After the Divorce, I Found a Thousand Bitcoins - Chapter 125

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I Got Divorced and Found a Thousand Bitcoins Episode 125

The mountains of the Nakdong Spine were connected, albeit on a small scale.

Therefore, if a fire broke out, it had a structure that could spread widely across the mountains.

Normally, before a forest fire spreads, one could simply block the intermediate passages.

But this time, that wasn’t possible.

“The forest fire is spreading too fast!”

“Due to the dry weather, the flames are not being contained!”

Disaster Management Headquarters.

Lee Gi-ryong, the director, hardened his face as he listened to the incoming reports.

“I already know the flames are fast! Use every available means to stop it!”

“Understood!”

“Contact all the fire departments in nearby Busan and Gyeongju! Tell them to dispatch all available fire trucks and personnel immediately!”

“Yes!”

“What’s the situation with the helicopters?!”

“Of the 4 units stationed at Uljin Management Office, 2 have been deployed for firefighting, but the remaining two are currently under maintenance…”

“Damn it! What about the helicopters at other management offices?!”

“They’re currently preparing for takeoff. They’ll be taking off from nearby management offices in order soon.”

South Korea had a total of 200 helicopters that could be deployed for forest fire suppression.

But they couldn’t all take off at once.

They were managed by different locations and there were distance issues as well.

Moreover, due to the Russia-Ukraine war, they were experiencing difficulties in parts supply, and with many aging aircraft, only about half could actually be deployed.

“Tell them to take off as quickly as possible.”

“Understood.”

“If we fail at initial suppression, the flames could spread to other mountains. Make sure to suppress it as quickly as possible!”

“Yes!”

An ominous feeling hung over the management headquarters.

[This is news that the flames that started at Tonggo Mountain are spreading to Baekbyeong Mountain.]

[Since Tonggo Mountain and Baekbyeong Mountain are connected by the Nakdong Spine, there’s also a possibility of expansion to other mountains.]

[The Disaster Management Headquarters, serving as the control tower, has begun rapid response through close cooperation with related departments…]

The forest fire news dominated all the news.

Kang Hyeon also checked the news from the chairman’s office while examining the map displayed on his monitor.

‘The black light is spreading rapidly.’

The flames that started at Tonggo Mountain had spread to Baekbyeong Mountain.

But the black light had already passed Baekbyeong Mountain and was flowing along the Nakdong Spine.

‘This means the Disaster Management Headquarters will fail at forest fire suppression. Is it a lack of manpower? Or is there another reason?’

The Disaster Management Headquarters’ response was quick.

All firefighting personnel from nearby areas had been dispatched for forest fire suppression, and helicopters were airborne.

Yet the fact that the black light hadn’t disappeared meant it would ultimately fail.

Then, along with a knock, Kim Ha-ryul’s voice was heard.

“Chairman, this is an urgent matter to report.”

“Come in.”

The door opened and Kim Ha-ryul approached, holding out documents.

“Currently, our workers and managers, as well as Korean Labor Union protesters, are trapped at the Ulsan Construction Site.”

“They couldn’t get out?”

“Yes. It’s reported that workers and managers got trapped while trying to forcibly remove equipment from the site.”

“The equipment isn’t what’s important…!”

Equipment could just be bought again anyway.

Even though it wasn’t more important than human lives, he felt both frustrated and grateful toward those who tried to protect it.

“But why are the protesters trapped?”

“Well… it seems they were trying to use this incident as an opportunity to apply pressure.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s a kind of last-ditch strategy.”

“Sigh…!”

The mention of a last-ditch strategy made the situation immediately clear.

They probably judged that they could corner KH Group by using this crisis.

With them at the site when the flames approached, KH Group would have no choice but to enter negotiations.

It was a method that could only come from the simple thought that they could escape before it became dangerous.

‘It’s a foolish and stupid act.’

Though he found them pathetic, in the current situation, he couldn’t just blame them.

“Contact the nearby fire department and tell them people are trapped at the site. We can’t have casualties.”

“Understood.”

“And I’ll use the Aviation Asset Management Team’s office as a control tower. Please concentrate all the Group’s assets so we can see the site situation directly.”

“I’ll prepare it right away.”

Kang Hyeon got up from his seat and left the chairman’s office.

For some reason, he didn’t think this matter would end easily.

Aviation Asset Management Team.

Private jets and helicopters owned by KH Group.

It was the department that managed aviation assets.

The team manager here was Kim Won-hun, a veteran helicopter pilot.

“Kim Manager, doesn’t it seem like this forest fire will get bigger?”

All the team members were acquainted with Kim Won-hun.

That was natural since the helicopter industry in South Korea was very small.

With limited places to work, everyone was connected within one degree of separation.

Thanks to this, even though the Aviation Asset Management Team was a new team, internal unity was strong.

“It seems likely. The atmospheric conditions are too dry. Plus, due to the drought that’s lasted for months, the mountains lack moisture.”

“If initial suppression fails, it seems like the forest fire will spread rapidly.”

Before coming here, Kim Won-hun had worked at the Korea Forest Service.

Though he left the Korea Forest Service after losing in internal power struggles, in terms of piloting ability alone, he was among the top talents even at the Korea Forest Service.

