Chapter 130: Take It While It’s Being Offered

It was expected to take about two hours to transport the two hundred gold bars. However, as if to prove just how terrifying the power of money could be, our staff and the FBI agents displayed astonishing strength and finished the job in just over an hour. Thanks to that, we were able to leave Politburo member Liu Peiqi's country villa before dawn with complete peace of mind.

Brushing the sweat from my forehead with one hand, I turned to Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol.

"Did you clean everything up?"

"Before leaving the villa, I personally went over the entire place with the staff. We didn't leave behind a single trace."

"Can I trust you, Team Leader Lee?"

"Of course. You have nothing to worry about."

Having once served in the National Intelligence Service, Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol spoke with such confidence that any further concern would have been unnecessary.

"Haha. Understood. Team Leader Jeong, exactly how many bars did we transport?"

"A little more than expected. Exactly two hundred and five."

"I see. Where are they now?"

"We split them up and loaded them into the minibus and the passenger cars."

Each bar weighed a full twenty-five kilograms, making the total weight over five tons. Naturally, it was impossible to fit everything into a single minibus.

"What if one of the vehicles breaks down on the way back?"

"We anticipated that possibility and already sent an emergency signal to our base."

"Then there's nothing to worry about."

At that moment, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan, who looked as though he'd been holding back a question for quite some time, finally spoke.

"Director, didn't you pay the FBI agents a little too generously for their help?"

I had given each FBI agent one twenty-five-kilogram gold bar as payment. It was no surprise that Chief Secretary Kang sounded visibly dissatisfied.

"If the FBI agents hadn't helped us, there was no way we could've moved all two hundred and five bars in just an hour and a half."

"I agree with that, Director, but it still hurts to give away something so valuable."

"Shall we drop the subject?"

"As you wish."

Although Chief Secretary Kang's voice still carried a trace of reluctance, what was done was done.

"Tonight, I intend to give every employee who participated in the operation a five-million-dollar bonus."

"What?!"

Everyone inside the vehicle reacted almost in horror.

They were so startled that even Saho, who was lying in my lap, flinched before letting out a threatening growl.

"If it hadn't been for all of you, we never would've obtained two hundred and five gold bars."

"That's true, but the bonuses are far too generous."

"Then shall I cut them by a factor of ten?"

"..."

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan instantly fell silent, clearly unwilling to see that outcome.

"Take it while it's being offered."

"Director, thank you sincerely for your generosity!"

"I share Chief Secretary Kang's opinion as well..."

Everyone, from Chief Secretary Kang to Team Leader Seo Donghun, began expressing their gratitude.

"Chief Secretary Kang, give every employee who didn't participate in loading the bars two million dollars each as overseas assignment pay."

"W-What?! Isn't that way too much?"

There were forty regular employees who had come to Macau on assignment. Ten had been selected to carry the gold, meaning the remaining thirty would receive the assignment allowance.

Altogether, that came to sixty million dollars.

Fortunately, I had a reliable trump card, so I wasn't worried in the slightest.

"We currently have two hundred and one twenty-five-kilogram bars and ten ten-kilogram bars. How much will we make if we sell all of it?"

"You gave four twenty-five-kilogram bars to the FBI agents, so that leaves two hundred and one, correct?"

"You forgot the sample bar that former CEO Go Yeongjun received from Politburo member Liu Peiqi."

"Ah, I completely forgot about the sample."

"And I assume I don't need to explain where the ten ten-kilogram bars came from?"

The ten ten-kilogram bars had been inside the large safe at Jeong Sanhak's hideout. Although their true owner was Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui...

"Of course not."

"Since we'll have to sell the gold at a discount, we'll probably bring in around 3.7 billion dollars. After subtracting the 850 million dollars wasted by former CEO Go, our net share will be about 2.85 billion. Under those circumstances, can't we afford to spend sixty million on assignment allowances?"

"Ah... I understand what you mean now."

Ignoring Chief Secretary Kang's reply, I turned to Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol.

"Team Leader Lee, rent a truck."

"May I ask why?"

"We're transferring the gold from the minibus and the passenger cars into the truck."

"So we're not taking it back to our base?"

"There isn't any practical way to bring this much gold into our country through ordinary means."

Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol seemed to be catching on to Cha Jiham's plan.

It appeared he intended to load the gold onto a submarine and transport it to Korea.

If that was the case, there was no reason to store it at the base.

Wanting to confirm his suspicion, he cautiously asked,

"So in the worst-case scenario, that's what we'll have to do?"

"It would."

"That makes it sound like you have another plan."

"Hehehe."

I merely responded to Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol's question with a faint smile.

***

After returning to the base, the first thing I did was rush into the bathroom to wash away the sweat soaking my body.

Fresh from the shower, I stepped into the bedroom and found Saho sleeping peacefully on his stomach across the bed.

When I patted his thigh to wake him up, the cat responded with an annoyed growl.

"Grrr."

"Wipe your paws and then go to sleep."

As though acknowledging my words, Saho slowly wandered into the bathroom.

Bzzz—

The moment I changed into comfortable clothes, the phone lying on the bed began vibrating.

Picking it up, I saw Director Glenn Nevers' name on the screen.

The reason for his call was obvious, so I immediately answered.

"Director Nevers, I'm listening."

["Team Leader Walkerson reported that you paid them unbelievably generous bonuses."]

"It was only a single twenty-five-kilogram gold bar."

["Haha. When you put it that way, I don't even know how to respond."]

"Since we're already talking, I have a favor to ask."

["What kind of favor? Go ahead."]

