radicalducati Page 117
Page 117
However, Shen Shiya is still a bit young, so Hawke is thinking about whether to send her to school when the new school year starts.
Before the New York Police Department could clean up the mess, a large truck from the Lane Corporation was dispatched, and a group of professional mercenaries quickly and simply cleaned up the scene, collecting most of the witches' corpses for research.
The remaining ones will be left to other organizations.
With everything settled, Hawke's phone was ringing incessantly, all calls from his women, and women who weren't yet his women...
His father, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, even called to inquire about the situation and ask if he needed his father's help, which Hawke naturally refused.
He was on the phone while driving, and he talked for more than two hours straight.
As soon as Hawke put his phone down after it was over, it vibrated again.
Picking up the phone again, "A call from South Korea?"
Hawke was puzzled. Could it be Cheon Song-yi? But Cheon Song-yi had already called!
Without thinking much of it, I answered the phone.
“Mr. Hawke Lane.” A calm but undeniably shocked female voice came through, unlike Cheon Song-yi’s cheerful tone.
"you are?"
"Hello, Mr. Hawke, my name is Bai Jing'en, and I am... the chief engineer of the Witch Project..."
“Hmm, hello,” Hawke’s tone was devoid of much emotion, as if he were just answering a regular business call.
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone. Manager Bai's usual calmness was replaced by a deliberately suppressed heaviness: "Mr. Hawke... I also watched the whole live broadcast."
She paused, as if organizing her thoughts, "Including all the effort that President Ishikawa has put in... compared to your power, it's like a snowflake thrown into a furnace. This gap... transcends the scope that the word 'disparity' can describe."
Hawke did not respond, but listened quietly, his fingers tapping silently on the steering wheel.
“I must admit,” Manager Bai’s voice lowered, almost frankly, “we severely misjudged your strength. To regard you merely as a ‘questionable tycoon’ or ‘an individual wielding some extraordinary power’ was… a fatal mistake. ‘King’… truly fitting.” She uttered the title with difficulty, “To be your enemy is not only President Ishikawa’s (Li Wang Zhao’s) obsession, but now it seems to be an act of suicide for the entire company.”
The air seemed to solidify in the electric current.
Hawke smiled slightly, imagining the worldview being reshaped and the struggles the female scientist on the other end of the phone was going through.
"President Ishikawa... has been blinded by revenge." Manager Bai's voice carried a hint of determination. "Continuing to fight is hopeless and will only drag us all into the abyss. I... do not want to see the last remaining bloodline and future of the 'Witches' buried with his madness."
She took a deep breath, as if making her final decision: "Mr. Hawke, to express my sincerity, and also to... seek a possible way out, I am willing to provide you with the exact coordinates of our headquarters."
Hawke's eyes flickered slightly: "Oh? Headquarters coordinates?"
“Yes,” Manager Bai answered quickly, with an eagerness to prove his sincerity, “It is located in…”.
211 Koreans, your American daddy is here! [Seeking flowers and subscriptions]
Supervisor Bai quickly provided a series of precise geographical coordinates and introduced the base, explaining that it was a secret base located deep in the remote mountains of an Eastern European country, heavily camouflaged and equipped with strong electromagnetic shielding.
“This is Ishikawa’s core stronghold,” Director Bai’s voice trembled slightly, “the center of all commands, the core laboratory, and the location of his last elite forces. I implore you… to consider this matter in future operations.”
Hawke listened without showing any delight or doubt, simply saying, "I understand. I appreciate your 'sincerity'."
He made no promises or indicated any next steps.
This ambiguous attitude only made Manager Bai more uneasy, yet he dared not press for answers.
“Well… Mr. Hawke… I…” Manager Bai seemed to want to say something more, perhaps to ask for forgiveness, or perhaps to seek reassurance, but in the end it all turned into a weak closing remark.
Hawke hung up the phone before she could finish speaking.
The car returned to silence, with only the deep rumble of the engine.
The moment the call connected and Manager Bai uttered his first word, Hawke's left index finger had already tapped the tiny earpiece embedded in his ear twice very lightly.
