Chapter 304: What Should We Do?

Submarine commander Choi Dongcheol felt his mouth going dry from fear and nervous tension.

Yesterday evening, when the submarine surfaced, he discovered that Philippine Navy warships were following them.

He immediately relayed this information to the commanders of the other submarines and ordered an immediate dive.

To shake off the pursuing enemy ships, they abruptly changed course and headed toward Bohol Island.

About two hours passed. Convinced that they had managed to shake off their pursuers, he decided to check the situation through the periscope, but...

For some inexplicable reason, the Philippine warships were still following them, maintaining exactly the same distance.

Since then, they had checked their position every two hours, but nothing had changed. The Philippine Navy ships continued to follow them at the same distance.

"Haah... I'm going to lose my mind."

As he let out a heavy, despairing sigh, his deputy commander, Kim Jincheol, cautiously addressed him.

"Commander, the batteries are down to fifteen percent."

Choi Dongcheol found himself facing an extremely difficult dilemma.

If they completely exhausted their batteries, they would be trapped, unable to move forward or turn back.

To recharge the batteries, they needed to surface and start the generators, but Philippine warships were waiting for them above.

That was precisely why they had reached a dead end. They needed to surface, but they couldn't.

"How far can we travel before the batteries run out completely?"

"Fifty kilometers at most. No more than that."

"Hmm..."

Choi Dongcheol hesitated and sank into deep thought.

Understanding his commander's predicament, Deputy Commander Kim Jincheol fell silent.

After a while, having finished considering his options, the commander finally spoke.

"Executive Officer, what should we do in this disastrous situation?"

"Perhaps we could launch torpedoes and sink the Philippine ships?"

Choi Dongcheol gave his deputy a long, disappointed look before answering.

"Executive Officer, what is our primary mission?"

"To deliver the missiles and their launchers to Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui and receive two hundred and fifty million dollars."

"Now, let's imagine we sink the Philippine ships. What do you think the Philippine military command will do?"

At that moment, Deputy Commander Kim Jincheol seemed to awaken from a deep sleep.

The Philippine Navy itself lacked the capability to conduct a full-scale anti-submarine operation, but the Americans had all the necessary resources.

Would the Philippine military simply sit back and do nothing after suffering such a devastating, unexpected attack?

They would immediately request assistance from the US military.

The Americans would promptly mobilize everything at their disposal—submarines, warships, anti-submarine aircraft—and launch a relentless hunt.

They might be able to remain undetected while hiding in the depths of the sea, but their nearly exhausted batteries left them with their hands tied.

Unless they wanted to end up resting on the seabed, they would have to surface to recharge sooner or later.

And the moment they did, American forces would either capture them or send them to the bottom.

Yet, without realizing something so obvious, he had seriously suggested attacking the Philippine ships!

"Commander, I was foolish and thoughtless."

"What matters is that you understand."

Choi Dongcheol replied indifferently and continued.

"If you have any good ideas about how to shake off the Philippine ships, let's hear them."

"Perhaps we should report our situation to our superiors?"

"Why do you think the Philippine Navy started pursuing us in the first place?"

"I think it's because our propeller got tangled in the fishing nets."

"And if we report our predicament to our superiors, what kind of response do you think we'll get?"

"We'll be severely reprimanded for our carelessness and for getting caught in the nets..."

Deputy Commander Kim Jincheol trailed off, knowing perfectly well what the consequences would be.

"I hope I don't need to explain what will happen after that?"

"No, Commander. Then... what if we send an SOS to Vice Chairman Chen and ask him to bring us fuel?"

"I thought that was our only option too, but we've moved too far away from Iligan."

"Well... Now that I think about it, you're right."

"But there's something strange. How does the Philippine Navy know which direction we're heading?"

***

Director Griffin's private jet spent about thirty minutes in the air before landing at an air force base near Iligan.

As we descended the stairs onto the runway, we saw a minivan and a small bus waiting for us.

NIS Director Om Giyeon, the others, and I wasted no time getting into the minivan.

But something seemed strange.

Deputy Director of the Reconnaissance General Bureau Jo Ilcheol and Jeong Sancheol were currently aboard a Philippine warship.

Therefore, to meet them, we should have been taking a helicopter.

However, the minivan wasn't heading toward the helipad at all. It was going in a completely different direction.

Unable to contain my curiosity, I turned to Defense Minister Fernando.

"Minister, where are we going now?"

"To the situation room in the main building."

"I thought we were flying out to meet Deputy Director Jo."

"I would have liked that, but the ship Deputy Director Jo is aboard doesn't have a helipad."

"Then how are we going to observe the operation to capture the North Korean submarines?"

"We've dispatched several drones to the area where the North Korean submarines submerged."

This was simply ridiculous.

After all, we could have watched the live video feeds from the drones just as easily from our hotel.

Still, if I said that outright, Defense Minister Fernando would be put in a terribly awkward position.

"Ah, I see."

As I nodded, pretending to accept his explanation, our vehicle arrived at the air force base's main building.

After getting out, we followed Defense Minister Fernando to the situation room on the building's first basement level.

One wall was literally covered from floor to ceiling with numerous monitors.

The table in front of them was arranged in a semicircle, forming a U-shape.

As soon as we took our assigned seats, General Marakao stepped to the front of the room.

After saluting Defense Minister Fernando, he began his briefing in a calm voice.

"I'll brief you on the current situation using the information displayed on the monitors."

At that moment, every screen on the wall lit up.

General Marakao pointed his laser pointer at a display and continued.

"The three North Korean submarines are currently at sea, seventy kilometers south of Bohol Island."

"Why do you think they moved there?"

"We believe they're attempting to shake off our pursuing ships."

