Chapter 170

Episode 170. The Beginning of the End (2)

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Another day, another siren as soon as I clock in.

3 AM.

I rushed to the Director’s Office after receiving a text. The Precognition Department had predicted a war hours ago, and now it was being taken seriously.

“Briefing.”

Advisor An cleared his throat.

“The Precognition Department has prophesied a war. We’re currently on high alert, doing our best to figure out when and who we’ll be fighting.”

War, huh? Let’s break it down.

It’s just another problem to solve.

If someone’s targeting the Foundation and starting a war, we’ll obviously prioritize protecting Facility 82, which holds many high-value assets.

“There are four tasks.”

“Got it.”

“First. Gather the mages from Facility 82 to support the Precognition Department in Research.”

“Roger.”

“Second. Inform our allies and collaborators about the situation. That’s the External Communications Team’s job.”

“Third. Use the Foundation’s intelligence network to figure out what’s threatening us. Support the Surveillance Team.”

“Understood.”

“Fourth. Prepare for war. Mobilize the Retrieval Department and Facility Security Teams.”

Advisor An nodded. Now that we’ve set the tasks, let’s tackle the first one.

First task.

Gathering mages to support the Precognition Department.

These free-spirited souls, unbound by physical laws, are mostly from containment backgrounds, making them tricky to handle unless I step in personally.

There are three top-tier mages at Facility 82.

Dr. Chae, Hasti, and Cosmos.

This is about firepower. There are quite a few skilled in magic studies. Anyway, the Foundation’s mages gathered in the Precognition Department’s meeting room.

I started.

“To cut to the chase, the Precognition Department has prophesied a war. What do you mages think?”

Dr. Chae scratched his head.

“There’s no magic that can definitively predict the future. No matter how powerful.”

“True.”

“We shouldn’t rely too much on magic. The best way to predict the future is still to understand the present and the past.”

So, what’s the plan? That’s what matters. I looked at Dr. Chae. The room’s attention turned to him.

“Uh, we could try clairvoyance or remote viewing. Maybe even astral projection teams.”

Not very helpful.

“Have you tried divination?”

“Doom.”

So, the conclusion is similar.

I turned to Hasti. She looked bored, tilting her head and picking her ear with a finger.

Got something to say?

“Hasti, what about you?”

“I prayed to the dark gods. They said there will be a war on this land soon.”

“When?”

“Soon? I’ll ask more, but prayers don’t always answer everything.”

Come to think of it, I have deities I can consult too. Quite a few, actually.

Not sure how helpful Cernunnos will be, but hey, it’s a god.

“Cosmos, what about you?”

“I don’t know.”

Fair enough.

“Anyone else have opinions?”

Some murmuring.

“We should consult the deities the Foundation has contained.”

“Let’s use future-predicting machines.”

“We still don’t have enough time.”

It’s good they’re thinking, but I doubt we have the resources for trial and error.

“Anyway, everyone head to the Ivory Tower. Whether it’s receiving prophecies or using clairvoyance, figure out what’s going on as quickly as possible.”

Dr. Chae nodded first.

Second. The Foundation’s allies.

One task down. Now, it’s time to check with our collaborators and see if they know anything.

Honestly, if it’s war, we can’t rule out the scenario where the Korean government is trying to push the Foundation out.

The External Communications Team looked busy.

Phones ringing, fax machines whirring. The laser printer must have been running all day, the ozone smell was strong.

I walked to the Director’s office. Director Han sat in the center, looking like he was about to cry, surrounded by phones.

Ministry of Defense’s Anomalous Phenomena Response Bureau.

Military Special Weapons Tactical Unit.

National Intelligence Service’s Anomalous Events Investigation Team.

National Police Agency’s Supernatural Phenomenon Management Bureau.

Ministry of Science’s Anomalous Phenomena Research Lab.

These are the four major hostile groups under the Korean government. The rest are non-governmental hostile groups.

UN Peacekeeping Force Korea Branch.

Enlightenment Group’s 8th Research Utilization Team.

Pluto Limited Company.

Ideal Humanity Society.

Isaac’s Sacrifice.

