WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 451: Stuffed Paradise (13)

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The bomb was on the weaker side. Converted to military plastic explosive (C4), it came out to about 1.5 pounds, or 680 grams. That was still the firepower of three or four hand grenades, so it could not be dismissed, but what mattered more was its practical lethality.

A hand grenade could cover a wide effective range with only one or two hundred grams of explosive because its shattered steel casing embedded itself as shrapnel. Some types were lined with thousands of tiny steel balls inside. Even small wounds were enough to kill if they went deep.

In other words, the explosion alone made it difficult to achieve the goal of terrorism.

‘No ball bearings, no nails packed in.’

That was why Gyeoul doubted the terrorist’s true intentions.

According to the investigation, not a single measure had been taken to increase the lethality of the bomb that went off in the dormitory. Even in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, the pressure cookers had been filled with bearings and nails before they were detonated. It was hard to believe the culprit, who had toyed with the police search, had been sloppy only on this point.

Late that night, Anne shared the investigation’s progress with Gyeoul over messenger.

「Anne: We found this at the blast site.」

The dozens of photos she sent showed the gathered blackened wreckage.

「Anne: They’re the remains of the homemade RC car used to transport the bomb.」

Sitting on a cot inside the tent, Gyeoul flipped through the photos and typed a question.

「If it was an RC car, does that mean the culprit was nearby when it exploded? There are a lot of obstacles in that environment, so to control it smoothly, they would have had to be within 300 meters.」

「Anne: Not necessarily. Look at evidence item 17.」

The seventeenth photo showed a chipset that had melted more than halfway. It was lucky the shape of one corner remained. If even that had been crushed, it would have been impossible to tell whether it had been a chip or something else.

「Anne: That’s a Wi-Fi chipset.」

「Damn. So it was controlled remotely.」

「Anne: Yes. The culprit seems to have hacked IP cameras to watch the search, then sent the RC car in after the search team passed. There are traces of a camera being installed on the car body too. The bomb seems to have been wrapped in tape and fixed on top of the body...」

「Tracking?」

「Anne: Nothing yet. I don’t know who it is, but a capable hacker was definitely involved.」

「Then is it a dead end?」

「Anne: I’m not sure. For now, we’re looking into the motor’s transaction records. The culprit installed a German-made low-noise motor in the RC car, and that model stopped being imported and manufactured two years ago. It’s not a decisive clue, but it’s better than nothing. I’m hoping something turns up if we compare it against the recent movements of persons of interest.」

Gyeoul sent another message.

「Doesn’t something feel off?」

「Anne: Plenty of things feel off, but what part do you mean in particular?」

「They had the ability to monitor police movements, but didn’t know I was away.」

The explosion had happened in the hallway of Gyeoul’s lodging. Because of that, the media was treating it as settled fact that Gyeoul had been the target of the terror attack, but if the culprit had really meant to kill him, they would not have sent a warning in advance. Thanks to that, nobody had died or been hurt.

‘It’s more natural to assume they didn’t want casualties from the start.’

Anne agreed with Gyeoul’s suspicion for the moment.

「Anne: I think so too. Like we talked about before, there’s a high chance this is a conspiracy with another goal.」

But then she added,

「Anne: Right now, that’s only a hunch. Maybe this terror attack was a kind of warning, and only the beginning. The bastards who commit this kind of terrorism often have disgusting desires. The satisfaction of receiving public attention, the feeling that their own existence has been elevated by terrifying so many people... or the pleasure of controlling a famous war hero.」

「Controlling?」

「Anne: Deciding whether someone lives or dies can be called control on a fundamental level. You know this too, Gyeoul. Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. That proposition holds even in relationships between individuals.」

It was a perspective Gyeoul had not considered.

‘Now that I think about it, more than a few celebrities have been killed by their fans.’

The delusion that they had obtained the person called Han Gyeoul. Anyone in a mental state where they could enjoy that delusion deserved to be on the suspect list.

「Anne: What I mean is」

Anne’s message continued.

「Anne: Let’s not lock our thinking in place just because the circumstances seem plausible. Until we have confirmation, we need to keep as many possibilities open as possible. There have been plenty of cases that were stranger than fiction.」

「You’re right.」

After agreeing, Gyeoul looked at the TV he had turned down low. Then he tapped the keyboard.

「I wish people would think that way too.」

Even at that moment, the news anchor was talking about the danger of Yangists. A caption on a red background read, 「Breaking News: Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul Reportedly Uninjured」.

There was no telling how many citizens were furious over this.

The information Anne had shared had not been released to the press yet.

The Net Warrior terminal vibrated.

「Anne: That much can’t be helped. People are like that. All we can do is hope the truth is revealed quickly, and that the truth is what we want it to be.」

「Anne: Anyway, as long as Gyeoul is safe, we avoid the worst-case scenario.」

「Anne: So get some sleep, my love. It’s late.」

Anne’s concern was gentle, as always. Gyeoul suddenly missed her scent. He could clearly picture her still at the office at this hour. Or maybe she was at the White House, or on the way there. Kramer would certainly be watching how this incident developed.

