Dictator From Outer Space

Chapter 74: The Reluctant Acting Authority

He raised both his arms as soon as he met Bae Seong-min, the chief secretary.

“Let me tell you in advance, I really have no confidence.”

“I understand, given the situation.”

“I’m here only because of the minimum sense of responsibility. If I refuse, it will go down to the Ministry of Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Those people, they will never want to take it. And they shouldn’t.”

“…”

The chief secretary drank his coffee silently.

His drink had been coffee only these days because of the acting authority appointment.

He hadn’t slept for over 40 hours and his head wasn’t working properly.

The media was making a fuss about getting things done quickly, while the military and the civilians were insisting that they wouldn’t accept anyone but Yu Ji-ha.

A person who was nowhere to be seen in the acting authority ranking.

The funny thing was that he couldn’t completely rule out Yu Ji-ha either.

‘A young person who hasn’t even reached forty yet…’

Well, there’s nothing more ridiculous than judging a person by their age.

The Yu Ji-ha he knew was a young but smarter and more decisive politician than anyone else in Korea.

He could tell by what he had done and suffered so far.

‘If I had my way, I would force him to take the authority and retire comfortably…’

But he had a minimum of courtesy as a chief secretary.

He forced his sleepy eyes open and listened to the defense minister’s story.

“I’ll take the acting authority for now if you can assure me of one thing.”

For now meant that he would eventually hand it over to someone else.

That would probably be the same person he had in mind.

“It seems we are thinking of the same person.”

“Ha ha, this is embarrassing. But when I served the president, I thought there was no one else fit for the job.”

“Well, what can I say…”

It wasn’t just fit, it was perfect for the appointment.

In fact, this war was nothing but Jo Hyeong-geun starting it and Yu Ji-ha cleaning it up.

If it weren’t for Black Metal and those many drones and railgun destroyers, the South Korean army would have had a very difficult battle.

Not to mention that he had obtained cooperation from Russia, which was a huge help.

He didn’t know how he did it, but he did.

Now Minister Kim openly mentioned his name.

“Please dismiss Yu Ji-ha as soon as you think I’m not good enough. Then I can step down with peace of mind.”

“How can I entrust the acting authority to a lawmaker, even if it’s wartime?”

According to the principle of separation of powers, only an executive branch official can be appointed as an acting authority.

But there was a loophole.

“I’ll appoint him as prime minister.”

So they were thinking the same thing.

Bae Seong-min smiled bitterly, more bitter than coffee.

“That’s the only way.”

“No one else will be accepted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”

“We don’t need their approval.”

“It’s important to get the support of the military when it’s wartime like this.”

The chief secretary didn’t argue back and looked into his eyes.

“Do you think Yu Ji-ha has a solution for this situation?”

“How would I know that? It’s just that he’s the only suitable person at this point. To be honest with you, anyone else will ruin this country. Me included.”

“···But does he have an idea?”

“He wouldn’t have come into the Joint Chiefs bunker if he didn’t. He says this: don’t waste time since you can’t entrust the acting authority to anyone else anyway.”

“Waste of time…”

“This is also a waste of time. There’s friction with China because of the war. And we need a response plan for the US coming into Gangwon-do.”

The Korean Peninsula was on the verge of unification when suddenly the US intervened.

They claimed to be allies and tried to send a small number of US troops and supplies to Gangwon-do.

Of course, it was a good thing to support them, but the problem was that their intention wasn’t pure.

They would probably demand a lot of stake later.

Bae Seong-min, the chief secretary, shook his head.

“But don’t you need the consent of the National Assembly to appoint a prime minister?”

“The National Assembly is not formed because nearly 200 lawmakers died. If that’s the problem, I’ll appoint him as the defense minister.”

He would appoint a lawmaker as the defense minister after becoming the acting authority and then resign?

It seemed ridiculous, but they had to do it this way or they would really be doomed.

There was no guarantee that things would go well with him leading, but it was a fact that he had the highest possibility.

The chief secretary made up his mind.

“Please take the acting authority for now. We’ll think about it later.”

“Tell Yu Ji-ha about it. It probably won’t take more than a month.”

