Empire of the Ring

Thirty tactical armored vehicles sent from Turkey's Otokar company had arrived at the autonomous state. They were transferred by the freighter and car ferry with the icebreaker function. Turkey and Russia had been in an uneasy relationship these days, so transferring the vehicles through the Russian canal on Turkish ships was not ideal, so the autonomous state took charge of the shipment. It was because Russia did not inspect ships of the Arirang state.

Now, the state had 50 tactical armored vehicles in total, which further strengthened its power. In addition to a light machine gun, the tactical armored vehicle was equipped with a 20-millimeter heavy machine gun at the top, which was great for anti-aircraft defense.

The state already had 35 light-armored vehicles, but its only weapon was a light machine gun, so it did not have great firepower.

However, its defense was excellent, so it could be used for vigilance. Youngho had donated two units to the West Kazakh Army border unit. He also fixedly deployed each one to Baku Farm and Serbian Ranch—and five at the Siberian logging site. The light-armored vehicle was being used in a wide variety of ways.

Youngho, Park Jong-il, and Cho Chul-hwan were excited to see the vehicles unloading. The scene reminded Youngho of the Korean Armed Forces Day event. When mechanized troops passed by, he used to be so proud and excited.

"That's why they do such a marching event. Man, I want to do it too."

"What are you talking about?"

"It means that I'm not afraid of any enemy."

"Hey, we should get out the Russian armored vehicles and multiple rocket launchers in the warehouse now. Don't you think?"

Cho Chul-hwan suggested out of nowhere.

"Just test-drive them sometimes, so that their performance doesn't get degraded. Those weapons have such huge firepower that they're useless right now."

"Then why don't you donate them to the Kazakh Army and get some old helicopters in return?"

Youngho had siphoned Lincy Foundation's weapons that were being transferred from Russia to Armenia. There were seven armored vehicles and two multiple rocket launchers.

They were old-fashioned weapons, but their firepower was so enormous that they were intended for war.

"Are you serious? Multiple rocket launchers and tanks are the same as new ones. We need to have that kind of firepower."

"I just think it's a waste to have them stored in the warehouse. If you donate it to the Kazakh Army, you'll be helping to strengthen its power at least."

"Man, my heart still shudders when I think of a hard time taking them and moving them to Baku. But you want to give them away?"

Park Jong-il jumped at Cho Chul-hwan's words.

"Well, they're not going to rot or anything just because they're being stored. Just wait a month or two and you'll see something better."

"What's that?"

"The Koç Holding Group is planning to show us a prototype of fighter jets that they're going to manufacture. I wish they could bring helicopters too."

"I'm not interested in helicopters. I just want a camouflage freighter to come quickly."

"Yeah, I don't think that's happening anymore. Yaniv told me the other day that the shipbuilding company went bankrupt and it was taken by the government."

"How can a government take over a private company? I don't want you to stay still. We're going to claim damages."

"We don't know the name of the shipyard and we don't have a contract. Of course, I never gave you a dime."

"Darn it. I made a promise to the shippers that we'll sail to the Indian Ocean when that ship came. What a shame!"

"Can't other ships cross the Suez Canal?"

"What if we meet Somali pirates?"

"With our freighter and security guards, you can take care of a few pirate ships."

"They've got great firepower these days. We'll have to arm the cargo ships going into the Indian Ocean."

"Be properly armed. Don't get us in trouble."

"I'll have to install a 20-millimeter machine gun!"

"If you run afoul of international maritime law, you take responsibility."

"Don't worry. I'll hide it like a ghost."

The long-awaited camouflage cargo ship went up in smoke, and Jong-il was quite disappointed. It seemed that the Arirang Shipping would be busy for a while. It was questionable whether Cha In-soo would approve Jong-il's request to increase more security guards on board.

***

The first group of fifteen agents who went to the British Intelligence Service to receive commissioned education returned to the autonomous state.

Although it was a short month of education, the agents said it was quite useful.

The agents who acquired advanced education that was actually applied in the field were brimming with confidence.

As the first team had a good experience, the second team would be sent to London after New Year's holiday. The Great Britain was offering intelligence support to the autonomous state since it wanted to gain a bridgehead for Central Asia. As the British intelligence service gained the state's agents' favor, it achieved what it had aimed—a strong ally.

The U.K. Intelligence Service also supported the state's agents with personal equipment.

"Man, those guys just bought our guys' hearts."

"Well, their equipment is awesome. They've got all sorts of venom needles. I wonder if the British intelligence agents are responsible for the people who died suspiciously."

