Hostile Welcome in Washington
Washington D.C., the capital of the United States.
The Korean delegation's special plane touched down at Joint Base Andrews.
"Welcome to America. You must be exhausted from the long flight."
A colonel with the rank insignia on his uniform greeted them.
In the background, the flags of both nations flew high, flanked by an honor guard marching in formation.
Cha Minhyuk felt it anew.
The elevated status of Korea.
Before the Hitchhiker appeared.
Back in the days when they were perpetually at the bottom of the rankings, such treatment had been a pipe dream.
But the welcomer was a colonel, not a brigadier general.
And with the press barred from entry, it was clear.
The bare minimum ceremony, all too conscious of the world's watchful eyes.
The helicopter carrying the Korean officials lifted off over the skyline of towering buildings, heading for the U.S. Management Agency headquarters.
Thud-thud-thud—!
—Master! There are so many weird-looking buildings! The White House! Monuments! Museums!
Carmina darted busily through the shadows inside, peering out at the scenery.
Thanks to her, my field of view kept whipping around.
Man, I've been too busy living paycheck to paycheck to ever travel abroad.
Never thought I'd take in a foreign city's sights like this.
Then, a certain scene caught my eye.
[Carmina, stop. That street over there—can you zoom in with magic?]
—Totally!
My vision shifted as if zooming in.
And there, a procession of protesters advanced, holding picket signs.
At least a few hundred, easy.
Targeting Asians.
—Master! Should I wipe 'em out? Who do they think they are, telling us to go home!
—Fucking racists, Your Holiness.
Where'd she pick up language like that?
Anyway, for now.
[No need to get that mad. Every country has its extremists.]
America's conflicts were especially fierce.
No wonder they called it a melting pot.
Whites, Hispanics, Blacks, Jews, Europeans, Asians, and more.
In the complex pyramid of social hierarchy, East Asians ranked pretty low.
There must've been this undercurrent of disdain permeating society.
[And now it's erupting with the news of Korea taking first place.]
The online vibe was ugly, from what I'd seen in the articles.
—Whoa! High praise! I've seen that one a ton in games!
—Mercy and tolerance only come when you're on top. Now that they know they're below, how pissed must they be?
Yeah, they'd be furious and frustrated.
But Korea wasn't the only target.
I didn't care what American public opinion thought, and it wasn't my place to.
Though I am a little worried.
The Korean diaspora in the U.S.
Were they safe?
Partly genuine concern.
But also, they'd be voters in the upcoming voting event.
*
The helicopter set down on the roof of the Management Agency building.
Cha Minhyuk approached Elliot and the waiting U.S. officials.
"It's been just three days since the emergency summit. I hope you've been well."
A leisurely extended hand.
A confident smile.
Meeting his gaze, Elliot couldn't suppress the boiling rage.
What was with that blatant look?
The eyes of someone looking down on a subordinate?
This insolent Asian bastard!
Grit!
Elliot ground his teeth, seething inwardly.
Yeah, laugh it up while you can.
Once the next ordeal hits, despair is all that'll be left on that face.
Ignoring the handshake, Elliot said coolly,
"Let's head inside. The Director is waiting."
Cha Minhyuk smirked faintly and followed with the Korean officials.
They arrived at the VIP reception room.
Gail Crafton and the U.S. officials were already seated.
"……."
"……."
Awakener lined up along the walls stood with hands behind their backs, exuding an intimidating aura.
S-rank vibes, no doubt.
The Korean officials flinched momentarily, and even Cha Minhyuk tensed.
No need to worry. Even if they all rushed me, I could end it in 20 seconds. Not even worth a space squid.
Space squid? No idea what that was, but her words restored his confidence.
He sat boldly across from Director Gail.
A glint flashed in Gail's eyes.
Look at this? Not intimidated?
"Long time no see, Mr. Cha."
"Good to see you again. Heard you were back."
The two men gripped hands firmly.
Battling words flew over them.
