Episode 3: The Sleepless City and the Jammer of Silence

Episode 3: Slay-One's control stick and tactical visor, 28,000 meters above the stratosphere. Inside the pressurized cockpit of the supersonic strategic flying boat ‘Sleigh-1’

A majestic cosmic silence that can never be experienced on earth,

Only the subtle sound of the cooling fans emitted by the ultra-precision avionics equipment resonated low. Beyond the 120 millimeter thick bulletproof crystal windshield

The pitch-black, deep stratospheric night sky stretched out endlessly,

The starlight pouring down in outer space, where atmospheric scattering has disappeared,

It was reflected coolly on the cockpit instrument panel like a sharply forged silver dagger. Colonel Nicholas Santa was seated deeply in the captain's chair, the heart of the aircraft.

He rolled up the sleeves of his tactical uniform and carefully lowered the optical visor of his carbon fiber helmet. Click-! The moment the visor comes into contact with the helmet rim,

Three centimeters in front of his retina, a sapphire-colored holographic tactical head-up display (HUD) appeared.

It was splendidly presented with ultra-high-resolution 3D vector graphics. [SATELLITE DOWNLINK: ESTABLISHED]

[QUANTUM GYROSCOPE: 3-AXIS SYNCHRONIZED (DRIFT RATE: 0.00001 DEG/HR)]

[INERTIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEM: INDEPENDENT OF CIVILIAN GPS]

[CABIN PRESSURE: 0.98 ATM / OXYGEN PURITY: 99.2%] "All avionics systems are normal. Inertial navigation system and civilian GPS satellite jamming signals are completely shielded."

In Colonel Santa's right cockpit, he was holding the dual flight control stick tightly.

The low, controlled voice of the flight commander, Captain Rudolph, rang through the intercom. The tactical beacon module mounted on the center of Captain Rudolph's nose

Even in the -72-degree cold of the stratosphere, it was blinking a steady 100,000 lux magenta infrared pulse. It wasn't just a light emitting diode. The biological telepathic neural network that has been passed down in the ancient legend of the reindeer clan,

The photon drives of the Arctic's most advanced quantum computers are fused into one.

It was the physical manifestation of the command center's only 'ultra-wideband Neural Tactical Link'. Just by moving Rudolph's eyes and controlling his breathing,

On the retina display of the eight jet sled pilots escorting the left and right sides of Slay-One.

The real-time flight formation coordinates and the enemy's radar blind spot were synchronized without a delay of 0.001 seconds. “Captain, how is your nose?”

Colonel Santa asked, checking the biometric telemetry graph on the right auxiliary instrument panel. On the monitor are Rudolph's body temperature, heart rate, and the photon density of the infrared beacon.

It was oscillating in a perfectly stable sine wave. “Perfect, Commander.”

Captain Rudolph smiled faintly from inside his helmet. “When I was young, I was teased by my friends because of my red nose. There was a time when I was ostracized by the reindeer herd in the forest, asking why I was the only one with a red nose, and asking if I had a genetic mutation. But the day the commander brought me to the Arctic Command Special Flight School.”

“I have never forgotten what you said to me even for a day in my life.” There were deep, benevolent wrinkles around Colonel Santa's eyes. “It is the wounds and uniqueness that are different from others,”

“It was said that it would be the only light that would save a world lost in the darkness.” “Yes. Commander’s words saved me and made me stand here today.”

Captain Rudolph's voice was full of strong pride and loyalty. “No matter how powerful the jamming waves and insomniac radars the enemies fire on the ground tonight,”

My red nose infrared beacon will zero in on the chimney on target without a single centimeter of movement. At that time, Lieutenant Dancer, in charge of electronic warfare, was at the rear console of the cockpit.

The voice of the navigation officer, Captain Dasher, was heard. "Flight Commander, all aircraft of the escort squadron 'Red Nose 9' have completed deployment of Formation Delta at 500 meter intervals on the left and right of the Slay-One wing. From the 1st Dasher to the 8th Blitzen, the aircraft's propulsion is 100% and fuel remaining is 98.5%, which is the best." The eight escorts who made up Rudolph's squadron were each veterans who had experienced all types of combat at the Arctic Command. Captain Dasher, Unit 1: A master of ultra-fast straight-line maneuvers and stratospheric corridor exploration.

2nd Lieutenant Dancer: A genius in musical rhythm evasive maneuvers and electronic warfare jamming. Unit 3, Captain Prancer: Specialized in ultra-precise aerial attitude control and anti-aircraft fire dispersion. 4th Major Vixen: Enemy radar tracer and quantum codebreaker. 5th Comet Sergeant: The youngest with the sharpest body vision to identify nighttime obstacles. 6th Captain Cupid: Officer who synchronizes the emotional heart rate telemetry of children on the ground. 7th Major Donner: Fire unit leader who operates the heavy thunder plasma booster.

