Chapter 221: Oh, Dear!

Boom, boom...!

Commander Sergei, who had been sound asleep, jolted in fright and snapped his eyes open. No wonder—deafening explosions were erupting from every direction, shaking the ground beneath him. Realizing that something extraordinary had happened, he hurriedly sat up in bed to figure out what was going on.

At that moment, the bedroom door flew open with a crash, and his adjutant rushed inside, shouting as he ran.

"C-Comrade Commander, disaster! It's a disaster!"

"I can't understand a word of your gibberish! Speak clearly!"

"The base is under attack by an unidentified enemy!"

"What?!"

Stunned, Commander Sergei leaped out of bed and roared at the top of his lungs.

"You need to evacuate to the underground bunker immediately!"

Commander Sergei threw on his outer clothes and hurried toward the underground bunker. The moment he opened the door and entered, the generals inside snapped to attention. As soon as he practically ran to the head seat and sat down, the generals swiftly took their seats as well.

He swept a tense gaze over the senior officers and spoke.

"General Chirkov, what the hell is going on?"

"Well..."

"Stop hesitating and report!"

Commander Sergei barked fiercely at the wavering General Chirkov.

"The thing is... exactly ten minutes ago, at 2:00 a.m. (Vladivostok is two hours ahead of China), deafening explosions erupted at various locations throughout the base."

"Are you saying the enemy infiltrated the base and planted timed explosives?"

"That's correct, Comrade Commander."

Bang!

Commander Sergei slammed his fist down on the table with all his strength and glared furiously at General Chirkov. As though fully aware of his own responsibility, General Chirkov lowered his gaze to the floor.

"What the hell were you doing while the enemy infiltrated the base and planted explosives?!"

"...I am at fault."

Commander Sergei took a deep breath to suppress his rising anger before continuing.

"There's no point regretting it after the fact. General Chirkov, report the extent of the damage."

"Key facilities throughout the base have been completely destroyed, and seven warships docked at the port have been damaged and..."

"What did you say?!"

Commander Sergei interrupted General Chirkov's report with a thunderous shout.

The spacious underground bunker immediately fell into dead silence. The generals attending the emergency meeting also understood just how critical the situation was.

After a long while, Commander Sergei broke the silence.

"General Chirkov, what caused the damage to the ships?"

"We're still investigating the exact cause, but preliminary findings indicate that they were attacked by torpedoes or underwater kamikaze drones."

"What condition are the ships in?"

"Huge holes have been torn in their hulls. They're all settling and sinking."

"Oh, dear!"

Overcome by a dark sense of foreboding, Commander Sergei heaved a heavy sigh and stared blankly into space.

"Uh..."

Commander Sergei noticed General Chirkov hesitating again, leaving his sentence unfinished.

"General Chirkov, is there something else you need to report?"

"Actually... four submarines and three cargo ships have also been damaged and are sinking."

"This is enough to drive me insane! What about personnel casualties?"

"Most of the crews were ashore, so there have been almost no casualties."

"At least that's one small consolation in this disaster."

Bang!

At that moment, the bunker door flew open again, and an officer rushed inside, shouting.

"Comrade Commander, the latest Borei-class nuclear submarine that was out on patrol has sunk!"

"What did you say?!"

Commander Sergei shot to his feet with a furious roar. The stunned generals also sprang out of their chairs at once.

"What caused it to sink?"

"We lost contact immediately after receiving an SOS signal, so we don't have any precise information."

"Where did it sink?"

"Thirty kilometers from here, at a depth of 2,750 meters."

"Damn it, this is enough to drive a man mad."

Commander Sergei heaved another heavy sigh and collapsed helplessly into his chair. A suffocating silence once again descended over the underground bunker.

After all, there had been more than a hundred crew members aboard the nuclear submarine.

After some time, Commander Sergei let out a deep sigh and spoke in a dispirited voice.

"Haa... I suppose we have no choice but to assume the entire submarine crew is dead?"

"I'm afraid I have to agree with you, Comrade Commander."

"I see. You're all dismissed. Get out."

"There's one more thing to report, Comrade Commander. At the same time our base was attacked, the North Korean port of Rajin was also struck. In addition, the railway and a freight train connecting North Korea to our country were destroyed."

"North Korea?"

Commander Sergei tilted his head in confusion and fell silent. However, he didn't need long to think it over.

"General Chirkov, Ukraine must be behind the attacks on us and North Korea, correct?"

"The likelihood is extremely high, but there is one questionable point."

"What is it? Explain."

"The warships in the port could have been sunk using underwater kamikaze drones. However, the Borei-class nuclear submarine was submerged. Kamikaze drones couldn't have reached it."

"Are you saying it was sunk by a torpedo attack?"

"That's the conclusion I'm leaning toward. But most importantly, Ukraine doesn't have any submarines at all."

"Then who is responsible?"

"The Americans are the only ones bold enough to attack one of our submarines."

"Those American dogs...!"

Commander Sergei suddenly erupted in savage fury. The generals, well aware of his explosive temper, remained silent and watched him.

After venting the first surge of his anger, he ordered his adjutant to bring him some cold water. He drained the glass in one gulp and hurled it aside with all his strength.

Crash!

The glass shattered against the wall, sending shards flying in every direction. Turning his head, he addressed General Chirkov.

"How can we prove that the Americans were behind this?"

"The only way would be to raise the sunken submarine and examine it. But the depth is too great. Raising it is absolutely impossible."

"Haa..."

With no solution available, Commander Sergei could only sigh helplessly.

***

Vice Chairman Tang Guochang swept his gaze over the tense faces of the generals present and spoke in a stern, uncompromising tone.

"You all understand what will happen if even a single word of our conversation leaks out, don't you?"

