Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense - Chapter 102:

Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

The nearest US Navy base from the point where the Liberator was discovered was Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan, where the Seventh Fleet of the US Navy was stationed.

As soon as the order from the White House came down, the US Seventh Fleet stationed at Yokosuka Naval Base was urgently dispatched, and the area where the Liberator was found was designated as an emergency operational zone.

The pretext was ‘tracking and eliminating the entity that caused the sinking of the Shandong,’ but no one believed those words.

With the sight of the Liberator already partially dismantled and under repair being spread all over the internet, coupled with rumors that its location coincided with where the Shandong sank, both China and Japan took action. China dispatched an additional task force, including an aircraft carrier, despite already losing one carrier battle group, while Japan sent the Izumo, a multipurpose operational ship with a full load capacity of 27,000 tons, along with escort ships, to the Pacific.

In addition to the dispatch from the UK and France, which operate carrier battle groups, none of them could race to the target destination as quickly as the US Seventh Fleet.

Initially, carrier battle groups from the UK, France, and China were too far from the operational area from their departure points, and the Japanese Navy, which departed from a similar location, could not actively engage due to pressure from their ally, the US.

So, unlike the other fleets cautiously approaching, the uncompromising US Seventh Fleet was racing towards the point where the Liberator was discovered at their maximum speed.

Considering the extent of damage to the Liberator identified through photos and videos, there was a belief that it would not be able to submerge again quickly, but given the unbelievable level of technology, the possibility of completing repairs and resubmerging at any time could not be ignored.

And as expected by the US military, hundreds of ECVs scattered had repaired most of the external damage to the Liberator and restored its hull to a submersible level within just two days of it surfacing.

Watching the Liberator being repaired in real-time, the US government felt a tight noose tightening around them.

From the moment the unidentified ship finished repairs and sank beneath the surface, the US Navy knew it would be impossible to track using their technology.

Ultimately, the desperate US military dispatched helicopters preemptively to attempt negotiation before the carrier battle group arrived.

[This is Major Bill Goldberg of the US Seventh Fleet’s Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron. Transmitting to the unidentified vessel presumed to be a Liberal Clan vessel. Is your vessel affiliated with the Liberal Clan?]

“What… What… Huh?! Huh?! What?!”

Since the Liberal Clan arrived at sea, Arin had nothing to do and was alone in the control room wearing a headset, dozing off. She was startled by the sudden sound of communication and fell off her chair.

Picking up the fallen headset hastily, she responded to the communication.

“Yes! Yes, this is Liberator! US Navy… What?”

[Apologies, but your voice sounds young. Is there no one in charge of communication there?]

“Yes?! Yes, there is! Uh, no, I’m just…”

Arin realized she wasn’t a member of the Liberal Clan and hesitated for a moment before giving the most plausible explanation she could come up with.

“Um, I am Seo Arin, from the Servihum Clan, visiting this ship as a guest. The person in charge is currently absent. Shall I call for them?”

[Yes, please. Please connect me to someone in charge if possible.]

“Just a moment!”

Arin, replying confidently, quickly took off her headset and rushed out of the room. As soon as she stepped into the corridor, she shouted towards the strange spherical object floating in the air.

“Supporter!”

<Starting identity verification process for support activities…. Identity verification complete, Guest Seo Arin. How may I assist you?>

“Where is Seo-jeong Unni?”

<Permission to provide requested information pending. Confirmation complete. The sub-clan master is currently in the storage area with the clan master.>

“Thank you!”

[If you plan to move to that location, shall I summon high-speed transportation equipment for you?]

“Hmm… Alright, I’ll move. Can I communicate with Seo-jeong Unni?”

<Communication request acknowledged. Connecting… Communication established.>

Instantly, Seo-jeong’s face appeared on the round screen in the middle of the spherical object. Despite her dark circles under her eyes, resembling a corpse from not sleeping for two days, which unintentionally made Arin take a step back, Arin greeted her with a deliberately cheerful voice.

“Unni!”

[Huh… Arin? Why…?]

“You look tired to talk, but it seems like we have a visitor.”

“A visitor…? Who?”

“They said something about being from a US fleet and looking for someone in charge?”

[Hmm? Okay… sigh… Supporter? Redirect external communication to me.]

Then, Myung-jun, who was standing next to Seo-jeong, interjected.

[I’ll do it. Senior, please rest a bit.]

[But… You’ve been working non-stop for two days, your arms can’t even lift anymore…]

[I can still move my mouth, Senior.]

[Sigh… Alright…]

[Supporter? Redirect external communication to me.]

<Communication terminated.>

As communication between Arin and the Supporter where she was, and the one where Seo-jeong and Myung-jun were, ended, a system message flowed in.

Upon seeing this, Arin, who had been contemplating for a moment, spoke towards the spherical machine in front of her.

“Both of them are in the storage area?”

<That’s correct.>

“Then summon the high-speed transportation equipment for me. Set the destination to where the two of them are.”

<Request acknowledged. Calling high-speed transportation equipment with the destination set.>

Before the Supporter’s words finished, a small opening beneath the corridor where Arin stood opened, and a rectangular floating panel emerged from within without wheels. As Arin boarded the board, the edges of the square board separated, rising up to her waist level.

<Passengers, please hold onto the safety handles.>

With that, Arin, who had boarded the transportation equipment, disappeared from sight in an instant, emitting a blue light.

