Chapter 242: Wow! What a Haul

Director Jean-Philippe understood perfectly well where Cha Jiham was going with this.

He was the one who had proposed granting the right to divide the haul to whichever country first found the money and diamonds Gabriel had hidden.

Believing that the benefits outweighed the drawbacks, both Jean-Philippe himself and Branch Head Harrison had readily accepted his condition.

However, contrary to their expectations, it was Korea that had come first in the search for Gabriel's hidden fortune.

Which meant that the amount of money and diamonds that would end up in their own pockets depended entirely on this guy's decision.

Under such circumstances, picking a fight with him or provoking his displeasure was absolutely not in their interests.

"I acknowledge that."

"I completely agree with Director Jean-Philippe."

The bitterness of disappointment was clearly audible in Jean-Philippe's and Harrison's voices.

But the game had already ended in our country's victory.

"From this moment on, I'll begin dividing Gabriel's hidden money and diamonds."

Gulp!

Director Jean-Philippe and Branch Head Harrison nervously swallowed, tense with anticipation.

"First of all, our country will take all the diamonds."

"What are you talking about?!"

Just as expected.

Director Jean-Philippe immediately raised a vehement objection.

But I had prepared a clever plan in advance to completely neutralize his protest, so I wasn't worried in the slightest.

"We only agreed on the right to divide the money Gabriel had hidden."

"Well, Department Head Cha's words aren't without logic."

"Branch Head Harrison, what do you think about my statement?"

"I'm completely in favor."

I could see right through Harrison's thoughts.

He had agreed with me solely so that he could grab as large a share as possible of Gabriel's hidden cash.

And he had no other choice, because I was the one who still held the right to dispose of 47.5% of the total haul.

"Thank you. We'll determine how to divide the cash a little later."

"Is there any need to put it off?"

I had been working on the assumption that the hidden room contained forty-five billion dollars.

However, Operative Hong Jongsu had reported that the secret room wasn't merely enormous—it was packed to the brim with cardboard boxes, without any free space left between them.

Judging by that, the amount inside clearly exceeded forty-five billion dollars.

I explained my reasoning in detail so that Branch Head Harrison would understand the situation.

"Ah, you mean we should first determine the exact amount and only then divide it?"

"You're absolutely right, Branch Head Harrison."

"Well, that's a reasonable approach."

About thirty minutes passed.

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan appeared in the living room, covered in dust and sweat.

Walking briskly over to the sofa where we were sitting, he reported,

"Department Head, we counted two thousand cardboard boxes in total."

That meant there was a full eighty billion dollars down there. Still, just to be safe, I asked,

"Chief Kang, does every box really contain four million dollars?"

"Exactly as you said, Department Head."

"I see. Did you manage to find the boxes containing the diamonds?"

"Yes. Five boxes contain a mixture of rough and cut diamonds."

"Understood. Is there anything else I should know?"

"We found a meter-and-a-half-tall safe in the secret room, but it's locked tight."

"Could there be drugs inside?"

"I was curious myself, so I asked Saho, but he assured me there were no drugs, money, or gold bars inside."

"Hmm, I see. Let's go down to the basement."

When we went downstairs, the entire basement corridor was piled with cardboard boxes.

Looking at them, I asked Chief Secretary Kang Inhan the question that had been bothering me.

"We have four whole rooms down here. Why clutter the basement corridor with boxes?"

"Two rooms are stacked with boxes all the way to the ceiling. Antonio and Jourdain are locked in the third, and Antonio's men are being held in the fourth, so we had no choice."

Nodding in understanding, I entered the room where the entrance to the secret chamber was located.

After descending the stairs into the secret room, I saw bright lamps that had apparently been installed only recently.

A medium-sized safe stood in one corner, with five boxes beside it.

"Chief Kang, what are those boxes?"

"They contain the diamonds."

Operative Hong Jongsu hurriedly opened the lid of one of the cardboard boxes so I could take a look.

When I saw what was inside, something struck me as strange.

A great many of the diamonds shimmered in all sorts of vivid colors.

Noticing me tilt my head in confusion, Operative Hong Jongsu explained,

"Department Head Cha, colored diamonds are called 'fancy diamonds.' They're much rarer than colorless diamonds, which makes them incredibly valuable."

"I see. How many diamonds are there in the boxes altogether?"

"Exactly six hundred and eighty-five. Three hundred and fifty are colorless, and the rest are fancy diamonds. Seventy-five have been cut, while the rest are rough stones. Every cut diamond has a certificate."

"And how are we supposed to determine the value of these diamonds?"

As if he had been waiting for this very moment, Director Jean-Philippe cut into the conversation.

"Department Head Cha, I know a world-renowned jewelry appraiser."

Jean-Philippe's intentions were easy to read.

Using the appraisal as an excuse to help, he hoped to grab at least a few crumbs for himself.

Nevertheless, we did need a professional appraisal, so I decided to accept his offer.

"How much will we have to pay to have the diamonds appraised?"

"We'll cover the appraisal costs ourselves, so don't worry about that."

"In that case, I'll take your assistance into account when dividing Gabriel's money."

"Ha-ha-ha! I'd be very grateful."

Leaving Jean-Philippe's satisfied laughter behind, I turned my gaze toward the safe.

"Chief Kang, is there any chance Gabriel left the combination to the safe somewhere around here?"

"We searched the entire secret room thoroughly, but we couldn't find any useful clues."

"I see. So how do we open this door?"

"At the moment, the best option is to cut a hole through it with an oxy-fuel torch."

I couldn't agree with Chief Secretary Kang Inhan's suggestion.

