Chapter 305: Shall I Tell You How to Stay Alive?

Only now did submarine commander Choi Dongcheol fully understand the situation they were in.

South Korean and American submarines had been following them all the way from the port of Nampo.

It was the submarines of those two countries that had passed their coordinates to the Philippine Navy.

That was why the Philippine warships knew exactly which direction they were trying to escape in.

Wanting to confirm his suspicions, he cautiously asked Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol of the Reconnaissance General Bureau.

[You've got it exactly right.]

"And I had no idea. I've been making a fool of myself this whole time."

[At least you've finally figured it out. By the way, Vice Chairman Chen has been arrested by Philippine intelligence agents.]

At that moment, Commander Choi Dongcheol could hardly believe his ears.

Their mission was to deliver the missiles to Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui, receive two hundred and fifty million dollars, and return to North Korea.

They had risked their lives and traveled all the way to the Philippines to carry out their orders.

And now it turned out that Philippine intelligence agents had captured him.

"I can't believe what you're telling me, Deputy Director."

[Do you know what Vice Chairman Chen looks like?]

"We spoke to him over a video call on our way to the Philippines."

[All the better if you know his face. Hang up and wait a moment.]

Bzzzz!

Shortly after the call ended, Commander Choi Dongcheol's phone vibrated briefly.

He knew who the message was from, so he opened it with lightning speed.

However, it wasn't a text message but a video file.

Taking a deep breath to suppress his anxiety, he played the video.

The screen showed Philippine intelligence agents apprehending Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui while he was asleep.

Other operatives were restraining Carlos, who had fallen asleep right at the dining table.

It was strange to see them surrender so easily without putting up even the slightest resistance.

Just to be certain, he showed the video to Executive Officer Kim Jincheol.

"Is the man in this video really Vice Chairman Chen?"

Taking the phone from his commander, Executive Officer Kim Jincheol played the recording from the beginning.

After staring intently at the screen, he spoke with a stunned expression.

"That's definitely Vice Chairman Chen."

"Haah..."

Bzzzz!

While Commander Choi Dongcheol was sighing heavily, the phone in Executive Officer Kim Jincheol's hands vibrated again with an incoming call.

The executive officer quickly returned the device to his commander.

After checking the caller's name, Choi Dongcheol answered without delay.

"I'm listening, Deputy Director."

[Commander Choi, have you watched the video I sent you?]

"...I just finished watching it."

[Do you believe me now?]

"Do I have any choice?"

[Thank you for believing me. I understand perfectly well what a mess you're in.]

Commander Choi Dongcheol could think of nothing except that they were completely finished.

Since their country was under UN sanctions, it could not officially export weapons.

That was precisely why they had used submarines to transport the missiles secretly, keeping the shipment hidden from UN inspectors.

But Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui, who was supposed to receive the cargo, had been captured by Philippine intelligence.

There was now no way to deliver the missiles.

On top of that, their batteries were completely drained, so they couldn't return to North Korea even if they wanted to.

The only option left to him was to scuttle the submarine and take his own life.

And just as he was about to give the order to Executive Officer Kim Jincheol, Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol spoke to him.

[Commander Choi, don't do anything foolish.]

"What do you mean...?"

Commander Choi Dongcheol deliberately left his question unfinished, trying to figure out what Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol had in mind.

[You're thinking about sending your submarine to the bottom of the sea, aren't you?]

"You're right, Deputy Director, but we have no other choice at this point."

[Who says you have no other choice?]

In effect, Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol was urging him to raise the white flag.

However, Commander Choi Dongcheol could not accept such a demand.

If he did, his family and the families of his subordinates back in North Korea would be ruined.

He said so directly, emphasizing that he could not accept the proposal.

[There's a way for both you and your families in North Korea to stay alive. Want me to tell you?]

"Is there really such a way?"

[Before I explain my idea, there's one condition.]

"I'm listening. Please tell me."

[You won't be able to return to North Korea for the rest of your lives. Can you accept that?]

"We're already dead men walking. As long as our loved ones are safe, I don't care whether we ever return or not."

[But your subordinates might feel differently.]

Commander Choi Dongcheol had nothing to say in response, because Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol had hit the nail on the head.

"That's true. So how should we resolve that problem?"

[The submarines you're aboard have completely exhausted their batteries, so you can't move. Correct?]

"Absolutely, Deputy Director."

[Tell your subordinates that, and add that you've sent an SOS to the Philippine Navy.]

"And what should we do after that?"

[We'll come alongside you, so you and your officers should come out onto the deck.]

That meant they needed to transfer to the Philippine Navy ship where Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol was waiting.

"I understand what you're saying, but what about the sailors?"

[The sailors must remain aboard to guard the submarines. See you soon.]

Click.

Commander Choi Dongcheol briefly explained the substance of his conversation with Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol to Executive Officer Kim Jincheol.

"...He says that if we do this, both we and our families will survive."

"Can we really trust Deputy Director Jo's words?"

"Why would Deputy Director Jo deceive us? What would he gain from it?"

"That's true... Now that I think about it, you're right."

"Contact the commanders of the other submarines and tell them to gather their officers and come up onto the deck to wait."

"Yes, sir. I'll take care of it."

Executive Officer Kim Jincheol gave a brief reply.

Soon, Commander Choi Dongcheol and his officers unlocked the hatch and emerged onto the deck.

The commanders and officers of the other two submarines were already standing on their decks as well.

After a while, the Philippine Navy ships slowly approached the submarines.

