Chapter 45: Choose One of the Two

Following Chief Secretary Kang Inhan, I entered the gym and involuntarily froze.

It couldn't have been otherwise. The distinct smell of fresh blood filled the air.

I quickly turned my head and saw Li Jiahan. His arms and legs were bound, he was covered in blood from head to toe, and he had lost consciousness. Large beads of sweat stood out on the foreheads of Security Team Head Jeong Gwangseok and the bodyguards standing beside him, who were holding iron pipes. It was obvious that they had decorated Li Jiahan quite thoroughly with those pipes.

Noticing us, they quickly approached and bowed sharply like soldiers.

“Chief Cha, you've come?”

Pointing at the unconscious Li Jiahan, I asked Jeong Gwangseok worriedly,

“He seems to have lost too much blood. Will he be alright?”

“No one dies from a broken nose.”

“...A broken nose? He's covered in blood from head to toe!”

“Hahaha. I was speaking figuratively,” Jeong Gwangseok said awkwardly with a dry laugh. “Though he lost quite a bit of blood, none of his bones are broken. How about we break his arms and legs? It's a great way to relieve stress.”

For a second, I actually thought, ‘Maybe we should.’

But I shook my head.

“I'll pass. Judging by the look of things, he's capable of talking. By the way, does he understand our language?”

“Not perfectly, but enough to hold a conversation.”

“Well, that's fortunate. Have you gotten anything out of him?”

“Well, the thing is...” Jeong Gwangseok scratched the back of his head.

I immediately understood what that gesture meant. To break Li Jiahan, they had started with a beating without wasting any time. Naturally, part of it had also been done to vent their anger. That was why they had not obtained any useful information yet.

To confirm my suspicion, I asked directly.

“You're only half right, Chief Cha,” he answered.

“And where am I wrong?”

“This bastard answered the easy questions without hesitation. But when it came to sensitive topics, he clammed up completely.”

“I understand. Then I'll interrogate him personally.”

“Interrogations are our specialty. Why not leave it to the professionals?” Jeong Gwangseok suggested.

The truth was that I wanted to test the power of the unique herbal tranquilizer for myself. Naturally, I couldn't reveal that, so I answered firmly:

“My younger sister was the victim of that accident, so I'm a direct victim as well.”

“Understood. Then we'll wake him up.”

As soon as Jeong Gwangseok nodded, one of the bodyguards splashed a bucket of water directly into Li Jiahan's face.

“Brrruugh!”

The bodyguards grabbed the awakened Li Jiahan and sat him on a chair in front of me. Kang Inhan and I took seats opposite him.

Then something unexpected happened.

The moment Li Jiahan met my cold, heavy gaze, his entire body trembled like a leaf.

Noticing this, Kang Inhan asked in surprise,

“Chief Cha, why is he shaking like that?”

Apparently, one of the hidden effects of the herbal tranquilizer was the ability to completely suppress an opponent's will.

“This bastard knows very well who I am. How do you think he feels now that he's fallen into my hands alive?”

“Ah, I see.”

Ignoring Kang Inhan's remark, I addressed Li Jiahan in an icy tone.

“You have two choices.”

...

“First. You keep your mouth shut, experience every type of exquisite pain imaginable, and then die slowly. I know you sent the witnesses to that accident to Canada and New Zealand before eliminating them. A creature that mercilessly killed two innocent people surely wouldn't beg for mercy, would it?”

...

“Excellent. I see you understand me. The second option is that you tell me everything you know and die quickly without unnecessary suffering. Though personally, I hope you choose the first.”

...

“I'll count to five. By then, you must make your decision. Five, four, three...”

“...Please allow me to die without suffering,” Li Jiahan finally broke.

My warning had worked.

“To die painlessly, you know how you should behave, don't you?”

“...Yes.”

Li Jiahan answered in a colorless voice devoid of strength, as though he had accepted his fate.

“First question. Did you cause that accident?”

“...Yes.”

Crash!

Without warning, Kang Inhan delivered a devastating kick directly into Li Jiahan's chest. Bound hand and foot, the Chinese man toppled backward along with the chair.

As though they had been waiting for this very moment, the bodyguards began savagely beating him with iron pipes. Kang Inhan also took a pipe from one of the men and joined in.

“Khaaa! Aaaahhh!”

Li Jiahan's miserable screams echoed throughout the gym, but the bodyguards showed no mercy. Since his body had already suffered severe injuries, he quickly collapsed onto the floor.

The bodyguards promptly poured another bucket of ice-cold water onto his face. Upon regaining consciousness, he simply lay there staring blankly at the ceiling with lifeless eyes.

Kang Inhan threw the pipe aside with a loud clang and said ominously,

“You understand why you got beaten just now, don't you?”

“...Yes.”

“If you lie again, I'll break your bones one by one. First your arms, then your legs.”

“...I will tell only the truth. Please, just let me die without suffering.”

“We'll see how you behave. Team Head Jeong, raise him.”

The bodyguards lifted Li Jiahan and sat him back in the chair. The terrified Chinese man trembled uncontrollably.

Looking at him with contempt, I asked,

“Why insist on choosing the hard road when the easy one is right in front of you?”

...

“I'll ask again. Who actually caused the accident?”

Li Jiahan hesitated for a long time before answering.

“...Young Master Chen Shao, the only son of Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui.”