8th Captain Blitzen: An interceptor who blocks intercept flights with lightning-fast reflexes. These eight elite squadron members use Captain Rudolph's ultra-high frequency infrared nose as their central point.

They were connected through a perfect neural tactical synapse network. When just one person detects danger, the avoidance maneuver vector is transmitted to the autopilot of all remaining aircraft in 0.001 seconds.

It was the ultimate collective intelligence flight system. Captain Rudolph checked the left cockpit mirror and tactical monitor. On either side of Slay-One's huge delta wings,

Eight sleek silver jet sleds are like baby hawks guarding a mother eagle.

They were waiting side by side without a single error. Blue and red lights emitted from the LED strip at the tip of the aircraft wing.

It fluttered in a brilliant trajectory like a dancing ribbon in the darkness of the stratosphere. “Spread the message to all members of the squadron.”

Captain Rudolph pressed the radio transmit button on the control stick. "From now on, we will ascend again to the cruising altitude of 30,000 meters. The airspeed is fixed at Mach 7.2. We will reverse the time difference by maximizing the speed relative to the Earth's rotation axis. We must fly faster than time. We must reach the entry belt over East Asia before the clocks on the ground strike midnight." [AIRSPEED: MACH 7.2 CONFIRMED]

[GROUND SPEED: 8,820 KM/H]

[OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE: -68.5°C] Slay-One's 8 hybrid engine nozzles slightly converge,

The blue-white ion plasma jet formed a sharper and fiercer straight column. A huge acoustic plasma shield is formed behind the aircraft.

Absorbs the adiabatic compression heat generated by cutting through the air at the astonishing speed of Mach 7.

The aircraft surface temperature was perfectly maintained below 20 degrees Celsius. “Commander, this is a report of the inertia status of the loading cargo hold.”

Lieutenant Dancer displayed the gravity sensor readings on the monitor screen. “Two billion gift boxes quantum compressed by artificial gravity damper system”

The moment of inertia fluctuation rate is maintained at 0.000%. Despite rapid Mach 7 acceleration, the toys inside remain comfortably aligned in zero gravity. “Excellent. Chief Pippin’s designs are always reliable.”

Colonel Santa nodded and activated the zoom function on his tactical visor. As the visor's high-magnification optics were pulled toward the Earth's surface,

Beyond the veil of clouds beneath the stratosphere

The vast darkness of the Siberian snowfields, the frozen blue mirror of Lake Baikal,

And in the distance, the outline of the Manchuria plain extending endlessly to the south was revealed. And beyond that, the sky over the Korean peninsula enveloped in thick night fog was captured. In the sky above the huge metropolis centered on Seoul,

Neon lights emanating from tens of millions of apartment complexes and buildings

It was rippling like a gigantic, night-time lava sea. But between those colorful lights,

A bizarre and ominous purple electromagnetic wave that is invisible to the ordinary eye.

It was rising like a mushroom cloud thousands of meters above the city center. Bibibbibik-! Bibibbibik-! At the ‘Extensive Electromagnetic Detector (ESM)’ located in the middle of Slay-One’s instrument panel.

A sharp alarm sounded and orange hazard warning lights flashed. [WARNING: ANOMALOUS EM RADIATION DETECTED]

[SOURCE: DOWNTOWN SEOUL SECTOR]

[SIGNAL PATTERN: INSOMNIA FREQUENCY 432.8 MHZ]

[EFFECT: RAPID SUPPRESSION OF HUMAN SLEEP WAVES] “Detected!”

Lieutenant Dancer's voice trembled urgently. “Emitted from huge data centers underground in downtown Seoul and commercial districts at night”

This is the ‘Sleepless Noise Syndicate’ radio network! Frequency 432.8MHz, pulse width 12 milliseconds! It is a high-frequency dopamine stimulation pattern that forcibly awakens children’s brain waves! Currently, the sleep attainment rate of children in Seoul has plummeted to 34%! The Sleepless Noise Syndicate was a dark cartel that promoted the blind selling of views by large algorithmic platforms and endless nighttime consumption. They cause children and teenagers to not fall asleep on time and spend the night scrolling through their smartphone screens, addicted to stimulating short-form videos and instant dopamine.

Invisible 432.8 MHz electromagnetic waves were being emitted through millions of servers underground in the city. Children who cannot sleep lose their dreams of tomorrow, their imagination and innocence dries up,

In the end, he prematurely degenerates into a cynical adult who ridicules the very existence of Santa and Rudolph as 'childish commercial lies'.

It was the most insidious and gigantic civilizational terror against the human soul. To break this vicious cycle, Colonel Santa had been secretly preparing a special acoustic plasma weapon that combined music and aerodynamics for decades. “34% surface level?”

