Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

128 – Be Shameless When You Need to Be.

The fact that the highest-ranking Awakener of the South Korean government, and the director of the EDA overseeing all Awakener, was murdered in the middle of the Tibetan Plateau, thousands of kilometers away, came as a great shock to the Chinese government. It was not just his death that was the issue, but the misunderstandings and controversies that could arise from it.

Therefore, as soon as Hee-cheol’s body was discovered, the Chinese government promptly informed the Korean government of his death through diplomatic channels and made it clear that his death was not related to the Chinese government.

Simultaneously, the Chinese government publicly declared through the media that the murder was committed by Cha Myung-jun, the leader of the Liberal Clan, with the permission of the Korean government. Naturally, the purpose of this announcement was to create an international outcry against the Liberal Clan.

“The Chinese government strongly argues that international sanctions are necessary against the Liberal Clan for this incident! No private group should be allowed to enter the territory of another country without permission, commit murder, and flee!”

At an emergency press conference attended by journalists from all over the world, China emphasized the seriousness of the situation by sending Foreign Minister Wang Lin to speak, rather than the usual spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And Wang Lin, representing the will of the Chinese government, vehemently criticized the Liberal Clan, labeling them as an ‘international gang’ and a ‘lawless group.’

“The Liberal Clan has betrayed their birth nation, South Korea, and shamelessly uses other countries’ territories as their base for their own benefit without permission. If there are no international sanctions against them, the next target could be the United States or France!”

“But isn’t there still no definitive evidence that the Liberal Clan committed the murder? Some suggest that the Chinese side eliminated Director Moon Hee-cheol and is framing the Liberal Clan.”

“We are innocent. There are fewer than ten Awakener in the whole world capable of eliminating an Awakener of Moon Hee-cheol’s caliber. Among them, the only one with a grudge against Director Moon is Cha Myung-jun, the leader of the Liberal Clan. He is the only Awakener with both the motive and the ability to kill Director Moon.”

Wang Lin presented prepared materials.

They contained photos of the Tibetan gorge, which clearly showed the remnants of a tremendous battle.

“As you can see, most of the traces are from explosions caused by missiles, shells, and high-speed projectiles, and there are marks all over the ground from bipedal weapons weighing over tens of tons.”

Wang Lin, showing dozens of photos and claiming all evidence pointed to the Liberal Clan’s crime, gave the journalists a chance to ask questions. One journalist raised their hand and questioned him.

“But couldn’t such traces also be made by equipment possessed by the Chinese military?”

“That’s a ridiculous claim. Our military’s equipment…”

“Is capable, yes. The photos you’ve shown only prove that a tremendous amount of firepower was projected into the canyon. There’s no evidence that these traces were made by the Liberal Clan’s weapons.”

“But if you look at the footprints…”

“Such marks could also be made using heavy machinery. More importantly, you mentioned a motive, but isn’t there a significant lack of alibi? Do you have any immigration records of Mr. Cha Myung-jun entering China?”

Naturally, the journalist raising these objections was from Japan.

For Japan, where Cha Myung-jun and the Liberal Clan were immensely popular, it was difficult to accept China’s statements at face value.

Then, several Chinese journalists stood up and protested against the Japanese journalists, turning the press conference into chaos.

“Are you saying the Chinese government is lying?!?”

“Logically thinking, it makes no sense that the busy leader of the Liberal Clan, occupied with building Liberty City, would suddenly murder the EDA Director in the Tibetan Plateau! And, has the Chinese government only lied once or twice before?!”

The uproar also affected the internal situation in Japan, where the Liberal Clan was based.

“The Japanese government considers this announcement by the Chinese government to be a baseless slander. There are testimonies from the raid team that was with Liberal Clan leader Cha Myung-jun attacking a gate on the day of the alleged death, and there’s also a video of him entering the gate alone to clear it after leaving the tired raid team members, right before the time of death.”

“Couldn’t he have cleared the gate quickly and moved to the murder scene?”

“That gate was an 8th-grade gate. To do what you’re suggesting, he would have had to clear a gate that takes over 3 hours even for a team, in under 20 minutes, and alone at that. Even if Mr. Myung-jun is strong, that’s impossible.”

In reality, it took Myung-jun not 20 minutes but 5 minutes to clear the gate, but the Prime Minister, unaware of this fact, was confidently asserting that Myung-jun could not possibly be the culprit.

And the Japanese media, which was friendly toward the Liberal Clan, poured out reports of experiments showing that the battle scene released by China could be replicated with conventional weapons, as if they had all copied from the same script. It was a situation where opinions on a single incident were completely divided between the two sides.

The most definitive way to end this situation was an official statement from the Liberal Clan, the party directly involved in the incident. However, unfortunately, at that time, Myung-jun was unable to move. Having returned to Japan on the Shadow Hawk, Myung-jun was about to issue an official statement, but Soo-jeong, having seen the wound on Myung-jun’s hand, became so furiously angry that she grabbed his arm and threw him into the medical pod.

Thanks to that, Myung-jun had to quietly receive treatment for two days until the wound on his hand was fully restored, unable to do anything.

Two days later.

Finally, when Myung-jun emerged from the medical pod and looked at his palm, the deep wound that had exposed the bone was now perfectly healed without a scar.

“Show me.”

Myung-jun showed his palm to Soo-jeong, who had been sitting in front of the medical pod, keeping watch while he was treated.

Soo-jeong carefully examined Myung-jun’s palm and back of his hand, poking and pulling at it before letting go with a satisfied expression.

“It’s done. The treatment seems to have been completed perfectly.”

