Dictator From Outer Space

Chapter 29: How To Deal With A Hijacking

The theft of the bulletproof plate by Deputy Director Liu Wei and his delegation was initially kept under wraps. 

South Korea didn’t want to escalate the matter and tried to handle it internally by confiscating the plate and banning  Liu Wei and his officials from entering the country.

They were worried about the potential backlash that might spiral out of control.

However, the situation blew up in China.

Rumors circulated that  Liu Wei had been summoned to the President’s office and received a brutal beating, resulting in a fractured skull.

He was supposed to stay at home and recover, but he chose to end his life by overdosing on drugs.

As Chinese media reported on these events, questions arose in South Korea about what had really happened.

At that very moment, a video was uploaded on YouTube.

The video showed the confrontation between the South Korean and Chinese sides that occurred at Incheon Airport.

People who watched the video were shocked.

—What is this? China tried to steal black metal weapons from South Korea?

—So, that was the real purpose of  Liu Wei’s visit?

—I didn’t know black metal could be processed so thinly…

The video was quickly translated into dozens of languages and spread on YouTube.

As the situation became too big to hide, the Blue House (the South Korean presidential residence) decided to release an official statement.

According to the statement, the Chinese delegation was caught red-handed trying to steal the new bulletproof plate and faced a ban on entering the country.

The highlight of the statement was Yu Ji-ha’s performance.

He presented the evidence in front of the Chinese delegation, who were demanding proof.

The scene where the black metal turtle burst out of the diplomatic bag was more thrilling than any movie climax.

—Haha… That’s so satisfying.

—Look at them, they’re speechless. Is that how they learned to steal?

—In China, it seems like that’s not a crime.

—”Hey, guys, do you know what that means? That’s not a turtle, it’s a monitor lizard in Chinese. It’s a very rude slang term.”

—How rude is it?

—It’s like saying motherfxxxer.

—Hahaha, crazy!

—Yu Ji-ha has some nerve. He cursed at the minister like that.

—That’s because he knows what he’s doing, you know?

While South Korea was ablaze with excitement, China remained silent, as usual.

They tried to downplay it and move on, as always.

However, as the global media picked up on this story, the problem escalated.

—China’s Crime – China’s Desperate Blunder.

—-Chinese Official’s Failed Theft of New Bulletproof Plate – A Game Changer.

—China’s Growing Arrogance, We Need to Reflect on What Went Wrong.

Governments around the world also joined the discussion.

As expected, the White House spokesperson took the stage to condemn China.

—Deputy Director Liueiway of China has committed a blatant crime on South Korean soil. While this incident is South Korea’s responsibility, we express our serious concerns as an ally.

—The world is deeply worried about China’s erratic behavior. China should immediately withdraw from Spratly Islands and apologize to South Korea. That is the only way to foster a healthy black metal ecosystem.

—Black metal is a cutting-edge material that the world is interested in. If China wanted to examine South Korea’s new bulletproof plate, they should have requested it through official channels. Of course, it would be difficult, but it’s necessary.

These diplomatic statements were almost like openly insulting each other.

After the United States, Japan also sent a message.

—China may have become stronger today, but we don’t see the dignity of a G2. We urge them to stop pressuring talented individuals and to focus on contributing to world peace.

Japan’s statement had a subtle hint of complimenting Yu Ji-ha.

Maybe they had some personal history, and they wanted to use this chance to improve their relations with him.

Europe, Canada, and Australia also joined in the criticism, and surprisingly, Russia also intervened.

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President Vladimir Putin openly ridiculed China from the Kremlin.

—What we should pursue is not crime, but peace. If China has different thoughts, please let us know. Don’t we need to build a strong fence to protect ourselves from thieves?

Russia’s involvement in restraining China was due to China’s recent excessive growth. 

China’s military strength was overwhelming in every aspect except nuclear power, and Russia also felt a serious threat.

The reactions from various countries were not just because a deputy minister committed theft.

The issue was that it involved black metal, which was a big deal.

The world was fascinated by the new material called black metal. 

It was revealed that it could be used for various military purposes, besides its applications in electric vehicle batteries.

However, only South Korea and the United States were able to use black metal as a weapon.

China wanted to disrupt this balance.

—South Korea makes sense. After all, they have Yu Ji-ha, who is the father of black metal.

—The United States is also South Korea’s ally, so that’s fine. But China is not.

