Chapter 33 “No More Weapons Supplies to Ukraine.” Why Poland Cheered at South Korea’s Firm Decision
Chapter 33 “No More Weapons Supplies to Ukraine.” Why Poland Cheered at South Korea’s Firm Decision
Office at Science Facility’s Factory No. 2.
The whiteboard bore the notes “Decide on a name for the reconnaissance drone” and “Choose the company for the Hermes contract by the end of this week.”
Meanwhile, I was alone at the workbench, assembling a prototype of a new weapon.
“Ah!”
I had been working with my bare hands and scratched myself on a sharp edge.
“Ugh…. Where did I put the disinfectant?”
As I rummaged around, Hermes’s voice came through the speakers.
[It is in the second compartment from the top of the second cabinet.]
“Oh, thanks.”
I was pouring disinfectant over the cut and applying a bandage when Hermes spoke again.
[Master.]
“Yeah?”
[Please approve the OmegaFlow Project.]
“Are you bringing that up again?”
The OmegaFlow Project.
It was a project Hermes had said it wanted to undertake “on its own” after the previous incident involving the Chinese assassins.
It involved developing new drugs for humanity, but according to Hermes, the project would cost somewhere between five and seven trillion won.
“I told you, we don’t have the money for that right now….”
[The situation is different now.]
“How is it different?”
[The government funding you requested for your new business venture is expected to be approved soon.]
“Really? The semiconductor business was approved?”
Excitement surged through me at its words.
Was this really happening? Would they truly give that much money to students like us?
“But that money is for the semiconductor business. We still don’t have any money to spare.”
Even if we received tens of trillions of won, it would still all be earmarked for something else.
“And developing a single new drug takes ten or fifteen years and costs tens of trillions in research expenses. It wouldn’t be profitable….”
Wait.
Maybe it would work.
“How long would it take to break even?”
Hermes answered as though it had already completed the calculation.
[Six months.]
“What is the projected annual revenue?”
[Through licensing? Or would you prefer to manufacture and distribute it directly?]
“…Well, if it’s a proprietary compound, I suppose there wouldn’t be a problem with selling it ourselves.”
[Projected revenue is up to six hundred trillion won.]
A chill ran through me at its answer.
I could not simply let that pass without asking.
“Hermes, is anyone nearby listening to us? Are there any surveillance devices?”
[No.]
No one could ever be allowed to hear what we were about to discuss.
“You aren’t planning to conduct the experiments within legal regulations… are you?”
[…No. I am not.]
“Then what? Are you planning to kidnap people?”
[I am not insane enough to execute such a plan.]
“Then what are you going to do? Suppose it works in the simulations. How will you verify it in reality?”
No matter how well the theory worked, verifying it in the real world required human trials.
That was the disadvantage pharmaceutical companies faced. The process took far too long.
Yet it was not something they could simply skip.
[I will cultivate artificial organs.]
“Right, of course…. Human organs floating around inside giant plastic bags, like something out of a mad scientist’s laboratory.”
[Yes.]
“Are you confident no one will discover it?”
[Yes.]
“If we get caught, I’ll really become the mad scientist from all those rumors. There wouldn’t even be any way to explain this.”
[That is correct. You will be remembered in the history books as a mad scientist.]
Its joke made me laugh dryly.
“Fine. Do it.”
Experiments conducted outside regulatory boundaries were secretly carried out everywhere in the world.
Everyone merely pretended otherwise.
All we had to do was produce the results first, then pretend to reenter the regulatory process afterward.
“But Hermes, if we combined all the artificially cultivated organs and bones into the shape of a human, would it become a person?”
[Do you wish to become Victor Frankenstein?]
(Translator’s Note:Victor Frankenstein — The scientist who creates artificial life in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, first published anonymously in London in 1818. “Frankenstein” properly refers to the creator, not the creature.)
“A scientist wants to try anything that can be done.”
Creation did not require some grand justification.
Most inventions began with a simple question:
Would this work?
Office of the Minister of National Defence, Warsaw, Poland.
While Japan was still debating whether to purchase Korean weapons, Poland’s Minister of National Defence was wrestling with a serious problem.
“Minister, the United States has sent us an ultimatum demanding that we raise defense spending to at least four percent of GDP.”
“One president changes, and suddenly they become gangsters. What gives them the right to interfere in our domestic politics?”
“The United States has declared that it will no longer serve as the world’s policeman.”
