Chapter 285: Time Is Rapidly Accelerating

I fully deserved the gratitude of Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol and his men.

By analyzing the video footage I had provided, they had managed to figure out the password to Politburo member Liu Peiqi’s cryptocurrency wallet.

Thanks to that, they had successfully seized 2.5 billion dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency assets belonging to Liu Peiqi.

Even so, I had no desire whatsoever to brag about it or demand their gratitude.

“Come on, there’s no need to be so formal.”

“How could we not be? We owe you an immeasurable debt.”

“I understand how you feel, so why don’t we sit back down on the sofa?”

“Hahaha. All right.”

Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol and the others chuckled lightly and sat back down on the sofa.

At that moment, NIS Director Om Giyeon, clearly burning with curiosity, asked me a question.

“Directorate Chief Cha, does Politburo member Liu himself know who stole his cryptocurrency?”

“He’s convinced that Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan stole it with the help of Director Go Yeongjun.”

“The real culprit is someone else entirely, yet he’s barking up the wrong tree. Won’t he try to harm Deputy Secretary Zhang?”

I shook my head and answered NIS Director Om Giyeon.

“To harm Deputy Secretary Zhang, Politburo member Liu would need direct evidence that Zhang was the one who seized the cryptocurrency.”

“Will he be able to obtain such evidence?”

“According to the information he has, Director Go is hiding on the Philippine island of Mindanao.”

“You mean he’ll send a pursuit team to capture Director Go?”

“Exactly, Director Om.”

At that moment, Commander Kwak Taesu spoke up, signaling that he had something important to ask.

“Directorate Chief Cha, when would be the best time to cash out this cryptocurrency?”

“Right now, Politburo member Liu is watching the cryptocurrency exchanges around the clock like a hawk.”

“That goes without saying.”

“Unless we urgently need cash right now, it would be better to postpone selling it for as long as possible.”

“That would indeed be wiser.”

With his curiosity satisfied, Commander Kwak Taesu leaned back, and NIS Director Om Giyeon took his turn.

“Directorate Chief Cha, are you aware that three submarines carrying North Korean missiles have already set course for the Philippines?”

“Deputy Director Jo contacted me about it while I was on my business trip to Hong Kong.”

“Fortunately, you already know. How do you think we should handle this problem?”

“I discussed the matter in detail with Director Griffin.”

“Tell us what the two of you discussed.”

“The Romeo-class submarines carrying the North Korean missiles are extremely old, so their performance is quite poor. Because of that, they have to surface frequently to run their generators.”

“Hmm...”

An unexpected silence followed.

NIS Director Om Giyeon trailed off and sank into thought.

Not quite understanding what was bothering him, I silently stared at his face.

After a while, he finally finished thinking and spoke.

“With support from Russian specialists, North Korea carried out extensive modernization of its Romeo-class submarines. Because of that, we believe their underwater endurance has increased substantially.”

“The submarines North Korea deployed to transport the missiles are precisely those modernized Romeo-class submarines.”

Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol added confidently after NIS Director Om Giyeon.

“Deputy Director Jo, exactly how much has their underwater endurance increased?”

“We estimate they can remain submerged for roughly a week.”

Director Griffin had said that Romeo-class submarines needed to surface every two or three days to run their generators and recharge their batteries.

Taking this new information into account, their underwater endurance had more than doubled.

“Deputy Director Jo, what about their speed? How much has that increased?”

“A Romeo-class submarine has a submerged speed of thirteen knots (about 24 km/h). Despite the modernization, given the vessels’ advanced age, their maximum sustained speed is unlikely to exceed ten knots (about 18.5 km/h).”

“How long would it take the North Korean submarines to reach a port on the Philippine island of Mindanao?”

“The distance from the North Korean port of Nampo to Mindanao is approximately 3,500 kilometers. Assuming the submarines travel at maximum speed, it would take about eight days. However, that scenario is unlikely, so it would be safer to estimate around ten days.”