Colonel Santa's brow hardened like iron. “If the children are awake, according to the regulations, gifts cannot be infiltrated. This violates Rule 1, ‘Never drop physical gifts into a room where children have their eyes open.’” The magic of Christmas could only be established as a complete miracle through children's pure faith and unconscious sleep. If a child is awake and witnesses Santa's agents or sees a mechanical device,

At that moment, the illusion of a miracle was shattered, and only cold doubt and worldly logic remained. “What will you do, Commander?”

Captain Rudolph gripped the control stick tightly and urged a decision. “There are only 18 minutes left until we reach the target point. If we take the normal detour route, we will run out of fuel and time.”

We have to give up 60% of the entire Asian sector! “There is no giving up.”

Colonel Santa spoke firmly. His thick fingers touched the special tactical buttons on the cockpit overhead panel.

I pressed ‘Rhythm Stealth Override’ hard. Clap! "Captain Rudolph, Lieutenant Dancer! Supercharge the acoustic plasma shield's output to its maximum of 150%! Disable stealth flight mode and activate 'Battle Dance Flight Protocol'!"

[BATTLE DANCE PROTOCOL: ACTIVATED]

[ACOUSTIC PLASMA SHIELD: 150% OVERDRIVE]

[DYNAMIC LED SYNCHRONIZER: FULL OUTPUT] Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee of The entire cockpit is illuminated in cold sapphire light.

They all switched to cyberpunk colors of hot and sensual neon pink and electric blue. At the same time, into the aircraft's internal speakers and the crew's helmet headphones,

A heavy 808 kick drum at 128 BPM that makes your heart flutter.

A sharp slap-based funky groove poured in like a huge wave. Thump - Clap! Thump thump- Clap! As soon as the music started, the surface of Slay-One's massive 42 meter delta wing

They began to dance an explosive light dance in perfect synchronization with the rhythm of the music. Every time the nano LED panel emits light to the beat,

The air molecules surrounding the gas become plasma.

The sleepless noise pulses fired by the enemies on the ground began to be neutralized with perfect musical harmony. This was the pure vitality of music created by mankind and the victory of the most powerful modern lullaby that warmly embraces weary souls. Every time the funky octave leap of the electric bass and the staccato sound of the gorgeous brass horn section cut through the night sky,

Purple harmful electromagnetic waves emanating from the forest of buildings in the city center

It burst like a soap bubble, purified into harmless silver powder, and scattered into the air. The eyelids of countless children tossing and turning from sleeplessness in their rooms, clutching cold smartphones.

Riding the warm waves of music, I slowly and magically began to fall into a deep and comfortable forest of dreams. “The enemy’s jamming radio waves are being absorbed into the rhythm energy of our friendly aircraft!”

Lieutenant Dancer shouted excitedly. “As dopamine-disrupting pulses combine with the sub-bass lines of our music.”

Rather, it stabilizes the brain waves of children on the ground into comfortable deep delta waves.

It is being converted back to the ‘healing lullaby frequency’! “Good! It’s the perfect counterattack!”

Captain Rudolph bared his teeth and tightly gripped the control stick with both hands. The infrared beacon on the bridge of his nose synchronizes with the music's 16-beat hi-hat rhythm.

Flashing brilliantly, it turned the darkness of the night sky into a musical canvas. “All escort squadrons, switch to ‘Swing Roll’ formation at the squadron leader’s signal!”

With Captain Rudolph's command,

The eight jet sleds on the left and right rotate their bodies 90 degrees to the rhythm of the music.

They performed a fantastic aerial dance that resembled synchronized swimming in the night sky. Each time the silver aircraft take a turn, sparkling in the moonlight,

A huge staff and musical note-shaped plasma afterimage were drawn in the sky. [ALTITUDE: DESCENDING THROUGH 15,000 METERS]

[TARGET VELOCITY: SUB-SONIC TRANSITION AT 800 KM/H]

[LOCAL TIME IN SEOUL: 23:45:00] Slay-One came down from the stratosphere,

It smoothly decelerated from supersonic speed of Mach 7 to subsonic speed of 800 kilometers per hour. The anti-gravity sled blades at the bottom of the aircraft bounce off the gravitational field of the ground.

The huge 50,000-ton aircraft was controlled as light as cotton. The snow-covered night view of Seoul finally unfolded vividly beneath my feet. The emerald lights of Namsan Seoul Tower were lighting up the night sky.

The lights of cars driving along Gangbyeonbuk-ro and Olympic Boulevard follow the winding waves of the frozen Han River.

It sparkled like red blood vessels flowing on the ground. Heavy snow falls silently from the sky,

The roofs of apartment complexes, the forest of buildings, and the tile roofs of old alleys.

It was covered like a white and cozy cotton blanket. “Entry into the Seoul sector completed. Temperature -12 degrees Celsius, ground wind speed 3 meters northwest. Snowfall 2 centimeters per hour.”

