Chapter 181: Now We Leave

Team Leader Seo Donghun realized that Politburo member Liu Peiqi had made a serious mistake in his assumptions.

Still, he couldn't rule out the possibility that his own judgment might be wrong, so he needed to clarify the situation.

"The ceiling isn't going to collapse, so hurry up and sit on the sofa."

As soon as Liu Peiqi quickly lowered himself onto the sofa, Seo Donghun asked his next question.

"Tang Guochang, you say?"

"Vice Chairman Tang Guochang definitely stole the gold bars from my villa."

"What makes you think that?"

"My villa was thoroughly covered by surveillance cameras. Only specially trained military personnel would be capable of disabling them and infiltrating the place."

"What kind of bullshit is that?!"

Seo Donghun deliberately roared at the top of his lungs.

Not understanding what was wrong, Liu Peiqi merely stared at him in bewilderment.

"He wouldn't involve us in his personal affairs."

Those words from the stranger became the decisive clue for Liu Peiqi.

The man before him wasn't a mercenary. He was definitely a soldier from a special forces unit.

That was precisely why he not only displayed such intense patriotism but also possessed impeccable knowledge of security.

Putting all those facts together, Liu Peiqi reached a conclusion: the man before him was undoubtedly a subordinate of Vice Chairman Tang Guochang.

Wanting to confirm his suspicions once and for all, Liu Peiqi cautiously asked,

"May I ask what your relationship is with Vice Chairman Tang?"

"That... is not something I'm obligated to tell you."

Liu Peiqi decided there was no longer any reason to doubt the stranger's identity.

There had been a slight delay before the man answered his question—and that was enough.

'Tang Guochang! If I let you get away with this, then my name isn't Liu Peiqi.'

Grrrk.

Liu Peiqi clenched his teeth with all his strength and continued speaking to the stranger.

"If Vice Chairman Tang didn't take my gold bars, then who stole them?"

Seo Donghun was now certain that Liu Peiqi had completely convinced himself of Vice Chairman Tang's guilt.

It was hardly surprising. Suppressed fury was plainly audible in his voice.

'Heh-heh. Watching those two tear into each other should be entertaining.'

Chuckling inwardly, he answered Liu Peiqi's question.

"Don't ask me. Go ask Director Go Yeongjun yourself."

"That bastard won't answer my calls."

"Then go to the Philippines and ask him in person."

"I'd gladly do that, but I don't know where he's hiding."

"It'd be nice to satisfy your curiosity before you die, wouldn't it? He's hiding on Mindanao in the Philippines."

"Haa..."

Seo Donghun didn't think Liu Peiqi's heavy sigh was meaningless.

"Why are you sighing?"

"It's frustrating and sickening to die after falling into a trap set by Director Go."

"You seem to have forgotten that we're mercenaries."

"Could it be..."

Liu Peiqi trailed off as though an idea had just occurred to him.

Of course, Seo Donghun could see right through his thoughts.

"You're thinking in the right direction."

"Then my guess was correct. How much do you want in exchange for sparing my life?"

"What answer would you like to hear from me?"

In other words: if you want to live, offer the largest ransom you possibly can.

"I understand. How about 10 million yuan?"

"Looks like you're not particularly attached to your life. Do you take us for beggars?"

A simmering rage boiled inside Liu Peiqi's chest.

The average annual salary of a high-ranking officer in China was around 180,000 yuan.

He had just offered the stranger sitting before him an amount equivalent to fifty-five years of his salary in exchange for his life.

And the man had immediately rejected the offer as though it were laughable!

"Is 10 million yuan not enough?"

"Is your life only worth 10 million yuan?"

"......"

Liu Peiqi fell silent, unable to come up with a response.

"How about a nice round sum of 1 billion yuan?"

"W-What?!"

Liu Peiqi shouted in genuine shock.

Seo Donghun, meanwhile, remained seated with an impassive expression, clearly holding all the cards.

