Dictator From Outer Space

Chapter 53: A Fine Example Of A Dictator

Prime Minister Ozawa finished his official schedule with the Korean government and visited the Silla Group right away.

He rode in the Windrunner electric car with Yu Ji-ha and looked impressed.

“This is more than just a car for drivers. I can see why the rumors were an understatement.”

“Thank you for your compliment.”

“Can I see this car in Japan too?”

“Well, we don’t have a branch in Japan, so…”

He doubted that it would sell well even if they exported it.

The Japanese pride was well-known.

Even when Hansung Electronics’ appliances and Orion smartphones swept the world, Japan ignored them.

They stubbornly stuck to Japanese products even though they were inferior in price and performance.

That was their subtle contempt for Korea that had been formed over decades.

Prime Minister Ozawa knew that too, so he smiled bitterly and looked ahead.

Soon, they sat down in a separate meeting room.

Yu Ji-ha spoke first.

“I’ll tell you in advance, but the contents of this meeting will be reported to the Korean government as well.”

“Of course. It won’t be valid without the consent of the Korean government. Then I’ll deliver the official position of Japan. We want to establish a friendly relationship with the Silla Group. We are willing to take all the necessary measures for that.”

“That’s good to hear. I’ll accept it if you declare three things.”

“What are those three things?”

“The first is to declare that the Black Metal in the East Sea and Dokdo are permanently owned by Korea and that Japan will never infringe on them.”

Prime Minister Ozawa’s expression hardened noticeably. He seemed to have not expected that.

“The second is a sincere reflection on the past history. You don’t need vague words like regret or remorse. It would be troublesome if Japanese politicians say something weird later.”

The prime minister’s expression turned sour.

To be honest, he didn’t have that in mind when he first heard that Prime Minister Ozawa was visiting Korea.

He didn’t care about Korea’s history because he was only using a Korean body.

But Arma advised him seriously.

“If you are recorded as the person who received Japan’s formal apology, it will be a great help for your future rule.”

He didn’t really want a title, but he was willing to do it if it helped.

The prime minister was silent for a long time before he opened his mouth.

“…You said three things, so let me hear them first.”

“The last one is the freedom of navigation for warships in Japan’s southern sea…that is, the sea from Senkaku Islands to Kyushu in the East China Sea.”

The freedom of navigation for warships was tantamount to saying that he wanted to use it as his own sea.

“Impossible. All three are impossible conditions.”

“Then the negotiation is over. Have a nice day.”

As Yu Ji-ha stood up, Prime Minister Ozawa grabbed his hand in a hurry.

“What if, I accept those conditions?”

“The Silla Group will treat Japan as similar to the US.”

The prime minister’s breathing became rough for a moment.

He wasn’t out of breath because he was too old.

“It’s similar treatment…”

“We will launch Windrunner and Lucia Premium, as well as supply railguns and ion thrusters.”

“What about Unobtanium and nuclear fusion, moon development?”

“I don’t think it will be the same as Korea, but it might be possible as a major participant. And you will also get priority treatment in the future projects of the Silla Group.”

The offer was as shocking as the conditions.

The prime minister wanted to say YES, but barely held back.

He didn’t want to refuse such an offer, but he was representing the will of Japan.

“…”

A long silence followed.

Did this mean that Korea had settled its internal affairs?

On the contrary, Japan was not settled at all.

The reason why he visited Korea this time was to ask about the Silla Group’s intentions and discuss countermeasures.

In other words, nothing was supposed to happen here.

Prime Minister Ozawa wanted to ask one thing.

“President Yu. Do you think Japan and Korea can be friends?”

“If we can shake off the past, I think it’s possible to be friends. Japan just needs to show some sincerity.”

It seemed expensive for some sincerity, but the compensation was more than that.

The EU tried to get Unobtanium and got sanctioned, suffering a huge blow of hundreds of trillions of yen.

The internal conflict was so serious that many predicted that they would never return to their former EU.

In this situation, did they need to antagonize the Silla Group?

If they just swallowed their pride, they could secure a strong rope for the future?

…But how to silence the voices of opposition in Japan was the problem.

He also didn’t think it would be easy to persuade the hardline stance of the Self-Defense Forces.

Should he arrange a visit by the emperor?

Prime Minister Ozawa shook his head inwardly.

If he used that method and the atmosphere didn’t change, his regime would be in danger.

He didn’t want to hold another general election for the House of Representatives when he had been in office for less than two years.

‘I have no choice but to gather opinions when I go back…’

It was strange.

He was the prime minister, but he didn’t represent Japan at all.

On the other hand, the handsome businessman in front of him looked like he was representing Korea.

It was probably because of his dazzling achievements so far.

He didn’t actually do anything for the Korean people, but he was praised for raising their pride.

Prime Minister Ozawa concluded.

“Excuse me, Chairman Yu. I can’t decide everything here. I’ll go back and discuss it with the bureaucrats.”

“I hope it goes well for both countries.”

It was a meaningful remark.

“Please, this is my last request. Can I visit the solar fusion facility? I want to see the ion beam fusion with my own eyes.”

