Chapter 307: Shall We Interrogate Them?

That afternoon.

We passed the time waiting for Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol of the Reconnaissance General Bureau to arrive, chatting about this and that.

“Minister Fernando, when will Deputy Director Jo be here?”

“I was informed thirty minutes ago that he had arrived at Iligan Port. So he should be here any minute now.”

“Shouldn’t we treat Deputy Director Jo to a meal and show our gratitude for helping us capture the North Korean submarines?”

“I was just planning to do that.”

“Could we join you for the meal as well?”

“Do you even need to ask? Of course!”

“Ha-ha-ha. Understood.”

I chuckled lightly, turned my gaze toward Director Santiago, and asked,

“Have Vice Chairman Chen and Carlos woken up yet?”

“I checked ten minutes ago. They’re still asleep.”

Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui and Carlos had fallen asleep from the sleeping gas at around three in the morning.

It was already a little past three in the afternoon, meaning they had been asleep for nearly twelve hours.

I asked Director Santiago if he knew why they had been unconscious for so long.

“We believe it’s because too much sleeping gas was released into the cave.”

“That sounds plausible. So when will they regain consciousness?”

“The people who inhaled the gas have only just started waking up one after another. Given that, those two should wake up soon as well.”

“I wonder what kind of reaction Vice Chairman Chen and Carlos will have when they open their eyes.”

“Ha-ha-ha-ha!”

Apparently, just imagining the scene put Director Santiago in a good mood, and he burst into hearty laughter.

Once his laughter subsided, Vice Chairman Wei Chen spoke.

“Leader Cha, what would be the best way to deal with Vice Chairman Chen?”

“You already know the answer yourself, Vice Chairman Wei, but the best way to eliminate future problems is to eliminate him.”

Knock, knock, knock.

Vice Chairman Wei Chen silently nodded, and at that exact moment, after a knock, an officer opened the door and entered the room.

He strode quickly over to Defense Minister Fernando and handed him a note.

Minister Fernando unfolded it, read it, nodded in understanding, and said,

“A passenger vehicle carrying Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol just passed through the main gate of the air base.”

***

“Deputy Director Jo, you’ve done excellent work.”

Defense Minister Fernando was the first to greet Jo Ilcheol as he stepped out of the car.

“I merely did what I was obligated to do.”

“Ha-ha. Is that so? Well then, shall we continue our conversation at the command post?”

The command post.

After taking an empty chair, Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol, apparently parched, greedily gulped down a bottle of drinking water.

As soon as he set the empty cup on the table, Defense Minister Fernando spoke.

“Deputy Director Jo, our country is quite hot, isn’t it?”

“Summer weather back home is every bit as hot as the Philippines, so it’s quite bearable.”

“Ha-ha. Is that so? Very well, let’s get down to business.”

“Ask me anything you’re curious about.”

“First of all, I’m incredibly curious about how you managed to capture the North Korean submarines.”

Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol did not answer immediately and instead turned toward me.

Understanding his intention, I spoke without delay.

“When Major General Jeong Sancheol called, I stepped out of the command post to speak with him.”

“May I take that to mean you did not tell Minister Fernando what you discussed with General Jeong?”

“That is exactly right, Deputy Director Jo.”

“Now I understand.”

Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol nodded and answered Defense Minister Fernando’s question.

“We were tracking the locations of the North Korean submarines using information provided by South Korean and American submarines. Then, unexpectedly, the North Korean submarines surfaced. Thinking this was our opportunity, I contacted First Officer Choi.”

Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol openly recounted to Defense Minister Fernando and everyone else present the contents of his conversation with First Officer Choi, as well as the details of his discussion with the officers who had been called aboard the Philippine ship.

Naturally, whenever there were gaps in his explanation, Major General Jeong Sancheol filled them in.

“...The officers returned to the submarines, gathered the sailors, and explained the situation to them.”

“And what did the sailors say?”

“Once they understood they had no choice, they accepted my proposal.”

“Thank you very much for your hard work! What condition are the North Korean submarines in now?”

“After refueling, they are heading toward Iligan Port.”

“Ah... they aren’t planning anything foolish, are they?”

“We were concerned about that as well, which is why armed members of the Philippine Navy boarded the submarines.”

At last, it was time for me to join the conversation.

“There’s one detail Deputy Director Jo and General Jeong didn’t mention, Minister Fernando.”

“Is that so? And what detail did they leave out?”

“First Officer Choi had no intention of handing the submarines, missiles, and launchers over to the Philippine government for free.”

“Ah! I forgot to mention that!”

As though he had read my mind, Major General Jeong Sancheol hurriedly cut into the conversation.

“I see. Then what exactly does this First Officer Choi have in mind?”

“They expect the Philippine government to purchase the submarines, missiles, and all the other equipment.”

“General Jeong, do you know how much they want?”

Major General Jeong Sancheol had heard from Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol that the amount was three hundred million dollars.

However, if he told Defense Minister Fernando that figure right now, it could weaken Cha Jiham’s negotiating position.

In that case, how could he possibly blurt everything out?

“I didn’t ask, so I don’t know. However, Deputy Director Jo assured them that Leader Cha would negotiate a fair price for them.”

At once, Defense Minister Fernando turned his head toward me.

Knowing exactly what he was thinking, I answered without hesitation.

“Although the Romeo-class submarines are more than fifty years old, their capabilities were recently upgraded.”

A heavy sense of unease immediately settled over Defense Minister Fernando.

Because hidden in Cha Jiham’s words was the implication that they would have to pay a high price for the submarines.

“Leader Cha, our country doesn’t have the funds to purchase submarines at a high price.”

I had anticipated that Defense Minister Fernando would raise that issue and had prepared an appropriate response in advance.

