CURRENT SITUATION

"Wow... you guys sure seem to be people of great importance."

Robert, still bound to the metal chair, made a gesture of greeting upon seeing all the people entering the room.

He looked curiously at all the newcomers, but his gaze focused more on a young man with light brown hair, visibly young to be part of the military force but with a cold stare like hell.

"Do you not know who you're talking to?" Suddenly, one of the officers accompanying General Kim exclaimed with annoyance.

"Are you the president? Seriously, buddy, this is getting me nervous, I have no clue who I'm talking to," Robert sarcastically responded to the officer's words.

"How dare you!"

"Stand down, Major Chen. Obviously, the boy doesn't know who we are, right?" General Kim raised his hand, silencing his subordinate while giving a serene look to the handcuffed boy.

Robert dropped the sarcastic tone and shook his head at the military man's words, showing he didn't recognize the newcomers.

"Can I see what you've deciphered?"

"Sure, no problem," the boy responded casually to the general's new question. "Although I haven't been able to decode much, it's really messed up stuff, like the Zodiac code."

Both General Kim and Director Lee leaned in to read what the boy had written.

"It seems the message is written in three parts, and the first one talks about some kind of origin, I don't know what, but it seems to be something that appeared a long, long time ago, something very ancient. The patterns that constitute the graphemes also have sub-patterns, really messed up stuff."

On the paper, the boy had drawn the first three graphemes in a huge size, respecting the small sub-patterns by which they were constituted.

He had also cataloged each pattern and tried to fit it into an alphabetical system to try to create a readable language.

"Did you use... Germanic Celtic? How do you know that language?" Director Lee was genuinely curious to see how the boy had written some of the runes of the ancient language.

"It's not a big deal, they appear in several video games like GOW, as well as many online games based on that theme," the boy replied lightly, shrugging his shoulders.

However, General Kim and Director Lee exchanged a glance for a moment, knowing this wasn't as simple as it seemed.

"And their respective research units had worked at full capacity, with all the nerds they could find in universities and technological institutes, to decipher that message! Did none of them think of using that language? Of course they did! But they hadn't gotten anything.

But here was this ordinary boy, apparently, who in a few hours did with just pencil and paper what their best analysts, equipped with the best computers, couldn't do in over two days! 'What a prodigious mind!' was what crossed the minds of both old leaders.

"Is this some kind of test to admit me into a government program? It seems like what the FBI does in North America to recruit people with great analytical skills."

Everyone in the room fell silent, waiting for the two heavyweights to say something.

"First, I apologize for the rough manner in which we've proceeded in your interrogation, but the circumstances of the case warrant it."

After a while, the NIS director spoke calmly, as if trying not to provoke hostility with the boy.

He gestured with his hand, and immediately one of his men placed a large suitcase on the table. He opened it, revealing a kind of monitor and keyboard, like a laptop.

"What we're going to show you is something that you may not take very well," the NIS agent spoke as he entered a code on the keyboard and activated the screen.

[Among other news, KMA spokesperson Jin Ha-Kyung announced that the terrifying lightning storm that occurred early yesterday morning, which has caused various infrastructural damage in several parts of the country and abroad, is very likely an isolated strange event as there are no indications that such a thing could happen again, however, precautions are recommended...]

The beautiful presenter on the screen was announcing information about the event that occurred in the early morning, an event that not only affected the country but all neighboring regions as well.

Images and videos from various sources showed how the population had experienced this severe storm. From homemade recordings made with cell phones to security cameras from different institutions, every minute of the event was captured.

"Look, Lieutenant, I told you the whole sky had gone to hell! See? I was right, and you didn't want to believe me," Robert called out to Lieutenant Kang with a smile, pointing at the screen. "And as I said, it was one of those lightning strikes that hit me! Luckily, I wasn't injured."

Lieutenant Kang remained silent at these words, as it was not the moment to reprimand him for his childish reaction.

"Yes, it's true, it seems you were telling the truth," Director Lee spoke as he took a step forward, opening a folder with several sheets inside. "But that's not what we've come to tell you."

The boy looked puzzled at the old man's words but said nothing and waited for him to continue.

"When you woke up, you underwent a first interrogation. You were asked many questions such as your name, your family members' names, your home address, your occupation, names of friends, and more."

"And I answered all of them truthfully, right? That's why I'm hooked up to this stupid spy machine, I suppose you verified all that information," Robert replied.

However, the old Director Lee just smiled faintly.

"For the second interrogation, you were asked general knowledge questions, such as the name of the current president, some ministers' names, names of streets in the capital, provinces in the country. You were also asked about popular culture... after this, you were asked to answer the questions from the first interrogation again, correct?"

