Chapter 115: Causing a Change
As of 2030, the economic situation in Iran was not very good.
The unemployment rate had surpassed 50% by estimates, and the oil exports that accounted for 70% of the national economy were not operating properly due to power shortages.
The IMF and other places predicted that Iran was in the same situation as Venezuela due to the US economic sanctions.
The economic growth rate had been very low since the early 2020s, and the value of the rial currency had continued to fall.
The Iranian government demonized Yu Ji-ha and Korea to divert the worsening public sentiment.
They exaggerated the influence of drones in the Middle East and inflated their achievements.
They also exaggerated the performance and size of the drones, so that the Iranian people believed that Korean-made drones were as big as cars and were bloodthirsty to kill Muslims.
Therefore, kidnapping an oil tanker to focus the attention of the citizens was a pretty good choice.
Korea would be flustered as usual and offer a lot of money to negotiate with Iran… This was what the Iranian religious leaders thought.
But the situation turned out very differently from their delusions.
The Iranian navy was neutralized, and drones and androids entered their territory and killed psychers.
In the midst of extreme chaos, the Revolutionary Guards fired their prized hypersonic anti-ship missiles, but the United Federation’s fleet easily blocked them.
And they attacked only once and then submerged right away.
No one in Iran knew that the attack was over 100 missiles with antitron warheads and hafnium warheads.
One morning in early April.
Over 100 missiles crossed Iranian territory.
The air force detected them, but it was almost impossible to shoot them down with outdated equipment.
Iran had a reputation for jamming, having crashed a US drone in the past, but these missiles were too fast for it to be of any use.
And so, an antitron warhead exploded over Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant.
With a bang, debris fell down, and at that moment, the reactor core stopped.
It was no different from losing nuclear fuel, so the output plummeted to zero and an emergency was declared.
But there was nothing the researchers could do.
This situation happened not only at Bushehr, but also at nuclear power plants and even research institutes located throughout Iran.
The antitron missiles accurately hit Iran’s major nuclear facilities and succeeded in disabling the power grid.
And at thermal power plants that were not nuclear reactors, missiles with hafnium2 warheads instead of antitron warheads flew in.
These missiles hit the core of thermal power plants, turbines and generators, and turned them into ashes.
In an instant, Iran’s power generation dropped to 10%, causing a nationwide blackout.
As most of the power supply was cut off, the Iranian government did not know what to do.
Modern society depends on electricity more than you think, and without electricity, industry does not work at all.
Elevators stopped right away, and water was not supplied properly either.
Even radio broadcasts were interrupted, and Muslims could not gather at mosques.
Airports and ports were paralyzed, and all logistics flows were interrupted.
Iran literally went back to the medieval times.
Pakistan was in a similar situation, and they could not inform the international community of this situation because they had no electricity.
This incident was revealed by Yu Ji-ha holding a press conference in Korea.
“As a retaliation for the attack on our fleet, we fired over 200 missiles with antitron and hafnium warheads at Iran and Pakistan. As a result, both countries’ power generation dropped below 5%, and all industries were paralyzed. They have effectively gone back to medieval times.”
He spoke so calmly that for a moment, reporters did not fully understand what he meant.
A CNN correspondent raised his hand and asked,
“Excuse me, are you saying that you completely destroyed Iran and Pakistan’s power grids?”
“That’s correct. Nuclear power plants are included as well. Currently both countries can hardly use electricity. Places with emergency generators may last a little longer.”
Anger rose in his blue eyes.
“How… how could you do such a horrible thing?”
“What Iran did was certainly horrible. They not only kidnapped an oil tanker, but also killed Koreans and committed terrorism. They even attacked my fleet. Do you want to hear more?”
“Are you happy with this? You are putting tens, no, hundreds of millions of lives at risk! How are they going to do surgery right now? How are they going to supply food?”
“They should have been afraid.”
Yu Ji-ha said so and leaned his upper body on the podium and stared at the reporter intently.
“They shouldn’t have touched me.”
“…”
The reporter looked away from his gaze.
No matter how much he heard Hitler’s voice from him, he didn’t think he would do such an extreme response.