Lotus Corporation.

Well…

Pluto Limited Company and below are too small. It’s more like a list. Director Han looked up after a while.

“Director, hello.”

“Busy, huh?”

“Being busy is fine, but everyone’s asking what’s going on. I don’t know either.”

Honestly, I don’t know either. That’s why I’m here.

“Gather them all.”

“Huh?”

“Tell the Foundation’s collaborators to send people to the Seoul Branch within three hours. If anyone can’t make it, send a helicopter.”

“Will they come if we ask?”

“Tell them it’s my request. They’ll come.”

They should come if asked. Won’t they?

“Can you connect me to the Anomalous Phenomena Response Bureau now?”

“I’ll try. Not sure what the Director is doing.”

A moment later. Director Han handed me the phone. A voice I hadn’t heard before answered.

“Ah, hello!”

“This is Dr. Kim from the Foundation. Connect me to the Director of the Anomalous Phenomena Response Bureau. It’s urgent.”

“Uh, sure. He’ll be right there.”

You could feel the fluster even over the phone. Am I that scary?

I haven’t done anything wrong to the Bureau. At least, not that I remember. A moment later, the phone clicked, and someone else answered.

“Ah, this is the Director of the Anomalous Phenomena Response Bureau. What’s the matter?”

“If a major incident breaks out in Seoul right now, how many soldiers at Mission Protection Level 4 can you deploy?”

Silence.

“Right now?”

“It’s just a hypothetical.”

“You’re not gathering them immediately, right?”

The Director thought for a while.

“Without a reason, it’d be hard to gather more than a few dozen. Military and police special forces, probably.”

“That’s all?”

“The Bureau has four supernatural combat teams. Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird.”

“Right.”

“If it’s today, we could gather eight squads from the Bureau, eight from the police, and eight from the military.”

“That’s more than I thought.”

It seemed that way.

“If martial law is declared or if there’s an immediate problem… we could mobilize thousands, maybe tens of thousands. What’s going on?”

How should I explain?

“We’ve received intelligence that a large-scale terrorist attack might happen near Seoul in a few weeks. Raise the alert level of nearby military bases to Jindo Dog-2 and prepare all relevant combat assets for immediate action.”

“Uh, sure. If it’s about North Korean drones, we could raise the alert level. But what’s the situation?”

“There’s intelligence that a major terrorist attack could happen within Seoul. We’re not ruling out the possibility of full-scale war.”

Actually, the terrorist attack is a lie. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but the more teams we have, the better.

“Uh, is that it?”

“Our facilities are on maximum alert. Please cooperate with our observations.”

“Alright.”

“Gather people from everywhere and try to fill 30 infantry fighting vehicles by tomorrow. Let the Navy and Air Force know about the danger too.”

“I’ll try.”

Since we don’t know the enemy, it’s hard to say, but it’s better than doing nothing, right? More options are better.

“Then, I’ll contact you soon. Oh, and send someone who knows about the Foundation’s activities and can speak for the government to the Foundation.”

I hung up and looked at Director Han.

“Just bear with it for a few days.”

“Ah, sure…”

“Call me if anything can’t be resolved.”

Most problems get solved as soon as I show my face. No time to waste.

Third. The Surveillance Team.

“Support Department Head. You’re looking, right?”

“Not sure what we’re looking for, but we’re tightening the surveillance net. It’s catching small fry from hostile groups and gang activities…”

“Focus on the big fish. Pass the info to the Anomalous Phenomena Response Bureau or the Peacekeeping Force. Eliminate what we can easily take down.”

“Got it.”

They’ll handle it. If it’s a war-level event, there’s no way it can completely evade the Foundation’s surveillance. Whatever it is.

And fourth.

The Foundation’s military strength is considerable, but it’s not organized for war. At Facility 82, most combat personnel are divided between the Retrieval Department and the Security Teams.

Well, the Foundation isn’t a war-fighting organization. Preparing for war requires separate arrangements…

“You know what to say, right?”

“Prepare for battle. Even non-combatants will be trained to use minimal weapons in emergencies.”

I nodded slowly.

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