Chapter 198: White Night
[KTalk Feed] -@Kang Tae-joon | Followers: 68,982,328
[Urgent Notice]
My longtime friend and colleague, Jo Seong-hwan, was recently abducted.
The abductors are believed to be the Mujahid Al-Kufra Front.
However, there were signs of amateurishness.
2 photos attached
I plan to accept the abductors’ demands to save my friend.
But, if even a single hair on Seong-hwan’s head is harmed,
I will stake everything
and never forgive the abductors.
#DoAsYouPlease #IGoMyself #DohaAbduction #39 #Expendable
The incident was already a hot topic.
The post’s views and resharing skyrocketed,
and numerous articles spawned from the single post, instantly dominating the real-time search rankings.
└What’s this? Is Kang Tae-joon really going to rescue Jo Seong-hwan himself?
└Wow, no way.
└Is it appropriate for a civilian to negotiate in a militant group abduction case?
└If he gets caught, wouldn’t that make things worse?
└Worse? Dojin Group would be completely finished.
└lol Dojin Frontier’s stock is crashing. The market seems to think the risk is huge.
└What about my stocks? Should I sell now?
└You don’t sell Dojin stocks, you buy more whenever they drop.
└What if Kang Tae-joon really gets in trouble?
└Well… they’d be worthless, I guess.
└By the way, the photos attached to the post, are they really from that militant group, the Mujahid Al-Kufra Front?
└I looked into it too, and the Mujahid Al-Kufra guys are an Islamic militant group operating in the Middle East and North Africa, but the photos seem a bit off.
└lol They’re from Room 39, apparently.
└Room 39? What’s that?
└‘NorthDecode’ has a detailed analysis. They’re a group that does anything for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s slush funds and foreign currency earnings.
└Are you saying North Korea abducted Jo Seong-hwan?
└Suddenly… this is taking a scary turn.
└Come to think of it, the last hashtag in the feed is ‘#39’. Seems pretty blatant, right?
└He’s still going, even knowing all that?
└‘#DoAsYouPlease’ Wow, chilling. A chaebol risking his life to save a friend.
└So romantic. Though if he dies, it’d be a pretty stupid move.
└Still, it’s Kang Tae-joon, so he must have a plan.
└But what’s with the random ‘Expendable’ hashtag?
＊＊＊
Dojin Industries underground lab.
“Drone SWAN, rerun the simulation on route 3.”
“Optimization algorithm will be set to Black Robin A3 standards.”
Chilbong’s fingers moved swiftly.
I was also busy checking the frame data on the monitor.
The response time was definitely faster this time.
“It’s performing better than expected?”
“Still, it’s far behind neuromorphic systems. There’s a heavy load on data transfer learning, limiting real-time scenario switching.”
“It’s fine. Since it’s not integrated with LUNA, this is more than enough.”
The Drone SWAN, which Chilbong and I were finalizing, was no ordinary swarm drone.
While conventional drones rely solely on pre-loaded terrain data and GPS-based flight,
SWAN, thanks to the Black Robin semiconductor chip, had limited but autonomous decision-making capabilities.
“All six SWAN drones reloaded and ready.”
[Operation Name: White Night]
When entering the outskirts of Al Wakrah, the designated rendezvous point,
I plan to move with these drones.
“How many drones can be deployed for close combat?”
“Two of the six are for aerial surveillance, and the other four can switch to firing mode depending on the situation.”
“And the armament?”
“All four are equipped with AGE-01s, with small penetrator rounds capable of piercing medium-grade body armor.”
“Good.”
I picked up another piece of equipment from the table.
AGE-EX.
The Expanded version of AGE-01, with all restrictions removed.
Range is 3 km, ten times that of the overseas sales version.
Superior in every metric: steering, bullet tracking accuracy, response time, and aiming delay, all vastly improved over the original version.
“It’s still a beta version, but the LUNA-EVX equipment is impressive.”
“Of course, it doesn’t achieve the design concept of 0.2 nm circuit width, but we’ve managed to reach 5 nm.”
Compared to 0.2 nm, 5 nm might seem insignificant,
but even AhSung hasn’t achieved 5 nm yet.
“AhSung’s A-Core X4 process is at the 10 nm level, right?”
“Probably. 5 nm-class lithography is still in development.”
It’ll take another 2-3 years before 5 nm technology is ready for mass production.
“Anyway, the power efficiency has improved significantly, right?”
“Battery consumption is down 11%, and heat generation in ‘FULL AUTO’ mode is reduced by over 30%.”
I picked up the rifle lying on the floor.
Infused with Midas’s expertise,
only one could be made due to time and infrastructure constraints,
but it was my secret weapon to save Seong-hwan.
“Shall we test it right away?”
“Of course.”
With less than half a day until departure,
testing was essential, just in case.
＊＊＊
Doha, Qatar.
The desolate outskirts of Al Wakrah.
