Chapter 167: An Unexpected Situation

The waiters, as though they already knew exactly who we were, served us with the utmost respect. Thanks to their attentive service, dinner unfolded in a warm and relaxed atmosphere.

"To have the chance to taste such an expensive wine... Vice Chairman Wei, thanks to you, I truly feel like I've reached the height of bliss."

"Oh, it's nothing. It only costs one million yuan."

"I'm sorry... what?!"

Lee Menghong reacted with genuine astonishment bordering on shock.

As if he fully understood his feelings, Vice Chairman Wei Chen smiled faintly and continued,

"Director Lee, there are countless collectible wines in this world that are even more expensive."

"That may be true, but for an ordinary man like me, this is unimaginable luxury."

"Ha-ha. Is that so?"

"What's the most expensive wine you've ever tasted, Vice Chairman Wei?"

"Five years ago, I drank a collectible wine worth twenty million yuan."

"...!"

Both Director Lee Menghong and Agent Choi Seonghun were left speechless. Anyone would be stunned at the thought of drinking wine worth several million dollars.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Vice Chairman Wei Chen hurriedly added,

"I had no intention of showing off in front of you, Director Lee."

"Yes, yes, I understand. What about you, Chief Cha? Have you ever had expensive wine?"

Why is he suddenly interested in that?

"I once had the opportunity to drink a bottle worth four and a half million yuan free of charge."

"...What? For free?"

"It just happened that way."

At that moment, Pan Kai stepped into the conversation, clearly wanting to add something.

"Director Lee, aren't you curious how Chief Cha managed to drink wine worth four and a half million yuan without paying?"

"Of course I am!"

"Our hotel's biggest competitor is MGM Macau. Its CEO is Liu Haoran, the younger brother of Politburo member Liu Peiqi. Director Lee, you know who Politburo member Liu Peiqi is, don't you?"

"How could I not?"

"Oh, it seems I asked a foolish question."

"It's all right. Please continue."

"CEO Liu Haoran has a son named Liu Shen. That brat was hopelessly in love with Vice Chairman Wei's only daughter, Wei Fei."

Pan Kai described the incident at the MGM Macau restaurant in such vivid detail that it sounded as though he'd been standing right beside us. Since everything he said was completely accurate, I simply listened in silence without offering any additional explanation.

"...Apparently, after his pride was wounded, he treated Chief Cha and Wei Fei to dinner free of charge."

"I see."

"After that, Chief Cha ran into Vice President Liu Shen again at the casino."

Pan Kai enthusiastically began recounting everything that had happened in the gaming hall.

It almost felt as though he'd completely forgotten about the extraterritoriality principle and the fact that Korean citizens could still face criminal penalties for gambling overseas, despite telling this story to people from Korea.

As if reading my concern, Director Lee Menghong subtly signaled for me to relax. The veteran operative understood the risks just as well as I did. Feeling slightly embarrassed by my own suspicion, I focused on the story again.

"...After losing every single chip on the table in the very first round, he tripped on his way out, slammed face-first into the floor, and knocked out every single one of his teeth."

"Wasn't the floor carpeted?"

Liu Shen had lost all his teeth because of the curse I'd placed on him. But how could I possibly reveal such an unbelievable secret?

Meanwhile, the conversation between Pan Kai and Lee Menghong continued.

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth."

"Vice President Liu Shen must hate Chief Cha with a passion now."

"I doubt that."

Lee Menghong tilted his head in confusion.

First, out of jealousy, Liu Shen had treated Cha Jiham to an outrageously expensive bottle of wine. Then he had lost a fortune to him in Texas Hold'em. To top it all off, while on his way to replenish his chips, he'd fallen and suffered a horrific injury that cost him every tooth in his mouth.

Given everything that had happened, it would have been perfectly natural for him to harbor intense hatred toward Cha Jiham, whom he saw as the cause of all his misfortune. Yet Pan Kai was insisting otherwise.

Curious about his reasoning, I cautiously asked,

"That brat believes he bought the expensive bottle for Wei Fei, not Chief Cha. He blames his huge loss in Hold'em on his own miscalculation. And as for his teeth... he believes he simply fell on his own."

"Ah, now I understand what you meant. What an astonishing and unbelievable coincidence."

Deciding it was time to put the subject of Vice President Liu Shen behind us, I steered the conversation elsewhere.

"Vice Chairman Wei, has Politburo member Liu Peiqi already dispatched a strike team to the Philippines to capture Go Yeongjun?"

"I've been keeping a close eye on his movements, but so far there haven't been any significant developments."

"If it turns out he's sent people, let me know."

"That won't be difficult, but..."

I understood immediately why Vice Chairman Wei Chen had hesitated.

"I want to give that strike team the most unforgettable tour through every circle of hell."

"Ha-ha-ha!"

Vice Chairman Wei Chen burst into hearty laughter, clearly subscribing to the belief that someone else's misfortune was a source of joy.

After waiting for his laughter to die down, I continued.

"Vice Chairman Wei, what did you do with Cho Insu's gang?"

"I've been informed they'll be loaded onto a charter flight departing tomorrow morning."

"In that case, would it be possible for our company's personnel to use that charter flight as well?"

"Why not? That's no problem."

"My sincere thanks for your generosity, Vice Chairman Wei."

"Ha-ha-ha! Think nothing of it."

As soon as Wei Chen's laughter subsided, Lee Menghong asked curiously,

"Chief Cha, who exactly is Cho Insu?"

"Cho Insu is the name of the deputy leader of Busan's Scorpion Gang."

I briefly explained how we'd taken down the Scorpion Gang.

