Watering the Plants (Part 1)
The Republic of Korea is, if you'll pardon the expression, the kind of country that functions more as a symbol—a trophy, really.
"If you want to claim the Mandate of Heaven, you have to seize Korea first. That's the rule."
"...You just made 'being stuck in the middle of a battlefield' sound incredibly sophisticated."
"But it's not wrong, is it? Except for that one human rights nightmare of a country, most of them have been that way."
If there's such a thing as the fate of a peninsula nation sitting dead center in East Asia and the Pacific, this would be it. Russia to the north, China to the west, Japan to the east, and across an even wider ocean, America. To anyone looking at it objectively, maintaining a country in this hellish sandwich of superpowers was already bizarre.
Its history wasn't just tragic—it had crossed into the realm of the grotesque. A former colony that somehow became an advanced nation was strange enough, but this was a country that had maintained traditions older than most royal dynasties, then smashed its entire class system, endured civil war, and been reborn from the rubble like some kind of indestructible freak. It was the only nation that had taken America's bitter pill of 'democracy delivery' and actually survived. A top-ten economy that had been invaded by the world's number one, two, three, five, six, and even twelfth-ranked powers.
"...How many countries like this even exist? One? Two? Even Brazil never got invaded this badly."
Though it wasn't widely known to the world, those in the know didn't find it strange at all to view this nation as a singularity in itself—militarily, economically, and even in the average quality of its citizens. This East Asian singularity was the kind of neighbor you wanted to stay close to. Up until the monster invasion, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it had been America's closest ally. A visit from the U.S. President was a massive national event, South Korean presidents frequently visited America, and whenever summits between heads of state took place, the highest tier was always with the American president.
And now, with a brand-new administration—still in the first term and executing its very first major policy—the man who had ridden a wave of criticism that the previous party had failed to protect its citizens into the presidency. Fifty years old this year, a relatively young president: James H. Johnson.
For him, when both a new-era trade route and an opportunity to rescue citizens appeared simultaneously inside that East Asian gate...
"Ugh, these goddamn monsters are ruining America's strongman image... Can't be helped. Time to get a little aggressive."
It wasn't strange at all that he would try to secure a disproportionately high share of the benefits, even if it meant acting somewhat oppressively, in order to give his future policies a boost.
The only problem was that they were dealing with a crazy dog who, despite being in what amounted to a national wartime emergency—dragged back in as an active-duty soldier—didn't give a single fuck about the law. The moment they tried to capture him, he took the entire capital hostage and threatened to flip the whole board over.
"That old fuck who's twice my age and still brain-dead can suck my dick!"
Using the fact that he was just an ordinary citizen, not a public official, and therefore didn't need to worry about diplomatic friction with another country, he had openly flipped off a head of state in front of the entire world.
They simply hadn't accounted for something so far outside common sense.
"...How long until they drag that damn kid in?!"
The president, whose dignity had been thoroughly trampled, had been barking orders every other day to bring in that international lunatic, but...
"...From the perspective of the U.S. Forces Korea commander, the current situation is apparently preferable, according to the report."
The voice from the field had been politely polished from something closer to 'Fuck off, we're busy and your diplomatic disaster is already making us walk on eggshells,' and that was the best they could manage.
"What?! No, he's just one ability user! Why the hell can't you bring him in?!"
The casual suggestion that they could just send America's ability users into the gate for a quick show of force was met with...
"He took ten million Seoul citizens hostage and put on a show in a densely populated area, daring us to shoot..."
In the worst-case scenario, the same thing could happen in New York, Boston... or even the White House. Attached is a report labeling the subject as a Super Villain candidate capable of filming his own blockbuster movie.
"...Damn it, dispatch someone right now! We can at least apply some pressure!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
"And tell them to execute the operation quickly and embed our people in the key railway site candidates!"
Once you realized the opponent was the type of lunatic who charged in first and thought later, no matter how strong they were, pride went out the window. They had to secure something—whether it was 'citizen rescue' or 'better site acquisition.' Desperately, America began pouring in troops, weapons, and ability users one after another...
"Um... Commander? Are you sure we don't need to give them all the information? We've already pushed them into the gate."
"Huh? What? We told them they wear armor, they're ridiculously strong but few in number... Didn't we give them everything? No matter how perfect a plan is, it's only valid until you take a solid hit."
"No, sir. Remember when we sent in drones and they got reverse-engineered and used to bomb us?"
"...Uh... did that happen? After that we just used manpower..."
"Wait, do they know about that?"
Information asymmetry was, in any world, the fastest and most painful way to get kicked in the teeth.
— U.S. Army loses multiple MLRS systems and tanks to capture...
— 60% of drones stolen or hacked...
— Fighter jets and bombers are no exception... once caught, they're done! Friendly fire incidents in modern warfare...
— U.S. Command in tears: "How the hell did Korea create guerrilla warfare like this?!"
The Korean command remained silent.
No matter how much internal chaos there was, no matter how openly Kim Chomok had stirred up a slave rebellion and caused mayhem, the news that the American forces—who still held technological superiority—had been turned into a playground and devastated by mere toys left the Korean staff staring at each other in the temporary base in Hamhung.
