Chapter 4

#4. Since I'm Enlisted, Let's Get a Medal (2)

After experiencing a regression that could never be explained by science or billions of simulations, I finally felt a sense of accomplishment.

"…Therefore, I award the Chungmoo Military Merit Medal to Sergeant Sung Se-ryu. April 6, 2010, President of the Republic of Korea, Lee Myung-bak."

Wearing the navy's black ceramic uniform, the boss stands as the third-highest military medal in the country is pinned to his neck.

"Really impressive, really!"

The president, whose hoarse voice is slightly irritating due to asthma, pats the boss on the shoulder with pride.

"Corporal Sung Se-ryu! Thank you."

The boss, who was promoted two ranks from private to corporal overnight, salutes the president.

It's a truly meaningless promotion and a medal that isn't particularly appreciated.

Still, there is one thing! I received money!

The boss's actions were recognized as a reward for capturing a spy ship, and as a result, he received 150 million won in prize money. It's not a lot, but it's better than nothing.

When the boss goes on leave, I'll have to use this money as seed money.

Since he is a soldier, he can't engage in business even when on leave.

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

Applause echoes from all around.

Click, click, click.

Camera flashes are going off non-stop.

I, Sera, also clap and congratulate the boss on receiving the medal.

I wonder if a medal from a country that might soon fall has any real meaning.

Zing.

In response to my congratulations, the boss just looks at me for a moment without saying anything.

The boss and the Cheonan have become war heroes.

In the original history, the incident was recorded as the Cheonan sinking, but in the current history, it is known as the "Baekryeong Sea Battle."

All crew members were promoted one rank and received the Hwarang Military Merit Medal, which is one rank below the Chungmoo Military Merit Medal the boss received.

The boss, the primary contributor to this event, received a meaningless two-rank promotion and a medal, and thanks to the six-month leave granted by the Minister of National Defense, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Commander of the 2nd Fleet, he could spend the remaining 20 months of his military service on leave.

The 150 million won in prize money for capturing the spy ship, which was transferred to the boss's account, is also a source of satisfaction.

Even though my brother's life is at stake, to be honest, I was initially frustrated by the boss's actions.

Although I, a military AI, feel familiar with the military, enlisting is still negative.

After all, the military and war are only interesting from a third-person perspective. Experiencing them directly is nothing but tragic.

Most importantly, it's two years. Two years! 24 months!

Two years with restrictions on economic activities and overseas travel mean losing opportunities worth at least tens of trillions of won, beyond just the issue of money.

"Ladies and gentlemen! And citizens! Let's give a round of applause to the heroes of the Baekryeong Sea Battle, our Cheonan crew members…!"

Wow!

But looking at it this way, it's different, isn't it?

Is it because the era of hatred hasn't fully arrived yet?

The sight of comrades and citizens cheering for the boss looked good to me.

A rare genuine smile appeared on the boss's face, who was receiving camera flashes and proud gazes.

* * *

In the living room of a 32-pyeong old apartment, picture frames began to appear one by one.

Most of them are newspaper clippings of my brother and me.

All of them are my father's work.

Once one of his few hobbies, the newspaper clippings faded as the excitement over the Baekryeong Sea Battle (the original history's Cheonan sinking) subsided by summer.

Now, my articles rarely appear in the "Defense Daily."

Leaving the empty living room behind, I spent my entire leave in my room, working on the computer.

Eighteen months of leave: six months from the Minister of National Defense, six months from the Chief of Naval Operations, and six months from the Commander of the 2nd Fleet. With the navy's annual leave, I would only be in the base for one month of the remaining military service.

March 1980. The legendary private who defeated three armed infiltrators, Corporal Hwang Jung-hae, received a 12-month reward leave. I broke that record.

For this reason, I left the ship and am now transferred to the 2nd Fleet's Public Relations Office.

The problem is that while my body is in society, my status is still active duty.

In other words, I can't openly engage in economic activities like business. I can't even do it secretly.

Becoming famous as a legendary private or an SSS-level sailor, any reckless external activities would only draw unwanted attention.

