“So you won’t go down that easily eh?”


  The steel door of the server room was also under heavy security. The door would open after passing an iris scan and a fingerprint scan, and entering a passcode. Team Leader Lee Ja-sung attached the small devices that he had used on the security cameras to the iris scanners before calling Team B-

  This is Team A’s Lee Ja-sung. I have attached the hacking guidance device on the entrance’s sensors-

  This is Team B. Wait a moment. This is a tough one to crack.

  Team Leader Lee Ja-sung checked the hallways on both sides of the door and waited anxiously. The X-C01 control device was two minutes away from deactivating its TCS feature-

  This is Team A. Please hurry. The TCS only has two minutes left-

  This is Team B. We are almost done.

  A few moments later, a clear sound rang, and the hard steel door opened.

  Clack!

  When the steel doors opened, Team Leader Lee Ja-sung swiftly entered the server room. The server room was surprisingly modern compared to the old building. There were hundreds of small LED lights glowing from the latest server computers.

  “This would match the size of a nation’s entire server room,” Lee Ja-sung thought-

  This is Lee Ja-sung from Team A. Sending footage of the server room’s interior now.

  Team Leader Lee then changed his shield glasses into recording mode and sent the footage to team B-

  This is Manager Lee Il-woo from Team B. Move to the servers at the center.

  Manager Lee Il-woo, Team B’s leader, started giving out orders directly since the situation was dire-

  Stop! There, the fourth computer.

  Manager Lee Il-woo pointed to the main server at the center of the room that had eight stacked computers-

  Input the USB code in it and get out of there.

  Team Leader Lee Ja-sung pulled out a small case from his inner pocket and opened the cover. He retrieved a small device the size of an index finger and placed it in the USB port of the fourth server that Manager Lee had pointed out-

  Get out of there.

  When Team Leader Lee Ja-sung finished his mission, he called Assistant Manager Park Gi-oong who was installing the bugs and cameras on the upper floor-

  Assistant Manager Park-

  Yes, sir. I just have one more spot left. I’ll get moving once I’m done-

  Hurry.

  Assistant Manager Park wanted to check the rooms at the end of the hall on the fourth floor. He checked his surroundings and slowly walked over while keeping his footsteps quiet.

  Clack!

  The door of the opposite room flung open, and two burly men started walking toward Assistant Manager Park’s position. The TCS had made him invisible, so he held his breath and stuck close to the wall to hide himself.

  “There’s something suspicious about that room……”


  The two men approaching him were different from the bodyguards they had seen before. They were wearing thick sunglasses, and the way they walked made them seem like pros.

  Clomp! Clomp! Clomp! Clomp!

  They were inching closer to Assistant Manager Park and were about to pass him. The African-American man who was standing on the left must have felt something and turned his head toward where Assistant Manager Park was standing.

  The sunglasses they were wearing were equipped with the latest tech that gave them infrared vision.

  “Ron, something feels off. Don’t you think so?” the man said while pointing to the area with his finger.

  “What is it?” The other man stopped and looked at the spot his coworker was pointing at. “There’s nothing there.”


  “Are you sure? Why are my glasses responding in infrared vision? It looks like there’s something on the wall over there.”


  While the two men were conversing with each other, Assistant Manager Park hurriedly lowered his protective suit’s temperature to 5 degrees Celsius using the X-C01 device’s console. Then, he slowly moved left. One of the men manipulated his sunglasses again and kicked at the wall Assistant Manager Park was against.

  Assistant Manager Park had avoided the kick by a fraction of a second. He checked his protective suit’s temperature with the X-C01 device’s console. The temperature had been lowered to 8 degrees Celsius and still falling. The men’s sunglasses no longer showed a reaction in infrared vision.

  “John, let’s go already.”


  “Is yours already broken even though you just got it?”


  Assistant Manager Park slowly backed away and made sure that the two men had left the hall. He finally arrived in front of the door of the room he wanted to check. It read “USSC Chairman Victoria.”


  “The boss’s room? Got you now.”


  Assistant Manager Park had cold sweat running down his spine moments ago, but the thought of him discovering something big made him smile. When he placed the skeleton access card at the sensor, the door opened.

  Click!

  After entering the room, he quickly checked his surroundings. The room was larger than expected and decorated in traditional medieval European fashion. There were a fireplace and a large desk and chair near the window.

  “Where should I install the bugs? I guess the back of the desk will be a good place?”
-

  Assistant Manager Park, where are you? Get out of there!

  As Assistant Manager Park Gi-oong was looking for a place to install the video and audio bugs, the earpiece he wore rang with the voice of Team Leader Lee Ja-sung, who was rushing him to get back. He placed the camera on the window behind the desk and checked the hallway for bodyguards with his glasses in inverter vision mode before leaving. He then flew down the stairs.

  * * *

  February 17th, 2021, 13:00 (U.S. time February 17th, 00:00)

  A building in the suburb of Washington D.C., U.S.A. (the NIS safehouse)

  Team Leader Lee Ja-sung and his teammates from Team A had safely infiltrated and left the USSC building. They took a short break. Meanwhile, Team B’s four intelligence analysts were typing away at their laptop and hard at work.

