Mercenary Black Mamba

"No time for jokes."

Samuel brushed off Hae Young's joke and spread the topography. Horus' exhibition plan, which flashed at the top of the 13th-story pyramid printed on the U.S. dollar bill, represented the establishment of the World Government and one-man rule by the Antichrist. Gabriel was a messenger of God and a being that burned and killed animals (Heretic, a being that harmed the world). A being that Samuel, who had a handicrafts-man status, could not like.

Samuel used a highlighter to draw a line from the lower Zambezi River through the eastern end of Victoria to Somalia, and along the western zone connecting the lake Tanganyika, lake Kivu and lake Albert. The Mambasa Npanwaza area was crossed in the crosshair.

"This is it."

Samuel tapped the center of the crosshair with a highlighter. Hae Young tilted her head. It was 20 km into the center of the Ituri jungle. Paul's warning about the center of the Ituri jungle crossed her mind.

It was said that it's a terrible place where a monster snake that swallowed a person in one bite and a terror bird that broke the spine of a leopard in one kick, wandered around. If one got attacked by a tree leech, one would become a mummy in just three minutes. Hae Young became frightened.

"What about this place?"

"Anything you remember?"

Samuel stared.

"That's where the primitive human fossils were found one after another."

"That's right. It's the Albert Fault Zone, an extension of the Great Earth Zone we're currently working on. That's not to say we're picking up Australopithecus fossils, which aren't monkeys or humans. Keri and you will move here."

"Is it just Keri and me?"

"No need to worry about safety. It is a place where the green field work has been finished, just like here. Trust the cyborg bodyguards."

Hae Young nodded. When it came to safety, Americans were thorough. Unexpected dangers existed anywhere.

"I'll have to draw a nodule map first."

"No way I will leave such a beautiful woman up for manual labor"

Samuel grinned.

He was speaking so much nonsense. Did he think she was a feast at a party table?

Hae Young, who did not trust her advisor, was itching to speak up. Was the person who'd been pushing her till she looked like a zombie not Samuel but a doppelganger? She was skeptical of his intention to be giving a fair word now.

"Nodule map is already complete."

Samuel spread the C0 (American paper standard 36.1 inches x 51.1 inches) map on the table. Hae Young looked at the nodule map, which was filled with rock constituent by section. The shape was similar to the pre-existing exploration area of the Npanwaza cut-out map. The salt deposit crossed the nodule like a thick band and the point where the lithium content was more than 3% was marked as a dot in red highlighter. It was pitiful. It's a map that could only be made if 20 people stuck together and struggled hard for a month.

"Four cyborgs and 30 marines will be assigned to your team. As for 30 marines, start with placing them in a spot where the lithium value is high and leave them to collect samples. Keri's and your mission is to measure the age of the nodule and draw up a route map (A layout where the geographical survey results are written following the route)," Samuel added.

He was glancing at Hae Young.

"There's no reason not to collect meaningful objects or fossils, is there?"

"Of course."

Hae Young agreed without a moment of thinking. She had finally got a legit job. There was no reason to refuse. She wondered if soldiers that only knew how to shoot would even collect samples properly, but it was not something for her to worry about.

"The collected samples didn't need to be processed. The complex analysis would be done at the nest. Just use a mass spectrometer to date the radiation and get it over with. Leave the dirty work for the Marines and the safety team, and you can focus on the route map and meaningful stuff. All right?"

"All right," Hae Young answered willingly.

She was skeptical of the professor's intentions, but at least, she would not be looking at Robert's freaking face! She would gladly take risks. She, of course, did not have any idea that this very decision would be the trigger to open Armageddon.

Treasures were not guilty, but the powerless who had the treasures were guilty. The newly independent country, Zaire (Congo), suffered from political instability and poverty but was rich in resources. The Soviet Union which was in the middle of power-struggling with the U.S. regarding the third world would never miss out on Zaire.

The KGB supported the former President of Cassa, a political opponent, and provided military advisers and large amounts of weapons to the Mai-Mai rebels to bring down the pro-American regime, Mobutu. The KGB could not have been unaware of the movements of the U.S.

KGB director Chuikov suspected that Yankee was reversely re-enacting the 1962 Cuban crisis. The settlement of U.S. bases in eastern Zaire would put pressure on pro-government regimes in Uganda, Sudan, and Zimbabwe. Instead of showing a hysterical reaction, Chuikov dispatched a seven-part agent from the KGB's First General Bureau, just like the sly polar bear he is.