Captain Rudolph reported, pulling the control stick slightly. "The enemy's sleep-disrupting radar network was completely neutralized by our Rhythm Aero Shield. As a result of ground monitoring, the brain waves of children from 1.2 million households in Seoul were recorded."

98.9% stabilized to deep sleep delta waves! “Good job, crew.”

Colonel Santa lowered his visor goggles and looked at the peaceful snow-covered city on the ground. A warm emotion and thrill welled up from deep within his heart. Many souls suffering from the noise, anxiety, competition, and sleeplessness of the city

Now, thanks to their music and flight, they were falling into a peaceful dreamland under a warm blanket. “Now our real mission begins.”

Colonel Santa stood up and strode over to the tactical control console in the center of the cockpit. The commander's dignity radiating from his large frame filled the cockpit. “Current time is 23:50. The first airdrop operation in the Seoul metropolitan area will begin at midnight (00:00). Prepare the tactical cargo hold door opening sequence!”

Chiiik- Boom! The cargo hold access bulkhead behind the cockpit opens,

A fresh winter breeze of -12 degrees Celsius blew into the cockpit hallway along with the cold night air. Inside the cargo hold, tens of thousands of gift boxes are fixed to titanium racks.

The green standby lights were flashing all at once, waiting for sortie. “Unlock cargo hold door!”

At Colonel Santa's command, Lieutenant Dancer flipped back the red safety cover on the console and pulled the main lever. Kugugugugugung-! The huge two-stage hydraulic ramp door at the rear of Slay-One began to slowly open downward. As soon as the huge door opens,

With strong winds speeding at 800 kilometers per hour

A fantastic panoramic night view of the snow-covered downtown Seoul seen from 3,000 meters below your feet.

It unfolded before my eyes on a breathtaking scale. Bridges over the Han River sparkling in silver,

Christmas tree lights from department stores and churches towering between buildings,

And tens of thousands of chimneys rising from the rooftops of red brick houses in every narrow alley! Each of those chimneys is on the tactical visor screen of Santa and Agent Rudolph.

A clear green square target lock-on mark began to be captured in real time. [TARGET LOCK-ON INITIATED: 482,910 OBJECTIVES]

[CHIMNEY DETECTION: 100% RESOLVED]

[WIND CORRECTION ALGORITHM: REAL-TIME COMPENSATED] “Commander, target lock-on is complete!”

Captain Rudolph, holding the control stick, cheered. "Mapo-gu, Yongsan-gu, Gangnam-gu, Nowon-gu... Chimneys and verandas in all areas."

It fed perfectly into our tactical guidance computer! Wind speed and trajectory are being calculated in 0.01 second increments to ensure that not a single box misses! Colonel Santa stood proudly at the end of the open cargo hold ramp. His full white beard and crimson coat fluttered like a flag in the harsh winter wind. By his side, the youngest Sergeant Comet and armed agents

I clenched my hands as I did a final inspection of the gift dropping rail. The clock hands pointed to 23:59:50. There are only 10 seconds left until midnight. The majestic midnight bells sound to signal the beginning of Christmas in every church and cathedral in the city.

It was the moment when it began to resonate softly. Dang- Dang- Dang- “Countdown begins!”

Colonel Santa lowered his tactical visor and shouted in a loud voice. Captain Rudolph in the cockpit and members of the escort squadron repeated the countdown in unison. “5! 4! 3! 2! 1!” “Drop! Love and miracles to all the children in the world!”

Colonel Santa's hand hit the main release switch forcefully. Kugugugugugung-! The magnetic levitation racks inside the cargo hold unlock simultaneously,

Tens of thousands of silver and gold gift boxes began pouring out of the lamp door and into the night sky! It wasn't just a falling object. It's as if the Milky Way, brightening the darkness, becomes a waterfall and pours into the night sky.

It was a spectacle of a wondrous and holy miracle that cannot be fully expressed in human language. The moment the gift boxes pop out of the aircraft,

Ultra-small smart silk parachutes are mounted on the top of each box.

They bloomed all at once in the night sky, emitting colorful lights. At the same time, a cheerful Christmas dance beat of 128BPM echoes from Slay-One's wings.

The entire night sky of Seoul was turning into a stage for a huge festival. “Merry Christmas, Seoul!”

Captain Rudolph lightly shook the control stick and shouted in victory into the night sky. The darkest and coldest winter night in the city,

Tens of thousands of silver parachutes falling from the sky

It was beginning to descend in a graceful waltz towards the chimneys of sleeping children. The warm blessings and carol melodies contained in each snowflake cozily permeate every window frame in the city,

The pure excitement and hope of childhood that had been forgotten was quietly awakening in the dry hearts of tired adults.