"Damn, yeah, that was the toughest part. For a moment, I thought the lieutenant was a professor instead of a military man, it felt like I was about to take an entrance exam for Seoul University," Robert responded sarcastically to the relaxed tone with which the old Director Lee spoke to him, but the atmosphere was far from jovial.

The NIS director said nothing, and his face no longer showed the friendly smile he had earlier. He walked over to where the briefcase was and pressed a button on the keyboard.

Suddenly, a photo of a person, a middle-aged man in an executive suit, appeared on the screen. Everyone in the room recognized him instantly, only the handcuffed boy furrowed his brow when he saw it.

"Can you tell me who this individual is?" Director Lee asked.

"The interrogation was supposed to be over, right?" Robert responded somewhat annoyed. "No, I truly don't know him. Is he some famous businessman?"

Everyone looked at the polygraph screen, which did not indicate any anomalies.

"All South Koreans are supposed to know him, as he is Moon Joo-jin, the current president of South Korea."

"Huh? Is this a joke? That's not the president," Robert quickly responded, with great certainty.

Everyone re-examined the polygraph screen, which again showed no anomalies.

The old Director Lee said nothing and pressed a key again.

"[... I hope the South Korean people do not let themselves be deterred by these adversities and respond with great strength, as we have always been characterized. Thank you very much...]"

Suddenly, a video appeared in which the man from the photo was standing at a podium and giving some sort of official message to dozens of journalists, who stood up and tried to ask him questions.

"[... President Moon, President Moon, please answer some questions for NBS! It seems the president of the republic will not be answering questions at this time, back to the studio...]"

"What the hell... is this some kind of joke?" The boy's face showed a range of complex emotions at this moment.

The old NIS director pressed a key again, and the screen changed once more, now showing a photo of a middle-aged woman with foreign features, slender build, and apparent tall stature.

"Do you know this woman?"

"The president thing was a joke, right? Because that's a damn good joke."

Robert didn't respond to the old man's question and instead asked one of his own, but no one answered him. Everyone continued giving him unfriendly looks, as if to tell him that none of this was a joke.

"I don't know her either. Is she the First Lady or something?" the boy replied sarcastically, but there was already a hint of anxiety on his face.

"No, she's not the First Lady. She's Angela Marcel, the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany," Director Lee pressed another key, and now a video appeared showing the woman giving a speech in a grand setting, as if in a congress camera of some country.

"No, no, no, this is a tasteless joke!" The boy visibly agitated as the polygraph screen began to resonate.

"It's not a joke, Robert. It's reality," the NIS director pressed another button, and suddenly an image from a civil file appeared.

"Wait... this is... no, don't screw with me!" The boy finally became agitated upon seeing who this file belonged to.

"As you can see, it says here that Lee Hee-soo, 42 years old, originally from Seoul, is single, has no children, and currently lives in Busan," The boy tried to stand up, but it was in vain, as his waist was chained to the metal chair, which was embedded in the floor.

"Get these stupid chains off me, I've had enough of this shit, I want you to release me now!" With a roar, the boy shouted angrily, as the polygraph went crazy.

Undeterred, Robert tried to stand up again, apparently using all his strength.

Squeak!

At this moment, the chair creaked for a moment, as if part of it had bent due to the force the boy was exerting!

It is worth noting that this chair was designed to prevent an average human from escaping, even if they were a special agent!

This caused almost everyone present to open their eyes in surprise at the display of strength!

NIS agents quickly surrounded the table and held the boy firmly against the chair so that he would not move any further.

"Let go of me, you bastards, I've had enough of this!" Robert seemed unaffected by the strength the two agents were showing at this moment, but he couldn't stand up again.

Director Lee seemed unimpressed, but he no longer had that blank look on his face. He quickly pressed another button, and the civil file of another person appeared.

At that moment, Robert stopped struggling and stared fixedly at the man's face shown on the screen.

"Vladimir Jovanovich, born in the city of Vladivostok, died in a car accident in 2005 in Russia. He never left his country, never visited South Korea."

"What?... What the hell is going on?" Robert stopped struggling, showing a truly confused face. "Why the hell are you showing me this?"

"What we're showing you isn't a joke, Robert, it's just reality... our reality," General Kim spoke.

"What we mean is that the people you consider your parents have never met, have never had a mixed-race son named Robert Jovanovich. What we mean is that you have never existed... not in this reality," Director Lee also spoke.

"What the hell does that mean?" The boy again showed a truly confused face at these words, but now it seemed to be anxiety that was showing.

