[Raccoon Man Beginning]
[Raccoon Man Beginning]
Whenever you watch monster movies, the Statue of Liberty is always getting destroyed at some point. That's fiction, so I can let it slide, but if that actually happened, it would be a disaster.
If this were just simple terrorism, it would end with retaliation like the 9/11 attacks, but this is an incident involving Dimensional Rifts and Enemy Species.
"First off, Yejin-yang, you should get some sleep. Do you have sleeping pills at home?"
"I do have sleeping pills, but the problem is whether they'll even work on a Force User."
"Can't be helped."
I knocked Yejin out. Knocking someone out isn't exactly good for the body, but right now, it's far better for her to be asleep.
Maybe it was because she had been overworking her brain, but as soon as I knocked her out, she made a comfortable expression as if she'd fallen right into a deep sleep. First, I left the lab, laid her down on the bed in her room, and had a conversation with Sion.
"What should we do?"
"It's a matter that needs to be viewed from various perspectives."
The future that a precog can see is a future that can be changed from the moment it is seen. What is considered destiny is an absolute standard that includes all of that.
The future Yejin saw is definitely something that will happen in the near future, but whether or not to change it is up to us.
"Honestly, it's America. They'll handle it on their own, right? Do we really need to intervene?"
America is a superpower. You know, like in the movies where they catch aliens when they show up. And I've seen them do that a few times in reality, too.
But Sion seems to think differently.
"First, one point of contention is whether Yejin-yang saw only New York, or if other countries are involved as well. Even if it's just the United States, we don't know if it's just New York or if other American cities will be attacked."
"The only certain thing is that New York is getting attacked."
"And it's also certain that if we leave it alone, it'll turn into a total mess."
There are only eight Master Users in the world. One of them is in the United States. I've seen him on the news sometimes; he's the guy who used a gun.
Furthermore, since they are the world's number one military power, they should have sufficient support, but... well, there's no defense against a surprise attack.
"We don't have to help, but thinking about Yejin makes me feel uneasy."
I don't have a vessel big enough to fight for the greater good. Even if I've spent a long time forcibly hammering and expanding the vessel of my martial prowess, my capacity for empathy might have grown a little, but it's not big enough to fight for the greater good.
At most, my fights are all about protecting the people next to me; I have no reason to fight to protect strangers I've never even seen. You shouldn't expect noble self-sacrifice from me.
"........"
"Why? What are you thinking about?"
"Ah, it's nothing. It's just that my business base is in New York."
"Huh? That's a bit of a problem."
It's not that I hate losing money.
It's that I hate the fact that Sion would take a loss.
"Most of what I have is either cash, stocks, or bonds anyway. If I sell them in a hurry, I'll take a loss, but I can recover a certain amount."
"Either way, it means you're taking a loss. In that case, we have to solve it somehow."
In the midst of my half-and-half opinion, I was leaning toward not getting involved, but it instantly tilted heavily toward getting involved.
To me, money is just something that's nice to have, and if you don't have it, you just live without it.
But if it's not my money, but Sion's money, the story is different. My wife is about to take a loss, so why would I care about my own inconvenience?
"For now, I'll ask someone I know... and after gathering information, I'll have to go to the United States for a bit."
"Are you going to get a visa?"
"Hey, even so, going legally carries too much risk."
Japan is a country you can go to from Korea without a visa, so a passport is enough, but for a place like the US, you have to get a visa and go through all sorts of procedures to even get the paperwork done. Even if Sion could erase simple computer records, she can't just make a stack of analog paperwork disappear.
I don't think I'd get caught that easily, but I have to think about minimal precautions.
"Then what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to fly."
"By plane?"
"Do I look like I'd take a plane?"
People say I swam from Japan to Korea, but it's not like I can't fly. If I put my mind to it, I can fly, and even if I go slowly, I can get to the US in 10 minutes.
And there's someone I need to call first.
The person I'm calling is the person in the highest position among those I know. Ah, not the President.
[......Raccoon Man?]
"Yeah, long time no see, Mr. Lee."
[It's the first time you've called me directly. What's the matter?]
Thousand Swords, Lee Gyeong-jin.
The only Master User in South Korea.
We had a scuffle last time and reached a sort of mutual understanding, so I got his phone number. I said I'd keep in touch, but this is the first time I'm actually doing it.
