Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

171 – Infection

By the time the EDA, responsible for overseeing gate-related matters in South Korea, realized that soldiers infected by a new type of monster had begun their activities in earnest, an entire division-sized force had already been massively infected. This monster, capable of reading memories and manipulating the actions of highly intelligent beings like humans, was designated by the EDA as the “Brainworm.” Immediate countermeasures were initiated.

However, the EDA’s ability to address the infected soldiers was severely limited because there was no reliable method to distinguish between infected and uninfected personnel. The existence of the Brainworm was only discovered when a soldier, risking his life, deserted his unit to inform the outside world after witnessing an officer attempting to infect another soldier.

In response, the EDA quickly dispatched teams equipped with anti-infection gear to the unit. Based on the soldier’s testimony, they aimed to apprehend the female officer attempting the infection and the male soldier presumed to be infected.

What awaited them, however, was fierce resistance from the infected soldiers, who had shown no prior signs of infection.

Bang! Boom! KABOOM! Ratatatatatatata! –

Faced with soldiers firing wildly as if a war had broken out, the EDA operatives had no choice but to retreat. Although using their Awakening abilities to wipe out a military unit was feasible, their combat experience was primarily against non-human entities, not fellow humans.

Despite suspecting the enemy to be infected by monsters, the thought of annihilating fellow countrymen, soldiers sacrificing themselves to protect the nation, caused significant psychological resistance among the EDA operatives. Thus, they retreated to a safe area to await further orders.

The order they received was shocking: they were authorized to eliminate all but the two individuals confirmed to be infected.

“There might be soldiers following their commander’s orders without being infected, and we might find a cure. Are you really ordering us to attack?” EDA Deputy Director Yoon Dae-sung, an Awakener dispatched to manage the situation, vehemently protested upon hearing the order over the radio.

Despite Yoon Dae-sung’s objections, his superior on the other end of the radio reiterated the command in a detached tone.

[I understand your concerns, but this situation needs to be resolved urgently. If we don’t act now, what could be contained with the loss of a company’s worth of soldiers might escalate to battalion, regiment, division, or even corps-level casualties. While it’s possible we might find a cure or a way to distinguish infected soldiers, we need to capture an infected victim alive first.]

“We can’t just massacre young soldiers who might be saved. Please reconsider.”

[Are you saying you’re going to disobey orders?]

“What orders? This isn’t the military. Technically, I’m from a civilian clan and something akin to a public servant. So, if it’s an order I don’t want to follow, I can refuse.”

Yoon Dae-sung’s defiant attitude was understandable. Myung-jun had demanded the privatization of Awakener forces in exchange for releasing the power armor blueprints, but South Korea, citing its unique situation as a divided nation, had announced a phased approach to privatizing Awakener forces.

The EDA explained that it was impractical to immediately disband the EDA operatives, the only force capable of countering North Korea’s Awakener forces, which were being developed with full effort. Instead, the EDA promised to support the gradual growth of civilian clans within a year and stopped forcibly incorporating new Awakeners into the EDA.

Current EDA Awakeners were to continue serving until the new civilian clans became operational. During this transitional period, EDA Awakeners envied their counterparts in other countries who had immediately become civilians, and their dissatisfaction was increasingly vocal.

Thus, Yoon Dae-sung openly refused his superior’s order for mass slaughter. In the past, he would have had no choice but to comply, as leaving the EDA was not an option. But now, the situation had changed completely.

[Are you out of your mind? You know disobeying orders is grounds for disciplinary action, right?]

“I didn’t join the EDA willingly, and the worst that can happen is a temporary suspension. If you want to discipline me, go ahead. Once my mandatory service period is over, I’ll just join a civilian clan.”

[Damn it, you have no idea how critical your mission is! The entire country could be at risk!]

“If you really want to give this order, do it through the proper channels. Then I’ll comply.”

[Verbal orders are a legitimate form of command! I’m your direct superior!]

“Then send the order through the official procedure in writing. If you back out later, I’ll be left holding the bag. This isn’t a matter of killing one or two people. Unless it’s an official order, I won’t do it.”

[Yoon Dae-sung! Do you have a death wish!?]

“Damn it! I’ve been lenient because you’re my superior, but have you lost your mind? Want me to come over and give you a taste of my blade?”

[Deputy Commander Yoon Dae-sung! This matter will not be overlooked. I will formally request disciplinary action for insubordination!]

“Do whatever the hell you want, you bastard!”

With that, Yoon Dae-sung smashed the radio with a punch, shattering it completely. A woman who had been watching cautiously from the side spoke up hesitantly.

“Deputy Commander, are you okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“No matter how well the EDA treats Awakeners, I don’t think this will end quietly if you go this far.”

“So-hee, think about it. If this were an official order, would that bald guy have contacted me through a military line instead of just calling my phone?”

“Is there a difference?”

“Of course, there is. My phone is a Galaxy, so it records calls. But with the military line, they can erase the fact that the call even happened if they want to. Blowing up a military unit is one thing, but if that bastard of a director later claims he didn’t give the order, I’m the one who gets screwed.”

At that moment, a radio operator entered the tent with a new radio, looking flustered.

“The EDA headquarters says they suddenly can’t reach you… Oh?! My 999K!! What am I supposed to report to my superiors now that you’ve smashed it like this?!”

“Tell them I broke it. It’s no secret that Awakeners have terrible tempers.”

“Ha… I trusted you with it because of security… Please don’t break the one I just brought.”

“I won’t break it.”

“Seriously, don’t break it!”

