21st Century Goguryeo

February 11, 2021, 23:00 (Russian time 16:30)

A building in Odintsovo, Russia

Bang! Bang! Baaang!

In the middle of the confrontation in the corridor, sturdy men continued to come up the stairs. Including the man who had just been shot in the neck, six people had collapsed. But these men did not stop and kept running in, firing at random. Even though Team Leader Kim Jin-joong and Chief Ahn Ki-cheol were on the other side of the wall, those men shot exactly where they were. A few bullets that penetrated the wall shot past them.

So, Team Leader Kim Jin-joong started to wonder whether the sunglasses those men wore had some sort of X-ray function. Those men were part of the Scorpion team, USSC mercenaries, who were selected carefully through rigorous screening of only veterans from special forces and intelligence agencies from around the world, including the United States. Besides, all of the equipment they used were state-of-the-art pieces of equipment that incorporated new technologies ahead of the times.

"Chief Ahn. Isn't it weird?"

"What do you mean?"

"It feels like they're aiming at us exactly from behind the walls."

"Is that what you thought, too? I was thinking the same, actually."

The sunglasses worn by the Scorpion agents were high-tech equipment with the ability to see through objects. Although the performance was inferior to the shield glass developed in Corea, it was possible to see through a single wall.

"Right? Who are these people?"

"Seriously. I am curious, too. We would have died just now if we didn't have our protective suits."

They lowered their body as much as possible, behind the upside-down desk and continued their conversation, looking at the men who were approaching them while shooting from the hallway behind the wall.

"They were not regular guys as I thought. It won't be easy. I will buy time, while you escape through that window over there," Kim Jin-joong said.

"What are you talking about? United we stand, divided we fall."

"I am not kidding. Hurry up!"

"Sir! I am serious. I won't go."

"You bastard."

While they haggled for a moment, a huge Caucasian man fired the gun from the HK416C's muzzle set in full-auto mode.

Bang, bang, bang! Baaaang!

Pew! Peeew!

Team Leader Kim Jin-joong rolled aside through the pouring bullets and pulled the pistol trigger.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The bullet shot by Kim Jin-joong hit the white man's chest, abdomen, and neck precisely. His chest and abdomen were not hurt thanks to the bulletproof vest, but the last bullet pierced right through his uvula. The man collapsed, spilling blood all over the place.

"Chief Ahn! I said run!" Kim Jin-joong knocked down a white man and rolled a few more laps to the wall, shouting at Chief Ahn Ki-cheol with a frown.

"Let's go out together!"

"If I can go with you, I would not tell you to run away, would I? It's an order! Get out through the window already! If it is too late, neither of us can go. Bastard, come on! Listen to me! Give me your smartphone, I will let you know the contact place."

Kim Jin-joong snatched Ahn Ki-cheol's smartphone. He typed the address that he memorized and gave the phone back. He looked serious. Chief Ahn Ki-cheol thought it could not be helped, hardened his mind, and said.

"Sorry, sir! I will be on my way first."

"Just run! Understand?"

Chief Ahn Ki-cheol got up, ran to the window with all his best, and left Kim Jin-joong behind. The Scorpion agents who confirmed the movement of Chief Ahn Ki-cheol with the special glasses pulled their triggers. The bullets penetrated the walls. The bullet marks were engraved on the opposite walls as Ahn Ki-cheol ran.

Bam! Boom! Baaang! Baang!

Clank! Whoosh!

Chief Ahn Ki-cheol broke the window, jumped down from the third floor, and rolled his body as he landed to minimize the shock. The protective suit absorbed the impact as well, so he could land safely.

On the third floor of the building, the sound of gunfire got louder and louder. Ahn Ki-cheol turned his head to try to check the situation through the window, but three men ran from the parking lot and fired their guns at him.

"Annoying bastards," Chief Ahn Ki-cheol remarked simply and started to run to the opposite side.

He could avoid the bullets and escape to a safe place thanks to his superior athletic ability to run 100 meters in 11 seconds and the physical improvement drugs that were only provided to National Intelligence Service agents. Then, he got a car, went around the city for two hours in case he was tailed, and finally arrived at the contact point.

***

February 12, 2021, 03:00 (Russian time 21:00)

Near the village of Polyvanovara, Russia

A man got out of the old car in the dark at the contact point. Chief Park Won-ho and Agent Yoon Ho-hyun were watching the man carefully with night vision devices from the woods.

"Sir, he seems to be Chief Ahn."

"Do you think so too?"

"Yes. I think so."

"We have to watch out, though. Check 500 meters around, make sure there is nothing suspicious."

"Yes, sir."

They looked carefully for about ten minutes and made sure there was nothing suspicious.

Chief Park Won-ho turned to Agent Yoon Ho-hyun and said, "Agent Yoon. You guard that Jap here. I will go and check him out."

"Yes, sir."

Park Won-ho finally came out from the woods and carefully approached the empty lot. He held C5 pistols in both hands. As he closed the distance, he could recognize the man who had gotten out of the car and looked around.

"Chief Ahn?"

"Chief Park?"

"Thank god. Are you alright?"

"I am fine."

"But where is our team leader?"

"He made me run away first and…"

"What? Then you don't know what happened to him?"

Chief Ahn Ki-cheol, who was about to cry, just looked up at the sparkling starlight.

