Episode 137
“….”
Lee Ryong-hwa trembled. I don’t know how things happened like this.
I just wanted to live. So I swore allegiance to Choi Jun-ho, who occupied Pyongyang, and like a dog, I barked when he wanted to and pretended to be dead when he wanted to die.
But what came back was that they would be punished according to the law.
Then, what is your loyalty?
He said he would accept punishment, but the reason he cooperated was to avoid all of this.
“I can’t die like this.”
Lee Ryong-hwa left Pyongyang to live. And where he ran away, he met Wang Min, the Chinese superman who had crashed into him.
He succeeded Zhang Zedong as the person in charge of the northeastern region and promised Li Longhua that he would use him seriously if he converted.
If you completely believed that, it would be false.
However, it was also true that Lee Ryong-hwa had no choice.
So, I was prepared to change my words to some extent.
The words changed more than I thought.
From the beginning, Wang Min had no intention of putting himself in moderation. Rather, he planned to occupy North Korean territory by using himself and the remnants of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as expendables.
He ran away to avoid confronting Choi Jun-ho.
For Lee Ryong-hwa, the news was like a bolt from the blue.
“We will occupy Hamheung starting from Mt. Baekdu.”
Their plan was to occupy the entirety of Ryanggang Province, North Hamgyong Province, and South Hamgyong Province to secure the East Sea and gain a route into the Pacific Ocean.
To Lee Ryong-hwa, it doesn’t matter what they do and fight.
Because we already knew about China’s territorial ambitions.
If only they hadn’t put themselves forward.
Lee Ryong-hwa persuaded Wang Min with a glimmer of hope.
“Choi Jun-ho will not be watching obediently. “It is dangerous to cause a conflict like this.”
“Do you think so?”
“yes!”
“Inside the party, we are judging that he will not come.”
“This is a guy that will come and go. Chung Ju-ho and Choi Jun-ho, who occupy Pyongyang, have a special relationship. “If Jung Joo-ho calls Choi Jun-ho…”
Just imagining it gave me goosebumps.
I know it well because I saw it from the side.
Choi Jun-ho is an unpredictable monster. Rather, Ryu Gwang-cheol was the embodiment of power, but Choi Jun-ho was indifferent even in the face of dazzling wealth and power.
I still remember the scene of carnage that unfolded inside the Presidential Palace.
Even if Wang Min is a superhuman, Choi Jun-ho is on a different level.
The only thing that came to mind was a situation where everyone would die.
“stop.”
Did those words offend me?
Wang Min’s expression distorted.
“Are you trying to teach me now?”
“That’s not it.”
“Then follow my will. They are having a difficult time just coping with Pyongyang. “If not now, when will the opportunity come?”
“….”
“You should know that your value depends on how much territory we secure.”
“…yes.”
“If the party makes a decision, you will obey it obediently, but don’t talk nonsense. “This is why they are small countries on the peninsula.”
What he muttered with a disapproving expression was an insult with a derogatory meaning.
“….”
Although it was insulting, Lee Ryong-hwa was unable to refute it and returned to his dorm with his head down.
“Choi Jun-ho would definitely come here.”
Wang Min protested so strongly that he could not say more, but his anxiety grew.
The wisdom of becoming the head of the National Security Agency does not go anywhere.
He had already provoked the forces within New Pyongyang to revolt due to Wang Min and failed. Wang Min planned to attract Korea’s attention with that, but if it was Jung Joo-ho, whom he had only seen briefly, he would try to figure out the cause and take action.
If Jung Joo-ho focuses on Pyongyang’s Mercury, the person who will come here will be a superhuman, and it is highly likely that it will be Choi Jun-ho. And given Choi Jun-ho’s personality, if he comes here, he will definitely die.
You have to run away.
But how?
There were Chinese awakeners everywhere, and the Korean-Chinese awakeners who followed were also competitors and monitors rather than comrades. There was nowhere to run away from them.
Both the sea and the sky belong to monsters.
“I can only hope it doesn’t come.”
Lee Ryong-hwa looked around.
The temporarily installed accommodations were luxurious, befitting the treatment given to those who had converted. However, to him, this place was not even a concentration camp where reactionaries who rebelled against Ryu Kwang-cheol and were purged were imprisoned.
He sighed, thinking that all he could do was pray that Choi Jun-ho didn’t come.
* * *
I was honestly amazed.
I thought Yongyong was just a talking monster full of useless tricks, but for today, I had no choice but to recognize him as a divine beast.
“Isn’t your ability a joke?”
[Ahem! You have finally recognized the power of this great blue dragon. Actually, it’s rather strange that I didn’t notice this greatness until now! You can praise me more.]
Yongyong’s nose rises to the sky at my praise.
