Chapter 10. MI6, Britain’s Intelligence Service, Becomes Obsessed with the Suicide Bomb Show>
Chapter 10. MI6, Britain’s Intelligence Service, Becomes Obsessed with the Suicide Bomb Show>
At the exact moment Hyesung was receiving a crisp military salute from the Russian regular army,
utter chaos had broken out in the underground secret conference room of the National Intelligence Service.
“Russia has made open contact with the VIP! We need to dispatch agents immediately.”
“Wait. If we do that, this could escalate into a diplomatic dispute. Let us observe a little longer.”
“And what if the VIP defects to Russia or gets kidnapped in the meantime? Those bastards are absolutely the kind who would go that far.”
What the agent said was an undeniable fact.
Operation Osoaviakhim.
(Translator’s Note: Operation Osoaviakhim — A Soviet operation carried out on October 22, 1946, in which German scientists, engineers, and technicians were forcibly relocated from occupied Germany to the Soviet Union after World War II.)
Right after World War II,
Russia—back then, the Soviet Union—had in fact abducted and forcibly relocated large numbers of outstanding German scientists.
And even now, in the midst of an active struggle for hegemony, rumors circulated openly that they were still fully capable of doing the same in the shadows.
Jang Seokjin, the Second Deputy Director, who had maintained a heavy silence until then, finally spoke.
“Let’s wait just a little longer.”
“Deputy Director! Russia is full of lunatics who will do absolutely anything when war is involved.”
Despite the subordinate agent’s vehement objection, Jang Seokjin trusted Ryu Hyesung.
“Let’s watch. Is the bug we planted on the VIP still active?”
“Yes. It’s still active.”
“Have agents stand by on-site. If the VIP’s safety is threatened, they move in immediately.”
The place the Russian men took me to was an old warehouse that had been converted into something like a military barracks.
The uniquely brutal Russian atmosphere made it hard to breathe.
“It seems our formal introduction is overdue, Professor Ryu. I am Captain Romanov, operations officer of the 7th Airborne Division.”
The man who had once been called “Boss”—
I was now sitting across a table from him face to face, with no barrier between us.
The one serving as interpreter was also a familiar face.
It was Mr. ‘VodkaLike.’
“I am Sergeant Ivanov.”
“As for me… why exactly was I called all the way here?”
The atmosphere was anything but friendly.
My fingertips trembled. I had to stay sharp.
At least I knew now that they were not voice-phishing kidnappers.
None of them were wearing uniforms, but the atmosphere they gave off made it obvious they were unmistakably soldiers.
“As I said before, it is because we wish to bring you to Russia, Professor. Russia needs a genius like you.”
Despite the coercive circumstances, Captain Romanov was extremely polite.
“Thank you for the generous offer, but honestly, I thought I was being kidnapped in front of my school. Isn’t this a bit too much?”
I had seen chaotic YouTube videos from time to time showing Russians being forcibly conscripted into the military.
Brutal situations that seemed to have no regard for human rights whatsoever.
But this was Korea, and I was Korean. It felt absurdly excessive.
“My apologies. At the moment… there were too many groups after you, Professor, so we had no choice.”
“And I also do not understand why you are going this far for someone like me. Russia has plenty of genius scientists, doesn’t it?”
“…Your technology is at least ten years ahead of Russia’s.”
“What?”
Was it really that much?
No, maybe it was.
What they meant was probably that to achieve that kind of performance at that price would take ten years.
“It is not a difficult request. All you have to do is continue the weapons development you are already good at, in Russia.”
No, but the question was, why should I?
“Am I allowed to refuse?”
At my answer, the atmosphere turned even darker.
Some of them even slipped their hands inside their jackets.
“Professor… authorization has already come down from above for an annual salary equivalent to about 120 billion won.”
At 120 billion won, that was a full twenty percent more than what Japan had offered.
How had these insane offers started coming my way in the first place?
I was just an ordinary student with a third-tier GPA.
“And we plan to admit you to Bauman Moscow State Technical University on a full scholarship, Professor.”
(Translator’s Note: Bauman Moscow State Technical University — One of Russia’s most prestigious engineering universities, located in Moscow. It was founded in 1830 and is often associated with top technical and military-industrial education in Russia.)
I had heard of it.
It was Russia’s top engineering university, comparable to KAIST in Korea or MIT in America.
(Translator’s Note: KAIST — The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea’s first specialized science and technology university. It was formally founded on February 16, 1971, with initial support connected to a USAID loan and an institutional mission of producing advanced scientific and engineering talent for national development.)
“So you did know I’m not actually a professor.”
“You are a student, yes. That does not matter. Before long, people will be calling you a real professor anyway.”
Captain Romanov, thankfully, seemed to be overestimating me far too much.
“Thank you. But as I said earlier, I’m declining the offer. I prefer doing business in Korea.”
If this had been me until not long ago, if all I had wanted was to develop weapons,
I might have quietly followed them.
But after spending time with Taeju and Ian, there were too many enjoyable things here now.
Running a business together with my friends was more fun than anything else.
A life of doing nothing but lonely research in some foreign country where I knew no one was no longer one of my options.
“Что ж… Выхода нет. Придётся забрать его силой. Сержант Иванов!”
“Then… there is no other way. We will have to take you by force. Sergeant Ivanov!”
From that point on, Sergeant Ivanov stopped interpreting for me.
But from how dangerous the air had become, I could tell instinctively.
Since things had not gone their way, they were going to drag me off by force.
The massive soldiers all began advancing toward me at once.
It was certain now.
This was a kidnapping.
“W-w-wait a second. Look at this!”
Without meaning to, I started stammering.
