Chapter 202: Why Not?

Vice Chairman Tang Guochang left the villa, saying that he would personally oversee the operation to eliminate the hacker organization.

Vice Chairman Wei Chen, CEO Du Zhiguo, and Director Pan Kai moved to the study to finalize the deal for the 500 kilograms of gold and the golden Buddha statue.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan, Director Lee Menghong, and I remained in the living room to continue our unfinished conversation.

“Boss, do you really think the Chinese military will be able to completely wipe out the hacker organization?”

“The answer lies in the fact that we instilled hostility toward North Korea and Politburo member Liu Peiqi in Vice Chairman Tang.”

There was absolute confidence in Cha Jiham’s answer: the hacker organization would be wiped out to the last man.

“Ha-ha. Now I understand what you meant. When do you think the operation will be over?”

“By this evening at the latest.”

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan could not understand Cha Jiham’s train of thought at all.

Elite operatives from North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau were stationed at the hackers’ hideout.

Because of that, he had expected the assault to begin in the dead of night.

However, Cha Jiham saw things completely differently.

“If they launch the operation in broad daylight, won’t the Chinese military suffer enormous casualties?”

“I planted a sense of urgency in Vice Chairman Tang.”

“I understand that, but will he really take such a risky step?”

“Numbers are a force in themselves.”

In other words, the Chinese military would simply overwhelm the hackers with sheer manpower.

“But won’t heavy casualties still be unavoidable?”

“If I were Vice Chairman Tang, I’d reduce the hackers’ base to rubble as quickly as possible.”

“You mean they’ll use heavy weapons for the operation?”

“That’s the only way the Chinese military can minimize its own casualties.”

“Now I understand. Will they inform us of the results by phone?”

I shook my head from side to side and replied,

“Vice Chairman Tang will come here personally and tell us himself.”

“A man that busy will come all the way back here?”

“He still hasn’t collected the 400 million dollars and 500 million yuan from me.”

“Ah, right, the money. Still, Boss... don’t you hate giving away that much?”

“I’m human too. Of course I do.”

“Then why did you decide to be so generous with him?”

“There are two reasons. First, it’s a bribe to bring him over to our side.”

“And what benefit will our country gain from making him an ally?”

“Not only does he effectively command China’s military, but he also has tremendous ambitions.”

“Could it be...”

Kang Inhan trailed off as though something had suddenly occurred to him.

Of course, I knew exactly what he was thinking.

“You’re thinking in the right direction, Secretary Kang. The U.S. government has concluded that Vice Chairman Tang is the only person capable of standing against President Xi Jinping.”

“I see. And what’s the second reason?”

“It’s payment for eliminating the hackers in our place.”

Goosebumps rose across Kang Inhan’s skin.

Cha Jiham had paid the reward in advance to have Vice Chairman Tang Guochang wipe out the hacker organization for him.

Shaking his head at the precision and foresight of the plan, the secretary continued,

“I never imagined you were planning this far ahead.”

“I was simply lucky that Vice Chairman Tang accepted my proposal.”

“Luck is also a skill.”

“If you put it that way, I have nothing to argue with.”

“By the way, how much commission are we going to pay Vice Chairman Wei?”

I had asked Vice Chairman Wei Chen to verify whether the hacker organization really existed.

Setting the deadline at three in the afternoon, I had offered him a 1% discount on the sale price of the golden Buddha for every hour he saved.

That must have been why the Triad had completed the verification by 1:30 p.m.

“Let’s give him 2% and make Vice Chairman Wei happy.”

“Not 1.5%?”

“Deep down, Wei is expecting 2% too.”

“Understood.”

Ignoring Kang Inhan’s response, I turned to Director Lee Menghong.

“Report to Director Om that the operation to wipe out the hackers has begun.”

“Me?”

As though he had not expected that, Lee Menghong pointed at himself in surprise.

“As I told you before, your direct superior is Director Om.”

“I sincerely appreciate your kindness, Boss Cha.”

“There’s no need. Director Om is waiting for your call.”

Lee Menghong immediately called NIS Director Om Giyeon.

Their conversation did not last long, however.

Director Om wanted to speak with me personally.

“Director Om, you wanted to say something?”

[I simply couldn’t believe Director Lee’s report that you had met with Vice Chairman Tang Guochang.]

“I understand why you’d have trouble believing it, but it’s true.”

[How did you manage to get in touch with him?]

“The Chinese military was planning to convert its military vehicle fleet to electric vehicles. After hearing about it, BYG Auto CEO Du Zhiguo decided to bribe Vice Chairman Tang...”

***

At that same hour.

Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui was speaking on the phone with Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan.

“Brother, what are you talking about?”

[It seems Vice Chairman Tang knows that the containers are carrying North Korean weapons.]

Chen Zhihui simply could not understand what Zhang Jinan was saying.

Only a small circle of people knew that North Korean weapons were aboard the «Silver Crystal».

How the hell could Vice Chairman Tang Guochang have found out about it?

“Come on, that can’t be possible.”

[There are six thousand containers aboard the «Silver Crystal». Why do you think that bastard suddenly proposed conducting a full inspection of every single one of them?]

At that moment, Sheng Kou’s face flashed through Chen Zhihui’s mind.

If his suspicion was correct, the situation had taken a catastrophic turn.

After hurriedly apologizing to Zhang Jinan, he hung up.

Taking a deep breath to calm his violently pounding heart, he called Sheng Kou.

[The subscriber’s phone is turned off...]

All the strength instantly drained from Chen Zhihui’s body.

Sheng Kou’s phone being turned off could mean only one thing—the police had already caught him.

“Fuck...”

Letting out a heavy sigh, he called Zhang Jinan again.

