21st Century Goguryeo

January 1st, 2024, 23:50 (New China time: 22:50)

Outside Area 15 of Beichen District Industrial Complex, Tianjin, New China

Team leader Park Gi-oong left the safe house and returned to District 15. He was dressed as a civilian and carried a backpack containing the CRB-330 equipment.

He took advantage of the darkness to get there and look around.

"Damn. I should've brought my shield glasses."

He was slightly remorseful that he had left his protective suits, shield glasses, and various high-tech equipment at the safe house.

He had no choice but to examine the place with his naked eyes. To make matters worse, in addition to the darkness, the yellow dust was so dense that it was difficult to see more than 20 meters ahead.

Fortunately, he was able to examine the area using the searchlight that could occasionally shine through the dust.

Another issue was the three-meter-high fence that wasn't there in the morning, and several heavily armed soldiers who stood guard at 20-meter intervals. Additionally, there were armored vehicles that patrolled the fence.

Initially, he intended to go up in the surrounding high buildings and then scan the area with his CRB-330 equipment, but he was concerned that the dense yellow dust would prevent him from getting a proper reading, so he decided to break into the grounds.

However, breaking through the three-meter-high fence and avoiding the heavily armed soldiers without any equipment was not an easy mission for him.

As a start, he decided to approach the fence in the area where there were no soldiers in sight. Therefore, he lay down and crawled little by little toward the fence.

He couldn't move quickly because he was trying to hide his large backpack and avoid being seen by both soldiers. When he was about ten meters away from the fence, he felt vibrations and the ground began to shake.

He turned his head in the direction of the vibration and saw a wheel-type armored vehicle moving with its light on.

<Rumbling!>

He wasn't yet within the range of the light, but he would be soon. It was only a matter of time before he was discovered.

As a result, he hurriedly took off his backpack, threw it toward the fence, and start crawling as fast as possible.

<Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!>

Fortunately, the sound of the falling backpack was drowned out by the noise of the moving heavy armored vehicle, and Team Leader Park Gi-oong made it to the front of the fence without being caught. Team leader Park Gi-oong, who was lying in front of the fence, observed the movements of the soldiers on both sides. And because there was no response, he took a deep breath and felt relieved.

<Now, if I can only cross this fence...>

Team Leader Park Gi-oong cut off the backpack strap and linked them together to make it a meter long, and he used the link as a hook before throwing it over the fence. The hook caught on the top and he pulled it up.

As he confirmed that the hook was holding well, all that remained was to avoid both soldiers' gazes and climb the fence quickly. For the time being, he waited for the armored vehicle to make a loud noise before tossing his backpack over to the other side of the fence, then he grabbed the hanging strap and easily crossed the fence.

Team Leader Park Gi-oong, who expected to be relieved after crossing the fence, frowned when he noticed that there were more soldiers deployed inside than outside the fence.

<There's a lot. Damn bastards.>

The increased number of soldiers irritated him.

Team Leader Park Gi-oong, who expressed his displeasure with a short swear word, looked at a half-collapsed building 20 meters to the left. Even though it was a neighboring building, it may have been caught in the power of the blast and collapsed. As a result, he felt the power of M2-Kill, which was used by the Foreign Intelligence Division 1.

"That's it."

He reasoned that if he got to the top of it, he could use it to scan the area. He moved quietly, picking up his backpack and looking left and right, front and back.

<Whoo>

A few minutes later, Team Leader Park Gi-oong, who had climbed to the top of the collapsed building, carefully took out the CRB-330 equipment from his backpack, which was wrapped in bubble wrap. As soon as he removed the bubble wrap, he began assembling it.

Team Leader Park Gi-oong, who stayed in the room all afternoon memorizing how to assemble the CRB-330 equipment and the operating instructions, expertly completed the assembly even in the dark.

The assembled CRB-330 equipment resembled a large DSLR camera. When he connected it and pressed the power button, the top LCD screen lit up.

As he completed his preparations, he looked down and checked his surroundings to see if there were any soldiers nearby.

Fortunately, there was no one around him, Therefore, he slowly got up and made his way to the factory area, where the CRB-330's square lens collapsed and began scanning. As a result, a sound rang out and a scan of what was going on underground appeared on the upper LCD screen.

<Ddu-du! Ddu-du! Ddu-du!>

As the scanning began on one side, which was expected to take some time due to the large scan area, he began praying to God with his hands together.

After a while, another beep sound rang to indicate that something was detected 30 meters underground.

<Beep beep! Beep beep! Beep beep!>

Even though the shape was very small, it was certain that they were alive, and there were two gathered in that place.

<What are they? Based on their size, are they animals? >

The living creatures detected on the screen was roughly the size of a human face. Team Leader Park Gi-oong's face lit up and his eyes widened as he realized what was going on.

<It's their faces! Their bodies were, of course, undetected due to the protective suit. So, only their faces were detected.>

He then hurriedly tapped the CRB-330 console keyboard to store the exact location.

"Oh God, they are alive! Alive! Thank you."

Because of his overwhelming emotions at that moment, his hand was shaking as he tapped the CRB-330 console keyboard.

"Done! Done!"

The rescue was now the problem. Several excavators had been mobilized and were digging downward 40 meters from where the two managers were discovered. In addition, there were armored vehicles and heavily armed soldiers on guard.

<How to rescue them...They are 30 meters underground based on the detected information...>

He tried to think of a way to save them while disassembling the CRB-330 equipment and packing it back into his backpack, but he couldn't think of anything.

