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Chapter 63: Let’s test together
Chapter 63: Let’s test together
Chapter 63: Let’s test together
Hirashima, Saga Prefecture, Japan.
Since some time ago, naval ships belonging to the Maritime Self-Defense Force and ships carrying unidentified cargo began to frequent this small island.
The few residents of the nearby islands were strictly ordered to keep their mouths shut.
They thought that the country must be doing something important.
And so, a small-scale nuclear test site was built underground in Hirashima.
The reason why they chose this island near Korea for the test site was because of the seismic waves.
When a nuclear test was conducted, an earthquake was inevitable, and Korea would know that it was not a normal earthquake.
Japan did not want Korea to obtain information too late.
They had to protest to Japan as soon as the test was conducted.
Japan, which became a nuclear power, could easily ignore Korea’s protests.
—The simulation is over and only the test remains.
—Everything is perfect. There is no way Japan will fail when North Korea succeeded.
—We will have nuclear weapons, but Korea will not.
The nuclear development officials prepared for the test with this mindset.
There were some mistakes in the process, such as leaking information to the United States and Russia, but it was not a big problem.
The game had already started, and Japan had to succeed in the test by any means necessary.
And so, on February 15th.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force mobilized a number of warships to completely block off the sea near Hirashima.
A handful of scientists and naval officials, including Prime Minister Ozawa, boarded the Izumo-class helicopter carrier and watched through a monitor from afar.
And at the same time, the Kim Gu-class destroyer was sailing through the Korea Strait at maximum speed for a trial run.
It was a very coincidental event.
Usually, the trial run of a warship is divided into precise procedures, and related personnel board and conduct rigorous tests for each item.
The items ranged from engine output to pipelines, electrical distribution, buoyancy, and more, and there were not one or two of them. And the trial run was carried out several times.
But the Kim Gu-class destroyer was in a situation where it had to finish everything in just two times.
The shipyard could not even protest that it was absurd.
It was because the person who made the decision was a VIP and Chairman Yu Ji-ha.
Even if he was a VIP, Chairman Yu Ji-ha was an absolute presence in the group.
After he took office, Silla Heavy Industries’ sales increased by seven times compared to 2026, and net profit increased even more.
They received many orders such as mining ships, Atak-class submarines, Kim Gu-class destroyers, etc., and Tongyeong Shipyard was screaming with happiness.
When such a chairman ordered to compress the schedule as much as possible, what could they do?
There were voices like this in Silla Heavy Industries.
“It’s really an impossible schedule, but we have to do it if the chairman says so.”
“I don’t know about anything else, but I can’t just pass the class.”
“They say that the government has taken action. They entrust it to an unknown agency.”
“That agency is probably NIS…”
“Shh. It’s better for us to keep our mouths shut.”
So they started with mooring trials and then moved on to sea trials.
Since it was a warship, there were also shooting tests planned, and live ammunition was prepared for that purpose.
Not only naval officials but also Chairman Yu Ji-ha boarded together, so the trial staff were very nervous.
?Please be safe, please be safe…
It would be strange if there were no defects after shortening the construction period by three months.
Chairman Yu Ji-ha ordered to finish commissioning by the first half of the year, but no one believed that it would happen.
“Ion tube injection, engine ignition.”
Along with the broadcast, the destroyer that weighed nearly 15,000 tons woke up.
As befitting a combat ship equipped with an ion propulsion system, it left the dock without the help of tugboats.
Park Seungho Brigadier General of 10th Combat Group who accompanied Yu Ji-ha exclaimed continuously.
“I heard that tugboats are not needed, but it was true.”
“There are nozzles everywhere so complex maneuvers are possible. Not very fast though.”
“The engine noise seems low too… I heard from headquarters that fuel costs are also reduced considerably?”
“How much fuel do you think it takes to roll this size for a year?”
Yu Ji-ha asked him and he answered hesitantly.
“I’m not sure but Daewang will spend about 40 billion won.”
When they say Daewang in the navy, they mean Sejong Daewang-class.
It ate up a lot of oil as much as its size and made the navy’s logistics support system shaky.
40 billion won was also the result of reducing the sortie considerably.
“Our teacher said that 20% would be enough.”
Brigadier General Park stuck out his tongue.
“It doesn’t even cost 10 billion won with this size.”
“The logistics department was very happy.”
It would reduce not only the budget but also the burden of the logistics support system, so their mouths would tear.
Anyway, this Kim Gu-class had a lot of Chairman Yu Ji-ha’s touch from design to launch.
People who didn’t know would say what influence he could have, but people who were on the site, such as the design headquarters, knew well.
“If it weren’t for the chairman, it would have been stuck in the dock for more than two years.”
“I received more than 20 orders to change the propulsion design. I didn’t know what he was doing at the time, but when I went to the company, there was no problem.”
“I don’t know about anything else, but there are no defects in the hull for now. The rest is to see.”
Kim Gu-ship tested several items while the officials watched, but there were no defects yet.
The staff said to each other that it was lucky, but Yu Ji-ha intervened.
“Let’s go to the railgun test. At 20% of maximum output.”
The staff in charge of operating the railgun entered the firing specifications and tilted their heads.
“This is towards Japan?”
“Wasn’t it supposed to be a mock firing?”
