Chapter 608
I stared at the middle-aged man in front of me.
Donald Doramp Jr.
A tycoon who owned a corporate empire worth trillions, and the third father-son president in U.S. history, following in the footsteps of his father, a former president.
Though he looked like a refined British gentleman, he appeared at least twenty years younger than his actual age. The smile he directed at us was full of sincerity.
“Welcome to you both.”
We shook hands with President Doramp, whose slicked-back hair was quite different from his father’s infamous style.
I never imagined I’d meet the President of the United States in person. It was still surreal even seeing him with my own eyes.
“Haha, there’s no need to look at me like that. Honestly, I’m the one who’s amazed. I’ve only ever heard of you two—today is our first meeting.”
Team Leader Choi responded in fluent English.
“Thank you for the warm welcome, Mr. President.”
“I’ve heard about the joint state funeral held in Korea. My condolences for the victims who were tragically lost to injustice, and also to the former Peace Guild leader, Mr. Kim.”
President Doramp wasn’t just polite in appearance—his manners were truly gentlemanly.
Even though the U.S. ambassador and Secretary of State had attended the funeral, he still offered his condolences in person. That said it all.
“Now that I think about it, you’ve already met the Secretary of State, haven’t you? Isn’t that right, Jessie?”
At Doramp’s words, a middle-aged woman seated at the pentagon-shaped table, the Secretary of State, gave a warm nod of acknowledgment.
Only then did I fully realize that everyone in this room were the core pillars holding up the superpower known as the United States.
‘The military and political elite.’
Not many wore suits. Given the Secretary of State had attended the funeral, most of the suited individuals were probably cabinet-level or close to it.
As for the military…
‘There’s a ton of them.’
It was a literal parade of stars.
Middle-aged and elderly generals with graying or fully white hair were eyeing us curiously, their uniforms gleaming with medals and stars.
“Ah, I’m late with introductions.”
President Doramp, noticing where my gaze had drifted, continued.
“Everyone, this is Mr. Choi, head of the Peace Guild and Ares Guild, and of course, the well-known Mr. Jin. And these people here are… Jack, Philip, Joy, Liam, Isabella…”
Names and titles that sounded straight out of a Hollywood war movie flew past in a blur.
Team Leader Choi, who always seemed to know everything, appeared to recognize all of them, while I just nodded blankly.
‘Why are there so many departments and titles?’
The only names I retained were the heads of the CIA and FBI—probably because they showed up a lot in movies.
“Now that introductions are done, let me explain the reason we summoned you both on such short notice.”
‘Snap.’
‘Fwoosh!’
The moment President Doramp snapped his fingers, the previously vanished holograms filled the room again.
‘That’s…’
A map—zoomed in to a specific region rather than showing the entire globe.
Coordinates were labeled on countless buildings and terrains, with strange glowing markers scattered throughout like stars.
‘Ah.’
Seeing the names and arid terrain on the map, I recalled what President Doramp had said when we arrived and murmured in realization.
“The Middle East?”
“A tactical map marking terrorist groups. Those glowing spots must be Gates or strongholds.”
It wasn’t just me who spoke—Team Leader Choi said it at almost the same time. President Doramp nodded.
“Both of you are correct. Mr. Choi’s answer is a bit more detailed and closer to the truth. Those glowing lights indicate suspected terrorist strongholds. Hologram, minimize.”
‘Whirr—’
Following the command, the enlarged hologram shrank into a globe-shaped model.
As it rotated slowly in response to President Doramp’s gesture, dots of various sizes glowed all over the world.
“All of those represent terrorist organizations?”
“During my father’s presidency, there were over 100 Islamic terrorist groups. And that number exploded after the Great Cataclysm.”
This was news to me.
Over 100, just for Islamic terrorist groups—before the Great Cataclysm, at that.
Sure, some of them might just be hobby-level or small factions, but the issue is that they’re not just comic clubs—they aim to kill.
‘This is way too many.’
I knew the world had its share of lunatics, but not to this extent.
Team Leader Choi, his gaze steady, finally spoke.
“Are the scattered rebel groups across Africa excluded from this?”
“Good question, Mr. Choi. Fortunately, the numbers here also include those rebel forces.”
“Then I suppose I understand why you summoned us so urgently.”
Team Leader Choi continued in a quiet voice.
“You intend to wipe out these terrorist organizations, don’t you?”
“Correct.”
President Doramp didn’t deny it and nodded heavily.
“As you know, the U.S. is still the most powerful nation on Earth, but that also means we are constantly being checked. That’s why we must act with military and diplomatic caution.”
Even as a historically notorious international bully, the U.S. couldn’t just steamroll every country, especially after suffering heavy losses during the Great Cataclysm.
“But the terrorist groups and rebel forces operating globally must be eradicated as soon as possible. I’m sure both of you understand why.”
Of course we do.
As Magic Johnson had mentioned, these groups were beginning experiments using Gates and magic stones.
We didn’t know what results their experiments might yield or whether they’d succeed or fail—but the fact that they were experimenting at all was dangerous enough.
‘Just like nuclear tests.’
When North Korea conducts missile tests, the world pays attention.
Koreans may just say, “Ugh, those guys again,” and carry on with their day—but only because they believe they won’t actually fire.
