A Gate Opened On My First Day As A Politician - Chapter 33: North Wind (4)

The accelerator was pressed to the floor.

The engine roared, and a single car sped down the empty road.

The rumbling engine noise reverberated through my body. Fifth gear. I’d never driven like this before in my life.

Passengers were busy tapping on their smartphones, gathering information.

As the urgency of the situation escalated, it was Hong Seon-ah, who had somehow become a bit calmer, that provided the first report.

“A monster has appeared in the city, outside the encirclement. One in Gwangam-dong, Dongducheon, and another in a hill near Sinpyeong-ri, Pocheon. There are more elsewhere.”

Damn it. Both are near the martial law command headquarters.

“Did another Gate open?”

“No, it just… came out of nowhere and started charging into the crowd. What’s going on?”

“How many casualties?”

“Um, ah, there’s reports of many dead, but also some where no one’s dead…? Some say it’s not a monster but a person…?”

“Hong Seon-ah, where are you getting this information?”

“Naver News!”

“Disregard it.”

“Okay.”

If it was just monsters, the military would’ve been deployed. For martial law to be invoked, it meant there was something more to this.

“Since the media can’t speak freely under Won Ok-bun’s administration, look for civilian sources. DC, Ruliweb, FM Korea—anywhere! Those places will be buzzing with people posting proof shots and going wild!”

Yeo Do-yeon’s husky voice cut through.

“Hey! They say people are turning into monsters!”

“Stop paying attention to rumors!”

“It’s an official government announcement!”

“Which is why it’s even less trustworthy!”

Government announcements were the hardest to believe.

“At this point, we have to go to Cha Jae-kyun…!”

“No, don’t…!”

Pi Chae-won grabbed my shoulder with a firm grip.

“That’s not an option!”

—

People turning into monsters. Monsters attacking people, causing them to transform. A monster appearing amidst refugees.

Eighteen dead, three injured, but no fatalities reported. The military already subdued it.

A new type of monster has emerged. It’s a conspiracy by the NIS. North Korea is behind it.

Rumors, rumors everywhere.

There was nothing reliable.

Like groping in the dark, we had to roughly piece together the best possible answer.

It could be that Cha Jae-kyun made a deal with Won Ok-bun to expand martial law into Gyeonggi Province, or maybe the higher-ups were using this suspicious incident as a smokescreen to cover something up.

Incidents always happened where I couldn’t see them, but their effects always reached me.

And how one utilized those effects was what defined a true politician.

For now, I decided to assess the situation.

“Assemblyman…!”

So, through Pi Chae-won, I connected with Reporter Gam.

A shabby mountain lodge near Chungnyeong Mountain in northeastern Gyeonggi Province. Refugees had long since left the rundown villa where Reporter Gam awaited.

“Thank you so much for coming!”

“What the hell is going on?!”

“Let’s go inside first.”

Reporter Gam was bruised all over. Limping slightly, he led us into the lodge, nervously scanning his surroundings.

The aftermath of the typhoon hadn’t faded yet. The damp wooden building reeked of mildew.

We gathered around a rickety table. Though Reporter Gam turned on a light, it was too old to brighten the room much.

“Assemblyman.”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember when I mentioned that the military had abandoned the Apgujeong survivors?”

Damn it. Saying that in front of Hong Seon-ah. I struggled to maintain a neutral expression and nodded.

Removing his frameless glasses, Reporter Gam wiped the sweat off his face before continuing.

“As you may have suspected, I’ve been digging into the military since my time at the martial law command.”

I hadn’t suspected a thing.

“I’ve roamed countless war zones, and in my experience, during these kinds of messy situations, the military almost always does something… messy. This time was no exception.”

I glanced at Pi Chae-won’s expression. Despite the shocking news, she remained unmoved. Clearly, she had been working with Reporter Gam all along.

They must’ve formed a connection while living together in the VIP ward. It was possible Pi Chae-won had approached him first.

I needed to stay sharp. This situation was orchestrated by Pi Chae-won. What was she after? I hadn’t figured it out yet.

