The Stolen Nuke
The moment Kim Seo-jun realized the minimap let him pinpoint the mine locations, he headed straight for the Chinese headquarters.
It wasn't difficult at all.
'The more they rely on those mines, the slacker their defenses get.'
From the Chinese HQ's perspective, they couldn't even fathom something dodging a minefield packed to the gills.
And Kim Seo-jun wasn't just strolling in. He activated his Stealth skill, teleporting when needed as he closed in.
He reached the Chinese HQ base in under ten minutes.
The real problem came next.
Back at the Chinese secret base, security had been laughably lax, and since the goal was to stir up chaos, he'd opened fire the second he was inside.
Didn't matter if he got spotted.
But now? He had to slip in, find the nuclear weapon, and secure it.
'Stealth lasts twenty minutes.'
Pulling that off in the remaining twenty was basically impossible. Plus, the next Stealth use required a three-hour cooldown.
Meaning Kim Seo-jun needed a spot to hunker down and hold his breath for three hours straight.
'Armory it is.'
The armory—stocked with armored vehicles, ammo, and every weapon under the sun—was the perfect hideout.
Once inside, he slipped into the passenger seat of a military truck under repair amid the rows of vehicles and went dead still.
Moments later, his Stealth wore off.
That was extremely dangerous.
If they clocked him, every Space Marine and psyker in the Chinese HQ would swarm to take him down.
For someone hiding, it'd feel like your spit was drying up into blood.
But not for Kim Seo-jun.
He stayed tense, sure—but his blood didn't run cold.
Simple reason.
'Reminds me of holding still for five hours in that hatchery.'
Compared to past ordeals, this was practically paradise.
Plus, Stealth ending didn't strip him bare—his power level was still off the charts.
He could fight his way out without breaking a sweat, and it'd still be a win. Wrecking the armory would cripple their war machine.
And he had this.
'Minimap tells me if anyone's closing in.'
A radar that spotted intruders faster than anything.
'And it zooms.'
The minimap didn't just extend beyond a three-kilometer radius—it could zoom in tight.
'Hm?'
His nerves strung taut just as silence blanketed the armory.
The Chinese mechanics who'd been nonstop inspecting battle tanks, repairing gear, hauling ammo, and prepping for war—they all froze.
Rumble rumble rumble!
In that hush, wheels rolled.
Kim Seo-jun peered cautiously toward the sound.
There it was: a massive black box, two meters cubed in every dimension.
One look, and he knew. It screamed special.
'Nuclear weapon.'
Lin Zi-ai, the lieutenant, shocked the Chinese HQ when she declared nuclear weapon use.
They thought,
'No way she's actually firing.'
Nukes wouldn't be used. Firing one—not at Mogs, but another nation—was no small thing.
Even if they did, it'd be later.
Before authorizing nukes, Lin Zi-ai had demanded surrender declarations.
Meaning they'd wait for other Amotia bases to fold!
No reason to launch now.
"Prepare the nuclear weapons."
"Pardon?"
"Get the nukes ready to fire immediately."
But on the third day after her declaration, Lin Zi-ai ordered nuke prep.
And she didn't stop there.
"First target: India HQ."
She'd already picked it.
Everyone reeled. Lin Zi-ai told them flat-out:
"Our goal is total annihilation of all survivors here."
She'd never planned to spare surrenders.
Pulling nukes was just to break the stalemate—wave the biggest stick to make them back off.
At the same time, she mused:
"Nukes' downside? Too few have felt 'em."
Powerful enough to terrify, but few truly knew the horror.
To instill real fear, you needed visible results, not empty threats.
Thus, targeting India—Amotia's fourth-largest force, with massive manpower and a huge base—was genius.
One nuke there, and the rest would crumble in terror.
And that fear wasn't just for foreigners.
"I said it once: no second warnings. Prep the launch."
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
No more backtalk from her subordinates.
They finally got it: their commander was leagues beyond them, untouchable.
Feeling their dread, Lin Zi-ai tasted true peace.
"Three Wuguang units moved to the armory."
From then on, every ten minutes, reports rolled in on China's latest nuke: Wuguang.
"Wuguang extracted from cases; commencing work."
"Function check in progress."
"Wuguang One: nominal. Two: nominal. Three: nominal."
Each update curved her lips into a smile.
"All prep for use complete."
That was the clincher. Lin Zi-ai commanded:
"Stand by."
Now, ready to unleash hell on India HQ.
Nothing left to do, really.
While setting up Wuguang, she'd tasked others with India coords and launch protocols—all done.
One thing remained: give the order.
She didn't hesitate.
Scores of thousands dying on her word? Didn't faze her.
