Chapter 51: That’s Right! I Saw It There!

We caught our breath while waiting for Chairman Park Yeongil and Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong of the National Police Agency to arrive.

Of course, the Special Operations officers were still busy searching every corner for the hidden methamphetamine.

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan pointed at the unconscious Chen Shao and the other gang members before turning to me.

“How did Meowy manage to knock those bastards out in such a short amount of time?”

“Secretary Kang, allow me to explain,” Team Leader Seo Donghun spoke before I had a chance to open my mouth.

“Then get on with it.”

“We found the gang members in the living room on the third floor. There was a mahjong table set up in front of them.”

“So those bastards were playing mahjong when Meowy attacked and knocked them all out with a single strike.”

“I think so too, but there's one question that still can't be explained.”

“And what's that?”

“At the moment Meowy attacked, the electricity throughout the building had already been cut. Yet Meowy struck each of them with incredible precision, hitting them directly in the temple and knocking them out in a single blow.”

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan remained completely composed as he continued speaking with Team Leader Seo Donghun.

“You're overlooking one detail, Team Leader Seo. A wild mountain cat is a nocturnal predator. On top of that, Meowy consumed a unique herbal tranquilizer with unknown effects and became a sacred animal.”

“Even so...”

“Enough. You don't need to know anything beyond that, so simply accept it as fact. Now then, where did you find Chen Shao?”

“In his own bedroom on the fourth floor.”

Ignoring Team Leader Seo Donghun's answer, Kang Inhan turned back to me with another question.

“And just how did Meowy open the bedroom door where Chen Shao was sleeping?”

Because of the structure of Meowy's body, it was physically impossible for him to operate a door handle.

That left only one possibility.

“Meowy, was the bedroom door already open?”

As if understanding my question, Meowy nodded.

“Secretary Kang, do you understand now how Meowy managed to knock Chen Shao out?”

“Ha-ha-ha. Of course. Still, he even understands human speech... No matter how many times I see it, I just can't get used to it.”

While Kang Inhan chuckled quietly, the front door opened and Chairman Park Yeongil entered together with Cho Myeongjeong, President of the Korea Investment venture capital fund.

We immediately rose from the sofa to greet them.

“Chairman Park, welcome.”

“Department Head Cha, you've done excellent work.”

“The Triad bastards were eliminated by the Special Operations officers under Team Leaders Jeong and Seo.”

“But it was Department Head Cha who led those Special Operations officers.”

Chairman Park Yeongil replied in an ordinary tone before praising Team Leaders Jeong Gwangseok and Seo Donghun.

Then, without warning, he headed toward the basement.

Instantly understanding his intention, we hurried downstairs ahead of him to show the way.

As soon as he entered the room containing the methamphetamine production equipment, the Chairman let out an impressed whistle.

“Well now! This is no small operation.”

After expressing his amazement several times while carefully inspecting the room, he suddenly frowned.

“But tell me, Department Head Cha, don't you find this rather strange?”

“I'm sorry, Chairman. I'm not quite sure what you mean.”

“When methamphetamine is cooked, it produces an unbearable stench. There should absolutely be a powerful ventilation system here. But I don't see any exhaust system at all, and there's no foul odor either.”

“Hm... You're right,” Kang Inhan was the first to speak.

Realizing this was too important to overlook, I quickly addressed Chairman Park Yeongil.

“Chairman, are you saying these bastards manufacture the drugs somewhere else?”

“That's most likely the case.”

At that very moment, something unexpected happened.

Meowy, who had been sitting in my arms, suddenly jumped to the floor and shot out of the room like an arrow.

Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok immediately caught the hidden meaning behind the cat's actions and rushed after him.

After giving the chemical-filled room one more quick glance, we followed them outside.

When we returned to the living room, the front door opened just as Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong entered the house accompanied by his security detail.

The moment he saw us, he quickly approached Chairman Park Yeongil and expressed his gratitude.

“Chairman Park, thank you very much for eliminating those Triad bastards on our behalf.”

“Ha-ha. There's no need to thank me. Commissioner, won't you introduce the people who came with you?”

“The man on my left is Superintendent Hong Ingi, who is in charge of narcotics investigations. On my right is Superintendent Hwang Dongsok, who oversees organized crime...”

However, Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong never finished introducing his companions.

Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok came rushing downstairs, breathing heavily.

“Pant... Pant... Chairman, the methamphetamine production laboratory is on the fourth floor!”

“Hm. Just as I thought. My suspicion was correct.”

