Chapter 270: Shall We Head to Hong Kong?

Vice Presidents Cho Myeongsu and Ju Seongjin returned to their offices, saying they had urgent business to attend to.

Realizing that the moment had finally come, I asked Chairman Park Yeongil directly,

“Chairman, you've met Chairman Yoon's granddaughter too, haven't you?”

“It's not like Yoon has only one granddaughter.”

“I'm talking about Yun Sola, who used to work on my team.”

“Director Cha, how did you find out that Sola is his granddaughter?” Park Yeongil asked in surprise.

If I told him the truth, Director Heo Yeongjin might end up in trouble.

“My intuition is a little sharper than most people's.”

“And with such sharp intuition, you only figured it out now?”

“She hid her background so thoroughly that it took me a while.”

“That sounds like Sola. By the way, Chairman Yoon wants you as her husband.”

“That's nothing more than a fantasy of his, completely detached from reality.”

“Are you saying you already have a girlfriend?”

Bzzzt—

Just as the atmosphere in the office was becoming rather suggestive, the phone lying on the table vibrated with an incoming call.

I quickly glanced at the screen and saw Chief Secretary Kang Inhan's name.

After asking Chairman Park's permission, I answered the call.

“Yes, Secretary Kang.”

[Director Cha, I'm flying to Hong Kong in two hours.]

Earlier, Director Jean-Philippe had suggested having the 685 diamonds Gabriel had hidden appraised.

We had also decided to purchase the villa that had belonged to Gabriel.

Secretary Kang Inhan had gone to Switzerland specifically to finalize the villa transaction and transport the diamonds.

We had decided to sell the jewels to Chairman Zhen Weiliang, who conducted business in Hong Kong.

And now Secretary Kang was informing me that he had finished everything in Switzerland and was heading for Hong Kong.

“Secretary Kang, what time do you expect to arrive?”

[I should land at around eleven tonight, Hong Kong time.]

“Understood. I'll see you in Hong Kong.”

Click.

After ending the call, I reported to Chairman Park.

“Chairman, I need to leave on an urgent business trip to Hong Kong.”

“Go.”

***

The moment I stepped through the front door, Mom asked in surprise,

“Why are you home so early?”

“An urgent business trip to Hong Kong came up.”

Then something unexpected happened.

Saho, who had been sitting in Mom's arms, jumped down to the floor and sank his teeth into my trouser leg.

His gesture clearly meant, 'Take me to Hong Kong with you.'

But I had absolutely no intention of taking him.

“I'll be back the day after tomorrow, so I can't take you with me.”

Unwilling to be left behind, Saho shook his head from side to side without releasing my trouser leg from his mouth.

Fortunately, I had a foolproof way of making him see reason.

“If you want to come with me, you'll have to get about ten vaccinations. Still want to go?”

Before I'd even finished speaking, the cat vanished, shooting deeper into the house like an arrow.

Mom, who had been watching the whole thing, smiled warmly.

“Why is Saho so afraid of injections?”

“I'm not exactly sure, but it seems like he has some kind of childhood trauma.”

“Hmm... That's certainly possible.”

“I'll go pack my things and come back down.”

When I stepped outside with my family seeing me off, Team Leader Seo Donghun and the driver were already waiting in front of the house.

With the driver's help, I put my suitcase in the trunk and climbed into the back seat.

As soon as the car started moving, Seo Donghun, who was sitting beside me, spoke.

“During your trip to Hong Kong, I'll be responsible for your personal security, Director Cha.”

“Understood. How many people are on my security detail?”

“Ten, including me.”

“Isn't that a little excessive?”

“I'm merely carrying out the Chairman's orders.”

In other words, there was no point complaining to Seo Donghun.

“The rest of the security personnel have already gone ahead to Incheon International Airport.”

Bzzzt—

While we were on our way to Incheon International Airport, the phone in my hand vibrated again.

Director Griffin's name appeared on the screen.

The reason for his call was obvious. The CIA agents secretly protecting me must have reported my overseas trip to him.

“Director Griffin, isn't it the middle of the night over there?”

[For intelligence officers, the concepts of day and night are rather relative.]

“I can't argue with that. What can I do for you?”

[I'm curious where you're headed.]

“Hong Kong, to sell the jewels confiscated from Gabriel.”

[But aren't most of the diamonds seized from him rough stones?]

Griffin was clearly trying to understand why I was in such a hurry to sell the uncut diamonds.

“Director Griffin, you know what lab-grown diamonds are, don't you?”

[Of course.]

“That market is growing at an incredible pace right now.”

I explained to Griffin in detail why we needed to dispose of the rough stones as quickly as possible.

“...So the best option is to sell them without delay.”

[Ah, I see. And who are you planning to sell them to?]

“Chairman Zhen Weiliang. He's a major jewelry magnate in Hong Kong.”

[Chairman Zhen certainly has enough wealth to handle a transaction of that size.]

“Do you know him, Director Griffin?”

[I've never met him personally, but I know very well who he is.]

“I see. I'm traveling with ten bodyguards, so I won't need CIA operatives helping me this time.”

[Director Cha, you're an honorary CIA agent.]

In other words: 'Don't argue. Just accept our protection.'

'Well, extra security can't hurt.'

“I'm sincerely grateful for your concern, Director Griffin.”

[There's no need to thank me. Since we're already talking, shall we discuss something else?]

“I'm listening.”

