Chapter 145: The Devil from the Underworld

Not long afterward, confirmation arrived that Vice Chairman Wei Chen had transferred one billion dollars.

As promised, I sent him the list of Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui's loyal supporters.

Bzzz!

A second later, the phone in my hand vibrated with °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° an incoming call.

Knowing perfectly well who it was, I apologized to Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong of the National Police Agency and the others present before pressing the answer button.

"Vice Chairman Wei."

["I had no idea that bastard Chen had such a massive pack of loyal dogs."]

"I thought exactly the same thing, Vice Chairman Wei."

["Where on earth did Chen Shao get such top-secret information?"]

Chen Shao had secretly copied the Triad's core data from his father Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui's computer.

I had no obligation to answer that question, and there was no point in revealing the details. At the same time, outright lying wasn't a good idea.

"Chen Shao is Vice Chairman Chen's only son."

["Are you saying Chen himself gave him that list?"]

Of course not, but I had no intention of revealing the truth.

"Let's just say I won't deny your assumption."

["Handing over something that valuable with his own hands... Even if it's his own son! What kind of brain does that idiot have? I'd love to crack open his skull and take a look!"]

"I couldn't agree more. If you want to weaken Vice Chairman Chen's influence, you should move immediately before his people leave for the Philippines."

I quickly changed the subject to avoid raising unnecessary suspicion.

["Naturally! That's exactly what I'm going to do. Now let's discuss something else."]

"I'm listening."

["What do the American authorities intend to do about Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan, who's protecting that bastard Chen?"]

"Director Glenn Nevers and Director Eddie Griffin are on their way to Korea right now. As soon as I speak with them, I'll let you know."

["Agreed. I've got plenty to deal with. We'll talk again later."]

Click!

As soon as I lowered the phone from my ear, Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong asked with open curiosity,

"Do you think Vice Chairman Wei can really eliminate Chen Zhihui?"

"Chen Zhihui is as tenacious as a weed. Taking him out with a single strike will be difficult."

"Then how do we finish him off?"

"It'll work if the Philippine government throws itself into the operation wholeheartedly."

Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong merely frowned in confusion.

The Philippines consisted of several thousand islands. If Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui decided to disappear, finding him would be practically impossible. The commissioner asked why I was so certain.

"Chen Zhihui will hide with the Abu Sayyaf militants on Mindanao, so locating him won't be a problem."

"Hmm... That actually makes sense."

At that moment, Police Superintendent Hong Ingi joined the conversation.

"Chief Cha, Mindanao is a massive island, only slightly smaller than our own country, and almost all of it is covered in dense jungle. Even the Philippine government forces would face enormous difficulties carrying out a sweep there."

"Six months ago, Vice Chairman Chen smuggled an entire shipping container of weapons to Abu Sayyaf. The CIA and FBI have already informed President Gonzales of the Philippines."

"I see."

"President Gonzales despises terrorists with all his heart, so he has every justification for arresting Chen."

"The problem is that the rebels have plenty of people inside the local police. Any operation would be doomed because of leaks."

"What if the military handled it instead?"

Superintendent Hong Ingi shook his head.

"The Philippine military isn't nearly as brave or well-trained as our soldiers. Besides, the militants know the jungles of Mindanao like the backs of their hands. The army would suffer tremendous casualties."

"I'm not suggesting sending infantry into a direct assault."

"I'm not quite following your thinking, Chief Cha."

"The Philippine Air Force uses fighter jets purchased from our country to strike rebel bases. If we provide them with the exact coordinates of Chen's hideout, they'll simply erase it with a precision airstrike."

"Ah... Now I understand."

After finishing my conversation with Superintendent Hong Ingi, I turned to Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong.

"Commissioner Choi, could I ask you to personally encourage President Gonzales to make that decision?"

"Me?"

Choi Dongyeong pointed at himself in surprise, clearly not expecting such a request.

"Politburo member Liu Peiqi mistakenly believes former CEO Go Yeongjun escaped to the Philippines with Vice Chairman Tang Guochang's help. He's going to dispatch a special team there very soon."

Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong finally understood my plan.

If Liu Peiqi sent people to the Philippines, Vice Chairman Wei Chen would immediately inform us. We'd pass the information to the Philippine authorities, inflaming anti-Japanese and anti-Chinese sentiment among the local population to the greatest extent possible.

Amid that chaos, I intended to provide the Philippine government with Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui's exact location.

The commissioner asked directly if he had understood my intentions correctly.

"You're absolutely right, Commissioner. I'm sure Director Glenn Nevers is thinking the same thing. Why wait for him to take all the credit with President Gonzales when we can act first?"

"I understand. I'll personally fly to the Philippines as soon as possible."

Bzzz!

At that moment, the phone in Chief Secretary Kang Inhan's hand vibrated. After glancing at the screen, he nodded knowingly and stepped aside to answer the important call.

A few minutes later, he returned at a brisk pace and reported,

"Chief, we've just received confirmation. Lee Jeongsu, the leader of the Scorpion Gang, and his subordinate Choi Dongcheol have both been captured."

"What about the rest of the gang?"

"The remaining members will all be arrested within twenty minutes."

"Excellent. When will Lee Jeongsu and Choi Dongcheol arrive here?"

"They were captured in Incheon, so transportation will take about an hour."

After listening to Kang Inhan, I turned to NIS Director Om Giyeon.

"Director Om, please make sure we arrange a face-to-face confrontation between Major General Jeong Sancheol and Choi Dongcheol."

"I've already informed General Jeong."

"Excellent. All this running around has made me hungry. Shall we grab something to eat while we have the time?"

"Hahaha! Excellent idea. I'd be happy to."

***

"Ugh..."