A gangway was lowered from the largest vessel.

Commander Choi Dongcheol went up first.

Once aboard the ship, he stood at attention before Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol, who was waiting for him.

The officers who followed him aboard also snapped to attention.

"Attention! Salute the Deputy Director!"

At Choi Dongcheol's loud command, the officers saluted in unison.

Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol returned their salute with restraint.

"Commander Choi, it's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Comrade Deputy Director."

"Now let's welcome the commanders and officers from the other submarines."

A short while later, the commanders and officers of the remaining submarines climbed the gangway onto the deck.

Naturally, they also saluted Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol with all due respect.

He led the commanders and officers into the ship's wardroom.

Taking a seat at the head of the table, he addressed the subordinates standing rigidly before him.

"There's no need to stand around. Take a seat."

Commander Choi Dongcheol and the other officers immediately sat down.

Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol took a drink from a bottle of water on the table to wet his throat and continued.

"The man sitting beside me is Major General Jeong Sancheol, who previously served in the Reconnaissance General Bureau."

"Understood."

"Now, let's get down to business. You're curious about why I'm here, aren't you?"

"I won't hide it. We certainly are."

"Our country supplied drugs to the Triad. During that process, an incident occurred: Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui, the Triad's number two, went missing. I secretly traveled to Macau to investigate the situation. However..."

Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol deliberately paused to lend weight to his words before continuing.

"The American CIA knew about my visit to Macau."

"And what happened?"

"CIA agents abducted me, and after Director Griffin persuaded me, I defected to the United States."

In reality, Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol had been abducted by Korea Investment employees.

And it was after being persuaded by Cha Jiham and NIS Director Om Giyeon that he had defected to South Korea.

However, telling the truth could complicate matters, so he had no choice but to lie.

"We thought you had died of an illness, Deputy Director."

"What matters is that you now know those were only rumors."

Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol replied indifferently and gave a slight nod.

At that point, Major General Jeong Sancheol, who was sitting beside him, spoke up.

"I'll explain why you came to the Philippines, so listen carefully."

"We're listening."

"Vice Chairman Chen signed a contract to supply North Korean weapons to the Philippine rebel group Abu Sayyaf and successfully delivered the first shipment, consisting of one container. Carlos, the leader of Abu Sayyaf, was satisfied with the quality of the North Korean weapons and decided to purchase another five containers."

Major General Jeong Sancheol briefly described how American forces in Japan had seized the cargo ship Golden Mariner with North Korean weapons aboard, and how the container ship Silver Crystal had sunk.

"...Vice Chairman Chen suffered enormous losses when the Silver Crystal sank. To make up for those losses, he offered to supply Carlos with North Korean missiles. As an additional precaution, he suggested using submarines to transport the missiles."

"That son of a bitch!"

Having finally understood everything, Commander Choi Dongcheol cursed vehemently.

"I don't think I need to explain any further why you were sent here, do I?"

"Of course not. Everything is perfectly clear."

"Now I'll hand things back to the Deputy Director."

Having performed his role admirably, Major General Jeong Sancheol stepped back and let Jo Ilcheol take over.

"As I told Commander Choi, South Korea and the United States deployed two state-of-the-art submarines to follow you. But then a serious problem arose."

"A serious problem?"

"President Gonzalez learned that you were heading toward the Philippines."

"And what happened next?"

In reality, President Gonzalez hadn't suspected a thing.

Nevertheless, Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol lied without batting an eye, because he had a plan of his own.

"President Gonzalez flew into a rage and ordered Defense Minister Fernando to sink the submarines you were aboard. He also asked South Korea and the United States to destroy your submarines. When I learned about this, I immediately flew to the Philippines to persuade President Gonzalez to change his mind."

Commander Choi Dongcheol was sincerely grateful to Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol.

If it hadn't been for him, they would have become fish food before they even reached the Philippines.

Moreover, the failure of their mission would have destroyed their families' lives.

"Deputy Director, thank you for saving our lives."

"There's no need to thank me."

"What concessions did you have to offer to convince President Gonzalez?"

This entire plan had been Cha Jiham's idea.

Naturally, Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol knew that perfectly well.

But if he told the truth, events might take an undesirable turn.

This was precisely the sort of situation where a lie was necessary to save lives.

"I gave him an idea for how to wipe Abu Sayyaf's main base off the map."

"The Deputy Director also explained how to capture Carlos and Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui."

Major General Jeong Sancheol interjected to help Jo Ilcheol out.

Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol lightly nudged him with his foot in gratitude and continued.

"We received intelligence that Vice Chairman Chen and Carlos were heading to Iligan to meet you. To force them to return to the Abu Sayyaf base, we arranged for you to detect our ships."

"So that's what happened..."

Commander Choi Dongcheol trailed off, as though he had only now fully grasped what had happened.

"The Philippine Air Force scrambled its attack aircraft to arrive just as Vice Chairman Chen and Carlos were approaching the Abu Sayyaf base. The aircraft dropped precision-guided bombs and reduced the hideout to ruins. When the two men learned what had happened, they fled to a shelter they had prepared in advance."

Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol took a drink from his water bottle and continued.

"Then Philippine intelligence operatives pumped sleeping gas into the cave and successfully captured both men along with their subordinates."

"So that's how it all happened."

"Now I'll tell you how both you and your families in North Korea can survive."

"Please, tell us quickly!"

Unable to contain his impatience, Commander Choi Dongcheol urged Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol to continue.

"As for the video I sent you..."