Chapter 174: GSC (6)

“Doctor Ryu, may I have a word?”

Messelson took Young-Joon outside.

“You heard that I participated in the movement against biological weapons, right?” asked Messelson.

“Yes,” Young-Joon replied.

“The weaponization of anthrax was the issue back then,” Messelson said.

“...”

“I have a lot of ties to anthrax. The first time I decided that we shouldn’t make biological weapons was at an anthrax manufacturing facility, and there were some things that happened in the former Soviet Union.”

“In the Soviet Union?” Young-Joon asked.

“A place called Sverdlovsk. Have you heard of it?”

“No.”

“It was probably before you were born, Doctor Ryu,” Messelson said.

It was the 1979 Sverdlovsk anthrax leak. Sverdlovsk was a small city that was one thousand three hundred seventy east of Moscow. It was a peaceful town with the Pyshma River running through it.

Then, in 1979, at the height of the Cold War, two thousand residents suddenly developed high fevers and coughs, along with cold symptoms. Before long, sixty-four people had died.

The cause of death was anthrax. Soviet authorities announced that the cows were infected with anthracis, and the epidemic began with the residents eating beef that hadn’t been properly cooked. They made a big show of quarantining meat, slaughtering stray dogs, and culling livestock to try and catch it, but it was all for show.

In reality, it was a bioweapon. There was an anthracis laboratory in Sverdlovsk, and it was used to develop bioweapons using anthracis. An accidental leak of anthracis by a factory worker led to the release into the city.

“I was the person who uncovered the truth,” Messelson said. “If the residents were infected by consuming infected meat, it would have caused problems in the digestive system. But at the time, patients were suffering from respiratory problems like difficulty breathing. Something like this happens when anthracis is breathed in as a spore.”

“So, it was actually infected through the respiratory system, unlike the Soviet authorities’ announcement?” Young-Joon said.

“Yes. After claiming that and tracking the issue down, the truth was uncovered as the lab director of the Soviet Union who had fled to the United States confessed. But Doctor Ryu...” Messelson said. “In its natural state, anthracis doesn’t cause infections through the respiratory system easily...”

“...”

“It’s very likely that this type of anthrax is a bioweapon.”

“...”

“If it is, it needs to be dealt with very urgently on an international scale. It means that weapons of mass destruction are circulating in the hands of African rebels.”

“I talked to Doctor Michelle on the phone yesterday,” Young-Joon said.

“What did she say?” asked Messelson.

“She said the same thing: that it felt like a weapon. And... Most of the outbreaks are in regions where I placed the anthracis fence.”

“It probably has nothing to do with that. I’ve read your early access paper published by the WHO, and it has a very little effect on the bacteria itself.”

“I think so as well.”

But it wasn’t normal that anthrax was spreading in just those areas. And the timing was odd. A CCR5-edited baby being born and an anthrax outbreak happening right before the merger between A-Gen and A-Bio?

“I need to step away for a moment,” Young-Joon said. “I will be back soon.”

* * *

Nicholas was so shocked that he was at a loss for words for a few seconds. His jaw was still on the floor.

“What happened?”

“It’s exactly what I said,” Yoon Dae-Sung said in an exhausted voice. “Yoon Bo-Hyun caused trouble. He spread the anthrax bioweapon in Africa.”

“Ha...”

Nicholas collapsed onto the sofa. He touched his forehead in frustration.

“Let’s think about this for a moment. So, if that spreads, Yoon Bo-Hyun is going to say that it happened because of Doctor Ryu’s anthracis fence?” Nicholas asked.

“I think so,” Yoon Dae-Sung replied.

“No way. People are going to believe that?”

“Not everyone has scientific training or has a scientific mind. People will eventually get suspicious if anthrax coincidentally occurs near the anthracis fence that was placed around Congo.”

“This isn’t right, Dae-Sung. You need to confess everything to the police and fix this situation. How are you going to handle this?”

“...”

Yoon Dae-Sung’s head hung low.

“I can’t... I don’t think I can.”

“...’

“I can’t turn myself in anymore...”

“Dae-Sung!”

“I won’t be the only one getting published. Now, Yoon Bo-Hyun, that bastard, will also get a huge sentence...”

“... T—then what about this? Let’s hide Yoon Bo-Hyun for now, and you can turn yourself in about having an anthrax bioweapon. There are old records of you selling it to the U.S. military, right? Just say you don’t know anything other than that. Then, people will think the United States used it in Africa and point their criticism there.”

“The U.S. military...”

“I’m saying this because you can’t do anything because of Bo-Hyun, but that’s what we have to do now. The most urgent thing is to get this situation under control. We need to get the news of that anthrax weapon out, let Doctor Ryu and the other scientists study it and figure out how to deal with it.”

Yoon Dae-Sung covered his face with his hands.

“...”

“Dae-Sung,” Nicholas said.

“I... I don’t know... I don’t know what to do anymore...”

Yoon Dae-Sung began sobbing.

“Everything is my fault. I raised that kid into a monster. I never showed him affection since he was young... I’ve always been so strict with him... I badgered him about taking over the company. My misguided education turned that good kid into a monster...”

“Dae-Sung. Snap out of it! You need to snap out of it to...”

Knock knock knock!

Someone knocked on the door. It was Yoon Dae-Sung’s secretary.

—Sir, this is urgent. May I come in?

