Chapter 144: The Furious Firebears
The government officials from various countries who saw the first supercavity train at Korea’s military parade were dumbfounded.
They knew that Yu Ji-ha had shown amazing technology before, but they didn’t expect him to announce and demonstrate it at the same time.
It was even more embarrassing because the supercavity train had the power to make most of the transport platforms obsolete.
No noise, low maintenance cost, and a maximum speed of Mach 10? Where did they get the aliens from? Our aliens are not so cool.
—I can understand the speed because of the ion thruster. I can accept the body that can withstand Mach 10 because of the black metal. But how did they control gravity without an ether core?
—They only confirmed the possibility of defying gravity, and they made it practical… Tell me honestly. Did you develop it in advance and just bring it out?
As always, Yu Ji-ha and Korea did not answer these questions.
They just pushed a choice that was too efficient to refuse.
The leaders of each country called the aviation industry officials to hear their opinions, but no sensible policy came out.
After all, the most important thing was efficiency, and it was impossible to surpass the supercavity train in the first place.
“As announced, it almost… no, it overwhelmingly surpasses all existing transport platforms in every aspect. Except for the disadvantage of being dependent on Korea.”
“The docking station is three-dimensional, so if we demolish the airport, there will be a lot of space left.”
“If we put aside the performance for now, the key is the fare, but it seems not as high as an airplane, though slightly higher than a train.”
“…In conclusion, it means the end of the aviation industry at least.”
“Yes… There is no reason not to introduce it.”
The only drawback was that the power car was very expensive at $800 million.
This was twice the price of a passenger plane that airlines used a lot, and it was generally believed that it would increase much more if they considered the passenger cars that usually attached to about 20 cars.
But unlike airplanes, trains could attach and detach passenger cars, so they were flexible.
Besides, one passenger car could carry 70 people, so it surpassed airplanes in terms of transport capacity.
No matter how negatively they thought, there was no reason not to introduce it.
President Yu Ji-ha made this remark surrounded by reporters.
“The supercavity train is a platform that can be the foundation of our society, so we will not limit the countries that can introduce it. Except for one country, you can introduce it on the same terms.”
That was probably France.
Now that Germany had given up its position as the leader of the EU by half force and half will, France was the country that led the EU in practice.
France had great national power, but its pride was so high that it reached beyond the atmosphere and stretched into space. It refused to compromise despite continued boycotts.
When they heard the news of the supercavity train, French broadcasters canceled their scheduled gravity show and also canceled interviews with psychers.
President Marie Le Pen only gave evasive answers to reporters’ persistent questions, and the government remained silent.
Germany next door was busy mocking them.
—If they hadn’t bragged so much, they would have saved face.
—It seems their pride has been hurt a lot. Marie Le Pen is going to call in ether international research institute officials and get their resignations.
—It’s a waste to compete with President Yu Ji-ha with pride… Well, if you take away pride from French people, only clothes are left.
They understood their pride was high because they had developed nuclear weapons independently despite US interference.
But it was strange that they only insisted on their pride even though their economy had been declining for years due to continued sanctions.
Anyway, except for France, all countries had the same introduction conditions.
Even China and Japan, who had fought a war with Korea, could introduce it as long as they paid money.
China had no interest in it because they were busy with post-war recovery and suppressing protests in Northeast China, but Japan was different.
Except for losing many ships and destroying military facilities, their economy was not much affected.
As soon as they heard about the supercavity train, the whole archipelago was excited.
—It’s not a maglev train level, but flying in the sky? Don’t you usually call that an airplane?
—It seems that they named it after a train because it looks like one. It seems to run by creating a cavity with an ether field.
—The altitude is basically about 500 meters and can be adjusted depending on the route. They say you can also run along the sea level. It’s amazing.
—After taking a few steps and looking up, there he is far away… He’s not even a competitor anymore.
—Seeing that it covers 8,000 kilometers in 40 minutes, the Chuo Shinkansen suddenly became funny.
—They say they will make a route between Seoul and Terra Island by May, but isn’t it reckless to do it without proper testing?
