Chapter 59 – 059. Code: Xtk
059. Code: XTK
The reason I’ve been carrying out all of Raffles’ requests without missing a single day is to have my abilities recognized.
Why?
‘It’s because of the incident that will happen in a week.’
Before this incident, Raffles was just a skilled contract crime organization. But after this incident, they become one of the worst criminal organizations in the world, the mere mention of their name sending shivers down people’s spines.
‘They might exclude me if they think my skills are lacking. So, I worked hard to get my abilities recognized.’
What Raffles is about to do is no small matter. They might leave me out since they haven’t fully gained my trust yet.
The reason I’m trying to get my abilities recognized is also because of that lack of trust.
‘Everyone gather. Son Jeong-hu will definitely talk about it tonight. Some of them already seem to know.’
I smirked.
The moment I get the Illusitor, this world is goodbye.
•••
“Everyone’s here. Seeing your faces, it seems like nothing much has happened, which is a relief.”
Son Jeong-hu said, looking around the conference room. The members of Raffles were settled in their own unique ways. Some were sitting on chairs, others on the table, some were leaning against the wall, and others were plopped on the floor.
I sat normally on a chair, paying attention to Son Jeong-hu.
“Leader, why the sudden call? Another new recruit?”
Yoo Geun-tae asked. Son Jeong-hu shook his head.
“No. I was thinking it’s about time we started operating in earnest.”
“…In earnest? Wasn’t what we’ve been doing so far in earnest?”
That was Jackie. From what I heard, he joined Raffles a year before me.
“Ah. That’s not what I meant. We’ve always been working in earnest. But this time, it means all of us are going to be involved. This might be the first time all of us are going out together, right? That’s what I mean by ‘in earnest’.”
“…All of us. All ten of us. Are we planning to raid a military base or something?”
Son Jeong-hu laughed at Train’s serious question.
“There’s no way we’d need all ten of us to raid a mere military base, Train. You guys could probably raid any ordinary military base with just five of you, right?”
“Ugh. Stop beating around the bush and just say it! What are we going to do?!”
Hyun-ji said, jumping up from her seat. True to her hot-tempered personality, she was blunt. Every time I see her, I wonder why she watches Korean dramas. Most Korean dramas are probably melodramatic, and melodramas are so frustrating they could give you cancer. Even if it’s not a melodrama, dramas and Hyun-ji just don’t match.
“Alright. To get straight to the point… we’re going to raid Seoul City Hall.”
“……”
Silence fell around us. It was such an absurd statement that even Hyun-ji’s mouth hung open.
‘The Seoul City Hall here is nothing like the real Seoul City Hall.’
In Code: XTK, Seoul City Hall was the largest building in Seoul and the center of the city. When there are major national events, members of the National Assembly go to Seoul City Hall, not the National Assembly Building. The power of the Mayor of Seoul, who can be said to be the owner of Seoul City Hall, is in some ways greater than that of the President.
In other words, raiding Seoul City Hall is like attacking the heart of Korea.
‘But absurdly, they actually succeed.’
This is why Raffles becomes a world-class criminal organization.
And my goal is the Illusitor located in Seoul City Hall.
“……Leader. What’s the plan?”
Ulla, who had been quietly leaning against the wall, opened her mouth.
Son Jeong-hu smiled brightly, as if he had been waiting for that question, and operated his smartwatch to display a screen for everyone to see.
“Of course, I have one. Here. This guy who looks like he’d swear a lot is the Mayor of Seoul, Won Cheon-su. He’s from Gangwon Province and is 60 years old this year. And his birthday is in a week. That’s also the day we’ll be raiding Seoul City Hall.”
Mayor Won Cheon-su is a genius developer who discovered and commercialized Eclers. It was because of his tremendous achievements that he was able to become the Mayor of Seoul.
“……What’s the objective? It’s not something trivial, is it?”
Train asked.
“What comes to mind when you think of a birthday? Cake? Well, that’s a given. But what makes a birthday even more exciting is birthday presents. Mayor Won Cheon-su is a super socialite. He’ll definitely receive a lot of gifts, right?”