Director Griffin had said that the performance of Romeo-class submarines was rather mediocre.

Based on that, he had estimated that, barring mechanical failures, it would take them roughly half a month to reach the port on Mindanao.

Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol, however, estimated that it would take around ten days.

If we ignored such a discrepancy, it could result in a catastrophe of enormous proportions.

Excusing myself to NIS Director Om Giyeon and the others, I immediately dialed Director Griffin.

After several rings, his surprised voice came through the phone.

[Directorate Chief Cha, are you calling to tell me you made it back to Korea safely?]

“That too.”

[That too... So there’s something else?]

“I won’t deny it.”

[I’m listening.]

“I’m currently with NIS Director Om Giyeon and Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol.”

Without embellishment or omission, I relayed to Director Griffin the information I had received from Om Giyeon and Jo Ilcheol.

“...We should account for the possibility that we might lose track of those submarines.”

[Thank you for the valuable information.]

“No need to thank me.”

[How long does Deputy Director Jo estimate it will take the North Korean submarines to reach Mindanao?]

“He estimated around ten days.”

[Good grief!]

The three Romeo-class submarines carrying sixty missiles and their launchers had departed Nampo three days ago.

By simple calculation, that meant they could reach their destination—the port of Iligan on Mindanao—in as little as another week.

That was why Director Griffin was so alarmed.

“I can count on you, can’t I, Director?”

[Of course! Sorry, I’m in a hurry, so I have to go.]

Click.

The anxious Director Griffin unilaterally ended the call.

The moment I lowered the phone from my ear, NIS Director Om Giyeon cautiously asked,

“Directorate Chief Cha, what if we simply sink those North Korean submarines without making a fuss?”

“With U.S. support, the Philippines has developed a plan to eliminate Abu Sayyaf, which is based on Mindanao. During that operation, Vice Chairman Wei Chen plans to eliminate Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui. Now imagine that, in the middle of all this, our Navy sinks the North Korean submarines.”

I paused to catch my breath before continuing.

“If Abu Sayyaf and Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui find out, they’ll flee deep into the jungle. If that happens, the Philippines, the United States, and the Triad will all harbor a serious grudge against our country for ruining the operation. On top of that, North Korea will undoubtedly try to raise the sword of vengeance against us.”

“Hmm... Now that I think about it, you’re right.”

“If luck is on our side, we may be able to capture all three submarines.”

“Capture the submarines? How?”

Consumed with impatience, NIS Director Om Giyeon leaned his entire body toward me, demanding an answer.

“As I mentioned earlier, Vice Chairman Wei Chen intends to get rid of Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui. If Chen Zhihui is eliminated, North Korea won’t hand over the missiles and launchers to Abu Sayyaf.”

NIS Director Om Giyeon instantly grasped the situation.

Abu Sayyaf had probably paid Chen Zhihui only part of the price for importing the missiles.

The remainder would be transferred only after the missiles and launchers aboard the North Korean submarines were handed over.

Meanwhile, Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui was destined to die at Wei Chen’s hands.

If the operation succeeded and Chen was sent to the afterlife, North Korea wouldn’t receive payment for the missile exports.

That meant there was no chance whatsoever that North Korea would simply hand over the weapons to the Abu Sayyaf bandits for free.

“Ah, I see. Go on.”

“The North Korean submarines will have no choice but to turn around and head back.”

“That’s probably what will happen.”

“However, every port on Mindanao will be under the control of Philippine government forces, so the North Korean submarines won’t be able to replenish their fuel. Unless their crews decide to scuttle the vessels, we should be able to capture them without much difficulty.”

“Hahaha! Now I understand your plan.”

At that moment, Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol joined the conversation with a question.

“Directorate Chief Cha, but in order to capture the North Korean submarines, isn’t it absolutely essential to eliminate Vice Chairman Chen first?”

Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol was worried that Vice Chairman Wei Chen might fail to eliminate Chen Zhihui.

