Chapter 170: Another Variable

Something wasn't right.

The American special forces that had departed from Korea were supposed to arrive on the outskirts of Dandong aboard a stealth submarine at one in the morning.

However, thirty minutes had already passed since the scheduled arrival time, and my phone remained silent.

"Chief Secretary Kang, do you think something happened?"

"It's only been half an hour. Let's wait a little longer."

"What else can we do? By the way, where did Team Leader Lee go?"

"He said he wanted to inspect Politburo member Liu Peiqi's villa, so he left with his men."

The operation to eliminate the hacker group was planned as a joint mission between Korea Investment and the CIA.

Apparently, before the operation began, Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol had decided to personally inspect Politburo member Liu Peiqi's villa with his subordinates.

"I'm not sure it's worth taking that kind of risk."

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan immediately understood what Cha Jiham meant.

At the moment, NIS operatives were already keeping Liu Peiqi's villa under surveillance.

That meant Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol could simply have received a detailed report from them.

Yet he'd chosen to inspect the villa himself, which was exactly why Jiham was concerned.

"Managing Director Cha, you know better than anyone how strong Team Leader Lee's sense of responsibility is."

"I already told him we're planning to inspect Liu Peiqi's villa tomorrow evening. There was absolutely no need for this."

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan tilted his head in confusion.

The operation against the hacker group was scheduled for Saturday night into Sunday.

That meant there was absolutely no reason to inspect Liu Peiqi's villa tomorrow evening—Friday.

But Jiham had his own plans for tomorrow night.

Kang Inhan cautiously asked why.

"We need to separate the wheat from the chaff among the hackers staying at Liu Peiqi's villa."

"Is that really necessary?"

"Our country and the United States are fighting fiercely over those hackers. In the end, we'll most likely split them equally. If we want our country to get the most talented ones, tomorrow evening I'm going to send Saho into Liu Peiqi's villa."

"Ah, now I understand what you're getting at."

Bzzz.

As Chief Secretary Kang Inhan nodded in understanding, the phone on the table vibrated.

Glancing at the screen, Jiham immediately saw that it was Director Lee Menghong, who had gone to meet Saho and the American special forces.

"Director Lee, how did everything go?"

["Saho and the American special forces arrived safely. We've already left for the hotel."]

"That's a relief. How long will it take to get here?"

["Normally about thirty minutes, but tonight I can't say for sure."]

"Is there a reason?"

["The main streets of Dandong are swarming with soldiers and police. To avoid the worst-case scenario, we're taking a detour to the hotel."]

"The military and police will be gone by morning, won't they?"

["Most likely... but..."]

I knew exactly why Director Lee Menghong had hesitated.

"It'll be dawn in a few hours. Don't take unnecessary risks by coming here right now."

["Ah, I understand what you mean. I'll return to the hotel with only Team Leader Seo Donghun and Saho."]

"Do that. See you soon."

Click.

As soon as the call ended, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan spoke.

"What's the situation?"

"They say Dandong is packed with soldiers and police."

Kang Inhan immediately understood Cha Jiham's intentions.

The American special forces had come to Dandong to destroy the kamikaze drone factory and the North Korean weapons loaded aboard the container ship Silver Crystal.

Since there were thirty of them, they had to travel by bus. If they were stopped and inspected, it would trigger an enormous international incident.

Jiham had simply prevented the bus from heading to the hotel until the police and military withdrew.

"The special forces must be furious."

"That's still better than falling into the worst possible trap."

"That's true... Now that I think about it, you're right."

"You know how to cheer Saho up, don't you?"

"I've already prepared top-grade beef for him."

Ding-dong.

Not long after the conversation ended, the doorbell rang.

As if he already knew who it was, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan quickly went to answer it.

The instant the door opened, Saho dashed into the suite and leaped straight into my arms.

I stroked his head, praising him for enduring such a difficult journey.

Meanwhile, Director Lee Menghong and Team Leader Seo Donghun walked inside.

"Team Leader Seo, you must've had a hard time dealing with Saho's antics."

"Not really."

"You mean Saho didn't make trouble?"

"That's right."

"That's surprising. Sit down and tell me everything."

After taking my seat at the head of the table, I looked at Seo Donghun again.

"I'm dying to know how you managed to keep Saho under control."

"To keep him from getting bored, I released five squirrels inside the submarine."

A wild forest cat naturally survives by hunting.

Its usual prey consists of small animals such as squirrels, mice, rabbits, and fish.

Team Leader Seo had released squirrels inside the submarine to awaken Saho's hunting instincts.

By chasing squirrels all over the submarine, Saho never had a chance to become bored.

Impressed by his ingenuity, I gave him a thumbs-up.

"I have to take my hat off to you, Team Leader Seo."

"Haha. Thank you."

"Chief Secretary Kang, why don't we treat Saho to some excellent beef?"

The moment I finished speaking, Saho bounded over to Chief Secretary Kang Inhan and clamped his teeth onto the leg of his trousers.

Chuckling, Kang Inhan picked him up and headed toward the kitchen.

Only Director Lee Menghong, who wasn't familiar with Saho's extraordinary abilities, stared in amazement.

To clear up his confusion, I quickly explained.

"Director Lee, Saho has been trained to understand human speech. As a matter of fact, he'll be directly involved in the operation to eliminate the hackers."