"For such a major discussion, I figured Director Yoo Su-ho would come too."
"Didn't Deputy Director Elliot come alone for the U.S. visit to Korea?"
"That was when I was stepping back from the front lines to prepare for retirement."
"Director Yoo is just as busy."
The atmosphere was cutthroat.
Carmina shivered.
—Master...! The squid uncles are fighting so scary...! American squids are huge too...!
In the suffocating air, the conversation pressed on at a rapid clip.
"You announced success in making contact with the Hitchhiker?"
"A sound judgment, and the Hitchhiker chose Korea."
"Hmm. I think once this round's competition ends, he'll regret that choice bitterly."
"That won't happen."
Then.
"You've been having fun with that holy water, huh? Part of the Hitchhiker's authority?"
"Who knows. Through the China-Japan-U.S. alliance, we've stockpiled tactical items—Korea estimates over a hundred types. Right?"
"You've done your analysis, but you're way off base."
In the fierce exchange, Gail was starting to waver.
Why?
Because he couldn't read a thing from his conversation with Cha Minhyuk.
Gail's awakening class was Sensory Master.
His skills let him detect the subtlest biological responses from targets.
Breathing as they spoke.
Sweat, gestures, temperature shifts.
Truth? Lie? Easy to distinguish.
And Gail was a towering figure who'd spent his life dealing with people.
Combining skills and rhetoric, he could toy with opponents like playthings.
But now.
I can't read any reactions...?
Cha Minhyuk's temperature, breathing, pulse.
Not a flicker of change during the talk.
The reason was clear.
Is the skill applying well?
Yes. No tremors at all. Just endlessly calm.
Carmina's Cold-Blooded skill was active on Cha Minhyuk.
Thanks to her ally level-up, she could grant it to others briefly.
And that wasn't all.
—Master! One-sided beatdown!
[Whew, you're doing great. Tell him fighting!]
Gail had no clue.
That every time he opened his mouth, info was leaking out.
He was just baffled.
What the hell is going on?
The Cha Minhyuk I know is just a run-of-the-mill physical enhancer.
Robot-like vitals?
Can a human even do that?
Facing an unprecedented phenomenon, Gail felt a massive wall.
His composure cracked.
"Korea must have gotten the keyword for this round's event too. How about we exchange via the system? A 1:2 ratio between U.S. and Korea sounds fair."
He rushed to the main topic.
To shift the conversation's flow.
"Well, Korea already has a grasp on the U.S. keywords."
Cha Minhyuk bulldozed forward, giving no breathing room.
"Recruiting populous China, negative campaigning against all S-rank awakeners except Killdragon."
From analyzing that.
"We've reached some solid conclusions. First, the event involves every person on Earth—awakened or not—exercising some form of power."
And for America.
"They're scheming to funnel that unknown power to one awakener: Killdragon."
Gail scowled, chest burning.
"Think what you want. It's just suspicion—no hard evidence, right?"
"Am I wrong?"
"Gonna keep playing word games?"
Gail glared, thinking.
How long will this childish probing go on?
We need solid proof for national plans.
Time to drop the games and negotiate for real.
His anger surged—then.
"Let's end the meeting here."
"Wh-what?"
Cha Minhyuk stood abruptly.
"Are you kidding? We haven't even started the real talk!"
"I had a very meaningful conversation. If you couldn't find meaning in it."
He trailed off, smirking.
"That might just be your personal failing, Director Gail. My regrets."
Rumble!
Cha Minhyuk left the room with the rising Korean officials.
No time to stop them.
Gone in a blink.
"……."
"……."
Silence fell.
Finally, Gail asked,
"Deputy Director Elliot, what the hell just happened?"
"I'm... baffled too."
Incomprehensible.
Gail had never derailed a negotiation like this before.
Just confusion.
But one certainty.
"Mr. Cha's actions felt more planned than impulsive."
"You sensed it too."
Flick! Whoosh!