[Activated the highest priority signal tracing protocol 567. Target: Current call source.] The cold text from AI Z appeared on the connected vehicle's infotainment screen.
Manager Bai had great confidence in his communication encryption system – the "Ghost Protocol".
It utilizes multi-layered jump server, dynamic encryption algorithm, and powerful anti-interference technology to build a barrier that is almost impossible to penetrate in real time.
Any previous attempts to track her were either misled to false coordinates or detected and cut off by her during the lengthy hacking process.
However, in the face of the artificial intelligence Z, every disguise of the "Ghost Protocol" is as transparent as a mask.
Z ignored the carefully placed interference nodes, and its core algorithm directly penetrated the layers of encryption, pinpointing the physical source of the signal as precisely as if from a god's-eye view.
[Signal source analysis in progress...detaching jumper nodes...identifying underlying routes...locating the physical transmission source...]
[Target area: Suburbs of Seoul, South Korea. Precise coordinates have been captured.]
When Hawke hung up the phone, Z's final conclusion was already clear:
Location complete. Tracking proceeded undetected by the target's security system throughout.
Hawke smiled.
Bai Jing'en thought she had gained a slight advantage in the deal, but little did she know that her hiding place had been clearly marked on a map and delivered to Hawke's doorstep within just two minutes of her making the call.
“It’s a hilltop villa on the outskirts of Seoul, called Slope Villa.” Hawke stroked his chin. “First, I’ll get you sorted out! Baek Jung-eun!”
Bai Jing'en never expected that her only intention was to protect herself, but she ended up being dragged into Shi Chuan's mess. So, she willingly offered herself to Hawke as a pledge of loyalty, but she never imagined that Hawke would actually be after her...
In the afternoon, Hawke sat at home, now dressed in the king's armor, a dark gold cloak draped behind him, its flowing texture like mercury.
He had just hung up the phone with General Ross and was holding Bai Jing'en's file in his hand.
Baek Jung-eun holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Seoul National University, dual PhDs in Bioengineering and Neuroscience from the University of Liverpool, and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Stanford University. She is an Academician of the Korean Academy of Engineering, a Chair Professor at Seoul National University, and the Director of the Cellular Neuroscience Research Center at the Institute for Basic Science, Seoul National University.
The leader, one of the founders, and one of the main researchers of the Witch Project, has a solid foundation, a strong background, and knowledge of cutting-edge technology. Such a talent would be considered a top-tier genius scientist even in the Marvel Universe.
Hawke would never allow himself to remain in this tiny island nation of South Korea.
At night, Hawke, dressed in a tight-fitting suit, floated in the clouds above the hillside villa.
Suddenly, my earpiece vibrated. I answered the phone, and Ross's voice came through.
"Hawk, I've arrived in Seoul."
"General Ross is quick enough."
"Hehe, your father has spoken up this time too. He must be furious that you were attacked. The president just signed the Allied Biological Experimentation Regulations. All non-clinical medical human experiments conducted by the United States Allies must be approved by the highest-ranking U.S. military commander in the area. Furthermore, all human experiments that violate the Nuremberg Code, the Declaration of Helsinki, and the Belmont Report are prohibited."
"Therefore, their so-called witch plan is completely illegal. I am in charge of this crackdown operation. I have already notified the Blue House that all relevant personnel must appear within two hours tonight. Wait for my news."
After hanging up the phone, Hawke's smile widened.
To deal with South Korea, you don't need superpowers at all; all you need is money, and you won't be subject to public opinion pressure.
Otherwise, as an American superhero, coming to South Korea to uphold justice would attract considerable international criticism.
This is nothing to a superhero king, but the key is that he also has the identity of a major American tycoon, which makes it more sensitive.
And coincidentally, Ryan is one of the shareholders of America, so let the American daddy keep an eye on his son!
Although the Witch Project was carried out in secret for decades, nothing stays hidden forever, and the United States must have had relevant information about the Witch Project.
However, considering that there are also many human experiments conducted domestically, even by the Department of Defense, the military, S.H.I.E.L.D., the CIA, and down to various technology and biotechnology companies, a large number of human experiments on various topics are rampant in the United States—genetic modification, brain development, limb regeneration, mechanical life, nanotechnology, and so on.