"Vice Chairman Wei Chen intends to take this opportunity to eliminate Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui. However, he doesn't know Chen's exact whereabouts. Could you provide some assistance to Vice Chairman Wei Chen?"

["Hmm..."]

Director Nevers hesitated, as though weighing the request.

Fortunately, he didn't think for long.

["Director Cha, I don't believe I should have direct contact with the upper ranks of the Triad. How about you pass the information to him yourself?"]

"I completely agree with your opinion, Director Nevers."

At that moment, Director Cho Myeongsu's number appeared on the screen.

Knowing why he was calling, I asked Director Nevers to wait before answering the second call.

"Director Cho, what's happened so early in the morning?"

["Director Cha, I'm here with the Chairman and Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong. You're on speakerphone."]

"Please give my regards to the Chairman and Commissioner Choi."

["Certainly. The Chairman wants to know what happened last night."]

"But don't you already know everything?"

["Chief Secretary Kang only told us that something important happened."]

"I see what you mean. Last night, we carried out a lightning operation and captured former K&J Bio CEO Go Yeongjun."

["What?!"]

Chairman Park Yeongil shouted so loudly that my ears rang.

"Chairman, you nearly deafened me."

["Ah, sorry. I was so surprised it just came out."]

"Haha. I'm kidding. I haven't slept all night, so I'll keep this brief."

["You haven't slept? What do you mean?"]

"We managed to capture former CEO Go, but a problem came up."

I explained in detail the complications caused by the gold transaction between former CEO Go Yeongjun and Politburo member Liu Peiqi.

"...Rather than lose 850 million dollars, I decided to clean out Politburo member Liu's country villa, where the gold bars were being stored."

["Hmm, I see. But why did former CEO Go decide to buy gold from Liu in the first place?"]

"Politburo member Liu said he urgently needed cash and offered Go a twelve-percent discount off the international market price. Go intended to resell it to another buyer at an eight-percent discount."

["So how much was the four-percent margin worth?"]

"Around forty million dollars."

["That's no small amount. Continue."]

"To locate Politburo member Liu's villa, we decided to seek assistance from the CIA."

I summarized only the most important events from the previous evening up until the present.

"...And in the end, we returned safely to the base with the gold."

["Excellent work. Truly outstanding."]

"Coming from you, Chairman, that praise makes all my exhaustion disappear."

["I know that's flattery, but I still like hearing it. Still, why did you empty the entire vault?"]

"If we'd only taken the original forty-nine bars, ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) there was a chance former CEO Go would've been blamed. I decided it would be safer to empty the entire storage."

["Hmm... That makes sense. Let's get to the important part. What are you planning to do with the gold?"]

"The best option is to sell it here, even at a slight loss. In the worst case, we'll have to transport it back to our country."

["A loss? Why?"]

I had known that question was coming.

"It'll take at least an hour and a half just to load two hundred bars onto a submarine. I doubt the Chinese Navy would ignore us for that long."

["True... Now that I think about it, you're right. Have you found a buyer yet?"]

I actually had someone in mind.

But since I hadn't heard his answer yet, it was better to keep quiet.

"I'm going to get some sleep first. Once I wake up, I'll start looking."

["I have an old acquaintance named Chairman Zhen Weiliang. He runs a major gold trading business in Hong Kong. I'll give him your contact information. Meet with him."]

"Can he be trusted?"

["I've known him for over fifty years. Do I really need to say anything more?"]

In other words, there was no reason whatsoever to doubt Chairman Zhen Weiliang's reliability.

"Understood."

["By the way, what are you planning to do with former CEO Go?"]

"For now, the best option is to load him onto the submarine and transport him back to our country."

["You're overlooking one thing, Director Cha. Former CEO Go talks far too much."]

Former CEO Go Yeongjun had been captured by us, not the police.

Moreover, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan had broken both of his arms during the interrogation.

On top of that, he was about to be smuggled into our country aboard a submarine.

If he ever told the press about everything that had happened to him, both the government and our company would suffer a devastating blow.

That was precisely what Chairman Park Yeongil was worried about.

"I'll start thinking about the proper solution from this point onward."

["I've always said that a floor rag stays a floor rag no matter how much you wash it. Don't cling to something that's worthless."]

Chairman Park Yeongil's words clearly implied that the hopeless former CEO Go Yeongjun should simply be eliminated.

I knew perfectly well that it was the most effective solution.

But could I really bring myself to do it?

"I'll keep your advice in mind, Chairman."

["All right, let's drop the subject. When are you planning to return home?"]

"We'll have to see how the situation develops."

["But haven't you already accomplished everything you came to Macau for?"]

"We still have to transport Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol's Reconnaissance General Bureau group back to our country."

["Right... I completely overlooked that."]

With that, my conversation with Chairman Park Yeongil came to an end.

"Now... can I finally get some sleep?"

I lay down on the bed and tried to fall asleep, but thoughts of what to do with former CEO Go Yeongjun refused to leave my mind.

After tossing and turning for quite a while, I eventually drifted off without realizing it.

***

Ring-ring-ring.

The phone beside my pillow burst into a pleasant melody.

Still half asleep, I picked it up and looked at the screen.

It was National Intelligence Service Director Om Giyeon.

Sitting up in bed and clearing my throat, I answered the call.

"Director Om, I'm listening."

["Judging by your voice, you don't sound very energetic. Did something happen?"]

I'd only slept for a single hour.

How energetic could I possibly sound?

"To be honest, quite a lot happened last night."

["Then tell me quickly. What happened?"]

Director Om Giyeon's voice was filled with impatience.

"Last night, we captured former K&J Bio CEO Go Yeongjun..."