"Ah, I see."

Director Lee Menghong nodded in understanding.

After satisfying his curiosity, I turned back to Team Leader Seo Donghun.

"Was there a reason you arrived later than planned?"

"About thirty minutes before reaching the mouth of the Yalu River, gunfire broke out."

"Gunfire?"

"I don't know the details, but it appeared that a North Korean patrol boat opened fire with automatic cannons on Chinese fishing boats engaged in illegal fishing."

I deliberately turned toward Director Lee Menghong.

As though he had read my mind, he immediately explained.

"Since North Korea presents itself as a socialist state, fishermen aren't allowed to own their own boats. Because of the country's disastrous economy, North Korean fishing vessels are extremely old and receive almost no fuel. As a result, they can't travel far offshore."

"So you're saying Chinese boats enter the unused North Korean fishing grounds and catch fish there?"

"Exactly, Managing Director Cha. Taking advantage of that, the Chinese government purchased so-called fishing rights from North Korea for enormous sums of money. Chinese vessels with licenses are legally allowed to fish in those waters."

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem is that more than half of the Chinese vessels fishing in North Korean waters don't have licenses at all. Considering the recent deterioration in relations with China, it's reasonable to assume the North Korean patrol boat opened fire on those poachers."

"Ah, I understand."

Nodding, I looked at Team Leader Seo Donghun.

"The stealth submarine wasn't damaged?"

"Fortunately, we were a considerable distance away from the firefight."

Just then, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan returned with drinks.

Apparently very thirsty, Team Leader Seo emptied his glass in a single gulp.

Watching him, I turned to Director Lee Menghong.

"Director Lee, do the police and military patrol Dandong's streets every night?"

"As far as I know, they only establish blockades when a state of emergency is declared."

At that moment, an unpleasant thought crossed my mind.

"Could it be... the Chinese authorities learned about the arrival of the American special forces?"

"That possibility can't be ruled out."

If that were true, things had become very troublesome.

Unable to ignore the possibility, I immediately called Vice President Neil Cayman.

The line connected quickly.

["Managing Director Cha."]

"Sorry for calling so late."

["I wasn't asleep anyway, so don't worry about it."]

"That's good. The streets of Dandong are currently filled with soldiers and police."

I honestly repeated my entire conversation with Director Lee Menghong.

"...What do you think of Director Lee's assessment?"

["I've activated all our intelligence channels, and we've learned that a high-ranking North Korean official has defected."]

In other words, the Chinese authorities had blocked the main roads and established checkpoints in an attempt to intercept the high-ranking North Korean defector.

"Whew... Of all days, he had to defect tonight."

["Tell me about it."]

"Do you know who this high-ranking official is?"

["We're still investigating. As soon as we identify him, I'll contact you immediately."]

"Understood. Please inform the special forces on the bus about the situation."

["I will. Sorry, but I'm in a hurry and have to go."]

Click.

Vice President Neil Cayman hung up first, clearly pressed for time.

The moment I lowered my phone, Team Leader Seo Donghun spoke.

"Managing Director Cha, there's a chance the North Korean patrol boat wasn't firing at Chinese fishing vessels at all."

His words implied that the patrol boat had actually been firing at the vessel carrying the high-ranking official who was defecting.

Wanting to confirm my suspicion, I asked directly.

"You're exactly right."

"I hope he escaped safely."

"I couldn't agree more."

Bzzz.

At that moment, the phone in my hand vibrated.

I glanced at the screen.

It was an unfamiliar number.

For some reason, however, I felt a strong urge to answer it. It made sense—spam calls in the middle of the night were almost unheard of.

"Yes, this is Cha Jiham speaking."

"Is this Managing Director Cha Jiham? It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Commander Kwak Taesu, commander of the Guard Command of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."

"What!?"

The words escaped my mouth before I could stop them.

Why would the commander of North Korea's Guard Command be calling me personally?

Quickly regaining my composure, I continued.

"How did you get my phone number?"

"Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol, who defected to the United States, is a close friend of mine."

"So North Korea believes Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol defected to the United States."

I needed to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

"I don't know any Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol."

"But Jo told me that he was able to escape to the United States thanks to your help, Managing Director Cha."

There was no point denying it any longer.

Even so, I remained cautious and didn't lower my guard.

"I see. And how exactly did you stay in contact with him?"

"What difference does that make?"

In other words, he had no intention of answering.

"If that's your position, then I have nothing further to say. I'd like to know the purpose of your call."

"I escaped from North Korea tonight to seek political asylum in the United States."

At that moment, the real reason the North Korean patrol boat had opened fire with its cannons became clear.

"Commander Kwak, can I trust what you're telling me?"

"If you don't believe me, call Jo Ilcheol yourself and ask him."

Commander Kwak Taesu's voice instantly turned icy, his irritation obvious.

There was no reason to damage our relationship.

"I only asked because the situation caught me completely by surprise. Please don't misunderstand."

"Fine. Let's leave it at that. Jo said you could help me obtain asylum in the United States."

"I understand. What exactly do you need me to do?"

"I wanted to meet you in person, but Dandong is crawling with police and soldiers tonight, so I can't make a move."

"Tell me where you are, and we'll come pick you up."

"I'm not far from the center of Dandong..."