“The FBI and CIA are watching Vice Chairman Chen’s every move.”

“So his fate is already sealed?”

“You’re absolutely right, Deputy Director Jo.”

“There are dozens of crew members aboard those submarines. If possible, I’d like the sailors to be spared during the capture.”

“I think you should make that request to Director Om rather than me.”

“To me?”

NIS Director Om Giyeon pointed at himself in surprise.

“What if the Republic of Korea Navy participates in the operation to capture the North Korean submarines?”

“That would be ideal, but will the United States and the Philippines agree?”

“The Philippines doesn’t know that Vice [N O V E L I G H T] Chairman Chen intended to import North Korean missiles and supply them to Abu Sayyaf. The United States didn’t even know the North Korean submarines had put to sea. Moreover, they weren’t aware that the submarines had been modernized. If we leverage those facts properly, they’ll have no choice but to involve our country in the capture operation.”

“Directorate Chief Cha, you’ll help us with that, won’t you?”

“Of course. Now, I’d like to change the subject.”

“Change the subject?”

NIS Director Om Giyeon tilted his head in confusion.

“I heard that Philippine President Gonzalez asked President Cho Seokchin to send a special envoy.”

“Ah, that?”

“I’m curious why President Cho chose me specifically as the special envoy.”

“Directorate Chief Cha, you’re slightly mistaken. President Gonzalez requested special envoys from both our country and the United States. President Douglas decided to send Director Griffin and Director Nevers. That’s why President Cho decided to send you and me as special envoys.”

“Looks like I really did misunderstand. Do you know why President Gonzalez asked Korea and the United States to send special envoys?”

“Now isn’t exactly the right time. I’ll tell you about it later.”

If someone explicitly said they didn’t want to answer, pressing them again would be the height of tactlessness.

“Understood. When are we planning to leave for the Philippines?”

“The exact date of our audience with President Gonzalez hasn’t been finalized yet.”

Bzzzz—

At that moment, the phone lying on the table began to vibrate.

I glanced at the screen and saw the caller’s name.

It was Director Griffin.

After excusing myself to NIS Director Om Giyeon and the others, I answered.

“I’m listening, Director Griffin.”

[Directorate Chief Cha, we’ve located the three North Korean submarines.]

Lieutenant Colonel Holland, commander of Delta Force’s Bravo Team, had once told me that finding a submarine in the open ocean was harder than finding a coin on an endless beach.

The North Korean submarines carrying the missiles and launchers should have been moving covertly beneath the surface.

And under those circumstances, they had already managed to find them?

Wanting to know how they had done it so quickly, I asked Director Griffin without beating around the bush.

[As a precaution, we deployed reconnaissance satellites to scan the submarines’ projected route. And wouldn’t you know it? Three Romeo-class submarines surfaced twenty kilometers south of Ieodo.]

“Could the submarines... have broken down?”

[They were traveling at twelve knots (about 22.2 km/h), so I doubt it was a mechanical failure.]

“If they’re functioning normally, why are they traveling on the surface?”

[Submarines travel faster on the surface than they do underwater. On top of that, it was pitch-black outside, so they apparently made the reckless assumption that no one would notice them.]

“Ah, now I understand.”

[A Virginia-class submarine that was on patrol near Ieodo has already begun pursuing them.]

The Virginia was one of the U.S. Navy’s most advanced nuclear-powered attack submarines.

For it, tailing those decrepit Romeo-class submarines would be a piece of cake.

“I see. At their current pace, when do you estimate the North Korean submarines will reach the port of Iligan on Mindanao?”

[About six days.]

“We have far less time than we thought.”

[You can say that again. Directorate Chief Cha, what do you think we should do about these North Korean submarines?]

I was sincerely grateful that Director Griffin had brought up the subject himself.

It was as though he had handed me the perfect pass.

I had been waiting for the right opportunity to bring it up myself.

“How about discussing the matter with Director Om Giyeon?”