The Empire I Create Chapter 5

Chapter 5. The Silent Gateway

Because Jeju Island is separated from the mainland, it sustained relatively less damage from the war. People could live without wearing gas masks, and most facilities remained intact since they weren’t bombed. Expecting the war to end soon, people carried on, trading daily necessities at twice their usual price. Under Jeju’s cloudy sky, Hamin faintly caught the salty tang of the sea breeze. Yet his gaze kept shifting along the mountain roads of Aewol. The Silent Gateway—this wasn’t just a name on a map. It was the focal point of all his plans and his greatest challenge in life.

Upon arriving at the coordinates with his truck, Hamin encountered a far more rigorous security system than he had expected. A warning sign labeled the entrance as a Class-1 military facility, and armed soldiers stood guard in a strict formation. The Silent Gateway was not merely an experimental site; it was a state-level, top-secret location. Realizing it was too risky to approach recklessly, he immediately turned his truck around to retreat.

Back at his makeshift base camp, Hamin spent the next few days making careful preparations. The first phase of his strategy was surveillance. He disguised a few of his twelve Optimus units as workers in standard overalls. Strolling past the facility’s entrance, the disguised Optimus units began scanning the building interior using infrared vision.

“Thanos, analyze the entryway structure. We need an accurate read on how the guards are deployed.”
Thanos’s calm voice responded,
“Six surveillance cameras are operational. Motion sensors are installed at each entrance. The soldiers work in pairs, rotating 24-hour shifts.”

Although Hamin had drones on hand, he held off on using them. The facility was equipped with signal-jamming devices and anti-air systems, making drone detection highly likely. Instead, he relied on his Optimus units and long-distance observation equipment to methodically inspect the facility’s perimeter. After two days of surveillance, he had formed a general picture of the security schedule and the traffic in and out of the site.

With enough external intel gathered, Hamin moved to the next phase: a digital offensive. Although the Silent Gateway boasted military-grade firewalls, he had his AI, Thanos, and his own hacking experience on his side.

“Thanos, it’s your turn. Infiltrate the facility’s network and extract internal data.”

Thanos immediately went to work. Layer upon layer of firewalls and encrypted data stood in his way, but he employed quantum chip–based computational capabilities to break them down one by one. After several intense hours of hacking, he obtained core data on the Silent Gateway. It was more than just facility schematics—it detailed a spacetime distortion theory using quantum mechanics, and specifics on a technology referred to as “time-warp.”

According to Thanos’s analysis, the Silent Gateway was a spacetime transit device designed around quantum mechanical principles. At the heart of this facility was a machine called the “Time Master,” through which travel to the past—and only the past—was possible.

“Moving forward in time is impossible, but you can travel to specific points in the past. However, the Silent Gateway is under strict control, and activating the Time Master requires the authorization of two scientists,” Thanos added.
“There are two key-holders: Michael Kim and Dr. Lee Jin-young. Michael Kim is an American physicist in his fifties, and Lee Jin-young is a renowned Korean physicist in her thirties.”

Continuing his research, Hamin obtained the facility’s security layouts and schematics, as well as background information on Michael Kim and Dr. Lee. He found almost no data on Michael Kim—only that he held U.S. citizenship, earned his Ph.D. at a certain university “H,” and worked for a prominent global big-tech firm “K.” As for Dr. Lee Jin-young, he learned she had been a child prodigy who did early study-abroad in the U.S., earned her Ph.D. from the same “H” University, and was then hired by the U.S. Department of Defense. She had worked in Texas until two years ago before being dispatched to the Korean Defense Research Institute on Jeju. She had no family but did keep a dog named Momo. Concluding that he needed to talk directly with both scientists, Hamin had Thanos track their daily movements using CCTV footage and the Optimus units’ surveillance logs. Dr. Lee, it appeared, commuted to the facility so she could care for her dog, while Michael never seemed to leave the building.

A few days later, Hamin spotted Dr. Lee leaving the facility and decided to follow her. She drove an autonomous vehicle toward a residential district. Rather than use his heavily modified truck, Hamin followed her in a standard rental car he’d acquired on Jeju.

“Thanos, analyze Dr. Lee’s route.”
“It appears she’s headed for a residential area. The vehicle is moving at a steady pace, and there are no detected obstacles.”

Maintaining a safe distance, Hamin tailed her until she parked in front of an apartment complex and went inside. He stopped at the entrance, waiting until she took the elevator up. As she stepped off and walked down the corridor, he asked himself, Should I approach her right now, or keep preparing? But he didn’t have long to deliberate; once she reached her door, he decided this was his only chance.

Right before she could open her apartment door, Hamin hurried over.

“Excuse me, Dr. Lee.”

She turned around sharply, instantly on her guard.

“Who are you?”

Holding up both hands to show he posed no threat, Hamin spoke:

“Please, don’t be alarmed. I’m not here to harm you. I need to speak with you about something important. I know about the Silent Gateway.”

Her eyes flickered with sudden surprise, but she quickly regained her composure.

“Silent Gateway…? I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“I also know the Time Master requires authorization from both you and Dr. Michael Kim.”

She stared at him in shock and spoke again:

“How could you possibly know about that facility? It’s classified military information.”

Hamin let out a short sigh and continued.

“We have a brief respite from the bombings right now, but who’s to say missiles won’t strike Jeju tomorrow? None of us knows if this day might be our last. So before death finds us, why not attempt to use the Silent Gateway? I came here because I knew it existed, and I recently learned it’s about to undergo a final test.”

“How… how do you—”

“Silent Gateway, time-warp, the Time Master… The system is in your hands, right? I’ve studied the Gateway’s operation thoroughly and believe it holds real possibility. I’m asking you to consider me as a test subject.”

She shot him a piercing glare.

“I don’t know who you are, but I strongly suggest you leave before I call security. There’s nothing I can do.”

Yet Hamin refused to back down. Stepping closer, he recalled that her profile mentioned a beloved dog.

“Dr. Lee, you aren’t planning to become the test subject yourself, are you? Don’t you have something here worth protecting until the very last day?”

She paused, looking conflicted. Although Hamin had spoken almost at random, her reaction told him he’d struck a chord. Deciding to press his advantage, he added:

“Are you thinking of using yourself as the final test subject for the Silent Gateway? Why not let me take your place? If the experiment fails, I won’t blame you. If it succeeds, I’ll carry on with whatever you intended to do through the Gateway.”

She regarded him intently.

“The Silent Gateway… it’s extremely unstable. Its success rate is below five percent. That means there’s a ninety-five percent chance you’ll die. Even knowing that, you still want to try? Honestly, I’m hesitant, too. As the lead on this project, I want to see the results more than anyone. But betting everything on a five percent chance feels dangerously reckless. In any case…”

Uncertainty flickered in her eyes. Not missing a beat, Hamin spoke again:

“I have nothing left to lose in this life. And if, by that five percent chance, I succeed… I promise I won’t let 2030 turn into the world it is now. The threat of war could kill us at any moment—but so long as you survive until the day of the actual test, you’ll get to see your project’s results, won’t you? If someone has to be the test subject, I want that to be me.”

She studied him with a new seriousness.