049_Avici (1)
I formally unified Gangbuk. The last warlords to join came to Nakyuan to pay their respects to me. Since these were the ones whose executives had resisted until the bitter end, the others suggested toning down the hospitality compared to previous alliances, but I shot it down.
I issued them temporary citizenship cards, checked their loyalty, and once I confirmed everyone was over 70%, I guided them to the spa. For the soldiers they'd brought, we provided makeshift showers and a buffet.
At the spa, I treated them to delicacies and liquors they could never taste outside—mountain treasures and sea rarities. They even enjoyed the sauna thoroughly, and when they left, I didn't send them away empty-handed; I packed them with booze and all sorts of meats.
By the time they departed, they couldn't even meet my eyes. When I asked why, they knelt, saying they'd been too arrogant all this time and were too ashamed to lift their heads. I barely managed to calm them down. By the final farewells, their loyalty had all surpassed 90%.
"Marshal! I hope you've been well."
"Huh? Long time no see."
Shim Eun-hyeon, the diplomat from the Gangnam government who'd handled liquor trades with Nakyuan, had come back after ages. Our executives had already started calling him 'Gangnam's Lee Wan-yong' a while back. Seeing his face just made me burst out laughing.
After the festival, we hadn't resumed liquor trades with Gangnam. Not for any particular reason—just no need for us to go begging to restart. It was a game of chicken, waiting for them to come crawling first.
Previously, a female diplomat had come multiple times instead of Shim Eun-hyeon, and each time, our execs claimed our stockpiles were low and we couldn't resume sales yet. After sending her packing three times, they finally got the message and sent Shim back.
That woman had rubbed me the wrong way from the start—something cheap about her vibe. I know judging by physiognomy is crude, but I couldn't help it. She had a classic fox face, pretty enough but sly. So I never even asked her name and brushed her off at the door.
Maybe because he'd talked directly with me the first time, bringing the Sun Dancer and Obelisk corpses, he asked the execs if he could speak with me this time too. Jeong Su-hwan told me Han Seol flipped out at that, snarling at the woman, "How dare a mere errand girl summon the Lord of Gangbuk?" She apologized profusely, realizing her blunder. Han Seol got so worked up that Im Jui had to drag her out of the reception room.
"You vanished for so long, I thought you might've croaked."
"Thank you for your concern."
Something felt off. Shim Eun-hyeon's eyes were trembling.
"Anyway, you're here about the liquor, right?"
"Yes, Marshal. If I may be so bold, may we resume trading?"
"Well..."
As he spoke, Shim Eun-hyeon gestured for paper and a pen. Im Jui pulled a notepad and pen from her pocket and handed them over. He scribbled furiously while saying,
"Marshal? If it's not too rude, when might we start trading...?"
"Yeah, probably from next month."
"Thank you."
Marshal. Our conversation right now is being eavesdropped on.
No way. Everyone entering here gets thoroughly searched first.
At that moment, Han Seol stood across from me, mouthing something. Clearly "Special Awakener."
Eavesdropping Detected - Forcefully deactivate the ability? YES/NO
Info flooded my mind: a Special Awakener with eavesdropping powers was using it on Shim Eun-hyeon to spy on us.
This unfriendly ability finally revealed I could detect eavesdropping and surveillance—but only unlocked when I suspected or realized I was being spied on. I'd lived half my life without knowing about this useful feature; felt like a total loss.
But regretting the past wouldn't fix anything. Han Seol handed me paper and pen too. I kept the eavesdropping active and said casually,
"So... I'm thinking of raising the trade price a bit from before... that okay?"
Has it been eavesdropping since the first visit?
Shim replied,
"Yes, Marshal. Your liquor is as good as a top-grade voucher, so raise it as you wish."
No, we avoided it before because getting caught would be impossible to clean up. This is the first time. I swear.
Good. He didn't seem like a liar. The moment he told me about the eavesdropping, he'd basically pledged himself to me.
And how low did Gangnam think I was to even attempt spying? My gut boiled over. No prior word from Na Jong-hoon meant they probably suspected him too and kept him in the dark.
"If paying with food's tough, bring corpses like last time. Six-Wings and Dome Heads—one each for 2,000 bottles."
Presidential order?
"Yes, Marshal. I'll relay to the higher-ups."
Yes, presidential directive.
"Alright, since it's been a while, relax at the spa before you go."
We'll blast music in the spa—let's talk there.
"Thank you, Marshal."
Yes, Marshal.
In the spa, we exchanged pointless chatter aloud while passing notes nonstop. Turns out, Gangnam had been eyeing my powers for a while, and after hearing about Gangbuk's unification, they slapped on eavesdropping to probe for weaknesses and counter me.
Shim was under suspicion too, so they sidelined him from diplomacy and sent the woman with the bug instead. My gut feeling was spot on.
Testing the new ability, I checked for surveillance—no message meant we were clear.
He'd been ordered by the president and military brass to play double agent. I proposed he spy for me first. Since they were listening to everything, this was smokescreen. I told him future details via messages only, handed him a fully unlocked smartphone, and sent him off.
Gangnam knows something about my Server Room—they think I have a Special Awakener who makes 'real-time communication devices,' per Shim.
I reread Shim's final note.
Marshal, please grant asylum here for me and my family. I know it's an unreasonable request, but I have no choice now. I beg you earnestly.
He'd bet everything on me. Despite the option to just spy and bail, he chose the far riskier double-agent path.
Right after Shim left, I called an executive meeting. Everyone's faces burned with rage—but mine most of all. No one spoke until I opened my mouth.
"What do you think?"
Only then did they chime in.
"Utterly shameless."
"We should cut all diplomatic ties and demand accountability now."
"But Diplomat Shim is effectively a hostage."
"Worst case, we might have to cut him loose."
I had no intention of abandoning him. That'd make us no better than Gangnam scum. I sighed deeply.
"No, I mean—what do you think about bombing their capital with bombardment drones...?"
Half-joking, half-serious. The execs looked horrified. Han Seol said firmly,
"Marshal, regain your composure."
"Yeah... just testing. And no abandoning Shim."
They exhaled in relief at my expression.
"First, let's plan how to extract Shim and his family, then figure payback."
"Yes."
Since then, we've messaged daily via the smartphone I gave Shim. Obviously, I know it's not really him sending them. From the master PC in the Server Room, we track the phone's location in real-time, plus every conversation and video in front of it streams to us live.
They're hacking nonstop—futile. The moment they took it to military HQ, the intel war was ours.
Thankfully, Shim's alive, detained with his family. I could've ditched all morals and toyed with them by abandoning him, but I couldn't. Not because I'm saintly—I'm just weak-willed at heart, and I know it best.
Intel division, under Han Byeol's orders, logs all their eavesdropping records and plans ops. Thanks to them waving the phone around the room, we have videos of the interior, faces of every brass there—even a frontal selfie of the one-eyed eavesdropping Special Awakener with the black eyepatch.
They might accept 'real-time comms devices,' but real-time tracking and counter-eavesdropping? Beyond imagination.
"Now, briefing on the Shim Eun-hyeon and family rescue op."
Han Byeol started the rescue briefing. Simple overview: Intel's deception worked. We've fed them a rendezvous spot and plan.
"We'll intercept from the sky mid-route to the meet."
"Participants?"
"Small hit-squad: Han Seol, Jeong Su-hwan, Han Eun-ji, Im Jui."
"If it fails and we're exposed?"
"Eliminate all, incinerate evidence with bombardment drones, exfil."
"Got it."
Risky, but only possible from Nakyuan.
"Execution date?"
"Three days."
My blood still simmers, but proper payback comes after the rescue.