Chapter 207
Chapter 207
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 207
Chapter Title: The Desert Always Clears After the Clouds (1)
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Judaism, Catholicism, Islam.
There's one neighborhood that ties together all three of these religions, which have no shortage of words and troubles.
Right here, from the hillside overlooking the distant Dead Sea, that city's name is none other than—
"Jerusalem. Never dreamed in my wildest dreams that I'd end up here while alive."
Jerusalem. A place with far greater name recognition than Israel's capital, whose name I can't even recall.
In this city of Jerusalem, practically a holy land for the Western world... a cataclysm that will soon shake the entire Middle East is about to begin.
"People with religion must have this on their life bucket list or something? All three faiths were in an uproar about it."
"For folks like us without religion, there's no real reason to come, I suppose."
"Seong Won-sik, that president guy, was dying to come here. The man's at church every Sunday without fail."
The moment he heard I was heading to Jerusalem on business, Seong Won-sik, president of Ammunition Infrastructure, had thrashed about trying to tag along.
Of course, with the nuclear power plant project in Japan needing an overall supervisor, he had no choice but to hold back his tears.
"Seong Won-sik will get his chance later. Once we wrap this up successfully."
He will come.
No, I'll make sure he does.
Beyond Ammunition Infrastructure, the entire Ammunition Group will soon have another massive feast force-fed into its mouth.
Stretching grandly atop a hill overlooking downtown Jerusalem, I extended my hand to Kim Won-cheol and spoke.
"Anyway, have you mostly finished compiling the intel on North Korea-Iran nuclear materials trading from the NIS?"
"Yeah. I was planning to consolidate it all and report before we came here. It's solid enough to show the Israelis."
Kim Won-cheol pulled a thick stack of documents from his bag and handed it to me.
Just a list of plain facts inside these documents. But whether those pearls become treasures or worthless junk cluttering a warehouse depends on how you string them together.
In that sense, the overarching narrative tying this whole stack together was quite to my liking.
Enough that Kim Won-cheol, uncharacteristically, spat it out without a hint of a smile.
"Man, I just can't get over those North Koreans every time I think about them."
"Tell me about it. They go beyond imagination."
It's not just about them joining hands with Iran.
The issue is how they clasped those hands.
"Their guts must've spilled right out of their bellies. What kind of balls does it take to pull this off?"
A North Korean-style handshake utterly incomprehensible by normal standards.
I recalled the moment in the NIS secret room under Daemosan when I first heard the details.
* * * *
'...Aren't the North Korean authorities insane?'
'They've never been a normal bunch, but lately it's gotten extreme.'
I'd finally secured the NIS director's promise of cooperation.
The details would go to the secretariat centered on Kim Won-cheol, but I needed the big picture first.
Right on cue, lunchtime arrived. Over simple lunch boxes, I heard from the NIS director how North Korea had joined hands with Iran.
'Equipment like centrifuges is one thing, but nuclear fission data and dispatching scientists? That's too much. And then...'
Pages flipped one by one. Iran had received quite a lot through North Korea, more than expected.
The problem... wasn't just supplies. They were getting something else too.
Though, by North Korean standards, it counted as supplies, not people.
'Nuclear slaves... all the way. They really see their own citizens as expendables.'
Nuclear slaves.
Laborers in uranium mines, or human guinea pigs for radiation exposure experiments.
Frowning deeply at the horrific details, the NIS director nodded in response.
'It's always been that way, but haven't storms been raging in their political scene lately?'
'Storms... Ah, you mean the power succession?'
Time had flown by, and now winter was right around the corner.
Had divine punishment arrived on that sudden cold wind?
North Korea's dictator, Kim Jong-il, suddenly struck down by a stroke, hovering between life and death.
With the throne suddenly vacant beneath him, his barely-thirty youngest son, Kim Jong-un, was hastily propped up.
'Kim Jong-il's on his last legs, and that blood clot Kim Jong-un knows nothing yet. In the end, Jang Song-thaek's the one holding real power.'
After finishing lunch, the NIS director stepped out to the terrace for a smoke.
Gray smoke swirled in the mountain wind from the north.
'The first thing for someone who's risen to one-below-all-above is just one task.'
'Purging... you mean?'
'The opposing factions have all been swept into political prison camps. Families too. Those nuclear slaves sent to Iran were probably sourced from there.'
* * * *
"Nuclear slaves. How do they even do that without going mad?"
"That's North Korea for you—crazy from the start."
Recalling that conversation at the NIS.
North Korea's one thing, but the Iranian government accepting this isn't normal either.
Which makes this... the perfect opportunity for me.
"For those poor souls at least... there's only one thing to do now, right?"
And using that opportunity as leverage to spark massive upheaval—that would happen here in Jerusalem.