—Has Yu Ji-ha ever failed so far? Shut up, you clueless right-wingers. We have to introduce that thing anyway.
—One power car for $800 million… I know he’s amazing, but it’s too expensive.
—t’s not that expensive if you think about the rail and infrastructure costs.
—That infrastructure cost is reinvested in the whole society. Don’t forget that the money for the supercavity train goes all to Korea.
That was Japan’s biggest concern.
In a situation where they had to pay 100 trillion yen in war reparations for 10 years, the expensive price of the supercavity train was too burdensome.
Also, the fact that they had to bow to Korea after losing all the islands below Kyushu did not suit the taste of the right-wingers, who were the main supporters of the Restoration Party.
They claimed that this war was a mistake caused by Japan’s negligence.
—A surprise declaration of war and an unlimited guerrilla war that avoided a frontal confrontation. This can’t be called a war.
—Combat walkers too. If Japan had only three more years, or even two more years, they could have trained an army that could smash combat walkers.
—If only stupid Matsuda had died sooner, we wouldn’t have lost at least…
However, this view was only supported by the right-wing faction, not by the whole of Japan.
After the defeat, the runaway military lowered their bodies and the Restoration Party also bowed their heads.
The business community stepped up and shouted loudly to live peacefully.
—Look at that. It would have been enough to be satisfied with giving up Tsushima, but they provoked them unnecessarily and lost Okinawa too.
—It’s no use hating Korea. They will only give up more territory. Don’t we have to protect Japan as much as possible?
—As for the supercavity train, the government has no money to pay reparations, so we hope that Gaidanren will take the lead in negotiations.
—I want to put it on the Tokaido Shinkansen first. The demand will be enough, and there will be no problem with promoting the supercavity train.
But there was also a backlash against putting the supercavity train developed by Korea on the Tokaido line, which was a symbol of Japan’s Shinkansen.
This line included the famous Shinkansen running with Mount Fuji in the background.
Using a Korean-made supercavity train on that picture that symbolized Japan’s high-growth period was no different from admitting defeat.
Also, it was not efficient to put a train with a maximum speed of Mach 10 on the Shinkansen, which made the officials hesitate.
—There are too many stops, so we have to brake just when we reach the maximum speed. This is not efficient.
—Even Korea is postponing the domestic line, so is it okay to introduce this?
—But I had a strong desire to see the supercavity train.
—The idea of a train flying in the sky intrigued me.
—-There was a video of the supercavity train taken during the parade, but there were few people who filmed it for security reasons, so everyone was just imagining it.
—Let’s try to introduce one car as a trial and run it on the sea. If we are confident, it would be better to introduce the docking station as well.
—But is it certain that Korea exports it?
—They said that the conditions are the same for all countries, so maybe…
—The officials of Gaidanren contacted the Korean government and received a positive answer.
—There was an order from the top to not impose any restrictions on the supply of supercavity trains.
—The top meant President Yu Ji-haa.
—Gaidanren gained courage and proposed to invite him.
—If President Yu Ji-haa visits Japan and learns their sincerity, peace will finally be established.
—How about promoting the restoration of diplomatic relations this time? He is not anti-Japanese at all.
—Let’s promote the supercavity train as a symbol of friendship between Japan and Korea instead of the undersea tunnel. The tunnel is difficult in reality, but the supercavity train might be possible.
—It was out of the blue that they wanted to connect the two countries, because it was certain that the Trans-Siberian Railway would be connected to Korea, and Japan wanted to join in.
—It was the ambition of the Japanese business community to start with restoring diplomatic relations with Korea and then sign an FTA.
—But this plan had a low possibility of being carried out properly.
—Russia demanded territorial renegotiation from Korea, and Korea announced that it would reconsider its relations with Russia in response.
—Because they shot each other directly without diplomatic investigation, even the Russians knew the situation behind the scenes.
“Damn it! Don’t you see the rotting Trans-Siberian Railway in your eyes? People are risking their lives to ride the train!”
“Land? Land is important, of course! But friendship with Korea is more important! Who are these bastards who are trying to harm Russo-Korean relations?”