“I said I won’t. Now leave the radio and get out. Or do you want to taste my goblin bat before you go?”

Yoon Dae-sung glanced at the metal bat in the corner, causing the soldier to pale. The soldier reluctantly placed the new radio on the table and left, grumbling.

“Communication secure, Deputy Commander Yoon Dae-sung speaking.”

[This is Director Yoon Se-ah of the EDA.]

“Director?!”

Yoon Dae-sung instinctively stood up upon hearing the director’s voice over the receiver. While he had a contentious relationship with his superior, who often exploited his rank to boss him around, he held great respect for Yoon Se-ah, the new EDA director who had taken over after Moon Hee-cheol’s death. Although she lacked Moon Hee-cheol’s powerful charisma, her meticulousness and consideration had earned her a good reputation within the EDA. Her youth, being in her mid-twenties, and her striking appearance also contributed to her favorable image.

The fact that she had contacted him directly made Yoon Dae-sung wonder if the orders from his superior were actually directives from higher up. He hoped fervently that this wasn’t the case.

‘Surely, the director herself didn’t give that order,’ he thought, praying internally.

[I’ve heard from the deputy director. He mentioned you were very upset.]

“If it’s about my attitude, I admit I was partly at fault, but the order itself was fundamentally wrong.”

[Are you referring to the order to annihilate the suspected infected military unit?]

“You’re not saying that was your order, are you?”

[Of course not. I just found out that the deputy director was trying to push it through on his own.]

“Phew. I knew it. The director I know wouldn’t…”

[But I agree with him. That unit needs to be eliminated.]

“What?! Are you serious?”

Yoon Dae-sung was thrown into confusion. The Yoon Se-ah he knew wouldn’t issue a heartless order to massacre dozens of their own soldiers without exploring other options first. He demanded an explanation, and Yoon Se-ah provided it.

She explained that this decision wasn’t made solely by the EDA but was a request from the Ministry of National Defense. Before the EDA was even deployed, the Ministry had tried various methods to handle the situation on their own. They had attempted to use sleep gas to incapacitate the entire unit, and deployed special forces equipped with thermal imaging devices under the cover of smoke grenades to obscure visibility.

However, the sleep gas was thwarted by the chemical warfare equipment stored within the unit, and the special forces who infiltrated under the cover of smoke grenades were swiftly overpowered. Realizing they couldn’t resolve the situation on their own, the Ministry of National Defense sought help from the EDA headquarters, a group of experts in such bizarre incidents.

Given that the cause of the incident was suspected to be related to the Gate Crisis, it was deemed appropriate for the EDA, experts in Gate-related issues, to handle the problem. Yet, even the EDA, specialists in monsters and Gates, couldn’t find a straightforward solution to this crisis.

The soldiers within the infected unit, though human-made, executed all modern military tactical maneuvers more perfectly than any seasoned soldier.

[The infected soldiers do sleep, but their vigilance while on guard duty is nearly perfect. Unlike regular soldiers, they do not relax during their watch. One special forces member who attempted infiltration testified, ‘The unit members behave like AIs created based on military manuals.’]

“So, are you saying we need to annihilate them?”

[Our goal is not the annihilation of the unit members. EDA’s analysts have examined the situation and reached one conclusion. The defensive positions and behavior patterns of the soldiers, as observed by drones, suggest they are protecting something at the center of the unit. We suspect that the ‘Synapse Brainworm’ is located there.]

“Are you saying it’s like a commander in military terms?”

[Yes. But pinpointing it is impossible. The center of the unit is always crowded with multiple entities, and all defensive systems are aligned to protect the synapse entity. If we leave them alone and only try to incapacitate and extract the target, the abducted target will likely commit s*****e.]

Yoon Dae-sung, sensing a peculiar certainty in her tone, said, “You sound like you’ve tried this before.”

[Sigh… Yes. We already subdued two soldiers patrolling the perimeter, but the moment they woke up from unconsciousness, they vomited a massive amount of blood and died. It seems the blood of the parasite inside their bodies is highly acidic, capable of dissolving human bones and tissues almost instantly.]

Faced with the situation where soldiers vomited blood and died the moment their connection with the synapse entity was severed, the Defense Ministry formulated two hypotheses.

The first was that the synapse entity itself issued individual s*****e commands.

The second was that the soldiers committed s*****e when they were separated from the synapse entity by a certain distance.

For the latter, there was honestly no solution, but for the former, the Defense Ministry and EDA experts concluded that eliminating all entities suspected to be the synapse entity could prevent the s*****e commands.”

[I don’t want to give this order either.]

“I understand. It’s an unavoidable situation, right?”

[Yes.]

“Alright. Honestly, the chances are slim, but if it can help resolve this crisis, I’m willing to use my strength. However, I have two conditions.”

[What are they?]

“First, I need this order in writing. It should clearly state that the EDA made this decision based on a request from the Ministry of National Defense and that I am being instructed accordingly.”

[Understood.]

“Second, I want you to contact the Liberal Clan and ask for their assistance in this matter.”

Yoon Se-ah, caught off guard by Yoon Dae-sung’s second demand, responded with a surprised tone.

[The Liberal Clan?]

“The soldiers in the infected unit aren’t taking any additional actions unless provoked. This means we have time. Even if we can’t solve it, the Liberal Clan might have a way to do so.”

[But if the Liberal Clan also fails to find a way to save the soldiers…]

“In that case, I will personally annihilate the entire unit. Dying instantly from my bat is better than suffering the excruciating pain of having their insides dissolve.”

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