But Yu Ji-ha seemed to feel no remorse at all.
“This attack is a warning to the extreme Muslims. I don’t care if you hate me. It’s your personal emotion. But don’t act on it. The price will be much higher than you think.”
Now the reporters started to say what they wanted without even raising their hands.
“Is that what you want? To drive 1.5 billion Muslims to death?”
“They are driving themselves to death. Unless they give up their hatred of me, they will end up in the same situation.”
“Congratulations. You will surely make the list of the worst mass murderers in history.”
“Don’t you have a more direct expression? I’m getting tired of hearing it.”
The press conference ended in a cold atmosphere, and the news about Iran and Pakistan was spread all over the world.
***
The countries were speechless when they heard about this incident.
There was a lot of talk about the Stone Age or the Middle Ages, but they never imagined that he would actually do it.
Even the United States had made such a statement to open Pakistan’s airspace in the past, but they did not actually act on it.
But this dictator of Korea had no hesitation in sending nearly 300 million people back to the medieval times.
The direct loss of life may not be great, but the number of people affected indirectly would be in the millions.
Britain and France vehemently condemned this and demanded that Yu Ji-ha be immediately brought to the International Court of Justice.
—Is this what a human being does, sending 300 million people back to the medieval times just because he was attacked by an unmanned fleet? This is a heinous massacre that cannot be left alone. The whole world must rise up and punish him.
—We can’t trust the UN either. Passing a resolution is meaningless and they can’t impose any real sanctions. The United States should step up. We will fully cooperate.
However, there were not many countries that actively responded to this.
The EU supported it as they had been struggling with negotiations and hostile to Yu Ji-ha, but the countries that dominated the world economy remained silent.
The only ones who issued strong condemnations were China and Japan.
Germany argued that the power grid was not completely destroyed and could be restored in a few years, but was bombarded by the French media for being calculating in this situation and fell silent.
And in the United States, while the Democratic Party and various human rights groups rose up, prominent politicians and think tanks were busy analyzing the situation.
—Iran and Pakistan have definitely lost electricity. However, this situation is not permanent, and they can recover if they invest enough time and money.
—Hospitals and other places that urgently need electricity can be supplied by other countries. However, both countries must fully open their borders and guarantee security.
—The population of 300 million is exaggerated, but the actual population that receives meaningful power is only about 100 million. Considering the economic situation of both countries, their impact on the world would not be very great either.
—Most importantly, their nuclear power has been completely eliminated. Countries that had conflicts with them would not be able to take military action either, and it could surprisingly be an opportunity for economic growth in the future.
In fact, even India, which had a grudge against Pakistan, expressed regret over the attack and stated that they would provide sufficient support.
Various countries announced their support, and the retaliation against Yu Ji-ha and the United Federation fizzled out with only a condemnation resolution passed by the UN.
As always, there were not many countries that wanted to mess with Yu Ji-ha.
The various technologies and concepts that came from Yu Ji-ha were much more important than Iran and Pakistan, which had lost their power, or 300 million Muslims.
And as expected, the Muslim society was burning with hatred, but there was not much they could do in reality.
OPEC oil-producing countries, including Saudi Arabia, decided to increase production in light of the Iranian situation, and UAE, Egypt and others also cracked down internally.
They were using drones well and had a lot of cooperation with nuclear fusion plants, so they did not want to mess with Yu Ji-ha either.
As the international community did not move as they wished, Britain and France were busy criticizing them.
—Today, justice and human rights have fallen to the ground. Everyone is looking at the honey from the dictator’s mouth, and 300 million people have gone back to the medieval times. He may commit any crime in the future and the world will not intervene…
—To him, international opinion and UN seem to be nothing but annoying obstacles. He showed off some amazing technology and ignored everything else?
—I want to ask America who is still hostile to him. Are you relieved now that these two rotten teeth are gone? He will continue to cause you pain in the future.
But there was also a strong opposition opinion.
—As always, Yu Ji-ha was not like this from the beginning. The two countries that supported terrorism created this situation. Before you question Yu Ji-ha’s actions, look back at what they did.
—From airplane terrorism to nuclear attacks. The two countries crossed the line and paid for it. What would you do if you were in his shoes?
