Empire of the Ring

Youngho finished his work in Denmark and flew straight to Frankfurt where the European chapter of the CIA was located.

He wanted to find out why Basten of the Information Agency was buying gold bars. If there was no special movement in the chapter, he would not have to be so sensitive about this issue. Now in European cities, there were many terrorist attacks going on, but it was always the case there.

When Youngho got to the chapter, he could feel that there was no urgent matter going on. Although the number of people working in the chapter had increased, people looked vibrant and bright as ever.

Youngho thought he became a celebrity because of the coronation and wedding ceremonies, but all of the people at the European chapter treated him normally.

He grumbled as he entered Michael’s room.

“Chief, didn’t you see my face on air?”

“Why are you on the air?”

“No, you didn’t watch the wedding broadcast?”

“There’s no time for us to relax and watch other people’s weddings, did you have a good time at your brother-in-law’s wedding?”

“It was the wedding of the century. I would have appeared on the TV screen several times, but all of the agents in the hallway didn’t recognize me at all.”

“How would people remember your face that was on the screen for a few seconds? Only the Danish people would have cheered.”

“Are you kidding? Europe’s leading politicians and foreign ministers were all there.”

“That’s because it’s their work to be in such events.”

“Oh, we were the only ones making a fuss. But you’re an honorary citizen of the Arirang Autonomous State, aren’t you too indifferent? Phew, anyway. Is something going on here? I see more people around here.”

“Now that you’ve been living in fairy tales, doesn’t the world look all beautiful?”

“Well, it does look beautiful these days. So, what is it?”

“Something big will happen soon. Don’t tell anybody. If this leaks, our operation will be affected.”

“…”

“The headquarters had decided to wipe out the IS completely. They’ve been highly active with their terrorism lately, and this has hastened their end.”

“If their headquarters gets bombed, they’d go nuts for a while.”

“Yes, go back to your state and tighten the security. They’ll take it all the way, especially big cities in Europe and the United States.”

Just when Youngho was thinking that it had been quiet for a while, he was informed that things were about to get rowdy again. The problem was that the enemies were scattered everywhere.

“When is it?”

“That information is only limited to the top leaders of a few countries. Our job is just to confirm the locations of IS strongholds.”

“It sounds like we’ve been excluded from the operation.”

“They’re going straight into a military operation without the need for our assignments. Syria or southeast Turkey could be a battlefield.”

“What about Russia?”

“Russia agreed with this for now, but there are still many variables. Russia is trying to juggle this with the Ukrainian case.”

Michael had never predicted what would happen so sternly before.

The CIA predicted that there would be terrorist attacks in many cities as fanatics of the IS scattered all over the world would not disappear even if the organization’s headquarters and strongholds were destroyed.

Youngho wondered if this was related to Basten’s gold bar purchase. If this would be only a temporary situation, why would he need to save gold bars? Maybe he was predicting that there would be a proxy war between big countries because of the conflicting perspectives on the IS issue. His head ached with all kinds of thoughts.

If the IS shook the world, reducing the number of tourists and limiting the movement of logistics, the price of daily necessities would turn exorbitant.

While the autonomous state would be safe since it always stocked up on daily necessities, poor countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia would be facing difficulties again. He did not fear terrorism, but the jumping price of daily necessities could be a problem to many.

If Europe’s big cities were exposed to terrorism, then Frankfurt was not a safe place either.

His mind suddenly became busy.

Yun-suh and her children were sent to Baku leaving only Cho Sang-chun behind at the wine distribution store in Frankfurt. Youngho also took Zeynep and Park Seo-young, who were attending Goethe University to the autonomous state. The girls hated the fact that they needed to return home when the semester was still in session, but their safety was more important than their grades.

Since the IS also existed in Central Asia, Youngho had to prepare the state for terrorist attacks. As soon as he returned, he set up more checkpoints in various locations. Cargo ships frequently traveled to and from the Black Sea through the Russian Canal to stock up more supplies.

***

“Even if I let people know that there’s going to be a terrorist attack, they won’t be as alarmed as they should be.”

“Do you think terrorists will attack Kazakhstan too? It’s an Islamic country.”

“They’re a fanatic group that denies everyone but themselves, and it’s possible that even if the leadership group is dead, they will make another leadership group. Any suspicious organizations should be inspected at this opportunity. Our state is not a safety zone anymore. There’s a lot of Orthodox believers here, so they might be watching.”

“What are we supposed to do to stop them?”

“We have no choice but to be careful and always be on guard.”

“I think it`s best to meet the president and let him know the situation. If I tell him in person, he might be convinced that this is a serious situation.”

“Chul-hwan, alarm the Countryside Force soldiers and security guards at the state. Also, deploy more drones at the boundaries.”