The two nodded and got up.

…

Kim Cheol-woo, the defense minister, took over the presidential authority.

Those who knew the situation gave him a rating that he had avoided the worst option.

He himself had to face the worst conditions as soon as he started his work.

Reports came in from all over.

―We can’t confirm the life or death of Kim Jong-un and Kim Yo-jong. The 1st Corps is searching, but there is no progress.

―We received a protest from the Central Military Commission for the engagement with China’s 80th Army. What should we do?

―The street battle in Pyongyang is dragging on. The frontline command is requesting a minimum of 50,000 security forces and food for 400,000 people.

―The US military entered Wonsan Port without our permission. This is a matter that we need to formally protest.

―The UN Human Rights Council is appalled by the poor treatment of prisoners in the prison camp in Gyeongnam and says it will file a formal complaint.

―We are short of troops. 77% of the soldiers on the front line are suffering from severe combat fatigue and fear.

Each one was a serious matter that he couldn’t neglect.

Kim Cheol-woo, the acting authority, immediately convened a meeting with the relevant officials, but no clear answer came out.

All they could say was to ask for cooperation from the UN and friendly countries.

And the political prisoner camps in North Korea were also a problem.

“Minister, we failed to secure the political prisoner camps in the end.”

Kim Cheol-woo covered his forehead with his hand and closed his eyes.

The UN had high hopes that South Korea would improve the dire situation by occupying North Korea in this war.

The political prisoner camps were one of the most interesting issues, and many special forces had been deployed there.

Their goal was to secure the names of prisoners and guards, as well as all data in the camps.

But according to the report, in the case of Yodok camp, the guards killed all the prisoners and destroyed the evidence as soon as the war broke out.

“The other camps are the same. North Korea didn’t leave much direct evidence.”

Kim Cheol-woo frowned at the intelligence commander’s report.

“So you’re saying we have nothing to report to the UN?”

“I’m sorry to say this, but yes…”

“That’s one more reason for the UN not to support us.”

The UN was already suspicious of how the war started in the first place.

What if Kim Jong-un, whose whereabouts were unknown, showed up in China and blamed it on the South Korean army?

It would be difficult to deal with it.

Kim Cheol-woo dismissed the intelligence commander and looked at himself in the mirror.

He looked like an old man who was almost 80 years old, even though he was praised for taking good care of himself for his mid-60s age.

“Cheol-woo, Cheol-woo… How can you age so much in just five days…”

He didn’t have time to talk to himself as administrative officials came in one after another and left reports on his desk.

Kim Cheol-woo sighed deeply at the pile of documents on his desk that looked like a mountain.

He knew it wouldn’t be easy, but he never imagined it would be this hopeless.

Former President Jo Hyeong-geun didn’t deal with all this, he just ignored it.

Thinking that future generations would take care of it.

“Who cares about future generations when you left four years of your term…”

Why didn’t he realize that it was coming soon?

Well, he was such a person that he went to the battlefield and died screaming in an ambush.

Kim Cheol-woo was struggling like this when an urgent report came from Pyongyang.

―Some of China’s 80th Army are moving south! They are confronting an infantry division under 1st Corps!

“Minister, should we engage?”

He hesitated and finally gave a strange order.

―Respond firmly but try to prevent escalation.

The frontline units were furious at what kind of order this was.

Meanwhile, the 80th Army continued to move south and the Korean army had no choice but to retreat.

It was hard enough to deal with North Korea, but if they fought with China, it would be difficult to handle the aftermath.

They still had a powerful military force, even though they had lost their strength.

They also had nuclear power that was different from North Korea’s faulty nuclear warheads.

Thanks to that, the front line that they had barely pushed back was stuck near Pyongyang again.

The army generals were stressed out and collectively protested to Kim, the acting authority.

“Minister, you need to give us clear guidance.”

“If China proposes a ceasefire like this, will you accept it?”

“What about the blood of our soldiers if China occupies half of North Korea?”

“…”

Kim Cheol-woo, who was under extreme stress, got up to cool his head for a moment and then fainted.

He collapsed and the generals panicked and supported him.

This incident happened inside the bunker, but it was leaked by someone.

