Chapter 035: What Must Be Done (4)
Ga-eul finally lost her patience with the mysterious game of twenty questions.
"Then what is it?"
"I don't know either. But..."
"But?"
"Maybe it's because Assemblywoman Kim Ga-eul is pretty enough to be an idol."
Ga-eul glared at Aide Yoo.
"I told you not to say things like that."
Aide Yoo spoke seriously.
"That's also a weapon and an advantage."
"Don't you know the saying, 'Know yourself and your enemy, and you will not be endangered in a hundred battles'?"
Ga-eul still looked displeased.
"If he decided something like this because of my looks instead of my ability, I'm seriously going to get angry."
Aide Yoo spoke as though calming her down.
"Hahaha. Assemblywoman, I'm joking."
"I actually think it may be for roughly the same reason that I chose you."
"The reason you chose me?"
"Yes."
Aide Yoo had received offers from many far more powerful lawmakers.
But he had deliberately chosen Kim Ga-eul, a first-term proportional representative.
He had said he chose her because she had a sincere desire to change the world through politics, along with ideals that matched that desire.
Aide Yoo spoke like a father worrying about his daughter.
"If you want to grow your dream as a politician, you need to grab even a rope that comes to you by chance."
"That's how you climb higher."
"I understand what you're saying."
"This case has a proper cause behind it."
"That's enough."
"And in my opinion, it would benefit you to maintain a good relationship with Director Choi."
"He seems like a better person than I expected."
That last sentence made Ga-eul think more deeply.
After thinking for a long time, she finally smiled brightly.
"Aide Yoo. Thank you for the advice."
"That's what aides are for. No need to thank me."
On the drive home, Chief Jang asked Hee-soo,
"Should I hand over all the information we've gathered?"
Hee-soo shook his head.
"No."
"I think they'll be able to find better evidence than this themselves."
"Chief Jang, you have something else to do with me."
"Something else?"
"Yes. I want Suseong Safety to become an official partner of the National Fire Agency and begin working with them."
"I need you to handle that."
"That's easy enough. If we ask the Minister of the Interior and Safety, it can be arranged."
"Yes. Please take care of it."
"I'm a little uncomfortable meeting the minister personally."
"All right."
"But aren't you spending too much money on this?"
Chief Jang's words made Hee-soo flinch.
Suseong Safety hadn't produced any profit yet, but more than five billion won had already been spent.
"Did Father say something?"
"No. Not yet. But the chairman doesn't want you spending all this money while getting injured in the process."
"I don't want to get injured either."
"If I get hurt, I also attract too much attention."
"Attention isn't the important part."
"Anyway, you're having dinner with your mother today, right?"
"Yes. I'll eat with Mother and Father."
"Good. Let's get you home."
"Madam is going back tomorrow. You should see her as much as you can before she leaves."
"Yes."
Hee-soo's apartment in Hannam-dong.
The living room, study, and every other corner were completely covered in clutter.
His hollow eyes clearly showed his exhaustion.
"Haah. This is exhausting."
"There's too much to do."
"At least I can survive while sleeping only one hour a day..."
A 150-inch monitor hanging on the largest wall in the living room displayed Hee-soo's new project.
[Super Shield Project v0.1]
Branches extended from the project title.
Each branch showed its own progress rate.
Not a single one had passed ten percent.
Hmm. I think I've prepared enough for now.
Let's start with this.
I need to be able to see properly before I can do anything else.
After deciding what he needed to work on first, Hee-soo opened his newly prepared phone.
An app called [Hee-soo's Life] had already been installed automatically.
I never installed this, but it installed itself.
After receiving the new phone, he had also finished connecting it to his face mask.
Hee-soo's firefighting suit was practically a wearable computer.
[LV. 10]
[Remaining Lifespan: 12 Days]
[Coins: 5]
Hee-soo opened another tab and checked his ability values.
[Search Range: 300 m]
[Healing Enhancement: 1%]
[Recovery: 1-Hour Sleep Activated]
He opened the hidden tab.
[Lv. 7]
[Sleep Reduction: Recover full condition with only 1 hour of sleep.]
[Life Required to Unlock: 0 Days]
[Passive]
There seemed to be other hidden abilities as well.
However, he could only see question marks and couldn't view their details.
Are these abilities that unlock as my level increases?
While he was thinking about it, his phone rang.
"Hee-soo?"
"Yes, Chief Jang. What's wrong?"
"Sorry to bother you while you're resting, but I think you should come to Dobong."
"Dobong? Is something wrong at the lab?"
"Ah. Well... no."
"It would be better if you saw it yourself."
"I'll have a driver waiting downstairs."
"Come quickly."
"Understood. I'll be there soon."
The place Hee-soo arrived at was near the fire station.
They had recently bought land there and built a temporary structure to operate a fabrication facility.
The building was so plain that nobody would guess it was a Suseong research lab.
There wasn't even a sign at the entrance yet.
When Hee-soo entered, Chief Jang was waiting for him.
"You're here."
"Yes. Chief Jang. What's going on?"
"It's the system you ordered..."
In front of them stood a massive backpack-frame-like piece of equipment.