—And the hatred of Muslims is wrong too. Why should he be blamed for making weapons? The ones you should hate are not drones or their makers, but those who use them.
Of course, this perception caused a lot of controversy and was especially taboo in Muslim society.
They wanted revenge.
—We will never forget this.
—Just wait and see. We will get revenge someday. In the name of God!
The countries expected a series of terrorist attacks and strengthened their checkpoints.
However, there was no significant increase in terrorism, and the cause was Yu Ji-ha.
He had stopped at collapsing the power grid in Iran and Pakistan, but he had gone into Afghanistan and destroyed the terrorist groups.
He had completely destroyed them to the point where there was no gunfire in major cities.
The guerrillas hiding in the mountain caves were intact, but they were also evaporating one by one as they received hafnium2 warheads as gifts.
He had pushed the Taliban, which even the United States could not handle, to the brink of extinction.
The Taliban had no chance against him, especially since he had captured the hearts of the people by supplying food and necessities to the cities where they had retreated, such as Kandahar and Kabul.
The activists of Doctors Without Borders who entered the two cities were amazed by this sight.
“I didn’t hear any gunfire all day. It’s like a miracle happened.”
“The market is crowded and noisy, but full of vitality. Women are coming out and working. There are men who look down on them, but they don’t seem to be able to say anything in front of drones.”
“Yu Ji-ha is changing Afghanistan. It’s worth watching.”
This NGO group was heavily influenced by France, but they gave such an evaluation.
France may have been angry at home, but it seemed clear that Afghanistan was undergoing positive changes.
And at that moment, Yu Ji-ha was meeting someone.
***
Ahmad Massoud boarded Yu Ji-ha’s business jet and looked around Kandahar and the Registan Desert.
He couldn’t believe that he would turn this vast desert into a city.
And what was more surprising was that Kandahar was completely quiet.
The market and streets were still bustling and mosques were crowded, but there was no sound of fighting anywhere.
It was a world of difference from when the Taliban had occupied it.
“…”
Which side was he on?
He had heard that he was a great slaughterer who unleashed cruel attacks on Iran and Pakistan, which were maintaining their positions.
But as he looked around Kandahar today, he doubted those evaluations.
Did he really want destruction and chaos?
The person who supplied food to the people who had no connection to him and stabilized the security of the city?
“What are these contradictory faces…”
The only thing that was certain was that he had a purpose in Afghanistan.
If not, he wouldn’t have set foot here at all.
He looked down at the view of Kandahar through a small window, and Fatima came.
She looked completely different from when she left.
She had a bright smile on her face, as if she was living a good life, and her clothes were western-style.
“It’s been a long time.”
“Yes. I haven’t changed much, have I?”
“I don’t know for sure, but it seems like your personality has changed a lot too. Before, you were a bit more…”
“Introverted. And passive.”
“What made you change?”
“Everything that he created. Look at these pictures.”
Fatima sat next to him and showed him the images of the megacity that she had taken with her tablet.
The city was quite different from the cities of advanced countries such as the United States.
There were similar crowds of people, but there were no cars and the streets were very clean.
The gray buildings that soared into the sky were not Masood’s taste, but they were definitely amazing.
“He’s going to build a city like this here?”
“Yes. That’s his plan. It’s called Megacity Central.”
“…”
Masood was lost in thought for a while as he looked at the images.
He loved his homeland and wished for Afghanistan’s development, but not in this way.
But he had no choice.
When the Taliban was virtually annihilated and Yu Ji-ha entered Afghanistan, there was no other option for him.
‘I can’t stay stuck in Panjshir forever…’
Panjshir was a terrain optimized for defense, and the resistance succeeded in repelling the Taliban’s offensive even after the US troops left.
But looking at the internal situation, it was almost at its limit.
They lacked supplies as much as the Taliban did, and they had too many enemies.
They succeeded in retaking Kabul, but they had difficulty defending it due to the resistance’s poor situation.
The Taliban gathered mujahideen with agitation and violence, while the resistance only accepted voluntary volunteers, so they suffered from a shortage of manpower.
The number of casualties increased day by day, and there were many deserters.