If one caused a scene in connection with the Mai-Mai rebels, the world's attention was drawn. He intended to beat on the ugly bare face of capitalism when that happened. Fifty agents specializing in assassination and terror attacks secretly infiltrated the ridge west of Lake Albert, which connected Buni-Brina and Mambasa.

Japan was a blessedly defeated nation. The sins of Japan were formidable. The death toll from the Pacific War alone reached 30 million, and the casualties and disappearance of the U.S. military alone stood at 400,000. Japan's crimes against humanity committed in Korea, China, and Southeast Asia were almost impossible for even the Nazis to be introducing themselves.

Nevertheless, the Allies handled defeated Japan gently as if it was touching a five-tier whipped cream cake. The United States did not receive a penny in reparation. Only seven Class A war criminals were executed through a reduced trial called "Crossing Out War Crimes". Japanese Emperor Hirohito, a special war criminal, was excused by claiming one sentence that he was deceived by Dojo. It was a measure of stupid retardation.

How did this mysterious situation happen? Some said that the soil where Hitler's monster was born was due to harsh convictions and reparations for the defeated country in World War I and that the U.S. which learned its lesson conducted wisely.

That was nonsense that shouldn't even be heard by the deaf. The United States was neither the Avalokitesvara (the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy) nor Jesus. Because they highly appreciated Japan's strategic value. They embraced Japan to use it as a bridgehead to prevent the expansion of the two communist countries, the Soviet Union and China. Of course, if Japan resisted, Korea would have played the role, but Japan was milder than a Persian cat and more docile than a Chihuahua.

In the early 1970s, Zhou Enlai introduced a "bottle cap theory" that the United States should suppress Japan's militaristic nature, while Kissinger introduced a "traitor jab theory" that Japan was the most likely country to deceive the United States and make nuclear weapons.

Unfortunately, the U.S. policy was different from Kissinger's. Instead of pressing the bottle cap tight, they opened it wide. The result was the rearmament of Japan. It could be seen that the U.S. was largely responsible for Japan's extreme-rightist gains.

Conversational spirits were utter nonsense. The Japanese spirit contained a typical small-bellied gene that bowed to the strong and trampled on the weak. They would lay flat on their stomachs in front of a nation where the opponent was strong and bite them mercilessly when their weaknesses were shown. That was Japan and the Japanese. There was no difference whether it was powerful or ordinary people.

Intelligence agencies were no different. Japan had traditionally been a country with strong human information networks (HUMINT). Intelligence agencies and police played a pivotal role and made extensive use of local agents.

The trawling network, which was formed by the military police, special forces under the headquarters of the staff, and the special higher police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications through pro-Japanese sources, shackled Koreans breathlessly. The reason why the independence forces were unable to communicate in Korea was because of these intelligence agencies and pro-Japanese traitorous sources. The true pro-Japanese traitor was these Korean informants.

After the defeat, Japan artfully disguised and dispersed intelligence agencies thoroughly. It was inconceivable that the head of their intelligence agency would appear as a lawmaker, show his face to the media, speak for the president, and leak state secrets to the media like in Korea.

The official number of the CIRO, the National Intelligence Service, was only 110. The intelligence headquarters limited the internal information of the Self-Defense Forces, while the Public Security Investigation Agency collected information related to the maintenance of public order.

Well, officially, that was it. The CIRO was a direct organization of the Prime Minister and served as an orchestra conductor. The orchestra members were from numerous private organizations, including the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, the Japan Broadcasting Association, the World Economic Research Council, the Institute for International Affairs, the East Asian Forum, etc. CIRO released a huge budget and used these institutions as subordinate intelligence agencies.

The Overseas Department of the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office was divided into International Division 1 and International Division 2. The second division was dedicated to mass media and international public opinion. The collection and operation of overseas information were entirely under the jurisdiction of the International First Division. Kenji Ishihara, head of the Cabinet's intelligence investigation office, also served as head of the International First Division. It was aimed at smoothly progressing the operation of Kako Tamako (cuckoo eggs).

"Bastard! Lost contact with everyone?"

BANG! Ishihara put the phone down as if to break it, then clenched his jaws. NHK's low-orbit satellite Tenzo 2 was an international first-part intelligence satellite. The intelligence team sent by Tenzo 2 to check the exposed strata of eastern Zaire and the intelligence team sent to Mambasa to understand the trend of the U.S. military, which had become more active, had lost its contact. It had not even been confirmed whether 30 informants were eaten in the jungle or died during combat.