"Execute the operation."
The words left her lips. Then—
"E-emergency!"
"What is it?"
"W-Wuguang's been stolen!"
"Pardon?"
Kim Seo-jun's squad had bolted at full speed the instant he returned.
"That's for real?"
Hearing the tale, everyone gawked.
"Those crazy Chinese bastards were seriously gonna nuke?"
First shock: China meant business, not bluffing.
If Kim Seo-jun's call had been a hair slower, a nuke might've been inbound already.
But no more.
They calmed racing hearts.
Soon, they reached a spot beyond Chinese surveillance. There, Kim Seo-jun revealed:
"Jo Yi-hyun, this is the nuke I secured."
"Huh?"
Pulling it from inventory, jaws dropped.
"Smaller than I figured."
Size stunned them—everyone pictured massive rockets.
This? More box than missile.
"My God, that's Wuguang!"
Jo Yi-hyun clocked it instantly, eyes wide.
"China's latest nuke!"
She explained without prompting:
"Modded to launch from any platform! Yield matches same-size nukes, but this casing's special."
"Meaning?"
"Uh, right—fits in a railgun and fires!"
Click. That's why China modded Thunder into a railgun.
"S-so Sergeant Kim has the warhead and launcher?"
All their prep, now in his hands.
Silence fell.
Kim Seo-jun too.
But the task was clear.
'Take down the Queen.'
With the weapon to do it, throw everything at her now.
Brainstorming was easy.
Queen hid in a rock mountain cave maze, ant-hill style.
Nuke's punchy, but not for deep-buried targets.
Plan: Breach the maze, find her, then boom.
About then—
"Hey."
Noah Winston spoke up.
"Your boss is cooking up some insane scenario, isn't he?"
Park Bo-seop and Lee Hye-na eyed Kim Seo-jun; helmet visors met, and they blurted:
"Sergeant Kim, no way!"
"Absolutely not. That's suicide."
"Huh?"
Jo Yi-hyun, poking the Wuguang, blinked.
"What's going on?"
Noah explained to her confusion:
"Our Korean's plotting to hike into the rock mountain and hand-deliver the nuke to the Queen."
"What?"
Jo Yi-hyun laughed it off.
"No way..."
Then locked eyes with Kim Seo-jun. Smile vanished.
"...For real?"
To the four in horror:
"Just a thought."
They reeled harder at the thought alone.
To his squad:
"Not jumping straight in. Success odds too low—single digits."
Noah Winston snorted.
"Single digits? So ten percent would've tempted you."
Kim Seo-jun didn't argue.
True enough.
Not ten, but twenty? He'd have rolled the dice.
Not weird—plenty of his active-duty ops had single-digit odds.
Anyway, blind rush into the nest? Pointless.
"To boost odds, hit the nest hard—flush out the Mogs inside."
Needed a massive op.
"Polish forces alone? No shot..."
Amotia nations had to unite.
"But they won't listen."
Self-preservation mode—no backing Kim Seo-jun's plea.
Even "Attack the Queen or we all die!" wouldn't sway.
"Wish humanity could unite in crisis, but we know better."
Never happened before.
Human nature.
Way to herd 'em? Always one: overwhelming force.
"US HQ falling hit hard. If they were intact, maybe."
Only China and US could pull it off—one gone, one unreliable.
Then it hit him, from Noah's words.
Kim Seo-jun turned to the group.
"Got one idea to try."
When Kim Seo-jun's squad left for Chinese HQ, they hadn't filled in Major Yan Zabwotski.
They knew it'd just torment him.
Let him skip the worry.
Didn't make things easy, though.
Busier than ever.
Reason: Surviving Amotia HQs debating response to China's surrender demand.
Most answer? Simple.
"Radio from UK HQ?"
"Yes."
"What'd they say?"
"Surrender together, join hands."
Most wanted to fold.
No choice.
China held Amotia's top power, nukes too.
No backup to check 'em.
Hearts screamed surrender.
Why hold out?
"UK wants us first, then we'll convince 'em... promises to repay the debt."
Bow now, risk future backlash.
Everyone scrambled for a noble excuse.
"UK pricks never change."
Major Yan Zabwotski sighed.
He knew.
'Even now, Sergeant Kim's out saving Amotia's humanity.'
Then—
"Sergeant Kim Seo-jun's squad's back!"
Yan rushed out.
"Major Yan."
Kim Seo-jun cut in:
"Want to form a coalition to assault the Queen's nest."
Yan blinked.
"Possible? They'll refuse."
"Give and take—promise support if they join."
"Support?"
Kim Seo-jun replied:
"Offer a nuclear umbrella."