Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1956

“What do you intend to do?”

“Well…”

A wrinkled hand reached for a cigar.

The man, after cutting the tip with a cutter, placed the cigar in his mouth and slowly lit it with a cigar lighter.

“Have you identified the bases they’ve seized?”

“It’s not entirely certain yet, but we’ve narrowed down the possible locations. Either way, they have ICBMs [Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles] capable of reaching the US.”

“Excellent, just excellent. From today on, I should write my will before bed. No, even the will might get blown away, so maybe I should upload it online?”

“If you’re going to do that, use a company with servers not in the US. The server itself might get blown away.”

“…Thanks for the advice.”

The man, letting out a hollow laugh, took a deep drag of his cigar.

His words were full of composure, but inside, he was burning up. A cigar tastes best when lit slowly and carefully. But the fact that he was hastily inhaling the smoke before the tip was even half-lit was proof of his inner turmoil.

“Alright, let’s think. What can we do here?”

“We must suppress them.”

“Suppress? Suppression is good. Now, what’s the probability that they’ll launch a nuclear missile at the US the moment we try to suppress them? 90%? 100%?”

“If I were to bet, I’d bet on 100%. Even if I were a terrorist, I’d launch at least one remaining warhead at New York or LA.”

“Not Washington?”

“If you nuke Washington, all the politicians will die, which would benefit the US. Why would terrorists do something good for the US?”

It was hard to tell if he still had the energy to joke, or if joking was all he could do now.

“We can intercept the nukes.”

“Good, so what’s the probability of a successful interception?”

“Over 90%…”

“Great, so you’re saying you’re willing to gamble on a 10% chance of a nuke hitting the US. If this were wartime, a judge would not only acquit you for that statement but would probably give you travel expenses on your way out.”

The man at the head of the table contorted his face.

“Is this a situation for gambling?”

“Damn it, it’s a nuke! A nuclear missile! You must have been a snot-nosed kid during the Cold War, not knowing what a nuke is! A nuke isn’t something that ends after one or two hits!”

“There’s no guarantee they’ll launch a nuclear missile. Just because they’ve seized a base doesn’t mean a nuke will be launched…”

“How are you going to confirm that?”

“We can get information about the situation from the Chinese side…”

“That’s a load of bull! Those bastards would give us information, sure! Even if you put a gun to their heads and yell at them to move faster, they’d still put on their socks first!”

The man’s face turned bright red as he shouted.

“This isn’t a matter of politics or military strategy! It’s a matter of survival! Are you saying we should leave it to chance and see what happens?”

“But Mr. Vice President, doing nothing is the same thing.”

“What?”

The man, called the Vice President, glared.

“China is a country that doesn’t compromise. In that regard, China is even worse than Russia.”

The man shut his mouth.

That was true.

“What do you think the probability is that they’ll accept those conditions and negotiate?”

“Probability! Probability! Damn it, I’m sick of hearing that word! That damn probability!”

The man, having shouted, rubbed his face.

Having calmed down a bit, he spoke in a slightly more subdued voice.

“The probability is low.”

“Yes. I think so too. Then, in the end, we have to suppress them.”

“Then the missiles that were going to be launched will be launched anyway.”

“Hahahaha, it’s a cliff in front and a river behind [a situation where there are no good options].”

“There’s no choice. It’s better for us to act than to leave it to them.”

“Can you trust the Chinese response? Fate shouldn’t be left in the hands of others.”

The Vice President chuckled and nodded.

“Fate shouldn’t be left in the hands of others… that’s a good line.”

“Please give me permission. Then I…”

“That’s right. But you see…”

“Yes?”

The man, who was speaking, looked at the Vice President with a puzzled expression. The medals on his chest glittered under the fluorescent light.

“There isn’t only one way to decide fate.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Undersecretary.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Where did they say they receive personal messages?”

“…Direct messages.”

“Secure a way to send messages that won’t be leaked externally. If necessary, it’s okay to temporarily seize a company’s server.”

“…What are you saying?”

The Vice President smiled wryly.

“I’m saying, find a way to make sure that no one can intercept the messages we send to them.”

“V-Vice President, are you perhaps…”

The Vice President stroked his stubbly chin.

“We need to create an opening. We’ll tell them that we’re willing to recognize their autonomous region, regardless of the Chinese government, and ask them to change the trajectory of the warheads aimed at us. We can even give them official documents if they want.”

“Sir!”

The man in military uniform stood up abruptly.

“We do not negotiate with terrorists.”

