Chapter 133: The Decisive Blow

Thanks to the negotiations with Vice Chairman Wei Chen, we successfully reached an agreement on the gold bullion transaction.

Now all that remained was to verify its authenticity.

Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol drove the truck loaded with gold bars to Jeong Sanhak's hideout. Director Pan Kai managed to obtain authentication equipment from somewhere, and under his strict supervision, together with Chief Secretary Kang Inhan's oversight, the inspection began.

The rest of us waited for the appraisal to finish while chatting about various things.

"Vice Chairman Wei, what would be the best way to handle this villa?"

"What do you mean all of a sudden?"

"Jeong Sanhak purchased it with his own money. But tonight he'll be leaving for our country."

Only then did Vice Chairman Wei Chen fully grasp Cha Jiham's hint. He had deliberately brought up the subject to suggest that Wei Chen purchase Jeong Sanhak's base as well. Now that he understood Jiham's intention, there was no way he could pretend not to notice.

"You want me to buy this villa?"

"I'll tell Mr. Jeong to sell it at a very favorable price."

"If you arrange that, I'll be sincerely grateful."

"Still, what should we tell Chairman Zhen Weiliang? It seems he had been quietly expecting this gold deal."

"I'll handle that matter myself, so you don't need to worry, Director Cha."

"I understand. But what do you intend to do with the gold bars you're buying from me?"

"I plan to melt them down and recast them."

The hallmark stamped on a gold bar was direct evidence. Selling the bars with their original markings carried the risk of being caught red-handed. Vice Chairman Wei Chen feared exactly that, which was why he intended to have them melted down.

"You want to stamp them with a new hallmark?"

"That's the main reason, but there's another one as well."

"May I ask what it is?"

"To trade gold bullion, you need to prepare mandatory documentation. The first thing required is an SKR, a Safe Keeping Receipt, which certifies that the bullion is being stored securely."

In other words, the bars would be melted down precisely so an SKR could be issued for them.

"Ah, I understand now."

"I'm glad you do. Once the bars have been recast, I intend to sell them to Chairman Zhen Weiliang."

"Chairman Zhen?"

"There aren't many buyers in the world capable of purchasing more than five tons of gold."

"Naturally. If you don't mind my asking, what price do you plan to sell them for?"

"If I give him about a six-percent discount off the international market price, he'll gladly buy them."

Assuming the cost of recasting the bars and obtaining the SKR came to one percent, Vice Chairman Wei Chen would still earn roughly three percent in profit. That meant he would pocket nearly 120 million dollars with very little effort. That was exactly why he had demanded a ten-percent discount from me.

"And Chairman Zhen will be satisfied with that price?"

"Chairman Zhen sells gold at retail prices, so he'll be more than satisfied."

"Well then, that's excellent."

Time flew by as we talked until the living room doors opened and Chief Secretary Kang Inhan entered together with Director Pan Kai. Judging by their expressions, the inspection had finally been completed.

Director Pan Kai sat down on an empty sofa and reported to Wei Chen.

"Brother-in-law, all 202 twenty-five-kilogram gold bars and 10 ten-kilogram bars have passed inspection. Purity: 99.999%."

"Haha! Excellent news."

"I've already instructed one of our employees to prepare the sales contract. It should take about thirty minutes."

"Understood. By the way, is the confirmation document ready?"

In exchange for handing over the USB drive, Cha Jiham had imposed three conditions on Vice Chairman Wei Chen and demanded written confirmation that all of them had been fulfilled.

"I drafted it while the gold was being inspected."

"Good."

"A little earlier, I asked the Commissioner of the Macau Police why officers had been dispatched to Politburo Member Liu's villa."

"Oh? And what did he say?"

"He claimed that Politburo Member Liu had called the police merely to test their emergency response time."

"What a load of nonsense."

I instantly understood what had happened.

Politburo Member Liu Peiqi had most likely obtained that gold through illegal means. That meant he couldn't openly report it stolen. Naturally, while the police were on their way, he must have thoroughly searched the villa for any signs of a break-in. But thanks to Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol's flawless work, there wasn't a single trace to be found. In the end, Liu had been forced to invent that ridiculous excuse in order to send the police away.

While I was thinking it over, the conversation between Wei Chen and Pan Kai continued.

"He had no choice but to say something like that."

"Why's that?"

"You know better than anyone how obsessed he is with money."

"You mean those bars were bribes?"

"That's highly likely."

"Then the burglary of his villa will simply be covered up and quietly disappear."

Bzz...

At that moment, Vice Chairman Wei Chen's phone vibrated on the table. Seeing the caller's name, he apologized to us and answered.

"What is it?"

"[We lost him.]"

"What?!"

Vice Chairman Wei Chen shot to his feet and roared into the phone. We had no idea what had happened and could only stare at him. Paying no attention to us, he continued listening.

"How did you lose him?"

"[As we were approaching the villa, a passenger car sped past us at full speed.]"

"You think he was inside that car?"

"[That's our assumption.]"

"What if he's still hiding inside the villa?"

"[We searched the entire house thoroughly, and there wasn't a single vehicle left in the parking area.]"

Click.

Ending the call in frustration, Vice Chairman Wei Chen sank heavily back onto the sofa. Director Pan Kai immediately asked anxiously,

"Brother-in-law, did Vice Chairman Chen escape?"

"They say he got away just before our people raided the villa."

