Chapter 229.2: The Start of a Legend (2)
Whenever Kang Chan became popular, there always emerged some leader who was envious of him. They would dispatch him on operations that seemed impossible or were just ghastly—the kind of operations where his team’s death was inevitable no matter what he did.
“But I’m not going to stay at Yoo Bi-Corp,” Kang Chan interjected.
“From the looks of it, they will probably try to work for you as independent agents after we’re done with this matter.”
Kang Chan grinned, but Kim Hyung-Jung’s expression stayed grim. Kang Chan already expected that the atmosphere over there wouldn’t be too sunny, but he didn’t expect it would be this bad.
If he was being honest, he didn’t give a fuck what happened. However, in an instant, the lives of the agents and special forces soldiers who had spent years following their mission of offering their all for their country could be changed. It wasn’t like Kang Chan could take all of them to the French DGSE either.
Chk.
“The director has arrived.”
Chk.
“Nothing unusual in the lobby.”
Chk.
“Nothing unusual in the conference hall.”
Based on the incessant radio communication about the current security situation, it sounded as if Kang Dae-Kyung had arrived at the hotel.
“What about the rest of the things that you wanted to tell me?” Kang Chan asked.
“We are thinking of recruiting an individual over to Oh Gwang-Taek’s company. He’s known as the DMZ King,” Kim Hyung-Jung said.
Kang Chan looked at Kim Hyung-Jung with a curious face. He had heard of how legendary the DMZ King was, but he had to have aged a bit by now. Old age was a significant handicap in combat and operations. That was why older soldiers were reassigned to command divisions.
“I believe it would be of great assistance to our objective in Mongolia if we have someone as skilled and experienced as he is leading our men.”
“Well, if you say so. I’ll let you be the judge on that, but Oh Gwang-Taek has to agree with it as well,” Kang Chan mused.
“The employees of his company will undergo training regarding this, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
Rather than being bothered by it, Kang Chan actually thought it was a solid plan. Now, he only had to listen to the last thing that Kim Hyung-Jung wanted to tell him. However, instead of immediately continuing, Kim Hyung-Jung picked up a cigarette. It seemed what he was about to tell him was far more pressing than the first two.
Kang Chan accepted and lit up the cigarette that Kim Hyung-Jung offered.
“Special forces are scheduled to be dispatched to Africa—Somalia, to be precise. The National Assembly will likely approve of this plan in a few days.”
Kang Chan jumped to attention and put down the cigarette he had already raised halfway to his mouth. His eyes focused on Kim Hyung-Jung.
“The UN and the United States have requested for assistance. All five countries will be joining this operation. We initially planned on turning down the deployment request, but the opposing political party has come together to make the National Assembly accept it. It will most likely be granted approval.”
“What about the commander? Cha Dong-Gyun hasn’t recovered enough to be deployed yet.”
“We are looking into selecting one of the lieutenant colonels with a long field career right now.”
“Is there any way to prevent this from happening?” Kang Chan asked with frustration.
Seeing Kang Chan’s extreme reaction, Kim Hyung-Jung tilted his head in confusion.
“Manager Kim, you can’t underestimate Africa. Without any experience, even the most capable teams wouldn’t be able to come back alive from that place.”
“Haven’t our men already gained quite a considerable amount of experience?”
Kang Chan shook his head.
“We still haven’t faced a proper Islamic enemy yet. Compared to the SSIS that they will be encountering in Africa, the enemies that we fought in Afghanistan are…” he trailed off, realizing that his voice had become too loud. He pressed his lips together and looked around him before continuing. “... nothing but little children. Among the Islamic forces, the SSIS is a particularly brutal faction. Even the Shiites gave up against them.”
“Did you just say the SSIS?” Kim Hyung-Jung asked in surprise.
Kim Hyung-Jung hadn’t fully grasped the severity of Kang Chan’s words. Regardless, Kang Chan had to say what had to be said.
Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho were up against the SSIS in the operation that got them killed.
“You probably won’t understand this until you’ve seen the brutality of their ways, but they are the most extreme terrorist faction among the Islamic forces. The soldiers in our special forces team can’t pull the trigger on a 5-year-old kid’s forehead yet. Against the SSIS, that moment of hesitation is all it would take for everything to end. There wouldn’t even be a body left intact.”
“France, Russia, the United States, and England will be joining this mission,” Kim Hyung-Jung rebuffed.
Kang Chan smirked and chuckled out loud.
