Chapter 169: Approval
“Ha ha, welcome. Representative Kang.”
“Long time no see. Representative.”
Baek Mu-jin, who came out to the entrance to greet me, shook my hand firmly, and I entered his office, the National Future Alliance party leader’s office.
The atmosphere was quiet.
On the desk were several Ministry of Defense meeting minutes and materials related to the AGE-01.
“Let’s have some tea. It’s going to be a long story.”
Representative Baek Mu-jin smiled and personally picked up the tea set.
As he poured the warm tea, I prepared to get to the point.
After taking a sip of tea, I began.
“As you know, Representative, the situation at the Ministry of Defense is not easy.”
Representative Baek Mu-jin nodded and sighed deeply.
“The opposition was stronger than expected. Especially Lieutenant General Kim Dae-hoon, who experienced the performance of the AGE-01 firsthand, seemed to be holding his ground firmly.”
Representative Baek tapped the meeting minutes spread out on the desk with his fingertips.
“I understand the Ministry of Defense’s concerns. I, too, am not happy about the AGE-01 falling into the hands of a hostile nation.”
Representative Baek slightly furrowed his brow.
“Even so, if you’re pushing for export, there must be a good reason.”
I nodded and continued.
“The current computation module applied to the AGE-01 is a single structure, but an upgrade is scheduled soon. After that, the design will change so that only the guns we approve will perform accurately in actual combat.”
Representative Baek’s eyes widened.
“…You mean that guns we don’t approve won’t perform at full capacity?”
“Yes, once the computation module is updated, the module itself will have an identification algorithm. In other words, the bullet won’t just fly toward the target without distinguishing between friend and foe, but will react to the friend-or-foe identification data we designate.”
“Huh.”
Representative Baek, unable to contain his surprise, asked again.
“So, if the enemy shoots the AGE-01 at our troops, the bullet will recognize our troops and miss or change course? Conversely, our troops will be able to return fire accurately in any situation?”
When I nodded, Representative Baek’s eyes narrowed.
“Is that really possible?”
“Although I can’t disclose it yet, the related system has already been implemented to the simulator level. If you wish, I can show it directly to you and the Minister of Defense.”
“If what you’ve just said is true, I’ll take responsibility for getting approval for the overseas export.”
Due to the strong opposition from the Ministry of Defense, even Representative Baek, the ruling party leader, couldn’t raise his voice.
If we could control the guns sold to enemy nations, there was nothing to worry about.
…
…
A few days later.
Dojin Frontier’s Advanced Technology Test Site.
Representative Baek Mu-jin, Minister of Defense Lee Jung-kook, and Lieutenant General Kim Dae-hoon entered together.
I guided them directly to the test room.
“First, I’d like to inform you that all the tests conducted here today are virtual scenarios.”
“What exactly do you mean by virtual scenarios?”
Minister of Defense Lee Jung-kook looked at me with a mix of expectation and curiosity.
“It means that the related technology is still in the development stage, and the tests are being conducted under the assumption of a completed situation.”
“Ah.”
He nodded as if he understood.
“Then, how will the test proceed?”
In response to Lieutenant General Kim’s question, I smiled and answered.
“It’s simple. Lieutenant General Kim, all you have to do is pick up the AGE-01 in front of you and shoot me with it.”
It seemed like an unexpected request.
Lieutenant General Kim’s eyes widened.
“Are you really asking me to shoot you? What if something goes wrong…”
“It’s not live ammunition, but training paintballs, so nothing will go wrong.”
With only one life to live, I couldn’t test it without safety measures.
After putting on a helmet and bulletproof vest, just in case something went wrong, I stepped forward in front of Lieutenant General Kim Dae-hoon.
“You’re really going to shoot?”
When I nodded in response to Lieutenant General Kim Dae-hoon’s question,
He picked up the AGE-01, checked the HUD, and immediately pulled the trigger.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Despite the short distance and the gun barrel aimed directly at me,
The bullets, upon leaving the barrel, moved the MEMS steering fins attached to the warhead and instantly corrected their trajectory.
The first bullet, which had been flying straight, veered sharply to the left as if hitting an invisible wall just in front of my chest.
The second bullet, approaching my left shoulder, wobbled irregularly and grazed past to the right.
And the third and final bullet.
It seemed like it would hit me directly at the waist,
But suddenly, it rose like catching an updraft and hit the ceiling.
The bullets missing their target in succession were displayed in real-time on a high-speed camera installed in the center of the test site.
“……”
Lieutenant General Kim Dae-hoon looked down at the gun barrel in disbelief.
“Did the bullets really distinguish between friend and foe?”
“I told you, nothing would go wrong.”
After a while, Lieutenant General Kim Dae-hoon, his eyes sparkling, asked again.
“What if we switch to automatic fire? Can all of them be controlled, no matter how fast?”
“Go ahead and try if you want.”
With my answer, Lieutenant General Kim switched the AGE-01 to automatic fire mode.
The words [FULL AUTO] flashed on the HUD.
“Then, I’ll shoot!”