The public opinion, including the media, started to boil.

―I wish someone competent would take the acting authority.

―How can anyone solve all this? War, pressure from other countries, food problem…

―Jo Hyeong-geun was crazy.

―And so were those who agreed to go to war with him.

―What’s the point of fighting among ourselves? The deed is done.

―These bastards are ruining Korea!

―Fuck it, let’s just give it to Yu Ji-ha. Maybe he can do something with his AI.

―Isn’t he too young?

―There’s not much regulation for the acting authority, so he can just do it.

―But does Yu Ji-ha want to do it?

―The country is doomed anyway, we have to force him.

―We have to ask him, not force him. Fuck, look at the state of this country. Who would want to do it?

―Please, Yu Ji-ha!

Various media outlets gave him these results of opinion polls.

He was surprised.

“Me?”

“That’s the current public opinion. It’s overwhelmingly in favor.”

“Well… I’m a lawmaker, so it’s a bit difficult for me to go to the executive branch…”

“They have a plan for that.”

Bae Seong-min, the chief secretary, came and persuaded him.

“The defense minister will hold a cabinet meeting and appoint you as prime minister. The approval of the National Assembly will be obtained later since it is not a requirement.”

“There are a lot of things that are being glossed over.”

“It’s wartime.”

Before he knew it, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other generals gathered around him.

“So if Minister Kim resigns, I become the acting authority?”

“That’s right. There are some legal issues, but we have decided that there is no choice at this point.”

“Who did?”

“Most of the ministers, lawmakers, and the results of various public opinion surveys say so.”

South Korea wanted him.

He looked around at the people who surrounded him and asked.

“I’m sorry to say this, but I’m on the young side… I wonder if you’ll follow me properly.”

Lee Kang-hoon, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, bowed his upper body immediately.

“You have achieved so much, what does age matter?”

“The chief secretary will also do his best to assist you. We have to until peace comes.”

They would let him take over only for wartime.

Of course, Yu Ji-ha had no intention of stepping down after the war ended.

He wouldn’t end the war easily either.

He looked into the eyes of everyone in the Joint Chiefs bunker.

They all bowed their heads and he finally said.

“Then I’ll take the acting authority as best as I can.”

Phew…

A sigh of relief came out.

Yu Ji-ha sat in the seat of the Joint Chiefs, the president’s seat.

It would be a dream and an end for someone else, but for him it was just a beginning.

From now on, South Korea would be perfectly integrated and become a stepping stone for the United Human Federation.

As soon as he sat down, he pushed forward the report that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs had given to the defense minister.

It contained information about the engagement with China’s 80th Army.

Yu Ji-ha gave an order right away.

“Please take care of those procedures like holding a cabinet meeting or appointing me as prime minister.”

“We will proceed as quickly as possible.”

“And this chairman.”

“Yes.”

“How is the status of personnel and equipment in 7th Corps?”

“They are well rested. The equipment operation rate has also risen to 90%.”

“Good. Push them back with the 7th Corps.”

“···Sir?”

The generals’ eyes widened in shock.

A madman had appeared.

They wondered if they had heard him wrong.

But the young man in front of them was not someone who would make nonsense.

He was saying that they would fight China.

Lee Kang-hoon, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, thought desperately in his head and answered cautiously.

“With the strength of the 7th Corps, we can definitely push back the 80th Army. But in the current situation, expanding the front line is something we need to reconsider.”

“We won’t expand the front line. They won’t be able to fight anyway.”

They won’t be able to fight?

It seemed as if he knew the internal situation of China very well.

Feeling the need to explain, he stood in front of the operation map and operated the panel.

“On this peninsula, the 80th Army is here, and the remaining forces of China’s Northern Theater are here.”

The units of the Northern Theater were deployed according to his finger.

The intelligence staffs were surprised that he knew even the unit numbers in detail.

“Look. How many troops are deployed in the Northern Theater right now.”

The generals and staffs crowded around the operation map.

“···Less than 10,000.”

It was a considerable force, but it was mainly infantry, so its actual combat power was not high.

War is done with heavy equipment.

