The backroads of Hamhung receded into the rearview mirror. Now, the distance remaining to Pyongyang was a mere 300km.

  If the road conditions held up, having departed in the morning, he would be able to see the Taedong River by 2 or 3 PM at the latest.

  In contrast to the scenery outside the window violently shaking, Major Min’s mind was turning coldly, like a precisely tuned clockwork.

  Inside his head, he relentlessly rehearsed the tasks he had to execute as soon as he set foot in Pyongyang.

  The first place he had to head was the Reconnaissance General Bureau.

  Only by facing the Director and fully handing over 'it' loaded in the trunk would this dangerous journey end.

  It was a massive amount of dollars that the Party had been so desperately craving.

  This was not official military funding received as compensation for participating in the war.

  It was an unofficial bribe—'dark money'—flowing out of sight of the higher-ups.

  "This money must neither be recorded nor disclosed." He tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

  Only a tiny minority knew of the existence of these funds, and the weight of that secret was as good as Major Min's own life.

  He planned to visit his father after completing his mission. His father was a high-profile physicist cherished by the Republic.

  He was a merit-holder who had been deeply involved since the early stages of North Korea's nuclear development,

  playing a pivotal role in creating actual nuclear warheads and completing detonators.

  In recognition of his contribution, his father was granted a modern apartment in one of Pyongyang's leading scientist housing complexes.

  A place where the core brains for maintaining the regime lived together,

  it was 'their own fortress,' strictly cut off from the outside and receiving special management and preferential treatment.

  It was both a sweet prison and a symbol of glory allowed to those who touched the heart of the Republic—nuclear weapons, missiles, and satellites.

  Major Min stepped hard on the accelerator.

  The clattering sound of the bundles of dollars in the trunk echoed inside the quiet car like his own heartbeat.

  "Major, how was last night? Haha."

  The adjutant suddenly recalled the events at the guest house in Hamhung yesterday.

  "Last night? What are you talking about? Are you talking about the female comrade who came by?"

  Major Min replied indifferently.

  The adjutant had spent the night with the female comrade who came to his room at the guest house last night.

  He was asking Major Min about it as well.

  "I sent her back." Major Min's voice was short and cool like a blade.

  As if he no longer wished to engage in conversation, he cast his gaze toward the scenery of Hamhung receding outside the window.

  The adjutant at the wheel let out an incredulous chuckle and peeked at his face.

  "Oh, Comrade Major... really? Haha, no way."

  For a young soldier returning from a battle where death was a constant shadow,

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  a night with a beautiful woman was a temptation hard to refuse. However,

  it was an undeniable fact that Major Min had sent her out the door.

  The woman who visited his room last night was a pure beauty who had just turned twenty.

  To enter a 'guest house' in Pyongyang meant that her family background and political influence were already verified.

  Furthermore, it was a position one could only hold by possessing perfect height and looks.

  With a beauty that caught the eye at a glance, she shyly confessed that yesterday was her first day at the guest house. But Major Min did not want such an encounter.

  He spoke quietly to the woman. Major Min expressed his refusal politely but firmly.

  A look of disappointment flickered in the woman's eyes, but he added his name nonchalantly.

  "Comrade, I'm sorry, but I want to be alone.

  I am Min Seok-ho. If there is a chance to come to Hamhung again, perhaps our paths will cross then. Still, you went through a lot of trouble coming here, so please take this."

  What he handed over was a sophisticated wooden doll in the shape of a woman brought from R.

  The woman’s eyes trembled slightly at the small gift with an exotic scent.

  The Republic was like a giant prison. In a place where freedom of movement was restricted, a romantic date for a young couple was like plucking a star from the sky.

  Usually, they met through introductions at work, school, or through neighbors.

  Even if they fell in love passionately, it was common knowledge here that they would collapse helplessly before the sharp wall of 'Songbun' (social class).

  It was unavoidable that the presence of a job and family background took precedence over love.

