July 25th, 2016 13:25. ChungBook Boeun-kun Huinam-myun Bupsoo-ri Daechung Lake Joint Investigation Party’s Tent.

The southernmost riverside at Hui-nam bridge was filled with soldiers from the 21st Battalion, who were still going through their tactical training. There was a small, flagged buoy floating in the middle of Daechung Lake. Rubber boats floated around the buoy, and divers were busy with their underwater work.

The field commander for this underwater search mission, UDT/SEAL Lt. Colonel Woo Won-gill, lead the briefing. “Currently, the unidentified object is 25 meters, and it is sunken underwater at a 15-degree angle. The weight is estimated to be 10 tons, and there seems to be no damage to the outer structure. That’s all we can confirm for now.”

Brigadier General Ahn Hyung-joon, the armed forces Joint Investigation Party leader, asked, “Has the methods for salvaging been established yet?”

“Yes, after meeting with the Navy’s salvaging specialist team that arrived this morning, we’ve decided to use steel chains that form a net and a crane from the Daechung Lake Management Center because the object was lighter than we assumed. We estimate the extraction to take about three days.”

Brigadier General Ahn Hyung-joon nodded, then said, “That’s good news. The problem is how to transport the object back to the 17th Fighter Wing after we salvage it…”

“During our meeting, our team responsible for transport has determined that using a land route would be impossible at present. The object is circular and has a diameter of 25 meters, so it would be unable to pass from various obstacles on the route.”

“So, have you found another solution then?”

Major Park Kyung-hoon from the 17th Fighter Wing explained as he presented example photos, “Yes, Commander. The most realistic method for us would be to attach four large ad-balloons to each edge of the object for weight reduction, then attach lines to the other four edges for the Army’s Chinook helicopter to transport it over.”

Brigadier General Ahn Hyung-joon opened his mouth after taking a moment to think. “Not bad, but since the transporting must be done at night, please make precautions towards safety. If an accident happens while it’s in transport, then this secret mission could be exposed to the general public or the press.”

“Yes, we’ll take all safety measures and give it our all during the transport mission.”

“I’ll leave it to you. Lt. Colonel Lee?”

Brigadier General Ahn Hyung-joon looked towards Lt. Colonel Lee Ki-soo.

“Yes, Commander!”

“How’s the parameter? Are the civilians being barred from entering?”

“Currently, we’ve erected temporary sentry posts through a one-kilometer radius. We’ve been strictly restricting civilians’ entry; we’ve also dispatched troops to patrol various mountain paths in the area 24 hours a day.”

Lt. Colonel Lee Ki-soo, the Commander of the 21st Batallion, answered with a disciplined tone. “Good, I’ll head to Joint Chief’s Headquarters to report the situation today. Each commander is to stay vigilant at their missions. That is all.”

“Attention! Salute!”

“Loyalty!”

* * *

July 25th 2016, 14:30. ChungBook Boeun-kun Huinam-myun Bupsoo-ri Village.

There was emergency road work being done in Bupsoo-ri Village from elder Lee Kyung-choon’s house to the town hall. A man, who was directing the construction site wearing a safety helmet, glanced at elder Lee Kyun-choon’s house from time to time. It was Chief Oh Gi-suk from NIS Counter-terrorism Investigation Unit 1.

Manager Lee Yeon-woo visited the Boeun County Office in the morning. Since he was concerned about the elder leaking secrets, he asked for cooperation from the county office for emergency roadwork to send Chief Oh Gi-suk in disguise to keep watch.

* * *

July 25th, 2016 16:30. Seoul NIS Counter Counter-terrorism Investigation Unit 1 Office.

Namgoong-won, who finished his training a month ago, started to look like an official employee of the NIS. The atmosphere in the office seemed busy after the executives’ meeting was called, and Namgoong-won was also working hard to fit the mood in the office. Namgoong-won had a separate reason why he was busy. As soon as he arrived in the office this morning, he was asked to see Director Huh Young-joon, who assigned him an important mission. He had his hands full collecting the required information regarding the mission, and he was busy typing away at the keyboard.

Clack!

A moment later, Assistant Manager Lee Hye-jin entered the office. “Great work! You must feel exhausted from all the heat.”

Even though he was focused on his task and unable to have a second thought, Namgoong-won seemed to have a working 24-hour radar for Assistant Manager Lee Hye-jin. He smiled at her and brought out the iced coffee he had prepared earlier from the fridge and handed it to her.

“Please, drink up.”

“Wow, thank you!”

“It’s nothing…but what about Manager Ahn? Where is he?”

“He went straight to the director to meet with him and report back.”

“How was work outside the office?”

“Chief Oh opted to stay behind. This week, Chief Oh and Kim will take turns with the dispatch work. Is everything going smoothly here?”

“Yes. I was summoned by the director this morning, and I’ve been hard at work since.”

“The director himself gave you a task? What is it?”

“This is first-class, confidential information. My task is to hack all the radar sweep data from the US Armed Forces in Korea from 2:00 to 7:00 pm yesterday. I’m preparing now.”

“Really?”

“Yes. The work I’m doing is top-secret. So only people up to Manager Ahn know, apparently. I also have to go to the Cybersecurity Bureau in a bit. I’ll probably stay up all night working.”