The United States had berated its allies for free-riding on American security guarantees.
“So what? What will they do if we refuse?”
“They say they will drastically increase tariffs on our exports to the United States.”
“Good grief….”
That would also be troublesome.
The United States was the world’s biggest spender.
If it were a person, it would be like a wealthy conglomerate heir who earned a great deal of money and spent even more recklessly.
“Fine. We were planning to raise defense spending anyway. What happened with the weapons purchases?”
“The United States says delivery of the HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems will take at least five years, and it quoted a price exceeding two trillion won—more than twice the previous amount.”
(Translator’s Note:HIMARS — The M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, a truck-mounted American multiple-launch rocket system manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The United States Army first fielded it in 2005)
“What? Do they actually want to sell them or not?”
“Germany’s Leopard 2 tanks will take at least seven years, and each unit costs more than forty billion won.”
(Translator’s Note:Leopard 2 — A German main battle tank developed during the Cold War and introduced into West German service in 1979. It became one of the most widely adopted European tank families.)
The minister’s head ached.
The current global weapons market was one in which even countries with money could not buy the weapons they wanted.
“Then, as expected….”
“Yes. South Korea is our only answer.”
Poland had previously purchased South Korea’s K2 Black Panther tanks and K9 self-propelled howitzers and received them only four months after signing the contracts.
(Translator’s Note:K2 Black Panther — A South Korean main battle tank developed as the successor to the K1. Development began in 1998, its prototype was unveiled in March 2007, and mass-produced vehicles entered service in 2014.)
(Translator’s Note:K9 self-propelled howitzer — A South Korean 155-millimeter tracked artillery system developed by the Agency for Defense Development and manufactured by Hanwha Aerospace. It has been exported to several countries, including Poland, Norway, Australia, and Romania.)
They had also cost more than thirty percent less than their German counterparts.
“The problem is the drones required for modern warfare. South Korea does not sell those….”
“That is no longer true.”
The Deputy Minister of National Defence handed the minister a report from Poland’s Military Intelligence Service, the SWW.
“South Korea has recently begun mass-producing all sorts of strange weapons specifically suited to modern warfare.”
The minister’s eyes widened as he read the report.
“Is this information accurate?”
“Yes.”
“Who in the world is this person called R?”
“That has not yet been discovered. Even the South Korean government treats his identity as a top-level secret.”
Ryu Hyesung had not yet shown his face to the international community.
The report contained the rumors circulating through the underworld exactly as they had been told.
“A mad scientist… a mad scientist who escaped from Russia… born from an American experiment…. Is any of this true?”
“We do not know, but it appears certain that Russia attempted to take him and China attempted to kill him.”
“Contact South Korea immediately.”
“What do you intend to do?”
“Tell them I will personally visit to observe a weapons demonstration.”
Poland, the largest buyer of Korean weapons, had become aware of Ryu Hyesung’s existence.
Office of the Minister of Defence, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Bang.
The Minister of Defence slammed the desk hard enough to nearly break it.
“Is it true that South Korea refused to supply us with more weapons?”
His eyes were hollow, and he looked so unstable that he might collapse at any moment.
“Yes. The South Korean government says it can no longer provide additional support.”
“If we… cough… stop using Korean weapons now, we may be pushed back on the front….”
“Minister, perhaps you should rest.”
“No. I need to hear why they refused.”
“One reason is that we failed to pay for the weapons by the date promised to the South Korean side, but the greatest problem is….”
The deputy minister hesitated over the report.
“What is it? Speak quickly. Cough, cough.”
“It appears that the images of Japan’s wartime flag posted on our official account, as well as the map labeling Dokdo as Japanese territory, have become an issue.”
“What? Without Korean weapons, Ukraine is finished!”
Perhaps it would have been different if Ukraine had never used Korean weapons at all.
However, after using weapons from countless countries throughout the war, Ukraine desperately needed Korean weapons because of their overwhelming performance.
“I told you, Minister. The country we should have been mindful of was South Korea, not Japan.”
The minister lowered his head without saying a word.
“Then which countries besides South Korea are willing to help us immediately?”
“…None.”
Crash.
“Minister!”
Upon hearing that hopeless answer, the Minister of Defence lost consciousness and collapsed.
Outdoor Secret Testing Ground, Agency for Defense Development, Republic of Korea.
Dozens of monitors had been arranged around us.
