Chapter 161: Shock
A few days ago.
In a hotel suite in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul.
A man in a black suit poured wine into a glass.
Sitting across from him was Captain Jo In-hyeok, a member of the Ministry of Defense’s Business Support Headquarters.
“If you’ve come this far, I assume you’ve made up your mind?”
The wine glass the man handed over was just a formality.
Neither of them touched their glasses.
“As I said last time, this is… something a soldier shouldn’t do.”
Despite Jo In-hyeok’s firm words, the man smiled.
On the table, a silver envelope lay neatly.
Inside was 50 million won in cash.
The man pointed to the envelope and continued speaking.
“If this isn’t enough, I can add another.”
At the mention of a full 100 million won in cash, Jo In-hyeok’s pupils shook violently.
Not missing a beat, the man smoothly continued.
“It won’t be a difficult request. Once you hear it, it won’t weigh on your conscience.”
The man in the black suit explained that there wasn’t much difference in performance between Ahsung’s A2C and Dojin’s AGE-01.
He added that selecting the A2C, an improvement on the current main rifle A2, would be better for the soldiers’ adaptation.
“So, Captain, all you need to do is shoot just slightly to the side of the target’s center.”
Jo In-hyeok, who usually boasted a shooting accuracy of over 97%.
Even if he missed the 10-point center, people would likely blame the gun’s performance rather than doubt his skills.
“…”
“Don’t worry about it. Given how long you’ve handled the A2, Captain, you must know how good the improved A2C will be.”
Jo In-hyeok nodded without realizing it.
The A2, the main rifle of the Republic of Korea’s military, was, in his opinion, an excellent weapon.
Parts supply was stable, and it was easy to maintain.
He thought that introducing an improved version of the existing weapon might be a safer choice for both soldiers and commanders than bringing in a new rifle like the AGE-01.
Jo In-hyeok remained silent, but his mind raced.
“You’ve been in the military for a long time, so you must have realized by now that loyalty isn’t everything.”
With those final words from the man in the black suit, Jo In-hyeok’s resolve crumbled.
“…Just one spot. I’ll shoot just one spot to the side.”
On the day of the WSPI evaluation.
Holding the AGE-01, Jo In-hyeok felt a strange sense of unease.
‘…It’s better made than I thought?’
The carbon fiber stock sat firmly on his shoulder without shaking.
The grip’s subtle texture clung to his palm like a custom-fitted glove.
The center of gravity was also perfectly positioned just in front of the trigger, making recoil absorption during shooting feel much more natural than with the A2.
‘What’s this?’
There was nothing noticeably special.
But it felt like a skilled marksman could quickly become familiar with it.
The rifle seemed to predict the user’s movements, naturally following the rhythm of his fingertips.
“Captain Jo, are you ready?”
Snapping back to reality at the question from the event staff, Jo In-hyeok replied briefly.
“…Yes, I’m ready.”
The distance to the target was 200 meters.
It was the standard range specified in military manuals and the distance he was most confident in.
‘Just one spot to the side. Just one…’
He repeated this to himself several times to steady his mind.
Telling himself this was the reward for his 10 years of loyalty to the country, he raised the rifle.
Looking through the scope, he aimed slightly to the side of the center.
But no one watching noticed anything unusual.
‘This… rifle is too good.’
Even though he intentionally aimed slightly off the target, Jo In-hyeok felt like he could hit any target with this rifle.
But he had already taken the money.
Having decided to abandon his conscience, he resolved to do his best.
Bang!
As he pulled the trigger, the digital target screen flickered.
A few seconds later, the results appeared.
-
Score: 10.0
-
Deviation: 0.07mm
The examiners murmured, and Jo In-hyeok’s eyes widened.
‘What? Why… 10 points? My aim was accurate…’
He had clearly aimed off-center.
But the bullet had pierced the exact center of the target.
‘Did I make a mistake…?’
He wondered if his arm might have shaken.
But with four more shots remaining, he wasn’t too worried.
Glancing over, he saw that Captain Jeong Gwang-sik, who had shot with the A2C, had also scored 10.0.
He aimed again.
This time, he aimed even more clearly ‘one spot to the side.’
Bang!
The target screen flickered again.
The numbers appeared.
-
Score: 10.0
-
Deviation: 0.05mm
“…”
The numbers were even closer to the center than the first shot.
‘What the hell…?’
Captain Jo In-hyeok’s mind grew confused.
His breathing was good, and his hand didn’t shake when he pulled the trigger.
Yet, the bullet pierced the center again.
‘Is the barrel bent? Or is there something wrong with the sights?’
Without mechanical sights, those were the only causes he could think of.
So this time, he decided to aim for the center.
If there was something wrong with the rifle itself,
the bullet would veer off to the side this time.