"...Oh, shit. We're fucked."
The commander and his staff, who had been eyeing each other, began communicating with their eyes.
'If they ask, we say we conducted ability-user-focused reconnaissance from the beginning!'
'Of course. And we'll claim the guerrilla creation was that crazy bastard raiding the armory just to screw over the machine-elves!'
Slap!
In a military where, as long as no one found out, even cheating counted as following FM, the two generals—one step away from the pinnacle of the Korean army—high-fived in silent celebration.
Inside the Tennessee One gate.
The atmosphere at the devastated U.S. base camp was beyond grim—it was downright murderous. From the very start of the operation, their own military had been bombed, and worse, their own weapons had turned around and bombed them.
"...Fuck, why did I ever apply for this stupid job just to get citizenship?"
"Life was better when I was an illegal immigrant... Sigh. Sergeant Juan, do you think we'll make it back alive?"
The officers might not feel it, but the enlisted men—who had been lured in with citizenship bait for illegal immigrants, or college tuition, or survival stipends for those living hard lives—had seen their morale hit rock bottom the moment the massive bombing incident occurred right at the start.
The fact that they hadn't yet fallen into full shell shock was entirely thanks to the American corporate ability users and their PMCs, who were performing miracles beyond mere desperate resistance.
They had barely prevented the total annihilation of what was essentially a non-functional division, but...
"Goddamn it, why are these bastards so tough?! Ack!"
"Oh God! My—my arm—!!"
The dominoes they were holding up came crashing down harder than expected. Their own casualties were far worse than the reports had suggested.
"Morales! You idiot, raise your arm and get the hell back right now!"
This was nothing like the comfortable push the Korean military had supposedly delivered according to the reports. To take down a single command entity of the machine-elves usually required one to two ability users per squad. It took a group of roughly fifteen to twenty people dogpiling to barely land a hit, and the exchange rate was brutal...
"According to the report, that Kim Cho-Mock guy soloed over twenty of them, including a command entity?!"
"Our strongest physical reinforcement ability user, Jeffrey, was at least able to hold on even if he was losing..."
"Exactly. This guy doesn't even take ten seconds to neutralize one person. It's obviously wrong!"
Even considering he was a peak ability user of a nation, this was clearly either a faulty report or the guy was an outlier. The on-site U.S. Army commander, once again struck by that thought, finally roared in frustration at the hopeless situation.
"This isn't working! Bring that guy here right now! Where is he?!"
"Uh... he's apparently filming a video to upload to social media..."
"What?! Our allied forces are dying out here and he's still outside the gate?!"
Whether it was the aftereffects of his vacation or because he felt he'd already done his part, the guy was doing whatever the hell he wanted regardless of what was happening.
"...Drive a Humvee to wherever that bastard is right now. Immediately!"
But recruiting talent was the kind of task you had to do no matter the cost. No matter how much the higher-ups argued, the U.S. commander who wanted to save the men on the ground was desperate. The vehicle wasn't far from the Nampo gate. When they arrived and passed through the dimensional door...
"I mean, how the hell is that corrupt bastard who won with less than fifty percent of the popular vote and a straight-up electoral college sweep supposed to represent America's will?!"
The very man from the report, wearing a military uniform and screaming into his phone, had only stuck a single 'toe' inside the gate while broadcasting to the entire world.
"...What exactly are you doing? Why are you standing there half in and half out?"
The four-star general—someone who had reached the absolute peak of the U.S. military with nowhere left to climb—asked in bewilderment at the absurdity of the entire situation.
"Ah, you guys kept whining at me to go into the gate, so I'm literally doing what you asked."
—I've got my toe in the gate, so technically I'm listening, right?
The four-star general of Korea—who had already completed his discharge only to be dragged back when daily life collapsed—grumbled as he provided the answer. The problem child whom the military had evaluated as someone who wouldn't even breathe if he didn't have to.
"...Sigh. Fine... For now, just come inside the gate, would you?"
He wasn't even from a different generation—this was a crazy bastard who openly rebelled against all authority. The commander, who had finished defining Kim Chomok in an instant, asked as gently as possible.
"Ah, I'll wrap this up quick then. Yeah, you. The one with the shitty name. Fits you perfectly, Johnson!"
On a popular purple-themed personal broadcasting platform watched by the entire world, Kim Chomok mocked the current U.S. President by name, calling him a corrupt bastard who only won thanks to the electoral college. He finished by raising his middle finger and ended the stream.
"So. Sergeant Kim Chomok, reporting for duty, grandpa. What can I help you with?"
The crazy bastard who had just hurled every possible insult at his own nation's commander-in-chief, yet was now using polite English toward an elder as if he had been perfectly respectful the whole time.
"...Haah. I honestly don't know if asking this guy for help is the right move..."
Even in the seventy-year-old four-star general's long life, this was a completely new type of weirdo. The irony that this person might become the hope for the captured citizens left the old man unable to continue speaking. He simply let out a long sigh and lowered his head.