I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 607

"...This is the predicted world situation for the future in the other world. There's no guarantee it will unfold this way, but still, I believe there are a few key points worth considering. Once you’ve gone over the contents, we can start discussing."

"Assuming Europe is completely off the table, there’s still room to consider other regions. Particularly, South Asia and the Middle East are even more so."

"The climate and geography of the Middle East negatively affect the survival of viruses. They can avoid the flames of the Omega Virus and preserve their strength. The countries ending in -stan are also fragmented by numerous mountain ranges, so they face similar conditions."

"Considering India has lost nearly a billion people, it’s highly likely that the country’s administrative capability was overwhelmed early on in the viral outbreak. This provides the perfect environment for extreme ideologies and actions, and given the relationship with neighboring Pakistan, bloodshed in India seems almost inevitable."

"Since China and Russia have blocked most means of acquiring intelligence, except for satellites, for an extended period, we urgently need to gather intelligence on the region."

Central Park HQ, Gray House.

About six hours had passed since Eugene threw the X-file and left, and America was in turmoil. It was far too detailed to be dismissed as nonsense. For the newly rebuilt federal administration, it was like a thunderclap out of a clear sky.

About a third of the predictions in the X-file were created with entertainment rather than credibility in mind to extend the game’s life, so they were immediately dismissed. However, conversely, more than half of the content was considered critical and had to be reviewed and seriously contemplated.

High-ranking officials, who had rushed in without even properly getting dressed, continued their discussions with drowsy faces.

"Isn’t most of the black ops in East Asia handled by Director Oren Kittney of the CIA?"

"The infiltration route for our operators is Korea, Korea. The distance to Yunnan Province, bordering Myanmar, is over 3,000 kilometers. Beijing, Tianjin, Qingdao, Hangzhou, Shanghai… the major cities along the East China Sea all need to be considered. Investing resources in the southeastern border region is practically impossible."

"Regarding South Asia, it's hard to make a quick judgment, but if we need to intervene, there are three approaches. One is to go through Europe and approach the Middle East, another is through Africa. The other option is East Asia, which is already in progress."

"...According to the scenario from the other world, the Middle East is already like a powder keg ready to explode, so it's difficult to go through there. Africa might be the better option."

"It’s too vast, though."

In addition to that, it was important to note that through Africa, they could target potential adversaries within the range of medium-range ballistic missiles just by reaching Ukraine.

New issues emerged and were dismissed as the discussion continued, with arguments and counterarguments related to the agenda appearing and disappearing in a loop. After a few minutes, the most urgent matters were decided.

The first was South Asia and the Middle East, and the second was the southern part of the United States.

"Let’s start with the latter. Give a comprehensive evaluation of Mexico. Can the current situation in Mexico have an impact on national security? I recall the cartels came in waves back then."

"Several task forces deployed to that region used various methods, and it’s confirmed that over 70,000 people were killed. However, due to the Omega Virus crisis, the administrative power was nearly lost. To understand the current situation in Mexico, a direct investigation is needed."

"The remaining cartel organizations may be carving up Mexico in different ways."

"What’s the immediate response capability?"

"The 1st Armored Division stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, the 27th Special Operations Squadron at Cannon Air Force Base, and the 49th Fighter Squadron, the 54th Combat Fighter Squadron, and the White Sands Missile Range Army Base personnel are stationed there."

Henry, who had briefly paused in thought, added:

"Mexico has a lot to answer for. We’ll need to expedite this. The current Mexican president is Felipe Pascual, right? Is Defense Minister Janet still on medical leave?"

"Shouldn’t we be able to access it remotely through humanoids?"

"We need to get deep into Mexico, so the signal might be cut off. If we deploy a signal relay, there shouldn’t be a problem, but the crucial issue is that the latest data on Mexico is two years old."

"Haha."

He chuckled, clearly disillusioned.

It couldn’t be helped. The focus was elsewhere, and they had no idea how things were going in other countries. Simply put, no one at the table knew what the current Mexican president Felipe Pascual was doing, or even if he was still alive.

Thinking a little further, there was a risk of an unpredictable accident—such as an ambush—if they went to Mexico for talks in what was essentially a half-empty house.

This was why the discussion about humanoids had come up.

"Let’s set up a meeting as quickly as possible. Test the waters with Mexico. On the day of the meeting... Right, you can send a few stealth drones for ground support. As long as they’re not detected, it won’t be a problem, even if they are."

"Understood."

Sending humanoids that wouldn’t be a major loss if destroyed, and in a worst-case scenario, bombing the meeting location—an extreme measure.

If this had happened just ten years ago, it would have caused a huge uproar worldwide. But things were different now. Since Mexico had failed to control the cartels, and since the cartels had already kicked the U.S. in the shins, America no longer cared about dialogue or compromise.