The others were similar.

They were talents who had worked at the Korea Forest Service, Fire Department, or Air Force.

Even such elites would inevitably be cast out if they couldn’t blend into the organization.

Anyway, since they knew these situations well, they could also picture how to respond.

“We need to immediately mobilize all helicopters from related departments to draw water from Gwanghoe Reservoir and Dongmak Reservoir for firefighting. And large aircraft like the S64 should move to Andong Lake or Imha Lake for water supply, then the flames can be contained.”

“There’s talk that Gwanghoe Reservoir has become shallow due to recent drought.”

“Still, with water supply possible from three locations, it should be sufficient. The question is whether the control tower can give these instructions quickly.”

In such large-scale disaster situations, the most important thing was the control tower’s decision-making ability.

Since multiple departments move at once, close cooperation was necessary.

In the past, due to the absence of such a control tower, damage would increase when disasters occurred.

That’s why the government created the Disaster Management Headquarters.

As a control tower to catch disaster situations early.

The problem was that when many related departments were involved, response would inevitably slow down even with a control tower.

Moreover, if there were power struggles between departments, it would be even worse.

“With idiots at the top who engage in power struggles even during disasters…”

Kim Won-hun gritted his teeth.

The reason he left the Korea Forest Service was also because he was fed up with the stupid orders from above.

“Plus, there’s another problem. Due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the aircraft probably haven’t been properly inspected.”

The helicopters our country possessed were made up of various nationalities.

However, most of the main aircraft models were Russian-made.

This was because they had merit in terms of price and performance.

The problem was that due to the Russia-Ukraine war, there were issues with parts supply, leaving many aircraft unable to receive proper maintenance.

“Our Korea Forest Service suffered from that too. How were other places?”

“At least the fire department had mostly European-made aircraft.”

“The Air Force also mainly used European or American aircraft, but I’m not sure if they’ll deploy immediately.”

The Korea Forest Service is responsible for initial response to such forest fires.

The problem was that the Korea Forest Service’s main aircraft, the Kamov, was Russian-made.

In other words, if requests for cooperation from related departments were delayed, it would become difficult to contain the forest fire.

“This could become a headache.”

But there was nothing they could do.

Right now, they belonged to a private company, not the government.

All they could do was watch the news and assess the situation.

Just then, the office door opened and Kang Hyeon entered with his secretaries.

“Chair… Chairman?”

The startled team members stood up from their seats and showed respect.

Kang Hyeon raised his hand toward the team members to acknowledge their greeting and approached Kim Won-hun.

“Manager Kim.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“How much time would be needed to deploy to the area where the fire is currently occurring?”

“…Deploy?”

“Yes. It seems our people are trapped at the scene and unable to get out. This is an operation to rescue them using the S64.”

“It’s possible. However, there are procedures for that. Even though our team completed the basic procedures when we were formed, since this is currently a disaster situation, that entire area would have been designated as a Temporary Flight Restriction Zone.”

When Kang Hyeon created this Aviation Asset Management Team, he had anticipated situations where they might need to deploy.

So all the necessary procedures had been completed.

The biggest problem was penetrating the Temporary Flight Restriction Zone.

“What do we need to do to enter the TFR?”

“A cooperation request must come from the Korea Forest Service or Disaster Management Headquarters. Otherwise, it could be illegal.”

“Executive Director Choi.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Executive Director Choi Kyeong-min, a former lawyer, stepped forward.

“Would it be illegal for us to deploy helicopters in the current situation?”

“There’s a high possibility it would be illegal. However, we could argue using the emergency measures clause under the Framework Act on Disaster and Safety Management.”

“If it becomes illegal, what damage would we face?”

“There’s a high possibility of fines.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem then. Manager Kim.”

Kim Won-hun, who had been listening to the conversation, quickly responded.

“Yes, Chairman.”

“I will take full responsibility. Please prepare for immediate deployment. This is a time-sensitive matter.”

“Understood. I’ll prepare right away!”

Manager Kim, who had answered, hurriedly left the office with his team members.

As they walked down the corridor and got into the elevator, one of the team members asked.

“Manager, will this really be okay?”

“It’ll be fine. The Chairman said he’d take full responsibility.”

“Well, that’s…”

“More importantly, people are getting hurt. Are we just going to stand here and watch?”

“…That’s not right.”

Everyone here had once worked in rescue operations.

Naturally, they had tremendous dedication to saving lives.

“Let’s do what we need to do. We’ll leave the aftermath to the Chairman.”

“Yes.”

Seeing the team member nod, Kim Won-hun smiled.

‘I’ve belonged to many organizations, but this is the first leader to say something like that.’

Kim Won-hun had been in the Air Force before joining the Korea Forest Service.

For him, rescue operations and missions always came first.

He could even sacrifice his own life for that purpose.

But commanders always blocked him, talking about regulations and procedures.

‘This commander is different.’

He had thought that the position of group chairman meant moving for profit.

But Kang Hyeon was different.

He prioritized human lives and clearly stated he would take responsibility for any minor inconveniences that followed.

“I can follow a commander like this.”

The team members nodded at his words.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Yes!”

They departed for the scene.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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