“The shooting was originally supposed to be done while stationary, but…”
A navy official casually said to the curious staff.
“Just do as usual.”
“…”
They hoped that they wouldn’t get in trouble later.
The firing parameters were entered and the railgun turret rotated quickly.
“Battery charged. Fire.”
A loud bang sounded as the railgun projectile was launched and cut through the clouds in the distance.
“Firing successful.”
The officials clapped quietly as he nodded his head.
“That’s it. Let’s change course and return as planned.”
The test ended there, but there were a few things that the staff didn’t know.
A Virginia-class submarine belonging to the US Navy had been following the Kim Gu ship.
The Kim Gu ship had escaped at full speed and lost the submarine.
And finally, the railgun projectile that was fired towards Japan had accidentally exploded in the sea after passing an island.
…
“Then we’ll start the countdown.”
The Japanese officials on board the Izumo-class watched the numbers change with bated breath.
When it showed zero, the camera would shake slightly and dust would rise over Hiroshima.
It was an underground nuclear test, so there was no radiation or much impact on the surroundings.
It meant that Japan had become a de facto nuclear power.
‘A nuclear power…’
Prime Minister Ozawa closed his eyes for a moment.
He didn’t want things to come to this point.
He wanted to show a friendly gesture to Yu Ji-ha if possible, and he was willing to lend them the sea and send the emperor to reverse the atmosphere.
But the domestic opinion was not very good.
‘We can’t fall behind Korea, huh…’
It was a delusion to think that one nuclear weapon could change everything.
But many Japanese people were seriously obsessed with that delusion.
‘I’ve done my part…’
That included a submarine contact with South Korea.
He did it to resolve the situation peacefully, but coincidentally, South Korea showed a lukewarm response.
They seemed to be too busy with North Korea to spare any effort for this side.
‘It can’t be helped.’
There was only one way for Japan to go now.
To rearm and exert influence in East Asia instead of China, starting with nuclear weapons possession.
He was also preparing to enter the permanent council for that purpose.
Korea would oppose it desperately, but he had already settled things with the US and Europe.
No matter how much they urged him, he couldn’t ignore the US.
Russia couldn’t be his ally either.
As he thought so, something pierced through his head and passed by.
It was so fast that he only heard a loud noise afterwards, and everyone misunderstood it as a shock wave.
“Did it explode already?”
“No, no! There are still five seconds, four seconds left!”
“Then what was that noise!”
The bridge became noisy and Ozawa felt his breath stop.
If it didn’t explode, it meant that the nuclear test had failed.
He would find out the cause later, but that wasn’t important.
‘Japan failed the nuclear test…’
Japan had endured the pressure from various countries for this day.
Russia’s titanium export ban and Germany’s gold embargo were just the beginning.
A resolution to stop the nuclear test was passed at the UN General Assembly, and even the US was deeply concerned.
Not to mention the various international organizations and domestic opinions.
They had pushed themselves too hard for this test, and they couldn’t take it anymore.
His secretary assured him that everything would get better if they succeeded in the nuclear test.
—There is no country that can openly say anything to a nuclear power.
—If you succeed in the test, even the US will turn a blind eye to some extent.
Japan had to succeed in this nuclear test no matter what.
‘But… they failed…’
Now the sanctions from other countries would begin, and even the US wouldn’t help them.
They would reverse their ambiguous position and demand harsh inspections, and make sure they never tried a nuclear test again.
‘It’s over…’
Ozawa felt his legs give out and fell to the floor.
“Prime Minister!”
Someone shouted and pulled his arm and shoulder, but he didn’t care.
What did it matter if he lay on the floor a little when Japan had failed?
While Japan was in chaos, a Yu Ji-ha National Intelligence Service agent led him to a communication room where he picked up a phone.
“We succeeded. I don’t know about them.”
—According to intelligence, the scheduled time has passed. But there is no signal.
The signal meant the seismic wave.
There was no sign of seismic waves, which meant the experiment had failed.
“It was a failure.”
Yu Ji-ha said calmly, and a loud laughter was heard.
?Hahaha, I knew it. How could you have a nuclear weapon without us…
?This is not a secure line!
The secretaries next to him panicked and tried to stop him.
What a noisy person.
Yu Ji-ha went outside and immersed himself in his thoughts while feeling the sea breeze.
Japan’s gamble had gone up in smoke, and a severe backlash would follow.
They would reach out to Korea in desperation, but he had little intention of holding their hand.
Black Metal would supply them as contracted, but everything else would come at a huge price.
That price would make the three terms he proposed to Prime Minister Ozawa seem like a joke.
‘I need to hurry while they’re still out of their minds.’
The only thing left to bother him in East Asia was North Korea.
They seemed to sense the ominous atmosphere and only made threatening remarks, but they didn’t actually provoke anything.
So he had to make them provoke him.
Yu Ji-ha ordered Arma.
“Make some androids to infiltrate the North Korean Frontline Corps.”
?What is the target of occupation??
“It would be good to occupy a heavy artillery unit. The target of fire is the Blue House.”
The Blue House would be enough to arouse the anger of the people.
The iron beams on Bukhansan and each unit would block the shells, so there would be no actual damage.
Only the people who had completely lost their patience would shout for northward advance.
That was Yu Ji-ha’s scheme.