December 4, 2030
In broad daylight, Park Sung-jae, released from the police station’s interrogation room, took a taxi to the port. As the taxi drove, he looked at the experimental data and microbial culture samples Ko A-young had collected, stored in his bag. They gleamed brilliantly, proof that their hard work wasn’t in vain. Park Sung-jae made several calls, saying the same thing each time: “Preparations complete. Stand by in Moscow until just before Christmas.”
…
Jang Cheol-dae drove a car onto a massive cargo ferry. Jang Cheol-jin, still paralyzed and strapped to the passenger seat with a seatbelt, sat motionless. Baek Hyung-jin, in the back, scribbled in a notebook. “…Done. If we reassemble the grass grinder at a hardware store in Moscow, it’ll work again. It can’t handle digesting grass every four hours, but for the demo, we just need to show it works, so it’s fine.”
Jang Cheol-dae turned with a worried look. “…This is a problem. Buying the grinder fits the budget, but it might cut into the funds for buying land in Siberia. I’ve already spent most of my investment.” Baek Hyung-jin shrugged. “If we nail the invention demo, investors will come. We can buy land in Siberia and start cultivating grass and trees ourselves. We’ll have the early advantage.” Jang Cheol-dae shook his head. “…Still, doing this without a financial expert was reckless. Gamamusa knows a lot, but he’s not omniscient. He knows so many people—why didn’t he bring in an investor like Warren Buffett?”
“Everyone’s too loud. Let me sleep,” Jang Cheol-jin typed on a GPS screen via wires connected to his brain. Jang Cheol-dae nodded apologetically at him, then whispered to Baek Hyung-jin. “…Anyway, I want at least 30% of the shares in this venture. High risk, high return, right?” Baek Hyung-jin crossed his arms. “…We’ll discuss it. We’re a team, not individuals, so we need to compromise.” Jang Cheol-dae nodded, glancing at the trunk. The disassembled grass grinder was packed in plastic containers.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
…
“…I’ll make it by Christmas.” Gamamusa hung up Park Sung-jae’s call and looked toward Hiroshima University’s main gate. Outside, Japanese police had the area surrounded, and agents from Japan’s Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office were checking passersby. Among them were North Korean Reconnaissance General Bureau agents. “…This is the worst team-up. Of all people, the Reconnaissance Bureau? Did North Korea run out of citizens to spy on, so they came all the way here for me?” Gamamusa mocked them but kept a wary gaze. Just then, several police officers emerged from the university, carrying microbial samples.
Gamamusa clicked his tongue. “…Tch. The Japanese police aren’t idiots. They knew we’d target the microbial samples… they got me there.” The police loaded the samples onto a truck. Once all were aboard, the truck started moving. Gamamusa called Ko A-young. “…A-young, I’m watching the samples being driven away in a police truck. Looks like the female officer driving isn’t great at it. Might cause an accident.” Ko A-young whispered back. “…Don’t tease, Jung-pil. Do you know the pain of a woman my age, career interrupted, without a driver’s license?”
Ko A-young, dressed in a police uniform, was driving the police truck toward the port. The other officers didn’t suspect a thing. “…But do we really need to do this? We have plenty of E. coli in our samples.” Gamamusa shook his head. “…No. The E. coli we use comes from cow intestines and dies within hours. Jang Cheol-dae and Baek Hyung-jin couldn’t keep it alive for culturing. The samples from Hiroshima University are our only hope.” Ko A-young chuckled. “…Men are so careless.”
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