Consciousness slowly returned to Lee Jeongsu, and the events of the night gradually resurfaced in his memory.

In the middle of February, Choi Dongcheol had flown to Macau and returned with two dozen promissory notes from his former military commander, who now ran an underground gambling syndicate there.

Their job was to collect debts that the commander had been unable to recover himself.

Earlier that very day, they had finally squeezed five hundred million won out of a poor bastard they'd been terrorizing for over two months.

They had been celebrating the payday in a smoke-filled bar when the lights suddenly went out.

The next instant, the door flew off its hinges. A group of burly men stormed inside and began beating everyone in sight with iron pipes.

Lee Jeongsu blacked out from the very first blow to the back of his head.

Who the hell attacked us? he muttered to himself as he tried to raise a hand to the throbbing wound.

His arms wouldn't move.

They were bound tightly against his body with thick rope.

"Damn... Bastards!"

Hearing him curse, someone spoke from the darkness.

"Boss, are you awake?"

"Dongcheol? Is that you? My head feels like it's splitting open, but otherwise I think I'm okay. What about you?"

"About the same, Boss. My head's killing me too. Do you know who those people were?"

"No idea. And where the hell are we?"

Clang!

At that moment, the heavy basement door creaked open, and the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from outside.

Lee Jeongsu and Choi Dongcheol instinctively pressed themselves against the wall, staring into the darkness.

A second later, someone flipped the light switch.

The basement was flooded with blinding light.

Both men instinctively shut their eyes and turned toward the sound.

Standing before them were unfamiliar, powerfully built men holding meter-long iron pipes. Their cold expressions promised nothing good.

Sensing disaster, the gangsters tried to drop to their knees and beg for mercy, but thick ropes bound both their arms and legs.

"P-Please... Spare us! Please!" Lee Jeongsu pleaded in a trembling voice.

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan stepped forward and spoke in a harsh, bone-chilling voice.

"No one's planning to kill you, so shut up."

"..."

"Put these pieces of trash in chairs."

"Yes, sir!"

The men immediately lifted the prisoners and sat them down in sturdy wooden chairs.

Kang Inhan sat in the chair opposite them and continued.

"Do you have any idea who you're sitting in front of?"

"N-No... No idea..."

"You don't? That's unfortunate. Have you ever heard of the Hwaeryong organization that terrorized the country's underworld ten years ago?"

The moment he heard those words, Lee Jeongsu trembled as though struck by lightning.

He knew that name all too well.

Only the defector Choi Dongcheol sat there blinking blankly, having no idea what they were talking about.

"Judging by your face, you've heard of it."

"Y-Yes... Of course..."

"My name is Kang Inhan. I used to belong to Hwaeryong."

Everything went black before Lee Jeongsu's eyes, and his thoughts dissolved into chaos.

The man sitting before him had once been Hwaeryong's right-hand man—

the ruthless butcher known throughout the underworld as the Devil from the Underworld.

His only chance of surviving was to tell them absolutely everything.

"I'll tell you everything! Everything I know! Just don't kill me!"

"Excellent. But remember this. If even a single word differs from what I already know, I'll break every bone in your body one by one. If you don't believe me, you're welcome to find out. Now, let's begin. What do you do?"

"I run an underground gambling den in Yeonsu-dong, Incheon..."

"How many members does the Scorpion Gang have?"

"Twenty-three, including me."

Terrified out of his mind, Lee Jeongsu answered every one of Kang Inhan's questions without the slightest hesitation.

"Good. Now for the important question. Do you know Director Jang Seokcho, who used to own a small restaurant in Taebaek, Gangwon Province?"

"I do!"

"Tell me how you got involved with him."

Lee Jeongsu paused for a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking.

"In the middle of February, Choi Dongcheol, who's sitting beside me, went to Macau. When he came back, he said he'd met his former military commander there..."

"You knew he was a North Korean defector?"

"He told me himself when I accepted him into the gang."

"So you knew he used to be an operative of North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau?"

"The Reconnaissance General Bureau...?"

"It's North Korea's equivalent of our National Intelligence Service. Didn't he ever tell you that?"

"No... He said he'd served in a missile unit near Pyongyang."

Kang Inhan turned toward Choi Dongcheol.

"Why did you hide the fact that you served in the Reconnaissance General Bureau from Lee Jeongsu?"

"I was afraid he'd start asking questions about the organization..."

"And there wasn't any other reason?"

"...None."

Kang Inhan immediately sensed something was off.

There had been a noticeable hesitation before Choi Dongcheol answered.

Bzzz!

Just as he was about to press the North Korean further, the phone in his pocket vibrated.

Taking it out, he saw a message from Cha Jiham.

Separate Lee Jeongsu and Choi Dongcheol into different rooms.

Kang Inhan replied briefly before turning to Team Leader Seo Donghun.

"Team Leader Seo, take this bastard to another room."

"Understood!"

Seo Donghun and his men grabbed Choi Dongcheol and dragged him out of the basement.

Watching them leave, Kang Inhan returned his attention to Lee Jeongsu.

"Continue. What else did Dongcheol tell you about his commander in Macau?"

"He said his former commander had defected from North Korea and settled down in Macau..."

"I hate to disappoint you, but his commander never defected."

"W-What...?"

Lee Jeongsu froze, panic spreading across his face.

"He's an active high-ranking officer in North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau."

"W-What?!"

Lee Jeongsu gasped in genuine shock.

"He's stationed in Macau, carrying out espionage operations on behalf of North Korea."

"I... I had no idea..." the shaken gangster muttered.

Kang Inhan gave him a long, contemptuous look before continuing the interrogation.

"What else did Choi Dongcheol tell you?"

"He said his former commander made a living running casino scams. He'd lend money to people he gambled with, and some of the debtors refused to repay him..."