Even though we fought, I think we're on decent terms. He seems inflexible to the point of being stubborn, but in reality, he's someone you can talk to.
.....Though, that might be partly because I'm the one who won the fight.
"It's nothing else. Did you hear anything from above?"
[Hear anything? What are you talking about?]
"No, nothing special. Like Dimensional Rifts or the appearance of Enemy Species."
[Hmm..... If it were something in the capital region that I needed to be deployed for, news would have already reached me. There hasn't been any news, though.]
The Dimensional Rift Detector that Sion made is a generation ahead of the curve, so unlike before, it was detecting rifts reliably. Now, you could say there's no such thing as a Dimensional Rift happening without an alarm.
[.....Is something the matter?]
"Why do you ask?"
[It wouldn't be strange if it were just you, but I've heard talk about someone called Raccoon Girl from above. It wouldn't be strange if you found something out.]
The Dimensional Rift Detector that Sion distributed is a remarkably superior piece of technology. Even the downgraded version is a generation ahead at this point, and it's something that not only Mr. Lee Gyeong-jin but even the Boss of 'ATLAS' in the secret leverage lab was coveting.
There's a limit to what one strong person can do, but if an excellent supporter is attached, the things you can do increase infinitely. That's the logic.
Of course, this time it wasn't Sion who did it, but Yejin......
"It's not certain. That's why I'm asking if any information has come in."
[Is that so?]
So, nothing has reached his side either.
If that's the case, did Yejin only see New York? I wish things would get easier than I thought.
"By the way, I hear the sound of swords clashing over the phone. Were you training?"
[I'm in the middle of honing my craft. Being defeated last time was more of a shock than I thought.]
"Hey, it's not like it's the first time in a person's life they've lost; are you really that shocked by that?"
[It was the first time.]
"........."
Ah, f*ck, I'm speechless.
You've never lost before and you reached that level? You dirty talented bastard!
[Furthermore, the first time I lost, it was in such an overwhelming situation. I never thought I was lacking compared to other Master Users, but when you lose like that, doesn't that stereotype get shattered? So, the necessity of training just came to mind.]
"The desire for self-improvement is a good thing. It's important to move forward no matter what you do. Because that's progress and evolution."
They say that those who work hard cannot beat those who enjoy it, and those who enjoy it cannot beat those who are geniuses.
Then, isn't a genius who enjoys it and works hard the perfect being?
"Anyway, if you hear any news, give me a call at this number. Don't worry about wiretapping or anything like that. It's a number that can't be tracked in the first place."
[Did that person called Raccoon Girl help with that?]
"Something like that."
Why is my wife's nickname Raccoon Girl...... there are plenty of cuter ones.
I hung up the phone and thought about it carefully. She said it would be in the near future, but I don't know if it's in an hour or a day.
But at the very least, it's not a week from now. My gut was certain of that.
"Then it looks like I'll have to be in the US for a while."
"In my opinion, you'll definitely go there and get caught by the police, and they'll ask if you're some kind of drug dealer."
"Ah, seriously. My impression might be rough, but isn't 'drug dealer' a bit much?"
I decided to leave for the US in the near future and was about to finalize things when Sion's face stiffened.
".....What's wrong?"
"Turn on the news right now."
At her words, I tried to turn on the TV to switch to a news channel. But there was no need; regular broadcasts were suspended, and news was playing on every channel.
[Breaking news just in. Alyssa Near, the only precognitive Force User in the United States, has predicted a massive Dimensional Rift. This is the first time in nearly four years, and it is estimated that its scale will be on a different level from the Dimensional Rifts that have occurred so far. Currently, the predicted location for the Dimensional Rift in the country is estimated to be the Seoul area, and other than that, it has been predicted for Tokyo in Japan, Guangzhou in China, and the New York area in the United States. Accordingly, the government is......]
"Huh?"
It seems my thinking was wrong. Come to think of it, we deliberately stopped Yejin's precognition while she was in the middle of seeing the New York part. That means there was actually more after that.
It was certain that the precognitive ability user in the US was at least more skilled than the current Yejin. Yejin almost died just from seeing New York, but she predicted four futures. It's logical.
While the news was still broadcasting, the person I had just called phoned me.
"Ah, yeah. Mr. Lee. I'm watching the news."
[Was this what you were thinking of?]
"What I was thinking of was just New York. And even that was uncertain."