Assistant Manager Lee Hye-jin seemed to have noticed the stares from her surroundings and whispered in Namgoong-won’s ear. “Oh boy. I’ll make you something delicious this weekend, so cheer up.”

She sat down in her seat and drank the cool iced coffee.

‘If that’s the case, then I don’t care if I have to pull all-nighters for a couple of days,’ Namgoong-won thought to himself. He went back to his chair, smiling happily. For awhile, he focused on typing away at the computer keyboard.

* * *

July 25th, 2016 22:30. Seoul NIS Cybersecurity Bureau Office.

“Today’s mission is top-secret. Everyone got specified information about the mission, and we’re out of time, so I’ll keep it short. Today’s first goal is to create a bypass network that goes through 20 nations around the world, starting in China. Also, there’s a hacking professional sent from the Counter-terrorism Investigation Unit 1 to aid us. So, work with him. Discuss topics that are unfamiliar and proceed.”

Director Youn Yeon-joon of the Cybersecurity Bureau briefly spoke about the tasks, then he introduced Namgoong-won to the 30 agents standing in front of him.

Namgoong-won introduced himself. “How’s it going, everyone? I’m Namgoong-won from the Counter-terrorism Investigation Unit 1. Nice to meet you all.”

Despite the military and political conflict, the NIS Cybersecurity Bureau was about to begin its hacking project under the President’s special orders to obtain radar sweep data from the US Armed Forces in Korea. They were planning to hack their ally.

* * *

July 28th, 2016 13:50. Seoul Jong-ro ku Blue House President’s Office.

“This is unbelievable. Truly, the US Armed Forces in Korea didn’t detect anything with their radars?”

President Suh Hyun-woo had an expression that clearly showed disbelief even after hearing the words from NIS Secretary Na Bong-il. The President’s curiosity grew regarding the unidentified object, as he was certain the US Armed Forces in Korea were withholding the information from Korea.

“Yes, the Cybersecurity Bureau reviewed the data twice, but there were no records of the radar detecting the unidentified object’s crash from three hours before or after the incident.”

“What should I make of this…? Secretary Na, the fact we hacked the US Armed Forces won’t be discovered, would it?”

“We set the initial hacking point in China. There’s no need to worry about being discovered, sir.”

“I see. I’ll trust you, Secretary Na. What about maintaining secrecy from the old man?”

“Our agents are keeping watch of his residence 24 hours a day. Today’s report indicates that there were no incidents, nor did the old man come into contact with the other elders from town.”

“That’s a relief. Since even the US Armed Forces in Korea are unaware of this, it wouldn’t be favorable for us if word gets out to the press. Please make sure it doesn’t happen.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

* * *

July 29th, 2016 22:30. ChungBook Boeun-kun Huinam-myun Bupsoo-ri Daechung Lake Crash Site.

The engine’s cry of the 100-ton crane barge ship became louder, and the black object connected to the crane began to float to the water’s surface. The salvaging was able to begin after the UDT/SEAL diving agents and the Navy’s divers were able to connect the steel chain nets to the black object, which took four nights to complete.

After 20 minutes passed, the round black object surfaced. The four large ad-balloons were attached to four spots, and the air was pumped into the balloons immediately. The four balloons began to expand after the air was pumped in, then the main chain connected to the crane was released. The black object floated on the surface from its own buoyancy, and the balloons did not sink back into the water.

“Send the chopper.”

Brigadier General Ahn Hyung-joon, who was had been overseeing the salvaging from the start, ordered Transportation Commander Major Park Kyung-hoon to carry out the next step. Major Park Kyung-hoon ordered the Army’s Airforce CH-47 Chinook pilot via radio.

Dudududududududu

A moment later, a Chinook helicopter approached the Daechung Lake salvaging site with a thundering noise. When the Chinook helicopter soared above the black object, it lowered a line to connect to the center ring, which connected the four lines along the object’s edges. The maximum lift-off weight of the Chinook helicopter was 22 tons, but since it lowered its own bodyweight, in theory, it was in a state to lift the lightened black object by the balloons.

“If the connecting ring has been attached and secured, then tell them to slowly raise altitude.”

Finally, as the CH-47 Chinook helicopter raised altitude, the connecting rings and line became taut. The object slowly began to elevate into the air.

* * *

July 29th, 2016 00:30. Seoul Jong-ro ku Blue House President’s Conference Room.

The President, ministers, and secretaries gathered in the President’s conference room were all in an anxious state. Chairman of the Joint Staff Kang Yi-sik, who just got back from answering a phone call, spoke to the President with a bright look on his face. “Mr. President, sir, we’ve safely transported the object to the 17th Fighter Wing.”

The anxiety filling the conference room lifted with Chairman of the Joint Staff Kang Yi-sik’s words. Everyone sighed in relief, and Chief Secretary Na Sung-tae even clapped his hands out of joy.

The President stated, “That’s great news. Good thing we were able to finish this task without incident. It’s just the beginning Minister Kang.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

Minister of National Defense Kang Hyun-soo answered. “Please go to the National Defense and Science Agency tomorrow to identify the object in question and give them full cooperation with the Joint investigation party.”

President Suh Hyun-woo had already instructed Minister of National Defense Kang Hyun-soo to select reliable researchers to be dispatched to study the unknown object after it was salvaged and transported to the 17th Fighter Wing’s base.