Dictator From Outer Space

Chapter 55: Yu Ji-ha’s Value

In June of 2027, a huge amount of minerals was floating in the space between Earth and the Sun.

It was the result of the mining ships controlled by Arma, who had been extracting them from the asteroid belt.

They could have used the Lagrange points, but they were monitored by humanity’s telescopes and other devices, so they had no choice but to use this place.

Exploration ships equipped with ether receivers were flying around, pulling and pushing the mineral cubes to organize them.

Then, a new message was inputted into an exploration ship.

[Arrival at the space construction plant in 10 minutes.]

Exactly 10 minutes later, a gigantic space plant approached the exploration ship rapidly.

The small exploration ship did not flinch and transformed its nozzle to attach itself to the plant.

[Propulsion starts.]

A golden light burst out and the plant’s speed decreased sharply until it finally stopped.

Now it was time to build a mining ship.

Workers poured out of the plant and carried the necessary mineral cubes.

[Outputting blueprint of mining ship. Block formation start.]

Black metal particles were scattered in space and blocks for the mining ship began to form.

It was like shaping a lump of clay into a figure.

The construction speed was very fast, and it would take only a month to complete a mining ship.

It was possible because it was unmanned and almost empty inside.

A manned spaceship would take more than six months, and the Settler-class, along with the battleship-class, would take the longest with about two years.

While a new mining ship was being built, Yu Ji-ha was eating lunch with Arma at the cafeteria.

Despite being the chairman, he ate at the cafeteria because it was close to his office.

When he first appeared at the cafeteria, some executives who were startled by his presence joined him.

“Oh my, Chairman Yu, you should have called us.”

“The food here is decent, but I don’t know if it suits your taste.”

But Yu Ji-ha did not have much conversation with them and just ate his food and left.

The executives who were expecting some serious discussion about various issues were dumbfounded.

After that, they realized that Yu Ji-ha just came to the cafeteria to eat and did not bother him again.

It was not good for their dignity to eat at the cafeteria on a regular day as executives.

Anyway, Yu Ji-ha ate with Arma.

On the TV installed on the wall, an ominous news was playing.

“…We report that China’s movements are suspicious. Currently, a strict alert has been spread at Guangzhou Base, which is the home port of China’s South Sea Fleet. Hundreds of trucks have entered the base and cargo planes are landing and taking off dozens of times a day at nearby airports.”

“Also, a large-scale exercise involving aircraft carriers and landing ships is being conducted in front of Shengzhen. Military experts from the US warn that the risk of armed conflict is higher than ever.”

“In this situation, Beijing’s silence is one of the reasons why they think there is a high possibility of attacking Taiwan.”

The news repeated showing footage taken by US Navy satellites.

The people who saw it complained one by one.

“They always say they’re going to fight but they never do.”

“It’s hard for China to attack Taiwan anyway. There’s also the US.”

“Anyway, we don’t have anything to do with it, right? The battle will be in the Taiwan Strait.”

“The Taiwanese people think we’ll help them if China attacks them.”

“How can we help Taiwan? We’re busy enough with North Korea.”

“I hope we don’t do anything like that. War is scary.”

Sorry, but we’re preparing too…

Yu Jiha silently ate his food and received a phone call without a number.

This was from a foreign high-ranking politician.

He went outside to answer it and heard the familiar voice of President McKinley.

“Chairman Yu, long time no see. I’ll get straight to the point. Can you provide railguns to other countries?”

“That would be Taiwan, right? I told you when I supplied them to the US Navy that this benefit was only for the US.”

Currently, only Korea and the US could use railguns.

“I know. You don’t want to leak railguns to foreign countries. But the situation is urgent. China is seriously preparing for war.”

There were thick layers of defense facilities on Taiwan’s west coast, including anti-ship missiles.

If railguns were added there, it would be very difficult for China to land from their perspective.

They could even attack China’s naval bases directly from Taiwan.

“Do you know what China would think if railguns were installed in Taiwan?”

“We’ll make them look like they’re ours.”

“I don’t think China’s intelligence agencies would be unaware of that…”

“We promise to keep it a secret.”

Actually, Yu Ji-ha also did not want Taiwan to surrender too soon.

He had to drag it out as long as possible to exhaust China’s national power and give him some leeway for his northward advance.

It would be better to pretend to be generous and accept it here.

“Then you’ll have to grant me one request next time.”

“As long as you don’t ask for the US, I’ll do anything.”

He must have been really desperate.

On a day in August, when the summer heat had subsided a bit.

A US military C-5 Galaxy transport plane flew into the tense Taoyuan Airport in Taiwan.

Everyone knew that the cargo carried by this huge transport plane was not ordinary.

China’s media reacted fiercely.

—It is a provocation by the US to land the largest transport plane, not a C-130, at Taoyuan Airport. They must immediately reveal what the cargo is and leave Chinese territory. If this measure is not taken, we may shoot down the transport plane.

The US did not care and started unloading at night, avoiding the surveillance of satellites.

And camouflage buildings were erected on Taiwan’s west coast to build a railgun system.

But they could not hide it forever.

China mobilized all kinds of assets, such as Y-9 reconnaissance planes and reconnaissance satellites, and obtained a few photos.

Guo Hongshan, the state councilor who had occupied Beijing and had two army group commanders as his patrons, confirmed the identity of the cargo and was furious.

Bang!

“How dare they install railguns!”

The cargo was obviously railguns.

The long black barrel, the power supply cables and generators hanging from it, and the huge cooling system proved it.

The US and Taiwan had tried all kinds of camouflage operations to hide it, but it did not work.

Railguns were being installed on Taiwan’s west coast!

Guo Hongshan grumbled to himself and then asked a soldier with a short haircut.

“Major General Wei, can we remove this worthless thing?”

“We can use Dongfeng missiles from the Rocket Force, but that would be an immediate war.”

“Hmm…”

War.

It was something that the current rulers of China did not want, but it would be troublesome if it happened right away.

They were not ready for it.

To attack Taiwan, they had to break through the US 7th Fleet, which required enormous preparations.

The amount of fuel, ammunition, food and other supplies needed for war was no joke.

China had made significant progress in quantitative terms, but its logistics support system was not much different from before.

“What about using special forces? Quickly destroy it and get out.”

“That would be difficult. Installing railguns means that the US already controls the area. That’s not Taiwan’s weapon, but the US’s weapon.”

Guo Hongshan suddenly wondered.

“The US… Is it really the US’s weapon? What do you think?”

“It’s definitely strange. Until recently, the United States had five railguns. But then it suddenly doubled.”

“Korea gave it to them. To be precise, it was Mr. Yu.”

“Recently, the US warships equipped with railguns have disappeared from the South China Sea, except for the Zumwalt class.”

“Cunning bastards… Find out the source of the railgun by all means. If it’s true that Korea gave it to them, it’s a problem that we can’t face.”

“South Korea and Mr. Yu will have to pay the price.”

China tried to improve its relations with him, but it ended up in vain.

It would have been much better to get rid of him if they couldn’t have him.

It was a pity that the one who possessed the black metal factor disappeared, but it was better anyway.

The Chinese would have many babies and find talents as many as they could.

“By the way, how do you see the actual power of the railgun?”

“The railgun itself is not a very impressive weapon. But it’s more threatening than you think in defense.”

“Will it interfere with our landing?”

“It won’t stop our landing, but we’ll have to pay a lot of blood.”

“Hmm…”

Some people said that it was nothing to have a few holes in them, but modern warships had too many areas that shouldn’t be pierced.

And the range of 500km was really speechless.

This was a little less than the attack range of China’s aircraft carriers.

When we barely took off with armed fighters, they just switched and shot. It was a very selfish weapon.

The worst case scenario was that they could build on land, which meant that their range and destructive power could increase.

The Chinese army’s research team was worried about this point.

“Typical destroyers can barely produce 100kw of output, and Zumwalt class can produce 300kw. But on land, you can get megawatt-level power.”

“Railguns are different from other weapons in that power is directly related to range and destructive power. It’s a new weapon system that we don’t know much about…”

“If you increase the power, the black metal barrel is fine, but the battery and generator, and the cooling system will have to be bigger and more sophisticated.”

China tried hard to confirm the size of the railgun facilities.

But the United States was very careful not to reveal this.

In the meantime, the media of both countries exchanged sharp messages.

China claimed that Taiwan was its territory and demanded that they withdraw immediately. The United States mocked them for being greedy without being unified.

When it was revealed that a railgun was installed in Taiwan, a big wave occurred.

—I thought South Korea would help us!

—South Korea? Not the United States?

—The United States can’t make barrels and batteries, so it must have come from South Korea.

—So is South Korea going to help us and participate in this war?