Thus, while the South American response plan was quickly being established, the issue with South Asia and the Middle East became the second priority.

"Now that we’ve given our European friends a loaf of bread, it’s time to send them out as our proxies. How about putting some pressure on Eastern Europe?"

"It will take some time. It’ll take at least three months for reconnaissance forces to arrive."

"Look for suitable airfields in Europe and Korea. If we send an SR-72 equipped with a new nuclear fusion reactor to stay airborne over the Middle East and South Asia all day, we should be able to solve the intelligence collection issue."

"Got it. I’ll evaluate the feasibility and report back."

Henry nodded and then finally looked satisfied.

After six years of receiving numerous military reports, Henry was able to express his opinions in this setting without any hesitation.

Time passed, and then he suddenly added, as if remembering something.

"By the way, does anyone know the location of the Artemis branch outside of the U.S.?"

"I remember there were two in Europe and three in Asia."

"...Consider that as well. If what happened in Savannah repeats itself, it’ll be a huge problem."

"Understood."

A sigh spread through the room as the meeting concluded.

With the main points addressed, only the details and execution reports were left to be dealt with. After some time, only Henry remained in the meeting room. The chair automatically returned to its original position, and the air purifier stopped operating.

How long had it been?

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. President."

"Thanks to that reckless friend who suddenly dropped a bomb on us, we had no choice."

"Th-that’s..."

"It’s a joke, a joke. It was something that would come up eventually. Don’t worry about it."

Henry smiled lightly at Eugene, who entered awkwardly, and then added.

"I hope those who just left returned without any issues. I hope the trouble ends here... Though, does that sound too greedy?"

"Oh, no. I also hope the information I passed on was just a misunderstanding."

"Of course, of course..."

Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he put on his glasses and spoke.

"Anyway, you did well. As the Commander-in-Chief, I also have one more order for you."

"Please, go ahead."

"Later, go through the Mecha youngest's database. See if we can make contact with Artemis branches abroad, or if more is possible..."

"Understood."

Eugene closed the door and left.

Well, he was about to leave.

"Although I’m technically from the other world, I’m still alive because of everything that happened here. If needed... feel free to call me anytime. Although I’ve rested, I’m ready to fight on the front lines again at any moment."

"...Hah, what are you saying now? Fine, go persuade your seniors."

"...I don’t understand why no one listens when I say this."

"You should enjoy the things only people your age can experience. Like dating, for example."

"I don’t do that kind of thing!?"

Henry burst into laughter, and Eugene, with his ears turning red, hurriedly left the room.

Despite the many difficult things, this time didn’t bore him. He thought this as he looked out the window.

It was a particularly bright night with a full moon.

"Maybe because Lunar New Year is over, but it seems like a lot of people from Korea are showing up. Did you all get a lot of pocket money?"

"...Not really. I ended up giving my parents more pocket money than I received since I’m making hundreds of times more than them now."

"That makes sense. I’ve never really done the whole family reunion thing for the New Year, so I’m curious. But, I did have a lot of rice cake soup."

"Eugene, it feels like you get about thirty years older each Lunar New Year... Whoa, the humanoid’s breaking—!"

• Instant kill ????????????
• Considering how much Biyam eats, thirty bowls isn’t too much, right? ????
• Seriously ?? Biyam’s always off traveling abroad, when would he celebrate Chuseok or Lunar New Year? ??
• My honest opinion: I envy that
• Why are we, who are financially far behind, listening to the stories of those with endless money...

The expo had already been going on for over a week.

With the Mecha youngest's Q&A still ongoing, the world was still buzzing with chatter about AI and the Mecha youngest. Thankfully, the people who thought AI would be the downfall of the world or that large-scale unemployment would be inevitable were no longer a concern.

In fact, those individuals... well, they turned out to be a great example. The first nail that sticks out gets hammered, after all. The world was filled with people who couldn’t see beyond their own foolish rumors, and Icarus was preparing to take the heads of those individuals.

Already, they had made up their minds.

Thus, while ignoring costs or anything else, the legal team at Icarus International, completely focused on how to legally complicate the opposition’s situation, enthusiastically swung their sharp blades.

"...What are you thinking, alone?"

"I was thinking that one day, unexpectedly, you guys would come knocking on the door of the room where I’m staying before the expo is over."

"Ugh, I’d love to go, but I can’t be bothered. America’s too far…"

"Sounds close when you say it, but it’s actually one of the farthest countries from Korea."

How is it that a flight takes 16 hours? Come to think of it, it's pretty insane.

