Chapter 204: The War Finally Begins

“Brother, what on earth happened for you to summon me all the way to Beijing?” Director Liu Haoran asked as he sat down on the empty sofa and addressed Politburo member Liu Peiqi.

Liu Peiqi did not answer. He merely turned his head toward the man in his fifties sitting to his left.

As though reading his thoughts, the man in his fifties immediately spoke.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Pu Zhenghua, Head of the Dandong Public Security Bureau.”

“Dandong? Then...”

As though understanding why Director Liu Haoran had trailed off, Pu Zhenghua continued,

“Politburo member Liu’s villa in Dandong was destroyed so completely that nothing remains of it.”

“What did you say?!” Director Liu Haoran sprang up from the sofa and shouted in shock.

Feeling Liu Peiqi and Pu Zhenghua staring intently at him, he awkwardly sat back down.

“Ah, I was just so shocked...”

“I completely understand how you feel, Director Liu.”

“But what happened to the hackers and the North Korean Reconnaissance General Bureau operatives who were at the villa? Are they alive?”

That remained a mystery even to Pu Zhenghua.

As soon as he received word that Liu Peiqi’s villa had been destroyed, he had rushed straight to the scene. However, the entrance to the grounds had been destroyed so badly that it was impossible to get through. He had been forced to enter through the secret passage at the foot of the cliff.

To his great relief, the rubber boats hidden inside the secret passage were gone. Assuming that the hackers and the North Korean Reconnaissance General Bureau operatives had fled to North Korea, he tried to contact them. But for some reason, every single one of their phones was turned off.

Troubled by an ominous feeling, he asked the North Korean side about their whereabouts, only to be told that they knew nothing.

After explaining every detail of the investigation to Director Liu Haoran, he concluded,

“...Their whereabouts are still unknown.”

“Could North Korea simply be hiding where they are?”

“North Korea itself has mobilized all available resources to search for them.”

In other words, Pu Zhenghua’s answer was a clear no.

“Could they have fled somewhere else?”

“If they had, they would have contacted either us or the North Korean authorities by now.”

“Then...” Director Liu Haoran trailed off, clearly imagining the worst.

“I’m leaning toward the same conclusion as you, Director Liu.”

“Then my assumption is correct. But who the hell could have abducted them?”

“I strongly suspect Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan.”

Director Liu Haoran frowned in confusion.

The relationship between Politburo member Liu Peiqi and Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan was not nearly bad enough for that.

Zhang Jinan had absolutely no reason to blow Liu Peiqi’s villa to pieces.

He asked Pu Zhenghua what he thought about that.

“You’re mistaken, Director Liu.”

“About what? Explain.”

“Both Politburo member Liu Peiqi and Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan do business with North Korea. Politburo member Liu cashes out cryptocurrency stolen by North Korean hackers, while Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan uses the Triad to smuggle and distribute drugs and weapons from North Korea.”

“The Triad?”

“Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan’s brother-in-law is Chen Zhihui, Vice Chairman of the Triad.”

Director Liu Haoran could hardly believe his ears.

President Xi Jinping had openly declared the Triad a parasite eating away at Chinese society and had continuously carried out crackdowns against it. Drugs had been designated as one of the three major evils to be eradicated without mercy. And distributing North Korean weapons was a crime punishable by death.

Yet in such a harsh environment, Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan was smuggling drugs and weapons through the Triad?

“Chief Pu, can I trust what you’re telling me?”

“This information has been verified, so you can rest assured.”

“My goodness!” Director Liu Haoran let out a heavy sigh and stared at the ceiling in astonishment.

Pu Zhenghua waited for a moment, after which Liu Haoran asked with an intrigued expression,

“Brother, does the President know that Zhang’s brother-in-law is Vice Chairman of the Triad?”

“If the President knew, do you think he would leave that bastard alone?”

“Shouldn’t we report what he’s been doing to the President?”

“That bastard knows I’ve been protecting the hacker organization. Do I need to say more?”

In other words, Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan would immediately retaliate.

“That’s true... Now that I think about it, you’re right.” Director Liu Haoran nodded, then turned back to Pu Zhenghua. “If there’s anything else I should know, tell me.”

“Politburo member Liu’s business with North Korea carries little risk while generating enormous profits. Zhang’s business, on the other hand, is not only extremely risky but also far less profitable. Because of that, he was jealous of Politburo member Liu.”

“That’s only natural.”

“And something else was recently discovered. It has been confirmed that he and former CEO Go Yeongjun stole the gold bars from Politburo member Liu’s villa.”

“Brother, is what Chief Pu is saying true?” Director Liu Haoran asked in astonishment, turning toward Liu Peiqi.

“We haven’t obtained any direct evidence yet, but all the circumstantial evidence points to it.”

“I’d like to hear the details.”

“It has been established that the bastard formed guanxi with Go Yeongjun.”

“I see. Are there any other clues?”

“A few days ago, I went to Dandong on business, and unidentified masked men abducted me there.”

Politburo member Liu Peiqi openly told him about the incident at the Crown Hotel. Pu Zhenghua naturally filled in any details he left out.

“...Those bastards robbed me of 400 million dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency and 500 million yuan.”

“Did you trace their accounts?”

“The moment I woke up from the anesthetic, I started tracing them, but the accounts turned out not to exist.”

“You mean Deputy Secretary Zhang acted before you could?”

“That’s what we believe.”

After answering, Liu Peiqi shifted his gaze toward Pu Zhenghua. Understanding him without a word, the Public Security Bureau chief continued his report.

