In the meeting room, Instructor Seo was continuing his report on the incidents that occurred in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Instructor Seo recounted the events as objectively as possible, except for one thing.
The part he left out was that the president and the company’s core members were Awakened aligned with the monsters.
Other than the Linkers, the only one who vaguely knew about it was Commander Bernard. Everyone else believed that the U.S. headquarters had been destroyed by a monster attack.
Even here, Instructor Seo maintained that the monsters had attacked the U.S. headquarters.
After Instructor Seo finished his story, the meeting room fell silent. Everyone listening wore serious expressions, lost in thought.
At that moment, Director Jang Byungchul, who was sitting a little away from the center, spoke in a dumbfounded voice.
“Linkers are Awakened from another world? Am I the only one hearing this for the first time?”
General Yoon, sitting across from him, agreed with his statement.
“It’s the first I’m hearing of it too. I think an explanation is necessary.”
At their words, the others in the meeting room looked at each other.
In the meeting room, excluding Director Jang, General Yoon, and Instructor Seo who gave the report, four other men were seated.
Eventually, a man seated at the center began to speak. He was an elderly man with a tired-looking face. Although his hair was dyed black, the age visible on his face could not be hidden.
It was Ahn Jaekeun, the president of Korea. Only a year after taking office, the monster crisis had erupted. He was struggling terribly, unable to even properly implement his governance.
“Only a few in the government know this story. Just myself, the National Intelligence Service Director here, the Chief of Staff, and the Prime Minister. To avoid causing global chaos, the countries where Link System Company entered agreed to let only a minimum number of people know the truth.”
Director Jang shook his head in disbelief at the president’s words.
No matter how important secrecy was, this was too much. Had the situation not changed, he and General Yoon would have remained unaware of such information.
“So the heads of the monster response department and the commander fighting monsters on the front lines were both kept in the dark. Is there anything else we don’t know?”
The president looked at Instructor Seo with an expression that said it couldn’t be helped.
“I would like you to explain it once more on this occasion.”
At the president’s words, Instructor Seo sighed.
He desperately wanted to quit everything and return to the company.
But with support from headquarters almost completely cut off, they had no choice but to rebuild their relationship with the government. If they failed, Link Corp in Korea could collapse. That had to be prevented.
Instructor Seo once again recounted the battles of the other world. He explained his experiences up until five years ago and the additional information he heard from Yonghoon to those present.
Even those who had heard it before seemed to find Instructor Seo’s story fresh and listened intently again.
When all the stories ended, Director Jang seemed to finally understand.
“I was wondering why we suddenly decided to establish a Safe Zone on Jeju Island-so that’s the reason. And this also explains why the government had been continually dragged around by Link Corp.”
As Director Jang finished speaking, the National Intelligence Service Director, who had been silent until then, opened his mouth. He was a sharp-looking man, and when he spoke, it felt like a cold wind swept through the room.
“Originally, starting with the recent operation in the United Kingdom, we were planning a global joint effort to drive out the monsters. Each government trusted Link Corp’s capabilities.”
He glanced at Instructor Seo.
“But the operation failed, more than half of the Linkers and Awakened died in the United Kingdom, and the U.S. Link Corp headquarters suffered catastrophic damage. The governments could no longer trust Link Corp, so they decided to release some of the previously withheld information.”
Following the National Intelligence Service Director’s words, the president spoke.
“We must now give up on international cooperation. From now on, this country must survive on its own.”
In response to the president’s words, General Yoon asked a question.
“Then what will happen to the relationship with Link Corp in Korea going forward?”
His direct question dampened the atmosphere in the meeting room. The National Intelligence Service Director tried to speak, but Instructor Seo was quicker.
“The Korean branch of Link Corp suffered no losses among its Linkers or Awakened in this incident. They can continue to support Safe Zone installations and Raids without any issues.”
Instructor Seo continued speaking.
“And although the number of Linkers and Awakened at headquarters has significantly decreased, the production of Dimensional Movement Blocking Devices and Dimensional Power Generators to combat monsters is still ongoing. To continue importing those, Link Corp in Korea must be maintained.”
At his words, the National Intelligence Service Director closed his mouth. There was much truth in what Instructor Seo said. There was no need to unnecessarily provoke hostility toward the government.
The National Intelligence Service Director looked at the president. The president fell into deep thought.
The president weighed the pros and cons of forcibly nationalizing Link Corp versus leaving it alone.
It was clearly a problem that the government could not control such a powerful anti-monster military organization. Until now, they had been cautious because of the U.S. and Link headquarters, but now that constraint was gone.
However, forcibly nationalizing it would also cause problems.
The president looked at the Awakened from Link Corp sitting in front of him. He was one of the few C-Rank Awakened in Korea and a Linker. Link Corp had many such Awakened. Forcing them into national service would surely provoke backlash.
Though it was annoying to have to serve a superior, they had to approach this step-by-step.
The president opened his mouth.
“For now, let’s maintain the current state. But from now on, we hope for closer cooperation with the government. If any problems arise, we will revisit the matter.”