"Yes, sir! We understand!"

The meeting participants answered in loud, crisp voices. Vice Chairman Tang Guochang nodded in satisfaction and gave Commander Wang Dazhong an order.

"Report the results of the operation."

"Regarding Russia, the key facilities of the Pacific Fleet have been completely destroyed. In addition, seven warships, four submarines, and three cargo vessels have been put out of action. We have not yet received any information about the latest nuclear submarine that was out on patrol."

"I'll handle that matter myself. Commander Wang has nothing to worry about."

"Understood. Regarding North Korea, key facilities at the port of Rajin, the railway, and a freight train were destroyed."

"Our special forces weren't detected by either the North Koreans or the Russians?"

"The special forces team planted the explosives a day in advance and returned safely yesterday morning."

"Then once our submarines return safely, we can consider the operation a tremendous success."

"Yes, Vice Chairman. However, I can't shake this strange sense of unease."

Vice Chairman Tang Guochang felt exactly the same way.

If the American military had failed to sink the Russian nuclear submarine, the situation could take an extremely dangerous turn. By now, news that the port of Vladivostok had been reduced to ruins had undoubtedly reached the Russian leadership.

And Russian submarines would scour the Sea of Japan from end to end in search of the culprits.

And if, during that search, they encountered the Chinese submarines that had participated in the operation...

The moment his thoughts reached that conclusion, an involuntary shudder ran through his entire body.

Not wanting to show weakness in front of his subordinates, he rose from his seat and left the conference room.

Then he pulled his cell phone from his trouser pocket.

***

NIS Director Om Giyeon checked the time on his phone and turned to me.

"Chief Cha, shouldn't we contact Vice Chairman Tang ourselves?"

But I saw no need for that.

"For the operation to be a complete success, we need absolute confirmation that the Russian nuclear submarine on patrol has sunk. So he won't have any choice but to call me."

"Isn't there a chance the operation failed?"

"Director Om, judging by the data from the high-altitude reconnaissance drone, the operation went flawlessly."

Before I could elaborate, Director Griffin spoke up.

"What a relief!"

"Just as Chief Cha said, if we wait a little longer, Vice Chairman Tang will call us himself."

Bzzzt—

At that very moment, the phone in my hand vibrated.

Knowing perfectly well who was calling, I immediately answered.

"Vice Chairman Tang, what's the situation?"

[The operation was a complete success, but...]

I immediately understood why Vice Chairman Tang had hesitated.

He was indirectly asking about the fate of the Russian nuclear submarine.

"The Russian nuclear submarine has sunk into the depths of the Sea of Japan, more than 2,700 meters below the surface."

[Hahaha!]

Vice Chairman Tang Guochang burst into loud, heartfelt laughter as overwhelming relief washed over him.

I waited for his laughter to subside before continuing.

"Vice Chairman Tang, the ultimate success of the operation depends on how thoroughly we cover our tracks."

[Hasn't the operation already succeeded?]

"Russia and North Korea will undoubtedly be foaming at the mouth as they search for whoever did this."

[The special forces who planted the explosives at the port of Rajin and the other facilities have already returned safely, every last one of them. And the submarines are heading back to their home bases at full speed.]

"Russia and North Korea are guaranteed to deploy anti-submarine aircraft to search for the Chinese submarines. You can't let your guard down until they're safely home."

[I'll heed your advice, Chief Cha.]

"I certainly hope so. May I share the results of the operation with Director Volasky in Ukraine?"

[Do as you see fit.]

"Understood. I won't take up any more of your time. Goodbye."

Click.

After ending the call, I turned to Director Griffin.

"Director Volasky must be waiting on pins and needles by now."

"Hahaha, of course!"

Director Griffin gripped his phone with a satisfied smile.

***

"You're back? Are you very tired?"

Mother opened the door for me and spoke with a worried expression. I genuinely felt sorry that I couldn't tell her the whole truth about what had happened.

"There was a mountain of work at the company, so I ended up staying late."

"You must be exhausted. Go get some rest."

After heading upstairs to my bedroom, I quickly took a shower and lay down on the bed.

But I couldn't fall asleep because Saho kept pestering me for attention and wouldn't leave me alone.

"Saho, I'm really tired. Let's play in the morning, okay?"

But Saho simply shook his head, making it clear that arrangement didn't suit him.

"You little brat..."

Bzzzt—

Just as I was about to yell at him, the phone lying on the bed vibrated with an incoming call.

I picked it up and glanced at the screen.

It was Director Volasky from Ukraine.

Remembering that I had something I wanted to discuss with him anyway, I decided the timing was perfect.

"Director Volasky, I'm listening."

[Chief Cha, I'd like to express my sincere gratitude for what you've done for us.]

"I only suggested the idea. The Chinese and American militaries were the ones who carried it out."

[Without your idea, neither the Chinese nor the American military would have taken any action.]

"When you put it that way, I can't really argue."

[I'll make sure to speak with the President so that as many South Korean companies as possible can participate in the postwar reconstruction project.]

I had been looking for a good opportunity to bring up that very subject, so his offer couldn't have come at a better time.

With a light heart, I continued my conversation with Director Volasky.

"I'd be sincerely grateful. Now, there's one more matter I'd like to bring up."

[I'm listening.]

"Try to rattle Russia and North Korea as thoroughly as possible, and do it as soon as you can."

[As it happens, we have a press conference scheduled in three hours.]

After discussing a few more details with Director Volasky, I ended the call.

Even though I was lying in bed, sleep refused to come after everything that had happened.

As I tossed and turned, trying to fall asleep, Saho quietly climbed right onto the bed.

"I'm still awake. Get down."

While I was locked in a battle of wills with Saho, I drifted into a deep sleep without even realizing it.