Chapter 556: Chapter 556: Russia’s Objective
The masked man's gaze was chillingly cold as Igor stared down at Kim Jong-il.
In the unwavering depths of his eyes, Kim Jong-il couldn't help but swallow hard.
"What the hell is going on? Why is Russia…"
Kim Jong-il halted mid-sentence, the name of a certain man flashing in his mind.
"C-can it be that bastard Kim Mu-hyeok?"
Long ago, Kim Jong-il had shot a bullet into the thigh of Kim Mu-hyeok's subordinate underground.
'I won't forget this incident, not ever.'
Could this be a revenge for that time? Kim Jong-il ground his teeth, his eyes widening in realization.
"Was it Kim Mu-hyeok who orchestrated this?"
However, Igor showed no reaction at the mention of Kim Mu-hyeok's name.
He simply checked his watch.
"Choose now. Do you want to die here, or will you surrender?"
Time was running out, and quickly.
Kim Jong-il's elite guard aimed their weapons at Igor, waiting only for his command.
An oppressive tension filled the air, but Kim Jong-il muttered to himself like a madman.
"I should have killed that bastard back then. How dare he think he could kill me with this?! I should have killed him! I should have!"
Baek Cheol-soo watched Kim Jong-il, who had clearly lost his mind, while keeping his gun trained on Jang Seong-taek's forehead.
But the tide had completely turned. Resistance now meant death for them all.
So they had to choose: die together, or surrender and plan for another day…
"General!"
Baek Cheol-soo called out urgently to Kim Jong-il, but he remained unresponsive.
At that moment, sounds echoed from the underground tunnel as someone was approaching.
Baek Cheol-soo quickly turned his head. Hope was short-lived as he saw masked assailants climbing the stairs.
"Drop your weapons!"
Baek Cheol-soo commanded, yet the guards hesitated.
"Drop them! It's over. We need to save the General, don't we? Drop them now!"
Baek Cheol-soo tossed aside his gun aimed at Jang Seong-taek and raised his hands.
The thud of the pistol hitting the ground snapped Kim Jong-il back to reality.
He raised his voice at Baek Cheol-soo, who was relinquishing his weapon.
"What are you doing, Cheol-soo?!"
"General! It's over. This is the only way to save you!"
"Cheol-soo!"
Kim Jong-il shouted for Baek Cheol-soo, but he shook his head and spoke to the other guards.
"Everyone, drop your weapons. We can't all die here, can we?"
Finally finding their resolve, the guards began to drop their weapons.
Igor's lips twitched momentarily. He didn't understand Korean, but he could sense their conversation.
But seeing them discard their weapons, he figured there was at least one smart one among them.
With a nod, Igor signaled his mercenaries to collect the dropped weapons.
"Collect the weapons and frisk them to fully disarm them."
"Yes!"
The mercenaries, having disarmed the soldiers completely, bound them and pushed them to the corner.
"Father."
Kim Jeong-un trembled as he approached Kim Jong-il. Tears threatened to spill as he called out to him.
"…Don't cry. Men shouldn't cry easily."
Giving up on everything, Kim Jong-il patted Kim Jeong-un's shoulder and turned to Igor.
"Tell me what you want."
Igor shrugged, glancing over at Jang Seong-taek.
"Director Jang Seong-taek."
Wincing in pain from a gunshot wound to his thigh, Jang Seong-taek looked up at Igor with a pained expression.
"Withdraw all troops heading this way and clear the area."
"W-what?!"
Jang Seong-taek bit down hard on his lip, glaring at Igor.
Despite being met with a furious gaze, Igor calmly continued.
"If you want to save Kim Jong-il's life, you'd best follow my orders. Withdraw everyone; otherwise, this lodge in Yeohori will vanish without a trace. All of you, including Kim Jong-il and his family."
"…Understood."
Jang Seong-taek gritted his teeth, a sickly hue creeping over his lips as he tried to rise but groaned and sank back down.