“Borchenko? Wasn’t he a gangster who was nothing but Putin’s minion? It’s intolerable that he acts like he’s president!”
“Let’s kill Borchenko!”
The ferocious Russian bears rose up.
***
Yu Ji-haa was very popular in Russia.
He often visited Russia, but he was also popular because he was a handsome leader of Korea with cutting-edge technology.
He also expressed his affection by often calling Russia a brother country, so he couldn’t be unpopular.
But that relationship was now in danger of breaking down.
Borchenko, a senator who claimed to be Putin’s successor, brought up territorial renegotiation.
When the reality of the land that Putin gave up was revealed, the Russians were briefly confused.
—Isn’t it too wide? He gave up all that?
—Other places may not matter, but isn’t it too harsh to give up Pudong Port? Are they giving up on the Pacific?
But most Russians didn’t care about East Siberia, which they would never go to in their lives.
What mattered to them was all kinds of tricks from Yu Ji-haa.
Although those tricks hit realistic limits and didn’t get much benefit, anyway, the relationship with Korea and Yu Ji-haa was very important.
As soon as Yu Ji-haa disappeared, Russia’s GDP would fall to 10th place, which was enough to say.
In that situation, Yu Ji-haa’s press conference touched many Russians’ hearts.
“I did my best for Russia with my brother’s feelings. I won’t list them here. It’s natural to share with my brother. But Russia didn’t seem to think of me as a brother.”
His speech was broadcasted all over Russia.
He spoke in Korean at first and then switched to Russian in the latter part of the press conference, so most Russians understood him.
He was clearly sad.
“It must have been some irresponsible politicians who drove a wedge between me and Russia. But I understand. That’s also Russia’s will. I can’t do anything about what the Russians chose. I’m nothing but an eternal outsider, not a brother.”
At his words of eternal outsider, people gathered at Pushkin Square in Moscow reddened their eyes.
Some people shouted that they should invite him and clear up the misunderstanding.
“An outsider? He even got a Moscow citizenship! He can come to Moscow anytime he wants!”
“There must be some people who hate him coming to Moscow!”
“Borchenko!”
The name of the hateful politician echoed in the square and the Russians began to get heated.
“What did Borchenko do for us? He sucked our blood like a vampire!”
“To make Russia stand up again, we have to kick out the vested interests, including him!”
The reason why Russians were living hard today was because of vampires like Borchenko who sucked money from the middle.
They had a bad reputation even during Putin’s rule, and after he died, they openly stuck a straw and sucked money.
The Russians knew that, but they couldn’t complain because Putin’s regime was so strong.
He tolerated individuals expressing their complaints, but he suppressed them thoroughly when they became organized.
But what about now?
Now that Putin was dead and the political situation was chaotic, the story was different.
That’s how the anti-Borchenko demonstration that started for the first time at Pushkin Square expanded to all over Russia.
There were so many people who watched the broadcast and thought that they were living hard because of Borchenko and his ilk.
—Russia is introducing almost the same technology as Korea. But why is there a fourfold difference in GDP?
—Russia already has two nuclear fusion plants built. But if you look at the electricity bill in Moscow, it’s not much different from Korea. This is blatant exploitation and tyranny.
—It’s all because of oligarchs like Borchenko. They are sucking the blood of Russians from the middle.
—They are not satisfied with that and try to separate Russia and Korea. Just wait and see. The failure of supercavity train introduction is just the beginning.
—In the end, Borchenko is the problem.
—Let’s kill Borchenko!
The impatient Russians rose up.
Demonstrations broke out like fire in 70 cities across Russia.
There were too many participants to suppress them with the national police.
The confused Federal Assembly requested the deployment of the National Guard, but Deputy Prime Minister Mikhailov refused.
“The scale is too big. If we try to suppress it rashly, it will only cause resentment.”
“Damn it! I should have gotten rid of the vice president first!”
Borchenko, who had become the target of hatred, tried to call the head of the National Security Agency, MGB, but the communication was cut off and the order was not delivered.
Meanwhile, the protesters marched to Moscow and finally surrounded the parliament.
