Chapter 192: We Gave Him Quite a Shock

“Vice Chairman Chen, there won’t be any problems this time, will there?” Carlos, the leader of Abu Sayyaf, cautiously asked Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui.

“The Silver Crystal will sail along China’s territorial waters. Because of that, the Americans won’t be able to intercept it no matter how much they want to.”

“But couldn’t they seize the Silver Crystal in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea)?”

“Strictly speaking, the South China Sea is our territorial waters. If the Americans intrude there, we’ll simply exercise our right to self-defense and sink their warship.”

“What if an American submarine launches a torpedo and attacks the Silver Crystal?”

Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui shook his head and answered Carlos’s question.

“Only a small circle of people knows that there are North Korean weapons aboard the Silver Crystal. There’s no way the Americans could find out.”

“Well, then I’m relieved. Approximately when will we be able to receive the North Korean weapons?”

“Since it safely set sail this morning, allowing some extra time, it should reach you in about ten days.”

“I see. By the way, when do you intend to deliver the batch of North Korean weapons we didn’t receive last time?”

An incident had occurred last month when the Golden Mariner, a cargo ship carrying North Korean weapons, was intercepted by the American military. Because of that, Golden Trading had been unable to deliver five containers of North Korean weapons to Abu Sayyaf. That was what Carlos was reminding him about now.

“I’m discussing the matter with the North Korean side, but the situation isn’t simple.”

“Are you saying you won’t be able to supply us with the weapons?”

“We can supply them, but they’ve drastically raised the price. So I have a proposal. How about receiving Chinese weapons instead of North Korean ones?”

“Our contract with Golden Trading was specifically for the import of North Korean weapons.”

Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui felt like howling in frustration.

Russia, which was at war with Ukraine, was suffering from an acute shortage of conventional weapons. Because of that, it was importing enormous quantities of conventional weapons from North Korea. And North Korea, claiming that it was unable to supply the necessary quantities, had raised its prices threefold.

If he purchased the weapons at the prices demanded by the North and supplied them to Abu Sayyaf, his company would suffer a net loss. That was why he had suggested Chinese weapons, but Carlos flatly refused.

On the other hand, with Chen Zhihui effectively living as a dependent in Abu Sayyaf territory, he couldn’t take a hard line and start a conflict.

All he could do was curse his fate and reluctantly accept the loss-making import deal.

“We’ll reach an agreement with the North Korean side and supply everything to you as soon as possible.”

Bzzz—

At that moment, Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui’s phone, which was sitting on the table, began vibrating.

Glancing at the screen, he saw that the call was from Sheng Kou in Dalian, who was responsible for exporting North Korean weapons to Abu Sayyaf.

After apologizing to Carlos, he answered the call.

“What happened?”

[V-Vice Chairman, we have a problem! A huge problem!]

“I can’t understand a word of your mumbling. Speak properly and clearly.”

[W-Well... Last night, a massive explosion of unknown origin occurred at Golden Trading’s warehouse in Dandong...]

“What?!”

Stunned, Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui cut Sheng Kou off mid-sentence and shouted into the phone.

[Uh... Vice Chairman, may I continue?]

“Hurry up and talk!”

[The explosion caused an enormous fire that spread to the neighboring warehouses. They only just managed to put it out. Thirty warehouses burned to the ground, and another fifteen were partially damaged.]

Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui’s temples began to throb.

And no wonder.

Golden Trading itself was the culprit behind the massive fire.

His company would have to compensate the owners of all the other warehouses for the losses they had suffered.

Deciding to think about compensation later, he continued questioning Sheng Kou.

“What caused the explosion at the warehouse?”

[I called Director Lee Hyeoksan of Choson Trading, but he says he has no idea. All he did was scream at me at the top of his lungs, saying Golden Trading had ruined them.]

“Ruined because of our company? What kind of nonsense is that?”

[According to him, Golden Trading’s warehouse was packed to the ceiling with components for transporter erector launchers that were supposed to be shipped to North Korea. They were also storing intercontinental ballistic missile bodies stolen from the Chinese military.]