Gail lit a cigarette to regain composure, puffing deeply.
His lip twitched relentlessly, the humiliation lingering.
Then he growled.
"That was outside predictions, but the key point is elsewhere."
Namely.
"Mr. Cha has the keyword info—and he dared set foot here with that pathetic escort."
Elliot got it instantly.
"I'll prepare right away. Wellington, track the Koreans' movements! Stewart, get a list of available stealth awakeners!"
"Yes, sir!"
Aides scattered busily.
Soon, a report came.
"Cha Minhyuk and the Koreans booked the New Star Hotel. They've changed their schedule—staying in D.C. till tomorrow to inspect Koreatown."
"Koreatown?"
Gail's lip curled intriguingly.
"Quite the hot spot these days, isn't it? Hate crimes flying, gang gunfire nonstop. An unlucky accident wouldn't be strange at all. Right?"
The fawning face from Cha vanished.
Back to his ruthless, unbridled politician self.
Gail grinned vilely.
Elliot grinned back.
"Spot on. Just bad luck."
What an unlucky world.
Full of unlucky accidents.
For instance.
A gang with deep anti-Asian roots hears of the Korean visit and plots sabotage.
The officials vanish without a trace, police investigation impossible.
A bit suspicious, sure.
Some noise, but.
A touch of government magic makes it plausible enough.
And for ironclad unluckiness.
If U.S. Intelligence Agency S-rank awakeners join in.
"Bringing a missing Mr. Cha to the agency basement? Entirely feasible."
Cha Minhyuk.
The de facto core of Korea's Management Agency, front and center.
Closest to the Hitchhiker, no doubt.
Even if not, torture out useful intel.
China's brutality plus Japan's cunning.
That was Gail.
No qualms about methods to get what he wanted.
*
In the car to the hotel.
—Those awakeners standing behind earlier! Their eyes pissed me off! All dead-fish stares! Should I just wipe 'em out?
Carmina, itching for action on this U.S. trip—no tower runs today.
She was antsy.
I hadn't liked those broad shoulders lining the back either.
Still.
[Can't just wipe them out willy-nilly.]
Not some psycho killer.
How do you attack bystanders?
—But they suck...
[Solve everything with brute force, and you're no better than China.]
—Okay, fair.
Instant shutdown.
Carmina, wistful, asked.
—What if they attack first?
Then it's different. Obviously.
[Smash 'em.]
No intent for baseless violence.
But bare fangs first? No mercy.
Grab the attackers, bite, chew, taste, tear—extract info.
—Ooh! Info? I scanned a ton of important-looking docs while circling the building in the late negotiation!
Basically begging for praise.
[Good job. But some secrets aren't on paper. Gotta pull those from mouths.]
—Good job = mana stones!
America attacking us?
Would they be that gracious?
—Mana stones!
Not like China.
On their home turf, even.
Hmm, thinking it over, not impossible.
Cha Minhyuk said Gail was sneakier than imagined.
—Mana stones!
[Not a mana stone bird. I'll review the docs, grade 'em, and compensate accordingly.]
—Yay! Love it! And I hope America throws the first punch! First punch!
What, self-harm extortion crew?
[More importantly, tell Cha Minhyuk good job.]
Carmina cleared her throat primly, sending telepathy elegantly.
"Squid... er, Team Leader Moon—no, Mr. Cha, the Hitchhiker commends your efforts."
"Efforts? Nonsense. Just doing my duty. But my family name is Cha, not Moon."
Interrogation disguised as chaos.
Yielded the U.S. keywords.
Korea: [Vote, Consolidation, One Person One Vote, Gratitude-Proportional Multiplier Boost]
U.S.: [Awakener-Targeted Vote, Global Population Participation, Interim King Selection, Simplified Decree Issuance]
Awakener-targeted votes.
Global population participation.
More or less expected.
But interim king selection?
Doubt amplified.
And at the end of that day.
Midnight, Korean time.
Ding!
Time until next event: 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds