January 5th, 2024, 21:30

  National Medical Center, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Namju (VIP ward 308 Special Room)

  Manager Namgoong-won, who regained consciousness and was answering the doctor’s questions, waved his hand when he saw Manager Lee Hye-jin’s crying face in front of the door.

  “Oh! You’re here?”


  While lying on the bed, he smiled brightly with tears glistening in his eyes.

  “Fool! Why did you only just wake up? I was so worried…”


  Manager Lee Hye-jin ran up to him, and hugged him, weeping.

  “Sobbing.”


  Her tears ran down her cheeks and eventually soaked his hospital clothing.

  “Don’t cry! I’m fine! I’m fine. Honey!” The tears that had been accumulating in his eyes for some time began to fall as well.

  “Ah! You punk! You’re so easy! Hahaha!” Manager Lee Ja-sung, who followed manager Lee Hye-jin, leaned against the door and said smiling.

  “Oh! You’re here? When did you wake up?”


  “I didn’t need to wake up! I never lost consciousness like you. I mean, I’m not as weak as you are. Hahaha.”


  “Really? Don’t lie…”


  Manager Lee Hye-jin loosened her grip and stepped away from the bed after calming down, and Manager Namgoong-won looked at Manager Lee Ja-sung in disbelief. Manager Lee Ja-sung approached him with a smile on his face and continued teasing him, “What would someone who didn’t even attend the training think now? I’m only hurting my mouth.”


  “All right, I’m envious that you’re not weak. Dude, give me a hug.”


  Even though they were teasing each other, they hugged tightly.

  “Won! You punk! I’m glad you’re awake.”


  “Punk! I’m relieved that you weren’t hurt. Haha.”


  The two managers hugged and comforted each other.

  The two men, who were trapped tens of meters underground during the explosion, were prepared to die as they never expected to return alive and in such good health. Feeling overwhelmed, they continued hugging for a while.

  “What? Whoa! What are you guys doing in the middle of the day? Hahaha.” The foreign intelligence division one agents stood in front of the door with bright smiles on their faces.

  Fortunately, they all retreated safely from the factory area without incident and returned unharmed from Tianjin late last night.

  They had rushed into the hospital as soon as morning came because they were worried about the health condition of the two managers.

  “We’re here, too.”


  Two of the special security team agents, who were had accompanied Manager Namgoong-won, waved their hands while peeking in at the door.

  “Welcome! You all did a great job.”


  Manager Lee Ja-sung shook hands with the agents and hugged them, and when he finally reached Team Leader Park Gi-oong, he expressed his gratitude with a sincere look.

  “I heard from the director about what you did for us. You suffered a lot, Team Leader Park!”


  “What exactly do you mean by ‘suffering’? You would have saved me sooner if it had been you. I’m just sorry for taking too long.”


  “No. I wouldn’t have tried as hard as you did if it had been me.”


  At that moment, Team Leader Youn Tae-jin clapped his hands to create a solemn atmosphere.

  “Let’s stop talking and start partying. Party! What exactly are you doing? Let’s get started!”


  “Yes, yes.”


  At his word, foreign intelligence division one agents placed their food and fruits on the table.

  “A little champagne would be okay, right?” Team Leader Youn Tae-jin shook the champagne and asked the doctor who was watching from aside. In response, the doctor smiled and nodded.

  “Let’s get the party started and celebrate the mission’s success as well as the safe return of the two managers!”


  “Wah!”


  Their reunion party was extremely loud and lasted until President Choo Un-hee and the head of the National Intelligence Service arrived in the afternoon.

  January 5th, 2024, 10:30 (New China time: 09:30)

  X-15 bunkers, Beijing, New China (General Staff Office)

  General Chief of Staff, Yuan Xiaoqiao, who was reviewing the documents on the plasma bomb operation plan established the day before, sighed deeply.

  Many complicated thoughts were running through his mind, and he appeared to be troubled by them.

  Currently, the remaining four plasma bombs of the New China Army were held by the 200th Strategic Artillery Brigade belonging to the 38th Group Army waiting in Linfen, 100 kilometers behind the border.

  According to the existing operation plan, after breaking through the border and quickly crossing Jinzhou, the next step was to take over Liaodong (Shenyang), a key point in Northeast China. The remaining four plasma bombs were originally planned to be used to prevent the South Korean military from breaching the borders.

  However, contrary to expectations, several Army Groups suffered significant damage at the start of the war as a result of the Korean military’s indiscriminate retaliatory attack, and their operation plan failed. As a result, the 200th Strategic Artillery Brigade of the 38th Army Group was trapped in its current location indefinitely as the war turned into a push-and-pull battle around the border.

  How much time had passed?

  General Chief of Staff, Yuan Xiaoqiao, who placed the documents on the table, had a look that showed he had made a decision. Holding his smartphone, he then dialed a number.

  “Fly!”


  “Yes, Chief of Staff!”


  Wang Qing, the commander of the 200th Strategic Artillery Brigade, was on the other end of the line. He was also a distant relative of General Chief of Staff, Yuan Xiaoqiao, making him one of the General Chief of Staff’s few close aides.

  “I’m sure you’ve received the operation plan documents, right?”


  “Yes, I got them.”


  The operation plan, which was officially approved by President Wang Jing-wi, had been delivered to all commanders of higher units and had been decided on internally.

  “You need to help me!”


  “Whatever you want, I will help you with it.”