"Shit, shit! Nothing is working out. The spoiled servant barks at me for an apology, resource development is blocked, and it's driving me crazy."

THUD! THUD! Ishihara wrapped his head around with his hands and bumped his forehead on the table. As the head of a country's intelligence agency, it was an unfitting thing to do, but it was understandable. Operation Mambasa, which had been anticipated while trying to deal with the nuclear accident at Hamaoka, also suffered a setback.

Ishihara was a member of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association and was a representative of the far right and hawk. He was someone who could not forget the nostalgia of Great Japan that dominated Korea. The ambitious operation of Kako Tamago was a hot mess due to the Tsugaru Bay earthquake, the Hamaoka nuclear power plant accident, and the sudden appearance of UMA.

Although it was troublesome to deal with the nuclear accident, the loss of plutonium, tritium and adult Predator accumulated over a decade was painful to his bones. The grand plan to throw Korea into chaos and swallow Dokdo and Jeju Island had also been postponed indefinitely.

Since the Meiji Restoration, Japan's two wishes had been safe land and abundant resources. Japan floated on the Earth's most unstable tectonic plates. Korea was a rare country, but it was a country without earthquakes. CIRO's plan to obtain safe land was the Kako Tamako plan, while the Mambasa plan was the plan to obtain resources. All of the ambitious plans in partnership with the Imperial Rule Assistance Association were in vain. He was about to lose it.

"Hito Ga Inaku, Roku na Yako Ga Inai! (There are no people, no one useful!)"

Ishihara patted the desk with a shallow booklet and lamented. The booklet, which had a first-class secret red stamp on it, was a report sent by Kinshasha, the general manager of Marubeni Corporation. The report contained comprehensive information such as a massive base built outskirts of the Ituri jungle, the addition of U.S. Marines, the status of rebels, the environment of the Ituri jungle, and the distribution of underground resources.

According to the report, the Ituri jungle was Armageddon. Ituri jungle was a place where cannibals and monsters were unruly, infested with all kinds of poisonous insects, and where tens of thousands of armed guerrillas ran wild. Salary man-level informants were expected to die off without any effort.

He wanted to send intelligence agents with survival capabilities like the United States, the Soviet Union, or Korea, but there was no manpower to use. The regular Self-Defense Force troops were at the level of salary-man with no combat experience, and there were no special forces at all. The police commando had quite the backbone, but they could not be taken out because they were on standby after the enemy forces launched the Asama mountain cabin incident. There were lots of options, but when it was time to be used, there were no useful people.

"Damn you, cowards!"

Ishihara gnashed his teeth. It's because of the peace constitution and the stupid politicians. The Great Japanese Empire, which smashed Russia, overthrew China and ate Joseon, disappeared. The samurai, armed with loyalty and bravery, disappeared and were filled with idiots who lost Yamato-Tamashii. The pre-war generation shrank and the post-war generation was weak.

"Gacho Kenzo! (Manager Kenzo)"

Ishihara rang the intercom and called out Manager Kenzo.

"Yes. You call me?"

A short, middle-aged man entered. He had protruding teeth, protruding eyes, high cheekbones, a low and flat nose bridge, and darker skin. Typical Malay-Japanese.

"Ameko (a similar but strong degrading meaning to Yankee) has added military power to Mambasa. What do you think they're up to?"

Ishihara did not even ask about the missing intelligence agent. The consciousness of the power class of Japan was deeply rooted in distorted numerical culture and contempt for life. It was a remnant of feudalism and militarism. The anachronistic consciousness, that failed to comply with orders was shameful and that shame should be washed with hara-kiri, was deeply established.

"Ha! It's not a normal geological exploration. It's not a fossil excavation in terms of mobilized troops and equipment. The subordinate judges it as either strategic or large-scale commercial resource development."

"Is that so? The satellite imagery team estimated the white band as a salt deposit. No uranium or diamonds come out of salt. Is it some rock salt that's so special that they bring military troops to dig up?"

"No way. The finest Andean rock salt imported by absentminded epicure is 50,000 yen per ton and the Himalayan pink salt is only 60,000 yen per ton. Apart from imported corn, there may be something special about rock salt from billions of years ago."

Kenzo gulped down the part about being cheaper than corn and quickly changed his words. Words that completely denied the boss's words are disloyal.