“Leader has a tendency to talk nonsense sometimes. This is important. Speak properly.”
“…Ah. Right. The objective is the latest airship blueprint that Cracksa is giving to Mayor Won Cheon-su as a gift.”
I know. Son Jeong-hu’s real goal is the ‘Eclers miniature fusion reactor’ within that blueprint. Son Jeong-hu plans to strengthen his mechanical body with the Eclers miniature fusion reactor.
“……I don’t understand why they’d give that to the mayor as a birthday present.”
“The gift is just an excuse. It’s like saying, ‘We’ll build an airship according to this blueprint and offer it to you, so please give us some favors~’.”
“Is it worth that much?”
“It’s Cracksa’s latest airship blueprint. You could probably get at least 200 billion if you sold it to a competitor, right? And it’s not like we’re only going to steal the blueprint. Let’s just take everything there. Even if we just take the important stuff, we’ll probably get several trillion.”
Trillion.
The members were silent for a moment at the unit above billion. Then, Hyun-ji was the first to break the silence.
“…That sounds fun? With that much money, we could retire right away!”
“Of course, we’ll divide the money fairly. You can retire after this job if you want.”
I chuckled.
Retire if you want? Bullshit. Son Jeong-hu will consider anyone who retires a traitor and secretly kill them. That’s how Train dies.
“……What’s the specific plan?”
Ulla asked.
“Of course, I’ve already planned it out. I got information about the latest airship three months ago. I’ve been preparing diligently since then, you know?”
The screen changed, and the blueprint of Seoul City Hall appeared.
“This is the completed blueprint of Seoul City Hall. Seoul City Hall hasn’t been renovated or expanded, so it’s 100% according to this blueprint.”
I looked at the blueprint.
Seoul City Hall was a tower-type building. Including the basement, it had a total of 222 floors. 22 floors were underground, and the remaining 200 floors were above ground.
And I also know a secret place that’s not on the blueprint.
‘How did Son Jeong-hu get this blueprint?’
In the original story, the source of Son Jeong-hu’s information network is not revealed. However, it’s speculated that he has spies planted in high positions in the Korean government. This speculation comes from an internet post.
‘But it seems he doesn’t know about what’s below the basement yet. Well, that comes out in the later part of the original story.’
Just getting this blueprint was impressive.
“And this is the security situation in a week. There are a total of 5,052 elite soldiers guarding Seoul City Hall. Five special government agents. Of course, the defense system is also well-prepared. If we attack from the outside, we’ll be killed by missiles, and if we cause a ruckus inside, the elite soldiers will try to kill us.”
“……That’s insane.”
Yoo Geun-tae groaned.
Looking at the blueprint, there were no gaps at all. The only entrances to Seoul City Hall were the front entrance and four underground passages.
“The important thing here is to disable the main system of Seoul City Hall. If the main system goes down, the defense system connected to it will also be disabled.”
Son Jeong-hu looked at me. The meaning of that gaze was simple. It meant that I should disable the city hall’s main system.
“Which floor is the main system on?”
I asked Son Jeong-hu. Son Jeong-hu smiled and answered.
“It’s on the 190th floor. Since the range of your hacking ability is 50 meters… you’ll barely be able to reach it from the 175th floor.”
I nodded. It seemed that way from the blueprint.
“Seoul City Hall has a main system and a backup system. Taker, I’d like you to disable both of them, but… it’ll be difficult, right? The main system of Seoul City Hall is the best in Korea.”
“That’s right. I’ll only be able to hack it for a few seconds. I won’t have the capacity to hack the backup system as well.”
“If the main system completely shuts down, they’ll have to manually switch to the backup system. The technicians at Seoul City Hall are top-notch. It’ll probably take them about an hour and a half? Maybe two hours at most. We have to finish our job and escape before the Seoul system recovers.”
“So, we have to finish the job within an hour. But how are we going to infiltrate?”
“Taker, who do you think I am? I’m the leader of Raffles! Of course, I’ve prepared the infiltration method as well. And I need your help with this.”
•••
“Greetings. I am Park Shin-han, Police Superintendent of the 3rd Special Security Unit directly under Seoul City Hall. May I see your invitation?”