[According to our agents in China, Politburo member Liu Peiqi has completely lost his mind to greed.]

Earlier, we had cleaned out 5,125 kilograms of gold bars from his villa in Macau.

Then we captured Liu Peiqi himself and extorted 500 million yuan and 400 million dollars' worth of cryptocurrency from him in exchange for his life.

And in Dandong, we had also taken a 2,520-kilogram golden Buddha statue from another of his villas.

Naturally, he was now doing everything in his power to replenish what he'd lost.

I voiced that assumption to Griffin.

[You're only half right, Director Cha.]

“Then what am I missing?”

[Ten days ago, Li Hunin, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, suddenly died of a heart attack. Liu Peiqi is aiming for the vacant seat.]

“He wants to bribe President Xi Jinping and buy his way onto the Standing Committee?”

[Exactly. Any ideas on how we can screw this guy over?]

I had a different opinion on the matter.

“I don't think it would be a problem even if Liu gets the seat.”

[Really? Why?]

“Vice Chairman Tang Guochang is planning to make his move at the end of the year.”

[Right! That completely slipped my mind.]

“But we should make sure Liu has to go through hell to get that seat.”

[And how exactly do you propose we do that?]

An excellent idea had already occurred to me.

But since there was still a chance the whole thing could fall apart, I decided not to reveal my cards just yet.

“I'll think over the options.”

[I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with.]

I had been so absorbed in my conversation with Griffin that I hadn't even noticed the silhouette of Incheon International Airport appearing in the distance.

After politely saying goodbye, I hung up.

A short while later, the driver stopped in front of the terminal entrance.

Not wanting to cause congestion, I quickly took my suitcase out of the trunk.

“Well then, shall we head to Hong Kong?”

***

After a flight of three hours and forty minutes, my plane landed safely at Hong Kong International Airport at around ten in the evening.

Thanks to the comfort of first class and the mere one-hour time difference, I barely felt tired.

After passing through immigration without any trouble, I entered the arrivals hall and was met with an unexpected sight.

Secretary Kang Inhan was there waiting for me.

I quickly walked over to him and asked in confusion,

“Secretary Kang, didn't you say you wouldn't arrive until eleven tonight?”

“I'll explain everything on the way to the hotel. Please follow me.”

I nodded and followed him to the parking lot, where a limousine and a small bus were waiting for us.

With the driver's help, I put my luggage in the trunk and took the seat of honor in the back.

Secretary Kang sat beside me, while Team Leader Seo Donghun took the front passenger seat.

As soon as the car started moving, I turned to Kang.

“Tell me what happened.”

“Just as I was about to leave for the airport, Director Jean-Philippe called. He reminded me that taking such a large quantity of diamonds out of the country requires a great deal of official paperwork.”

Transporting a large shipment of precious stones abroad did indeed require government authorization.

And since Secretary Kang had no fewer than 685 diamonds with him, there was no way around the paperwork.

During the inspection process, the fact that the diamonds had previously belonged to Gabriel could easily come to light.

That was precisely what Jean-Philippe had warned him about.

“Go on.”

“He said he'd taken it upon himself to arrange transportation that would bypass °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the bureaucracy.”

“How?”

“He provided us with a private jet.”

“Ah, so that's why you arrived earlier than expected?”

“Exactly, Director Cha.”

“And he gave you the private flight completely free of charge?”

“I offered to pay for the aircraft, but he flatly refused, saying that he owed you far too much.”

Of the assets confiscated from Gabriel and his men, I had handed over 68.5 billion dollars in cash, 3 billion dollars in bonds, and 638 kilograms of gold to the Swiss government.

Apparently, Director Jean-Philippe had decided to repay me in this way.

“I'll call Director Jean-Philippe personally and thank him.”

“I think he'd appreciate that very much.”

“By the way, did you have any trouble entering Hong Kong?”

Secretary Kang immediately understood what I was getting at.

Most countries imposed limits on bringing in precious stones and luxury goods, and anything exceeding those limits had to be declared.

Attempting to sneak them through customs could result in severe punishment.

And Kang was carrying an enormous shipment of 685 diamonds.

That made customs clearance critically important.

“Thanks to the flawlessly prepared documentation provided by the Swiss side, we passed through customs without a single problem.”

“Excellent. Where are the stones now?”

“As a precaution, we've placed them in the underground vault of the hotel owned by Vice Chairman Wei Chen.”

“So Vice Chairman Wei knows I've arrived?”

“Of course.”

That raised another question.

“Does he know the purpose of my visit?”

“I only mentioned that you'd come to meet Chairman Zhen Weiliang.”

“I see. Let's move on to something else. Did you manage to buy Gabriel's villa?”

“Yes. Three million Swiss francs, which is about 4.5 billion won.”

Bzzzt—

The phone in my trouser pocket vibrated.

I pulled it out and saw Vice Chairman Wei Chen's name on the screen.

Knowing exactly why he was calling, I immediately answered.

“Yes, Vice Chairman Wei.”

[Director Cha, are you already in Hong Kong?]

“I arrived half an hour ago. I'm on my way to the hotel now.”

[I'm just entering the city myself.]

“You want to...” I deliberately trailed off, giving him the chance to say it himself.

[Since you're here, we absolutely have to have a proper drink together.]

It seemed that the moment I set foot in Hong Kong, I was already in danger of plunging straight into an endless drinking spree.