Dictator From Outer Space

Chapter 44: Instead of Rice, Ion Cannons 

“The target acquisition is the most important thing because the range is 500 km, but the South Korean Navy currently has no long-range detection capability.”

“So we can’t do the test?”

“We can, but we need the help of the US Navy. Don’t you see a plane flying nearby? It’s an E-2D early warning aircraft launched from the 7th Fleet aircraft carrier.”

“···”

This was the explanation of the controller in charge of the test.

The president-elect Jo Hyung-geun realized the poor ocean operation capability of the South Korean Navy.

He dreamed of a magnificent navy after hearing the report that they had developed a railgun, but the reality was miserable. They couldn’t even acquire a target without the help of the US Navy.

If this was a territorial sea, it wouldn’t be a big problem because they could borrow an early warning aircraft from the Air Force.

But the railgun had too long a range to conduct a firing test in a narrow territorial sea.

Anyway, the railgun test was being prepared step by step.

The supply ship supplied fuel to the generator and the target ship was ready.

The E-2D early warning aircraft flying around the target ship acquired the target coordinates and transmitted them to the Aleiberg destroyer via datalink.

Then, a tedious process of consultation between the controllers followed to receive the firing data.

It was a bonus to adjust the railgun manually.

Yu Ji-ha watched calmly, but Jo Hyung-geun was seasick and hung on to his stomach.

“Uh···”

And then a report came in over the radio.

「First firing test ready. Requesting control」

The radio sounded respectful because there was a high-tech researcher on board.

The controller looked at Jo Hyung-geun and Yu Ji-ha alternately and grabbed the key of the radio.

「Start counting」

The railgun barrel moved slowly with a luminous signal.

Everyone watched with bated breath and finally a red flame burst out of the barrel.

Bang―!

It was a deafening sound.

It was a success on the first try.

“Oh!”

“Success!”

The researcher and crew cheered at the great start.

The first shot was attempted at a range of 300 km, so it didn’t take long for a report to come in.

「Report that it passed over the stern of the target ship. Requesting correction of firing data」

It was impossible to detect it with any means because it had an end speed of over 2 km per second.

That meant they had to directly observe whether there was a hole in the target ship or not to determine if it hit.

On the other hand, Yu Ji-ha heard directly from Arma how much it missed.

「It’s 230m behind and 42m above from the stern」

They could have asked for correction of firing data, but they just left it alone.

How could anyone on board a destroyer know what firing data to use?

The firing resumed and the railgun endured continuous firing without any problems.

And finally, there was a hit.

There was a thud sound, and then the target ship was cleanly penetrated.

「Report that it hit the target ship!」

「The target ship is completely penetrated!」

“Wow!”

“Oh, we got a message from the US side saying it’s amazing!”

At this moment, the faces of Kim Si-min’s crew were filled with pride.

The South Korean Navy had made progress in the 21st century and had considerable power, but it was still incomparable to the US Navy.

Moreover, they were proud enough to succeed in firing a railgun in an ocean, not in a territorial sea.

“Hahaha, I knew it would succeed!”

The president-elect Jo Hyung-geun laughed loudly and shook hands with officers and non-commissioned officers on board.

A while later, the railgun aimed at a target ship located at 500 km away.

It was an enormous distance that could cover almost all of North Korea if fired from Gyeonggi-do.

Everyone watched silently as they fired again.

And then another projectile was fired from the railgun barrel.

Bang!

Three minutes later, communication came from around the target ship.

「Uh···it didn’t hit, but it definitely passed by」

「Firing test successful!」

Yu Ji-ha finally relaxed his stiff face and shook hands with people.

President-elect Jo Hyung-geun hugged him.

“You did a great job! I hope you keep helping me in the future.”

You mean my South Korea, not yours.

Yu Ji-ha smiled only on the outside.

…

「South Korean Railgun Firing Test Perfectly Successful!」

The press release from the Navy dominated the entire South Korean media.

They didn’t show much data, but they could confirm a brief scene of the railgun firing and a hole in the old reconnaissance ship used as a target.

They really succeeded in developing a railgun.

There were comments on the internet news asking if this was real.

―Is this the second one after the US? South Korea? Are you guys scamming?

ㄴWhat scam? It’s been a while since Silla Hi-Tech started developing a railgun.

ㄴBut they said before that railguns were impossible in the first place.

ㄴWhere have you been living in the mountains? Do you know how much South Korea has changed in a year?

ㄴYou probably don’t even know that South Korea is the only country that can mine unobtainium on the moon.

ㄴThe singularity has arrived.

ㄴSouth Korea has become a greater nation! Long live President Yu Ji-ha!

ㄴBro, give me an android!

The official Navy account also uploaded a video on Mitube.

This video easily surpassed 1 million views in no time.

Everyone was amazed if this was real.

―Hey, if it’s a railgun, isn’t it really Japan that’s nervous and China that’s trembling?

―The US should also give us a thumbs up.

―I always hated the national pride complex, but now it’s real···

There had to be flies, and as always, the Chinese started to pick a fight.

Their country was in a mess, but their individual surveillance had withered because of that.