  The USB device that Team Leader Lee had placed in the main server had allowed wireless communication. Once the connection was active, the agents were hard at work trying to hack the server’s security net to download the data from the database.

  “Assistant Manager Kang, are you guys done yet?”


  “One moment, sir. The security net is difficult to break through. It’s only progressing because I am here, you know.”


  “Hurry up!”


  “Yes, sir.”


  “What about you, Assistant Manager Na?”


  “We are rerouting the connection of the hacking tracker system, and the network is on the second cycle of going through the connections in the world. One more cycle, and they will not be able to track us anymore.”


  “I want you all to finish up in five minutes, and start the download. Assistant Manager Kim, get as much information as possible! Understood?”


  “Yes, sir.”


  Manager Lee Il-woo kept glancing at his watch. The USB device Team Leader Lee Ja-sung had placed in the server computer only had a three-hour battery life at most. They only had an hour left, so he was getting anxious. A few minutes later, Assistant Manager Kang shouted.

  “Sir, we’re in!”


  “Start the download then!”


  “The data is quite large, sir. It’s at least 2 petabytes. What do we do?”


  “There’s no time! Just get the information from the deepest part of the database!”


  “Yes, sir.”


  “Assistant Manager Kang, make sure to keep an eye out for the hacking tracker system detecting us.”


  “Yes, sir. I got my eyes on it.”


  Everything was proceeding under Manager Lee Il-woo’s orders, and the intelligence analysis team was working like they were in a warzone. If the USSC’s hack tracing system started tracking them or if they were unable to get all the intelligence they needed, then Team A’s life-risking infiltration would all be for nothing. Also, if the USSC hid their data and vanish, then that would create another issue. The lives of the NIS agents and special forces men were at stake as well.

  “What’s the progress on the download?”


  “We are at 12%, sir. But I don’t think we have enough space on our hard drives.”


  “Hold on.”


  Manager Lee Il-woo connected his laptop to Assistant Manager Kim’s after answering curtly. Then, he typed in the password for the NIS database.

  “We will send over the data in real time. Assistant Manager Kim, you are to delete the data in 5% increments once they are finished transporting and keep downloading!”


  “How did you think of that, sir?”


  “Focus!”


  “Yes!”


  While Team B was fighting a virtual war, the agents from Team A had changed into comfortable clothes and were taking a break. However, Team Leader Lee Ja-sung had moved to the first floor and was speaking to Lieutenant Colonel Lee Hyung-won, the commander of the special forces.

  “As you can see, there are a hundred pillars all with motion detection sensors. Also, there are about a hundred guards outside the building and 50 inside the building.”


  Team Leader Lee Ja-sung used a small monitor to show the recorded footage from his infiltration to Commander Lee Hyung-won.

  “Despite all that, you succeeded in infiltrating the premises.”


  If the government ordered them to attack the USSC, then Lee Ja-sung’s team and the 16 special forces men under the 707th special forces brigade would have to raid the premises, so he was briefing the commander.

  * * *

  February 19th, 2021, 15:00

  Yokosuka Port, Kanagawa Prefecture, Honshu, Japan

  At the Yokosuka naval base, over a thousand vessels were waiting to dock and standing by near the shore. The American vessels had docked first and unloaded the marine’s mobile brigade’s equipment and their men. The logistical ships were unloading America’s latest M4A1 Warthog equipped with the 16MJ class rail guns, M2A3 and M3A3 Bradley, M5A1Hussar, and M3 Shooter armored vehicles.

  There were also the M-2001 Crusader self-propelled guns and the M-1203 NLOS-C self-propelled guns equipped with a 32MJ class rail gun. The latest equipment that America had never revealed to the outside world was being unloaded onto the dock.

  Also, on top of the flight deck of the amphibious vessels, the AH-66 Comanche stealth attack choppers were waiting to take off. The ones that had taken off started to form flight wings of four and headed to the Yokota Air Base. There must have been over a hundred Comanche choppers alone.

  The marines and amphibious vessels that were unloading their military equipment were under the U.S. Navy’s 3rd fleet’s 3rd and 9th carrier strike group. About 50km away from the port, the 1st carrier strike group that had set sail from San Diego 10 days ago were guarding the area.

  Twenty-four F-35B Lightning II jets and eight EA-18G Growler jets had taken off from the 1st carrier strike group’s Carl Vinson (CVN-70) and were circling the area, keeping watch for Corean jets. The vessels, anti-air destroyers, and anti-air submarines were on high alert and were ready to defend and retaliate at a moment’s notice.

  The 1st carrier strike group’s every vessel had finished docking on Yokosuka Port. When they finished unloading their equipment and the marines, America would start their retaliation.

  Also, 120 5.5th generation F-22SR (Super Raptor) jets, which were the upgraded version of America’s most powerful F-22 Raptor jets, and 12 B-1 (Archer) bombers equipped with a compound aerospace digital system had taken off from mainland America. They were crossing the Pacific while being fueled by the KC-45 aerial tanker. Also, four B-3 (Tarantula) space bombers that had been developed in secret at Area 51 were flying above the atmosphere and headed to the base in Guam.