Chapter 184: I Will Follow Your Instructions

The kamikaze drone factory in Fengcheng.

At the guard post by the main gate, the security guards were leisurely chatting while drinking alcohol.

"Senior, are we really allowed to drink while we're on duty?"

"Come on. Who the hell is going to show up here this late at night? Besides, it's Saturday night."

"That's true, but what if an enemy climbs over the fence and infiltrates the factory grounds?"

"An enemy?"

The senior guard on duty, Deng Zhuan, repeated the word as though he had just heard something utterly ridiculous.

The guard who had asked the question fell silent, unable to think of a response.

Senior Deng Zhuan raised his shot glass, drained the remaining alcohol in one gulp, and continued.

"We deliberately keep security light to conceal the fact that our factory produces kamikaze drones. The entire grounds are packed with surveillance cameras equipped with motion sensors. So the moment an enemy gets over the fence, the alarm will go off."

"Ah, I had no idea."

"The cameras are turned off during factory operating hours, so as a newcomer, you wouldn't have known."

At that moment, another guard sitting nearby joined the conversation, clearly curious.

"Senior, do you know why Russia isn't taking the kamikaze drones that are piling up in the warehouse?"

"I heard there's a hell of a dispute going on between our country and Russia over that."

"What's the dispute about?"

"Our side demanded that the Russians pay up and take the drones. But Russia dug its heels in and says it doesn't have the money, so it's offering to supply oil instead."

"I see. How do you think it'll end?"

"Russia desperately needs those kamikaze drones if it wants to win the war."

Boooom!

At that very moment, a deafening explosion rang out, shaking the ground and rattling the windows of the guard post.

"W-what the hell?!"

The terrified guards shot outside like bullets.

The next moment, they couldn't believe their own eyes.

The warehouse where the finished kamikaze drones were stored was engulfed in raging flames.

"...Senior, what the hell is going on?!"

"Looks like the kamikaze drones stored in the warehouse detonated."

"What?! Is that even possible?!"

"If you've got another explanation, let's hear it!"

Boooom! Boooom!..

A series of powerful explosions followed, making the ground tremble once again, and the factory buildings began disappearing one after another into a sea of flames.

All the guards could do was stare in stunned disbelief at the factory buildings blazing so brightly that night had turned into day.

***

"Director Lee, excellent work."

"There's no need to thank me."

"Try to get out of there as quickly as possible before the police and military start pouring in."

Click.

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan spoke the instant I hung up, as though he had been waiting for that exact moment.

"Chief Cha, what's the current situation?"

"We've received word that the kamikaze drone factory is engulfed in flames."

"Are you saying the operation was successful?"

Instead of answering Kang Inhan's question, I turned to Vice President Cayman.

"Find out the current situation at the factory."

"Yes, understood."

After answering briefly, Vice President Cayman called someone, asked a few questions, and ended the call.

"Chief Cha, according to reconnaissance satellite imagery, the kamikaze drone factory has been completely destroyed. There's practically nothing left intact."

"Yeeaah!!"

Everyone in the conference room, including me, let out a triumphant cheer.

The operation had been an absolute success—who wouldn't celebrate something like that?

Without wasting any time, I continued speaking with Vice President Cayman.

"We need to make it look as though the kamikaze drone factory was destroyed by Ukrainian special forces."

"We're already transmitting the footage to Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence in real time."

"I see."

"Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence wants to release the footage to the media immediately."

I understood how desperate their situation was, but now wasn't the time.

"Absolutely not. Not until the NIS agents and Delta Force soldiers have completely withdrawn from Fengcheng."

"Ah, right. I hadn't thought of that."

Leaving Vice President Cayman to handle that, I gave Vice President Fries another instruction.

"Continuously track the movements of the local police and military and report them to me."

"Understood."

"By the way, when are you planning to capture Director Lee Hyeoksan?"

The mere thought of that issue was enough to give Vice President Fries a splitting headache.

After finishing his business trip to Europe, Lee Hyeoksan, president of Choson Trading, had arrived in Beijing this morning.

At around three in the afternoon, he took a domestic flight to Dandong Airport.

The Americans had expected him to head straight home to recover from the time difference and rest after the journey.

Contrary to their expectations, however, he had gone straight to the office. It would have been one thing if he had merely called the employees together for a meeting, but he had remained there and was still holding that meeting even at this late hour!

"We planned to begin the capture operation at midnight, but it looks like we'll have to act according to the situation."

"Why? Has some problem come up?"

"Director Lee is still inside the company building."

"Then something serious must have happened."

"I think the same, Chief Cha. In that case, I have a suggestion. How about we use Saho and send him into Choson Trading to find out what's happening?"

"I'd like to do that myself, but Saho is currently occupied with the operation to eliminate the hacker group."

Vice President Fries tilted his head in confusion.

Just yesterday afternoon, Saho had planted a timed bomb at Politburo member Liu Peiqi's villa, where the hackers were hiding.

The cat had already completed his mission, so there should have been no further need for him in the operation to eliminate the hackers.

And yet Cha Jiham was saying that Saho still had another task left to complete.

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean, Chief Cha."

"The NIS and Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol of North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau conducted a detailed analysis of the footage Saho obtained. They concluded that the amount of explosives planted at Liu Peiqi's villa wasn't sufficient. So the cat went back there to plant an additional bomb."

"Ah, I see."

"Let's have an FBI agent infiltrate Choson Trading and find out what's going on."

The streets of Dandong were crawling with police and soldiers.

