Chapter 253: Ah, I See

While going through the materials saved on Kwak Cheolhun’s laptop, I came across some extremely valuable information.

According to it, Kim Jonghun had converted his secret funds into gold bars and hidden them at Kim Juchol’s house.

Commander Kwak Taesu had heard this directly from Kim Jonghun himself, so the information was highly credible.

Of course, if I questioned Senior Colonel Cho Yeongil, I could probably confirm many of the details.

However, ordinary human greed reared its head inside me.

To keep my actions consistent, I decided to conceal everything for the time being.

“The National Intelligence Service received intelligence that valuable information is hidden inside Kim Juchol’s house,” I said. “We’re planning to infiltrate the house to verify it.”

“I understand what you mean, but soldiers from Unit 974 are stationed at the house at all times,” Senior Colonel Cho Yeongil objected.

“We intend to send an animal spy named Saho into the house.”

“Senior Colonel No already told me about Saho’s abilities.”

“Then this should be easier for you to understand. We’ll attach an ultra-miniature camera to Saho’s head.”

“But for Saho to identify valuable information, wouldn’t he need to know how to read?”

Senior Colonel Cho Yeongil had mistakenly assumed that the valuable information referred to documents.

Since things were working out so conveniently, I decided to take advantage of his misunderstanding.

“We plan to analyze the footage recorded by Saho,” I explained.

“There are a great many documents inside Kim Juchol’s house, including books. Because of that, filming everything would be extremely difficult and take a tremendous amount of time. Even if he happens to film the documents you need, analyzing them would take hours.”

In reality, Saho’s mission was to determine whether there were gold bars inside Kim Juchol’s house.

Saho had already memorized their scent in Macau.

So if there really was gold there, he would have no trouble finding it.

The tiny camera on his head was merely there so we could study the layout of the house.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t reveal my true intentions to Senior Colonel Cho Yeongil.

“We want to send him in on the principle that there’s no harm in trying.”

“Suppose Saho discovers the valuable information. What do you plan to do afterward?”

“Saho will cut the power to the house by shutting off the electrical panel, then incapacitate the soldiers from Unit 974 and Kim Juchol himself.”

“What?! Is something like that even possible?” Senior Colonel Cho Yeongil exclaimed, his eyes bulging in astonishment.

I realized I needed to dispel his doubts.

“Senior Colonel Cho, you know the saying, ‘Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times,’ don’t you?”

“Of course, but...”

I knew perfectly well why he had trailed off.

“Team Leader Seo, have Saho shut off the electrical panel.”

“Understood,” Seo Donghun replied briefly.

He hurried into the bedroom and carried Saho out into the living room in his arms.

After receiving instructions from Seo Donghun, the cat immediately ran over to the electrical panel and pressed a small button at the top with his front paw.

The cover over the panel popped open.

Without hesitation, Saho flipped down the circuit breaker.

The lights in the living room went out instantly.

Senior Colonel Cho Yeongil and the others stared at the cat in astonishment.

Feeling our gazes on him, Saho grinned and flipped the breaker back up with his front paw.

Then he ran over to me and jumped into my arms.

I stroked his head in praise and resumed my conversation with Cho Yeongil.

“A wildcat is a nocturnal animal. In complete darkness, knocking out the soldiers of Unit 974 with a blow to the temple would be child’s play for him.”

“But he’s so small! Can he really knock out fully grown, burly men?”

“Felines possess incredible strength in their front paws. If he strikes while putting his entire body weight behind it, that will be more than enough. Besides, Saho has undergone special training.”

Naturally, I omitted the fact that Saho had devoured a herbal tranquilizer that had worked miraculously on him.

“Ah, I see...”

“Once Saho has incapacitated the soldiers of Unit 974 and Kim Juchol, we’ll enter the house and retrieve the important documents.”

“Hmm...” Senior Colonel Cho Yeongil murmured thoughtfully.

Fortunately, he didn’t think for long.

“Director Cha, what if we simplify the procedure to save time?”

“Save time? What do you mean?”

“We’ll eliminate the soldiers of Unit 974 ourselves instead of having Saho do it, and we’ll knock out Kim Juchol.”

Of course, if Senior Colonel Cho handled everything himself, we could solve the problem using someone else’s hands.

But I couldn’t accept his proposal.

“If you do that, we’ll run into a problem with consistency.”

“Consistency?.. You mean we’d have to kill Kim Juchol too?”

“Exactly. And if that happens, the fate of your families and the families of your subordinates remaining in North Korea will be plunged into darkness.”

“But we could make it look as though robbers killed him!”

“Your assignment is to guard the house where Kim Juchol lives. You’re strictly forbidden from leaving it. Yet right now, you have to take your men away from the house in order to capture Kwak Cheolhun.”

I paused to catch my breath before continuing.

“To ensure that your families in the North aren’t harmed, both the soldiers of Unit 974 and Kim Juchol absolutely must remain alive.”

“I understand what you mean, but we’ve already left Kim Juchol’s house anyway. Kim Jonghun could use that against us and harm our families.”

“That problem can be resolved if you obtain permission from your superiors.”

“How?” Senior Colonel Cho Yeongil asked hurriedly, leaning forward.

“After our meeting ends, have Senior Colonel No Gwangcheol officially come to see you. The leader of Unit 974 must be present at that meeting.”

“Why does he need to be there?”

“So he can testify afterward.”

“Ah, I see. Please continue.”

“Senior Colonel No should tell you that the CIA intercepted Kwak Cheolhun.”

“So he should suggest that I go with him to rescue Kwak Cheolhun?”

