Chapter 281: Who the Hell Is the Culprit?

Vice Chairman Wei Chen understood perfectly well what was going on. However, showing that he knew anything would invite disaster, so he played dumb and asked Liu Peiqi in confusion,

“Politburo member Liu, what on earth is going on?”

“...The crypto wallet is completely empty.”

“What?!”

Vice Chairman Wei Chen and hotel owner Pan Kai put expressions of utter astonishment on their faces.

Vice President Liu Shen was also shocked and stared intently at the laptop screen.

After a while, Wei Chen spoke with a grave, resolute expression.

“Politburo member Liu, I’m going to need some kind of explanation for this.”

“An explanation? What exactly are you implying?” Liu Peiqi’s prickly, irritated voice carried a veiled threat.

Wei Chen couldn’t have cared less and continued,

“I scraped together every last cent I had and lent you three billion dollars. In return, you agreed to provide two and a half billion dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency as collateral. Am I right?”

“Go on, go on.”

“And now that cryptocurrency has vanished without a trace. In a situation like this, how can I not suspect you?”

“Are you suggesting that I simply didn’t want to put up the cryptocurrency as collateral and transferred it to another account?”

“How else am I supposed to interpret a completely empty crypto wallet?”

“Ha! Unbelievable!”

Liu Peiqi looked up at the ceiling in disbelief and let out a heavy sigh.

At that moment, hotel owner Pan Kai stepped into the conversation to play his part.

“Politburo member Liu, could your crypto wallet have been hacked?”

“There’s no cryptocurrency in this world that can’t be hacked.”

“In that case, could someone have simply hacked your wallet?”

“That’s what I’m inclined to believe myself.”

“But who the hell could have stolen your funds?”

In truth, the first people Liu Peiqi suspected were operatives from North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau.

And no wonder. They were the only ones who knew his crypto wallet address.

However, he couldn’t reveal his thoughts to Pan Kai, since Pan Kai knew nothing about his connections with North Korean intelligence.

“How am I supposed to know?”

“That’s true... I didn’t think of that.”

Having played his part perfectly, Pan Kai retreated into the background.

Wei Chen gave him an inconspicuous signal and turned back to Liu Peiqi.

“Politburo member Liu, you’re now unable to provide the cryptocurrency as collateral.”

“I regret that things turned out this way.”

“Since you’ve violated the terms of our agreement, I have no choice but to demand my money back.”

Panic seized Liu Peiqi.

If he returned the money to Wei Chen, he wouldn’t be able to buy the diamonds from Chairman Zhen Weiliang. Then, without a second thought, Zhen Weiliang would sell them to his rival, Vice Chairman Tang Guochang. And Tang Guochang would present those diamonds as a gift to President Xi Jinping.

Losing such a prize because of a stupid unforeseen mishap would mean the collapse of all his hopes.

‘Damn it... I’m going to lose my mind!’

While Liu Peiqi was practically choking with frustration, Director Liu Haoran joined the conversation.

“Vice Chairman Wei, what if we provide other collateral in place of the cryptocurrency?”

“And what would that be?”

“I own a fifty-story building in Los Angeles. Its market value is around three billion dollars.”

“If you had such an excellent asset, why did you offer minor properties as collateral in the first place?”

“Well... It’s registered under a nominee’s name, as you can imagine.”

“Hmm, I see. Very well, I accept Director Liu’s proposal.”

“Phew... What a relief.”

“Well then, shall we go meet Chairman Zhen Weiliang?”

***

As he gazed at the scenery passing outside the car window, Liu Haoran, deep in thought, suddenly asked,

“Brother, who the hell could have stolen your cryptocurrency?”

“The Reconnaissance General Bureau operatives knew my wallet address.”

“But you were the only one who knew the password!”

“So what?”

“The North Koreans need to cash out the funds they steal. They wouldn’t sabotage you in such a crude way.”

“Hmm...”

Liu Peiqi trailed off thoughtfully.

His doubts, however, didn’t last long.

“If it wasn’t North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau, then who’s the culprit?”

“I suspect Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan,” Liu Haoran replied.

“Explain why you think that.”

“He knows you’re laundering cryptocurrency stolen by Reconnaissance General Bureau operatives. On top of that, he’s desperate to secure a seat on the Standing Committee and will do anything for money.”

“But that bastard doesn’t know either the wallet address or the password!”

Liu Haoran shook his head and continued pressing his argument.

“What about Go Yeongjun? That bastard could easily have known both the address and the password.”

“That’s right! I forgot about him!”

“He and Deputy Secretary Zhang are thick as thieves, so he could easily have leaked the information.”

“Zhang Jinan! Go Yeongjun! If I let you get away with this, my name isn’t Liu Peiqi!”

Liu Peiqi clenched his teeth until they creaked, swearing to take brutal revenge.

***

Meanwhile, I was talking with Chairman Zhen Weiliang.

“Department Director Cha, are you sure Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol didn’t leave any traces?”

“As soon as the cryptocurrency was transferred, we immediately laundered it through multiple accounts with the CIA’s assistance.”

“If the CIA was involved, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“I think so too.”

“My only regret is that I didn’t get to see Liu Peiqi’s devastated face with my own eyes.”

“Vice Chairman Wei saw it, so you can ask him for all the details later.”

“I certainly will.”

Bzzz—

Zhen Weiliang’s phone, lying on the table, vibrated.

Glancing at the screen, he saw Director Griffin’s name.