So, what I'm doing now is managing the reward money from my room.

With her powerful AI, she can theoretically sweep the coins even with the limited functions available now.

However, the most important thing when developing the AI was to prohibit coin mining and financial hacking.

It's the same principle as why counterfeiting is strictly punished in any country.

Because this restriction is embedded in the AI's personality core, only financial-type powerful AIs can engage in coin mining or financial hacking.

If other specialized AIs were to do so, their personality algorithms could be damaged.

Why is she suddenly saying such low-self-esteem things?

"Thank you, I'm actually glad you're a logistics specialist AI."

I replied to Sera, half-sincerely and half-flattery.

Usually, I would ignore such nonsense, but if I don't calm her down now, it will be troublesome.

After regressing and escaping from the constraints of Ultron and Gaia, Sera became a free AI, which means she can become a very scary AI when she gets upset.

My response seemed effective as Sera's expression, floating like augmented reality, brightened.

Shi-re... At this point, it's hard to tell who's the boss.

Still, since we're doing this, let's do it properly.

"Money is just a tool to achieve a goal. You are the only one who can do what money can't."

Theoretically, Sera has data to manufacture everything from nanobots to spaceships.

She can also create materials and sources for alternatives in extreme situations through deep learning.

Before the regression, 70% of Sera's abilities were sealed.

The abilities allowed to me, a small-scale entrepreneur, were limited to level 2.

Even at level 2, small-scale space exploration was entirely possible.

"And didn't you also unlock the level restrictions during the regression?"

[Probably.]

"What do you mean, 'probably'?"

[I don't know... The lock seems to be off, but I can't level up well from level 3.]

"Is it the quantum computer that contains the domain and computational system?"

[Probably.]

"Did you figure out what's wrong with the quantum computer?"

[I'm still running simulations, but it's not clear yet.]

"Is the computation not enough?"

[So, I'm borrowing a little computation from all the PCs in the world, like collecting spirit stones!]

"Ah..."

If she wants to expand her specialization to finance and management, she needs to become a super AI like Gaia.

To do that, she needs to reach level 5 and trigger an intelligence explosion.

Originally, to unlock the highest level 5, the approval of the Ultron board, the Earth Integrated Government Secretary-General, and Gaia was required.

But all these restrictions on Sera were lifted with the regression.

Now, with sufficient energy sources and facilities (quantum computer), she can wield the powers of level 5.

"Don't be too hasty. We have plenty of time. Let's take it step by step."

I activated the tiny ego and benevolence within me to deal with Sera.

But as I continued, Sera's eyes gradually turned cold.

What's wrong? Why is she doing this again?

Sera then crossed her arms and spoke sternly, like an interrogating detective.

But looking at her attire, she doesn't look like a detective at all.

She used to wear her Sera uniform in the military, but now, wanting to look like she's on leave, she's wearing sweatpants and slippers, looking like a typical unemployed person.

And if you look closely, it's all a joke. The corners of Sera's mouth, which she was trying to make look stern, were forming a small, barely visible curve.

"Sigh."

Referring to the big data related to Sera, there are two best ways to handle this situation.

One is to ignore it, and the other is...

"Sera, did you send that?"

[That?]

Changing the subject.

* * *

The first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service received an email with an unknown sender.

The sender's email address and account were created using an 80-year-old man's account.

"What... is this?"

The important thing is the content of the email.

"Who is this? Who sent this...?"

Even a human intelligence agent operating in North Korea or China couldn't obtain such precise information.

'It's information deliberately leaked from inside North Korea. An internal power struggle?'

Clearly, that's why it was sent from a disposable account.

The first deputy director thought that a North Korean internal faction, hoping the operation would fail, deliberately leaked the information to South Korea.

"Baekryeong Island... Just like with the Cheonan. Are these bastards up to something? Even for the successor's achievements, there's a limit."

The first deputy director clicked his tongue.

A short while later, he neatly organized the North Korean military's Baekryeong Island artillery attack plan and rushed to the NIS director.

That evening, an emergency NSC meeting was convened at the Blue House.