“I’ll make sure the Philippine government doesn’t have to spend a single dollar from its budget.”

“How?”

“We’ll purchase the submarines, missiles, and everything else using Carlos’s hidden assets.”

“That’s right! We still have that bastard!”

As though struck by a brilliant idea, Defense Minister Fernando slapped his knee and exclaimed,

“The purchase price of the submarines and weapons will depend on exactly how much Carlos has hidden away.”

“Of course.”

“And since we’re on the subject, I’d like to add one more thing. It would be best to provide comfortable housing and proper wages to the crew who will train the Philippine Navy in submarine operations.”

“We already agreed on that.”

Bzzzz...

At that moment, Director Santiago’s phone, lying on the table, began to vibrate.

He ended the call in one swift motion and said,

“Leader Cha, Carlos just woke up.”

“It’s good that he’s awake. Well then, shall we go interrogate him?”

***

“Vice Chairman Chen, where the hell are we?”

Hearing Carlos’s question, Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui looked around.

The spacious room contained two beds, which they were sitting on, along with a table and chairs.

A surveillance camera hung in the corner near the ceiling.

“I don’t know exactly where we are, but this is definitely an interrogation room.”

“You mean the government forces captured us?”

“There’s no other way to explain our situation.”

“Well... when you put it that way, I suppose you’re right.”

“Still, how the hell did those government bastards manage to capture us?”

That remained a mystery to Carlos as well.

The cave entrance door was made of special steel thirty centimeters thick.

The hideout had been designed so that it was impossible to enter from outside unless the door was opened from within.

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, they had ended up in the hands of government forces...

“Haa... We can just ask those government bastards. They’ll tell us.”

“What other choice do we have?”

“Forget about that for now. Vice Chairman Chen, how did you fall asleep?”

“I think I passed out right after you fell asleep, Carlos.”

“Could it be...”

Carlos trailed off, as though a thought had just occurred to him.

Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui immediately understood what he was thinking.

“It seems your ‘could it be’ is probably correct. The government forces must have released sleeping gas into the cave.”

“But the entrance door was completely sealed!”

“Those bastards pumped the gas in through the ventilation system.”

Clank!

At that exact moment, the heavy steel door opened.

Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui quickly turned his head and nearly popped his eyes out of their sockets.

Among the people entering the room was Vice Chairman Wei Chen.

“You... how the fuck are you...”

As Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui stammered in shock, armed men strode decisively toward them.

To prevent Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui and Carlos from doing anything foolish, they locked handcuffs around both their wrists and ankles.

Once that was done, they hauled the two men up and seated them in the empty chairs.

Meanwhile, Vice Chairman Wei Chen, Director Santiago, and Defense Minister Fernando sat down across from them.

Behind them stood National Bureau of Investigation agents and Triad members with weapons in their hands.

Director Santiago stared at Carlos for a long time with a heavy, savage gaze before speaking.

“You know who I am and who is sitting beside me, don’t you?”

“...I do,” Carlos replied in a sunken voice, as though he had already resigned himself to his fate.

“Sitting to my left is Vice Chairman Wei Chen, who now stands at the head of the Triad.”

“I’d like to know why Vice Chairman Wei is here.”

“We conducted a joint operation with the Triad and captured you bastards.”

“Ah...”

Director Santiago looked at Carlos as he let out a heavy sigh, then turned to Vice Chairman Wei Chen.

“Interrogate Vice Chairman Chen first.”

Vice Chairman Wei Chen nodded and turned toward Chen Zhihui.

“It’s been a long time, Vice Chairman Chen.”

“What a pity that I have to exchange words with a piece of shit like you in a place like this. And now...”

“A piece of shit?”

Vice Chairman Wei Chen cut him off mid-sentence.

Sensing that the atmosphere was reaching a breaking point, Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui hurriedly lowered his gaze to the floor.

Wei Chen glared at him with vicious hatred and held out his hand behind him.

A Triad member standing behind him immediately placed a suppressed pistol into his palm.

Pfft!

Without hesitation, Vice Chairman Wei Chen shot Chen Zhihui straight in the left side.

“Aaaagh!”

Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui screamed in pain and pressed his cuffed hands against his left side.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a weakling.”

“...”

“I hope you understand that you’re in my hands now.”

“P-please spare me! Help me, I’m begging you!”

Finally grasping the horror of his situation, Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui began trembling and begging for mercy.

“I can’t think of a single reason to let you live. If you have even one argument, say it.”

“I’ll give you all my assets! Everything I own!”

“You scraped together everything you had left and transferred it all to Deputy Department Director Zhang after the Silver Crystal sank. Where would a pauper like you even have money?”

“H-how do you know that?!”

“I’ve been tracking you ever since you fled to the Philippines.”

In truth, it had been FBI and CIA agents who had been tracking him, not Wei Chen.

However, the lie was necessary to avoid revealing the presence of American intelligence agencies.

“Then...”

Vice Chairman Wei Chen understood perfectly well why Chen Zhihui had trailed off.

“You fled into Abu Sayyaf’s den, and this is where it got you.”

“...”

“May I take that to mean there’s no reason to keep you alive?”

“N-no! No! I... I’ll tell you information about Carlos!”

At that moment, something unexpected happened.

Carlos rudely cut into the conversation.

“Vice Chairman Wei, why the hell is Vice Chairman Chen saying my name?!”

Vice Chairman Wei Chen and Chen Zhihui had been speaking in Chinese.

Because of that, Carlos had no idea what they had been talking about...

“He says he’ll sell you out if it means saving his miserable hide.”

“You son of a bitch!!”

Spitting out a string of vicious curses, Carlos shot to his feet.