  “Thank you! My deputy will send you another operation plan. So, disregard the plan you just received and stick to my plan.”


  “Um, is it informal?”


  “That’s right. It is a plan that the Minister of Defense and I are working on.”


  “Yes, I see. I’ll follow it.”


  “Good! Keep your staff on track and carry it out properly!”


  “Haha, you don’t have to worry about that, Chief of Staff.”


  “I’ll call you again later.”


  “Yes, I’ll be waiting for your call.”


  After the call, Chief of Staff, Yuan Xiaoqiao, immediately connected to the intercom and called the deputy.

  “Yes, you called me?” The deputy, who was waiting outside, immediately opened the door and entered.

  “Please send it to Wang Qing.”


  “Yes, I will.”


  January 5th, 2024, 15:00 (Kurdistan time: 09:00)

  Oroi Mohammad, Republic of Kurdistan (the 7th Mechanized Infantry Brigade)

  Armored vehicles, tanks, and other vehicles from the 7th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, one of the units in charge of sweeping operations in Russia’s south, were resting on the plains of Oroi Mohammad, 15 kilometers south of the border with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

  The 3rd Mechanized Infantry Company, which departed from Husen Abad the previous day, also joined the battalion headquarters and arrived here at around 4 a.m. for maintenance and rest.

  While the soldiers were resting, the brigade staff and commanders of each subordinate unit met in the brigade headquarters’ temporary barrack. The meeting had just begun.

  “Just before the meeting begins, I’d like to remind you that we’ll be leaving Kurdistan and traveling through Armenia and Azerbaijan through the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had a hard time persuading those three countries. So, I hope you will take extra precautions to avoid any accidents while passing through those countries’ territories and to avoid any conflicts with civilians. That’s all!” Brigadier General Min Joon-won issued a warning before beginning the meeting, and after finishing his speech, he signaled the start of the meeting by nodding his head to the operational manager sitting next to him.

  Colonel Oh Seo-kyun, the head of the operation department, rose from his seat and approached the screen. “Then, let’s begin the briefing of the sweeping operation in Takestan, the first target of the 7th Mechanized Infantry Brigade.”


  As he spoke, the screen turned on and a digital map appeared.

  “As I said earlier, our 7th Brigade’s primary target is here in Takestan, which is 288 kilometers away from our current location and 380 kilometers if we calculate the sweeping area as well.”


  After Colonel Oh Seo-kyun was done with his explanation, a blue line that appeared to be the actual sweeping path was drawn along the road from various tactical symbols on the digital map.

  “At 1 p.m. today, the 75th Battalion will take the lead, followed by the 79th Tank Battalion, the 76th Tank Battalion, and the brigade headquarters and units directly under their command. The ultimate goal is to arrive at the Takestan border at 10 p.m. tomorrow, with four breaks in between maneuvers. We expect a tight schedule, so make sure you have everything ready before you leave.”


  Colonel Oh Seo- kyun’s detailed briefing concluded after another 30 minutes, and questions from various commanders poured in.

  “I believe that to be able to finish by tomorrow will require a quick maneuver. Is a front-line reconnaissance mission required when maneuvering in the Republic of Nakhichevan Autonomous or Armenia?” asked Lieutenant Colonel Choi Eun-soo, battalion commander of the 75th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, raising his hand.

  “Forward reconnaissance between maneuvers will most likely begin after Mingecevir, the last resting point before entering Azerbaijan. According to what we know so far, there has not been any movement of pro-Russian civilians or Russian forces in the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, Armenia, or the southern parts of Azerbaijan.”


  “Okay.”


  “Another question!”


  “I’m Lee Yoon-won, the commander of the 8th Infantry Battalion of the 76th Infantry Battalion. I’d like to ask a question out of curiosity but it may be considered unusual for this meeting. What is the brigade’s final mission?”


  “I’ll answer this question.” Brigadier General Min Joon-won, who was listening from his seat in the back, stood up and continued, “For the time being, our mission is to completely occupy Takestan. In the future, I believe our second mission would be to conduct an occupation operation by sweeping from the Republic of Kalmykia to the Volgograd Oblast.”


  “Brigadier General! Is it possible to take control of all three states with only a brigade-sized army?”


  In response to the brigade commander’s words, company commander Captain Lee Yoon-won expressed a negative opinion. “Of course not. It’s absurd to occupy three states with just that…In addition to us, there are the 35th Mechanized Infantry Brigade and the 11th Marine Mobilization Brigade sweeping in southern Russia, right? Perhaps there would be a cooperative operation. Do you understand?”


  “Yes, I see.”


  The 35th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, which was on a security mission in Ariju, was the first to enter Armenia and was now passing through the western part of Armavir along the H-17 road, which had become Kurdish territory. The 11th Marine Mobilization Brigade, which had started its maneuvers in Kirkuk, was just passing through the western end of Khoi in West Azerbaijan. It began in the lower province and had a long maneuvering distance, but because it was a mobile brigade, it advanced quickly north.

  Russia was on the verge of expanding its war to include southern Russia following Donetsk, Luhansk Oblast, and the Crimean Peninsula, as even the three brigades of Peace troops dispatched to assist with the independence of the Kurdistan Republic entered a full-fledged sweep in southern Russia.

  Meanwhile, the continued expansion of the war in the south was bad news for Russia, which had deployed all of its forces to the northwestern front facing the Korean border……