"I see. And where are our ships?"

"They're maintaining surveillance at a distance of eight to ten kilometers from the North Korean submarines."

"And where are the South Korean and American submarines?"

"They're three to four kilometers away from the North Korean submarines."

I tilted my head in puzzlement.

The Romeo-class submarines might be obsolete junk from half a century ago, but they were still equipped with sonar.

Using sonar, they should have no trouble detecting the presence of other submarines nearby.

Yet the North Korean crews didn't even suspect that South Korean and American submarines were following them.

Curious about this, I asked General Marakao a question.

"Even with sonar, detecting a submarine in the depths of the ocean is extremely difficult. Besides, the North Koreans haven't even considered the possibility that South Korean and American submarines might be following them."

"To prepare for any eventuality, our submarines and the South Korean submarines are traveling on parallel courses with the North Korean submarines."

Director Griffin intervened in the conversation to help General Marakao out.

"Ah, now I understand. General Marakao, please continue your briefing."

"The North Korean submarines are currently traveling at three and a half knots (approximately six and a half kilometers per hour)."

North Korean submarines normally traveled underwater at ten knots (approximately eighteen and a half kilometers per hour).

That meant they were currently moving at just thirty-five percent of their normal speed.

"General Marakao, what do you think is causing such a sharp decrease in speed?"

"According to our information, they've almost completely exhausted their battery power."

"I see. And what will happen when their batteries run out completely?"

"They'll have to surface to start their generators."

"Do you think they've reported their situation to their superiors?"

"They haven't surfaced since diving yesterday, so they haven't been able to report anything."

And at that very moment, the screens showed the three submarines rising to the surface.

For some reason, however, the surfaced submarines couldn't move forward even a single meter.

Their batteries had finally run out completely.

An incredible commotion immediately erupted in the situation room.

To play my part, I hurriedly dialed Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol's number.

As though he had been waiting for my signal, he answered instantly.

[Go ahead, Chief Cha.]

"The North Korean submarines have just surfaced."

[I'm aware.]

"Whether we succeed in capturing those submarines depends on what you do next."

[I've prepared a flawless plan, so don't worry.]

Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol was a seasoned veteran of the intelligence world, where conspiracies and backroom struggles were an everyday occurrence.

If he was this confident, was there any point in worrying unnecessarily?

"I'm counting on you completely, Deputy Director."

***

Meanwhile.

Submarine commander Choi Dongcheol lit a cigarette, trying to ease the oppressive weight in his chest.

Deputy Commander Kim Jincheol stood beside him with a nervous expression.

"Executive Officer, the Philippine Navy must realize we're stranded and can't move, right?"

"Most likely."

"Phew..."

Choi Dongcheol exhaled a long stream of cigarette smoke, as though breathing out all his despair, and continued.

"So what do we do now?"

"Perhaps we could ask Vice Chairman Chen for help?"

"What can he possibly do to help us?"

"We need to grasp at any straw we can right now."

"That's true..."

Choi Dongcheol hesitated before dialing Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui's number.

But something strange happened.

The vice chairman's phone was switched off.

Noticing the ominous expression on his commander's face, Deputy Commander Kim Jincheol immediately blurted out,

"Vice Chairman Chen isn't answering?"

"No, his phone is simply switched off."

"But he's never turned off his phone before, has he?"

Bzzzzzz.

At that moment, the phone in Choi Dongcheol's hand vibrated.

He glanced at the screen with lightning speed and saw an unfamiliar number.

Under normal circumstances, he would have rejected the call as spam, but right now, his instincts told him that he absolutely had to answer.

After all, it might be Vice Chairman Chen calling.

"Vice Chairman Chen, is that you?"

[Sorry to disappoint you, but no.]

Choi Dongcheol was deeply shocked.

The person on the other end was speaking to him in a North Korean dialect.

"Who is this?"

[I'm Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol.]

"What?!"

Choi Dongcheol shouted so loudly that the subordinates standing nearby flinched in surprise.

[Why are you so frightened?]

"Deputy Director, you died some time ago!"

[That's the rumor they spread in North Korea, but I actually fled to another country.]

"I-is that true?"

Choi Dongcheol asked again in a trembling voice, unable to believe his ears.

[What reason would I have to lie to you?]

"I... I can't believe what you're saying."

Ding!

Choi Dongcheol's phone chimed briefly as a message arrived.

Lowering the phone, he looked at the screen to check who had sent the text message.

However, it wasn't a text message but a photograph of Jo Ilcheol taken on the deck of a warship, with the open sea in the background.

[Commander Choi, have you looked at the photo I sent you?]

"I have, but couldn't it be fake?"

[If that's what you think, then I have nothing more to say.]

"Still... how did you get my phone number?"

[Philippine and American intelligence hacked Vice Chairman Chen's phone and gave me your number.]

In other words, they had obtained the information directly from Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui's phone.

"Don't tell me... you know Vice Chairman Chen?"

[Of course. He used to buy drugs from North Korea.]

"Then you know everything about the situation?"

[Exactly. And right now, I'm aboard one of the Philippine warships pursuing you.]

"So... my suspicions were correct."

[By the way, I also know why you've come here.]

Choi Dongcheol decided that Jo Ilcheol was simply bluffing, trying to intimidate him.

North Korea's sale of missiles to Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui was a state secret of the highest importance.

How could he possibly know about it?

Voicing his doubts, he cautiously asked where the man had obtained such information.

[I still have quite a few loyal people in North Korea.]

"Are you saying you received the information from your subordinates?"

[Exactly. You may not have noticed, but South Korean and American intelligence agencies have been watching you ever since you left the North Korean port of Nampo.]