「What about you? You probably haven’t even gotten off work.」

「Anne: I’m fine. :)」

There was no point asking more.

Gyeoul turned off the lights and lay down on the bed. Since he did not know what might happen, he needed to keep himself in the best physical condition possible. Alone in the dark, he waited for the night to pass through computation acceleration. Gyeoul regretted that he could not dream. He had never regretted it as much as he did these days.

After the wait, the first sense to return was touch. Someone was carefully stroking his cheek. Gyeoul opened his eyes, a little startled. Since he had 「Survival Instinct」, it could not be a hostile approach, but,

“Oh dear. I woke you.”

Anne stood before his eyes with a bright smile.

“Anne?”

“Surpri-ise!”

She had been kneeling by his head, and she pulled Gyeoul into a tight hug just as he sat up. As if she could not hold back anymore, she buried her face in Gyeoul’s shoulder and breathed deeply again and again. She drew in a breath, then let it out in a long exhale that spread warmly through his clothes. It seemed Gyeoul was not the only one who had missed the scent of the person he loved.

Questions circled in his head, but for the moment, Gyeoul enjoyed Anne’s scent too.

Only after several minutes had passed did Gyeoul ask,

“What happened?”

Anne answered while sitting astride Gyeoul’s thighs.

“I came to inspect the scene. And to make sure I have firm control over the investigation command structure.”

“The FBI Deputy Director personally?”

“That’s not strange, is it? Even the Attorney General is getting involved.”

Then she stole Gyeoul’s lips. She gently sucked his lower lip, then slid her wet tongue through the gap that naturally opened between his teeth. The taste grew deeper each time.

“Phew.”

After indulging in him for a long while, Anne let out a regretful sigh.

“I don’t want to stop here...”

“...”

Gyeoul felt the same.

But even setting aside the hour, they could not make love in a field tent like this. Someone might come by at any moment. Even if it came out that the two of them were lovers, it would still be a scandal that drew condemnation.

Anne pulled away from Gyeoul and spoke as if making a vow.

“Still, we’ll have a chance. I’ll be staying here until at least tomorrow.”

“Won’t you be busy?”

“No matter how busy I am, you think I can’t make thirty minutes?”

“...Thirty minutes?”

As Gyeoul tilted his head, Anne smiled like a mischievous child.

“Yes, thirty minutes. A different experience can be nice sometimes, can’t it?”

Gyeoul did not dislike this side of Anne. She, too, had grown brighter through love. In another sense, it was trust between lovers. The belief that this person would accept him as he was. Either way, it satisfied Gyeoul.

“Then I’ll see you later.”

After their short reunion, Anne left with a promise for the near future.

Not long after, Gyeoul saw her face on the morning news. Calm and dignified. Not a trace of the sweetness she had shown a little earlier remained. On the live broadcast from the scene, the caption FBI Deputy Director Joanna Gibson appeared. Outside the control line, reporters followed behind her and shouted questions. She slowed her steps for a moment and turned back.

「You’re asking if it isn’t certain that Yangists are behind this? At this point, nothing has been confirmed with certainty. If you have any pride as a journalist, refrain from rash judgment. Irresponsible reporting in the style of ‘if not, then never mind’ only confuses the investigation and creates unnecessary disorder throughout society.」

Then a reporter’s sharp shout, almost like a scream, was caught by the microphone.

「Then are you saying the culprit may have had another motive?」

Anne gave a firm nod.

「We are proceeding with the investigation while keeping various scenarios in mind.」

The reporter shouted again.

「The circumstantial evidence is this clear, and you’re saying you need other evidence?! Could you perhaps be deliberately stalling for time to protect them?!」

Them. The “them” the reporter referred to naturally meant Chinese-American citizens.

In other words, the reporter was treating all of them as being in league with the Yangists.

Anne’s eyebrow twitched.

「I will say it again. Nothing has been revealed about the culprit’s motive or identity. But I will make one thing clear. This country has never once surrendered to terrorism. We will pursue this to the end. Whether it is an individual or a group, whether it takes one year or ten, we will make sure whoever is behind this terror pays the price.」

After saying that much, she added as if making a declaration.

「The outcome of this fight has already been decided. Because this is justice.」

Gyeoul felt all over again that Anne was beautiful.

But that lingering impression did not last long.

Using the lack of additional comments about the progress of the investigation as an excuse, several media outlets began denouncing the investigative authorities’ incompetence that afternoon. Even during the Boston bombing, when the investigation had moved unusually quickly, it had still taken two days before information about the culprits was made public.

One news channel even maliciously edited part of Anne’s statement and broadcast it again and again.

「At this point, nothing has been confirmed with certainty.」

How would that sort of report look to someone who only caught the news later?

At the same time, citizen reports poured in from across Pennsylvania, and suspicious-looking people were arrested one after another. But not one of those arrests was based on clear evidence. Officers who were not free of China-phobia, and sheriffs elected to four-year terms who could not avoid being tied down by name recognition, led this trend.

Footnotes:

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