That meant sending an FBI agent into the Choson Trading office carried an enormous risk.

Even so, Vice President Fries couldn't object to Cha Jiham's order.

After all, Cha Jiham held overall command authority.

"I will follow your instructions, Chief Cha."

Bzzzz—

About thirty minutes later, the cell phone in Vice President Fries's hand vibrated.

As though he already knew who was calling, he pressed the answer button without hesitation.

"Agent Hackerson, did you manage to figure out what's going on?"

"At the moment, someone who appears to be a member of North Korea's top leadership is conducting the meeting."

"Really? What's the meeting about?"

"We're filming with a drone, so it's difficult to make out what they're saying."

"Well, that can't be helped. What's the atmosphere like?"

"The high-ranking official looks extremely displeased and is screaming his head off at everyone. The meeting participants, including Director Lee Hyeoksan, are standing there with their heads bowed guiltily, like criminals who have done something wrong."

"Understood. Send the drone footage to headquarters so we can identify the official."

Click.

After hanging up, Vice President Fries gave me a detailed report on the conversation.

"...I've ordered them to identify the North Korean official."

"Excellent work."

"Why would such a high-ranking North Korean official be so furious?"

"It probably has something to do with their failure to obtain the transporter components on time."

"Hmm, that does make sense."

Rrrring—

Before long, the phone lying on the table rang. I glanced at the screen and saw FBI Director Nevers's name.

Knowing why he was calling, I answered without delay.

"Director Nevers, I'm listening."

"Analysis of the footage sent by Agent Hackerson has confirmed that the North Korean official is Pak Jongchon, First Deputy Director of the Central Committee Department of North Korea's Military Revolutionary Party. Incidentally, he's one of Kim Jonghun's favorites."

The Central Military Commission was North Korea's highest military body and was personally headed by Kim Jonghun.

"Why would such a major figure come all the way here?"

"Kim Jonghun ordered the production of 250 transporters by September 9, North Korea's Foundation Day. Incidentally, First Deputy Director Pak Jongchon is responsible for both transporter production and ICBM development."

"Hasn't North Korea already succeeded in developing an ICBM?"

"According to our information, they haven't been able to complete development because of technical problems with the warhead's atmospheric reentry. To verify whether that intelligence is accurate, it's absolutely essential that we capture Pak Jongchon alive."

Two key figures supporting the North Korean regime—Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol of the Reconnaissance General Bureau and Commander Kwak Taesu—had already fled.

If First Deputy Director Pak Jongchon defected on top of that, Kim Jonghun would completely lose his mind.

I asked Director Nevers what he thought of my reasoning.

"Since Commander Kwak's fate is still unknown, we can't consider him to have fled."

"Either way, the fact remains that he escaped."

"We believe it's far more likely that he was arrested."

'I wonder how Director Nevers would react if he found out Commander Kwak had already fled to our country?'

"I'm curious why you've reached that conclusion."

"Pak Jongchon's visit to China on Kim Jonghun's orders means only one thing—Kim Jonghun is absolutely determined to capture Commander Kwak no matter what."

"Either way, I understand. Hold on for a minute."

I covered the phone's microphone with my hand and relayed Director Nevers's instructions to Vice President Fries.

Judging by his expression, Fries didn't like the orders one bit—his face twisted as though he'd eaten something disgusting.

That was understandable. He knew just as well that capturing Pak Jongchon alive was a practically impossible task.

Naturally, I completely agreed with him.

But I wasn't about to say that outright.

"I have faith in the outstanding abilities of the FBI agents."

"Haaa..."

The long, heavy sigh that escaped Vice President Fries was answer enough.

In any case, ignoring it, I resumed my conversation with Director Nevers.

"I've relayed your instructions to Vice President Fries."

"And what did he say?"

I had no intention whatsoever of lying.

Because no matter how hard they tried, the FBI agents had no chance in hell of capturing Pak Jongchon alive.

"Instead of answering, he just let out a heavy sigh. Doesn't that tell you how difficult the task is?"

"I want to speak with Vice President Fries. Put him on."

I agreed and handed the phone to Fries.

His shoulders visibly shrinking, he began listening to Director Nevers.

The very next moment, the director's furious voice blasted from the phone.

As though conscious of his guilt, Fries lowered his head deeply.

After the call ended, he handed the phone back to me with a dejected expression.

"Director Nevers, I'm back."

"Chief Cha, if Vice President Fries digs in his heels and refuses to carry out the order, feel free to eliminate him."

"You gave him quite a dressing-down, so he'll carry it out."

"All right, understood. Now let's move on. How is the operation progressing?"

"An hour ago, the kamikaze drone factory in Fengcheng was completely destroyed. The NIS agents and Delta Force soldiers who participated in the operation have already left the city and are heading here. About thirty percent of the police and military forces stationed here have moved toward Fengcheng."

"I see. Will the NIS agents and Delta Force soldiers be able to make it back safely?"

There was unmistakable anxiety and concern in Director Nevers's voice.

I thought it best to put his mind at ease.

"The NIS agents prepared several withdrawal routes in case of a worst-case scenario. So there's no reason to worry."

"Good. That's a relief."

"Since our people made it safely out of Fengcheng, I think that in about an hour we can announce through the media that the kamikaze drone factory was destroyed by Ukrainian special forces."

After exchanging a few more words with Director Nevers, I ended the call.

Then I turned to Vice President Fries, whose spirits had completely hit rock bottom.

"Well then, how about we put our heads together and figure out how we're going to capture First Deputy Director Pak Jongchon alive?"