Terrorist groups, however, were even more unhinged than North Korea.
“You probably heard from Mr. Johnson. Even today, terrorist groups launched simultaneous attacks in California, Arizona, and Texas. And it’s not just happening in the U.S.”
‘Swipe.’
As Doramp gently swept his hand through the holograms, the globe disappeared and dozens of floating screens appeared in its place.
“Surrender! If you lay down your arms now—!”
“God is great!”
“Help! Run!”
‘Boom!’
A chaotic mix of languages flooded the room through the system’s live translations.
People of all different appearances fled from explosions, shrieking as they were coated in the flesh and blood of the fallen.
“There were 32 terrorist attempts worldwide today alone. Thankfully, like the incident in Texas, most were thwarted with minimal damage. But if these groups finish their experiments using Gates and magic stones…”
Chuck Hagel gritted his teeth as he rolled his cigar between his fingers and interrupted harshly.
“Fuck. Then we’re all screwed. Monster waves like what happened in South Korea will happen nonstop.”
Magic Johnson added with a sigh.
“The rebels won’t stay quiet either. They’re just as dangerous as the terrorist groups. They kidnap children, brainwash them, and turn them into soldiers. They’ll slaughter tens or hundreds of thousands just to gain control of a country.”
Why is it that in this world, the kindest and the cruelest beings are both humans?
Images of the corpses and screams from weeks ago resurfaced in my mind, weighing heavily on my chest.
“…Damn.”
I muttered and glanced at Team Leader Choi.
His eyes had sunk low, likely remembering someone he had recently lost.
‘We can’t let that happen again.’
I didn’t know how evil people could become.
How many more must die before this insane cycle ends?
But I also felt relief.
Because I had the power to stop this vicious cycle, even for a moment.
And if I couldn’t stop it…
‘I’ll break it.’
Having already made my decision, I looked directly at President Doramp and asked bluntly,
“When does the extermination operation begin?”
Catching my intent, a smile tugged at the President’s lips.
With a glance, one of the members seated at the pentagon table stood up.
“Assuming full approval from the UN Security Council, preparations could be completed in as little as two months. At most, it may take half a year.”
“Two months at the earliest?”
Too slow. Much slower than I expected.
Frowning slightly, I spoke again.
“For something this dangerous, that’s a serious delay.”
“We have no choice due to international law. Especially in the Middle East and Africa, deploying troops without consent is a clear violation of sovereignty.”
“But according to my history textbook, you fought just fine in the Middle East. I even watched a documentary criticizing oil money deals.”
One of the top officials coughed awkwardly, clearly caught off guard by my casual jab.
“…Ahem. That was because of 9/11. Things changed with the post-Cataclysm international agreements…”
“Right, right. So, best-case scenario is two months?”
“…Ahem. Yes, that’s correct.”
After a moment of thought, I turned back to President Doramp and whispered softly.
“Can I ask something?”
“Of course.”
“If an unknown, unidentified figure—for example—were to wipe out terrorist groups in Africa or the Middle East… would that also be considered a violation of international law?”
“…Excuse me?”
“Like Batman. Or Spider-Man. You know? Lower your voice before answering, though.”
President Doramp looked confused for a moment before finally replying.
“So you’re saying… Mr. Jin would—go undercover and exterminate the terrorists…?”
“Me? Why me?”
“W-Well, judging from what you just said…”
“I never said that. It was just a hypothetical.”
“Wait, Mr. Jin.”
“This guy’s dangerous. Why would I do something like that? It’s not like I’m some lunatic who’d storm Ares Guild HQ solo.”
“…!”
A stunned silence fell.
President Doramp, who had been staring at me like I was insane, finally broke the silence.
“I must have misunderstood. I can’t believe I was entertaining such a ridiculous idea.”
“Right?”
“Well then, that concludes today’s meeting. We’ll accidentally leave the holographic tactical map behind.”
“Ah, yes. Accident.”
“Indeed. It’s classified information—must never leak. It contains detailed locations of terrorist and rebel forces in the Middle East and Africa.”
“Anything else?”
“All relevant information is included in the materials. Of course, Mr. Jin will never come into possession of those materials and will return straight to Korea. Isn’t that right, Mr. Johnson?” (T/N: HAHAHAHA. WTF)
Magic Johnson, having assessed the situation, nodded.
“Of course, Mr. President. Although… Jin does love traveling. He might disappear for a few days.”
“Ah, really? Do you have a favorite region…?”
I answered without missing a beat.
“Africa and the Middle East. Especially deserts. I go crazy for them. My dream is to pee in an oasis and feed a Sphinx some Churu.”
Team Leader Choi calmly added,
“I was born in summer, so I like hot places.”
“Well, what a coincidence.”
“You ready, Choi?”
“Of course, Johnson—wait, that sounded weird.”
As the bizarre yet seamless conversation continued, Chuck Hagel bit his cigar and declared,
“We’re off—crazy men, off to kill even crazier men.”
That’s right. Only madmen can kill madmen.
—
It was an ordinary day.
After interrogating a foreign prisoner and killing one of his cocky underlings, Muhammad Saladir ad-Din, leader of an Islamic terrorist organization, returned to his bedroom—
Only to find himself face-to-face with an uninvited guest.