Dragon and Tiger Clash (7)
The next report also had a slight connection to real estate. One of the organization's executives, who nominally served as president of a tourism development company, spoke up.
"We've completed securing the site for the Raspberry Project, so I'm here to report."
The Raspberry Project was a plan to weaponize the mad ants we'd acquired from American soil. It was a matter so top-secret within the organization that even the reporter himself, who had handled the site selection and purchase, knew nothing of its true nature.
"Handle this as a one-on-one report."
At my words, Suyeon used her admin privileges on the video conferencing system to disconnect the audio links to the other executives. The excluded ones couldn't hide their bewilderment. Since the organization's founding, plans kept secret even from the top echelon had been rare enough to count on one hand. But from now on, they'd become commonplace, so the executives would have to adapt.
"Done?"
Suyeon nodded. "Yes."
"It's done. You can speak freely now."
"Ahem... First, if you could look at the map."
The reporter, flustered though not as much as the others, cleared his throat and displayed a map visible only to me.
"The secured site is an uninhabited island for sale in Sinan County, South Jeolla Province. Area: 238,430 pyeong. About 80% is designated as a planned management zone, so there are virtually no restrictions on building facilities. It once had residents, so there's a freshwater source, and with a transmission tower nearby, pulling in electricity is straightforward. There's even a rough road allowing vehicle access—legally a de facto road, but since we're buying the whole island, no one will be coming or going, so it's not a big issue."
"Any photos?"
"Of course. One moment."
The reporter switched from the map to photos. I nodded in satisfaction at the access road's layout.
"We can cut it off without issue."
"Exactly. We could even bulldoze the existing path and build a swing bridge or bascule bridge."
A de facto road was one carved through private land but traditionally open to locals. Blocking it arbitrarily would invite complaints. But not here.
"Go with a swing bridge if we're building. Bascule has higher visibility."
"Shall we start construction right away?"
"Hm. And level some ground in advance for warehouses, barracks, breeding pens—about 1,000 pyeong for now. There are sure to be squatters planting vegetable patches on 'ownerless' land, so handle them quietly to avoid backlash later."
"Don't worry. But what exactly will the breeding pens be for?"
"Do you need to know that just to level the ground?"
"My apologies."
"No harm. It's natural to wonder."
The pens were for breeding wild marmots and their subspecies—black plague carriers. Two teams under Suyeon's command were scouring Mongolia and the US to acquire them. Import would be trickier than capture, but these weren't marketable goods, so smuggling dozens wouldn't be hard. Not when we smuggled armored vehicles.
"Purchase price?"
"7.5 billion won."
"No issues needing HQ support?"
"A tiny portion—975 pyeong—is registered as state land, but the acquisition request is already approved, and appraisal is underway. A few extra million at most."
"Top priority. Money's no object—focus on speed."
"Understood."
At that point, I found it amusing. 238,000 pyeong... about 78 hectares?
We'd bought 600,000 hectares in Sudan for 430 million. Here in Korea, a remote speck cost 7.5 billion. National wealth gaps laid bare.
The location was ideal regardless. Locals would deter outsiders. Who'd visit a notorious salt farm slave haven on a whim?
We'd chosen Korea because I'd need to visit often. With HQ here, the ant lab had to be accessible. A chopper from base to Sinan wouldn't take long; a light plane even less.
Island for containment first—ants couldn't swim. Strict quarantine, no traces.
First task post-setup: proliferation and spread tests. How much did unlimited food slow territorial expansion? How fast did numbers grow with endless calories? When and how to cut feed for maximum burst? London dry run, in short.
Should secure London real estate early too. Secrecy slows things down.
A bit premature, but staking claims now eased post-op evasion. Dozens of spread tests for solid data—London needed a precise timeline. Resetting ant-overrun islands each time? Trivial. Burn deep with mana-fueled fire.
One caveat: As primitive fire mages proliferated, wouldn't London's handle pests the same way?
Not an issue. No x-ray vision for nests; urban underbelly, not an island. Indiscriminate fire in a blind metropolis? Catastrophe. Even knowing, controlling subsurface flames? Beyond average mages. Only a Grand Magus with Golden Age's Eyes could mimic it.
Plan B: Rat fleas from a London safehouse. Natural plague vectors—higher survival on tainted feed, faster spread via flea nature. Cartridge-dispersed swarms...
"Why the sigh...? Something to adjust?"
I'd sighed unconsciously. The reporter eyed me warily; I shook my head.
"No. Good work. Await your next update."
"Yes, sir."
Bacterial strike on London was contingency insurance. Planning its backup already? Laughable. Insurance for insurance.
Besides, London's AI surveillance—600k+ cameras, predictive crime mapping, automated SNS monitoring, facial rec, personal risk profiles—made mass flea release suicidal. Hitting blind spots wouldn't evade Beijing-level pursuit. Post-op, endless flight? Useless slaughter, no peace gained. Unacceptable.
Suyeon reset the conference; normal proceedings resumed. Next: Domestic Awakened group formation.
"As you know, this afternoon the Special Licensed Awakened Act, Special Purpose Hunting Act, and Military Service Act revisions passed emergency session en masse. Per Rep. Park from the ruling party, promulgation and enforcement decrees drop on the 8th, alongside first exams for High-Risk Hunting Technician and Special Licensed Awakened Technician."
"Lightning-fast bean roasting."
"External US-China pressure, internal service controversies, protests, worsening security, North Korea's Awakened flexing—all headaches."
Laws usually took six months minimum. Awakened prominence hit post-autumn. Global chaos ensued.
Even around Tokyo Olympics, no one grasped it.
These were rushed through—impact assessments? Reviews? Dubious. Three days to promulgation? Abnormal. Crisis hysteria plus ruling supermajority steamroll.
Implementation? Glitches galore. Better than lawless chaos, maybe.
"Technician... Separating high-risk hunting from special abilities means testing baseline anti-Awakened skills regardless of personal awakening."
"Correct."
"Specific quals? Eligibility, pass criteria, preferences?"
"No—enforcement decrees pending. Rushed so badly, they're still patching presidential decrees. Rep. Park hinted a quirky condition might attach."
"Which?"
"At cabinet, proposal for males: service completion required for eligibility."
"What?"
I frowned; the reporter looked pained.
"Exemptions don't count as service. If true, problematic for us."
I'd routinely exempted promising subordinates. Costly short-term, profitable long-term.
Better train them for service duration.
US facilities for combat, adaptation, language immersion; then aviation school or smuggling runs. Bonds, pride, loyalty—priceless. We excelled at elite cultivation. What crime lord invested like me? None—their stakes weren't as desperate.
Even unpromising ones got exemptions. Wasting talent on two years' drudgery? Criminal. Loyalty boost a bonus.
Now, unintended blowback. Awkward for the boss.