Scrrrk.
I kicked back my chair, sprang to my feet, and hurriedly pulled two eraser-sized objects from inside my jacket.
“Th-th-this is ammonium nitrate and aluminum! If they combine, it becomes a real explosive! Everything within a 500-meter radius will be blown to dust!”
“Стой!”
“Stop!”
Maybe my desperation had gotten through, because Sergeant Ivanov hurriedly spread both hands and made a calming gesture, urgently stopping the soldiers with a grave expression.
“Что происходит?”
“What’s going on?”
“Говорит, что это взрывчатка.”
“He says it’s explosives.”
“Что за чушь? Откуда у школьника взрывчатка?”
“What kind of bullshit is that? How would a student have explosives?”
The Russian men, who had been so menacing a moment earlier, hesitated all at once and stopped in their tracks.
Good.
The bluff had worked perfectly.
Since they were disciplined soldiers, I had figured they would give weight to the possibility that what I was holding might actually be a real bomb.
Of course, saying it was ammonium nitrate and aluminum was a complete lie.
How could I possibly carry around something that insane at school?
What I was actually holding was potassium nitrate and sorbitol.
If the two substances were combined, they would become a smoke bomb with a loud report and a vicious cloud of smoke.
But given the situation, I judged that insisting it was a bomb was much better for my survival.
If things got bad, I would trigger the smoke and escape through the back door standing open behind the captain.
If I failed…it was one-way to Russia.
“Ha, fuck…”
What should I do?
What was the best move here?
“Mr. Ivanov!”
I stared at Mr. ‘VodkaLike.’
At least he and I could still communicate.
“Professor. Would it not be possible for you to come with us willingly?”
He asked with a troubled expression.
“No, I’m not going. But I’ve finished developing a new drone that’s even better than the one I gave you last time.”
“…What?”
“I’m about to mass-produce it, and I’ll sell it to you twenty percent cheaper, so please just let me go home.”
First, negotiate.
Ivanov stared at me like I was out of my mind.
Then he relayed my ridiculous words to the captain.
“В такой ситуации?.. Да он просто отбитый наглухо!”
“In a situation like this?.. This guy’s completely insane.”
The captain let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.
Was my offer that bad?
“E-even if I go to Russia, I’ll wreck your lab to pieces. And later on, I’m going to build a huge defense company. When that happens, I’ll sell Russia lots of weapons.”
At my brazen words, even the captain could not hold back a short laugh this time.
And that was the moment—
Bang!
Crash!
Men in black suits stormed in simultaneously from the entrance and the windows, guns drawn.
“Don’t move. National Intelligence Service.”
“Что это?”
“What is this?”
“Отпусти!”
“Let go!”
They subdued the Russians almost instantly with beastlike speed.
Some of the Russians fled through the warehouse’s back door, but every last one of them was arrested by agents who had already surrounded the building in multiple layers.
I stood there blankly, still holding the two eraser-like substances in both hands.
At that moment, one of the agents in black tactical gear approached me carefully.
“You can relax. National Intelligence Service. Now please hand that over to me slowly.”
“Ah… yes.”
Hiss—
The agent pressed the radio on his shoulder.
“VIP secured. Situation concluded.”
Meanwhile.
After the suicide-bomb-show performance(?) Hyesung had put on in front of the Russian regular army, a strange rumor began circulating.
Britain, Secret Intelligence Service MI6 conference room.
(Translator’s Note: MI6 / Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) — The United Kingdom’s foreign intelligence service. It was founded in 1909 and is commonly known as MI6.)
“We have obtained intelligence that an unidentified genius scientist was nearly kidnapped by the Russian military.”
A British man with his hair neatly slicked back in pomade delivered the report in a low voice.
“Nearly kidnapped? The Russians don’t usually fail when they try to snatch someone.”
An elderly gentleman with graying hair wore a puzzled expression.
The success rate of Russian special forces in target abductions was considered close to one hundred percent.
“According to testimony from the Russian soldiers who were present at the scene…”
The man giving the briefing turned to the next page of the file.
“‘He seemed completely insane.’ ‘He was no ordinary man.’ ‘Those eyes looked like he was really about to trigger the detonator’… those were the statements.”
“What on earth did he do?”
“It appears he had explosives strapped all over his body and was holding a detonator.”
“Is that so? Well, then we know he’s a mad scientist. But what of it? This is hardly the first time Russia has tried to kidnap a scientist.”
“The problem is that this genius scientist may in fact be ‘R.’”
“What?”
‘R.’
The earliest model of the drones Hyesung had sold to Russia.
At the time, he had roughly drawn the R brand logo on them by hand.
After the company was founded, he had started stamping them with the S logo instead, so the intelligence agencies of each country had not yet connected the two.
“He may be the main developer of the unidentified ultra-low-cost, high-performance drone recently being operated by Russia in training—the so-called ‘R-type’ drone.”
The problem was that Russia had been gleefully putting those R-logo drones to use, so they had already been discovered in conflict zones all over the world, and their overwhelming performance had put the world on edge.
“So Russia tried to kidnap R… and failed…”
A record of personally thwarting an abduction attempt by the Russian regular army.
This extraordinary story was turning the unidentified genius scientist—Ryu Hyesung—into a legendary madman.
“Send Agent 006 at once and find out who R is.”
(Translator’s Note: Agent 006 — A spy-fiction style designation clearly evoking the numbering convention made famous by the James Bond franchise. James Bond first appeared in Ian Fleming’s novels beginning in 1953, and the “00” format became globally iconic through the films.)
“Agent 006? And if we identify him, what do you intend to do?”
“Recruit him. Like gentlemen.”
Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, had begun to move.