Eyes fixed on the Temple Mount in the distant Old City, I answered my own question.
"Iran with nukes—releasing a terrifying lion at the village gate to play the role of public enemy in the Middle East."
"You've got a real knack for this stuff. Way sharper than your old man."
"Dad was more the bold type. Shall we head down, then?"
"Yeah... Hold on a sec."
I was about to descend the mountain, but Kim Won-cheol stood rooted at the summit, staring at his phone.
Only after seeing the number on the screen did he flash his usual mischievous grin and wave the phone at me.
"Heh heh heh. Looks like their asses are already twitching. Phone's been blowing up."
"Yep. From the looks of it, it's not just the proxies down the chain... even the decision-makers' asses are squirming."
I waved my own phone back at him, mirroring the gesture.
The message we'd relayed must've hit hard. Israel's survival, like a candle in the wind. I'd boldly claimed to have the solution.
"Looks like today I'll finally learn this Mossad guy's real name. Let's get this started for real."
* * * *
Their asses must've been twitching hard.
The moment I came down the hill, men in suits poured out of a black sedan, surrounding me.
Under the courteous guidance of the Mossad gentlemen, I arrived at what looked like an unnamed abandoned house.
Except the man sitting across from me wasn't some farmer grandpa, but the nameless Mossad agent I'd glimpsed at the embassy before.
"......"
Tap, tap.
Visibly irritated, the envoy kept drumming his fingers on the wooden desk.
With everyone else cleared out, just the two of us remained. The envoy stared into my eyes and spoke.
"I... don't have much time. Not just me personally, but the nation of Israel as well."
"Please, speak freely."
"Since you sent that message, you must know our situation is dire. So let's make this clear."
The envoy gripped the pistol at his waist. That forgettable face, devoid of distinctive features, suddenly flashed with savage killing intent.
"Mossad eyes."
"......"
"If you're playing petty games with me and Israel just for some corporate profit... Chairman Han Seo-jun, you won't leave this country in one piece."
A heavy metal pistol barrel pressed against my temple—don't know when it got there.
Amid that blatant hostility, I actually felt relief.
This man—no, this man and the country of Israel behind him... I could instinctively sense they were desperate right now.
That's why I casually let slip a single line.
"Been a while since I've been in a spot like this."
"What...?"
"Probably back in southern Thailand, caught by Islamist rebels over the Kra Canal project. The boss there had a pistol like this too."
I turned my head slightly to peer beyond the iron door.
The barely concealed presence beyond it was undoubtedly sharpened solely toward me.
"No doubt the underlings outside are set up with submachine guns. One wrong word, and I'm Swiss cheese. Real cliché setup."
"You're talking too much. Loquacious types usually have a serpent's tongue in their mouths."
Did my calm tone irk him?
Click. The cold, heavy sound of the hammer cocking. One twitch of his finger, and the loaded lead would pierce my skull.
But.
"Isn't that serpent's tongue exactly what you need right now? For Israel, I mean."
"You dare...!"
"The entire Middle East, Saudi included. Israel can't handle it. Not a chance."
"......!"
The pistol barrel began to tremble.
As if defying him to prove me wrong, I tilted my head toward the muzzle and pressed on.
"This won't be like the last four Middle East wars. With the dog's owner holding the shale oil card, who cares if the hyena pack tears the dog apart?"
"...You're begging for death."
The envoy's voice shook as much as the barrel.
His finger toyed tensely with the trigger.
That's why... I was certain. This razor-edge tension, ready to snap at a touch, meant I held the hilt.
So right now, I swung that invisible hilt toward the envoy—and toward Israel.
"In the end, for the dog to survive, don't you need to turn the eyes of the dog trader and the hyena pack this way?"
Tap. I pulled a red USB from my jacket pocket and set it indifferently on the table.
Sensing something ominous, the strength slowly drained from the envoy's pistol grip.
"This is...?"
"My northern neighbor's got some rowdy issues. They're straight-up tossing keys one by one to unlock the lion's cage."
The envoy's hand, now holstered, reached for the USB.
His pupils rippled as he stared at the glowing blue screen.
This... was an offer he couldn't refuse. I gazed steadily at him and spoke.
"From what I see, Persia's lion will soon roar into Arabia. For a masterless dog... isn't that an opportunity?"
"Chairman Han Seo-jun, what in the world are you...?"
I raised one hand gently, cutting him off.
At last, my own formless pistol, loaded and ready.
I aimed the heavy barrel at the envoy and pulled the trigger.
The trigger that would twist the board of Israel and the entire Middle East in one shot.
"Link arms with the hyena pack against a common enemy. Even the dog trader won't sit idle watching the lion rampage."