:40, 24th of November, 2023

  The East Sea, 43° 1′ 17.06″ north, 139° 23′ 53.69″ east, international waters (The Maritime Task Flotilla Seven)

  “Successfully intercepted target 14! Failed to intercept number 25! Successfully intercepted number 17! Successfully intercepted 9 out of a total of 17 anti-ship missiles currently targeting the main ship! Among these, there are five Kinzal missiles.”


  Whoosh! Whoosh!

  After the first interception failure, the GTAS-300 Sea Dragon surface-to-air missiles flew once again from the K-VLS3 (vertical launch pad) of the remaining five Hocula destroyers including the Gwanghae warship (DDG-1001) by the automatic interception system.

  “For now, you just have to catch the Kinzals. There is a strong sense of pressure that I had never felt before,” Admiral Ahn Hyung-kyun kept muttering these words in his mind.

  Both his ears were focused on the operator’s voice that was giving reports, and his eyes were fixed on the tactical screen as if they were nailed to it.

  Various lines were frantically drawn towards each other, and then they flickered a few times and disappeared. As new lines were drawn again, the corresponding details appeared and disappeared as well, and the tactical screen was showing all the information in real-time.

  With the exception of the Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin class heavy cruisers, the Hocula destroyers, which are revered as the strongest destroyers of this era, were facing a crisis that they had never experienced before even in the Northeast Asian War two years ago, due to Russia firing an astronomical amount of various anti-ship missiles.

  Whoooosh~ Bang!

  The KH-47M2 Kinzal anti-ship missile and the GTAS-300 Haecheonryong anti-aircraft missile were both flying towards each other at the speed of Mach 10. They then collided with each other mid-air. Aside from the explosives in the warheads, the missiles on both sides shattered to pieces, exploding due to the collision with each other according to their relative speed.

  Another GTAS-300 Sea Dragon anti-aircraft missile had failed to intercept the KH-47M2 Kinzal anti-ship missile and missed it entirely. They tried to do it once more and attempted a second interception, but there was no hope for a successful interception since the missiles had similar speeds. Even if they had made a big turn and tried to intercept it again, the missile targeted to be intercepted would have already disappeared.

  In this situation, it was not easy to intercept anti-ship missiles flying at Mach 10.

  “Reporting the results of the second interception. Out of 9 missiles targeting the main ship, we have successfully intercepted 5 missiles! Failed to intercept two Kinzal missiles! One Burya missile! And one Onyx missile.”


  Admiral Ahn Hyung-kyun clenched his fists when he heard the report that there were two Kinzal missiles among the missiles that they had failed to intercept.

  “Report the situation of the other ships.”


  “5 out of 10 missiles targeting Myeongjong the Great were successfully intercepted! The remaining 5 missiles include 2 Kinzal missiles and 1 Burya missile! And 1 Onyx missile! 7 out of 11 missiles targeting Hyojong the Great were successfully intercepted! The remaining 4 missiles are 1 Kinzal missile and 3 Onyx missiles! 6 out of 8 missiles targeting Sukjong the Great were successfully intercepted! The remaining missiles are 1 Kinzal missile, 2 Burya missiles, and 1 Onyx missile! For Yeongjo the Great, out of 9 missiles targeting the ship, 6 missiles were successfully intercepted! The remaining missiles are 2 Burya missiles and 1 Onyx missile! 6 out of 10 missiles targeting Jeongjo the Great were successfully intercepted. The remaining missiles are 1 Kinzal missile and 3 Burya missiles.”


  As though he was rapping, the operator spat out the results of the second interception like a machine gun.

  “So, 7 Kinzal missiles have managed to survive the interception.”


  “We have switched from automatic interception system to proximity defense system. Oh! 1 Kinzal missile targeting Jeongjo the Great, 1 Kinzal missile targeting Myeongjong the Great, and 1 Kinzal missile targeting Sukjong the Great were all successfully intercepted.”


  “What are you saying?” the tactical control officer asked with a confused look on his face because of the sudden additional interception report. “Where was it intercepted? Who intercepted them?”


  “It is…… Oh! The interception was launched by Taejo the Great.”