There was a risk that the safe contained papers vulnerable to fire.

"Look for another way."

"Perhaps we should call in a safe specialist from our company?"

"That's not a bad option either."

Having approved Chief Secretary Kang Inhan's suggestion, I was about to leave when my gaze suddenly fell on the boxes of precious stones.

'What if he hid the safe combination right inside those boxes?'

Thinking there was no harm in trying, I addressed Operative Hong Jongsu.

"Take all the diamond certificates out of those boxes."

"Yes! Understood."

After giving a short reply, Operative Hong Jongsu took the documents out of the boxes.

Squatting down right there on the floor, I unfolded the papers I'd been given and began carefully studying the text.

The others couldn't sit idle either and started unfolding and checking the certificates one after another.

After some time, Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok frowned in confusion and reported,

"Department Head, I've got a certificate for the safe here."

"Let me see it."

Taking the safe's certificate from Jeong Gwangseok, I opened the cover.

Letters and numbers written in ballpoint pen immediately caught my eye.

"Bingo!"

"Department Head, you found it?!"

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan was the first to lose his composure and shout.

"Looks like it, but the text is written in Spanish, so I'm not one hundred percent sure."

At that very moment, a CIA agent whose name I didn't know approached me and said,

"Department Head Cha, I speak Spanish."

"You do? Then hurry up and check it!"

The CIA agent quickly scanned the notes written in the safe's certificate.

A moment later, his eyes widened and he reported excitedly,

"Department Head Cha! The certificate clearly explains how to open the safe!"

"Open it, quickly!"

Walking over to the safe, the CIA agent began turning the combination dial exactly according to the instructions in the document.

We froze in tense anticipation, our eyes fixed on him.

After a while, a distinct "Click!" sounded from deep inside the lock, and the agent forcefully turned the handle.

At that very instant, everyone's gaze, including mine, shot toward the interior.

The safe was packed to the brim with countless thick envelopes containing documents.

The CIA agent took out one of the envelopes and handed it to me.

Without wasting a second, I pulled out its contents.

"Wow! What a haul!"

Upon seeing the papers in my hands, Branch Head Harrison couldn't suppress an exclamation of amazement.

Everyone immediately stared at him.

As though embarrassed by all the intense gazes, Harrison promptly explained,

"What Department Head Cha is holding is a ten-year U.S. Treasury bond with a face value of one hundred thousand dollars!"

"...!"

Upon seeing the genuine bond, everyone present except me literally stared open-mouthed in astonishment.

And no wonder. Who wouldn't be stunned by a security worth one hundred thousand dollars apiece?

As though sympathizing with their shock, Harrison gave an understanding chuckle and addressed me.

"Department Head Cha, we need to check whether all the envelopes in the safe are filled with bonds."

"Of course. Chief Kang, check them."

"Yes! We'll do it."

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan gave a loud, crisp response.

There were exactly five hundred envelopes in the safe.

Each contained four hundred bonds with a face value of one hundred thousand dollars apiece.

After calculating the total value of the securities, we returned to the living room to continue our discussion.

"I never imagined there would be a full twenty billion dollars' worth of bonds in the safe."

"On that point, I completely agree with Department Head Cha."

"So do I."

Branch Head Harrison chimed in after Director Jean-Philippe.

"So what should we do with the bonds?"

"I'll leave the decision to Department Head Cha's discretion."

"I agree."

I had only promised Jean-Philippe and Harrison that I would share the cash Gabriel had hidden.

So even if I claimed sole ownership of the bonds, they would have no grounds to object.

That was precisely why both of them were being so meek.

"One of our company employees and I found the safe's certificate and combination. And the safe itself was opened by a Spanish-speaking CIA agent. Director Jean-Philippe, what do you think of my decision?"

"...I agree with your judgment, Department Head Cha."

Jean-Philippe's voice was filled with overwhelming regret.

"Considering that FIS operatives helped carry the cardboard boxes out of the secret room, I'll allocate five percent to you."

Director Jean-Philippe nearly jumped for joy at the unexpected windfall.

After all, they hadn't contributed in the slightest to opening the safe.

Even if Cha Jiham had refused to share the securities with them at all, they wouldn't have had a single argument against it.

And suddenly they were being handed a whole billion dollars!

"Department Head Cha, thank you so very much!"

"No need to thank me."

After replying to Jean-Philippe, I turned to Branch Head Harrison.

"I'm allocating thirty-five percent to the CIA."

"...What? That much for us?! Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome. Now let's move on to dividing the eighty billion dollars in cash Gabriel hid. First, we'll allocate two and a half percent to his son. Then FIS will receive seven and a half percent."

Director Jean-Philippe felt that this was somewhat less than he had hoped for, but he decided to accept Cha Jiham's terms.

He had no other choice. After all, it was Cha Jiham who held the sword by the hilt.

"I sincerely thank you for your generosity, Department Head Cha."

"Ha-ha. Excellent. And I'll allocate thirty percent to the CIA."

"Thirty percent?"

I had expected that reaction from Branch Head Harrison and had already prepared my counterargument.

"We originally assumed Gabriel had hidden forty-five billion dollars in cash. If we'd given you the forty-five percent we previously promised, you would have received twenty billion two hundred and fifty million dollars. Do you agree with my calculations?"

"I do."

"But now I've given the CIA seven billion dollars' worth of bonds and twenty-four billion dollars in cash. How about being satisfied with the fact that you've received ten billion seven hundred and fifty million dollars more than originally planned?"

"I accept your proposal, Department Head Cha."

And at that moment, the division of the money and securities was finally settled—exactly as I had intended.