Director Pan Kai immediately understood what had happened. Someone had unquestionably leaked word to Chen Zhihui that his stronghold was about to be stormed. The moment he received the warning, he fled without hesitation.

"So there's a mole among us?"

"It certainly looks that way."

"Who could it be?"

"We'll have to find out."

I thought Vice Chairman Wei Chen was wasting his energy on something meaningless. To snap him back to reality, I interrupted.

"Vice Chairman Wei, what exactly are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"A coup can't be carried out by one man alone, even if Vice Chairman Chen had wings."

Bang!

It was as though Vice Chairman Wei Chen had been struck over the head with a club. For Chen Zhihui's coup to succeed, he needed a powerful faction standing behind him. They had to eliminate his supporters immediately, yet Wei Chen was fixated on something completely insignificant.

"Director Cha, thank you for bringing this fool to his senses."

"No need to thank me. But time is running out."

"Brother-in-law, did you hear Director Cha?"

"Yes, Brother-in-law!" Director Pan Kai answered loudly.

***

After completing the gold transaction amid all the chaos, we returned to our quarters and continued talking.

"Director Cha, who do you think leaked the information to Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui?"

"I believe the most likely person was Director Glenn Nevers."

"Why would he do that?"

"If Vice Chairman Chen suddenly disappeared, Wei Chen would have no competitors left and would inevitably expand the Triad's influence without restraint."

"That makes sense."

"He would inevitably set his sights on the world's largest drug market—the United States. Director Nevers feared exactly that, so he leaked the information to Chen Zhihui."

"So they'd turn on each other?"

"That's exactly what I think."

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan, who had been listening, finally spoke up.

"Director Cha, Vice Chairman Chen's faction is almost certain to be crushed. Can they really compete on equal footing?"

"The fact that Chen Zhihui is outnumbered is undeniable. Even so, he believes he can still turn the tables."

"And how would he do that?"

"The simplest way would be to eliminate Vice Chairman Wei Chen."

"Ah... I see."

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan nodded in understanding.

"Let's stop talking about this headache."

"Agreed."

"Take Jeong Sanhak with you and meet Vice Chairman Wei Chen."

In other words, we needed to sell Jeong Sanhak's base to Wei Chen. However, NIS Director Om Giyeon seemed to have another idea.

"Director Cha, if we bring Jeong Sanhak outside, he could be spotted by FBI agents."

"What if we disguise him?"

"That would work, but there's an easier way."

"And what would that be?"

"Chief Secretary Kang can simply obtain a power of attorney from Jeong Sanhak authorizing the sale of the villa."

"Ah, of course."

Bzzz... Bzzz...

As I nodded, NIS Director Om Giyeon's phone rang. He seemed to have been expecting the call, because he answered immediately and spoke only briefly.

"Director Cha, the submarine sent to extract Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol has reached the coastal waters of Macau."

"I see."

"It takes quite a bit of preparation to get him out of here. Chief Secretary Kang and I should get going."

After seeing NIS Director Om Giyeon and Chief Secretary Kang Inhan off, I called Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol into the reception room.

"The submarine has reached the coast of Macau. We need to send former President Go Yeongjun back home, so make the necessary preparations."

"Understood."

At that moment, a brilliant idea flashed through my mind. Once my plan had fully taken shape, I continued speaking to Lee Hyeonsol.

"How's Go Yeongjun's broken arm?"

"He had a cast put on this morning."

"So he's able to talk on the phone?"

"Of course."

"Good. Bring Go Yeongjun here immediately."

Some time later, Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol escorted the former president into the reception room. After they sat down on an empty sofa, I began.

"Former President Go, how's your arm?"

"..."

"Should I take that as you exercising your right to remain silent?"

"No! Not at all!"

Still haunted by the nightmare of the previous night, Go Yeongjun frantically waved both hands in front of himself, one of them wrapped in a cast.

"I'll overlook your mistake this time."

"Th-thank you..."

"You've probably already guessed, but at dawn today we removed the gold bars from Politburo Member Liu's villa. Have you wondered why I'm telling you this?"

"Of course I have."

"You've fully repaid the money you embezzled from the company, so your punishment will be reduced. However, Politburo Member Liu may mistakenly conclude that you were the one who stole the gold from his villa."

Go Yeongjun immediately began trembling. He understood perfectly well what kind of disaster could come crashing down on him.

"I know a way to clear up Politburo Member Liu's misunderstanding. Would you like to hear it?"

"Please tell me!"

"Right now, call Politburo Member Liu and..."

I carefully explained every step Go Yeongjun needed to take.

"...If you say exactly that, you'll clear yourself of suspicion. But remember, he's an old fox who's survived countless storms."

In other words, we couldn't give Politburo Member Liu Peiqi even the slightest reason to become suspicious. Go Yeongjun nodded in understanding and dialed Liu Peiqi's number. After several rings, Liu answered in a puzzled voice.

"[Former President Go, what happened?]"

"You know perfectly well why I'm calling, Politburo Member Liu."

"[You see... Something unexpected and urgent came up, so I wasn't able to keep my promise.]"

"I don't know what circumstances arose, but you failed to deliver the gold by the agreed deadline. Therefore, I request that you return the money I paid for the bullion."

"[I'm truly sorry, but could you wait just a little longer?]"

"You want me to wait until tomorrow morning?"

"[Sigh...]" Politburo Member Liu Peiqi let out a heavy sigh. He didn't have a single card left to play.