"...They can't be transported on a regular passenger flight, so Vice Chairman Wei had to arrange a charter."

"But chartering an aircraft costs an enormous amount of money."

"Director Lee, would you mind if I answered that instead?" Wei Chen interrupted before I could speak.

"I'm listening."

"I spent a long time searching for Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui, but I couldn't find the slightest trace of him. Hoping for a miracle, I asked Chief Cha for help, and he immediately told me Chen Zhihui had fled to Mindanao in the Philippines. Compared to information that valuable, the cost of a charter flight is insignificant."

"So Vice Chairman Chen is hiding on Mindanao?"

Wei Chen turned toward me.

Knowing exactly where he was going with this, I answered without hesitation.

"Director Nevers confirmed that Chen Zhihui has joined Abu Sayyaf, the Islamic extremist terrorist organization based on Mindanao."

"But why is the FBI hunting him?"

"He possesses an enormous amount of highly classified information about the Triad's internal affairs."

Vice Chairman Wei Chen frowned as the magnitude of the threat sank in.

If Chen Zhihui were captured alive by the FBI, the very existence of the syndicate would be at risk.

Determined not to allow that outcome, he turned to me.

"Chief Cha, what if we get there before the FBI and eliminate him first?"

"The FBI's real objective is Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan, who's under President Xi Jinping's personal protection. They won't touch Chen Zhihui until the decisive moment arrives—the moment they can tighten the noose around Zhang Jinan's neck."

"That decisive moment may arrive much sooner than you think."

Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui had signed a contract to supply North Korean weapons to Abu Sayyaf, the terrorist organization based on the Philippine island of Mindanao. However, the United States had unexpectedly intercepted and seized the Golden Mariner, an Eastern Shipping cargo vessel carrying those weapons.

Caught completely off guard, Chen Zhihui personally rushed to Mindanao to resolve the crisis. There he met with Abu Sayyaf's leader, Carlos, and promised to arrange another shipment.

I'd assumed North Korea would need considerable time to prepare another batch, meaning the process would take at least a month or two. Yet Vice Chairman Wei Chen spoke as though the North could deliver the arsenal to Abu Sayyaf much sooner.

"Is what Vice Chairman Wei is saying true?"

"It is. That's precisely why I hurried here to meet you, Chief Cha."

"Can you explain the situation?"

"It looks like we've finished dinner. Shall we continue this conversation in my suite?"

***

Seated at the head of the table, Vice Chairman Wei Chen closed his eyes for a moment to gather his thoughts.

Realizing the situation had become serious, we silently waited for him to speak.

After quite a long pause, he finally began in a measured tone.

"Using the information provided by the Korean police, I carried out a purge of Chen Zhihui's people."

Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong had received one billion dollars from Vice Chairman Wei Chen in exchange for a list of officials still loyal to Chen Zhihui. That was what he was referring to.

"Were you able to eliminate many of his subordinates?"

"His closest associates fled to the Philippines before the operation even began."

"That's unfortunate..."

"It doesn't matter. We'll reach them sooner or later."

"I understand. Please continue."

"Among Chen Zhihui's trusted men is someone named Sheng Kou. For reasons we still don't understand, he didn't flee to the Philippines but remained in China. We tracked him down and successfully captured him in Dalian."

Vice Chairman Wei Chen took a sip of his drink to moisten his throat before continuing.

"During the interrogation, we forced some astonishing information out of him."

"What kind of information?"

"Two months ago, acting on Chen Zhihui's secret orders, he met with Carlos, the leader of Abu Sayyaf, in the Philippines. Carlos proposed purchasing a large shipment of North Korean weapons."

"Do we know the size of the shipment?"

"Twenty forty-foot containers."

"That's an enormous quantity. What happened next?"

"He immediately reported it to Chen Zhihui and was ordered to finalize the deal."

Something about that struck me as odd.

Chen Zhihui had been importing North Korean weapons through Choson Trading, which was based in Macau. Yet the company's CEO, Major General Jeong Sanhak, hadn't mentioned this deal to me even once.

I voiced my doubts to Vice Chairman Wei Chen.

"I found that suspicious as well, so I pressed him harder. It turned out that because the shipment was so large, they decided to use Eastern Shipping instead."

"Are you saying Eastern Shipping is the company smuggling North Korean weapons to Abu Sayyaf?"

"Exactly right, Chief Cha."

At that moment, Lee Menghong cautiously interjected.

"Vice Chairman Wei, could you tell me what kind of company Eastern Shipping is?"

"Its headquarters are in Hong Kong, and its actual owner is Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan."

"Ah, I see. My apologies, Chief Cha. Please continue."

His curiosity satisfied, Lee Menghong quietly withdrew from the conversation.

"According to the contract, the North Korean weapons are to be delivered to Abu Sayyaf by the end of next month."

"By the end of next month? But that still gives them two months."

"That's true, but don't forget what happened to the Golden Mariner carrying the previous shipment."

Everything was beginning to fall into place.

Because the Golden Mariner had been seized by the American military in Japan, Abu Sayyaf never received the five forty-foot containers of weapons it had been expecting. To appease the enraged terrorist leader Carlos, Chen Zhihui had promised to deliver twenty containers as quickly as possible.

I decided to ask directly.

"Am I right?"

"You've hit the nail on the head, Chief Cha."

"I see. Go on."

"Originally, the North Korean weapons were supposed to be loaded in Vladivostok. But after the Golden Mariner was seized, the loading point was urgently moved to Dalian."

"So that's why that man was staying in Dalian."

"Exactly."

"And where are the weapons now?"

"Aboard the container ship Silver Crystal, which is currently docked in the Port of Dalian."