Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 299

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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299. That… that’s a submarine!

September 17, 1996, 11 PM in Gangneung, Gangwon Province.
About 10 kilometers offshore, a dark submarine rested quietly on the seabed, its hull settled against the bottom.
The small submarine, appearing to displace less than 300 tons, was a Shark-class submarine belonging to the North Korean Ministry of People’s Armed Forces Reconnaissance Bureau.
With a length of 34 meters and a width of only 3.8 meters, the cramped hull barely allowed one to stand upright, yet it carried 19 crew members including Captain Ri Dae-hyuk.

“Captain. It’s time for the second rendezvous.”

At the words of Vice Captain Jo Chul-ho, Captain Ri Dae-hyuk checked his wristwatch and spoke.

“Understood. Bring us up to periscope depth.”
“Yes, sir.”

After issuing the order, Captain Ri Dae-hyuk turned and grasped the periscope with both hands.
At that moment, compressed air was injected into the ballast tanks installed fore and aft of the submarine, expelling the seawater that had filled them.
The stationary hull tilted slightly and began to rise slowly toward the surface.
As they approached the surface, Captain Ri Dae-hyuk pressed his eye close to the periscope and spoke.

“Start the timer.”

The moment Captain Ri Dae-hyuk raised the periscope above the waterline, Vice Captain Jo Chul-ho pulled out a stopwatch beside him and pressed the button.
He rotated the infrared-equipped periscope quickly in a full circle, scanning the surroundings, and fortunately saw nothing.
With extensive submarine experience, Captain Ri Dae-hyuk did not exceed the detection risk window and quickly lowered the periscope again.
With stubble darkening his face from days without shaving during the operation, he issued his next order.

“Good. Surface the vessel. Vice Captain, attempt communication with the infiltration team.”
“Yes, sir.”

Moments later, white foam churned on the surface as the Shark-class submarine that had been hiding beneath emerged into view.
As Captain Ri Dae-hyuk, wearing a black raincoat, opened the hatch, the salt water pooled in the conning tower poured down in a torrent.
Drenched in seawater, Captain Ri Dae-hyuk climbed the ladder and emerged onto the conning tower.
The night was pitch black with no moon—perfect for a covert approach to shore—but the waves were far too rough.
As he frowned at the violent waves, Vice Captain Jo Chul-ho climbed up beside him.

“We’ve made contact with the infiltration team.”
“Where are they?”
“They say they’re at Aninjin Beach, as agreed.”
“Hmm.”

I wanted to suggest postponing the rendezvous until the waves calmed, but we’d already failed one extraction attempt, so that wasn’t an option.
With no other choice, Captain Ri Dae-hyuk suppressed his anxiety and spoke.

“Approach the coast. The waves are rough, so tell them to watch the helm carefully.”
“Understood.”

As Major Jo Chul-ho headed below to relay the order, Captain Ri Dae-hyuk stared at the violent night sea with a hardened expression.
No matter how deep the Donghae waters ran, the seabed rose sharply near the shore, so the Shark-class submarine surfaced completely and approached Aninjin Beach where the infiltration team waited.
The Shark-class submarine, barely under 300 tons, couldn’t maintain its balance against the towering, violent waves and was pushed about helplessly.

“Damn it. Chief Engineer, increase engine output! The boat’s being pushed by the waves and losing stability!”

Captain Ri Dae-hyuk gripped the pipe overhead with one hand to keep from falling, then brought the wired hand microphone to his mouth and shouted.
The chief engineer’s troubled voice came through the speaker.

[We can’t push any harder. The engine’s old—if we increase output here, the pistons could blow.]
“Damn it all!”

The smuggled German MTU diesel engine was over twenty years old, and without timely spare parts, it constantly broke down.
If I pushed the output and the engine failed in enemy territory, it would be catastrophic, so Captain Ri Dae-hyuk couldn’t press the chief engineer further and only cursed.
As I recalled the photograph of my wife and family tucked in my service record, I silently prayed that the operation would end safely.
Suddenly the hull lurched violently to the side, and a tremendous impact struck as all internal power cut out at once.