A man wearing a black helmet and special combat suit spoke politely to me.
Without the slightest bit of panic, I handed him the invitation I was holding. It was a luxurious card with gold leaf. The police officer checked the card with a machine and handed it back to me.
“You are Mr. Yoo Jae-won, the president of Greyple Corporation. Welcome.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Not at all. But are all the people behind you with you?”
I turned around.
Including me, there were a total of 10 members of Raffles. Everyone except Ulla was wearing a neat suit.
“Yes. They are my company’s employees and my personal bodyguards. Is it not possible for them to enter together?”
“That is not possible. Only one person can accompany you to the party hall on the 150th floor. The others will have to wait in the waiting room. And according to regulations, we will have to conduct a security check.”
“If it’s a regulation, there’s nothing we can do. Will it take long?”
“Three minutes will be enough. Ah, by the way, you cannot bring weapons. You can leave your weapons with us.”
I couldn’t avoid the security check either. However, I was able to pass through in less than 30 seconds.
“You’re a Normal.”
“My father is a bit conservative.”
I said with a sly smile. The reason I was playing the role of the president of Greyple was because I was a Normal.
In this world, Normals are considered outcasts. But that doesn’t really apply to the upper class in Korea. Even if it’s different in other countries, the Confucian culture still remains in Korea. It’s a remnant of Confucianism, so to speak.
Why do people often say it in real life? “Our body, hair, and skin are received from our parents.”
The high-ranking officials in this world had a bit of a꼰대 (kkondae – old-fashioned, condescending) tendency.
‘When I first heard this, I wondered why they were looking for Suji’s parents.’
I waited with my arms crossed. We already knew about this security check and had prepared thoroughly. There were no problems with the background checks either. The identities we had were already verified fake identities.
“Yes. There are no problems. And here is the card key for the waiting room where you will be staying.”
I took the card key and read the text written on it.
“Room A1312?”
“It’s a room on the 131st floor. You can wait there. The party will start at exactly 10 o’clock on the 150th floor. Only one person can accompany you to the party. Please be aware of this.”
“Yes. But since I haven’t had dinner yet… I’m a bit hungry. Is there a restaurant?”
“There is a restaurant on the 120th floor. You can use it for free if you show your invitation.”
“Thank you.”
I said that and entered the building with my group.
‘……It’s really damn big.’
From the 1st to the 30th floor, it was where the city hall’s work was done.
‘They say they’re not working for three days because of the Seoul mayor’s birthday party today, right?’
The work of Seoul City Hall was paralyzed for three days. If something like this happened in reality, the citizens would immediately rise up. But in this world, there are no citizens who would dare to go against the Seoul mayor’s wishes.
‘The internet is also quiet. It’s proof that they’re managing it.’
There’s a rumor going around on the internet like a ghost story that a friend of someone got on the wrong side of the Seoul mayor and suddenly disappeared.
‘It’s just a dictatorship, even though they call it the Republic of Korea.’
We took the elevator to the 131st floor and entered the room. It was a facility that rivaled a luxury hotel.
The members of Raffles began to move around the room, examining it. They were looking for any hidden surveillance cameras and bugs.
“There are no bugs or cameras.”
Jackie said 10 minutes later. His eyes could see X-rays, so I could trust him.
“Taker, you were good at acting? Did you learn it professionally?”
Son Jeong-hu, who was sitting on the soft bed, said with a sly smile. I was the president of Greyple, and he was the chief of staff.
“No. Not at all. I just acted shamelessly.”
“It’s hard to act shamelessly.”
Son Jeong-hu lay down completely on the bed.
“Wow. The bed is so soft.”
“……”
I chuckled at that.
It was hard to believe that a guy whose entire body except for his brain was mechanical would say something like that.
He looked no different from a human, but in the end, he was a machine. Even if they recreated the artificial nervous system, it would be quite different from the sensations that humans feel. He probably wouldn’t even be able to feel subtle touches.
‘He probably doesn’t have one of those in his crotch either.’
Even if he had an artificial penis, it would be no different from being impotent. There’s no way a machine could reproduce the delicate and subtle sexual pleasure that humans feel.