―It doesn’t matter if it’s a railgun. It’s over if it’s a Dongfeng missile. What can South Korea’s scrap ship do against DF-21?

ㄴDo you assume it has a nuclear warhead?

ㄴYou’re talking nonsense.

ㄴThat’s what I’m saying. How do you know if it’s a conventional warhead or a nuclear warhead before it hits? Don’t you have anything to say if South Korea assumes it’s a nuclear warhead?

ㄴWe need to activate the nuclear umbrella right away.

ㄴDo you think the US will activate the nuclear umbrella for South Korea? You better wake up from your dream.

ㄴYeah, they tested the railgun together. They need South Korea to do nuclear fusion.

ㄴCome to think of it, China doesn’t have black metal or superconductors or railguns or Russiaㅋㅋㅋ

ㄴIdiots keep masturbating with shitㅋㅋ

The Chinese users were quite confused because they didn’t know that the translation function was so perfect.

―What is this. Are you all Chinese?

ㄴWe’re South Koreans. Free Tibet Tiananmen Xinjiang Uyghur Beijing plane!

ㄴRussia has been out for a while.

ㄴOh right, you can’t use Russia?

ㄴToo bad. No black metal, no superconductor, no railgun, no Russia.

ㄴShut up cockroach South Koreans.

ㄴThe only cockroaches with many numbers are you guysㅋㅋㅋ

And so, the Navy’s video became a battlefield with thousands of comments where South Koreans and Chinese fought.

Sometimes Japanese joined in, but they didn’t get much attention.

Anyway, this test gave a big shock to the naval officials of various countries.

Especially Japan, which was keen on developing railguns, was shocked.

―How did they develop the superconducting electromagnet even if they had black metal for the barrel and capacitor? We haven’t even finished analyzing the superconductor yet.

―We must have been ahead by at least a few years.

―Is it possible that it’s fake? It’s South Korea’s specialty after all.

―It’s ridiculous to say it’s fake. The US Navy confirmed it. Face reality.

―South Korea has applied black metal batteries to its next-generation submarines and greatly increased its submergence time. If they also deploy railguns in practice, we might be threatened too.

―We’ll solve it if we send mining robots to the moon too.

―It costs billions of yen just to launch them. I doubt we can afford it even with superconductors.

While the Navy was excited about this test, they quietly raised the need for a new platform.

The idea of dismantling Sejong the Great-class ships went away.

They couldn’t reduce one when they desperately needed an anti-aircraft ship.

So they cautiously proposed a new platform requirement.

And when Yu Ji-ha decided to provide a new ion thruster, the Navy was swept up in a festive mood.

―With that tremendous thrust, we can turn all the generator output to the railgun.

―A thruster that can be applied to any platform···This is a dream thruster, isn’t it?

―Let’s get it and do an underwater test first.

While the Navy was excited, Yu Ji-ha heard a report from Arma.

Signs of provocation from North Korea were detected.

…

“North Korea is expected to provoke. They might fire the Geumseong-4 anti-ship missile.”

“How far is the range?”

“According to North Korea’s announcement, it’s close to 400 km.”

He laughed involuntarily.

“What a bluff. It’s barely 200 km at best.”

“That’s what the NIS and others think. But it’s one of the few missiles that can threaten South Korea.”

“Are they just firing it into the sea?”

“Yes. South Koreans are now immune to missile launches.”

“Why are they doing this? Internal crackdown?”

“There is an assessment that internal dissatisfaction in North Korea has reached its limit.”

North Korea suffered a fatal blow as China faltered.

They depended on China for most of their oil, but when imports were cut off, the whole country came to a halt.

“Even in Pyongyang, the capital, electricity is not properly supplied. Not even 24 hours in the central district where the elite class lives.”

“The North Korean military is in a more serious situation and has not been able to launch a single plane or ship this year.”

“The price of rice in Pyongyang has risen 11 times in the last few months. There are starving people in Pyongyang and the residents are whispering.”

Yu Ji-ha was able to observe every corner of Pyongyang’s back alleys through the Sibiri satellite.

Even though it was around the residential area of the core class, there were quite a few people lying down.

“It looks worse than when we first came here.”

“In fact, foreign media have a lot of opinions that the end of the North Korean regime is approaching.”

“Jo Hyung-geun would love that.”

He was a hardliner who believed that unification would be achieved only if he drove a tank into Pyongyang and planted a South Korean flag at Juche Palace.

But reality was completely different from his dream.

South Korea was not ready to unify with North Korea.

Of course, the government would have some plans on how to act if there was a sudden change in North Korea.

But they couldn’t answer the most essential question.

For example, how to treat 20 million people if the North Korean regime collapses.

And it was doubtful whether China would stay still.

They were in chaos right now, but they would try to enter North Korea and secure a port to reach the East Sea in case of emergency.

The reality was like this, but they wanted to occupy North Korea?

It was perfect for annihilation.

Arma opened his mouth again.

“He will be quiet at first after taking office. He needs time to take over the government agencies.”

“He’s so impatient···Is that all for provocation?”

“No, the missile is a bait.”

The video taken by Sibiri satellite was displayed on the wall.

