The Western Front Shelling Incident 1
Edison Motors, which had been suffering from chronic deficits, finally launched a new car equipped with autonomous driving features in 2020. Consumers were ecstatic about its design, which was vastly different from existing vehicles. Maron, the CEO, accepted orders through a pre-order system and, delighted by the mounting volume, called Taesik.
"CEO Kim. The order volume has finally exceeded 10,000 units."
"Congratulations. If you had failed this time, I was planning to acquire Edison Motors..."
"Hahaha. I didn't even sell to Google, so why would I sell shares to you? The anticipation for the 'Autopilot' feature, developed by Starlink, is immense."
"You named it Autopilot?"
"Of course. We were going to call it Auto Drive, but we changed it to Autopilot because it sounds more cutting-edge, and the response has been great."
"The stock market response hasn't been bad, either..."
"Well, it's finally crossed $10 per share. You hold 5%, so keep your expectations high..."
As the public went wild over the news that Edison Motors was launching a car with autonomous driving capabilities, Starlink was flooded with requests for technical partnerships from automotive companies worldwide. Taesik delegated everything to CEO Cha Youngjin, who formed an autonomous driving research team led by researcher Lee Sangwook to review the requests from each company.
While Starlink was producing and delivering unmanned submersibles and Valkyrie drones, South Korea was engulfed in shock by news from the DMZ. Sergeant Jung Kibong, the DMZ search team leader, issued orders in front of the DMZ passage.
"Check magazines!"
At Sergeant Jung's command, the troops checked their personal firearms' magazines. After confirming that everything was in order, the Sergeant gave the final order.
"Current time, 07:28! We are entering the DMZ search operation at 07:30. Corporal Kim takes the lead. Move out!"
Corporal Kim passed through the gate, took a position five meters ahead, and began scanning. Receiving a signal from Kim, Corporal Ha Minsu stepped forward to pass through the gate second.
"BOOM...!"
At that moment, a powerful explosion erupted, and Corporal Ha Minsu collapsed. Corporal Kim raised his rifle to scan the front. Sergeant Jung Kibong, who had been standing behind, threw himself to the ground at the sound of the blast. When Corporal Kim, who was providing security, signaled that there were no immediate threats, the Sergeant rose and commanded his men.
"Let's go rescue Corporal Ha Minsu. Corporal Kim! Sergeant Park, move up!"
The three men entered the gate, supported the groaning Corporal Ha Minsu, and turned back toward the gate. At that instant, another explosion occurred, and Sergeant Park, who was helping support him, collapsed.
BOOM...!
Deafened by the explosion, Sergeant Jung shouted, "Nobody move from your positions!"
Wincing at the ringing in his ears, the Sergeant drew his bayonet. "Everyone, draw your bayonets and move forward while probing the ground!"
Sergeant Jung moved forward, stabbing the ground with his bayonet to check for suspected landmines. The troops who hadn't entered the gate yet also began approaching to rescue Sergeant Park and Corporal Ha, probing the ground from the entrance.
Sergeant Park and Corporal Ha were still conscious and groaning, so Sergeant Jung called out loudly, "Sergeant Park! Corporal Ha! Can you move?"
"Ugh... ugh..."
The two men didn't answer, likely due to severe pain. Sergeant Park, who had lifted his head, saw that both men were bleeding. Something had flowed into his eyes, so he wiped it away with his arm. Upon confirming the blood, Sergeant Jung, instead of applying a tourniquet, pushed forward by stabbing the ground with his bayonet to reach his subordinates.
Since there were still troops who hadn't entered the gate, Sergeant Jung issued another order. "Withdraw immediately with the injured comrades. Who has the radio?"
Sergeant Park answered from inside the gate, and Sergeant Jung instructed him to report to the battalion headquarters.
The news that a search team had been injured by an explosion at the DMZ gate was reported through the chain of command. Fortunately, the injured troops were moved to a safe area and transported to a university hospital via medical helicopter. That evening, the news of the South Korean search team's injuries was broadcasted. A few days later, the Minister of National Defense announced that wooden-box landmines had been buried near the DMZ gate.
South Korea defined this as a North Korean provocation and considered ways to retaliate, but since some time had already passed, there were no suitable options. Instead, they installed loudspeakers and resumed the psychological warfare broadcasts that had been halted. North Korea threatened to attack immediately if the loudspeakers weren't removed. When South Korea continued the broadcasts, North Korea eventually fired at the loudspeakers using anti-aircraft guns, issuing an ultimatum that military action would commence if the loudspeakers weren't removed within 48 hours.
The Ministry of National Defense immediately mobilized K9 self-propelled howitzers and evacuated residents in villages near the loudspeakers. The Blue House convened a National Security Council meeting, declared a full military alert, opened the armories of frontline units, and ordered the troops to stand by in full gear.
At midnight, North Korea declared that the 48 hours they had given was an ultimatum and opened the doors to the tunnels where their howitzers were hidden. The Ministry of National Defense put F-15K and F-16 fighter jets on standby. After opening the howitzer tunnel doors, North Korea moved vehicles equipped with Scud missiles, signaling their intent to attack South Korea immediately, and declared a semi-war state.
The government evacuated residents in the Yeoncheon area, raised the Watchcon level from 4 to 3, restricted all military personnel from leaving their bases, and sent an emergency communication to North Korea.
Taesik, lying in bed, was awakened by the sudden ringing of his phone.
"...Hello?"
"I seem