  Therefore, the children of Party officials and the high-ranking class used 'guest houses' where they flocked together as a secret field of opportunity.

  Since the guests entering the guest house were not ordinary people,

  women tended to prefer these encounters as the only channel for social advancement or a guaranteed stable future.

  She, too, must have knocked on the door with such expectations last night.

  Also, her father was a Party official.

  Major Min's SUV had nearly reached Pyongyang. It had been a two-day drive.

  As they entered the entrance of Pyongyang, Major Min told the adjutant that he no longer needed to drive.

  "Comrade. From now on, I must drive. Is there a place for you to stay in Pyongyang for the time being?"

  "Comrade Major Min. I have relatives living in Pyongyang.

  Please drop me off near Kim Il-sung University. If you contact me, I will return to the unit with you."

  Major Min dropped the adjutant off on a street near Kim Il-sung University and drove the car toward the outskirts of Pyongyang.

  He drove toward the North Korean intelligence agency building.

  After about 20 minutes, the car entered the rear of the intelligence building located at the foot of a mountain.

  Intelligence agents, already aware of Major Min's arrival, were waiting at the back door. After a brief inspection, Major Min was allowed to drive the car into the building.

  The Director of the Reconnaissance Bureau was out in the parking lot to see Major Min. "Comrade Min. You've worked hard. For today, we will just recover the items. You are tired, so go home." The Director did not need conversation with Major Min.

  He only wished to recover the items quickly. Major Min watched the agents removing the items from the car in silence.

  "Yes, I understand. Then I shall be going. And when should I return here?"

  "Come tomorrow morning. A high-ranking Party official will be coming specifically tomorrow morning. Let's listen to the special message brought from U then."

  Major Min knew that the items in the trunk were not merely bundles of money. It was the most certain 'entry ticket' to penetrate the uppermost crust of North Korean power. Securing their trust and networking by handing over unofficial funds to high-ranking officials—the first stage was a complete success. .

  Now, the next stage was an even more lethal and bold move.

  In a private meeting with high-ranking Party officials, he had to pull out a card that would defy human common sense: the 'direct message from the spacecraft.'

  This unbelievable information was the only passage that would elevate Major Min from a mere competent officer to a core figure holding the fate of the North Korean regime.

  All of this was a meticulously calculated collaboration.

  It was the essence of a grand operation devised by three entities: the mysterious helper illik, Lillik who held benevolent intentions, and 'I' who held the baton.

  "Weaken the power of the great nations and induce a spontaneous regime change within North Korea."

  It was a 'revolutionary design' to strip the surrounding powers of their influence over North Korea while simultaneously reorganizing the overall political and economic system in a modern and progressive direction.

  To roll this massive wheel, Major Min had to penetrate the deepest and darkest core forces of the Republic.

  To catch their eye, gain their trust, and eventually stand in a position to manipulate them.

  Major Min turned the car, leaving the fortress of great power behind.

  The destination was the scientist apartment complex overlooking the Taedong River, the lifeline of Pyongyang.

  Waiting there was his father, the starting point of this entire grand narrative and the one who formed the foundation of the person known as Major Min.

  What made Major Min who he is today was half the gunpowder of the battlefield and the other half his father's precise design.

  His father was not just a physicist.

  He was the person who touched the heart of the regime from an unseen place and was also accurately aware of the existence of 'Jun-ho' in South Korea across the border.

  The one who devised and executed the sophisticated operation to draw Jun-ho into the giant whirlpool of the North Korean system was his father.

  To Major Min, his father was beyond a blood relative; he was the root of this vast revolutionary operation.

  In the distance, the grey buildings of Pyongyang began to rise grotesquely like a mirage in the fog.

  Inside the quiet car, Major Min gripped the steering wheel tightly.

  The veins bulging on the back of his hand represented the tension and resolve he was suppressing. .

  Major Min muttered in a low voice, as if declaring to himself and his invisible collaborators: "Now, it’s the real beginning."