It was a special device developed by Seo-jeong to allow fewer than 100 people to be rapidly deployed to necessary locations inside a battleship larger than an aircraft carrier.

– Whooosh –

At the moment of collision, countless on-board facilities capable of turning passengers into minced meat flashed by like scenery seen from the driver’s seat of an F1 car, but Arin didn’t feel any fear.

The high-speed transportation equipment developed by Seo-jeong was designed to perfectly grasp the routes of other users’ movements, allowing them to reach their destination in the shortest time possible without a single collision.

Furthermore, the person on the board was unaffected by air resistance or the laws of inertia, regardless of the board’s speed.

Left, right, left again, this time down.

Passing through numerous corridors and vertical tunnels, Arin arrived at the storage area where Seo-jeong and Myung-jun were, timing it perfectly to hear the conversation between Myung-jun and the US pilot without missing a beat.

“You want to land on our ship’s deck?”

Myung-jun, nodding slightly towards Arin who had arrived on the board, spoke towards the spherical object in front of him.

“Why?”

Then, a bewildered voice came through the speaker.

[Yes?! Um… Well… We have some matters to convey and to discuss preliminary arrangements for future negotiations.]

“That’s something you need, not us. As you know, our location is international waters, which means we have the right to not obey the orders of any country.”

[We understand that, but still, let’s start the conversation…]

“I’m not interested. We’ll let you roam around nearby since it’s not our sea anyway, but if you approach within 1km radius of the ship, we’ll consider it an attempted attack and shoot you down.”

[Shoot us down?!]

“By the way, you’re 200m away.”

Bill pulled back on the helicopter’s controls urgently to stop in place.

Then, while still hovering in the air, he tried to communicate once again.

[Please allow us to land. This helicopter is completely unarmed.]

Upon this, Myung-jun signaled with his finger to stop the communication from this side, preventing the conversation from being heard.

Then, still with a sleepy expression, he said to Seo-jeong who was looking at the tablet.

“Should we stop here?”

“Yeah… If we push further… sigh… that soldier guy will cry.”

Saying so, Seo-jeong operated the tablet and unlocked the external armor of the helipad on the deck.

Accepting this gesture as permission, the pilot’s communication came through.

[Do you allow it?!]

“For now, let’s just hear them out. I’ll go up to the deck myself, so see you in a bit.”

[Thank you!]

After ending the communication, Myung-jun said to Seo-jeong.

“Senior, take a rest.”

“I… want to… go…”

“Please sleep before you pass out from exhaustion. We’ll record the meeting separately and show it to you later.”

Seo-jeong, on the brink of unconsciousness after two days of intense work, reluctantly nodded her head. Then, she stretched out her arms towards Myung-jun and spoke.

“At least move me to a bed, please.”

“But… your arms aren’t moving…?”

“Ugh…”

Seeing Seo-jeong’s despondent expression, Myung-jun let out a deep sigh. Then, he extended his arms and lifted her up with a sudden movement.

“Oof!”

“Holding a lover and making such a face is incredibly rude.”

“It’s not because… you’re heavy… it’s because… my arms… hurt…”

“I know…”

Myung-jun also knew Seo-jeong’s condition very well. He had only asked because Seo-jeong’s condition, as she understood it, was so bad that she would collapse as soon as she tried to get up to go to bed, along with dizziness. So, he had asked despite the difficulty.

Although there were ways to call for help or ask for assistance due to illness, Myung-jun, like Seo-jeong, wanted to take care of her even if it meant pushing himself beyond his limits.

Eventually, Myung-jun, with Seo-jeong in his arms, struggled to walk to the bed against the wall of the storage area.

After gently laying Seo-jeong down and turning around, he said,

“What are you looking at?”

At that moment, Arin, realizing that she had been staring at the two of them, blushed and replied,

“I’m jealous.”

“Then, get yourself a lover too.”

“Even if I had one, I doubt they’d treat me like you, Oppa.”

“I know. If you treat your lover well like a senior.”

Upon hearing Myung-jun’s words, Arin opened her mouth in surprise.

Everything in the giant storage area where she stood, as well as everything inside this battleship, was included in what Myung-jun referred to as “what Seo-jeong did for him.”

Even if it was made with Myung-jun’s abilities, it was undoubtedly something Seo-jeong had made with effort.

“No one in the world could treat you like a senior does.”

“I know.”

Myung-jun smiled gently as he looked at the sleeping Seo-jeong.

“That’s why I’m going to work even harder than I am now.”

After gently tidying up Seo-jeong’s disheveled hair, Myung-jun called for the transportation equipment.

Then, he took Arin, who wanted to see, and went out to the deck.

There, two US soldiers were admiring the deck facilities of the Liberator, turning their heads left and right as if they were observing a different world.

“I’m Leader Cha Myung-jun of the Liberal Clan.”

As Myung-jun spoke, the pilot he had spoken to earlier came running towards him and greeted him.

“I am Major Bill Goldberg from the United States 7th Fleet Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron. And on this end…”

“It’s been a while, Mr. Myung-jun.”

The man greeted with a warm smile and extended his hand.

The man was someone Myung-jun already knew.

“Major Holmes. Shouldn’t you be in Korea?”

Myung-jun greeted the man with a smile.

He was Captain Henry Holmes, a lieutenant colonel from the US 8th Army Headquarters, who had rescued Myung-jun in the past during a confrontation with the EDA.