  “The 3rd fleet, Taejo the Great?”


  “Yes, it seems that the interception was from Taejo the Great.”


  An operational plan was established in advance for the 3rd Fleet, Taejo the Great, which was waiting 535km east of the city of Cheongjin located in the northern area, to advance northward and attack the Far East Fleet from the right side when the Maritime Task Flotilla Seven and the Far East Fleet start a sea battle. However, the role of the 3rd Fleet disappeared as the Far East Fleet was destroyed in a short time by the Maritime Task Flotilla Seven.

  But, when Russia fired a large number of anti-ship missiles at the Maritime Task Flotilla Seven using various ways, 12 Sea Dragon missiles were launched from the Hocula destroyer Taejo the Great, which was the only 3rd Fleet’s ship armed with Sea Dragon missiles with a range of 320km, thus, these 12 missiles supported the interception.

  And the distance was so great that there was only one interception support. That was why a total of 20 Sea Dragon missiles were fired only at the Kinzal missiles, which were the most dangerous.

  “That’s a relief! Then, there are only 4 Kinzal missiles now.”


  At this moment, the six Hocula destroyers simultaneously fired plasma cluster bombs with a range of up to 150 km from the 155mm Harper K-1 artillery.

  Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

  A plasma cluster bomb worth 5 million won per shot flew over the target, making an arc in the sky.

  Plasma cluster bombs flying at Mach 8 or higher take about 50 seconds to reach depending on the distance. The time it took for a Russian anti-ship missile to hit the Maritime Task Flotilla Seven was similar.

  Whether it was uncertain if there was time left for a third interception, the Hocula supercomputer decided to switch to a proximity defense system and extend the interception time of the Shield-M short-range anti-aircraft missile.

  All six Hocula destroyers set up the time value for the Shield-M short range anti-aircraft missiles and fired them one after the other from the 16 launching tubes at the top of each bridge.

  Concerned with a failure in interception, three Shield-M short-range anti-aircraft missiles were fired per target and they flew in a row at 5-second intervals.

  Coo! Bang! Bang!

  Another fireworks party showed up in the sky.

  “Report the interception results comprehensively!”


  Tactical control officer Kim Hyuk-min shed cold sweat and watched the screen, stressed. In his heart he hoped that all the red dots would disappear from the screen.

  However, the operator’s report and the red dots on the screen squashed his wishes.

  “Out of the total of 19 missiles, 17 missiles were successfully intercepted!”


  “What are the remaining 2 missiles?”


  “They are Kinzal missiles.”


  As expected, the KH-47M2 Kinzal anti-ship missile was able to break through a triple Shield-M short-range anti-aircraft missile interception net. Once again, Shield-M short-range anti-aircraft missiles were launched from the 16 launching tubes.

  Baaang~ Baaang~ Baaang~ Baaang~

  “A total of 16 Shield-M missiles have been launched.”


  “26 seconds until they reach their target!”


  “What is the target?”


  “Oh! It’s the main ship and Hyojong the Great.”


  For a moment, the crew members of the Gwanghae ship (DDG-1001) battle command room sighed with a look as if they had seen the Grim Reaper. Probably the crew members of Hyojong the Great (DDG-1003), the other target, looked the same as well.

  “23 seconds until they reach the main ship! 22 seconds! 21 seconds! 20 seconds! 19 seconds! 18 seconds!”


  “First interception missile failed at interception! Second interception missile failed at interception! Third one failed at interception! Fourth interception missile fai- Succeed! Succeed! Successfully intercepted!”


  “Wow!”


  “What about the Hyojong?” in an urgent voice, tactical control officer Kim Hyuk-min asked.

  “Ah! All Shield-M interception missiles failed. Last shot will be launched.”


  At the same time as the operator’s unfortunate report, a total of 12 cannons of 22mm last shot Vulcan laser emitted laser beams on the last KH-47M2 Kinzal anti-ship missile.

  Twelve beams of light were concentrated on the KH-47M2 Kinzal anti-ship missile, which was flying in at a frightening speed.

  “13 seconds until it reaches the Hyojong! 12 seconds! 11 seconds!”