Yoon Dae-Sung wiped his eyes.

“Come in.”

The secretary opened the door and rushed in. His secretary had worked with him for twenty years, and it had been a while since they were this nervous.

“Sir, I just received word from the company’s management headquarters that a man named Yoon Bo-Hyun is set to do an insider’s interview. Did you know about this?”

“What?”

Yoon Dae-Sung’s eyes widened.

“Damn it, where!” Nicholas shouted.

“Apparently, reporters are crowing in front of the Grand Hyatt Hotel.”

“... Is that where the GSC conference is being held?” Nicholas asked.

“That’s right.”

“What is he announcing?”

“That is...”

“Hurry!”

“He said he is exposing the true side of Mr. Ryu Young-Joon of A-Bio...”

The three people seemed to stop breathing. There was a heavy tension in the CEO's office.

* * *

“Kim Hyun-Taek, the lab director of Lab One at A-Gen, has conflicted with Doctor Ryu Young-Joon for a long time,” Yoon Bo-Hyun said in front of the reporters. “When Doctor Ryu was growing rapidly within A-Gen, A-Gen gave him four percent of company shares and treated him like an executive. He was only about thirty-years-old. But this was quite reasonable, considering his abilities.”

Yoon Dae-Sung grabbed the microphone and began to speak passionately.

“But he was not satisfied with that. He started A-Bio to swallow up the company. He’s been blackmailing A-Gen’s management and taking more shares, eventually leading to a merger between A-Gen and A-Bio.”

The reporters’ cameras flashed.

“Everyone thinks that A-Gen will be fine if Doctor Ryu Young-Joon takes over, but it won’t be. So, as an employee of management, I am here to expose the truth about Doctor Ryu,” Yoon Bo-Hyun said. “First, Doctor Ryu Young-Joon is a murderer.”

The reporters’ eyes widened.

“What...”

One of the reporters dropped their notepad in surprise.

Yoon Bo-Hyun said, “When Doctor Ryu Young-Joon was actively trying to take over A-Gen, Director Kim Hyun-Taek was kicked out of the position. Everything was according to his plan, but Director Kim Hyun-Taek also knew Doctor Ryu Young-Joon’s weakness. He rushed to Lab Six in order to secure that before leaving.”

“...”

“And somehow, Doctor Ryu found out and chased after Director Kim Hyun-Taek. The two briefly clashed at the Life Creation Department at Lab Six. No one knows what happened there, but...” Yoon Bo-Hyun said. “Three hours after that, Director Kim Hyun-Taek suffered an extremely painful seizure and collapsed while bleeding. He’s still in a coma at the hospital.”

“...”

The reporters’ hands trembled.

“Are you saying that Doctor Ryu harmed Director Kim Hyun-Taek?”

“That’s right.”

“But how is that possible?”

“Who knows? That genius can go to a conference and create a new drug and a paper in a week. Don’t you think he could make a poison with that kind of ingenuity?”

“...”

“But I’ve been sorting through Doctor Kim Hyun-Taek’s materials, and I have some information that he dug up about Doctor Ryu Young-Joon,” Yoon Bo-Hyun said. “Doctor Ryu Young-Joon is the person who developed the anthrax bioweapon!”

An extreme shock surrounded the reporters. Some were so surprised that they stopped taking photos.

Yoon Bo-Hyun stared at them.

“After he was kicked out of Lab One at A-Gen, he went to study anthracis at the Life Creation Department at Lab Six. It was possible because it was a department that no one cared about.”

There was no one who could uncover the truth of the past. Would the U.S. military who made and smuggled biological weapons onto another country’s soil after the convention be willing to come clean and admit their wrongdoings? Or would Yoon Dae-Sung come forward, facing the pain of sending his biological son to prison? Or was Nicholas so cold that he would tear apart a family, including his best friend and his son?

Nothing. There was nothing.

“That’s probably what made Director Kim Hyun-Taek collapse as well. And do you know how Doctor Ryu stopped the spread of Ebola in Africa?” Yoon Bo-Hyun said.

“The anthracis fence...” someone murmured.

“Doctor Ryu had already done quite a bit of research to develop anthrax as a bioweapon, which is why he was able to go to Africa and create the anthracis fence in just a few days,” Yoon Bo-Hyun said. “This is different from when he went to the conference in Sweden and developed the genetic surgery method in a week. When Doctor Ryu went to Africa...”

Yoon Bo-Hyun raised his voice.

“There was nothing! No one from A-Bio followed Doctor Ryu! He went to Africa alone, without any equipment, and created the anthracis fence in just a week! How did he manage to do that?” Yoon Bo-Hyun said. “It’s because he was the developer of the anthrax bioweapon.”

“...”

“And the biggest proof of all is coming from Africa right now. Because the anthracis fence that Doctor Ryu installed originated from the anthrax bioweapon, the weaponized anthrax has begun going around.”

The reporters were shocked again.

‘Anthrax is going around?’

“I publicly condemn Doctor Ryu Young-Joon. He is a murderer, and he has caused an epidemic of a serious disease using unproven methods in the name of stopping the spread of Ebola in Africa,” Yoon Bo-Hyun said. “I cannot accept someone like this as the CEO of A-Gen and A-Bio. Many shareholders watching the merger of the two companies should take this into careful consideration, and...” Yoon Bo-Hyun added, “I hope the police will detain Doctor Ryu as soon as possible.”