Chapter 190: Shall We Look for Treasure?

“Director Cha, what on earth is going on?”

As soon as I hung up, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan immediately spoke to me.

Bzzz—

Just as I was about to answer, the phone in my hand vibrated.

I quickly glanced at the screen and saw the name of NIS Director Om Giyeon.

Showing the screen to Kang Inhan, I pressed the answer button without delay.

“Director Om, I’m listening.”

[Thirty minutes ago, the stealth submarine carrying Bravo Team of Delta Force arrived at Baengnyeongdo.]

The straight-line distance from the coast of Dalian to Baengnyeongdo was about 230 kilometers.

So at full speed, the stealth submarine could make the trip in about three and a half hours.

However, there was one limitation: to avoid surveillance by the Chinese military, it had to travel south along North Korea’s territorial waters.

Because of that, the journey was expected to take about ten hours.

But somehow, they had demonstrated remarkable speed and arrived at Baengnyeongdo in only seven and a half hours.

I asked NIS Director Om Giyeon whether he knew the reason for their haste.

[North Korea’s fuel situation is dire, so they can’t send their patrol boats out to sea.]

“Ah, now I understand.”

[I was also informed that the submarine carrying Saho will arrive in ten to twenty minutes.]

“Saho is very upset, so you’ll have to make it up to him properly, Director.”

[Is there some reason he’s upset?]

“I forced him onto the stealth submarine even though he absolutely refused to leave my side.”

[Understood. To cheer Saho up, I’ll feed him his fill of premium beef.]

“I’m counting on you. By the way, the Chinese military has declared the Yellow Sea a military operations zone. Is that causing any problems for our country?”

[Hmm...]

NIS Director Om Giyeon hesitated as though considering something.

I silently waited for him to gather his thoughts.

After a while, I heard his voice again. Apparently, he had made up his mind.

[What I’m about to tell you must remain confidential for now.]

“Agreed.”

[Early this morning, an emergency meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Security Council was held under the chairmanship of President Cho Seokchin. Our country asked the Chinese government to reduce the military operations zone in order to minimize losses to our fishermen.]

“And how did the Chinese side respond?”

[They accepted our request and replied that they would reduce the military operations zone to the waters north of the Shandong Peninsula and the Northern Limit Line.]

China was known for its pride and for usually ignoring requests from other countries.

But for some reason, this time they had accommodated our country without putting up any resistance.

I cautiously asked Om Giyeon whether the reason was known.

[China is extremely displeased with North Korea and Russia growing closer. We believe they made this concession to us in order to keep Pyongyang in check.]

“Whatever their reasons, it’s good news for our country.”

[China has screwed us over more than once, so it’s still too early to let our guard down.]

“Understood. Can we assume that because the military operations zone has been reduced, our country’s losses will be minimal?”

[Generally speaking, yes. However, passenger ship traffic between Dalian, Dandong, and Chengdu remains suspended.]

At that very moment, a wave of anxiety washed over me.

The Silver Crystal, the cargo ship carrying North Korean weapons, was supposed to depart from the Port of Dalian at nine this morning.

But the Chinese military had suspended all vessel traffic within the military operations zone.

Under these circumstances, we wouldn’t be able to sink the Silver Crystal.

After all, the plan was to send it to the bottom only after it reached the open sea.

I voiced my concerns to NIS Director Om Giyeon.

[I see...]

“Director, I’m busy right now, so I’ll call you back later.”

Click.

As soon as I hung up, Lee Menghong immediately spoke to me.

“Director Cha, what should we do in this situation?”

“Give me a minute.”

I immediately dialed Vice Chairman Wei Chen.

After several rings, his cheerful voice came through the speaker.

[Director Cha, what happened on such a beautiful Sunday morning?]

“Vice Chairman Wei, I’m calling because there’s something I urgently need to confirm.”

[Has something serious happened?]

Sensing that something was wrong, Wei Chen instantly changed his tone, becoming stern and focused.

“What time is the Composition H6 explosive planted on the Silver Crystal programmed to detonate?”

[It’s supposed to detonate three hours after the ship leaves the Port of Dalian. Why do you ask?]

“The Chinese military has declared the waters around Dalian a military operations zone. Because of that, the Silver Crystal won’t be able to depart as scheduled.”

[Damn...]

Deep frustration could be heard in his voice.

“The delay has created an unforeseen problem.”

[What kind of problem?]

“The Port of Dalian is shallow. If the Composition H6 detonates there, the Silver Crystal won’t sink completely.”

[That makes sense. So what do we do?]

Just in case, we needed to lay the groundwork.

“I have an idea, but there’s no guarantee it will work.”

[Then hurry up and tell me what it is!]

“Eastern Shipping belongs to Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan. If he strongly demands that the Silver Crystal be allowed to leave, the Chinese military won’t stand in his way.”

[Of course.]

“How about you give Zhang Jinan a hint about that, Vice Chairman Wei?”

[I don’t even know that bastard.]

I had anticipated that response and prepared the necessary answer in advance.

“Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui must have informed Carlos, the leader of the Philippine rebels, that the Silver Crystal would depart at nine this morning.”

[Most likely.]

“And Chen Zhihui’s subordinate, Sheng Kou, is currently in your hands, isn’t he?”

[You mean I should make Sheng Kou send him an SOS signal?]

Wei Chen was certainly quick-witted. He caught on much faster than most people.