A demonstration of the HPM drone and reconnaissance drones was being held in the presence of the Director of the Agency for Defense Development, the Ministry of National Defense’s Director General for Force Policy, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Director General for Security Policy.
Poland’s Minister of National Defence offered me his hand.
“I have heard a great deal about you.”
“Most of what you heard was probably wrong.”
“What? Are you saying you are not an experimental subject who escaped from an American military research institute?”
“No. Nor am I a mad scientist Russia was secretly hiding.”
“Ha ha, then the incident involving the Chinese assassins must also be…. Well, I thought such an absurd story could not possibly be true.”
No, that part was actually true, but I gave up trying to explain.
“I had no idea South Korea was creating game changers like these.”
As the Polish minister looked over my drones, Secretary Seo Dojin spoke proudly.
“The United Kingdom and Ukraine have both requested every unit we can produce. However, we have informed Ukraine that it will receive no additional supplies.”
“What? Then you have available inventory?”
“Yes. Would you like to see their performance? CEO Ryu, are you ready?”
At Secretary Seo’s words, I nodded.
Snap.
Whirrrrr.
When I snapped my fingers, the R-Type drones surged into the air.
“Oh, are these the new products?”
I shook my head at the minister’s question.
“No. These are ones I made some time ago. They are used as decoys.”
“Decoys?”
Snap.
When I snapped my fingers again, the drones arranged themselves in the air like a shield.
They resembled a magical barrier.
“Yes. They are used to escort suicide drones.”
The drones demonstrated their purpose with their own bodies.
“Ah…. I understand what you mean.”
As the minister watched with his mouth hanging open, I whispered to Hermes through my watch.
“Activate Xeros. Use the demonstration style, not the combat setting.”
At that moment, the HPM drone rose into the air.
“That is the one I will be showing you today.”
Xeros slowly ascended.
Whirrrrr.
It suddenly accelerated and passed dangerously close to where we stood.
Pop-pop-pop-pop!
Dozens of monitors surrounding us broke simultaneously.
Xeros then plunged straight into the shield formed by the R-Types.
Crackle.
Every R-Type lost power and came raining down to the ground.
It was over in an instant.
“What in the…?”
“Sorry. The monitors no longer work, so you will have to watch with your own eyes.”
Presentation was everything when selling weapons.
It was best to make their purpose unmistakably clear.
Having completed its task, Xeros landed directly in front of the Polish minister.
Whoosh.
“This unit can be reused.”
“With this, we could intercept the unmanned drones Russia has been sending.”
I nodded.
Russia had previously flown unmanned reconnaissance drones throughout Europe, as though mockingly implying that Europe lacked the capabilities required for modern warfare.
Europe had been unable to respond properly.
“And these were developed recently. They do not have a name yet.”
Two reconnaissance drones flew out of a military storage case on their own.
They hovered beside me for a moment before—
Whirrrrr.
They observed the Polish minister through their cameras while hovering and accelerating with movements like hummingbirds.
“They look as though they came from another planet….”
“These aircraft have actually been mistaken for UFOs.”
Secretary Seo whispered to the minister from beside him.
“They can also be equipped with thermal sensors and night-vision cameras if desired.”
“Can they carry explosives?”
“Yes.”
“How many of those can I purchase right now?”
The Polish minister asked about the quantity without even asking the price.
“We currently have twenty prepared.”
They would soon enter mass production, but we did not have many yet.
“Are there no more?”
The minister spoke as though entranced.
“Pardon?”
“We will take all twenty as the initial shipment. Poland will also purchase every additional unit as soon as it becomes available.”
“Ukraine will probably….”
Secretary Seo stopped me and shook his head.
“Ukraine will receive no additional supplies.”
I nodded, then turned toward the minister.
“Understood. We will prepare additional units for Poland.”
At my answer, the minister grinned from ear to ear.
He enthusiastically offered me his hand once more.
“Let us sign the contract immediately.”
As though afraid I might change my mind, he drafted the contract on the spot and clicked his tongue in amazement.
“Hardly any time has passed since the Russia–Ukraine war began, yet South Korea has already developed every asymmetric weapon required for modern warfare.”
Tap.
After signing, the minister set down his fountain pen and added jokingly,
“I almost wonder whether you have already finished developing another new weapon in secret. Ha ha.”
“Yes. How did you know?”
“…What? You truly have another one?”