I Became a Scoundrel From a Wealthy Family 200

## Chapter 200 – 20. The Spring of China

+++

Things unfolded pretty much as expected.

The UN expressed concern about the current situation, but that was it.
Moreover, that concern wasn’t directed solely at South Korea but also at the Twenty-Nation Alliance of China.

In other words, they were telling both sides to exercise restraint.

After all, the Twenty-Nation Alliance of China was at a disadvantage in terms of justification.

The war crimes they committed were still etched in people’s minds, and it was 2076, an era where information technology had blossomed. Everything they had done was recorded electronically, and with a little effort, anyone could uncover their horrific deeds.
In that context, their cry for “One China” was bound to provoke a sensitive reaction.

This meant that no international organization was willing to help the Twenty-Nation Alliance of China at this point.
At least, not among those with influence in Asia.

But then, an unexpected party threw a wrench into the works.
It was none other than the German Democratic Republic and Communist Berlin, which had been mentioned in South Korea’s statement.

They didn’t object to the main points but strongly criticized being portrayed as war criminals of World Wars I and II, and the implication that their desire for reunification was akin to seeking a return to the Nazi regime.

The leagues to which each Germany belonged also chimed in slightly.

The simultaneous action of the German Democratic Republic’s EU (European Union of Democratic States) and Communist Berlin’s DEU (Democratic European Union) was honestly a bit surprising.

“It’s a mess, but it’s a weird kind of mess.”

An unexpected intervention.
Even if the language was a bit strong, was it really necessary for international organizations in Europe to get involved?
Besides, when you think about it, the member states of both the EU and DEU were victims of Nazi Germany.

Have they mellowed out because so much time has passed?

“I have no idea how this situation will unfold.”

I had just been thinking that the Korea Group would beat up the Twenty-Nation Alliance of China,
but Germany’s involvement made it harder to judge.

Well, it wasn’t like I had to do anything in particular.
Just moving my capital to safe assets as a precaution, which Muyeol Financial was already handling.

I should just keep doing what I’m doing.

On Monday morning, South Korea’s second statement was released.
This time, it strongly criticized not only the Twenty-Nation Alliance of China but also Germany, with content along the lines of “those who meddle in other people’s affairs will get burned.”

Was this the prelude to World War IV?
Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be the case, as it remained a war of words.

Kim Eun-ji said that the situation wasn’t that serious.

– You don’t have to worry about Europe. It’s just like a typical WWE match. They’re uniting their league, and we’re solidifying Asia’s unity.
“Seriously…”
– What you should be watching is China, which hasn’t made any significant additional statements yet. There’s no telling what they’ll do.
“True.”

Germany’s appearance was unexpected, but it was still just Europe.
It was ten thousand leagues away from Asia, and divided in half with the two Germanys as the starting point, so they were busy fighting among themselves.

The EU and DEU might have issued the same statement now, but that would eventually lead to internal strife.
They were just butting in because of the “Why are you talking bad about us?” thing.
From the South Korean government’s perspective, they couldn’t back down when they needed to strongly control China, so they were pushing back hard.

“Okay, I understand.”

I ended the call with Kim Eun-ji.
Since I was already on the phone, I thought about asking how the support for the Namdong Industrial Complex was progressing, but I had asked just a few days ago, so I let it go.

It wouldn’t be good to push too hard.

After that, I checked the situation in China through my secretaries.
The Twenty-Nation Alliance of China, which was about to become destitute, was drawing attention with their reactions: would they surrender and enter negotiations, or would they continue to resist?

“What was his name, Li Wei?”
“The Premier of Shanghai?”
“Yeah. What kind of guts does he have to do something like this?”
“Well, maybe he has some grand dream. At a time when the people’s anger has reached its peak, he’ll gather it all together and become a new emperor—something like that.”
“Hmm.”
“And he probably expected it. He knew that the Korean government and the Korea Group would react sensitively.”
“So he must have something planned as a follow-up?”
“Yes.”

That’s probably it.
He wouldn’t have started something without considering the aftermath.
He couldn’t be that stupid.