With Lieutenant General Kim Dae-hoon’s declaration, the surroundings fell silent.
Representative Baek Mu-jin and Minister Lee Jung-kook’s gaze fixed on me.
Rat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat-!
About 20 paintballs were fired in succession with explosive sounds.
The barrage of bullets aimed directly at me.
But the result was the same this time.
Some bullets veered left and right as soon as they left the barrel.
Others drew upward or downward curves, completely deviating from the trajectory to hit the target.
Even the fastest bullet couldn’t come within a meter radius of my body and hit the wall.
Pew-pew-pew-pew-pew-pew!
Minister of Defense Lee Jung-kook, watching, let out a low gasp of astonishment.
“……He’s crazy.”
After all the shooting was over,
I took off my bulletproof helmet and walked toward them.
“As you’ve seen, the upgraded AGE-01 will come with a friend-or-foe identification function. In other words, even if a hostile nation gets their hands on the AGE-01, they won’t be able to pose a real threat to our troops.”
Representative Baek Mu-jin added,
“If this is really possible, wouldn’t selling more weapons actually make us safer?”
“That’s right. It would be more advantageous to face a controllable gun than any other rifle.”
“But if such a function is included, wouldn’t the buyers complain?”
In response to Lieutenant General Kim Dae-hoon’s words, I shook my head.
“No, the buyers will never suspect a thing.”
As the three of them focused their attention on me, I calmly continued my explanation.
“A slightly modified computation module will be applied to the export version of the AGE-01. It will look the same on the outside, but in reality, some functions will be physically removed at the hardware level.”
Lieutenant General Kim Dae-hoon raised his eyebrows.
“You’re removing functions? Won’t that create a spec difference?”
“So, we plan to keep functions like ballistic computation and aiming correction. Instead, we’ll make it look like the export version has higher sensor resolution or better power efficiency than the domestic version.”
Minister Lee Jung-kook, arms crossed, asked in a low voice,
“So… no matter how much the enemy nation secures and analyzes the AGE-01, they won’t be able to find the hidden algorithm?”
“To be more precise, they won’t even know it exists. Neither at the firmware level nor in the design blueprints, which will be managed separately for export.”
“What happens if they try to replicate the computation module?”
“At that moment, the correction algorithm will automatically induce malfunction. The shooting accuracy will drop to below 30%, causing even greater confusion.”
Representative Baek Mu-jin, understanding everything I said, smiled brightly.
“They look the same on the outside, but one is a real spear, and the other is just a blunt stick designed to be ineffective.”
“It will only be like that against our troops, but in reality, it will perform as shown in the WSPI test.”
A weapon that automatically flies toward the target the moment it’s fired.
I was convinced that no country would pass up the chance to buy it.
After finishing my explanation, I closed my mouth, and this time, Representative Baek Mu-jin stepped forward.
“Minister Lee Jung-kook, Lieutenant General Kim Dae-hoon. What do you think? I believe we can approve the overseas sale of the AGE-01.”
Representative Baek Mu-jin was determined to push for approval of overseas sales by reporting to the President if the Ministry of Defense opposed again.
However, the thoughts of Minister Lee Jung-kook and Lieutenant General Kim Dae-hoon were not much different from Representative Baek’s.
“After hearing what you said, I think it would be better to start overseas sales as soon as possible.”
“I agree with Lieutenant General Kim. The more AGE-01s we sell, the cheaper the Ministry of Defense can buy them, and the faster the upgraded AGE-02 version will be developed.”
With Representative Baek Mu-jin, the ruling party leader, and the Ministry of Defense working together, things proceeded smoothly.
“Hyung, Israel and the U.S. Department of Defense have expressed interest in meeting with us.”
At Seong-hwan’s words, the corners of my mouth turned up.
The information we leaked seemed to have reached their ears faster than expected.
“The U.S. contacted us directly through the Department of Defense. Who from Israel wants to meet?”
“From Israel, a weapons dealer named Gideon Ben Ari contacted us directly.”
“Ben Ari himself?”
‘Hmm.’
The situation wasn’t as bad as I thought.
“What should we do?”
“Don’t respond for now and wait. Any other contacts?”
“We’ve received initial inquiries from Turkey, France, and the U.K. Since we leaked information about the AGE-01, the number of inquiries has increased rapidly.”
It was a natural reaction.
Anyone who saw a weapon that automatically flew toward its target would be tempted.
“I said we’d remove the long-range shooting function, so let Cha So-jang know that.”
“You’re removing the long-range shooting function?”
“Yeah, the Ministry of Defense said it was too dangerous, so we’re taking it out.”
In my opinion, hitting a target accurately from 3 kilometers away could increase assassination risks.
“So, you’re going to keep the long-range shooting function out from now on?”
“No, I plan to add the long-range shooting function once Luna is completed.”
It meant that I would only apply it in situations where it could be thoroughly controlled.
“Then, what’s your plan for sales? With Dojin Frontier’s current capacity, there aren’t many units we can cover.”
“How many units can we cover with our current production capacity?”