They felt hopeless and ran away overnight.
Masood did not catch those people.
But now that the situation had reached this point, he couldn’t help but have pessimistic thoughts.
—How long can we hold out like this?
It had been about 10 years since the US troops left, and the Taliban was still intact.
The Northern Resistance Front was barely able to maintain its status quo, let alone push them back.
There was no answer anywhere he looked.
In such a situation, Yu Ji-ha appeared and made a big offer.
“I’m going to build a huge city here. Tajiks and Pashtuns, as well as other tribes, will live together. I will respect the traditions of Islam and give you autonomy. But there are some rules.”
Some of those rules were hard to accept.
One of them was the point system represented by CP, which had already been established in Korea.
This system was maintained by drones and androids.
In other words, he planned to create a huge pasture and asked him to enter it.
Safety and life would be guaranteed, but there was a high possibility that his identity as a Muslim would fade away.
Masood couldn’t help but worry.
‘Survival or freedom…’
The officers of the resistance rebelled against these rules, saying they were not suitable for Muslims, but Masood thought differently.
Realistically, he needed his help for Afghanistan to develop.
France and others were busy criticizing him, but when he saw Korea’s situation or Fatima’s free appearance, he wondered if he was really an oppressor who committed oppression.
‘Maybe he has another purpose.’
And that might be related to psychics like Fatima.
These days, there were more kids who freely modified black metal and played with it among Tajiks…
Anyway, Masood decided that this couldn’t go on any longer.
The survival of the resistance and Tajiks was urgent now.
And even if they entered the pasture, it didn’t seem like their freedom would be greatly damaged.
It seemed so when he heard Fatima’s story.
“Megacity is, well, as long as you don’t commit crimes or cause trouble, it’s really nice to live. The working hours are short, so you have a lot of free time. You can study or draw.”
At this point, he wondered if it was more free to enter the megacity than to continue the futile resistance in Panjshir.
In fact, the residents were also excited to hear about the situation in Korea.
They said they wouldn’t have to spend the day in this mountain village to light a fire in the fireplace anymore.
Masood looked down at the view of Kandahar again.
It was the second largest city in Afghanistan, but it was no different from a hick town compared to foreign countries.
He knew their development well because he had studied in England in his youth.
‘Afghanistan needs change now.’
It would be nice if it was self-reliant, but it didn’t matter much if it was external force.
He called the number that Yu Ji-ha had taught him.
“I’ve reviewed your proposal well. I just want to ask you one last thing. The name of the megacity that will be built here… Can I name it as I want?”
“Of course.”
“Then that’s good. I have to hear from the residents too, so let’s meet in Panjshir.”
“I’ll be there soon.”
Yu Ji-ha hung up the phone and muttered.
“He didn’t like the name Central, did he?”
“He must have wanted to attach that name because he loves Afghanistan.”
“Anyway, it worked out well. We’ll have to bring a lot of gifts later.”
“I’ll prepare them carefully.”
There seemed to be no problem in bringing psychics, as Fatima’s case showed.
Anyway, he would go back there when the megacity started to be built.
Yu Ji-ha looked down at the earth from the bridge of the Settler and was lost in thought.
‘Once Manchuria is absorbed, the megacity candidates will be completed, so I just have to upload them.’
Of course, absorbing Manchuria would not be easy.
The Chinese Federation had already stationed a large number of troops in Liaoning Province.
They showed their will to protect Manchuria even though they had no room for maneuver.
And Japan’s situation was not good either.
Matsuda Kaneshiro, who had been silent, announced that he would run for the general election, as if he had made some decision.
His prime ministerial election was almost certain considering the support of the right-wingers.
If he took power, he would revise Article 9 of the Constitution and transform it into a normal state, and rearmament would naturally follow.
China and Japan would join forces to contain him with the Korean Peninsula in between.
The one pulling the strings behind them was the United States, the Democratic Party.
They must have thought they had set up a good board, but from Yu Ji-ha’s point of view, it was no different from a child showing off his talent.
“We’ll just do our own thing. Prepare a plant on Mars.”
It was time to mine resources on Mars.
Updat𝓮d from freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.co(m)