“That’s not a problem.”

The prime minister was immediately guided to the solar fusion facility and listened to the explanation of Director Ahn Yong-hoon.

“Ion beam fusion is a method of creating plasma by shooting ion beams at fuel pellets through multiple accelerators and causing an implosion effect…”

The explanation was not bad for a layman, but the prime minister’s eyes and ears were reading the atmosphere around the demonstration reactor.

‘Things are busy and fast here.’

It was natural for this place to be noisy like a newborn baby.

But the prime minister saw a fundamental difference between this fusion reactor and Japan’s.

Compared to Japan, which had nothing more to do than routine experiments and data collection, this place was definitely lively.

That didn’t guarantee the outcome, but if anyone asked which side had more potential, they would choose this one.

Especially since they had Lucia, who was considered the world’s first artificial intelligence.

He could see the researchers adjusting the ion beam accelerators under her guidance.

He could sense their expectation of something being born from their sweat and smiles.

‘If only we could send our researchers here…’

He felt like they could learn a lot.

Ozawa bowed slightly to Chairman Yoo Ji-ha.

“Thank you for the tour. I will try to bring good news when I return to Japan.”

His visit to Korea ended there.

But the real thing started when he returned to Japan.

…

Ozawa’s visit to Korea caused a huge wave in Japan.

He tried to secretly gather opinions from various circles, but it was leaked in the process.

The conditions offered by Korea and the opposition to them dominated the internet and terrestrial channels.

Many Japanese people showed tremendous resistance when they learned of the contents.

—Black metal is one thing, but giving up Takeshima permanently? That’s absurd!

—What is this innocent passage right? The Ozawa regime that gives up Japan’s sea is anti-national!

—We are tired of Korea demanding apologies and compensation. Severance is the answer.

Compensation was a fabrication of the right-wingers and it worked.

The Self-Defense Forces maintained an absolute no position on the three terms, and various groups also issued statements of opposition.

On the other hand, some upper classes reacted that it was not bad to have a close relationship with Korea at that level.

—Let’s calm down and think constructively. In reality, all we lose is lending our sea.

—Didn’t they say they would share railgun and fusion technology? It’s amazing to get the same treatment as the United States.

—Especially Unobtanium is a problem. This material is not impossible for Japan alone, but the price is too high to be meaningful. Japan should not be excluded from the Unobtanium ecosystem.

Japan’s business community also cautiously voiced their opinions.

—As a car union, we hope that things will be resolved peacefully as much as possible.

—With the help of Silla Group, Japan’s economy can escape stagnation and leap forward.

However, these opinions that sought profit were not easily noticed.

It was always stimulating claims that attracted people’s attention.

There was a growing anti-Korean sentiment in Japan.

Many people protested how Korea could demand such things.

As this soil was formed, the right-wingers diligently sprinkled fertilizer.

—Let’s expel Zainichi Koreans and sever ties with Korea! Japan can no longer afford to lose!

—Let’s just not have anything to do with Korea. Even currency swaps should be rejected altogether.

—Japan should have nuclear weapons too. Then railguns or ion thrusters would be laughable.

Japan’s attitude was also known in Korea and caused quite a fierce reaction.

—Look at those bastards making up things again. There’s no compensation in the conditions, why are they ranting?

—Think about it, it makes me angry? From the beginning, Dokdo and black metal are ours, and we deserve a sincere apology and innocent passage rights anyway?

—Just let them sever ties. But then exclude them from black metal, drones,  artificial intelligence, ion thrusters, solar fusion  Unobtanium and moon development altogether.

—Let’s just ignore each other and live. Don’t interfere with anything in the future.

Compared to before, Korea’s atmosphere had changed a bit too.

With Yu Ji-ha’s appearance, some areas achieved overwhelming results, making them relatively relaxed.

There was also a strong voice saying let’s sever ties and go our own way.

Some argued that what about Japan’s trade deficit, but few people cared.

And so the negotiations ultimately broke down.

The Korean government left a comment of regret and the Japanese government did not make any significant response.

But internally, there was a feeling that they could not sit still.

—In two or three years, Korea’s military power will grow rapidly. Railguns with a range of over 500km, submarines equipped with ion thrusters and hypersonic anti-ship missiles… I doubt Japan’s power can stop them.

—What we need now is asymmetric power. Only this can protect Japan.

The most famous of the asymmetric powers was what?

Just then, a report on the possibility of nuclear development from the Atomic Research Institute came to the prime minister’s office.

“Nine months… at most a year for the first nuclear test…”

The secretaries advised him.

“Recently, the United States is skeptical of Korea’s attitude. If we lobby properly, they won’t oppose it much.”

“EU and China are also very resentful of Korea. If Japan takes a confrontational stance against Korea, there won’t be much sanctions.”

“We can handle the backlash from Russia, India, Germany and so on.”

Ozawa prime minister pondered deeply.

Chairman Yu Ji-ha said that Japan and Korea could be friends, but it seemed difficult.

Soon after, an order to enrich plutonium came from the prime minister’s office.

And Yu Ji-ha was receiving all of this from Arma.