It must have been because of the gunshot wound in his thigh.
"Nikolai. Give him first aid and monitor him closely."
"Understood."
The mercenary named roped Jang Seong-taek into a chair.
Checking his condition, he raised his hand to signal for another mercenary.
"Bring antiseptic, a hemostatic agent, and bandages."
"Yes."
Moments later, Nikolai poured the antiseptic over the wound.
"Aghhh!!"
"You won't die. Stop the theatrics. Thankfully, it just grazed you."
Nikolai shook his head, muttering to himself as he began to wipe away the blood.
Then, he sprinkled the hemostatic agent and wrapped the wound with gauze.
"You won't die now. But if you don't get treated soon, you might end up limping for life. You know what you need to do to avoid that, right?"
"…"
"Get it sorted quickly. Follow the commander's orders to the letter."
Jang Seong-taek shot a glare at Nikolai before standing up. Nikolai lent him his support.
Moving toward where the communication equipment was located, Jang Seong-taek lifted the phone and dialed a number.
— This is the East Sea Fleet Command.
"This is Jang Seong-taek."
— Director Jang Seong-taek!
"Withdraw all troops approaching Villa 72 immediately."
"— Yes? What do you mean by that…?"
"Stop repeating yourself and just order them to fall back."
"— Oh, understood. But without the general's order…"
Jang Seong-taek furrowed his brows as the hesitation from the other end and the throbbing pain were both straining his nerves.
"Hah… the situation is over, so retreat! The general is threatening to kill anyone who moves the military without his permission!"
— ….Understood.
After finishing the call with the East Sea Fleet Command, Jang Seong-taek turned towards Igor and spoke.
"I should personally head out to the peripheral troops…"
"Do it here."
"…"
"I said do it here."
Igor hadn't forgotten Kim Mu-hyeok's warning not to completely trust Jang Seong-taek.
He had to let Igor oversee everything happening right before his eyes.
As Jang Seong-taek pondered deeply, he fiddled with the communication device and established a wireless connection.
"All troops headed to Villa 72 stop and hold your positions immediately. This is a direct order from Chairman Kim Jong-il. From this point onwards, any military unit that moves even a step without the chairman's permission will be considered a traitor, according to the chairman's orders."
When he finished speaking, Jang Seong-taek put the radio to his mouth again after a brief pause.
"Again, I'll say this. In the name of the Chairman of the Workers' Party, all troops shall remain in position as of this moment. Anyone who defies this will be labeled a traitor, and they will face the consequences."
Jang Seong-taek turned off the radio and faced Igor.
"For now, the nearby units should have received the message. However, I can't get in touch with other regions. We need to restore the communication lines…"
Igor nodded at Jang Seong-taek's words.
"Let's finish up around here first and restore the communication lines. Nikolai, come with me and help cleanup."
Fighting still raged outside.
"Yes."
As Jang Seong-taek and Nikolai moved out, Igor turned back towards Kim Jong-il.
"From now on, you'll need to do as we say if you wish to keep that life of yours."
"Understood. Please ensure my life and my family's are guaranteed."
"Your actions will determine that."
Igor now shifted his focus to Baek Cheol-soo.
'Baek Cheol-soo must die. If Kim Jong-il lives, that man might take action I cannot predict.'
Igor recalled Kim Mu-hyeok's instruction and aimed his weapon at Baek Cheol-soo's head.
Bang!
Taken by surprise by the sudden gunfire, Baek Cheol-soo collapsed forward.
Alarmed by the noise, Kim Jong-il shouted in Korean.
"What the hell is going on?!"
As Baek Cheol-soo bled from his head and fell, screams erupted from Kim Jong-il's family.
Kim Jong-il stared at the fallen Baek Cheol-soo with a look of disbelief.
"Didn't you say you'd comply? Why…"
Igor didn't answer. He simply issued orders to his mercenaries.
"Remove the body."