Reporter Gam rummaged through his bag as he kept talking.

“Among reporters, there’s a handful of names whispered about in secrecy. Very few, but…”

The “Blacks” he mentioned were likely agents of the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

The NIS had Black agents and White agents.

White agents were publicly acknowledged, while Black agents were completely secret.

The kind that, if killed, would simply be listed as missing. The type often depicted in movies.

“When wandering around restricted zones or no-go areas, you always come across certain Koreans. Later, when reporters compare notes, they all seem to look alike but have different names, always hanging around and subtly prying for information. Those kinds of people.”

“So, Reporter Gam, you can identify NIS secret agents?”

“Well, yes. Anyway, according to some entertainment reporters stationed at the airport, most of the Blacks have recently returned to Korea. The rest must’ve returned without us noticing.”

“How does a journalist track intelligence agents?”

“My usual work involves tailing foreign agents, government forces, rebels, you name it.

Oddly, the Korean ones tend to be a bit more careless. Ah, but this isn’t the main point!”

Even as he spoke, Reporter Gam nervously glanced around while rummaging through his large bag.

This man was becoming more and more of an enigma. I pressed my temples, sighing in frustration.

“So, what did the NIS Blacks do?”

Finally, Reporter Gam pulled out a brown envelope from his bag and handed it to me.

“The NIS has been conducting human experiments.”

—

“Case ‘B-10na.’ They cut open the body and implanted mana stones in the forearm.”

I took the photo he handed me.

A corpse lay prone. The forearm, twice the size of a normal one, had chunks of blue stone embedded in it. Bright blue veins oozed blood.

“‘C-02da.’ This is what happens when mana stone powder is sprinkled on a tongue.”

The face was split vertically along the jaw. A long tongue extended all the way to the navel, resembling a whip and just as threatening. A bullet hole marked the forehead.

“‘D-05da.’ This is the result of ingesting a mana stone from a wild dog monster.”

A human body covered in fur, with a wolf-like snout protruding forward. The torn skin around the mouth revealed exposed muscles, and sharp teeth jutted out, shredding the lips to shreds.

“‘E-03ga.’ This case involved injecting a liquid made from ground mana stones combined with jellyfish DNA into the forearm.”

The arms had split along the fingers, transforming into tentacles resembling those of a jellyfish. Five tendrils extended in place of the arms, reaching down to the ankles.

I flipped the photos face down on the table and clenched my teeth to suppress the nausea that was rising.

“This is insane…”

“The experiments involved forcibly implanting mana stones into non-Awakeners using various methods to create pseudo-Awakeners.

They were conducting these experiments in an underground bunker at Yeonin Mountain Provincial Park. Depending on how the mana stones were introduced into the human body, the results varied.”

Yeonin Mountain Provincial Park. I let out a low hum.

“That’s practically spitting distance from the martial law command headquarters.”

“Assemblyman.”

Through the lensless glasses, Reporter Gam’s eyes glinted in the dim room. In a calm tone, he began to speak methodically.

“I’ve always been a literature major at heart, and I enjoy writing fiction.”

“…”

“Would you like to hear a story?”

I replied with silence, which he took as consent.

Reporter Gam removed his glasses and tucked them into his chest pocket.

“The story begins with Vice Minister Cha Jae-kyun of the NIS, who wanted to create a special task force of superpowered individuals. He wanted only the most loyal people to serve as superhumans. And who do you think that would be?”

“…The Blacks.”

“Precisely. The Black agents. To Cha Jae-kyun, having them become superpowered individuals would have been ideal.

But none of them turned out to be Awakeners. Awakening doesn’t happen randomly, after all.”

The story was eerily similar to the conversation I once had with Cha Jae-kyun.

‘We’re testing whether trustworthy people are Awakeners. None of them are.’

In response to Cha Jae-kyun’s lament, I had proposed the Foundation as an alternative: build an orphanage and raise children, selecting Awakeners among them.

Reporter Gam continued.

“However, after observing the survivors within Seoul, he noticed an unusually high proportion of Awakeners. This convinced Cha Jae-kyun of something.