"There were exactly 5,125 kilograms of gold bars hidden in your villa. At roughly 5.7 million yuan per kilogram, their total value exceeds 29.2 billion yuan. With such an enormous fortune to your name, you're reluctant to pay 1 billion yuan for your own life?"

"......"

"Well, if you're planning to take that money with you to the afterlife, that's your choice. Time to make a decision."

Liu Peiqi was ready to climb the walls in desperation.

He had exactly 500 million yuan remaining in his personal slush funds.

But in this situation, he couldn't stubbornly refuse to pay either.

"Could... could you lower the ransom to 500 million yuan?"

"You're quite a brave man, I see. You're going to such lengths to demonstrate how little you want to live."

Seo Donghun slowly raised his cocked pistol.

"N-No, that's not it! I really only have 500 million yuan in slush funds!"

Apparently, Liu Peiqi had completely lost any desire to die. His voice trembled with desperation.

But it had no effect whatsoever on Seo Donghun.

Cha Jiham had already told him that Liu Peiqi possessed substantial cryptocurrency holdings.

And the fact that the man was still trying to save money even with death staring him in the face only proved how dirty the methods he'd used to amass his fortune had been.

"Tell me, does cryptocurrency no longer count as a slush fund?"

"H-How did you..."

Liu Peiqi trailed off again, realizing he'd been caught.

"What do you mean, how? Who else could have told us?"

"Go Yeongjun... You son of a bitch!"

Liu Peiqi unleashed a string of curses, unable to contain his anger.

"I hope those words weren't directed at me?"

"N-No! Absolutely not!"

Liu Peiqi frantically waved his bound hands, trying to smooth things over.

"If you transfer all the cryptocurrency you have, I might spare your life."

"But my cryptocurrency is worth more than 2 billion dollars!"

"If you're that reluctant to part with it, then add another 500 million dollars to the slush funds and we'll call it even."

Seo Donghun replied indifferently and gave a slight nod.

At that moment, Assistant Manager Kim Seongwon went into Liu Peiqi's bedroom and returned carrying a laptop.

Seo Donghun opened the lid, turned it on, and positioned it in front of Liu Peiqi.

Then he pulled a note containing account numbers from his pocket and handed it to the Politburo member.

"Transfer 500 million yuan to the account listed at the top. Send 500 million dollars' worth of cryptocurrency to the crypto wallet below. But keep this in mind: we'll only accept Bitcoin."

"But... I only have 400 million dollars' worth of Bitcoin."

Seo Donghun thought that worked out perfectly.

The missing 100 million dollars would provide an excellent excuse to extract the information they needed from Liu Peiqi.

"Hmm..."

Seo Donghun deliberately pretended to consider it.

Consumed by impatience and fear, Liu Peiqi stared intently at him.

After letting the silence stretch for a moment, Seo Donghun slowly said,

"If you answer my questions honestly, I'll knock 100 million dollars off the price."

"Ask me anything. I'll tell you everything!"

"As you know, cryptocurrency is illegal in our country, and all transactions involving it are strictly prohibited. Yet you've accumulated quite a substantial amount. Tell me how you acquired it."

"Cryptocurrency trading is prohibited here, but there's still a black market. I quietly bought it through exchanges."

Psshew!

Without warning, Seo Donghun shot Liu Peiqi in the left thigh.

"A-Aaargh!"

Suddenly wounded, Liu Peiqi screamed in pain and clutched his left leg with his bound hands.

"Hey, Politburo member Liu, are you trying to play games with me?"

"......"

"That's the last lie you get to tell. If one more lie comes out of that mouth of yours, you won't be alive anymore."

"...Urgh! I understand."

"I'll ask you again. Who did you buy the cryptocurrency from?"

"I... bought it from North Korea."

"North Korea? What does that mean?"

Seo Donghun already knew the entire truth, but he pretended he was hearing it for the first time.

"North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau operates hacking units. They hack cryptocurrency exchanges and steal assets. I bought those stolen assets from them."

"Tch. And this is what a member of the Central Politburo gets up to."