The mercenaries efficiently dragged Baek Cheol-soo's corpse outside.
"From now on, Kim Jong-il, you must become a puppet."
Igor grinned, a smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.
* * *
My hands were drenched in sweat. I, too, was feeling a bit tense.
Something felt off.
President Yoon Chang-ho had left the Presidential Residence to preside over a national security meeting, and I waited for him there.
As time passed, the dim exterior gradually brightened.
Only when the sun fully rose did Yoon Chang-ho return.
"Sorry, Boss Kim. The meeting ran long. You've been waiting a while, huh?"
Yoon Chang-ho asked with a serious expression, and I replied with a smile.
"No problem at all."
Yoon Chang-ho patted my shoulder gently and took a seat.
Then he downed a glass of water in one gulp and said.
"The North Korean troops haven't shown any movement at all."
"Is that so?"
"It's too quiet. Awfully quiet."
Yoon Chang-ho narrowed his eyes.
"Boss Kim."
"Yes, Mr. President?"
"If there's still no movement, doesn't that mean we've succeeded?"
"Hmm… I don't know. The only sure way to confirm is to get a call. By the way, what's going on with the NSC?"
Yoon Chang-ho sighed heavily.
"Don't even get me started. They don't know anything about this situation. They're all just waiting for me to say something."
"Has Defcon 3 been declared?"
Yoon Chang-ho nodded.
"The U.S.-Korea Combined Forces Command has activated Defcon 3. We've spoken with Washington, and the command authority has transferred to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I still can't comprehend why we have to give up our military command to them…"
Defcon 3 had only been declared twice for South Korea.
Once during the 1976 axe incident at Panmunjom and again during the 1983 bombing of Aung San's mausoleum in Myanmar.
It was a step that could only be taken in a quasi-war situation, making it difficult to declare.
"It's unavoidable. Without U.S. aid, we can't ensure our security on our own yet, can we?"
"That's true…"
"If Defcon 3 has been declared, North Korea must be aware of it as well. Their lack of movement suggests that something must be wrong with the Chairman, who gives the orders."
Yoon Chang-ho closed his eyes slowly, suppressing a sigh.
At that moment, my phone rang. Checking the caller ID, I saw it was a call from Russia.
Seeing Yoon Chang-ho's face, he gestured for me to answer.
"Yes. This is Kim Mu-hyeok."
— This is Medvedev speaking, Mr. Kim.
It was Medvedev on the line.
"I've been waiting for your call."
— For now, we've received contact that the nuclear weapons have been secured.
One of our two targets has been achieved.
"Is that so? I'm glad it was a success."
— It's all thanks to you, Mr. Kim. You've relieved a great worry for our government. The President is very pleased.
"Well, that was Russia's goal, after all."
— Currently, the Zaslon unit is en route to the agreed location for withdrawal.
"Understood."
While one goal had been achieved, securing Kim Jong-il was more important than returning the nuclear weapons to Russia.
— You sound quite concerned.
"It should have wrapped up by now, but I haven't received any word yet. Do you know anything?"
"— No. The Zaslon unit and Igor's mercenaries are operating separately. They have completely excluded any links between them…"
As I fell silent, Medvedev hastily continued explaining.
— This wasn't our doing; it was Igor's choice. We intended to reunite once the nuclear weapons were secured. However, Igor ordered to withdraw as soon as he recovers the nuclear weapons.
I had already inferred that. There was no point in pursuing further.
"I see. There's no need for excuses."
— According to our findings, Pyongyang is also quiet.
"I see. Let's get in touch again later. I'll hang up for now."
— Understood. Please come to Russia sometime. We'll be waiting.
Medvedev chuckled as he bid farewell, ending the call.
As I put my phone away, I turned to Yoon Chang-ho.
"They've secured the nuclear weapons. One goal has been achieved. Now we just need to focus on Kim Jong-il."
A faint smile appeared on Yoon Chang-ho's otherwise stiff face.
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