
Geck! Geck! Geck!
Contrary to his handsome appearance, a man in his mid-thirties with thick dark circles under his eyes was typing something in panic.
Looks different, a smartphone that is transparent like glass.
Something could be heard through the ears of the man who seemed to be talking to someone as his lips moved.
[Sir. Lee Myeong's. Autonomous driving mode has been cancelled due to vehicle jamming time. Please put both hands on the wheel.]
AI words in the vehicle he was driving.
“Cih, what generation are we? Shouldn't there be an autonomous mode just for driving in peak hours!”
The man groaned.
Autonomous driving modes for cars have been commercialized since 2026.
Some manufacturers are ambitiously introducing their self-driving cars with the approval of the government, but no matter what car, accidents cannot be prevented.
Despite numerous sensors mounted into the vehicle and the development of advanced vehicle AI, autonomous driving modes cannot respond smoothly to sudden congestion or unexpected situations.
After many accidents, the government decided to limit the mode of autonomous driving.
Srr!
Lee Myeong closed the transparent smartphone on his left wrist.
And what should have been a phone wrapped around his wrist.
"Sighs."
As the flexible transparent smartphone device wrapped itself around like a watch, Lee Myeong sighed as he grabbed the steering wheel.
He tried to go to the Shenyang City Public Security Bureau (City-level Chinese State Police Agency) as early as possible. Still, it was his fault for the delay in the Academy of Sciences.
It was rush hour, so there were a lot of cars on the road.
“I have to be fast. Director will nag me.”
The Director is the head of the Public Security Bureau.
Even though his boss was not in front of him, that thought alone frightened him.
Step over!
With strength in his right foot, he stepped on the gas.
At five o'clock in the afternoon.
Even though it was February, the sky was already yellowing with all the cold around them.
With that, the sun goes down.
Passing through the forest of buildings and moving over the overpass, which was on top of a small building, he saw a large wall in the west.
Gray walls, full of repair marks here and there, surrounded the entire city.
This wall is known as the Gate Barrier.
“Ah, this is very frustrating.”
Whenever Lee Myeong looked at the wall, her heart would ache.
That giant barrier was the proof that made him and others realize how insignificant and powerless humans are in the world today.
"It's been twenty-eight years."
Twenty-eight years have passed since the First Dimension Gate, referred to as the worst day in human history, opened.
It was the worst year in history, in which one-fifth of the world's population was wiped out.
In fact, humanity could suffer more damage.
However, the moment the power hidden behind mankind appeared like the sun, the damage was kept to a minimum.
Shh! Nah!
He took out a pack of menthol cigarettes from his pocket and put one between his lips.
He would turn it on when the voice of the AI warned him.
business vehicles are non-smoking areas. Warnings or punishments may be given at a later date.
"Fuck."
It was annoying to hear that warning every time he lit a cigarette.
Since it is a working vehicle of the Public Security Bureau, AI vehicles cannot be muted.
Wean!
He lit a cigarette with a lighter, smoked a large amount of smoke to fill his lungs, and then exhaled the smoke.
“Fiuh!”
The inside of the car was filled with smoke.
Crying out!
The car sunroof opens by itself.
Smoke in the car leaks out through the open sunroof.
It sounded! It sounded!
"Shut up."
Lee Myeong relaxed his right leg and lowered his speed.
Although he was moving at a speed of 80km/h, the sound of the wind entering through the sunroof made his ears hurt.
That was.
Be-beep! Be-beep!
The smartphone on his wrist started ringing.
And the face of a woman in her early sixties with white hair was rarely seen on the car's center screen.
"What?"
The caller was none other than his mother.
"It's not time to work yet."
Wondering what was going on, he decided to connect the call via Bluetooth.
"Hello."
-my son.
"I'm still working."
you think your mother doesn't know that?
"Then what happened? If nothing important, the call will be disconnected as soon as I approach the Public Security Bureau.”
- You. You've worked there for so long. Why not just use a messenger?
"What are you talking about?"