  The death countdown began.

  At that time, six plasma cluster bombs which were fired from the Harper K-1 artillery flew exactly over the target and exploded.

  Boom!

  Fragments the size of an adult’s thumb hit the sea, covering a 25-meter radius.

  Papapat! Papat!

  As a result, the ‘Ion Glum’ which was used to detect the Maritime Task Flotilla Seven destroyer with a long radar over the sea, was also destroyed by the falling fragments. Although it was not an explosion, the device that transmitted and received electromagnetic waves on each side of the radar was damaged, and it no longer functioned as a radar.

  “8 seconds until it reaches the Hyojong!”


  The KH-47M2 Kinzal anti-ship missile gradually lowered its altitude and rushed toward Hyojong the Great (DDG-1003).

  “7 seconds until it reaches the Hyojong!”


  A heart-stopping pressure weighed on the battle command room of the Gwanghae ship (DDG-1001). They wanted to hear the operator’s report that the interception was successful, but the operator who was currently observing the interception status had his mouth firmly closed.

  “6 seconds until it reaches the Hyojong!”


  “Is the SECM interference radio on maximum power?”


  The Hocula supercomputer must have raised the output to the maximum on its own, but Admiral Ahn Hyung-kyun was asking out of caution.

  “Yes, it’s currently disturbing the radio wave with a 100% output.”


  At that time, Hyojong the Great (DDG-1003), which was having the most nightmare-like time, urgently changed its course.

  Hyojong the Great’s (DDG-1003) Hocula supercomputer seemed to be trying everything it could.

  Due to the sudden change of course, Hyojong (DDG-1003) leaned sharply while turning to the right.

  “4 seconds until it reaches the Hyojong! 3 seconds! 2 seconds!”


  In the end, the last shot Vulcan laser failed to intercept the KH-47M2 Kinzal anti-ship missile.

  “1 second left!”


  Booom! Baang!

  With a sound of explosion that almost tore the ears, a huge column of water rose a few dozen meters into the sky.

  :55, 24th of November, 2023

  Downtown Siam, Bangkok, Thailand

  Ten minutes after Professor Woo Jin-gil had bought the luxurious bag and left the store with the two bodyguards, a man with a sports cut dressed in a black suit entered the luxurious bags store.

  His outfit, hair style, and harsh expressions showed that he was an unusual person.

  The man immediately approached the clerk and said something in a low voice. It was in Mandarin, not Thai.

  The clerk understood him and nodded his head, and then he went inside the office and immediately came out with a red luxurious bag. Then the clerk pointed to the inside of the bag with a wink.

  10 minutes ago, Professor Woo Jin-gil took out that bag that was on display and put a microchip case in it, avoiding the eyes of the bodyguards.

  Even though the store had no customers, the man looked around cautiously before looking inside the bag. Then he nodded his head.

  The clerk put the red bag in a shopping bag and handed it back to the man. The man left the store with the shopping bag without paying. Then, he headed towards a black tinted silver sedan across the road.

  The man crossed the road, carefully looking around him, and soon got into the backseat of the silver sedan. Then, he took the red bag out of his shopping bag and searched inside it.

  What came out in the man’s hand was a small microchip case. When he opened the microchip case, there was a smartphone SIM card.

  The man immediately threw away the existing SIM card from his smart phone and inserted the SIM card retrieved from the microchip case.

  After a while, he turned on the smart phone and then skillfully did something. He then smiled awkwardly as he checked on a few things on the phone. It was a smile that didn’t match his appearance.

  It was then that another man in the front passenger seat asked, “Are the things secured?”


  The man responded by nodding his head. Then, the man in the front passenger seat called someone and spoke briefly, “The items are secured!”


  While the man in the passenger seat spoke on the phone, the man in the back seat put his smartphone into his inner pocket and said in Mandarin, “To the airport!”


  “Yes, sir.”


  When the man in the passenger seat answered, the man in the driver’s seat immediately started the engine, and the silver sedan rode on the road leading to Don Mueang International Airport.

  The men were agents of the Black Tiger Corps, a secret intelligence service department in New China.