Time passed and finally, they opened the communication channel and sent the signal using the Turkion-X Wireless communication system. Then, a large, black object without any light came down slowly from the sky with a quiet flying sound.

Whooooosh.

As the black object got closer to the ground, the shape of it became clearer. The wind stirred around it. Finally, the black object landed on the empty lot. It was a CFS/A-31SP Three-toed Crow, the only space fighter jet in the world.

The CFS/A-31SP Three-toed Crow had a total of three seats, but in an emergency, the internal arming room could be transformed to transport people or goods. Accordingly, the internal arming room of the CFS/A-31SP Three-toed Crow was transformed to accommodate humans at the moment.

After landing, the door of the Three-toed Crow opened and one of the crew got off. Then, he walked towards Chief Park Won-ho.

"Nice to meet you. I am Lieutenant Colonel Yeo Hoon-joon."

"Nice to meet you. I am Park Won-ho, head of the Russian branch of the National Intelligence Service."

"Please get on board."

The door of Three-toed Crow opened and a ladder came down.

Then, Chief Park Won-ho said to Agent Yoon Ho-hyun who was holding Yagumachi Genzo, "Ho-hyun. You board with that bastard."

"Huh? What about you, sir?"

"We have to find our team leader, don't we, Chief Ahn?" Park Won-ho asked as he turned his head to Chief Ahn Ki-cheol.

Ahn Ki-cheol answered with a worried expression. "Are you sure? You have two daughters."

"That is not an issue. This is a matter of our team leader's life. You will go too, right?"

At Chief Park Won-ho's question, Ahn Ki-cheol answered with a smile, "Of course! I wanted to ask you, but I couldn't. You were about to go see your daughter. You have not seen her since she was born."

Chief Ahn Ki-cheol looked at Chief Park Won-ho with a serious expression. He patted his shoulder and said, "Let's go find our leader."

"I will go too, sir," Yoon Ho-hyun, who threw Yagumachi Genzo into the internal arming room, came down and said.

"You should take that bastard back to our country. Your mission is important, too. Do you understand?"

"But, sir..."

"Hey. You are the youngest here. You should listen to us."

"Y-yes, sir."

"Alright!"

"Chief Park, Chief Ahn. Please take care and bring the team leader back safely."

"Okay. Just board."

"Yes, sir."

At that moment, the crew of Three-toed Crow interrupted.

"The two of you aren't coming?"

"We still have business here."

"Alright, then. Take care."

"Thank you for coming all this way."

The crew said good-bye and boarded Three-toed Crow. The door of the internal arming room closed. After a while, with a quiet flying sound and a slight gust of wind, the CFS/A-31SP Three-toed Crow space fighter jet started to take off. It disappeared through the twinkling starlight at an instantaneous speed, unlike the landing.

***

February 12, 2021, 04:50 (Russian time 22:50)

A building in Odintsovo city, Russia

With the old car that Chief Ahn was using, they approached the building that he previously left without headlights.

"Chief Ahn! Let's park here and walk."

"Okay."

They approached about 50 meters to the building and began to look around the outside of the building slowly.

There was a police line at the front door of the building. It seemed like the Russian police had come due to the gunfight that had happened five hours ago. Therefore, the two of them activated both the inverter and infrared rays and examined the inside of the building from the first floor. And when they moved their gaze to the third floor, they paused. No, it would be more correct to say that they were frozen.

The window that Chief Ahn had used to escape was gone. Instead, there was a big hole. Based on their intelligence agents' experiences, it seemed that there was an explosion from the inside. And on the third floor, the walls had collapsed and it was a mess. They could guess something beyond imagination had happened ever since Chief Ahn had left the building. Anyway, Chiefs Park Won-ho and Ahn Ki-cheol decided to go inside to find clues.

"Watch out."

The two lowered their bodies, slowly crossed the police line, and entered the building. They passed the second floor and went to the third floor. As they had scanned from the outside, the third floor was a mess.

"It's worse than when I got out," Chief Ahn Ki-cheol said, shaking his head.

There were blood spots everywhere on the corridor floor, as if the dead bodies had been dragged off. There were numerous bullet marks on the walls of the halls and rooms. Finally, they entered the room where Chief Ahn Ki-cheol had left from.

"It's awful."

This room was messier than any other room in the building. A grenade or a bomb had exploded, and traces of debris spread throughout the room. Blood spots were also found everywhere.

Now, Chiefs Park Won-ho and Ahn Ki-cheol could not help but worry. Did the unidentified people take the team leader? Or did the police take the team leader's dead body?

At that moment, Chief Park Won-ho hit his own head and cursed out, "Oh! Stupid bastard! Why am I so stupid?"

"What's wrong?"

"Look at this."

Park Won-ho took out Kim Jin-joong's smartphone from his pocket.

"Wait. Did you have that?"

"Yes."

"Oh! Then, we can check his location with it, can't we?"

"But we have to know the password."

"Password?"

In the smartphones for the team leaders of the National Intelligence Service, there was a function to check the locations of the team members, including the team leader himself, as long as they wore the protective suits. It was possible by receiving a signal from the X-K01 terminal, the controller of the protective suit that can be worn on the left wrist.

"Can't we check with the head office?"

"Hey, they never give us that kind of information even if they can confirm us."

"Then, isn't it just a chip in porridge?"

"Let's think of a password first."