Countries were worried about what would happen if China managed to weaponize black metal.

This situation was similar to past incidents of nuclear proliferation.

Despite the statements from countries around the world, China showed little reaction.

As usual, they thought they could deal with things behind the scenes.

Wasn’t that the case?

While it was true that a deputy minister stole something, it could be seen as a personal matter to some extent.

They thought that everything would be settled by now that they had punished him, and they planned to send a regretful message to the South Korean government and Yu Ji-ha.

For this purpose, a minister-level official and senior members of the Communist Party left Beijing, but Yu Ji-ha was not in South Korea.

He was on a plane heading to Australia, following his original schedule.

“The response is huge. Most people are supporting the boss.”

Half reclining in the comfortable first-class seat, Yu Ji-ha quickly scrolled through the tablet pages.

With this incident, the internet was united in solidarity, fiercely attacking China and praising him.

In fact, the young generation of South Korea had been living under the burden of excessive defeatism for a long time.

China and Japan were openly trying to expand their influence over South Korea.

Not only that, but the growing trade deficit, low birth rate, and the brain drain had reached a point where it was hard to find any positive news.

That’s when Yu Ji-ha appeared like a superhero.

He announced the Black Metal ecosystem, attracting the world’s attention.

He forced Japan to apologize and was now pressuring China.

It was natural that people would admire him.

“…Still, this title is too much.”

South Korean YouTube was full of videos with all kinds of crazy titles.

—Why Japan is panicking over the new body armor and drone system.

—Why South Korea has become the world’s hope while China commits crimes.

—Did the railgun of the U.S. Navy come from South South Korea? The White House’s SOS call to Yu Ji-ha.

Arma looked at the titles with a puzzled expression and said, “There’s some truth in them, but…”

“That’s what makes these videos scary. They might be helpful to us, but…”

Yu Ji-ha’s goal was dictatorship, but it didn’t have to involve bloodshed and violence.

South Korea needed a process of changing its constitution and accepting dictatorship voluntarily.

Of course, it was not an easy path.

South Korean citizens had the experience of overthrowing past dictatorships and achieving democracy, and they were proud of that.

If someone tried to bring back dictatorship, the resistance would be fierce.

However, there were whispers of such ideas gradually emerging in some communities.

—It’s strange… everything would be solved if Yu Ji-ha took charge.

—Seriously… I used to hate those nationalist YouTube channels, but who knew they were right…

—Can’t we seriously get into politics? I feel like we’d win by a landslide in any district we run in.

—But what can we do as rookie lawmakers?

—Politics is useless without influence. He doesn’t seem to care about politics himself.

—Here’s what I think: We need dictatorship.

 –Are you crazy?

 –This guy has lost it.

—Just hear me out. South South Korea is doomed. The birth rate is expected to drop to 0.4 next year. By around 2045, half of the population will be elderly. 19 years from now sounds far away, right? The World Cup was 24 years ago.

 –Wow… That’s shocking.

 –I remember cheering for South South Korea from a car during the World Cup.

 –Me too.

 –This is really scary. Half of the people on the streets will be elderly?

 –The elderly don’t go out much. Except for Seoul, it will be like a ghost town. Seriously.

—The budget deficit is unbearable, and when the time comes, don’t you think the young people will rebel and think about killing the elderly? They’ll say that they’re sucking up our taxes.

 –That makes sense, but there’s no solution.

 –But isn’t it better if the population decreases? Nordic countries are doing well with a small population, right?

 –That’s because their population structure was planned that way from the start, but ours is different.

–Our social infrastructure will collapse quickly.

 –Imagine that 40% of your income goes to the elderly. Wouldn’t you want to grab a knife?

 –Uh…

 –When that time comes, China will be ready to swallow us.

 –So, what do you propose we do?

—Since we’re screwed anyway, why not take a risk? Yu Ji-ha is smart, right? From Black Metal to creating algorithms, he’s the only hope we have right now.

 –So, you’re suggesting we hand over the fate of the country to him? Are you sane?

 –Politicians would hate that.

 –No matter how much people complain on the internet, dictatorship is impossible in this country. Are they going to stage a coup? It won’t work.

 –I hope they all get arrested. Where did they get this dictatorship idea from?

 –Then let’s all go down together.

 –The smart ones have already left South South Korea, hahaha.

Of course, these were extreme views from some online communities, and they couldn’t be taken as serious discussions.