“Japan is enriching plutonium and the United States is watching it.”

“We’ll have to go with Plan B.”

…

“Is this the material called antron?”

“It’s an element developed by Director Ahn Yong-hoon and Lucia. As the name anti-neutron implies, it suppresses the movement of neutrons.”

“What does that mean exactly?”

“It means that no nuclear reaction occurs when this material explodes. The reactor will stop working, and the nuclear missiles will become scrap metal.”

“…”

President Jo Hyung-geun lost his words and looked at the monitor in the lab.

He came here because he heard they made a great discovery, but he never imagined it would be something like this.

The monitor showed a simplified diagram of the situation when the ion beam was accelerated through the accelerator and hit the pellet.

Dr. Ahn Yong-hoon’s explanation accompanied it.

“To be precise, when a pellet using deuterium and helium-3 as fuel is heated, it emits proton rays and neutron rays. But in this diagram, there are only protons. So…”

“Neutrons don’t move at all.”

“…Then the nuclear reaction is suppressed? Nuclear fission too?”

“In theory, yes. We need to prove it through experiments.”

“Actually, this is an element made by Lucia. Black metal undergoes various phase transitions under special conditions, and one of them is antron. Lucia predicted that such a material could exist theoretically, and it was exactly right.”

“It’s not even a rare earth metal, how can there be such a material?”

President Jo Hyung-geun’s grumbling was understandable.

It was used as armor material, made batteries, went into ion thrusters, and now even suppressed nuclear reactions.

It wouldn’t be strange to call it a miracle material.

But for Yu Ji-ha, it was only natural.

It was just replicating the biological reactions that occurred in Plague’s body.

And there were many technologies and concepts in Settler that couldn’t be brought out right away.

For example, gravity wave radar.

Even in this era, gravity waves were detected and researched in various fields.

But gravity wave radar was a thing of a different dimension from those studies.

If he brought it out now, he would seriously be suspected of being an alien.

Quantum communication and diamond semiconductors, cultured meat technology were more manageable and ready.

Actually, they would be unveiled after he conquered Korea and established a state.

President Jo Hyung-geun listened to Director Ahn Yong-hoon’s explanation for a while and then grabbed Yoo Ji-ha’s arm.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

As the security guards guarded the door of the conference room, he spoke in an excited tone.

“You know what I value most, Chairman Yu.”

“The result is more important than the process. Simply put, using this element, you can completely block North Korea’s nuclear missiles.”

“How soon can you produce it?”

“North Korea has…”

“About 60 or 70 units.”

“If we speed up the schedule, we can make enough to offset them in six months. Korea’s L-SAM Janggung can intercept them in the ascent phase.”

It was easy to approach within 500m with the recently developed anti-ballistic missile.

“So you’re saying we can treat North Korea’s nuclear missiles as nonexistent?”

“That’s correct.”

“Six months, six months…”

Now President Jo Hyung-geun started walking around the conference room.

He couldn’t calm down from his excitement.

He probably had nothing but thoughts of advancing north with the 7th Corps after blocking all of North Korea’s nuclear weapons.

He had a rare political orientation in Korean politics called right-wing nationalism, which earned him the reputation of being a weirdo in the opposition and a madman in the ruling party.

His ambition was one thing.

To enter Pyongyang with tanks, plant the Taegeukgi flag at Junseong Palace, and extradite Kim’s family to South Korea for trial.

He didn’t care much about the damage or burden that South Korea would have to bear because of the war.

Only northward advancement was the solution to unification and the rest would be taken care of by future generations.

Yu Ji-ha threw him a sweet bait.

“China’s movements are not good lately. They seem to want to attack an external enemy to resolve their internal conflicts.”

He nodded roughly.

“I know. All intelligence agencies are raising intelligence that they will attack Taiwan soon. They probably won’t last this year.”

Yu Ji-ha’s words ended there but President Jo Hyung-geun naturally imagined the rest of them.

—Wouldn’t a two-front war be difficult for anyone?

He didn’t actually say it, but that’s how it sounded.

That’s how much President Jo Hyung-geun’s mind was in a state of excitement.

‘If China attacks Taiwan, North Korea will have no resources to pour into it. All we have to do is contain the Shenyang Military Region’s troops.’

It wasn’t easy, but if they could block the important nuclear weapons, and if they got support from the US military, it was worth a try.

Especially since the recent news about North Korea was supporting his decision.

They said they had no oil, so they couldn’t fly planes or ships.

Even the entire army corps had deserters and it was hard to maintain the unit.

There was a riot in Pyongyang and the Ministry of Security brutally suppressed it.

It wasn’t just a rumor, but information from multiple agencies.

North Korea was literally collapsing, and South Korea was barely holding on.

Various new weapons were not yet operational, but if they could block nuclear weapons, they could easily crush North Korea’s conventional forces.

‘I don’t know when this opportunity will come again.’

What he needed now was an opportunity.

And he could make that opportunity as much as he wanted.

President Jo Hyung-geun left the solar fusion without a word.

Yu Ji-ha knew everything he was thinking.