Maybe the time would shorten once SSTO is developed… but that’s not something I need to worry about. While I was lost in thought, suddenly, Mina poked my finger.

Wondering if she had something to say, I turned and locked eyes with her, and she gave me a small gesture. I thought she was about to whisper something, so I leaned in slightly to hear.

"...By any chance, are there more Mecha youngest planned for the future? I don’t even care if it’s not Mecha Biyam. Maybe a Mecha shark or a Mecha bear… Ack!"

"You’re whispering just to say that? Seriously, this is ridiculous."

"We really care about it, though!"

"..."

"Yep, sorry. That was an inappropriate comment."

• Look at the murderous stare ????????
• It’s like when sharks and polar bears suddenly get a sharp look in their eyes ??
• But why ask Biyam about that? ??
• I’m trying to hold myself back, but what if everyone else goes off the rails? ??
• Once you allow it once, they’ll keep milking it until there’s no more left ??

What should I do with these guys…? Well, it was already too late to do anything.

I had sealed their mouths with my gaze, but honestly… I don’t know. There’s a low chance of more Mecha youngest being made. I didn’t want to break the fantasy of the people gathered around me, so I didn’t say anything, but the chances of more appearing were low from here on out.

Jin, Lane, Mav, and Nasty… well, to be exact, they actually existed in the other world, so I didn’t mind bringing them along. Nasty was the exception, but the other three were brought by me because Artemis made me, and I wanted to take responsibility for them.

But without that cause, whether there’s a connection or not… Well, honestly, it’s starting to get tricky.

"And Logan and Lorentina… Never mind. You all know this is nonsense, so I won’t continue. Anyway, I don’t know if more Mecha youngest will come, but I think it’s lost its appeal now. Too many would make things complicated."

"Ugh, that’s disappointing…"

"Too much of a good thing is too far gone."

As I said that, I glanced at the clock on the wall.

In about 2 minutes, maybe 5 at most, the Mecha youngest would wrap up their Q&A session and return. I knew from the recent streaming of YouSpace that a lot of Koreans were around.

Normally, I wouldn’t have been waiting with bated breath, but today I was waiting for the three of them—especially Nasty and Mav.

The reason wasn’t anything special—

Clank!

"Today was tough… Uwah, Master?!"

"They’re here!"

"It’s been a while, everyone!"

"Wow, this welcome was unexpected."

• Mecha youngest!!!
• This is... I didn’t expect this, but it’s happening!
• Seriously, what’s Biyam feeling right now? ??????
• Reverse Pygmalion ????

I didn’t want it, but I made them. The fact that everyone but me loved the Mecha youngest... It's the complete opposite of Pygmalion.

I put those thoughts aside and gave a light gesture to Nasty and Mav. Well, it wasn’t exactly a gesture; it was a military sign from the other world. Today, Harmony and Dice’s focus would be on Jin and Lane, and the drones would be placed for the viewers.

That’s true; these drones have been so useful.

Putting those meaningless thoughts behind me, I quickly left the room and seated the two in the waiting room, where no one could enter.

"U-uh, did we do something wrong? We didn’t storm the stage today."

"Well, I don’t think that’s why you’re here…"

"I didn’t imagine you would storm the stage, but… That’s right. I actually came because I wanted to ask something."

While the two made confused expressions, I activated the Icarus gear and projected the contents my parents had shown me earlier into the air.

Unmanned Artemis drones pushing down from Denmark toward Hamburg.

Since these were based on the other world, they might not even know about this information—exactly why I brought them here to ask.

They looked a bit confused at first, but within seconds, they started looking around to see if they recognized anything.

It was Nasty who first spoke up.

"I don’t know much. Sorry... I manage the Savannah region’s AI, but I wouldn’t know about this. Even if I access the network…"

"Well, I think I know a few things, but… I’m not sure if it’ll help. Some of the info seems to contradict what the archetype showed me, so I can’t be certain."

"What’s that?"

"Here, take a look."

At the same time, Mav projected some information into the air and continued.

"Basically, Artemis Technology… uniquely gave each branch a theme. For example, the headquarters in the U.S. was focused on defense contractors, but East Asia was different. The Hong Kong branch focused on things like giant robots... like cranes used in ports."

"...That’s unexpected."

"The Krasnoyarsk branch developed humanoids for extreme environments… The key point is this: based on what the archetype showed earlier, Narvik in Norway seems to be the closest. This place…"

"What’s there?"

"Well, there’s something, but I don’t know how to explain it..."

How long had it been before Mav slowly spoke again?

"...They specialize in terraforming robots."

"Terraforming...?"

Hmm.

It might be just speculation, but...

I felt like I might need to head to Narvik soon, by some means.

I thought I was done, but it seemed like there was still a lot to do.