I thought this guy’s only ability was to repel, but he was also capable of moving long distances.
The distance is a whopping 50km.
It was a groundbreaking distance movement among the spatial movement series I had seen so far.
[I’m an alter ego, so this is all I can do, but if it were my real self, I could go straight to Mt. Baekdu!]
As expected, it’s a talking monster. No, it was a divine beast. What a gift like this.
Is this a gift that Yongyong has? Then there must be a gift in his heart, right? No, it’s a blue dragon, so I guess it’s Naedan? Still, it’s a living thing, so there’s blood, right?
Should I ask you to touch my heart for a moment? If you’re a Shinsu, I don’t think there will be any major problems even if you massage his heart a little.
I realized that I had caught the goose that laid the golden egg.
If you leave it alone, it will continue to lay golden eggs.
Why do I keep wanting to cut my stomach open?
hmm!
You have to endure it. It wouldn’t be good for Yongyong, who can read the inner thoughts, to find out. However, the plan to split the golden egg floating around in my mind left a deep afterimage.
I diligently moved to the hideout to shake off my thoughts.
There is someone who saw me in Pyongyang, so if there is a spy, news will reach there quickly.
Since I had to wipe them out all at once, I planned to launch a surprise attack before they were fully prepared.
by the way.
[You can respect me as much as you want!]
Once Yongyong became arrogant, there was no stopping his arrogance.
If you get the gift, you can use it as you wish, but if you keep it next to you, you will have to listen to that boastful brat all the time.
Just cut open the boat?
[Huh?]
It was at that time that Yongyong, who was completely intoxicated, started shaking.
I noticed this monster-like guy.
[You thought something strange just now, didn’t you?]
“No.”
[Don’t lie! I just felt alive!]
Even if you think about it as carefully as possible, is it enough to detect it? I thought it would be nice if mind reading could be like this.
No, then the number of people to kill may increase too much.
Still, you should be able to think freely.
But it also seems like a good way to catch a guy who has other thoughts.
I just got out of the way.
“no. “I had a dirty thought.”
[You want me to believe that now? You don’t know anything about dirty things.]
“I don’t know.”
[You’re funny. He refused to even prepare a meal
for me.] Who taught Yongyong how to speak like this?
“It’s okay, stop nitpicking.”
[Wow, you evil human. As a wise divine beast, I am giving you advice, but you should not lie. It’s all obvious.]
“….”
Yongyong’s awareness of this guy has increased significantly.
I guess this is called socialization.
The direction I was heading towards, as I continued my forced march while arguing like that, was not the hideout, but the direction of Mt. Baekdu.
It is the home of the blue dragon.
[uh? Why are you going there?]
“Hey.”
[Huh?]
I was feeling puzzled from the beginning.
The remnants of Ryu Gwang-cheol, including Lee Ryong-hwa, went over to China and established a hideout near Baekdu Mountain.
There is no way China does not know that Ryu Kwang-cheol knows and the United States knows.
And Baekdu Mountain is the territory of the blue dragon.
That meant that Yongyong also knew about the hideout built near Baekdu Mountain.
What does this mean? It means that there was Yongyong’s connivance.
“What did you do with them?”
[….]
“You’re not answering?”
[Now wait a minute.]
I ignored Yongyong’s words and started heading towards Mt. Baekdu.
The guy who hesitated for a while clung to me as if he had made a decision.
[Okay, I’ll tell you! So stop!]
“Say it.”
[So…]
This is what Yongyong said.
Long before I came to Pyongyang, China also came to visit Cheongryong.
They promised to acknowledge the existence of the blue dragon and give Mt. Baekdu over to the blue dragon’s territory. Instead, he asked us to establish a base near Mt. Baekdu.
It was similar to entrusting the defense line against monsters to Thunderbird in the United States. There must be an information network in China as well, so they must have noticed that monsters don’t appear near the Divine Beast’s territory.
It is said that the place I am going to visit is not a place that was created recently, but a base that has existed since Ryu Gwang-cheol was alive.
You didn’t deceive me and straddle me.
But the shameful thing remains the same.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
[It was a promise that meant nothing to me.]
“Are you saying it was insensitive?”
[That’s right.]
“You want me to believe that?”
[Trust me, it’s true.]
“….”
I looked at Yongyong for a moment, who nodded eagerly.
Although I couldn’t read minds like him, I was able to tell whether someone was telling the truth or a lie.
Looks like there’s nothing more to hide.
I was wondering if I could get something out of this, but decided to hold on for a while. You’re blaming yourself for deceiving me, so sooner or later you’ll get a chance.
“Then you don’t mind if I fly over there?”
[doesn’t exist. Those people probably had no intention of keeping their promise anyway. I was just trying to show Ryu Kwang-cheol that there is an alternative.]