Hee-soo narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"What is this?"
The research director standing beside it spoke proudly.
"This is the visual-display radar system you requested, using infrared and LiDAR technology."
Hee-soo looked bewildered.
"Ah. This is it?"
"Yes. We were short on time, but we successfully miniaturized it to a size a person can carry."
Hee-soo had to make an incredible effort to maintain his poker face.
He asked again as calmly as possible.
"You expect someone to carry this on their shoulders into a fire?"
"How much does it weigh?"
"Approximately forty-five kilograms."
Hee-soo lost his words.
He stared at the equipment for a long time.
Then he spoke.
"What I was imagining was something around the size of a portable flashlight."
"Something simple enough to attach to a helmet."
The research director firmly shook his head.
"That's impossible."
"It needs power, cooling, communications equipment, and it also needs to endure extreme temperatures."
"At this size, it's actually extremely small."
He proudly puffed out his chest.
"If the U.S. military saw this, they might ask to adopt it immediately."
After saying that, he stood proudly with a confident smile.
Hee-soo almost lost control and showed his disbelief.
My current equipment is already heavy, and you want to add another forty-five kilograms?
Chief Jang asked the researcher,
"Can't you make it more compact and lighter?"
"This is the compact and light version."
"The original version was about the size of a car."
Chief Jang looked so embarrassed that he couldn't even make eye contact with Hee-soo.
He covered part of his face.
But contrary to what he expected, Hee-soo's voice sounded bright.
"Well, you've worked hard."
"For now, I'd like you to redirect this project toward mounting the system on drones or quadruped robots."
"Yes. That would be better."
"Please develop a system that can be mounted on quadruped robots or drones instead of people."
The research director's expression brightened even more.
"Actually, that's what I wanted to recommend as well."
"Even though we've made it compact and light, it's still a difficult weight for a person to carry."
"You worked hard in a short amount of time."
Chief Jang quickly looked at Hee-soo.
Only then did he understand the bright voice.
He's holding it in.
He can't blow everyone up over something like this.
Hee-soo asked again.
"How is the research on the quadruped robot and drones going?"
"We temporarily postponed those to develop this."
"What?"
Hee-soo, who had been holding himself back, came close to exploding.
Chief Jang noticed immediately and tapped Hee-soo's arm several times.
Harsh words almost came out.
Hee-soo barely managed to swallow them.
For now, he left the research center.
Once they were inside the car, Hee-soo spoke while still suppressing himself.
"Those people are all the best elites from the Giheung Research Center, right?"
"Of course. Some of them even went to the same university as you."
"Hmm."
Hee-soo had no choice but to rest his chin on his hand.
His thoughts deepened.
After a long period of thought, he finally spoke.
"Send all of them back."
"I'll use that place myself."
"Make one space where I can eat and sleep."
"Should I?"
"Then I'll transfer everyone stationed there back to the Giheung Research Center."
"Are they useful there?"
"They're the best people we have."
"Maybe I rushed them too much."
Hee-soo's head hurt.
"Didn't all of them study overseas too?"
"Yes."
"But their goals are different from yours."
"Try to understand."
"Which department made this helmet and suit?"
"We outsourced all of it."
"One company makes specialized protective clothing, and another makes specialized helmets."
"Outsourced?"
"Where are they?"
"It's pretty far away."
"They're companies in Mokpo."
"I think talking directly with them might actually be faster."
"Set up a meeting."
"All right."
Hee-soo had been using the helmet and firefighting suit without any major complaints.
It felt like giving more work to those companies might bring him closer to the answer he wanted.
A fire scene was always a continuous chain of tension.
Even a small flame could become a large fire the moment someone looked away.
And if attention slipped for only a moment, the fire could escape in an unexpected direction and strike firefighters or victims.
Villa fires were especially like that.
Inside the quiet rescue bus heading toward the scene, only the central dispatch radio could be heard.
"A fire that started in the basement is spreading rapidly."
"At the moment, we don't know exactly who was inside the building."
"According to the police, there are several elderly people living alone in the villa."
"There are eight households across four floors."
"The fire started in the basement level, so police officers have been unable to enter."
After hearing the report, Captain Gu spoke first.
"When we arrive, Hee-soo goes in first."
"It's a basement fire and is approaching the fully developed stage."
"We need to begin searching from the second floor."
"Two people per unit on the second and third floors."
"Break the doors if necessary."
Captain Gu looked at Hee-soo.
"That's fine, right?"
"Of course."
"The city will compensate for the damage."
"I'm trusting you."
Each firefighter was holding a black bar in one hand.
Even after Hee-soo said that, the deputy captain still looked worried.
"Are we really allowed to use these?"
Hee-soo answered firmly.
"Use them."
"If anyone demands compensation for property damage, we'll send every claim to the Seoul Metropolitan Government."
"Will Seoul really agree to that?"
"The current Seoul mayor is still in his first term, so it'll be fine."
"Huh? Because it's his first term?"
"If he wants to remain mayor for another term, he'll have to listen to my request."
"Otherwise, he'll have to fight Suseong and every media company connected to Suseong."