–We can only hope that they put as much pressure as possible on their mainland and tie up a lot of troops.

On the other hand, the reaction of China’s comment army Umadang was like a volcano.

—The small country gave them a railgun!

—It’s just a toy anyway. It can’t stop China’s landing force.

—Someday we’ll take care of Korea. But not now.

—It’s time to make the descendants of Zhang Jieshi who fled to the island kneel down!

—Neither the United States nor Japan can stop the Chinese nation! If you try to stop us, be prepared to shed ten times more blood!

—How many are you? Only 400 million? 500 million? We are 1.5 billion!

China was so strong because it couldn’t stop.

The internal power struggle had reached its limit and it was about to explode if it couldn’t vent out.

In fact, each faction cooperated with the central government because they had a big task of reunifying Taiwan ahead of them.

Also, economic and social problems were serious.

The real estate crisis, which was astronomical enough to be insufficient, was becoming a reality, and the public sentiment that the Communist Party had suppressed for a long time was about to explode.

If this war didn’t yield any results or ended up in a mess, no one would be able to handle it afterwards.

China got on the back of a tiger.

Now the tiger started running and couldn’t stop.

…

News of China’s war preparations spread across the world.

The UN Secretary-General urged China to stop immediately, and the US tried to bring the issue to the Security Council, but as always, it was vetoed.

Several non-permanent members and other countries also expressed their concern.

—Any action that jeopardizes world peace is unacceptable. China must cease its war preparations at once.

—Violence cannot achieve anything. China’s extreme actions will only lead to its own destruction.

—Nevertheless, if China attacks Taiwan, we will invoke solidarity for peace.

It seemed that the old EU had found its original purpose, which it had tried to invoke with a flimsy excuse before.

Naturally, China fiercely opposed.

—Taiwan Province is part of China, and no one can deny this. The national reunification movement is not a war, and therefore we will treat any external interference as interference in our internal affairs.

—China has more than 1,000 nuclear missiles. We are prepared to cope with 100 million or 200 million casualties. Are you?

—If you continue to send submarines to the East China Sea, you will have no excuse if you receive a preemptive nuclear strike. Withdraw immediately.

China’s nuclear threat deterred other countries from criticizing China too harshly.

Of course, China’s nuclear power was inferior to that of the US and Russia.

But even with its current stockpile, it was enough to annihilate major countries.

Especially, China targeted Japan, which was training with the US Navy.

The US countered by reminding Japan of its nuclear umbrella, but Japan could not help but recall this question.

—Would the US sacrifice New York instead of Tokyo?

It was the same as what a Korean politician had said once, except that Seoul was replaced by Tokyo.

Serious cabinet meetings followed, and eventually Prime Minister Ozawa ordered a withdrawal.

—It might be different if it were North Korea, but the nuclear umbrella is meaningless against China.

Japan, which had made this judgment, withdrew its 8th submarine squadron from the East China Sea.

The reason why China reacted this way was because it was difficult to drive out Japan’s Taigei-class submarines with its own noisy nuclear submarines.

There was also a reason to warn South Korea.

If the Taigei-class was so difficult to deal with, how about the An Chang-ho-class that adopted the black metal battery?

The scale of Korea’s submarine fleet was small, but if it used the long submergence time and low noise of the black metal battery, it could be a headache for China.

Meanwhile, North Korea was not idle either.

The nuclear tests that had been quiet for a few years resumed.

A magnitude 4.0 earthquake occurred in Kilju County, North Hamgyong Province, and a Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from Jagang Province.

The direction was the East Sea, or more precisely, Tokyo’s airspace. Japan was shocked.

—After China, now North Korea is threatening us with nuclear weapons. This is intolerable.

—We can’t rely on the US anymore. Japan must have its own nuclear power.

But how?

The US had turned a blind eye to some experiments due to recent lobbying, but it did not allow Japan to possess nuclear weapons.

The US hated nuclear proliferation more than anything else, and Japan was no exception as an ally.

—If one more thing happens in the current situation where China is threatening us with nuclear weapons, we might have no choice but to allow it.

That one thing was Korea’s attempt to arm itself with nuclear weapons.

Japan was threatened by nuclear weapons, but Korea was really nervous.

South Korea had Yu Ji-ha.

He was already suspected of supplying railguns to Taiwan, and his relationship with China was at its worst.

In this situation, who could guarantee that China would not launch a nuclear missile during the war?

In fact, there were some lawmakers in Korea who seriously argued for nuclear armament for this reason.