"We're trying to tell you that you are the son of Lee Hee-soo and Vladimir Jovanovich, but from another reality, and that when you were hit by that lightning due to the great storm, you ended up in our reality, one where you don't exist because you were never born, because your parents never met," General Kim responded.

"That explains why, apparently, you have altered memories about public figures, because they are not the ones you know," Director Lee also responded.

For a moment, no one said anything, only the beeps of the polygraph that were gradually normalizing could be heard.

The boy's face went through multiple emotional states, in the end only showing a kind of mocking smirk, as if all of this were a bad joke.

"Holy shit."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Well, what are we going to do about this situation?"

In the midst of a large and modern office, several people were discussing a serious matter. The design and decoration, as well as all the trophies and military titles seen here, denoted strong patriotism towards the government.

On one side sat Director Lee Byung-hong and three of his agents, positioned on spacious furniture. On the other side, General Kim Geun-joom was seated in the main chair facing a large table, indicating that this was his office. Two of his officers stood beside him on each side, and two more were stationed at the main door.

Lastly, both Lieutenant Kang and Ijin stood silently on one side of the room, their ranks not sufficient to be present here.

"If he were a military asset, I would let General Kim decide how to handle the situation with the boy... but unfortunately, he is not," Director Lee spoke with a relaxed but slightly sarcastic tone, which was noted by everyone present in the room.

'This old man... it's clear what he wants,' Lieutenant Kang knew the director of the NIS's intention.

"That's true, Director Lee. This boy is not a member of the military, but he's also not under your jurisdiction. He is, as far as we know, a civilian," General Kim responded calmly.

"I understand that, General Kim, but you must grasp that this boy's situation is unprecedented. As far as we know, Robert Jovanovich-Lee is not a registered citizen of the country; he's technically someone who doesn't exist," Director Lee's words quickly countered the general's speech, increasing the tension in the room.

And it was no wonder, as at this moment they were discussing the fate of our protagonist.

"This is not akin to what happened with young Yu Ijin here present, who is indeed a citizen of our nation... at least of this reality. We turned a blind eye to the fact that the military retained a teenager trained to be a mercenary, even considering reintegrating him into society as a normal citizen with his still existing family. However, the situation with young Robert is completely different."

"!" The words of the old Director Lee initially set off alarms for Lieutenant Kang, but the next moment he recovered. He knew that Ijin's information was classified, but for someone of his caliber, it wouldn't be an obstacle.

Thanks to the influences that Lieutenant Kang's family had, he managed to meet with General Kim and coordinate Ijin's stay in his unit, and later ensure his return to his family and attempt to lead a normal life.

However, the meaning of his words conveyed a hidden message.

Was the NIS planning to use Ijin and turn him into one of their agents? That would have been most likely; however, it wasn't a priority for the intelligence agency. Ijin was a good prospect, but not something the old Director Lee would fight for.

It wasn't proven, but it was said that the NIS had several agents with versatility and skill almost monstrous, almost on par with what Ijin showed, which was why Lieutenant Kang was sure he could give his subordinate a good return to normal life.

"But what Director Lee is openly suggesting right now is challenging even what the powerful General Kim says!"

It should be understood that within military, governmental, and even civilian order, the figure of the Commander-in-Chief was better viewed, even above the President himself, so trying to challenge him would earn you a label as Public Enemy Number One of South Korea.

Only an individual like the Director of the NIS would dare to do that.

But why the hell would old Director Lee do this?

"Director Lee, I know very well that your intention is founded on seeking what's best for our people, believe me, I know that, but for that reason, I will not hand over this boy for you to dispose of as you please."

"Shit!" was all Sergeant Kang could think in these moments.

Just a short while ago, Director Lee was willing to fight for custody of the mixed-race boy, but with these words, General Kim seemed to have accepted his challenge!

If it had been at another time, Lieutenant Kang would have been amazed by the actions of these two old dinosaurs.

However, now that it had almost been confirmed that this individual was someone from another reality, things had completely changed!

Aside from the fact that he came from another reality, Lieutenant Kang knew that these old monsters were fighting for the future potential that this boy had!

Although the lieutenant didn't know what the hell that critical paragraph, which the boy managed to decipher a few letters of, meant, he knew that if both old leaders showed such interest in it, it must be something of capital importance!

Add to that the physical prowess the boy had displayed. Even though it was only for a few seconds, everyone in the room could see that in a state of fury, this boy exhibited immense strength—something a regular human couldn't do!

He was like a rough diamond ready to be polished!