The US precognitive Force User, Alyssa Near.
She's a precognitive user that no one doubts because she has predicted a little over ten events in the last 20 years, and every single one of them was accurate. I had forgotten about her because she hadn't used her precognitive abilities much recently, but like this, out of the blue......
No, she used her precognitive ability, so it's not out of the blue, is it?
[New York? New York, you say? Are you sure?]
"The other side says New York is like that, and we saw the New York part too, so the certainty is doubled. But why New York?"
[In New York...... my daughter is there.]
"Mr. Lee, you said you sent your daughter to study abroad last time, and that place was New York?!"
When I had a big fight with Mr. Lee Gyeong-jin before, we talked about various things, and one of the things that passed by was that his daughter had gone to study abroad.
[After my wife died, I decided to do everything I could for that child. And she wanted to study abroad, so I sent her..... I have to tell her to come back right now.]
"If returning to the country is impossible, tell her to evacuate to another city instead. In my view, it's obvious she won't be able to get on a plane."
I think evacuation is impossible unless she's included as a key figure and protected separately.
[One fortunate thing is that when I sent her to study abroad, I contacted a security firm and attached a Force User as her personal bodyguard. At least minimal safety should be secured.]
"Wait a second."
Something is strange.
A thought flashed through my mind for a moment.
"The fact that the US precognitive user saw was that a Dimensional Rift would occur and a massive raid by Enemy Species would happen, right?"
[Is there something bothering you?]
"The facts we know on this side are different."
If what the US precognitive user saw was a Dimensional Rift forecast, what Yejin saw was the miserable state of New York after it had already happened.
The progression of events is different. What Yejin saw was a much later future.
"I don't know about other places. But it's certain that if we leave New York alone right now, it will become a sea of fire."
It's true that the future can be changed from the moment it is seen, but if we don't intervene, it's obvious that it will happen almost exactly as predicted.
The Dimensional Rift is definitely going to happen, and the Enemy Species that come out of it will be on a different level than anything we've seen so far.
A catastrophe that even the US Master User might not be able to handle...... it's highly likely to be at the level of the Great Depression that happened 20 years ago.
[I......]
A deep sigh was heard over the phone.
[I cannot go to New York.]
"Why?"
[I am this country's Master User. If I abandon the people and leave, I might be able to save New York and my daughter, but this country would suffer fatal damage. Furthermore, it's doubtful they would let me go even if I went now.]
It's an obvious statement. A Master User is no different from a nuclear bomb, in other words. Especially a nuclear bomb that can freely adjust its power and has no radiation damage, but just has insane destructive power.
If such a weapon said it wanted to go abroad, would they let it go easily? Even if they did let it go, what about the aftermath, considering the sense of betrayal the citizens would feel?
Even if she immigrated to the US, it's not a problem that ends there.
"The world always forces you to choose between two options. What are you going to do?"
[Can I ask you one favor?]
I noticed what kind of favor he was going to ask.
"What about Korea?"
New York is not the only place where a Dimensional Rift is predicted to occur. The closest place is Seoul, Korea. And Japan and China..... most of them are in the Asian region.
If Enemy Species of a similar level to New York appear, Korea is just as dangerous.
[I will handle things here somehow. At least..... please protect that child, at the very least.]
I know the heart of a parent who can't save their child when they are in danger. I also know all too well the despair of not being able to save them when the time comes.
......I would flatly refuse if it were about the greater good, but appealing to my emotions like this is my weakness.
"I was planning on going anyway. While I'm at it, I'll protect Mr. Lee's daughter too."
[Thank you. I will definitely defend Seoul, so don't worry.]
"If it's really hard, just try to hold on. I'll help when I get back."
I decided to end the conversation here. Leaving was already confirmed, but the amount of work to do has increased.
While minimizing the damage as much as possible, save Mr. Lee Gyeong-jin's daughter.
There isn't much to prepare, but there is one thing that's bothering me.
"You know that thing in the basement we saw earlier? The one like an Iron Man suit."
"Why do you ask about that?"
"Just prepare it roughly for now. We might need it."
".....? You don't really need that level of equipment, do you?"
"Wait a second, let me make a call."
It's not that I need it.
It's for someone else.
The ringing tone went on a couple of times before the other party picked up the phone.
"Hey, Baek-ri. It's me."