Lee Myeong looked annoyed.
So did his mother, when she said.
I let you live as you please. Shouldn't you do the one thing your mother asked you to do? Stop by Beijing for a while and eat with Director Zhang's third daughter…
"can't. You know this is how my job works, right?”
- the...Are you planning to avoid it at any time like this?
"Whatever, I might not be able to get through the wall with Gate 26 commemorations."
- Warnings?
“Soon, there will be news and alarm in every province.”
-…..
Hearing that, Lee Myeong's mother fell silent.
Gate Alert.
It was a warning issued to residents in the places where the Gate was opened.
Because one would never know what would happen once the Gate was opened.
- Short cycle. This is Gate 26. Ha ha's.
“I'm close to Public Security Bureau. Ending calls.”
- the... I'm trusting what you said about the Bureau, but I hope you're not against your mother who arranged for you to meet 'that's' for that reason.
“Ya, yes ~!”
Hoping that he would give up, Lee Myeong replied with a smile.
But, uh,
director Zhang worked hard to persuade her, so head to Beijing after the warning was removed. Get a phone number and messenger ID, and make an appointment.
"Hhhh!"
His face was shattered instantly.
He must have said that he did not want to have a conversation in the envoy, but that was how he talked about it again.
He was at a loss for words when he said that.
do you not remember where you came from?
His mother ruled over him.
- Listen mother. You are 36 years old. How long do you plan to spend your life in vain as a single man? I'm just thinking about…
“Haa”
Due to his constant scolding, the man inhaled the half-burned cigarette deeply.
'For me?'
Not everything.
He was a child who moved out of his home.
If he wants to get married, he will get married when he sees a woman.
'What's this? Some clan guild ... shit!'
Although he had a rough mouth, he could not make himself curse in front of his mother.
Still, he's upset.
anyway, listen to your mother. I wouldn't sit idly by if this didn't work. If this time does not work as well. hiks, it would be nice if you can freely buy a plane ticket and travel by plane like before. What kind of chaos are we facing!
"I've heard you talk about planes a hundred times."
Airplanes.
They are now symbols of the past.
His mother told him that it was possible to travel from one place to another by plane when he was young.
Thanks to that, Lee Myeong had never seen a plane.
His mother said that he had flown by plane when he was three years old, but who remembers that?
you always treated your mother as a parent. All because you do not know how comfortable an airplane is!
"Yes yes. Is correct. If you can move in the sky, yes, yes. The days when man ruled the heavens are long gone.”.
For a moment, Lee Myeong stopped talking.
He doubted his eyes.
Something just fell from a skyscraper.
'What was that?'
It was so far away that he could not see it clearly, but 'something' fell from the sky.
- What are you talking about .. girl!
The phone disconnected, and a Public Security sign appeared on the middle screen.
And he heard a familiar voice from a member of the Public Security Bureau's Information and Communication Team.
this is the Public Security Bureau Information and Communication Team. An unidentified flying object had just crashed in the middle of 2nd Avenue in Tie Xi Qu.
"Flying object?"
The street he walked on was 5th Avenue.
Real close.
Then, the information was about what he saw.
If a flying object falls from the sky, then it could or would have nothing to do with the Gate.
public Security Police and members near 2nd Avenue must remain armed when understanding the situation.
Maybe he's out of luck.
It all happened on his journey.
"Damn it, the Gate alarm doesn't even sound, but what's going on?"
While grunting, he pressed the red and blue buttons at the top of the middle panel.
And then there was a siren from the left side of the white RV he was driving.
Wee-woo! Wee-woo!
The siren sounded, and he turned the steering wheel to the side.
There's only one good thing that comes from ringing the siren officially.
Even though the road was being congested, he would get a free pass to move.
Lee Myeong spoke while pressing the speaker button on the center panel of the car.
“This is Lee Myeong, the 3rd team leader of Shenyang City Public Security Bureau. On the way to 2nd Avenue.”
- Understood.
As soon as he heard that, he removed his finger from the speaker button and stomped the gas towards the road where the car began to split like a red sea.