“I’ll explain why we concluded that Deputy Secretary Zhang was the one who abducted the hackers and the North Korean Reconnaissance General Bureau operatives.”

“Go on, quickly.”

“A few days ago, an explosion of unknown origin occurred at Golden Trading’s warehouse in Dandong.”

“You mean the company owned by Vice Chairman Chen, Zhang’s brother-in-law?”

“That’s right, Director Liu. Golden Trading’s warehouse was packed to the brim with goods intended for shipment to North Korea. On top of that, the fire spread to neighboring warehouses, causing enormous damage.”

“Could it be...” Director Liu Haoran trailed off again.

Pu Zhenghua finished his thought for him.

“Exactly. Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan and Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui mistakenly believe that Politburo member Liu destroyed Golden Trading’s warehouse.”

“Do they have any reason to think that?”

“They were both jealous of how easily Politburo member Liu made enormous sums of money.”

“I understand. But can’t you simply tell them it wasn’t him?”

“Deputy Secretary Zhang is practically psychotic right now. Any attempt to explain ourselves would only have the opposite effect.”

“Why is that?” Director Liu Haoran asked, looking confused.

“A 6,000-TEU container ship belonging to Eastern Shipping, the «Silver Crystal», sank off the coast of Yantai.”

“Is that true? What caused it to sink?”

“It was determined that containers aboard the «Silver Crystal» exploded, causing the ship to list heavily to one side and sink.”

“What the hell was inside those containers that could cause an explosion like that?”

“Only a bomb could blow up a 6,000-TEU ship.”

“A bomb... I see.”

“And Eastern Shipping is responsible for compensating the losses for the containers aboard the «Silver Crystal».”

Director Liu Haoran could not understand what the problem was.

Shipping companies were required to carry cargo liability insurance in case of accidents during maritime transportation. Eastern Shipping naturally had such insurance as well. Therefore, all they had to do was file a claim with the insurance company for the losses from the destroyed containers.

He directly asked Chief Pu what he meant.

“North Korea is under UN sanctions and therefore cannot export weapons. However, the «Silver Crystal» was carrying North Korean weapons that Golden Trading was supplying to an insurgent group in the Philippines. Because of that, Eastern Shipping cannot file an insurance claim.”

“My goodness, what irony.”

“Not exactly.”

“What do you mean?”

“Because Golden Trading’s warehouse was destroyed and the «Silver Crystal» sank, Deputy Secretary Zhang and Vice Chairman Chen retaliated by destroying Politburo member Liu’s villa.”

“I still don’t understand the logic, Chief Pu.”

“There was a golden Buddha statue weighing more than 2.5 tons in the reception hall of Politburo member Liu’s villa.”

Director Liu Haoran finally put the pieces together.

Recently, Liu Peiqi had received a request from a high-ranking North Korean official to procure a golden Buddha statue, so he had one cast and transported to his villa.

After learning about it, Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui and Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan had infiltrated the villa and stolen it. And to cover their tracks and commit the perfect crime, they had abducted the hackers and the North Korean Reconnaissance General Bureau operatives who were there.

However, a few doubts still remained.

“Chief Pu, my brother’s villa is an impregnable fortress. How did they get inside?”

“We believe they had a spy among either the hackers or the North Korean Reconnaissance General Bureau operatives.”

“Hmm, that’s certainly plausible. But why would those two go this far?”

“Golden Trading is obligated to compensate the other warehouses for the damage caused by the fire in Dandong. And Eastern Shipping must cover the losses for the containers aboard the «Silver Crystal».”

“So those two intend to sell the stolen golden Buddha statue and use the money to cover their debts?”

“That’s what we believe.”

Ring, ring, ring!

At that moment, Liu Peiqi’s phone lying on the table suddenly began to ring.

Picking it up and glancing at the screen, he answered with a puzzled expression.

“What happened at this late hour?”

[The media just broke a sensational story, and I thought you needed to know about it, Politburo member Liu.]

“What sensational story? Speak.”

[It turns out North Korea deployed hacker groups to wage cyberwarfare in ten of our largest cities. After obtaining this intelligence, the People’s Liberation Army of China carried out a cleanup operation this afternoon...]

“What?!” Liu Peiqi shouted, cutting the caller off in genuine shock.

A moment later, a cautious voice came through the speaker.

[Uh... may I continue my report?]

“Spit it out, now.”

[The PLA spokesperson announced that the operation to eliminate the hacker groups was successfully completed and that they will lodge an official protest with North Korea.]

“I understand.”

Click.

Liu Peiqi silently ended the call.

At that moment, Director Liu Haoran cautiously asked,

“Brother, what happened?”

Instead of answering Liu Haoran’s question, Liu Peiqi issued an order to Pu Zhenghua.

“Find that breaking news online, now.”

“Yes, sir.”

After giving the crisp reply, Pu Zhenghua pulled out his phone and searched for the breaking report. A short while later, he spoke with an extremely troubled expression.

“All the hacker groups you were protecting have been completely eliminated.”

“Haaa...” Liu Peiqi let out a heavy, devastated sigh before adding, “The hackers’ bases were top secret. How did the PLA manage to track them down?”

“I suspect Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan.”

“Explain why.”

“Major General Lee Cheolseung, whom he abducted, possessed the emergency communication network for the hacker groups.”

“Zhang Jinan!” Liu Peiqi roared as he shot to his feet.

Grinding his teeth in fury, he hissed,

“Zhang Jinan... If I let you live after this, then I’m not Liu Peiqi!”

From that moment on, the war between Politburo member Liu Peiqi and Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan began in earnest.