As if Zhang had been waiting for the call, his voice came through almost before the first ring had finished.

[Quickly, tell me. What happened?]

“It’s... Sheng Kou’s phone is turned off.”

[Goddamn it!]

Zhang Jinan’s heavy groan echoed in his ears.

Chen Zhihui, meanwhile, felt like tearing his hair out in helplessness.

Everyone would conclude that the «Silver Crystal» had sunk because the North Korean weapons aboard it had detonated.

The insurance company would refuse to pay with absolute certainty, citing the illegal cargo.

That meant Eastern Shipping would have to compensate for all six thousand containers out of its own pocket.

Six thousand!

The compensation would reach astronomical levels.

On top of that, Eastern Shipping would be saddled with the cost of salvaging the sunken «Silver Crystal» and clearing away the containers.

But the worst part was that they themselves had created the cause of the shipwreck.

“Brother, I’ll cover all the compensation and cleanup costs.”

[That’s going to take a mountain of money. Can you really handle it?]

Zhang Jinan, whose spirits had just plummeted, returned to normal within seconds.

“I’m scraping together money from everywhere. I think I can manage.”

[Well, at least that’s good news. All right, I’m busy. I’ll call you later.]

Click.

After hanging up, Chen Zhihui stared at the ceiling and let out a heavy sigh.

“Ha-ha... I’m going insane.”

Knock, knock, knock.

At that moment, the door opened after a knock, and Carlos, the leader of Abu Sayyaf, entered the room.

With a dissatisfied, stony expression, he strode over to the sofa, sat down, and immediately got to the point.

“We paid you in full for the North Korean weapons, Vice Chairman Chen. Yet you keep delaying delivery under one excuse after another. How do you intend to resolve this?”

“What excuses?”

“The seizure of the «Golden Mariner» and the sinking of the «Silver Crystal» have absolutely nothing to do with us.”

“...”

Chen Zhihui had nothing to say in response. Carlos was absolutely right.

“Tell me your plan, and make it quick.”

“I discussed it with the North Koreans. They proposed supplying us with longer-range missiles.”

“Missiles?”

“Exactly. What do you think of the North’s proposal?”

“I’m all for it, but how are you going to deliver them?”

“To avoid American and South Korean surveillance, they’re proposing the use of a submarine.”

“Then there’s no problem.”

“Ha-ha. Excellent. I’ll immediately begin negotiations with the North Koreans.”

“Why don’t we take this opportunity to order some extra missiles while we’re at it?”

That was more than he could have hoped for.

Because of the «Silver Crystal» disaster, Chen Zhihui desperately needed money.

“Why not?”

***

“CEO Du, you closed the deal faster than I expected.”

“Vice Chairman Wei made some concessions, so we reached an agreement easily.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“I still have a mountain of work waiting for me, so I should probably get going.”

“It would have been nice to have dinner together.”

“Ha-ha. I’m sure we’ll have another opportunity.”

After seeing Du Zhiguo out of the villa, we returned to the living room to continue our conversation.

“Vice Chairman Wei, we’ve decided to pay you a 2% commission.”

“I thought we were talking about 1.5%. Isn’t that too much?”

“Well, then we’ll reduce the commission to 1.5%.”

“Well, that’s...”

Wei Chen trailed off, clearly not wanting that outcome.

“Shall we take that as your agreement to 2%?”

“I sincerely appreciate your generosity, Boss Cha.”

“There’s no need. From the two billion dollars transferred by the CIA, I’ll transfer 185.6 million dollars to you.”

Wei Chen deliberately turned his gaze toward Director Pan Kai.

Understanding what his boss meant, Pan Kai quickly punched some numbers into the calculator on his phone and said,

“The golden Buddha weighs 2,520 kilograms. At a 10% discount from the LBMA price, that comes to 1.8144 billion dollars.”

Wei Chen nodded in agreement and turned to me.

“Forget the small change and just transfer exactly 180 million dollars.”

“The closer people are, the more transparent their financial dealings should be.”

“If Boss Cha puts it that way, I suppose there’s nothing I can do.”

“Then shall we draw up the sales contract for the golden Buddha?”

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan and Director Pan Kai went into the study to prepare the contract.

Watching them leave, Wei Chen turned to me.

“Are you returning home tonight?”

“I have a meeting with Vice Chairman Tang Guochang tonight, so I’m planning to fly out tomorrow morning.”

“You’re meeting him again?”

“Looks like I have no choice.”

Bzzzz—

The phone lying on the table vibrated. Director Griffin’s name appeared on the screen.

After excusing myself to Wei Chen, I answered the call.

“Director Griffin, I’m listening.”

[Boss Cha, I received a report that you met with Vice Chairman Tang Guochang?]

“Ha-ha. That’s just how things worked out. I’ve already reported our conversation to Director Om Giyeon.”

[Yes, I only just heard about it. Are you planning to meet him again?]

“We have another meeting scheduled for this evening...”

I deliberately paused, hoping to draw out Griffin’s true intentions.

[I’d like to know just how ambitious Vice Chairman Tang really is.]

“I understand. I’ll judge the situation and discreetly sound him out.”

[Ha-ha. Excellent. Now, let’s discuss something else.]

“I’m listening.”

[Our agents intercepted a conversation between Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui and Abu Sayyaf leader Carlos. Chen plans to smuggle missiles out of North Korea and supply them to Abu Sayyaf.]

“Do you know how they intend to deliver the missiles?”

[They plan to use a North Korean submarine.]

“Well, then it looks like North Korea will soon have one less submarine.”

[Ha-ha-ha-ha!]

Director Griffin burst into loud laughter, as though he had read my mind.