“Aren’t you going to ask what happened?”

“What, about Director Moon Hee-cheol’s death? Didn’t you do it anyway? There’s no one else who could have.”

“You’re taking it rather calmly.”

“It’s a decision you made. Whatever the outcome, I trust that you needed to do it if you decided on it. I’m more upset that you got hurt. All the equipment I’ve made, it’s all designed to prevent you from getting injured.”

Myung-jun, who had thought Soo-jeong might be upset about him killing Hee-cheol without consulting her first, instead found confirmation of her endless trust in him.

“No, how did you get hurt when I made it so sturdy? And only your hand at that? Was there a problem with the durability of the Power Fist? Or did you receive an attack that ignored defenses? I need to completely disassemble and redesign the Elimination Suit right now…”

As Myung-jun watched Soo-jeong mutter, considering the possibility that there might be a problem with the equipment she made, completely ruling out the chance that Myung-jun’s injury was due to his own mistake, he silently approached her and embraced her.

The treatment fluid from the medical pod that had soaked Myung-jun’s body was staining Soo-jeong’s white coat a pale green, but she did not flinch and quietly accepted Myung-jun’s embrace.

“Senior.”

“Yes?”

“The equipment you made was perfect. I got hurt because I took off the suit. So please don’t think it’s your fault.”

“…Promise me you won’t get hurt again next time.”

“I promise.”

“Good!”

Soo-jeong stepped back with a vigorous voice. There was not a trace of fear on her face about what was to come.

“What are you going to do?”

“I have to tell the truth. Whatever happened, if I did it, I did it.”

“There’s going to be an uproar.”

“Does it bother you?”

“No, I’m excited. The coolest boyfriend in the world is about to flip off the entire world, right? I’m so curious about how people will react. It’s going to be so much fun.”

“You look like you’ve found a new toy after a long time.”

“That’s not it.”

Soo-jeong shook her head at Myung-jun’s words.

Then, looking into Myung-jun’s eyes, she said,

“Since the moment I first met you in that old warehouse, there hasn’t been a single moment in my life that hasn’t been interesting. So go ahead and make more waves. Not for me, but enough to shock the world.”

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***

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Two days after the announcement of EDA Director Moon Hee-cheol’s death, the Liberal Clan, which had been silent until then, finally sent out a message that they would make an official statement.

A message was sent out that they would hold a large-scale press conference, inviting not only journalists from all over the world who were staying in Japan but also government officials from South Korea and China.

Of course, the message came with the condition ‘if the respective countries wish’, but in the current situation, sending such a message was almost equivalent to forcibly summoning representatives from both nations.

And as Myung-jun intended, upon receiving the message, both the South Korean and Chinese governments immediately expressed their intention to attend the conference. At the press conference, the Chinese government sent Foreign Minister Wang Lin, Standing Committee Member Hao Lin, and the leader of the Superhuman Force, Poison Emperor Zhai Tianlin, as their representatives. The South Korean government sent the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Park Moon-chan, and the acting director of the EDA, Bow Princess Yoon Se-ah.

Since it was the first meeting with all of them, Myung-jun greeted everyone upon arriving at the meeting place. He then sat down at the table in the center, under the watchful eyes of the journalists. With the Chinese government officials on his left and the South Korean government officials on his right, Myung-jun sat between the two, showing no trace of fear despite being flanked by adversaries.

The first to speak, representing the South Korean government which had lost its top power, was Minister Park Moon-chan.

“Inviting representatives from both countries today implies that you intend to clarify the truth behind the allegations against Mr. Cha Myung-jun, the representative of the Liberal Clan, is that correct?”

Myung-jun nodded in response.

“That’s correct.”

“Then, I’ll ask directly. The South Korean government has completed the investigation of Director Moon Hee-cheol’s death scene with the cooperation of the Chinese government. Director Yoon Se-ah, please announce the findings.”

“Understood, Minister.”

‘Yoon Se-ah, I don’t remember her.’

Myung-jun tried to recall the name Yoon Se-ah from his memories before regression. If she had been a notable Awakener, he would have remembered making equipment for her at least once.

However, no matter how much Myung-jun tried, he couldn’t recall making equipment for an Awakener named Yoon Se-ah.

‘Maybe she’s a new powerful Awakener whose fate changed after my regression? I’ll have to investigate this later.’

While Myung-jun was pondering, Se-ah was reading the report in a graceful voice. The report was quite detailed, but its message was clear.

“…Taking all the evidence into account, the EDA investigation team, including myself, and the trackers from the Superhuman Force dispatched by the Chinese government, have all concluded that the person who murdered Moon Hee-cheol is Cha Myung-jun of the Liberal Clan.”

Myung-jun silently poured himself some water from a bottle on the table and drank it. Then, he addressed the Chinese representatives.

“Do you, the Chinese government, also think so?”

“Unfortunately, yes. We do not wish to suspect the Liberal Clan, but all evidence points to Mr. Cha Myung-jun as the culprit.”

Myung-jun then put down the water bottle on the table. Leaning back in his chair, he said,

“So?”

“Excuse me?!”

“I’m asking, what are you going to do about it? Yes, I did kill the EDA Director. Honestly, isn’t that the case? I’m the only one capable of doing it.”

“You… are you admitting to your crime right now?”

“I am admitting it. I’m saying I killed him.”

As numerous flashes went off as if a flashbang had been detonated, Myung-jun slowly crossed his arms and legs. He then spoke to Minister Park Moon-chan, who was looking at him with an utterly flabbergasted expression.

“So, what can you guys do about it?”

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