, corpse rivers, blood floods... yeah, cleanup tab adds up.
No sweat, though. Got my rock-solid Namdong District assemblywoman Kim Eun-ji.
“This qualifies for gov support, right?”
Asked her. She jolted like I’d zapped her, then nodded frantically.
“Y-yes! Absolutely. Public Safety Restoration Committee budgets are exactly for this.”
Her gig as Namdong rep? Crafting favorable laws, snagging funds for projects like this.
Perfect timing: her standing committee handled Incheon security/safety ops—budget vetting and rollout.
Match made in heaven.
Bonus: her Better Future Party was all-in, even assigning agency guards for her ‘protection’ via articles.
Laws and cash would flow fast.
Jackpot.
Land stays mine for max profit—my buyout cash. But restoration? City foots it.
Privatize gains, socialize costs. Textbook money grub.
“Right. Top priority—so Kim Eun-ji, push a special law or flex the committee. Snag that budget.”
“Yes! I’ll do it!!”
“...Tone it down.”
“Ah, sorry.”
She plopped back down, sheepish after popping up.
To Sua: “Timeline’s dragging. Budget’s city anyway—pump the restoration budget hard, kick it off now. Triple manpower, gear, whatever.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Fetch the Namdong plan.”
“One sec.”
Sua dug out a thick stack from her briefcase.
Seung-hee and the strategy secretaries’ handiwork: Namdong dev blueprint.
Zoned out, two flavors. One maximized old uses. Other? Total ground-up redo, uses tailored to my taste.
Second, obviously. Secretaries optimized it for me, land rezoned sweet.
If the mayor played ball, I’d hand it over: ‘Do this.’ But that toad and I? Bridges burned.
Upside: she’d get booted soon barring miracles. Can’t keep governing post-explosion.
Fresh vote incoming.
“Prep for mayor swap—shove Plan 2 hard. And this core zone? Our unified HQ spot. Restore that first.”
“Understood.”
I barked orders, sketching my Namdong vision.