“Exactly. But you, Senior Colonel Cho, must firmly refuse Senior Colonel No’s proposal.”

“Refuse?” Cho Yeongil repeated in confusion.

“Because your primary assignment is to guard Kim Juchol’s house.”

“Ah, right! I somehow didn’t think of that!”

“Senior Colonel No should ask you one more time. You’ll pretend to hesitate, then report his request to your superiors.”

“But what if the leadership orders me not to help Senior Colonel No?”

I shook my head.

“Senior Colonel No is trying to capture Kwak Cheolhun so he can put pressure on the escaped Commander Kwak Taesu. If you emphasize that point, the higher-ups will have no choice but to approve it. And since you’ll have official permission to leave your post, your families won’t be in danger.”

“Now I understand.”

“One more thing. For Saho to enter the house easily, a window needs to be left open.”

“Just before I leave, I’ll open a first-floor window at the back of the house.”

“I’d greatly appreciate that.”

At that moment, Team Leader Seo Donghun asked to speak, wanting to clarify one detail.

“Senior Colonel Cho, we need some preliminary information to make it easier for Saho to infiltrate Kim Juchol’s house.”

“Ask whatever you want to know.”

“What’s the layout of the house?”

“Two floors above ground and one basement level. Kim Juchol lives on the second floor, while the soldiers of Unit 974 stay on the first.”

“What’s in the basement?”

“I’ve never been down there, so I can’t tell you anything specific.”

“Why haven’t you been able to enter it?”

“The entrance to the basement is blocked by a massive steel door, and Kim Juchol personally keeps the key.”

Seo Donghun inwardly groaned. This was bad.

Saho wasn’t human. He couldn’t freely use his front paws to unlock locks.

There was no way he could get through a locked, heavy steel door into the basement.

He whispered into Cha Jiham’s ear, asking whether he had a solution to the problem.

“Team Leader Seo, Saho has an incredibly developed sense of smell,” Cha Jiham whispered back.

Seo Donghun immediately understood what he meant.

Even if the basement was locked, it wasn’t vacuum-sealed. Smells would still seep out.

So if gold bars were hidden in the basement, Saho would easily detect their scent.

“Ah, now I understand.” Seo Donghun nodded before continuing to question Cho Yeongil. “Senior Colonel Cho, is Kim Juchol the only person allowed into the basement?”

“As far as I know, yes.”

“I see. Are there surveillance cameras inside the house?”

“The cameras are installed only around the perimeter fence.”

Cho Yeongil readily answered the question. Once Seo Donghun had run out of questions, I decided to ask about something that had been bothering me.

“Senior Colonel Cho, have you ever gone up to the second floor?”

“The second floor is Kim Juchol’s private space. Even the soldiers of Unit 974 aren’t allowed up there without permission.”

“Then who handles his cooking and cleaning?”

“There’s a woman who lives permanently in the annex and takes care of the cooking and cleaning.”

‘Hmm... We’ll have to neutralize that woman too,’ I thought.

“What is her relationship with Kim Juchol?”

“They say she’s his maternal aunt, but I can’t say for certain.”

“I see. What time does Kim Juchol usually go to bed?”

“Around midnight.”

“Then we should begin the operation at around 11:00 p.m.”

Senior Colonel Cho Yeongil couldn’t understand Cha Jiham’s reasoning at all.

The soldiers of Unit 974 would never go to sleep before Kim Juchol himself did.

How was Saho supposed to search the house while they were all still wide awake?

He decided to ask directly.

“Where are the soldiers of Unit 974 before Kim Juchol goes to bed?”

“As usual, they gather together in the living room.”

“Exactly. Suppose we begin the operation after midnight. The soldiers will have gone to their rooms to sleep, which would place all sorts of restrictions on Saho while he scouts the house.”

“That’s true, but wouldn’t acting earlier be too dangerous?”

“As soon as Saho enters the house, the first thing he’ll do is cut the power. Once it’s dark, attacking and knocking out the soldiers of Unit 974 gathered together in the living room will be no trouble at all.”

“Ah, I see.”

At that moment, Senior Colonel No Gwangcheol glanced at his phone screen and spoke up.

“Director Cha, it’s time for us to head back.”

“I’ll fully charge the phone, so contact me immediately if anything unexpected happens.”

“Understood. See you later.”

We went outside and saw Senior Colonel No Gwangcheol and Senior Colonel Cho Yeongil off.

After returning to the living room, we resumed our interrupted conversation.

“Director Cha, are you sure Kim Juchol hid the gold bars in the basement?” Harrison asked.

I agreed with Branch Chief Harrison on that point. Still, it was better to take precautions just in case.

“I’m not sure.”

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

“Get me a portable metal cutter,” I requested.

“What do you need it for?”

“I want to cut through the lock on the basement door.”

Branch Chief Harrison tilted his head in confusion.

Kim Juchol had the key to the basement.

It would be incredibly simple to take the key from him and open the door.

Yet for some reason, Cha Jiham had decided to discard the easy method and take the difficult route instead.

Suppressing his curiosity, Harrison cautiously asked why he had made that decision.

“Imagine we open the door using Kim Juchol’s key,” I explained. “In that case, North Korea will consider Senior Colonel Cho Yeongil, who left his post, the prime suspect.”

“Really?”

“The only people who know that Kim Juchol has the key are Senior Colonel Cho, the soldiers of Unit 974, and the housekeeper. Everyone except Senior Colonel Cho will remain at the house, giving them airtight alibis.”

“Ah, I see.”

Branch Chief Harrison nodded in understanding.