"They must have taught our kids the art of assassination."

"I saw the demonstration and I'm sure they can kill even us in the blink of an eye."

"Even us?"

"Yep, we are not made out of iron. What can we do if we suddenly get poisoned by a needle that was shot out of a lighter or a ballpoint pen? It's really nasty."

Jong-il must have been quite surprised to see such equipment.

"We probably won't order our agents to kill someone secretly, but it's creepy that weapons like that exist. I can't wrap my body with iron to protect myself."

"Just imagine someone sneaking up behind you and putting a sting in your throat. The mere thought of it is terrible. I collected them all from the agents, but I wonder why the British intelligence service has given them to our agents."

"I guess they just want our agents to be safe. Don't you think other nations would have thought about such weapons too?"

"They've given the antidote for poisons too."

"Wow. We should keep them too. Give me some. You don't know what will happen in the future."

"You said you got the special power of the ring. Why do you need the antidote?"

"Jong-il, you do have a special power too. When toxics come into your body, the ring purifies it with its power."

"Just so you know, I've never had such a benefit."

"You know you've never caught a cold once here. That means you've been benefited by it."

"Whoa, Is that how it works?"

"Yeah, the winter here is terrible, and there have been bad cases of flu too. But we never got sick for the past ten years."

"It's creepy for some reason. I feel like the spirits of the Serbian Kingdom will show up someday."

Youngho had never gotten sick ever since he attained the ring.

That made him realize that the ring would somehow purify poison, even if it took a long time.

***

Hong Sung-ki brought nine Russian aviation researchers and engineers. They were all single or divorced with no family.

As they could not drink for the past two days when they just got to the state from Russia, they were showing signs of anxiety. They displayed a classic form of alcoholism. Although people's reactions toward the Russian engineers were all negative, Hong Sung-ki did not budge.

"Can they even have a normal conversation?"

"They're just having a hard time because they couldn't drink. When they sip on alcohol, they talk so smoothly."

"I don't know if they can function as normal people."

"I've only brought people who were determined to get treated for their alcoholism."

"What about the rest?"

"They haven't made up their mind yet."

"Are they really great researchers and technicians?"

"We've collected their profiles. They're competent aviation engineers."

"Do you think they can be treated?"

"Since they're willing, we'll have to try. Even if only half of them succeed, that'll be a great achievement."

"I'll give you fifteen days' time, make an achievement."

It seemed that it would be unlikely for them to be completely freed from alcoholism, but Youngho still accepted them because the state had paid for bringing them from Russia.

They would be hospitalized and separated from other patients to be treated with their alcoholism.

"He's either crazy or really sure."

"Look at those faces. They're just lunatic. In less than a day, they'll escape the ward."

"How can you make them sober in 15 days?"

"Make sure to put guards around the ward to keep them from escaping."

Even Hong Sung-ki was being treated like a madman

It was not easy to change people who had been alcoholic for the past decade. Youngho still had doubts that he was wasting his time and money. It might have been better to just leave them in Russia. Still, Hong Sung-ki said that he would get medical attention for them, so Youngho did not want to discourage him.

However, when Youngho first saw them to give a welcome message, Youngho was speechless. They could not be considered normal at all. They were senseless.

Two days had passed, but it seemed that there was no progress in the hospital room where the Russian engineers were staying.

Suh Min-seok frequently went in and out of the hospital, checking the ward and reporting to Youngho. Meanwhile, Youngho checked all of the profiles of the engineers that Hong Sung-ki had collected.

They were all very experienced engineers. They participated in the most prominent projects and the state would have never been able to recruit them if they did not have any problem. There were even people who participated in satellite projects. So, Youngho called Hong Sung-ki to listen to the details.

"Have you found out why they were addicted to alcohol?"

"We've taken three of our agents and done a background check. Most of them had an unfortunate incident at home, so they turned to alcohol."

"Like their wife has cheated on them or something?"

"Yes. As engineers and researchers, they often left their house for months for different projects, so some of their wives had run away because they couldn't stand it and other wives just cheated on them and divorced them."

"I see. So, they were hurt by such unfortunate incidents."

"I think so. And their heavy drinking culture did not help."

"If they could turn normal, our state will gain great helpers. I was impressed to read their profiles."

"The healing process may be a little long, but if they can recover from the wounds of their hearts, they will be the best gift for us."

"If you have some progress with them, you could bring the rest after the New Year's holiday. I'll also come to help them."

"How would you do that, Boss?"

"The only thing that beats alcohol is physical training. We should make them sober by rolling together. When I'm leading the training, won't they follow me?"