Instructor Seo felt chills run down his back. What the president was really saying was that if any problems occurred, they would forcibly absorb Link Corp. For now, they were just building justification.
Watching the situation, Director Jang spoke up.
“Then, we will proceed with establishing the Safe Zone on Jeju Island as planned.”
At his words, everyone in the room nodded. However, Director Jang frowned.
It felt like the number of things he had to worry about had multiplied several times over.
It was certainly good to know what kinds of monsters might appear, but if the monsters were unimaginably strong, the story would be different.
They were already struggling to deal with C-Rank and B-Rank monsters like the Detection-type monsters that had appeared. And now, Dimensional Beasts? Director Jang thought it might have been better not to know at all.
Due to the development of the internet, it was impossible to hide the incidents in the United States and United Kingdom from the public.
Although they blocked broadcasts and articles as much as possible, the rumors that spread were enough to stir the citizens and Awakened.
Link System and the Korean government moved quickly.
Link System Company in Korea began to stand on its own.
Link Corp appointed Instructor Seo-no, Awakened Seo Donghyuk-as its representative. Fortunately, Representative Seo in this world had the character of an excellent manager. He steadily began to take control of Link Corp.
In place of the busy Representative Seo Donghyuk, Grace once again took charge of overseeing the Awakened.
During that time, she seemed to have gained many insights. Grace no longer acted alone. She received help from Eunseo and other Awakened to manage the confusion among them.
However, the equipment that had been supplied from headquarters in exchange for monster corpses was completely cut off. Representative Seo signed a contract with Shilla Heavy Industries through Team Crazy.
It was a contract to deliver monster corpses to Shilla Heavy Industries in exchange for equipment and money.
The Korean government also moved quickly to stabilize public anxiety and foster Awakened.
The government continued to reassure the public through broadcasts, and Director Jang, having heard about the Dimensional Beasts, became desperate to raise Awakened to high levels.
Thanks to that, General Yoon couldn’t help but frown as he looked at the blonde woman before him.
While he was anxious and restless, the woman before him was calmly gazing out the window.
Unable to stand it, he spoke to Grace again.
“I hate to criticize the government, but the number of Awakened who came to Jeju Island is only half of what we had for the previous Safe Zone installation. Plus, Representative Seo from Link Corp couldn’t come either. Can we really install the Safe Zone with this manpower?”
But Grace did not answer General Yoon’s question.
She turned her head and looked far toward Hallasan.
They were at the Jeju Defense Command building, located south of Jeju City. This place was being used as the headquarters for the Safe Zone installation, and General Yoon was venting his frustrations to Grace.
It had already been a week since Grace and General Yoon arrived on Jeju Island with the Awakened.
During that time, Grace had been carrying out preliminary work to eliminate known monsters with the Awakened, while General Yoon had the soldiers prepare for barrier installation and resident control operations.
And today, they were set to make the final decision on installing the barriers.
General Yoon’s concerns were not unfounded.
Due to the need to train Awakened and stabilize civilian life, the government could only send half the number of Awakened compared to the last Safe Zone installation.
As a result, much of the burden fell on Link Corp, and to make matters worse, Instructor Seo couldn’t come to Jeju Island due to company duties. In the end, Grace had no choice but to become the overall leader of the Awakened.
General Yoon couldn’t understand why Link Corp had accepted the government’s proposal so readily. From his perspective, it seemed like the government was trying to tame the company, yet Link Corp agreed.
In fact, there were even rumors that there was considerable confusion within the government after Link Corp’s acceptance.
“During the preliminary work, didn’t most of the personnel spend their time dealing with monsters in Jeju City? I heard only a few teams were sent toward Hallasan, where there should be far more monsters.”
He was right.
In fact, only two teams could be sent for preliminary work toward Hallasan.
“At this rate, we’ll suffer heavy losses during the Safe Zone installation. Let’s postpone it by a few months. I’ll do my best to minimize the damage to Link Corp.”
Grace let General Yoon’s words go in one ear and out the other.
She was looking out the window when she spotted people entering the base and her eyes lit up.
“As you know, we can’t afford to delay. We must establish the Safe Zone and build the monster defense line before Dimensional Beasts appear. And with this manpower, we can defend the barriers. I’ve just confirmed it.”
In the distance, several people were entering the base.
On one side was Team 1, now led by Eunseo, and on the other side was Team Crazy.
Eunseo was waving brightly toward the building where Grace was, and Team Crazy members were chatting comfortably. However, the proud members of Team 1 were trailing behind Team Crazy at a distance, looking dejected.
The two teams had spent the past week eliminating monsters around Hallasan.
Grace had been quite worried internally, but seeing their bright faces gave her confidence.
“The preliminary work is now complete. Let’s begin installing the Safe Zone on Jeju Island tomorrow. Link Corp will take full responsibility for all outcomes.”
Ignoring General Yoon, who was staring at her with wide eyes, she looked out the window again. Walking at the front of Team Crazy, Yonghoon entered her sight.