“That’s the military’s stance.”

“There are plenty of precedents in American history of negotiating with terrorists. So many that you don’t even need to dig through files. You can just search the news.”

“That’s…”

“If you include the ones that weren’t made public, it’s something we’ve done quite often. Why can’t we do it now? We’re facing an unprecedented threat.”

“The reason is clear. The impact is too great.”

“That’s right. The threat is just as great.”

“But that would damage the nation’s pride!”

“That’s ridiculous. You, a soldier who should be protecting the lives and safety of the people, are talking about pride, while I, who should be protecting the nation’s pride, am saying I’ll sacrifice pride for the safety of the people.”

“Who is right?”

No answer came.

This was a problem where right and wrong didn’t exist in the first place. It was just a matter of which side to choose.

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying we’ll do something right away. I’m not that foolish. But… this could be a matter of the nation’s fate. So, we can’t not prepare. Do you understand what I mean?”

The man in military uniform slowly nodded.

From his perspective, it was an unacceptable statement, but from the executive branch’s perspective, that preparation was also a given. They couldn’t leave the nation’s fate to chance.

A nation must sometimes be utterly cold. No cause, no pride, can compare to the safety of its people.

“So, if you want to persuade me, bring me another solution. Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to make a decision.”

“…Understood.”

“We don’t have much time. Don’t think we can use all fifteen days. As you said, the moment they start the suppression operation, everything will be over. We have to make a decision before that.”

“I know that too.”

“You may leave.”

“Yes.”

The man in military uniform stood up and left the room.

Then, the Vice President let out a long sigh and opened his mouth.

“What’s the situation?”

“Inquiries are flooding in from all over, but we’re stalling them by saying we’re still assessing the situation.”

“What’s the public’s reaction?”

“They’re still in a state of disbelief. The story is so absurd.”

The Vice President sighed deeply.

“Then, if this is resolved well, is there a way to gloss over it?”

“…Realistically, it’s difficult. Once the lid is opened, even if it’s closed again, it’s bound to open again someday.”

“The recorded video is spreading everywhere. Even if we can completely control things within the US, it’s impossible to block the information coming from outside. In other words…”

The man giving the report swallowed hard and opened his mouth.

“We can no longer bury the existence of the ‘Unmanned’ in the dark as we did in the past. It’s time to discuss realistic responses.”

It was expected.

Guns are scary.

Nuclear weapons are also terrifying.

But in modern society, the most terrifying thing is information.

Information that was controllable in the past is now being released indiscriminately. Once information is out of your grasp, it’s impossible to stop it, no matter what you do.

“So, even if we resolve this, we’ll have to deal with an even bigger headache.”

The Vice President let out a hollow laugh.

It was as if they were paying off all the debts that the previous administrations had accumulated.

“Leave me alone for a while.”

“Understood.”

Those who had been in the room all stood up and left. Only after everyone had left did the Vice President pick up the cigar that was leaning against the ashtray.

He takes a puff, holding the smoke in his mouth before slowly exhaling.

After a few puffs, he rubbed his forehead as if his head was throbbing.

‘Damn it.’

It was a bomb that was bound to explode someday.

None of those who controlled the world believed that this bomb would never explode. Yet, the reason they had left this bomb unattended until now was because they thought they could minimize the damage.

If they detonated it immediately, they would have to bear the damage. But if they slowly chipped away at it over time, they could suppress it without much damage.

In that situation, why would they deliberately stir up trouble?

But that bomb had now exploded in the worst possible way.

Even managing the situation was difficult, but even if they did manage it, it wouldn’t be the end. The world could never go back to the way it was.

Perhaps right now…

Similar meetings were taking place all over the world. And they would surely reach similar conclusions.

“I should have gotten a vitamin shot.”

From now on, he would have to enter marathon meetings with the leaders of each country who had finished their meetings.

He was worried about only one thing.

The best option now was for China to recognize the autonomous region. It was never good for things to go to extremes. Now that the existence of the Unmanned could no longer be hidden, it was better to accept their existence and reveal them to the world.

No matter how severe the side effects were, it was a hundred times better than going to hell right away.

The problem was… even if all of that was resolved smoothly, they would still have nuclear warheads in their hands.

Give them up?

Well…

If the Chinese government, forced to make humiliating concessions due to nuclear weapons, were to give up their nuclear weapons, would they really just leave that autonomous region alone?

“A brinkmanship strategy never ends well.”

He could only hope and pray that the disaster would not reach this distant land.

He could only pray.