That Gates and superpowers were closely connected. Those who operated near Gates or were frequently exposed to magic were more likely to Awaken.”

This, too, was a conversation I had with Cha Jae-kyun, even including the decision not to rescue the survivors within Seoul.

“So, Cha Jae-kyun left the survivors in Seoul alone, using them as test subjects of sorts. He wanted to see how and to what extent people near Gates would Awaken.”

“Isn’t that too far-fetched an assumption?”

“Does fiction require evidence?”

“…Fair enough.”

For a story of this magnitude, evidence wasn’t necessary. If it spread well online, it could turn the country upside down.

Evidence would naturally follow, uncovered by eager reporters or prosecutors.

Reporter Gam twirled a pen between his fingers as he organized his thoughts, then continued effortlessly.

“Knowing the correlation between magic and Awakening, Cha Jae-kyun aimed to create a special task force of superpowered individuals.

Around this time, renowned biologists were summoned to Yeonin Mountain Provincial Park, and Cheongsong Prison was emptied.”

“…Human experiments on hardened criminals?”

“He couldn’t implant mana stones directly into the loyal Black agents, after all.”

Reporter Gam slid two photos across the table.

“These were given to me by a friend at the ‘Busan Daily’. They show a container truck photographed in Jinbo-myeon, Cheongsong, at 3 a.m. on the 28th.

And here it is again entering the supply depot near the martial law command headquarters. Afterward, numerous vehicles headed toward Yeonin Mountain.”

“…”

“That’s when the Apgujeong incident occurred.”

“Wait.”

I raised a hand to interrupt.

“So, when did these human experiments start?”

His response was brief.

“Do you know what ‘C-03da’ stands for?”

“…”

“It means the third experiment, third attempt, third test subject.”

“…”

“There was even an ‘F-01da.'”

I couldn’t shake off the shock. Reporter Gam continued without pause.

“Later, I found out that Cha Jae-kyun orchestrated the public and local government’s hostility toward you during the Apgujeong isolation.”

Likely to prevent the political sphere from gaining too much power. They had detained the assembly members, after all.

Maybe the lack of reinforcements at Gangnam Station was also deliberate, aiming to claim the Foundation?

My thoughts were interrupted as Reporter Gam continued.

“But you became a new hero, and Assemblyman Yang Pan-seok blackmailed Cha Jae-kyun into releasing the ten detained assembly members.”

“…What?”

“If Assemblyman Han Seung-Moon had publicly accused Cha Jae-kyun of abandoning Apgujeong, what would’ve happened? Assemblyman Yang Pan-seok used that as leverage to blackmail Cha Jae-kyun.”

This was the first I’d heard of it.

“Uh, um. At the time, I acted as a broker for Assemblyman Yang Pan-seok, contacting the media. All the media near the martial law command headquarters was under control…”

“So, the creation of the 12-member parliament was thanks to Assemblyman Yang Pan-seok’s behind-the-scenes maneuvering?”

“You didn’t know?”

I stared at Reporter Gam blankly, unable to respond. He seemed taken aback as he continued.

“Let’s skip over that for now. What’s important is that Cha Jae-kyun succeeded in his research during that time.”

“…Hah.”

“There were minor side effects, but they developed a drug capable of Awakening ordinary people with a decent success rate.”

Then came the time to destroy the evidence.

“…They must’ve killed all the test subjects.”

“There’s one thing he overlooked.”

Reporter Gam put his glasses back on, his sharp gaze cutting through the dim room.

“People tend to lash out before they die.”

The recklessly Awakened test subjects went berserk in unison and broke free.

That’s why martial law had been declared.

I calmly summarized the situation.

“So, to recap:

Cha Jae-kyun wanted a superpowered task force.

The NIS conducted experiments with mana stones, creating highly powerful, unstable, vicious, and intelligent monsters.

And now they’ve been unleashed?”

A chilling silence followed.

Reporter Gam nodded expressionlessly.

“How’s my story so far?”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Think you can turn it into a bestseller?”

“…”

“…It does seem like it would sell well.”