Crash!
“Ugh!”
“Gasp!”

After some time, Captain Ri Dae-hyuk came to as he fell to the deck, blood trickling from his forehead where he’d struck his head, and he stood up.

“Ugh…”

With the emergency battery activated, red lights illuminated the submarine’s interior as crew members scattered about groaned and struggled to their feet one by one.

“Captain, are you all right?”

As Jo Chul-ho approached from the side to steady him, Captain Ri Dae-hyuk winced at the mangled interior of the hull and spoke.

“How in the world did this happen?”

Jo Chul-ho’s expression darkened as he reported the situation.

“The waves pushed the hull onto the rocks.”
“What!”

Captain Ri Dae-hyuk’s face crumpled as the dreaded scenario unfolded before him.
Forgetting even the pain of his torn forehead, he barked out urgent orders.

“Reverse immediately and get us off those rocks!”

But for some reason, Jo Chul-ho hesitated and made no move to comply.
Seeing this, Captain Ri Dae-hyuk raised his eyebrows and shouted impatiently.

“Why aren’t you executing the order immediately!”
“That’s… when we hit the rocks, the stern rudder and propeller were completely destroyed. We can’t move.”
“Is that really true?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Damn it!”

Faced with the worst-case scenario, Captain Ri Dae-hyuk squeezed his eyes shut.

At the same moment, at the ROK Army 68th Division Coastal Guard Post near Aninjin Beach in Gangneung.
Pyo Hyun-gu, a private first class on night watch with a K-2 rifle slung over his shoulder, spotted something strange floating in the water near the coast and urgently shook awake Jung Yeon-tae, a corporal beside him.

“Corporal Jung, sir. Please wake up.”
“Hmm? Is it already time for the shift change?”

Jung Yeon-tae, who had been sleeping with his back against the concrete wall of the guard post, opened his eyes with a yawn.

“No, sir. There’s something strange on the coast.”

Jung Yeon-tae, still sitting on the ground with his buttocks on the floor, answered dismissively.

“Did you just see it wrong?”
“No, sir.”

Noticing Pyo Hyun-gu’s troubled expression, Jung Yeon-tae slowly pushed himself up.

“Seriously. What’s with all the fuss? Brace yourself—it’s nothing good.”

He then turned toward the sea and picked up the infrared binoculars.

“It’s over there, three o’clock direction, a bit away from the beach.”
“What the hell is out there?”

Grumbling, Jung Yeon-tae looked through the infrared binoculars at the spot Pyo Hyun-gu was pointing to with one arm raised, and his eyes widened in shock as he spotted a submarine run aground with its dark hull half-exposed above the water.
Thinking he might have seen it wrong in his drowsy state, he rubbed his eyes and looked again, but it was unmistakably a North Korean submarine.

“What the hell. What is this?”
“It is a North Korean submarine, isn’t it?”

Jung Yeon-tae lowered the binoculars and turned his head, asking as he watched Pyo Hyun-gu, who had already unslung his K-2 rifle from his shoulder and now held it in his hands.

“How much time do you have left before discharge?”

Pyo Hyun-gu’s face showed confusion at the sudden question.

“Fifteen months and nine days remaining.”

Jung Yeon-tae then released the safety on his K-2 rifle and let out a soft chuckle.

“Lucky bastard. Less than a year of service and you catch a break like this? Your luck is absolutely insane.”
“Sir?”

Pyo Hyun-gu frowned slightly, seeing Jung Yeon-tae spouting strange remarks despite the urgent situation.

“What do you mean?”
“You ever hear the story about that private from the White Horse Division who killed three armed infiltrators and got a year’s leave?”
“Ah. You mean that legendary private.”
“Right. He caught armed infiltrators and got a year off—so if you catch a submarine instead of a spy boat, you’d get discharged on the spot, wouldn’t you?”

Pyo Hyun-gu’s eyes lit up at the word discharge, and he immediately pressed close, asking eagerly.

“Should we open fire right now?”
“Are you insane?”