You’re quite smart.
I think the alternative is me.
“Tell me in advance.”
[Okay.]
I didn’t want to push it any further, so I got a confirmation and headed to the hideout.
It’s definitely not that far from Baekdu Mountain.
If I wasn’t sure that Yongyong wouldn’t attack, I wouldn’t stay in a place like this.
Considering that the facility is quite old, Yongyong was not wrong.
“The number is quite large?”
[I know. The numbers are different from what you told me!]
“Do you believe in humans?”
It’s like an innocent Yongyong.
I don’t trust humans either, but this guy named Shinsu does.
[Are you planning to kill them all?]
“Are you against it?”
[No, it looks like there are too many for you to kill alone.]
“Then you can help too.”
[okay. There are so many things I really wish for. They’re all saying it’s for their own good. Of course, I will also get a little better. Still, I’m eating too much.]
I ignored Yongyong’s babbling and looked around.
Is this an effect of forced march?
It seemed like he had no idea I was coming. If I had known, I wouldn’t have set my guard so loosely. It was a warning, but it was more like a system to monitor the people inside.
It seemed to indicate that the guys over there were a loose coalition system that was not tightly united.
It wasn’t difficult to get inside. The number of people staying at the hideout was about 200.
About 30 of them seemed familiar. These are the awakened people of the National Security Agency, including Lee Ryong-hwa.
I ran away at best, but now I’m being watched here. Since there was nowhere to go and the number was small, this kind of treatment was expected.
I immediately sneaked into the dorm.
Lee Ryong-hwa, who was lying in bed, sensed someone’s presence and stood up, making eye contact with me.
“Sit down and let’s talk.”
* * *
“….”
The moment Lee Ryong-hwa saw Choi Jun-ho, his heart sank.
The uneasy premonition was not wrong.
Wang Min said no one would be able to break in, but Choi Jun-ho was coming in and out of this place like it was his own home.
Although he tried to act calm, Lee Ryong-hwa’s body trembled as if he had encountered the Grim Reaper.
“It looks like you’re eating well and doing well.”
“Please save me.”
“I won’t kill you. Who killed it? “If I wanted to kill him, I would have smashed his head right away.”
Those words were scarier.
“I have a few questions.”
“Please speak. “I will tell you the truth.”
“I feel the will to live. very good.”
Looking at Choi Jun-ho’s smile, Lee Ryong-hwa swallowed his dry saliva again and again.
But questions remained in my mind. Will he really save his life?
“If you say it right, it won’t kill you. “You have to think about the woman and child you kept hidden, right?”
Lee Ryong-hwa was astonished.
“How do you do that?”
It was a secret that was kept completely hidden even when he was the head of the National Security Agency.
It was a fact that I had not revealed to anyone, but what did Choi Jun-ho do about it?
“There is a way to know everything.”
There are no secrets in front of Choi Jun-ho.
Lee Ryong-hwa swore to tell everything honestly.
“Tell me what the Chinese guys are planning.”
“Oh, I understand.”
He revealed that Wang Min, a new superman, had been dispatched to replace Zhang Zedong as the person in charge, and that he had plans to occupy Yanggang Province, North Hamgyong Province, and South Hamgyong Province, which connect Baekdu Mountain and Hamheung.
Even the one who makes the decision is not the king, but the top of the Communist Party.
Lee Ryong-hwa knelt down and hit his head on the floor, even confessing that he had planned to create internal chaos so that Pyongyang could not pay attention.
“I was wrong. “Please save me.”
“This is it? “It’s a bit inadequate.”
“There was that too. “Wang Min said that soon we will have the power to hunt the blue dragon of Mt. Baekdu and that the power will be increased a total of five times.”
The number alone was a thousand people.
To be honest, Lee Ryong-hwa’s hunting plan was also negative.
It was not another monster, but a being called a divine beast.
Do you think you can hunt them just because you have enough people?
But I didn’t know the details.
I was just wondering if I could survive if I revealed even one more piece of information, so I squeezed out every last bit of information and told it to Choi Jun-ho.
“This is all I know. Please save me.”
“That’s right.”
Choi Jun-ho, who was deep in thought, did not show any significant action.
The silence filled me with anxiety, but it also brought hope.
“When I was in Pyongyang, my obsession with life was real. “I knew how to control my greed in order to survive.”
Can I buy it?
Just as hope for life began to emerge little by little, Choi Jun-ho’s hand covered my head.
What on earth did you do?
“Uh huh?”
I was pinned down and tried to say something, but no sound came out.
“don’t worry. “I’m just checking to see if what you said is true.”
In what way?
“From now on, you will be able to forget about your worries and live comfortably. What is this in this day and age?”
That’s the severance of memory.
Lee Ryong-hwa’s consciousness never returned.