“Don’t worry, everyone on duty wears bulletproof vests. I’ve also notified the Atyrau Airport in advance that tourists and journalists will be off-limits for the time being because of our state’s internal situations.”

“Commissioner Kim will be upset that tourism revenue will be stopped.”

“Yep, but we can’t risk our state trying to make a few more bucks.”

When the situation turned out this way, Kim Chun came to talk to Youngho about the issue in haste.

“Prince consort, aren’t you reacting too sensitively? If we could tighten our inspection and security, we won’t have to stop tourists coming to the state. Atyrau International Airport’s complaints are quite serious. I’m frustrated that the county’s tourism revenue is plummeting.”

“In the near future, there will be some action from the government level. It’s because I’ve heard something is about to happen from different foreign ministers. Even if there is no terrorist attack, think of it as annual terrorism training for the state.”

“I understand what you mean. I wondered why you’ve ordered to transport more necessities for our freighters, but I guess this is an emergency.”

Kim Chun immediately understood the seriousness of the situation. Since Youngho even brought Zeynep and Park Young-sun’s daughter who were in school, he felt that something serious must be going on.

“What should I do with the construction workers from the outside?”

“You could leave them but don’t take any more workers from the outside if possible. Find workers inside the state. Our technology is advanced enough that we won’t need outside laborers anymore.”

Niksic was recruiting new immigrants scattered across the Balkan Peninsula now. And so far, there were about a hundred families of people planning to migrate next year. Since they needed time to sell their properties, they would be staying there for the winter and start migrating in spring. There was still time left to prepare for the new immigrants since the state only had to prepare housing sites and building materials until spring. That was if nothing big happened from now until next spring.

***

Since the coronation, Youngho felt his body was lighter than before, but he had not been paying too much attention to the change.

At the coronation, his body reacted abnormally to the thunderous roar of the state’s residents. He almost collapsed with a strange energy that was sweeping through his body. Then he was completely oblivious because of his hectic life, but he found out today that the stone on the ring turned into its original color again. It was strange since it had turned transparent before. It was turning violet again. It looked like it would soon be black again, which was its original color.

He observed the rings that were on Jong-il and Leon’s fingers, and their colors were still transparent. He was sure that this change obviously started after the coronation.

Curious that his body might feel different, he scratched his arm with a paper clip to make a little cut. It did not feel different since he still felt the pain as a little bit of blood was showing.

Still, he wanted to check his body, so he went to an empty field where no one was around. His running speed was the same. However, it felt like his strides had gotten much wider, and it was only when he jumped up that he found a difference.

Previously, he could only go forward about three to four meters at a time, which was still an incredible stride for normal people, but now his stride was even bigger. He also lifted a huge rock as an experiment. A stone that seemed to weigh more than 100 kilograms was not at all heavy to his surprise. He calmed his confused mind and returned to the palace. Since there were too many things that needed his attention, he pushed his surprise aside and went back to his busy daily routine.

Youngho soon requested a private meeting with President Nazarbayev.

The logistical chaos caused by the terrorist attacks was as obvious as it could be, so he did not want to delay the meeting. It was because Kazakhstan’s economy would affect the autonomous state as well.

When he explained how many IS members lived in Central Asia, and what was about to happen, the president took it seriously only because Youngho said that he heard it from the British Foreign Secretary.

“Mr. President, the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom is also the head of the British intelligence service. He can’t possibly have lied to me.”

“Did he want anything in exchange?”

“Of course he wanted to know about situations in Central Asia. He said he would offer information about Russia and China in exchange. I said I would.”

“Well done. Our information is always leaked to Russia and the western world anyway, so there are no secrets. You can tell him everything you know.”

Saying that not only Russian intelligence agents but also pro-Russian figures in the country were leaking information everywhere, the president shook his head. He also added that the fact that he met Youngho today would be known to the Kremlin in Moscow tomorrow.

“I was thinking I’d rather make economic gains out of this information, but I couldn’t just keep it to myself because it seemed so urgent. That’s why I’m here to share it with you. I can make money somewhere else.”

“This is why I like you. You know how to be greedy in moderation, and I’ve never had a friend as honest as you are in front of me.”

“There’s a lot I haven’t told you. I’m a businessman after all.”

“Hahaha… You’re still pretty honest. You said there was something you didn’t tell me. If I asked you what it is, won’t you answer me?”

“How can you hide it when you ask? I’ll tell you, even if I’m plotting a knife to your throat.”

“If you’re plotting to bring a sword into my neck, you must be dreaming of an independent kingdom.”

“…”

“Well, it’s not a very impudent dream. If you’re the head of an organization, you should have that much ambition.”