January 24th, 2024, 20:30

  The B2 Bunker, Yongsan District, Seoul, Southern Territories. (The Digital Information Center of the Intelligence Headquarters of the Joint Chiefs of Staff)

  Namgoong-won, who had succeeded in infiltrating the NASA server through the Hubble 2 telescope-satellite that had accessed NASA’s wide-range wireless communication, scoured the vast intranet of the space agency for any information related to the X-350 Atlas intel satellite. Eight hours later, he successfully found several triple-encrypted files from suspicious databases. However, he couldn’t read their content due to the encryption. So Namgoong-won immediately planted a virus that neutralized any tracking measures for hacking attempts. Then he attempted to download the file right away.

  Namgoong-won was now combating sleep and fatigue to crack the encryption of the downloaded files on his computer. Other agents of the center were in the same shoes as Namgoong-won. They were typing away at their keyboards to crack the encryption program. Just then, someone put a can of a cold beverage on his cheek out of the blue.

  “That’s cold!”


  Namgoong-won, jolted awake by the unexpected cold sensation, looked back to find his wife, Lee Hye-jin, shaking her head and expressing her concern.

  “You asked for more work, didn’t you?”


  “How are you here? This is a First Restricted area.”


  “She came with me, Director Namgoong!” Colonel Kim Tae-seok, the vice-director of the center, grinned.

  “Would that be all right, Colonel?”


  “Of course, it is within my power. Also, Director Lee has the NIS director’s clearance. It is fine.”


  “Is it so? Haha.” Namgoong-won, with a still-confused face, scratched the back of his head as he smiled. “It must be a dream come true for you to play with your computers all day here, isn’t it?”


  “I prefer being with you. But it is so fulfilling for me to benefit the national interest with what I am good at!”


  “Then this could be your new home. You can come home once or twice a year during your vacations.”


  “It isn’t so!”


  When Namgoong-won feigned dismay at Lee Hye-jin’s mean joke, Colonel Kim Tae-seok chimed in. “Director Namgoong, you should catch up with Director Lee in the resting room. You have worked hard for the past few days and nights.”


  “I wasn’t the only one. Everyone worked equally hard!”


  “Namgoong-won, keep your mouth shut and follow me!” Lee Hye-jin dragged Namgoong-won to the resting room by the scruff.

  “Hye-jin, everyone is watching! Come on.” “Be quiet.”


  Every agent or soldier in the Digital Information Center stole a glimpse and burst out laughing at Namgoong-won, who was helplessly pulled away like a cow being dragged to a slaughterhouse. Once they were in the resting room, Lee Hye-jin slammed the door shut. “I lost face there! Come on.”


  Namgoong-won was pushed onto the sofa and was about to complain when Lee Hye-jin’s moist lips met his.

  After a while, the two sets of lips parted. Namgoong-won felt as though his clouded head was cleared up and the fatigue weighing down on his shoulders vanished. Lee Hye-jin grinned.

  “Do you feel better?”


  “I would need another session to heal completely-“


  Before Namgoong-won could finish his sentence, their lips met again.

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  The Russian Army, the successor of the Soviet military during the Second World War, still retained the knack for how to crush the enemy in freezing temperatures and on snowy grounds. They had a vast repertoire of on-snow strategies.

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  January 25th, 2024, 08:00 (Russian Time: 01:00)

  15 kilometers west of the Volga, Astrakhan, Russia (The 75th Machinery Infantry Battalion)

  The first and second reinforcements from the 3rd Marine Corps had completely reclaimed Luhansk. They finally put an end to the ongoing civil war in Ukraine after nine years. Furthermore, they reclaimed Rostov and Voronezh and handled what remained of the 51st Guard Army of the Western Army and the 20th Guard Army of the Western Army hailing from Volgograd. Meanwhile, in southernmost Ukraine, the three brigades from the Peace Corps rapidly moved north along their allocated paths.

  The 35th Machinery Infantry Brigade, moving north along the shore of the Black Sea, through the Karachay-Cherkess Republic and the Adyghe Republic, had gone on a full-on suppressive operation on Krasnoyarsk. The 11th Marine Corps, coming up north in the midst of all that, had entered Stavropol Krai via the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic and had occupied the capital and various small cities. They were now rapidly marching north toward Rostov to support the 3rd Marine Corps, just 15 kilometers away from Volgodonsk in the southern direction.

  Lastly, the 75th Machinery Infantry Battalion of the 7th Machinery Infantry Brigade, which had gone through street battles in Makhachkala, Dagestan, and successfully occupied the capital, was mobilized to Kalmykia and had just begun the operation to occupy Astrakhan along the Kazakh border.

  Even considering their advanced machinery, moving 450 kilometers in 12 days while occupying small cities around the target was a tremendous speed.