Jung Yeon-tae lightly tapped Pyo Hyun-gu’s helmet with his palm.

“What are just the two of us supposed to do? We don’t even know how many of them are on that thing. We could be dead before we even make it home.”

Pyo Hyun-gu, whose enthusiasm had gotten ahead of him, belatedly came to his senses and asked with a slightly deflated tone.

“Then what should we do?”
“I’ll keep watching. You head back to the guard post and report the situation.”

Jung Yeon-tae continued to glare at the motionless submarine, muttering under his breath.

“Of all times, the intercom has to break down again. Tsk.”

The coastal guard post was originally equipped with a wired intercom connected to the guard post so that situation reports could be made at any time.
But the intercom at the post where the two of them were stationed frequently went out of service, causing headaches, and unfortunately, it was broken again today.

“Will you be alright alone, sir?”

As Pyo Hyun-gu looked at him with concern, Jung Yeon-tae let out a hollow laugh.

“Kid, do you think I’m some greenhorn? Go report this before those bastards escape. Maybe I’ll even get a medal and ride a helicopter back to my hometown.”
“Yes, sir!”

Pyo Hyun-gu nodded and hurried out of the coastal guard post.
Though he had appeared confident in front of his junior, honestly, he couldn’t deny the tension and fear coursing through him.
Left alone, the silence and darkness of the surroundings became more pronounced, and his nerves grew taut.

“Stay calm. Stay calm….”

Jung Yeon-tae took a deep breath, then released it. He pulled the charging handle and chambered a round, then examined the grounded North Korean submarine once more through his infrared binoculars.

“A submarine, no less. This is absolutely maddening.”

September 18th, 1:30 AM.
A taxi came down the road at Aninjin Beach with its headlights on, then came to a stop on the shoulder.
The driver’s door opened, and a middle-aged Taxi Driver stepped out.
He had been driving past with a passenger when he spotted suspicious men in military uniforms with short-cropped hair, and an uneasy feeling had compelled him to turn back.
As the Taxi Driver approached the shoreline, he spotted an oddly-shaped vessel run aground in the dark sea in the distance, and his brow furrowed.

“What is that?”

Just as the Taxi Driver, sensing something amiss, moved closer to investigate, a tremendous explosion suddenly erupted from the unidentified vessel.

Boom!
“Gasp!”

Startled and falling backward onto his rear, the Taxi Driver noticed in the moonlight breaking through the clouds that the grounded vessel was a submarine.

“That… that’s a submarine!”

The Taxi Driver scrambled to his feet, crying out in alarm.
He rushed back to his taxi and drove frantically toward the nearby police box.

* * *

After waking up as usual in the morning, showering, and getting dressed in clothes I’d prepared in my dressing room, I habitually pressed the remote and turned on the television.
Just then, a news flash broke through, and my hands froze as I was buttoning my dress shirt.

[The Ministry of National Defense announced that in the early morning hours around 1 a.m., a North Korean Shark-class submarine carrying multiple armed infiltrators ran aground on the coast of Gangneung, Gangwon Province. The ministry has issued a full alert to all forces and declared “Operation Jindo One,” a Level 1 emergency status in the areas under the command of the 1st and 2nd Army Commands, while launching search operations for the infiltrating armed agents. According to the Ministry of National Defense, a sentinel on duty at a coastal guard post 9 kilometers south of Gangneung discovered the suspicious object and immediately took action. Around the same time, a Taxi Driver passing through the nearby area also…]
According to a Ministry of National Defense announcement, a sentry on duty at a coastal outpost 9 kilometers south of the Gangneung coast spotted an unidentified object and immediately took action, and around the same time, a Taxi Driver passing through the nearby area also….]

“Now that I think about it, the Gangneung armed spy infiltration incident happened around this time.”

He recalled the shocking incident that had thrown not only Gangwon Province but the entire nation into chaos for over a month, claiming the lives of 4 civilians and 14 active-duty soldiers, reservists, and police officers, and stared at the television screen with a stern expression as news bulletins continued to air.

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