“We don’t need land, we need a supercavity train!”
“Invite Yu Ji-ha! Kill Borchenko, who sucks the blood of Russia!”
The atmosphere was so hostile and the number of people was so large that the national police only played the role of bystanders.
It was fine until then.
The protesters didn’t get into the parliament.
Borchenko was surrounded by his cronies and the Russian army was intact.
He thought it was wrong to move Mikhailov, the vice president, and if he persuaded Dmitri, it wouldn’t be hard to mobilize troops.
But the communication didn’t work.
Borchenko slapped the satellite phone that his secretary brought him.
“How can satellite communication be blocked? Whose prank is this?”
“I-I don’t know! The Aerospace Command says they don’t know why either!”
“…”
Could it be Yu Ji-ha’s prank?
Borchenko knew well about the world situation as he was Putin’s aide.
He remembered the report from the National Security Agency that there were communication problems every time Korea intervened.
Of course he didn’t believe it completely, but he couldn’t help being suspicious.
At such an important time?
While he was trapped in the parliament and flustered, the protesters’ actions became more violent.
They threw all kinds of equipment and even stones, and there was no glass left in the parliament windows.
He couldn’t guarantee his life if this went on.
Borchenko clenched his teeth and waited for the communication to resume.
Fortunately, it wasn’t long before he connected with Dmitri, who was in charge of the Western Military District near St. Petersburg.
“You seem to be in a lot of trouble.”
“Help me out, minister.”
“Haha… What do I get if I help you?”
“…Do you want the president’s seat?”
“Let’s take a look at the previous president’s case for a moment. I’ll take office as president first. You take responsibility as prime minister.”
“What then?”
“We’ll switch positions. We have nothing to fear if we join hands.”
Both of them were rated as inadequate to follow Putin’s footsteps, but it wasn’t too hard to seize power if they joined hands.
Borchenko didn’t like Dmitri becoming president first.
He was afraid of how he would turn out once he had power.
‘But I have no choice if I want to suppress this riot…’
The angry shouts of the protesters echoed in the parliament building, making him seriously worry about his life.
According to the news, even some of the national police joined the protesters.
They were Russians too.
Borchenko looked down from the window and flinched when he saw a stone flying up to the floor below.
“Damn it! Fine. You take office as president first. I’ll take office as prime minister.”
“Excellent choice. Then I’ll deploy some of the guard tank troops…”
Then suddenly a loud noise rang out from the other end of the phone.
Borchenko was about to ask what was going on when the communication was completely cut off.
“What’s going on? Is it another communication jamming?”
But it wasn’t, since his aides could contact him.
One of them came up and said.
“Sir, war has broken out.”
“War? What war?”
“It looks like an artillery brigade from the Western Military District fired at the Estonian border.”
“That’s impossible!”
Didn’t they just say to create a war atmosphere?
Of course, Dmitri must have thought that he needed to achieve Estonia’s merger to become president.
But why would he suddenly mobilize troops when he said he would help him?
They only drooled over what they could get out of Russia, but they didn’t have a speck of dust in their eyes to restore the glory of the old Soviet Union.
Borchenko twisted his body with dizziness as he looked at the Estonian troop deployment status that his aide brought him.
NATO troops were heavily deployed on the border line for US troops.
“Contact them right now and tell them to stop! We can’t clash with NATO now!”
“You’re wrong! NATO artillery forces have started counter-fire!”
“This damn bastard!”
He didn’t know how much shelling it was, but at this point he couldn’t explain it as a misunderstanding to America.
Borchenko wandered around the hallway and remembered a similar case in East Asia.
“It must have started like this in the Second Korean War…”
The outbreak of war following an unknown North Korean artillery movement.
At the time, he thought some of the North Korean troops had gone crazy, but the UN’s post-war investigation revealed that it wasn’t.
The truth was far away, but the intelligence agencies of various countries pointed out that Yu Ji-ha had been in the Blue House bunker since then.
They began to doubt that he pulled the trigger of the war.
What about this time?
The face of a man appeared in Borchenko’s mind.
He was smiling.
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