The place was a North Korean GP inside DMZ.

They were busy moving something from a tunnel.

Yu Ji-ha looked closely and found out that they were wearing South Korean uniforms.

“Are they trying to lure our soldiers by entering our GP?”

“It’s a plan to retaliate for what they suffered in DMZ. It’s not from the People’s Security Unit, but from the Reconnaissance Bureau.”

“Yeah, they got screwed by drones.”

The surveillance drone system had earned perfect trust from GOP and GP leaders over the past few months.

There was only a gunfight in DMZ, so it was natural for the Army to be excited by winning.

But if North Korea came out like this, the South Korean Army would inevitably suffer damage.

It wasn’t like drones or bulletproof plates could stop No. 7 launchers.

“Do you know about this in the Army?”

“Yes. They are collecting intelligence and moving hastily. But they don’t seem to know the exact scale.”

“Tell them there are flamethrowers too. Then they’ll be prepared enough. And then···”

“What will you do next?”

He looked at the North Korean soldiers squirming in Yu Ji-ha’s video.

The South Korean government may not want a big friction, but he didn’t.

But he didn’t want to wipe out the North Korean leadership either.

Unlike China, if North Korea collapses, it will be a headache for us.

For now, that is.

“Did you say it was from Reconnaissance Bureau? Blow them all up.”

North Korea’s attitude towards South Korea had always been the same.

They would provoke with military force, escalate the tension, then offer a conciliatory gesture and pretend to make an agreement.

Of course, these agreements were hardly ever maintained.

They would break them with some kind of provocation.

This situation had continued for decades, and the South Koreans’ attitude towards North Korea had changed a lot.

They went from being the same people with a bully upstairs, to being a beggar who was despised.

In fact, it was not wrong to say that.

If you listened carefully to what North Korea claimed, it was all about aid.

They wanted food, money, medical supplies, and various other necessities, and the South Korean government provided them through UN relief agencies or the Red Cross.

But recently, there was a growing skepticism about this aid.

What was the point of giving them aid if nothing changed?

Indeed, North Korea accepted the aid but did not tolerate any change.

Instead, they destroyed the buildings that South Korea built for them, cut off the communication network, and did all kinds of mischief.

Now, most South Koreans had a cynical view of North Korea.

―What do you have that we should care about? Why are you making such a fuss?

―Please just ignore them. Let them starve or die, we don’t care. Let’s just do our own thing.

―You know very well that talking to them is useless, right? What difference does it make if we build them a railroad or invest in them?

―Those bastards will never change.

However, even those South Koreans who didn’t care about North Korea would hesitate when asked who should take over North Korea.

―Would you mind if China occupied North Korea when it collapsed?

―Well, that’s…

―You said you didn’t want to bother with North Korea. Then it doesn’t matter who takes it, right?

No one could answer this question satisfactorily.

It was because their emotions had become too complicated after living in a divided state for decades.

But one thing was certain.

It had been a long time since the South Koreans’ pity and sympathy for North Korea turned into hatred and cynicism.

It got worse recently as anti-China sentiment exploded and North Korea’s provocations intensified.

So when North Korea fired anti-ship missiles into the East Sea again, there was hardly anyone who was afraid.

―They’re scared because we developed railguns.

―They should buy rice instead of firing those things.

Now that South Korea had railguns, there was no reason to be afraid of anti-ship missiles, let alone ballistic missiles.

The two countries had a huge gap in naval power, and now it was ridiculous to compare them with the advent of railguns.

That’s why people sneered at North Korea’s anti-ship missile launch.

Usually, the provocation ended here.

North Korea was also a country that valued its survival, so they always had an exit strategy.

They looked like crazy lunatics, but they were calculating internally.

So when this provocation ended, a loud announcer from South Korean Central Television would make a final statement.

This time, Kim Yo-jong, the first secretary of the Workers’ Party of South Korea, personally warned South Korea.

―We cannot help but be horrified by the new cannon that targets our nation from South Chosun. We inform the South Chosun authorities that the spring days are over. The Republic will no longer exercise patience and will not engage in any dialogue.

The reaction of the South Koreans who heard this speech was nothing but ridicule.

―What dialogue? They’re shooting guns at DMZ every day.

―They keep saying they’ll make us pay in blood and fire, and now they’re talking about being the same nation?

―I wish I could catch that bitch and hang her at Gwanghwamun for just a week.

As always, the South Korean government did not respond much.

There was some doubt, but more importantly, President Lee Hyun-sung’s term was almost over.

He would step down soon and Jo Hyung-geun would take office. There was no need to make trouble unnecessarily.

But then intelligence came to the army.

―Signs of provocation detected inside DMZ. Large-scale mobilization of heavy weapons involved.

The source of the intelligence was supposedly from the National Military Intelligence Agency, but they said they didn’t send it.

While both sides were engaged in a psychological warfare, the divisions in charge of GOP and GP immediately issued Jindo Dog 2 and entered an intensive surveillance posture.

There was something suspicious about North Korea’s recent activities inside DMZ.

Officers and non-commissioned officers of the 21st Division Reconnaissance Battalion were fully armed and entered the report at the barracks.