The reason for his call was obvious, so after excusing myself to Zhen Weiliang, I answered.

“Director Griffin, I’m listening.”

[I heard Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol actually managed to clean out Liu Peiqi’s wallet?]

“I won’t deny it.”

[Would you mind telling me how you pulled it off?]

“We’re currently carrying out an operation to completely neutralize Liu Peiqi.”

I briefly explained the main points of what was happening to Director Griffin.

“...We signed a contract to sell the diamonds for fifteen billion dollars.”

[Does Liu Peiqi even have that kind of money?]

“He borrowed the amount he was short from Vice Chairman Wei Chen.”

[I see. And who does he think stole his cryptocurrency?]

“Judging by the circumstantial evidence, he considers Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan the prime suspect.”

After chatting with Griffin a little longer, I ended the call.

Chairman Zhen Weiliang immediately asked curiously,

“Department Director Cha, will Liu Peiqi really believe Zhang Jinan is behind this?”

“There’s an extremely high probability that he will.”

Knock, knock, knock.

After a brief knock, the reception room door opened, and a secretary handed Zhen Weiliang a note.

After quickly reading it, the chairman nodded and turned to me.

“Liu Peiqi and his party will be here soon.”

***

Vice Chairman Wei Chen escorted Liu Peiqi’s delegation into the reception room.

Chairman Zhen Weiliang rose from the sofa to welcome the guests.

After exchanging the customary pleasantries, Zhen Weiliang sat down and gently asked Liu Peiqi,

“Politburo member Liu, you look terrible. Did something happen?”

Liu Peiqi glanced at Vice Chairman Wei Chen.

Wei Chen instantly understood and immediately said,

“I haven’t told Chairman Zhen anything.”

Liu Peiqi nodded in understanding and answered Zhen Weiliang’s question.

“Something extremely unpleasant happened before we came here.”

Naturally, Zhen Weiliang already knew every last detail from Cha Jiham.

However, he couldn’t give himself away, so he put on an expression of genuine concern.

“Something unpleasant?”

“Some bastard cleaned out my crypto wallet.”

“Whaaat?!”

Zhen Weiliang theatrically threw up his hands, giving the performance of his life.

Liu Peiqi took a deep breath, trying to suppress the rage choking him.

“And who could have committed such a crime?”

Liu Peiqi had already made up his mind that Zhang Jinan was responsible.

But he had no intention of laying his cards on the table in front of Zhen Weiliang.

“I don’t know yet.”

“Perhaps you should report it to the police?”

The Chinese government had officially declared cryptocurrency transactions illegal.

Therefore, even if Liu Peiqi wanted to report it to the police, he couldn’t. All he could do was curse the situation inwardly, unable to vent his frustration.

“I’ll consider your suggestion, Chairman Zhen.”

“I hope the culprit is found.”

“He will be. But let’s not dwell on something unpleasant.”

“I completely agree.”

“Has the diamond appraisal been completed?”

“One moment.”

Zhen Weiliang made a brief call over the intercom.

Soon, a man in his sixties entered the reception room carrying two thick plastic folders.

He gave a slight bow to Zhen Weiliang, who was seated at the head of the table, then sat down on an empty sofa.

The chairman immediately introduced him.

“Politburo member Liu, this is Mr. Li Zifeng, our chief gemstone appraiser.”

“Pleasure to meet you.”

“Mr. Li, tell us the results of the appraisal.”

“Yes, sir.”

Li Zifeng answered crisply and opened the folder.

“Politburo member Liu, to put it briefly, we found no fakes among the stones.”

“What a relief!”

“The Swiss government brought in the world-renowned expert Paul Bachmann to conduct the appraisal. We reviewed his findings and found no irregularities. However, our estimates of the final value differ substantially.”

“And how large is the difference?”

“He valued the lot at seven billion dollars, while we valued it at ten billion.”

“What accounts for the three-billion-dollar increase?”

“Mr. Bachmann is known for his excessively conservative appraisal methodology.”

“Hmm... I see.”

At that point, Liu Haoran, who had a pressing question of his own, joined the conversation.

“Mr. Li, if all six hundred and ten diamonds were cut, how much would their total value increase?”

“By my estimate, they would be worth approximately five times their original value.”

It was as though a tremendous weight had been lifted from Liu Peiqi’s shoulders, and the last remnants of his anger vanished instantly.

Li Zifeng had valued the rough stones at ten billion dollars.

That meant that once they were cut, the diamonds would be worth fifty billion!

If he presented such a magnificent gift to President Xi Jinping and mentioned that figure, Xi Jinping was guaranteed to be delighted.

And in return for such a favor, his seat on the Politburo Standing Committee would practically be assured.

While Liu Peiqi was lost in fantasies, Liu Haoran continued questioning the appraiser.

“Mr. Li, can you include what you just told us directly in the appraisal report?”

“Diamond prices constantly fluctuate, so my estimate is only probabilistic in nature,” Li Zifeng replied evasively, making it clear that he didn’t want to commit himself to such a statement.

But Liu Haoran had his reasons and had no intention of backing down.

“Then just state that explicitly in the document!”

Li Zifeng looked helplessly toward Zhen Weiliang.

The chairman immediately saw through Liu Haoran’s intentions and spoke up.

“Director Liu, how about we state in the document that this is purely Mr. Li’s personal professional opinion?”

“That works perfectly well too.”

“Li, record your opinion in the appraisal report.”

With that, Zhen Weiliang brought the discussion to a firm close.