"......"

Liu Peiqi responded to Seo Donghun's venomous rebuke with nothing but sullen silence.

"Does President Xi know that you're buying cryptocurrency stolen by North Korean hackers?"

"...He doesn't."

Seo Donghun understood that President Xi Jinping knew everything.

Once again, there had been the slightest delay before Liu Peiqi answered.

He could have pressed him and forced him to confirm it, but Donghun saw no need.

Anyone who watched the recording of the interrogation would reach exactly the same conclusion.

"Good. If the President doesn't know, there's no need for something like this to reach his ears. So stop buying stolen cryptocurrency from the North Koreans."

"I'll do that, but..."

Seo Donghun knew perfectly well why Liu Peiqi had hesitated.

His response made it obvious that he had absolutely no intention of heeding the warning.

He wasn't stupid enough to voluntarily give up easy money.

"You've got some nerve. Are you planning to ignore my warning?"

"No, of course not! It's just... you're going to report my testimony to Vice Chairman Tang Guochang anyway, aren't you?"

"Listen, have you tried using your head?"

"What do you mean...?"

"If I report this to Vice Chairman Tang, I'll have to hand over the ransom I got from you."

"Ah..."

Liu Peiqi nodded, pretending to understand the situation.

"So we're agreed. You'll stop buying cryptocurrency?"

"How could I possibly disobey your order?"

"Glad you've understood. Now transfer the 500 million yuan and 400 million dollars' worth of cryptocurrency."

"I'm sorry to trouble you... but could you untie my hands?"

"Fine. That can be arranged."

Seo Donghun nodded, and Assistant Manager Kim Seongwon untied the ropes around Liu Peiqi's hands.

Without wasting a second, Liu Peiqi began working furiously on the laptop to transfer the ransom.

After glancing at him, Seo Donghun turned toward Public Security Bureau Chief Pu Zhenghua.

"If even a single word about what happened here reaches my ears, the Grim Reaper will come for you."

"I'll keep silent until the day I die!"

"I'll take your word for it. As soon as you get out of here, immediately contact the head of the Shenyang Public Security Bureau and order him to put the foreign consulates under surveillance. The U.S. Consulate in particular must be watched around the clock."

"I'll do everything you ask, but... is there some special reason we need to watch the U.S. Consulate so closely?"

"North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol recently defected to the United States. And his close friend is Commander Kwak Taesu."

"Ah, I see."

Pu Zhenghua nodded repeatedly in understanding.

"If you can't catch him, then your public security forces are useless. What do you say?"

"I completely agree."

"I'll be keeping a very close eye on both you and the head of the Shenyang Public Security Bureau."

"We'll definitely catch him."

Pu Zhenghua clenched his bound hands into fists, demonstrating his determination.

After some time, Liu Peiqi addressed Seo Donghun.

"I've just transferred 500 million yuan and 400 million dollars' worth of cryptocurrency."

Seo Donghun immediately checked the incoming funds on the laptop.

After confirming the transfers, he snapped the laptop shut and asked Liu Peiqi,

"You understand what will happen if you run your mouth, don't you?"

"Of course."

Ignoring Liu Peiqi's answer, Seo Donghun held out his hand to Kim Seongwon.

Without hesitation, Kim Seongwon pulled a tranquilizer gun from inside his clothes and handed it to the Team Leader.

Watching them, Liu Peiqi began to tremble.

"P-Please... spare me!"

"Don't worry. I make a habit of keeping my word."

Pshh, pshh!

After each receiving a dose of tranquilizer, Liu Peiqi and Pu Zhenghua fell into a deep sleep.

A moment later, Cha Jiham emerged from Liu Peiqi's bedroom.

Seo Donghun immediately rose from the sofa and greeted him.

"Director, perfect timing."

"Seo Donghun, did you get the answers we needed from Liu Peiqi?"

"Yes. It's all taken care of."

Seo Donghun's voice was confident.

I nodded in satisfaction and added,

"Excellent work. Now we leave."