February 25th, 2021, 14:30

  The Yokota underground bunker at Chiba Prefecture, Honshu, Japan (the joint military command’s meeting room)

  “Since this morning, all U.S. forces that have been operating within Tokyo have withdrawn to Yokosuka Port.”


  “Minister Shibasaki, did things not go well with the U.S. military’s commander?”


  “Apologies, Deputy Prime Minister! I did all I could to persuade him, but since America was also hit by Corea’s missile strikes on the mainland, it is difficult for the country to mobilize a secondary force. The Pentagon decided to pull back all of its forces from the Corean battlefields.” Minister Shibasaki seemed too embarrassed to look at the deputy prime minister in the eye while answering him.

  “How could they just withdraw all of their forces deployed to Tokyo just like that? Even if they pulled back and gather all of their forces, it’s not like they can march toward Corea. How could you not persuade the U.S. military’s commander, Minister?” Deputy Prime Minister Aso Taro angrily asked.

  “I am sorry, sir. I have nothing to say.”


  “This is just pathetic, completely pathetic. It’s only a matter of time before the Corean military takes over Tokyo,” Deputy Prime Minister Aso Taro said, his small eyes wide open. His anger and sly intent to blame someone were clearly seen in his eyes.

  “Minister Shibasaki, it appears that you have not handled a single matter properly since the war began. Don’t you think so?”


  “What? How could you……”


  “I’ve been watching you since Prime Minister Abe’s time. You were always behind the scenes promoting imperialism, but what have you done since the war against Corea actually began?”


  “Sir! You’re going too far.”


  “Am I? Hmm, as acting prime minister, I hereby relieve you from your position, Minister Shibasaki. Go back to your quarters and wait there.”


  “You’re going to dismiss the minister of defense at this time? This is clearly an abuse of power.”


  “Abuse of power? I am the acting prime minister. Go back to your quarters.”


  Slam!

  Minister Shibasaki angrily kicked the door open from his sudden dismissal and left. The entire room became colder than ice. To change the mood, Joint Commander Masaki Hajime stood up from his seat and started to speak after walking to the screen installed on one of the walls.

  “Prime Minister Aso Taro, we will not let the Coreans take our nation’s capital. The northern military’s 2nd Vehicle Infantry Division, the 7th Armored Division, and the 5th Vehicle Infantry Brigades have all been ordered to mobilize to defend Tokyo. Also, the 9th Vehicle Infantry Division ordered to ambush the Corean 9th Mechanized Infantry Division’s rear has reached Annaka and will engage the enemy. Once they do, Corea’s 9th Mechanized Division will be surrounded by our 9th Vehicle Infantry Division and 6th Infantry Division, and our forces will be able to deliver a significant blow.”


  “If that is the case, when will the northern military forces be able to enter Tokyo?” Deputy Prime Minister Aso Taro, who had just scolded Minister Shibasaki, started to pay attention to Joint Commander Masaki Hajime.

  “Yes, they will arrive at Tokyo within six hours, sir.”


  “In six hours, how far will the Corean military have marched into Tokyo?”


  “Please take a look at the map once again. The Corean military’s main force marching into Tokyo is the 20th Armored Division. They have started from Hachioji and moved through Sagamihara, Hano, Fuchu, and Tama. They are now moving into Chofu.”


  “Chofu…… They are at the gates of Tokyo.”


  “The 1st Armored Division and the 10 Infantry Divisions will stop the 20th Armored Division from reaching the city with their lives until the reinforcements from the northern military arrive.”


  “Do you think that’s possible? Even if we don’t have the U.S. military backing us?” Despite Joint Commander Masaki Hajime’s confident briefing, Deputy Prime Minister Aso Taro asked in a concerned tone.

  “Sir, the farther Corea’s forces march into Tokyo, they will have to occupy more cities surrounding it. It will be unavoidable for them to spread their forces thin. The 20th Armored Division’s main force’s movements will be delayed by the 1st Armored Division’s guerilla tactics, and its occupying forces will be stopped by our 10 infantry divisions. We will also start actively deploying the 12th aerial chopper brigade that we conserved for our retaliation and strike them from the air as well. No matter the cost, we will do everything we can to defend Tokyo.”


  “Very well. One defeat in war is enough for Japan. We cannot repeat the miserable outcome of the Second World War. Do you understand, Joint Commander Masaki Hajime?”


  “Yes! We will do everything we can to stop the enemy.”


  * * *

  February 25th, 2021, 14:50

  The Yokota underground bunker at Chiba Prefecture, Honshu, Japan (the minister of defense’s office)

  Minister Shibasaki, who had been dismissed from his position by Deputy Prime Minister Aso Taro, stifled his anger and walked into his office. The small office he was provided by the U.S. armed forces in Japan only had a desk, chair, cot, and a bathroom.

  “That bastard Aso Taro is going to blame me, huh? Do you think I am just going to lie down and take it? Of course not!” Minister Shibasaki placed his feet on the desk and muttered to himself and then pulled out a smartphone from a locked drawer at his desk. He dialed 1.

  A minute passed, but the phone only kept ringing and no one answered. Minister Shibasaki tossed the phone to the ground in frustration.

  Smack~

  The screen and battery fell out and broke.

  “Sphinx, you bastard! Even you won’t answer my calls? Fine! Let’s go down together!” Minister Shibasaki started to mutter about Sphinx from the USSC and placed a small USB drive into a laptop.

  He opened a new email and started to attach to it the documents inside the USB drive. The receivers of the email were all famous reporters from across the globe. Right when he was about to press enter to send out the email, Minister Shibasaki felt a chill down his spine. When he turned around to see if there was someone behind him, a man choked Minister Shibasaki and covered his mouth with his right hand. It was a snake choke.