<Anyway, the first division agents will help me as soon as they find out the managers are still alive...I'll let them know after I get out of here.>

Then, Team Leader Park Gi-oong moved secretly and quickly on the same path he came from.

* * *

January 2nd, 2024, 00:10 (Russian time: 18:10)

Russia Moscow bunker state R-13 (Operation Room)

Until now, the Russians had had dozens of aerial battles with Korean fighters, but in every one of them, the Russian fighters had been slaughtered unilaterally. As for today's battle, it was clear that things would be different.

They had deployed three times as many fighters as Korean fighters, and numerous ground air defense units had applied for support. In addition, they had data-linked radar detection data from the US Atlas Reconnaissance Satellite.

Despite this, it was a neck-and-neck battle. Although many more Russian fighters were intercepted, Korean fighters were intercepted as well, and all of this was displayed on the tactical screen.

Although the results were satisfactory. President Putin's expression was not very happy.

This was because New China's fighters had not launched yet. Russian fighters would not have been intercepted to this extent if the New China fighters had launched on time according to the existing joint operation plan.

His desire to minimize damage to his fighters by sacrificing New China's fighters and receiving detection information while attacking Korean fighters was shattered.

As a result, the two countries' mutual military protection treaty was meaningless. All they had were dark intentions to take advantage of each other by using their allies.

<Crashing!>

The U-shaped table shook violently as a dull sound rang.

"You mother*cker Wang Jing-wi! Is he saying he just sent them out now?"

President Putin, who just received a report from his staff, grabbed the table and shook it.

"After this war with Korea, I must teach that filthy Wang Jing-wi how to fear our Russia."

"Isn't it a relief that they're joining now?"

At the words of Finance Minister Yuri Nikiporov, President Putin stared at him.

"Relieved? Are you saying this because you don't know how many fighter jets were intercepted?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought it's..."

"If you don't know, just close your mouth and watch."

Finance Minister Yuri Nikiporov, who was scolded, bowed his head.

At this moment, another report came from Vladimir Beshastnih, Chief of the General Staff, that made President Putin even more upset.

The report's content was as follows. It was reported that the Korean Marine Corps and Ukrainian forces had captured Mariupol, a port city guarded by rebels and Russian pro-defense forces, 30 minutes ago.

President Putin, who hit the table once again, was enraged to the point where his face turned red.

"Didn't you say you'd send reinforcements to Mariupol?"

When the South Korean Marine Corps were reported to have attacked Spartak earlier in the morning, the General Chief of Staff directed the Southern District Military Command to send reinforcements to protect Mariupol, a military hub in Donetsk.

The Southern District Military Command ordered the mobilization of the 587th Motorized Infantry Brigade of the 18th Motorized Infantry Division stationed in Rostov-on-Don, one of the units under their direct command, to Mariupol, but the 587th Motorized Infantry Brigade did not begin maneuvering toward Mariupol until 6 p.m.

When the 587th Motorized Infantry Brigade arrived near Mariupol a few hours later, the street battle was already in full swing.

Until now, street battles between the Ukrainian Army, rebels, and Russian Guards lasted anywhere from a few days to more than a month. As a result, when entering a street battle, the rebels and Russian Guards were accustomed to being converted to a long-term battle.

However, the Korean Marine Corps was different. The 27th Marine Battalion of the 51st Marine Regiment, of the 5th Marine Division, which began attacking Spartak from the 11 o'clock direction, wiped out all rebels and Russian pro-defense forces in just three hours. And after completing the handover to the subordinate unit of the Ukrainian 65th Motorized Infantry Division, they quickly maneuvered to Mariupol, 45 kilometers away.

When the civil war was in full swing in 2015, the Ukrainian army and the rebels fought a month-long street battle over Spartak, and in the end, the rebels and the Russian Guards were victorious and occupied the small town.

Knowing that the Russian army had been fighting a street battle for more than a month to occupy Spartak, they had no idea that the Korean Marine Corps would occupy it in three hours and move on to Mariupol.

That's why the command of the 587th Motorized Infantry Brigade, which had been ordered to move, decided that there was enough time and began the operation at 6 p.m. when all movement preparations were complete.

Mariupol, a medium-sized city with a population of 100,000, was one of Russia's most important military hubs. This was due to the presence of a naval military port where the Black Sea Fleet's escort fleet in charge of the Sea of Azov was anchored.

It was critical for Russia to reclaim maritime supremacy in the Sea of Azov. It was because it would cause problems to the Crimean Peninsula.

If Russia loses its maritime rights in the Sea of Azov, the Crimean Peninsula, which is currently a Russian territory, would be cut off from the Russian mainland due to its geographical characteristics. Although the Kerch Strait Bridge exists, it can be easily blown up at any time by Ukrainian or South Korean forces.

In other words, if the Azov Sea's sea rights are lost, the Crimean Peninsula, which would be cut off from Russia's mainland, could be easily occupied by Ukrainian forces.

"The Korean marines' maneuvering appears to have been faster than expected. My apologies, but the 587th Motorized Infantry Brigade, which has just arrived, will recover it."

"If the restoration is delayed, we would have problems with the Crimean Peninsula..."

President Putin, who was furious, sat down in his seat after trailing the end of his speech and wrapping the back of his head. For a moment, symptoms of hypertension seemed to recur.

"Mr. President, are you okay?"

"There's nothing to worry about. What's your plan?"

"We have now issued an order to dispatch reinforcements to the Crimean Peninsula through the Kerch Strait Bridge."

"Tell them not to make any mistakes and to move as quickly as possible."

"Yes, I've already informed the commander of the Southern District about that."