“You’re absolutely right, Vice Chairman Wei.”

[I’ll do everything possible to get the Silver Crystal out of the port.]

The moment I finished my conversation with Wei Chen, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan, who had been listening attentively, immediately rushed over to me.

“Director Cha, can Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan really get the Silver Crystal sent out?”

“Considering the bribes he received from Chen Zhihui, he’ll bend over backward to make sure the ship departs.”

At that moment, Agent Choi Seonghun, who was behind the wheel, gently pressed the brake and said,

“Director Cha, we’ve arrived at Politburo member Liu Peiqi’s villa.”

As soon as the car stopped, Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol, who had been standing guard outside, immediately opened the door.

“Welcome, Director!”

“Team Leader Lee, excellent work taking care of the hacker group.”

“We merely carried out your instructions precisely, Director.”

“If you put it that way, there’s nothing more for me to add.”

“Please come inside. Follow me.”

Following Lee Hyeonsol, I entered the villa and opened my eyes wide in surprise.

In one corner stood an imposing glass display case, inside which sat a golden Buddha statue about 1.2 to 1.3 meters tall.

Its enormous size and incredibly luxurious appearance naturally drew the eye.

“Team Leader Lee, is that statue really made of pure gold?”

“To cast a Buddha of that size out of pure gold would require at least two tons of metal.”

Lee Hyeonsol’s answer clearly implied that the statue was merely gold-plated.

The moment I heard that, I completely lost interest in it.

“I see. Where are the captured Reconnaissance General Bureau operatives now?”

“They’re asleep in a storage room on the basement level.”

“When will they wake up?”

“The tranquilizers last about twelve hours, so they should start coming around in three or four hours.”

“Understood. Where are the laptops the hackers were using?”

“We gathered them in that conference room.”

When I opened the conference room door, I saw eleven laptops sitting on the table.

One of them undoubtedly belonged to Major General Lee Cheolseung.

To confirm my guess, I turned to Lee Hyeonsol.

“You’re right, Director.”

“Is Lee Cheolseung’s laptop password-protected too?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about that. So, shall we look for treasure?”

“How?”

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan spoke before Lee Hyeonsol could.

Ignoring his question, I turned back to Lee Hyeonsol.

“Where is Major General Lee Cheolseung’s room?”

“On the third floor. I’ll show you.”

Lee Cheolseung’s room on the third floor turned out to be slightly smaller than mine.

Walking over to the window, I looked outside. At the foot of the cliff, the Yalu River flowed leisurely past.

A little farther away stood the Sun House propaganda apartment complex built by North Korea.

“I have to admit, the view from here is incredible.”

“I completely agree.”

Without responding to Lee Hyeonsol’s remark, I walked over to the desk.

There were dozens of books printed in North Korea on the bookshelf, but nothing among them seemed noteworthy.

I sat down in the chair and pulled on the handle of a desk drawer, but as expected, it was locked.

‘Hmm... How should I open this?’

Just as I sank into thought, searching for a solution, Lee Hyeonsol spoke to me.

“Director, could you step back?”

“Do you have a key?”

“No.”

“Then how are you planning to open it?”

Instead of answering, Lee Hyeonsol pulled a suppressed pistol from inside his clothes.

I immediately understood what he intended to do. He was simply going to shoot the lock off.

I instantly stepped back to a safe distance.

Taking aim at the keyhole, he calmly pulled the trigger.

Pfft!

The bullet turned the lock into a mangled piece of metal.

Lee Hyeonsol pulled the drawer open, took everything out, and laid it on the desk.

I stepped closer and picked up a notebook with the North Korean flag depicted on its cover.

Its pages were packed from top to bottom with tiny notes.

As I flipped through it page by page, I suddenly came across a suspicious combination of characters that looked like a password.

“Team Leader Lee, bring me Lee Cheolseung’s laptop.”

“Yes, sir.”

After giving a brief reply, Lee Hyeonsol swiftly ran downstairs to the first floor.

A few moments later, he returned, breathing heavily, and placed the laptop on the desk.

I turned it on and waited for the password entry screen to appear.

Checking the strange numbers and special characters in the notebook once more, I slowly entered them into the system.

The screen flashed, confirming that the combination was correct, and dozens of folders appeared on the monitor.

Standing behind me, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan let out an astonished breath.

“Director Cha, did you know beforehand that Major General Lee Cheolseung had written his password down in a notebook?”

“I figured he must have recorded it somewhere, but I didn’t think it would be right there in his notebook.”

After answering him, I rose from the chair and gave Lee Hyeonsol an instruction.

“Check whether Lee Cheolseung’s laptop contains the passwords for the other hackers’ devices.”

“Give me a moment.”

Lee Hyeonsol sat down in the chair and quickly began working on the laptop.

After some time, he turned around and reported,

“Director, I found the passwords!”

“Excellent. Let’s hurry and check them.”

Grabbing the laptop, Lee Hyeonsol dashed out of the room.

We hurried after him to the first floor.

One after another, he began entering the passwords into the ten laptops laid out on the conference room table.

After a while, his face lit up.

“Director, I’ve unlocked all the laptops!”

“Excellent work. Well then, shall we take them with us?”

At that moment, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan cautiously asked, almost as if he were embarrassed to bring it up,

“Director Cha... what should we do about the golden Buddha statue in the corner of the living room?”