And best of all, at least for these two old men, no one could claim anything because, theoretically, this boy doesn't even exist.

"It's not that I want to do as I please, General, I'm just saying this boy's nature needs to be studied in more detail. We must seize every piece of information this boy can provide us, as well as explore every capability he may show."

"And does that mean condemning him to a laboratory table?" General Kim replied again, very directly to Director Lee's words.

"You saw it too, didn't you? That brute strength... it's not typical of an ordinary human. If the boy has gained any abilities from this journey between dimensions... and if somehow we can obtain those abilities, isn't it worth investigating how we can arm our soldiers and be a force to be reckoned with in the world? Don't tell me that if he stays in the army, you'll treat him differently than I think."

General Kim fell silent for a moment, as if he had no more arguments against Director Lee's insidious words.

The atmosphere became truly tense at this moment, so much so that even Ijin himself began to feel uncomfortable!

And it was no wonder, as the companions of both old monsters were now engaged in a sort of staring battle, where the auras of each soldier seemed to become visible!

The three agents that Director Lee had brought were no ordinary men. They weren't even special agents; they were individuals unknown to the world, men who surely came from the deepest quarries of the NIS, people with monstrous strength and optimal capabilities that surpassed all human limits.

However, the officers guarding General Kim were not ordinary officers either but super soldiers who could kill any special forces soldier with their bare hands!

Both sides were showing some of their best cards!

Therefore, even Yu Ijin, the teenage mercenary who had been trained in hell itself until achieving success, could feel his body reacting to the presence of these individuals, making him uncomfortable.

Rin, rin, rin!

Just when poor Lieutenant Kang was about to take a breath due to the invisible pressure he felt, the main office phone started ringing.

"Kim Geun-joom speaking. Who's calling? ... Oh, Mr. President, a pleasure to hear from you."

Everyone in the room raised their eyebrows knowing who was calling General Kim.

However, Director Lee frowned, feeling that this was something that could ruin his moment. Until now, he had all the arguments to be able to keep the mixed-race boy, which would benefit him greatly. His mere existence was already a gain for the NIS if he could employ him appropriately.

The brat mercenary was once a promising prospect, but having living relatives and being closely tied to General Kim's people made him difficult to obtain, so Director Lee preferred to give up on acquiring him, even before his fate was decided.

But the case of the boy from another dimension was a completely different matter.

Everything his body had experienced would be an endless source of information for their scientists, as well as his great capacity to analyze different problems, such as the cryptic code, of which he had already deciphered a small part.

And not to mention that his sudden and immense strength alone was reason enough to not let him go!

However, as fantastic and promising as this was, it didn't seem enough to want to fight tooth and nail to obtain his custody.

While everyone thought this discussion was based on what the boy had shown, the two great leaders were fighting for something else.

Both General Kim and Director Lee had truly shocking information, something that had been provided by the medical and research service, which had analyzed all parameters of the boy's body.

Something that could turn the whole world upside down!

Even those top-tier world powers would try at all costs to have a piece of the boy, no matter the cost!

And so the director of the NIS was willing to play all his cards, seeming to have already succeeded. But this call from the president changed everything!

"Yes, he's here with me... of course, I'll pass you over," General Kim stopped speaking and extended the handset towards Director Lee. "The president wants to speak with you, Director."

Director Lee simply reached out and took the receiver.

"Lee Byung-hong here... yes, Mr. President, I appreciate the recognition... yes, sir, but... I understand, sir..."

With each word President Lee uttered, Director Lee's face turned to stone, erasing all traces of emotion. By the time he finished speaking, his cold eyes glanced momentarily at General Kim, then he closed them.

Without saying a word, he stood up and began walking towards the room's exit, followed by his three subordinates. Before leaving, he stopped and turned to look at everyone present.

"I hope you know what you're doing, General... I hope I'm wrong and this isn't just a whim of yours, otherwise, the country will pay a very high price."

And without waiting for any response, he turned to leave the room immediately.

"Well... I think that turned out well, at least for us," the room, which had fallen silent for a moment, resonated with the voice of the general.

"General Kim... What was all that?" Lieutenant Kang asked somewhat hesitantly, as if afraid to pose this question.

"Ah... this was a negotiation between Director Lee and me, and it seems I've won. Nevertheless, we need to prepare for any inconvenience."

"Excuse me, General, but what did the president say to Director Lee? And what are we supposed to prepare for?" Lieutenant Kang asked again.

General Kim paid no heed to the lieutenant's words; he simply stood up and began walking towards the exit.

"Come on, it's been a reasonable amount of time for our new tenant to calm down; it's time to tell him what his fate will be."