So even if they knew about the Witch's Plan, they wouldn't pay much attention to it.
But the witch's actions in Manhattan clearly angered most of the American shareholders. If you can gather so many people to kill people in America, how can I not deal with you?
General Ross is a three-star general in the U.S. Army, a powerful general, and the top military officer in charge of all scientific experiment-related operations.
Its status is comparable to that of the military's S.H.I.E.L.D.
In addition, Hawke used a little bit of his financial power.
So he came to South Korea in person.
In an instant, this massive storm swept through South Korean conglomerates connected to the Witch Project.
This move, which cut off their lifeline, can be said to have severely damaged the financial backers of several conglomerates, causing them to lose all their years of hard work, money, and time, and ultimately gain nothing.
Several conglomerates, including Samsung Group, Hanmyung Group, Queen Group, Yoon Group, and JB Group, were summoned to the Blue House, leaving their executives feeling dizzy and disoriented.
212 Forceful Clearance [Seeking Flowers and Subscriptions]
The Blue House meeting, chaired by the South Korean president and General Ross, lasted for a full three hours, continuing late into the night.
Ultimately, the Witch Project, which represented the will of the Republic of Korea, was halted due to the strong stance of the United States.
The mastermind behind the scenes could only rage in vain; how could it possibly fight against the world's number one superpower, the United States?
All remaining experimental materials were handed over to the US authorities for disposal, and all staff members were detained.
The mastermind behind the Witch Project, the last high-ranking executive outside the company—Director Baek Jung-eun—was made a scapegoat, and her final fate was decided by the South Korean authorities.
After the talks concluded, Ross dispatched US troops stationed in South Korea to Seoul to make the arrest.
At that moment, the loyal Z was reporting the progress of the US military to Hawke.
"Sir, a squadron of 12 Apache attack helicopters from the U.S. Army in South Korea is heading towards the outskirts of Seoul... Slope Villa... The U.S. Seventh Air Force in South Korea is deploying 242 Marines to the area."
"Through intrusion into surveillance and internal management systems, the villa is surrounded by about 50 fully armed mercenaries year-round, and inside there is a team of about twelve witches."
The witches around Manager Bai, although all clones, are elites, equivalent to the level of Zhao Xian's squad or even Eunfi's squad.
Especially her clone of the Witch No. 0, who is probably not much weaker than Goo Ja-yoon.
It's worth noting that Zhao Xian, the leader of Zhao Xian's squad who participated in the assassination of Hawke in Manhattan, is already considered to be at an upper-middle level among the witches.
Above Zhao Xian is Eunbi's four-person team, and above that is the young master. Even stronger than the young master is the T0-level Gu Ziyun, and the No. 0 witch beside Baek Jung-eun. Above Gu Ziyun and the No. 0 witch is the true ceiling of the entire Witch Project's products—Shin Si-ah.
In terms of actual combat power, the complete version of Shin Si-ah is in a class of its own, followed by Koo Ja-yoon, while the Zero Witch and the Noble Prince are half a level below Koo Ja-yoon.
Then came Eunbi and the double-sword woman Jung Da-eun, followed by Jo Hyun and the others.
But in fact, these people are already a very successful part of the countless witch experiments. Most of the witch experiment subjects died because of the failure of the experiments. A considerable number of successful experiment subjects not only had many side effects, but the effects were also unsatisfactory, and were not as good as the effects of the super soldier serum.
But the guards around Baek Jing-eun were clearly not a bunch of useless people.
Even the weakest of the twelve witch guards would be twelve super soldiers on par with the Winter Soldier and Captain America, and most likely close to the level of the dual-wielding swordswoman Jung Da-eun and Eun-bi.
Not to mention that one of them is a witch number 0 who is comparable to Gu Ziyun.
Although this group of people doesn't have the protagonist's halo, they aren't entirely helpless either.
Just as Hawke was thinking this, Ross called.
"Hawk, if the people in the villa refuse to surrender, you take care of the witch. Whether she lives or dies is up to you. If she lives, you can take her with you; if she dies, I won't compensate you."