“France’s Foreign Legion special forces created a unit specifically to fight the SSIS. The United States’s special forces primarily use Apache helicopters or bombers rather than infantry, and the Russian Spetsnaz have already had multiple experiences against them. Compared to them, there is no doubt in my mind that the Korean special forces will face huge casualties at the very forefront.”
Kim Hyung-Jung looked back at Kang Chan with a dazed expression that seemed to ask him, “How do you know that? Is that really true?”
“Don’t you know that the least experienced team in joint special forces operations is always positioned at the forefront?” Kang Chan asked.
“That can’t be true,” Kim Hyung-Jung interjected.
“Manager Kim, if you were in charge, would you deliberately send our special forces team out to die? It could be different if our team is the one in charge of the entire operation, but with several countries simultaneously joining the fray, the inexperienced team will inevitably find itself standing at the very front.”
“What? Why?”
“Because they don’t know the situation! Since the newer teams lack the experience, the more battle-hardened ones will ask them to handle reconnaissance. However, going to battlefields like that without any experience is no different from walking into death’s embrace itself,” Kang Chan stated.
Kim Hyung-Jung looked as if he still couldn’t fully comprehend the situation yet. However, Kang Chan’s expression, which was completely different than usual, seemed to be enough for him to catch on that this matter was more serious than he thought.
“Can we still stop their deployment?” Kang Chan asked.
“It would be difficult to do that now. The proposal will be submitted within two days, and they will approve of it not long after,” Kim Hyung-Jung answered gravely.
“Fuck!” Kang Chan exclaimed, then sighed. “Can Seok Kang-Ho and I join the operation?”
“We can definitely make that happen, but if you do join this mission, then we will have to postpone our business in Mongolia. To be completely honest with you, you are the only person who can handle the Russian intelligence bureau.”
Damn it!
Kang Chan swallowed the curses threatening to spill out from the tip of his tongue. It wasn’t as if he could opt not to go to Mongolia now. After all, he did give his word to Yang Bum.
“Mr. Kang Chan, this is my first time hearing of a group called SSIS,” Kim Hyung-Jung questioningly opened.
“It’s an Islamic State formed by the union of the extremists from the Shia and Sunni factions. It was initially formed in Africa but has since become a powerful organization that has members across the globe,” Kang Chan responded.
“Our intelligence network has never come across something like this yet.”
Kang Chan contemplated for a brief moment before finally replying, “The French Foreign Legion fights that group quite often in Africa. The United States and Russia also know about them. So does England,”
Kim Hyung-Jung couldn’t even bring himself to ask another question.
“This is simply where the limits of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service show,” Kang Chan said matter-of-factly.
Hearing that made Kim Hyung-Jung tightly press his lips together and sigh quietly.
“Once the National Assembly grants approval for this mission, how long will we have left before the men are deployed to Somalia?”
“About two weeks.”
“Haah!” Kang Chan sighed loudly again.
They wouldn’t even have time to properly train for the dangers that they would be going up against.
Damn it!
The South Korean special forces team had just managed to accumulate more experience, yet it already looked as if they were about to sprint headfirst into a battle they weren’t familiar with in the slightest.
It went without saying that their deaths weren’t certain, but they would only have a twenty percent chance of survival in this operation. With odds that low, Kang Chan could bet everything he had that they would be annihilated. They would be in such a dire situation that if thirty of them were sent into this battle and only ten managed to come out alive, they could still consider that a success.
“Did the United States come up with this plan?” Kang Chan asked.
“If the plan’s so off that it made you think of that, then you’re likely not too far off,” Kim Hyung-Jung responded.
“Those damn motherfuckers!” Kang Chan exclaimed.
Kang Chan recalled the Apache helicopters that they had come across in Afghanistan. He also remembered what Lanok told him. If it wasn’t for his position as Deputy Director-General in France’s DGSE, those helicopters would have killed him.
The South Korean soldiers put their lives on the line to fight for their country, yet they were now being pushed into hell.
The foolishly sincere special forces soldiers were definitely going to fight to the bitter end and give it all they had even in that hellish place. They wouldn’t be as wise as the Caucasian soldiers, and they wouldn’t run away to survive either.
Kang Chan was sure they were going to be relentless. They would do whatever it would take to save their comrades and defend the honor of the Korean special forces until they all fell and took their last breaths.
You motherfuckers better watch your backs. I don’t know who’s behind this, but I guarantee that the son of a bitch who sent the Apache helicopters and the jerkass who came up with this plan is going to die by my hand.
Kang Chan gritted his teeth in fierce determination.
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