He's not too far from 2nd Avenue.
And it's clear where this unknown thing fell.
Woong!
Where people gather.
There were three Public Security Police Vehicles coming.
Nah!
Lee Myeong got out of the RV and took out her ID as she looked at the crowd.
"All this curiosity."
It can be dangerous if it is related to the Gate. However, it was strange how people gathered.
If the fallen were a level 5 dangerous object from the Gate, everyone gathered could be in a life-threatening danger.
There was not a single person there who could protect ordinary civilians.
'Crazy bastards. Get a little to gather. What are they doing?'
Upset, Lee Myeong yelled at the people.
“Public Security. Move over! Move over!"
Woong!
However, apart from the shout, not a single person backed away, and they all concentrated on that mysterious thing.
With a cell phone in their hands, not a single person could record a video.
'Is a video jammer used?'
The world today is the world of web media.
Anyone can take a photo or video with their cell phone, which is why the government and the Public Security Bureau take special measures to create signal interference in such situations.
And the phone that is hit by the jammer will automatically delete the content that has been recorded at that moment.
Click!
The phone on his wrist was also turned off.
It was an impossible task for the local government of the union, but it was possible for the great Chinese government, the People's Republic of China.
Thanks to that, it is possible to avoid the dissemination of information.
"There's nothing to do when it's crowded like this."
It seemed difficult to penetrate the large crowd, and he had to wait until the Security Task Force came.
'But I can't stay still when such a dangerous object is lying around.'
If this thing is dangerous, people should evacuate before anything happens.
Lee Myeong rushed through the crowd and entered the mostly empty space.
To check with his own eyes what those people saw…
'Eh?!'
Lee, who was very nervous, was disappointed.
And then muttered.
"What'sthis? What's wrong with her clothes?”
A young man with long black hair and a very handsome face with pale skin.
He was wearing a black robe, more like a dark robe that people would see in a historical drama, and his appearance, well, the man did not seem frightened about the people around him.
'Are they filming a historical drama?'
Funny how nervous he was to think that it would harm people.
There was no unidentified flying object other than the man who looked like he was from a different era.
Click!
One of the four police officers in indigo uniforms, who pointed their guns at the young man, pulled the handcuffs from his wait.
There's a police officer nearby.
The two of them carefully approached the ancient young man.
In response, Lee Myeong approached two police officers who pointed their guns at the young man and showed his police ID.
The officers bowed slightly, not lowering their weapons from the unknown man.
That was because Lee Myeong was of a higher rank.
“I am Lee Myeong, leader of the 3rd team of the Shenyang Public Security Bureau violent crime squad. It is reported that an unidentified object has fallen here. So, why are you pointing your guns at unarmed citizens?”
He could not understand it, of course, the man was dressed strangely, but it was strange how they aimed their weapons at innocent citizens.
At that time, said one officer.
"Inspector. Here it is.”
"Him?"
"The unknown flying object that fell from the sky was this ancient man!"
“Omong empty what..”
That was.
Before he could even scream, something unexpected happened.
the piece!
“Kuak!”
One of the officers who approached the young man in old-fashioned clothes to handcuff him fell down as if he was in some action scene in a sitcom.
Thump!
“Kuak!”
It seemed like he was in too much pain to get back up.
"Dirt!"
Another officer tried to handcuff the man's arm, but his wrist was pinched.
Nah!
"Huh?"
The crack!
Both of his eyes widened hearing the sound of bones cracking.
“Kuaaaak! My hands!"
The officer's right arm, which was trying to handcuff the young man, twisted strangely.
The arm will not bend properly, straighten properly, and bone, bone protrudes through the elbow.
“Kyaaak!”
“Hiik!”
“I-His bones sticking out of his elbow!
Even the citizens who were all watching him shouted nervously at what they saw.
"What's this?"
Yummy!
Lee Myeong, who was yelling at officers for pointing their guns at innocent citizens, pulled out his gun and pointed it at the young man.