The Twenty-Nation Alliance of China’s response came in the evening.
At the ongoing China Summit, Premier Li Wei of the Shanghai Economic Alliance once again urged the Chinese people to rise up, and announced that Shanghai could no longer pay reparations.

They had already repaid several times the amount of reparations set 50 years ago, and declared that they would resolutely reject any further financial tyranny.

In some ways, it was an issue that could have an even greater economic impact than the “One China” policy.
Watching the live broadcast, their momentum was deafening.

“This is going to get hit hard.”

Since they weren’t listening, something that Ko Min-ji had mentioned was about to fall into the sea off Shanghai.
Whether it was the unknown weapon called Jumong’s Arrow,
or just the satellites that Shanghai possessed…

“The rest of the Twenty-Nation Alliance of China is declaring the same thing. Are they playing the ‘go belly up’ card?”

The goose’s belly has been cut open.
It no longer lays golden eggs.

So now, the only thing left is to
chop up the remaining goose and cook it,
or forcibly sew up its belly and impregnate it with new golden eggs.

Isn’t it one of those two options?

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Tuesday, December 22, 2076.
At this time of year, with Christmas just around the corner, the news was chaotic from morning.

First, Japan, which had been watching the situation, strongly criticized the actions of the Twenty-Nation Alliance of China.

They called them the culprits who threatened the order of Asia and ruined the world economy, and raised their voices, saying that if they truly wanted “One China,” they should reflect on all the damage from the Third World War and apologize and compensate for the Second Tokyo even now.

Second Tokyo was the predecessor of the Third Tokyo, the current capital of Japan, but it was basically just Tokyo.

During the Third World War, Japan suffered a series of unfortunate events—the Nankai Trough earthquake, the eruption of Mount Fuji, and the Tokyo Inland Earthquake—which led to its near collapse. China delivered the final blow.

They somehow managed to restore Tokyo, which had been half-submerged during the war, and barely revived its main functions. It was called Second Tokyo, but China launched a massive air raid on it, causing enormous damage and destroying it once again.

Tokyo was rebuilt after South Korea participated in the war and wiped out North Korea and China, and the city rebuilt in that way is the current Third Tokyo.

Well, there’s no end to the history,
but to put it simply, Japan is also a major victim of the Third World War, so they’re reacting strongly to China’s words.

Starting with Japan, various Asian countries began to criticize the Twenty-Nation Alliance of China.

It was only natural, as they had openly rebelled against South Korea, the leader of Asia, and the culprit who had ruined the world’s structure was once again shouting for “One China.”

And….

Late at night, as Tuesday turned into Wednesday, breaking news appeared on all portal and video sites.
One of the Shanghai Economic Alliance’s satellites, which had been orbiting the Earth, malfunctioned and deviated from its orbit.

If it had ended there, it would have just been a minor incident, but the problem was that it collided with a military satellite of Militaris and exploded.

Coincidentally, an unreleased missile, which had been launched under the guidance of the military satellite, fell into the sea off Shanghai, relatively close to the coast, creating a massive explosion.

Even though it clearly exploded in the sea, it instantly vaporized everything and flashed the surrounding area white.
According to Shanghai residents, it felt like the sun had suddenly risen in the middle of the sky.

Militaris explained this by saying that “what was originally planned to be tested off the coast of Dalian fell into the sea off Shanghai due to a malfunction of the military satellite,” and pointed to the Shanghai Economic Alliance’s satellite as the cause.

They claimed that their satellite had destroyed their satellite, which affected the experiment.

Naturally, Shanghai had a fit.
Something like a nuke, though they didn’t know what, had exploded off their coast, so they couldn’t just stand still.

“They’re really going all out.”

Of course, I roughly knew the whole story.

From the beginning, Ko Min-ji had said that something would fall into the sea off Shanghai.
I figured that Militaris had pulled something off.

And probably Shanghai, along with the Twenty-Nation Alliance of China,
or rather, everyone who watched this situation, would have guessed.

That this was a warning from the Korea Group.

South Korea is a country, so it can issue statements and directly interfere in national affairs, but the Korea Group is, after all, just a company on the surface. It would be strange for a company to say anything about the politics of another country.

So they’re giving a message in this way.

“If you go any further, you’re really going to die.”

That’s the feeling.