If these ideas were openly debated in public, they would face strong opposition from all sides.

However, it was significant that even a fraction of people started having such thoughts.

By adopting Yu Ji-ha’s numerous technologies and concepts, South South Korea would quickly grow and inspire people’s enthusiasm.

Gradually changing people’s mindset and creating a sense of crisis through big events would be essential.

When that time came, even without stepping forward, people would be begging for dictatorship.

Arma looked back briefly.

The sound of someone screaming made the first-class passengers start whispering.

“It’s starting. There are five terrorists. They will soon overpower the flight attendants and take over the cockpit.”

“What weapons do they have?”

“I see high-voltage stun guns, tasers, and plastic knives.”

“Are they homemade? They must have worked hard.”

“After traveling on this route for a month, disguised as a businessman, the flight attendants would let their guard down.”

“Just tell people to stay seated.”

On this passenger plane, there were several Australian Navy and Radiation Agency officials on board for a briefing on the Attack-class project. 

However, the truth was that they would be useless if a terrorist attack happened.

Arma whispered in the protagonist’s ear.

“A Chinese Air Force MiG is following us. It seems to be disguised as an Afghan Air Force plane.”

“How far is it from Afghanistan to here? Did they refuel in the air?”

“For China, as long as they get the disassembler, it doesn’t matter. They can go back easily.”

“Well, that works for us. This is a chance to completely wipe out China’s influence in our country.”

With the upcoming scandal involving Lee Hong-sik, the pro-China faction would be almost eliminated.

And if we shoot down one of China’s best planes, they won’t dare to make a move for a while.

After a while, the economy class became loud, and the curtains were torn.

The first-class passengers, who didn’t understand English, got up, and armed men stormed in.

“Sit down! Lower your heads!”

The first to notice something wrong with the flight from Incheon, South South Korea to Sydney, Australia, was an air traffic controller at the Incheon Air Traffic Control Center.

He frowned as he saw KE117 deviating from its route.

“Why is it going that way? Wasn’t it supposed to go to Sydney?”

The console started beeping with signals indicating entry into Sector 7.

It was supposed to go to the Fukuoka FIR, right?

He straightened his posture and tried to communicate with KE117.

“KE117, this is Incheon ACC. Your course has changed. Can you confirm?”

—(Silence)

No response, complete silence.

He tried to communicate again, but there was no answer. He quickly called the supervisor to report the emergency situation.

“KE117 is off course.”

“No communication at all?”

“Yes. All channels are quiet. It seems like the equipment has been shut down.”

“This is crazy. Check the projected course and fuel level. Find the nearest airport and contact the Central Air Defense Control Center!”

Why would KE117 do this?

The chance of both pilots going insane was almost zero.

So, something must be wrong with the plane.

Could it be a hijacking?

As everyone remembered the dreadful date of 9/11, a code appeared on the transponder.

“7500”

Someone dropped their cup in shock.

The code “7500” meant that the plane had been hijacked.

At that moment, another controller shouted,

“Unidentified plane approaching from behind KE117! Altitude 22,000!”

“Will it cross over to China?”

Just then, the supervisor received a text message on his phone.

“The unidentified plane is believed to be from the Afghan Air Force.”

“They have an Air Force in Afghanistan?”

Even if that was true, it didn’t make sense for it to fly over the entire Chinese mainland and reach the southern waters off Jeju Island.

But the person who sent this message was an agent from the National Intelligence Service.

Why would an agent from the National Intelligence Service be on KE117?

Among the busy controllers, someone cautiously spoke up.

“Um… Isn’t KE117 the plane that Mr. Yu Ji-ha was on?”

“Yu Ji-ha? The Yu Ji-ha from the Silla Group?”

“Yes, yes. It was on the news. They said he left right after canceling the Chinese visit and went to Australia.”

“Oh, right. I heard he was with Navy officials because of some contract issues.”

“So, could it be that Mr. Yu Ji-ha has been kidnapped?”

…

Everyone’s faces turned pale.

As the father of Black Metal, Yu Ji-ha was highly respected not only in South Korea but also internationally.

If such a prominent person were kidnapped, it would cause chaos.

A single mistake by China could turn all the Black Metal into junk, like before.

Of course, the lives of other passengers were also important, but the impact would be much different.

But since the plane was flying towards Chinese airspace, there was little they could do from here.

All they could do was pray for a safe return.