Aiming precisely at the center, Jo In-hyeok pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The digital target screen flickered again, processing the result.
After a few seconds of silence, numbers appeared on the screen.
-
Score: 10.0
-
Deviation: 0.02mm
“…”
The examiners around him gasped softly.
A technical officer he was friendly with checked the data again and muttered,
“Is Captain Jo in good condition today? Or is the new rifle that good?”
Jo In-hyeok’s hand trembled slightly.
When he pulled the trigger just now, he had been colder than anyone, aiming perfectly at the center without error.
But the result… was the center again.
‘Even when I shot one spot to the side, it was 10 points, and when I aimed for the center, it was still 10 points… Something’s wrong.’
So this time, he decided to aim two spots to the side.
If he moved the rifle too much, it might arouse suspicion, so that was the best he could do.
At that moment, a lieutenant colonel with a microphone raised his voice from the examiners’ side.
[AGE-01 three consecutive shots: average deviation 0.046mm, average score 10 points]
[A2C three consecutive shots: average deviation 0.072mm, average score 10 points]
“Wow.”
As soon as Lieutenant General Kim Dae-hoon finished speaking, cheers erupted from the Dojin team.
In contrast, the faces of the Ahsung Defense team weren’t so good.
Especially, the CEO in charge, Yoon Seok-hwan, glared at Jo In-hyeok as if he wanted to kill him.
Jo In-hyeok’s back was drenched in sweat at the look that seemed to say, ‘If you’ve taken the money, do your job properly.’
[Please proceed with the fourth shot.]
Jo In-hyeok raised the rifle again.
A fierce wave rose in his mind.
‘This time, two spots to the side!’
He inhaled and exhaled.
As he was about to pull the trigger,
his fingertips trembled ever so slightly.
And…
Bang!
The moment he pulled the trigger,
the target screen flickered again.
The examiners’ eyes were fixed on the monitor.
A few seconds of silence.
Then the numbers appeared.
-
Score: 10.0
-
Deviation: 0.01mm
“…That’s impossible.”
Jo In-hyeok firmly closed his lips.
This time, too, he had clearly and unmistakably aimed two spots to the side.
Yet… a 0.01mm deviation, a perfect 10-point hit at the center.
There was a brief silence from the examiners’ seats, and then the microphone crackled again.
[At the technical evaluation team’s request, we will save the AGE-01’s shooting data and begin analysis.]
“Captain Jo, please proceed with the final fifth shot.”
At the event staff’s words, Jo In-hyeok raised the rifle again and looked at the target.
The arm holding the rifle trembled noticeably.
Fear and confusion that he might not fulfill their request despite taking the money consumed his mind.
Because of this, he made a mistake he would never have made otherwise.
Without properly aligning his sights, he pulled the trigger without realizing it.
Bang!
Yet…
-
Score: 10.0
-
Deviation: 0.00mm
The silence was broken.
A deviation of ‘0’.
‘How is this possible?’
It wasn’t just Captain Jo In-hyeok who was shocked.
The technical officer watching stood up from his seat,
and Lieutenant General Kim Dae-hoon kept pointing at the screen with his finger.
[AGE-01 five consecutive shots: average deviation 0.03mm, average score 10 points]
[A2C five consecutive shots: average deviation 0.073mm, average score 10 points]
The results were clear.
It was a landslide victory for the AGE-01 produced by Dojin Frontier.
Lieutenant General Kim Dae-hoon continued with an explanation of the second stage of the evaluation.
[The second stage of the evaluation involves complex positional shooting, assessing urban warfare, mountain warfare, night operations, and moving target response capabilities.]
[All evaluation items will be conducted in a simulation environment resembling real combat conditions, comprehensively examining the weapon system’s responsiveness, fatigue, adaptation speed, and accuracy.]
As Lieutenant General Kim Dae-hoon finished his explanation, conversations about the first stage of the evaluation began to spread throughout the test site.
“A deviation of 0.00… Did he shoot well? Or is the AGE-01’s performance that good?”
“Did you see Captain Jo In-hyeok’s last shot just now?”
“Huh? Why?”
“It looked like his hand was shaking terribly, and he pulled the trigger without properly aiming.”
“What? There’s no way Captain Jo, known as one of the best marksmen, could make such a mistake. You must have seen wrong.”
“Well, even with such a mistake, scoring 10 points with a deviation of 0.00mm isn’t possible unless the bullet flew to the center on its own.”
At the words coming from somewhere, Captain Jo In-hyeok felt a shock like being hit on the head with a hammer.
Because he thought it might actually be true.
And towards such Captain Jo In-hyeok, a man approached.
It was Kang Tae-joon, known as the head of the Dojin Group.