“Apologize to Director Lee, calm him down, and tell him we’ll provide full compensation.”

[What are you... I’ll call you back in a little while.]

Click.

After blurting out a couple of panicked words, Sheng Kou unilaterally ended the call.

When Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui lowered his phone, Carlos cautiously asked,

“Vice Chairman Chen, would you mind telling me why you were shouting like that?”

“It’s nothing important.”

Carlos decided to suppress his mounting curiosity.

There was no other choice. Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui knew how to keep his mouth shut.

“I hope nothing serious happened.”

Bzzz—

As the anxious minutes dragged on, the phone in Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui’s hand vibrated again.

As though he already knew who was calling, he pressed the answer button with lightning speed.

“Quickly, tell me what else happened.”

[Haa... They say the Silver Crystal is sinking.]

“Whaaat?!”

Genuinely shocked, Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui sprang to his feet and screamed.

He shouted so loudly that Carlos flinched in surprise and rose to his feet as well.

Completely bewildered, Chen Zhihui paid him no attention and continued the call.

“Explain clearly what happened!”

[There was a massive explosion aboard the Silver Crystal when the ship was twenty kilometers from the Port of Yantai.]

“What caused the explosion?”

[According to the sailors, the detonation occurred where the containers carrying the North Korean weapons were stacked.]

“Oh, this is a disaster...!”

Sensing nothing but utter darkness ahead, Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui collapsed back into his chair with a heavy groan.

After barely managing to pull himself together, he continued listening to Sheng Kou.

“Are you saying the North Korean weapons inside the containers exploded?”

[That’s what I’m inclined to believe.]

“How did those North Korean idiots pack the weapons for them to explode on their own?”

[I don’t know. However, five of the containers held rocket-propelled grenades for handheld anti-tank grenade launchers.]

“Could the Silver Crystal really have sunk just from anti-tank grenade rounds exploding?”

[I completely agree with you on that point, Vice Chairman.]

“Whatever the case, I understand. Continue.”

[More than eighty percent of the Silver Crystal’s hull is submerged, and a huge number of containers are drifting around the accident site.]

Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui was on the verge of losing his mind.

After all, the apparent cause of the Silver Crystal’s destruction was the North Korean weapons themselves.

But the far more serious problem was that the delivery of North Korean weapons to Abu Sayyaf had now fallen through completely.

“Phew... Understood. Is there anything else I need to know?”

[Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan called a minute ago asking what happened.]

“And what did you tell him?”

[I told him I didn’t know. Wouldn’t it be better for you to call Deputy Secretary Zhang personally?]

“I’ll handle that myself. If you get any new information, call me immediately.”

Click.

As soon as Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui hung up, Carlos spoke to him.

“Vice Chairman Chen, what happened this time?”

“Haa...”

Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui let out a heavy sigh and said,

“The Silver Crystal, which was carrying the North Korean weapons...”

***

“Director Cha, welcome.”

As soon as we stepped out of the car, Vice Chairman Wei Chen, who had been waiting for us, walked over to greet us.

“Why did you come out to greet us personally?”

“An honored guest has come to visit. How could I not come out to welcome you?”

I knew perfectly well the real reason Vice Chairman Wei Chen had come out to meet us.

He wanted to see the golden Buddha statue lying in the trunk with his own eyes.

Still, there was no reason to say what I was thinking aloud.

“If you put it that way, I can hardly argue. By the way, where exactly are we?”

I looked around as I continued my conversation with Vice Chairman Wei Chen.

“This is the villa of an acquaintance of mine. I borrowed it for a while.”

“Why go to all this trouble?”

“Director Cha, surely you already understand why I borrowed this particular villa?”

In other words, he had specifically borrowed this mansion because of the golden Buddha.

“Haha. I understand.”

“By the way, where is the golden Buddha statue itself?”

“In the trunk. It would be great if we could bring it inside, but it’s quite heavy.”