  Their original plan was to go through the Chechen Republic and Ingushetia, but the two republics had shrewdly judged the circumstances of the war and had surrendered to Korea early on. The 7th Machinery Infantry Brigade, initially tasked with conquering the two republics, could have saved time and energy and moved up to the north much earlier.

  The 75th Machinery Infantry Battalion of the 7th Machinery Infantry Brigade, which had advanced a distance greater than that between Seoul and Busan in 12 days, took some time for replenishment before they entered Astrakhan, on the western bank of the Volga. The soldiers were severely exhausted after going through several battles in a short time. The bullets and batteries had to be replenished. Moreover, they had to come from the Peace Corps main base on a military transport aircraft.

  The 75th Machinery Infantry Battalion, which had some time for rest in the midday heat, had entered a full-on operation on Astrakhan at midnight as the temperature started to fall rapidly.

  In the streets of Astrakhan, the headquarters unit and the direct unit of the southern army, who had retreated from Stavropol, had established their final defense front and were awaiting their enemy. The 18th Vehicle Infantry Division had been decimated, so none of them specialized in this kind of combat, but the 544 Vehicle Fire Rifle Brigade belonging to the 58th Army had come as emergency reinforcement. Also, the 901st Mobilized Division, which was mainly composed of lightly armored soldiers, was hiding in various spots in the streets of Astrakhan.

  The total headcount was 12,000, but it was still a lot for a single Machinery Infantry Battalion to handle. As a result, the ratio was close to one to 30.

  For this reason, the leaders of the 75th Machinery Infantry Battalion had decided to go for a nighttime ambush to overcome this disadvantage. In modern warfare, friendly fires are to be avoided at all costs. If they could dupe the Russians to fire at themselves, they could aim for more significant damage and also the loss of the enemy’s morale. The likelihood of friendly fires and subsequent casualties increased at night and correlated with the size of the ambushed party. The soldiers of the 75th Machinery Infantry Battalion were each equipped with a personal network system. They could tell enemies from allies thanks to their shield glasses, which allowed them to see as clear as day at night with their optical features. When it came to nighttime street battles, the Koreans had an advantage thanks to their technological expertise.

  They also had C-23P-M armored vehicles that could withstand common shell strikes and even RPG-7 or guided missiles. Their only disadvantage was that they had wheels like jeeps instead of belts like tanks.

  Astrakhan was a city located far downstream of the Volga, on a delta amongst countless rivulets. It was connected to the eastern side of the Volga by two large bridges. However, the southern bridge was demolished by the Russians, and the Astrakhan Bridge, which stretched above an in-river island like many bridges in Seoul, was the only way into the city.

  Earlier in the day, in the afternoon, the leaders converged on a strategy in which they promptly crossed the Astrakhan Bridge since they would surely receive heavy fire from the Russian forces hiding in the city if they decided to swim across the Volga. It was a pretty wide river, 660 meters on average. But by going through the bridge, they also risked receiving fire from the Russian forces in hiding.

  They were worried that the Russians might decide to demolish the bridge when they were crossing it. If they misjudge the situation, they could be decimated by the bridge even before they enter the battle in the streets.

  After much deliberation, Lieutenant Colonel Choi Eun-su decided to cross the bridge despite all the risks. One single reason contributed to the decision.

  He was sure that the Southern Army would not decide to demolish the Astrakhan Bridge, the only passage to the eastern side of the Volga. If the Russians had designated Astrakhan as the final defense front and even dispatched the headquarters unit of the Southern Army, that would have meant they needed the bridge for future strategies. The Southern Army was currently devoid of air transport. They had no choice but to keep the Astrakhan Bridge alive and intact.

  But nothing ensured that Lieutenant Colonel Choi Eun-su’s decision would prevail. Therefore, they decided to cross the bridge brigade by brigade. The 3rd Brigade would cross it first, covered by the 5th and 6th Brigades. When the 3rd Brigade gets to the other side, the 4th Brigade will follow suit.

  This way, they didn’t risk being obliterated even if the Southern Army decides to demolish the bridge. The 3rd Mechanized Infantry Brigade, with all of their vehicle headlights off, prepared to enter the bridge with their engines rumbling. In the sky, four Spider-II scout drones flew toward and over the Astrakhan Bridge, providing intelligence.

  The 75th Machinery Infantry Battalion, once on the western side of the city, promptly entered the streets and scanned every building with their shield glasses as soon as they got off the armored transport vehicles with cart wheels.

  Most Russians were hiding in the eastern part of the city. So the western part of the city was a cinch to take over. Only a few male citizens resisted, shooting at them with their pistols and shotguns, but they were soon neutralized by the soldiers and taken to the local police station, which was to be used as the hostage holding facility during the operation.

  Other than that, no problem posed itself. The 75th Machinery Infantry Battalion, thanks to this, had completely occupied the western part of the city. The C-23P-M armored transport vehicles, loaded with armed soldiers, set off to cross the Astrakhan Bridge along Road A154, one at a time.