“And who is Chen Zhihui?”

“The vice chairman of the triad I belong to.”

Apparently, the position of second-in-command in the triad was called vice chairman. The information wasn't especially important, so I ignored it.

“Tell me everything you know about this Chen Shao.”

“Young {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Master Chen Shao is twenty-seven years old. He came to Korea two years ago to study.”

Judging by his title, Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui was second only to the head of the triad. With such influence, he could have sent his son to any developed country, whether America or Europe. Yet for some reason, he had chosen Korea.

To clarify this point, I immediately asked,

“Vice Chairman Chen controls Southeast Asia, including Korea, Japan, and the Philippines, as well as the American continent. Compared to other countries, the triad's influence in Korea was very weak. Therefore, Vice Chairman Chen sent Young Master Chen Shao here to study and expand our sphere of influence.”

“Chen Shao obviously didn't come alone. How many people did he bring?”

“Fifty, including me.”

“Quite a number. And how exactly have you expanded your influence?”

“Well... We supply drugs to local criminal groups throughout the country.”

“You sons of bitches!” Kang Inhan cursed viciously, voicing my own thoughts.

I nodded and continued.

“How often do you import drugs, in what quantities, and by what routes?”

“Every two months, about five kilograms. We use cargo ships or fishing boats.”

“Chief Cha, five kilograms are enough to inject one hundred and fifty thousand people simultaneously,” Jeong Gwangseok explained.

“Is five kilograms a lot?”

“I can't say exactly,” Jeong Gwangseok answered.

Leaving that aside, I continued questioning Li Jiahan.

“Who handles distribution inside our country?”

“Young Master Chen Shao personally oversees it.”

“And the ledger recording transactions with local gangs is also in his possession?”

“Yes.”

‘Then if we capture Chen Shao alive, we can obtain that ledger.’

“Fine. Next question. Why did you kill the witnesses?”

“There was a risk that they would expose our organization, so we took measures.”

“But they only told the police they had seen a red sports car. Nothing else.”

“According to information from the internet newspaper that covered the accident, the witnesses actually knew the specific make and model of the car.”

So it was confirmed that the internet publication had sold information to Li Jiahan.

“So what?”

“The sports car Young Master Chen Shao drove was imported into Korea in a quantity of only about ten.”

Naturally, the witnesses had told the police everything they knew about the vehicle. Based on those statements, the police could easily have tracked down and arrested Chen Shao.

But somehow the case had quietly been buried and closed.

I voiced my thoughts to Kang Inhan and asked how such a thing could have happened.

“It looks like this bastard simply bribed the police.”

When I looked at Li Jiahan, he obediently lowered his head, confirming the suspicion.

At that moment, fury boiled deep inside me.

If the police had conducted an honest investigation based on the witnesses' statements, Chen Shao would have been arrested long ago. At the same time, the Chinese criminals and their drug network operating inside our country would have been destroyed. And I wouldn't have had to work like a slave, sacrificing precious time just to pay my sister's hospital bills.

But the police, displaying unbelievable corruption, had taken Li Jiahan's dirty money and buried the case.

If this corruption went unpunished, my heart would burst from resentment.

“Secretary Kang, can we punish the cops who accepted his bribes?”

“Chairman Park has extensive connections within the government.”

In other words, he was suggesting they use Park Yeongil's influence.

“Since we're talking about it, let's do one more thing. Find out everything about those bastards at the internet newspaper who sold him the information.”

“Selling stories in this industry is considered normal.”

“If they hadn't sold the article to that garbage, the witnesses would still be alive.”

“Ah... That never even occurred to me. My apologies.”

“Not at all. I'm relying on you completely, Secretary Kang.”

“You have nothing to worry about.”

Kang Inhan radiated absolute confidence, leaving no room for doubt.

“Li Jiahan, answer the most important question. Why haven't you touched my younger sister until now?”

“Well, that's...” Li Jiahan hesitated fearfully.

“Should I interpret that as your unwillingness to die quickly?”

“N-No, absolutely not!”

The bound Chinese man waved his hands frantically, terrified by the recent beating.

“My patience is running out. I advise you to answer quickly.”

“Originally, we planned to eliminate Cha Hyeonji after she returned to her hometown to recover. But Young Master Chen Shao forbade us from doing so.”

“Why?”

“Well... Young Master Chen Shao said Cha Hyeonji was too beautiful to simply kill and wanted to spend a night with her...”

“You filthy bastard!”

Unable to contain myself, I shot to my feet and roared.

Kang Inhan also stood up immediately and tried to calm me.

“Chief Cha, look at it from another perspective. There's a silver lining.”

His words definitely made sense.

If Chen Shao hadn't developed disgusting intentions toward my sister, she would already be dead.

“Hm... You're right.”

I sat down again and resumed the interrogation.

“But why have you remained inactive until today?”

“We were waiting for Cha Hyeonji to fully recover.”

“My sister recovered completely at the end of last year.”

“I know, but Young Master Chen Shao returned home during winter vacation.”

“I see. Where did you hide the bodies of the witnesses?”

“Han Jeongsu, who emigrated to Vancouver in Canada, was sunk in the northern Pacific Ocean. Park Seunghun, who emigrated to Auckland in New Zealand, was sunk in the southern Pacific Ocean.”

Which meant that the bodies of the witnesses would never be found.