“I anticipated that and had my men standing by.”

“As expected, your foresight is impeccable.”

“Haha. Thank you for the compliment. Shall we go inside?”

Following Vice Chairman Wei Chen into the villa, my eyes widened.

The interior of the living room was excessively luxurious.

Looking around, I spoke to Vice Chairman Wei Chen.

“The owner of this villa must be fabulously wealthy.”

“You’re absolutely right, Director Cha. It’s already late today, but tomorrow I’ll definitely introduce you to the owner of the mansion.”

“Is there any reason for me to meet him?”

“Knowing him certainly won’t hurt you.”

“Well, then I suppose I should meet him.”

As soon as we settled onto the wide sofa, a Triad member served drinks to everyone present.

After wetting his throat with a drink, Vice Chairman Wei Chen spoke to me.

“How long did it take you to get here?”

I checked the time on my phone and answered Vice Chairman Wei Chen’s question.

“We left Dandong at ten this morning, so the trip took about eight and a half hours.”

“I see... You must be exhausted.”

“I won’t deny it.”

“Did anything happen along the way?”

“Nothing in particular, aside from the large number of temporary checkpoints.”

“That’s fortunate. Would you like me to tell you why there are so many temporary checkpoints on the roads?”

I knew that the purpose of those inspections was to capture the escaped Commander Kwak Taesu.

However, Vice Chairman Wei Chen spoke as though there was another reason.

I asked him whether my guess was correct.

“Your guess is correct, Director Cha. The police and military have set up temporary checkpoints within a hundred-and-fifty-kilometer radius of Dalian to catch the criminals who destroyed the naval base.”

“But didn’t the Chinese military claim that an American submarine launched a torpedo and sank a warship and a submarine?”

Vice Chairman Wei Chen shook his head and replied,

“The PLA quietly changed its story. They’re now claiming that the Americans destroyed the naval base using a submarine and a special forces unit.”

“Are you saying the Triad fighters are American special forces?”

“Hahaha!”

Vice Chairman Wei Chen burst into hearty, delighted laughter.

Once his laughter subsided, Director Pan Kai spoke up.

“Director Cha, we gave Vice Chairman Chen quite a shock.”

He meant that they had already informed Chen Zhihui about the destruction of Golden Trading’s warehouse and the sinking of the Silver Crystal.

“Vice Chairman Chen must have nearly fainted from the shock.”

“I didn’t personally see him, but I’m sure he did.”

“I wonder how he plans to get himself out of this mess.”

After a while, more than ten Triad members struggled to carry in the large golden Buddha statue wrapped in red cloth.

After setting the statue down in front of us, they hurriedly withdrew.

When Chief Secretary Kang Inhan approached the statue and removed the red cloth, the Buddha appeared, still wrapped in transparent bubble wrap.

Deliberately making Vice Chairman Wei Chen anxious, he began slowly removing the wrapping.

Peeling away layer after layer, he gradually revealed the bright, noble yellow gleam of the golden statue.

Gulp!

I clearly heard Vice Chairman Wei Chen swallow loudly.

‘Hmm, is he really that impressed? Looks like bringing it here was worth it.’

While I was enjoying Vice Chairman Wei Chen’s rather blatant reaction, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan completely removed the wrapping.

As if they had been waiting for that exact moment, Vice Chairman Wei Chen and Director Pan Kai hurriedly sprang to their feet and approached the golden statue.

After admiring it for a while, Vice Chairman Wei Chen finally couldn’t contain himself and exclaimed,

“Ohhh! A large Buddha statue cast from pure gold really does exist!”

After Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol’s confident words, I myself had no doubt whatsoever that the statue had been cast from pure gold.

Nevertheless, we still needed to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

“Vice Chairman Wei, just to be safe, wouldn’t it be better to check whether it really is pure gold?”

“Of course! There’s no question about it!”

Vice Chairman Wei Chen nodded vigorously, fully agreeing with my suggestion.