The Korean government also showed interest in this idea, and the US looked at them with displeasure.

The White House issued an unusual statement.

—We are deeply concerned about the claims of nuclear possession that are going on among our allies. All countries must abide by the NPT and accept IAEA inspections.

—The US is willing to provide a nuclear umbrella for our allies, and this does not change in the current situation.

The confirmation of providing a nuclear umbrella was a compliment, but the anxiety of both countries did not subside easily.

As a last resort, Humphrey, the US security adviser, visited Japan and Korea in turn with a letter from the president.

He had the opportunity to meet Yu Ji-ha, who was sitting next to President Jo Hyung-geun.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Adviser.”

Who would take responsibility for China finding out that he had supplied railguns?

Humphrey adviser was flustered.

“The president promised to do his best to protect Mr. Yu.”

“Can you completely block China’s nuclear missiles with that?”

“…”

No one could answer for sure.

The technology of intercepting ballistic missiles was advancing day by day, but ballistic missiles always adopted more advanced technology.

In the fight between the spear and the shield, the spear that pierced first had the advantage.

The US ballistic missile defense system could cover Japan enough, but Korea was uncertain.

At this moment, the assets of the US forces in Korea were being withdrawn.

Thanks to this, the US Democratic Party, which had led the withdrawal of US troops from Korea, was cursed a lot.

Humphrey adviser repeatedly expressed his regret and said to Yu Ji-ha.

“Wouldn’t it be more suitable for you to be protected in the US than in Korea?”

Did he openly suggest this?

President Jo Hyung-geun was about to intervene, but barely held back.

As the relationship between the two countries had become distant, this kind of proposal was beyond common sense.

But Yu Ji-ha’s answer was unexpected.

“Koreans should live on Korean soil. So I refuse.”

“…”

While President Jo Hyung-geun was stunned, Humphrey adviser smiled inwardly and bowed slightly.

He bowed his head in respect for his patriotism and apologized for his slip of the tongue. “In any case, the United States will do everything in its power to protect President Yu.”

If they failed, they would pay a huge price.

He didn’t say the rest of his words, but he was sure that both his aide and the American president knew it.

He left, and President Jo Hyung-geun tapped his shoulder with a wistful look on his face.

“I didn’t expect Chairman Yu to say something like that.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I thought you didn’t care about your nationality. But today, I saw that you are different.”

“I am South Korean.”

He nodded his head as if he was impressed.

“I wish I could tell that to the congressmen who only think about leaving Korea. By the way, do you have any plans to become a congressman someday? If you are President Yu, you will be elected without a doubt.”

“A congressman… I have thought about it, but…”

“I knew it. There are many people who want you to be the president as soon as possible, right? It’s a bit strange to be the president without ever being elected. If you join our party, I will support you.”

“Thank you for your offer. I will think about it.”

Jo Hyung-geun smiled brightly.

“Haha, it’s time for South Korea to have a 40s president.”

He was wrong.

What Yu Ji-ha wanted was not a 40s president, but a 30s dictator.

To achieve that, he had a roadmap that included becoming a congressman before the war broke out.

He didn’t expect Humphrey’s aide to say that and Jo Hyung-geun’s invitation.

But somehow, the media got wind of it and reported it as breaking news.

The internet news and the terrestrial broadcast were dominated by Yu Ji-ha’s face that night.

―Wow… He said he is South Korean with that face. I feel patriotic.

―He is much better than those greedy and ignorant congressmen who don’t care about our country.

―I’m serious, I would support him even if he becomes a dictator with artificial intelligence.

―If he can produce Lucia cheaply, I’m in.

―Hey, come on. Dictatorship is not good.

―Do you think that’s possible? South Korea has maintained democracy for decades.

―Actually, I’m looking forward to what he will change if he becomes the president. First of all, I think he will use artificial intelligence to crack down on fraudsters in the financial network.

―Please amend the constitution quickly! How long do we have to wait until he is 40?

―We also need to amend the term limit. Let him rule for 8 years!

The atmosphere in Korea had changed quite a bit.

The voices that opposed or hated dictatorship had disappeared and were replaced by expectations for Yu Ji-ha.

It was probably because of his achievements in less than two years.

Some argued that he was great, but nothing had changed for the common people.

It was mostly said by the congressmen who were jealous of his popularity.

But they overlooked something.

The reason why people were enthusiastic about Yu Ji-ha was because he gave them hope for the future.