I drove the truck alone toward the rendezvous point.
About 5 km remained to the designated location.
[Target location secured.]
Blacktail agent’s voice came through the earpiece.
The three elite agents who came with me to Qatar had already infiltrated the site ahead of me.
“Under no circumstances should Seong-hwan be put in danger.”
[We’ll prioritize monitoring the Plan A situation.]
Blacktail unit commander, Min Guk-cheol.
His voice was firm, but there wasn’t much hope in it.
Of course, I didn’t have high expectations for Plan A either.
…
…
…
As the truck stopped at the rendezvous point, two masked gunmen approached from either side.
In their hands were familiar rifles—stolen AGE-01s.
“Step out. Now.”
Sharp voice.
Speaking English, but with a North Korean accent.
Their eyes were sharp, typical of soldiers.
Slowly placing my hands on the steering wheel,
I spoke without turning my head.
“Seong-hwan first. Otherwise, I can’t hand over the goods.”
I deliberately spoke Korean.
Whether they understood or not, the gunman shouted again.
“Get out, I said.”
This time, the rifle barrel tapped the driver’s side window.
The bullets in the magazine seemed to be staring at me.
Even with the AGE’s friend-or-foe identification,
at this range, my head would definitely be blown off.
I quietly opened the door and stepped out of the truck.
Sandstorm raging across the desert.
Tension seeped into my bones.
“Trunk, open it.”
One of them pointed to the back of the truck.
Nodding, I slowly walked over.
As I opened the cargo hold,
black cases came into view.
2,000 AGE rifles,
and a heat-resistant container holding $300 million in $100 bills.
“Is that all?”
“It’s exactly what you demanded. Now bring Seong-hwan!”
I responded again in Korean.
At that moment, I heard the sound of a trigger being pulled right next to my cheek.
“Don’t play games. Hands where I can see them.”
He roughly pushed me, turning me to the side of the truck,
and tried to drag me away.
Just then—
Beep-beep!
The two SWAN drones monitoring from above detected the danger and emitted warning sounds.
I quickly signaled them to hold off on the attack.
For now, I decided to follow where they led.
As expected, Plan A had failed.
“Where’s Seong-hwan?”
“……”
“Where are you taking me now?”
The armed guards didn’t respond,
but they clearly understood my words.
So I decided to provoke them further.
“Don’t think you’re safe just because you’ve received the goods. Without my permission, all 2,000 AGE rifles are just scrap metal.”
“What’re you sayin’?”
One of the two dragging me involuntarily raised his voice.
Definitely a North Korean accent.
With a victor’s smile, I added,
“You think I came here unprepared? Of course, I’ve locked them.”
Without unlocking the computational module, the AGE rifles in the truck were useless.
They stopped in their tracks.
Seeming surprised by the unexpected situation.
[Check quickly. Are the locks really on?]
Static.
A frantic voice came over the radio.
[The HUD isn’t working. What the hell did that bastard do?]
The gunman dragging me changed his expression.
I felt a killing intent.
“If you wanna live, you better unlock it.”
“I told you, bring Seong-hwan first……”
Bam!
The rifle butt struck my head directly.
Stars flashed before my eyes.
“These South Korean bastards, all talk. You still think this is your playground?”
He grabbed my collar, shaking me roughly, continuing his threats.
“Listen, Kang Tae-joon! I don’t care if you’re some chaebol. There’s only one thing I know: if you don’t unlock that right now, you’re dead by my hand today. Got it?”
Blood trickled down my forehead.
My vision blurred, but my mind was clear.
Bam! Smack!
Another kick aimed at my abdomen.
My breath caught, and my knees buckled.
“That’s why I hate these South Korean bastards. They stubbornly stick to their ways, even when the outcome is obvious.”
He grabbed my hair roughly,
and slammed my face into the ground.
Sand filled my mouth.
My teeth grated, but I didn’t yield to the threats.
“I… ugh, said from the beginning. Seong-hwan first.”
His expression twisted completely,
and he pulled a dagger from his waist, pressing the blade toward me.
“If you’ve got something to say, say it fast. Once this knife tears your mouth apart, you won’t be able to even if you want to.”
It no longer sounded like an empty threat.
He seemed genuinely intent on stabbing me.
As countless thoughts raced through my mind—
[Jo Seong-hwan secured. Confirmed alive. Condition stable.]
It was Min Guk-cheol.
His report through the earpiece pulled me back from the brink of death.
The dagger inched closer.
I slowly, very slowly, lifted the corner of my blood-stained lips.
“……It’s done.”
Then, I signaled the drone that had been sending warnings with my fingertips.
A ‘V’ sign, made with just my thumb and index finger.
Click.
[Attack command confirmed!]
[Target coordinates locked!]
The four SWAN drones waiting in the sky simultaneously changed course.
And—
breaking the desert’s silence, they unleashed their fire.