  “Oof! Oof!” Minister Shibasaki attempted to free himself, but the man’s grip was too powerful. The blood could not flow to his head due to the strong chokehold. His consciousness started to drift, and soon, he fainted, his limbs going limp.

  The man who made Minister Shibasaki unconscious was the bearded soldier who entered the bunker an hour ago—the Scorpion agent codenamed FH225.

  The bearded soldier grabbed Minister Shibasaki who had gone limp on the chair. He opened his mouth and pulled out his tongue. With the pistol-shaped syringe, he injected 200mg of a clear and scentless liquid under Minister Shibasaki’s tongue. The serum traveled quickly throughout Minister Shibasaki’s body.

  Minister Shibasaki’s heart rate started to slow and soon stopped. The bearded man checked to make sure his target was dead and then deleted the email from the computer and took the USB drive. He quietly left Minister Shibasaki’s office.

  Since the Yokota bunker belonged to the U.S. military, the bearded man was not deemed suspicious by the Japanese soldiers. He greeted them casually and left. A few minutes later, he was standing in front of the elevator and sending a message with his smartphone-

  Codename FH225, target has been taken out! –
-

  Codename AX001, leave the area immediately. –
-

  Codename FH225, confirmed. Over. –


  The bearded soldier sent the message and got on the elevator to get back to the surface.

  * * *

  February 25th, 2021, 15:10

  Shibuya, Tokyo, Honshu, Japan

  Twenty minutes ago, Namgoong-won had navigated through the battlefields and arrived at Shibuya. The roads would have been a nightmare to navigate from the traffic jams, but now, there were only tanks, armored vehicles, and military trucks on the roads. No civilian vehicles were moving around. Namgoong-won was interrogated numerous times by the Japanese soldiers at the checkpoints. However, he used his fake Singaporean press ID to pass through them. He parked his car at a parking lot of a small park.

  Namgoong-won attempted to scan for the Scorpion organization’s communication signal from a wider range and pulled out a large antenna from his backpack. He connected it to his phone. Now, the scanning radius doubled to reach 60km.

  A faint red dot started to show up and blink on the smartphone’s previously unresponsive screen. Namgoong-won pointed the antenna towards the source’s direction and the signal became stronger.

  “I found you. You bastard!”


  The red dot on his map pointed to the Yokota U.S. military base. The bearded man’s radio frequency was being detected as he was reaching the surface from the underground bunker.

  Namgoong-won immediately started his car and sped along the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line connected to Yokota.

  * * *

  February 25th, 2021, 15:20

  The Yokota underground bunker at Chiba Prefecture, Honshu, Japan (the surface gate)

  Numerous American trucks were loading up supplies so that they could withdraw from the area. The bearded soldier moved past them to reach where a black sedan was parked. He took off his uniform and tossed it to the back seat.

  The Scorpion agent FH225 had easily finished his mission. He put on his sunglasses and started his car.

  Vrooooom~

  All he had to do now was take the U.S. military’s transport vessel and leave Japan. He started to take the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line to reach Yokosuka Port.

  There were only military vehicles moving along the open Aqua-Line. As he was about to enter the underground highway, a white Lexus sped up next to him and attempted to cut him off. Agent FH225 and the driver of the Lexus looked at each other before he passed the Lexus.

  Agent FH225 was a bit concerned about the look on the Lexus driver’s eyes as he drove past him with his windows down, but he didn’t think much of it and continued driving.

  Meanwhile, Namgoong-won’s face turned red after his exchange with the Caucasian man wearing sunglasses. His mind was full of rage from wanting vengeance for the death of his family and friends. As soon as he got out of the Aqua-Line’s toll gate, he stopped and made an abrupt U-turn to cut into the opposing lane, his tires leaving skid marks on the road.

  Screeeeeech~ Vrooooooo~

  The red dot on his smartphone showed him that the target’s vehicle was 12km away! Namgoong-won started to step on the gas to not lose him and sped along the road.

  After speeding along the four-lane road at max speed for 10 minutes, he was able to close the distance to 500m. Namgoong-won then slowed down and quietly tailed his target.

  After another 10 minutes, the black sedan pulled into the parking lot at Yokosuka Port. Then, the Scorpion agent started to walk quickly to the port’s waiting room. The room was full of U.S. Marines in full gear waiting to board ships. The Scorpion agent moved past the crowd.

  Namgoong-won started to put on the numerous pieces of equipment he brought in his backpack and tailed the Scorpion agent. Inside his leather jacket’s left pocket, there was a holster with a CS5 laser pistol inside.

  “All I need is one chance,” Namgoong-won thought. It was as if heaven heard his prayers because the Scorpion agent glanced around the room and walked into the bathroom.

  “Yes, I am going to take him out in the bathroom.” He had his mind made up, but Namgoong-won’s heart pounded like a steam engine. Since he was not a professional field agent, the anxiety made his head swim. However, he bit his lower lip to overcome his fears. Namgoong-won changed the sunglasses he wore into the inverter vision mode and checked inside the bathroom. Luckily, only the Scorpion agent was inside the area.

  “That’s it. Now’s my chance.”


  Namgoong-won swallowed and pulled out his CS5 laser pistol from inside his leather jacket. He got low and carefully entered the men’s room.

  Smack! Smack smack smack!

  Suddenly, a strong force hit Namgoong-won’s wrist. The CS5 laser pistol fell onto the bathroom floor and he was hit on the face.

  The Scorpion agent had noticed the white Lexus sedan tailing him before he reached Yokosuka Port. Like the veteran that he was, he pretended to not have noticed and instead lured Namgoong-won into the men’s room.