“Those 10,000 are also forces that have to deal with public security and order. They don’t have room to send troops to North Korea.”

“But Beijing is nearby. If they send them, it will be quick.”

“The situation in Beijing is like this.”

He opened his laptop and played a video.

The video showed scenes of citizens clashing and armed forces shooting and killing farmers’ workers.

The generals groaned.

“Hmm···I heard about the farmers’ workers riot, but I didn’t know it was this bad···”

“I doubt they can suppress it.”

“There are 20 million people in Beijing, and 10 million farmers’ workers have come in. The 78th and 79th armies, which were originally in the Northern Theater, were also swept away by their fight. Do you think they have troops to send to North Korea?”

The camera continued to show various parts of Beijing.

The city was full of all kinds of death, chaos, and violence.

How did he get this video?

China’s major cities were completely closed.

Not only foreign journalists from various countries, but also any foreigners were prohibited from entering or leaving.

Communication was also perfectly controlled, and few people knew what was going on inside.

Anyway, one thing was certain.

China had no room or even thought to fight with them. Beijing was in that state, and they were doing their best to attack Taiwan. It would be more strange if they had room.

The generals understood that much, but they had something else to worry about.

“Pardon me, sir, but China has up to a thousand nuclear weapons.”

“That’s different from North Korea’s faulty warheads.”

“They could reveal their threat as reality at any time.”

He boasted confidently to the stern-faced generals.

“China can never threaten us with nuclear weapons. Because we have this.”

A new video showed Russia’s President Putin and a giant ballistic missile.

And Putin put a Taegukgi sticker on the ballistic missile and winked at the camera.

What was he doing?

The generals were startled as they watched.

“Sir, what is this video?”

“It looks like a Topol missile, but why is he putting a Taegukgi on it? I don’t understand···”

“President Putin has agreed to share nuclear power with Korea. It’s in Russia now, but I can bring it into the country anytime I want.”

Gulp.

The generals swallowed dryly and looked at the video incredulously.

Russia’s ballistic missile technology was quite high compared to China’s.

Its evasion technology, excluding circular error probable, was comparable to that of the United States.

That was the majority opinion.

Russia was willing to share nuclear power?

They wanted to say it didn’t make sense, but the person in front of them was someone who made miracles into reality.

“The US couldn’t bring in one tactical nuclear warhead, but Russia volunteered. I think we should lay down gas pipelines first after unification.”

The generals realized then that there was a secret agreement between Korea and Russia.

If they actually brought it in, the US would make a fuss, but···

“Haha, Russia would love that.”

“We won’t have any trouble with gas pipelines once we take over North Korea.”

“It’s not taking over, it’s unification.”

He emphasized and they all said oh, then repeated unification.

That’s right.

This was a war of unification.

He gave instructions again.

“As I said, China has no room or thought to fight with us. Neither does the 80th Army. Push them back with the 7th Corps. They will keep retreating.”

“We will soon establish a new operational plan.”

“Lucia will be helpful.”

It was time to introduce artificial intelligence more fully.

In extreme situations like war, force was well accepted.

Just as he became the acting authority, Lucia would gradually dominate Korean society.

And soon, the newly reorganized 7th Corps began to advance north with the help of the Army Aviation.

The 80th Army, which had shown considerable fighting spirit until they came down, was taken aback.

―The South Korean army is crazy!

Lieutenant General Liou Hua bit his lips slightly and ordered a retreat.

“Retreat. We can’t handle them with our current state.”

The 80th Army was a mechanized corps with a considerable combat power, but it was no match for the 7th Corps.

Their own combat power was strong, but there was no way to deal with the attack helicopters of the Army Aviation.

The 80th Army was similar in size but qualitatively inferior.

The supply was almost cut off, so they couldn’t fight properly.

The South Korean army stabbed that weakness and pushed forward with the mechanized brigade that melted Ryu Kyung-soo’s division as the vanguard.

When the news of the 80th Ar

my’s retreat reached Wang Xian, he was furious, and Zhang Min, the State Councilor, protested to the South Korean government.

He personally notified them.

“I’ll give you 100 hours to get out of South Korean land. I can’t guarantee what will happen after that.”