While Chairman Park Yeongil nodded with satisfaction, Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong looked at me in confusion.

“Department Head Cha, but during our phone conversation, didn't you tell me you'd already found the drug lab?”

“I made a mistake. I thought the warehouse where all the chemicals and raw materials were stored was the laboratory.”

“Ah, I see. Team Leader Jeong, would you please take us to the actual production facility?”

Following Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok, we climbed to a room on the fourth floor and froze in bewilderment.

For good reason.

There wasn't a single piece of drug manufacturing equipment anywhere to be seen.

“Team Leader Jeong, what exactly is this supposed to mean?”

Instead of answering Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong's question, Jeong Gwangseok simply walked to the wall and pressed a hidden switch.

Bzzzz!

With a quiet mechanical hum, the massive display cabinet blocking the wall slowly slid aside.

Immediately afterward, a staircase leading upward to a concealed attic level gradually came into view.

The moment the cabinet stopped moving, Superintendent Hong Ingi was the first to race up the stairs into the hidden room.

We followed close behind.

“Wow...”

I couldn't help letting out a sigh of amazement.

The size of the secret hideout was astonishing enough, but what truly shocked me was the level of technical sophistication, which far exceeded all expectations.

Half of the enormous space was occupied by state-of-the-art equipment and towering stacks of raw materials used to manufacture drugs.

Industrial ventilation systems lined the walls to eliminate the suffocating odor, while in one corner stood a massive safe almost as tall as I was.

«No doubt about it. All the finished product is inside that safe.»

Apparently, Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong reached exactly the same conclusion.

“Superintendent Hong, call a safe-cracking specialist immediately.”

“Yes, sir.”

Hong Ingi responded crisply and immediately dialed someone on his mobile phone.

While watching him, something strange happened to me.

Back when I had completely failed at mathematics, I chose to major in Korean Literature.

Yet now, for some reason, strings of numbers began surfacing in my mind all on their own.

«I feel like I've seen those combinations somewhere before...»

“That's right! I saw it there!”

Every gaze in the room, including Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong's heavy stare, instantly turned toward me.

Embarrassed, I scratched the back of my head before giving an order to Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok.

“Bring Chen Shao's gold chain and his laptop.”

“Yes, sir!”

As though reading my mind, Jeong Gwangseok answered at the top of his lungs before sprinting downstairs to the third-floor living room.

Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong looked at me in obvious confusion.

“Department Head Cha, would you mind explaining what's going on?”

The thing was, when Meowy had secretly infiltrated the Triad's hideout, he had stolen Chen Shao's gold chain.

Hidden inside the pendant was a concealed USB flash drive.

We had copied every file [N O V E L I G H T] stored on it before Meowy returned the chain to its original place.

Now that I had remembered the safe's password contained within those files, a serious problem arose.

My knowledge completely contradicted the official version Chairman Park Yeongil had given the Commissioner—that Korea Investment personnel had only just entered the Triad hideout.

In order to preserve our cover story and keep everything consistent, I had no choice but to tell a small lie.

“When our employee infiltrated the hideout, he happened to take the gold chain that Chen Shao treasured so much.”

I honestly recounted the events of the previous night to Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong.

Naturally, I had to omit Meowy's existence and alter some details to avoid making the story even more complicated.

“...Just to be safe, we returned the chain afterward so we wouldn't arouse any suspicion.”

Just as I finished explaining, the breathless Jeong Gwangseok placed the laptop on the table, inserted the flash drive from the pendant into the USB port, brought up the relevant files, and announced clearly,

“The safe combination is 1375888XXX.”

Superintendent Hong Ingi immediately hurried over to the safe and entered the numbers.

Click!

With a heavy metallic clunk, the thick door swung open.

Everyone instinctively held their breath and stared inside.

“Whoa...”

Everyone in the secret room exclaimed in unison.

And no wonder.

The safe was packed to the brim with tightly sealed plastic bags filled with pure white powder.

Hong Ingi estimated the volume with a glance before turning to Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong.

“Commissioner, visually speaking, there's no less than two hundred kilograms here. Incidentally, that's enough for six million individual doses. It's an enormous quantity.”

“If there's this much stored inside the safe alone, just imagine how much they've already distributed throughout the country,” the Commissioner said grimly.

“I completely agree, sir.”

“Don't touch the evidence. We need to call the press.”

“Is there really an urgent need to involve the media?” There was obvious dissatisfaction in Superintendent Hong Ingi's voice.

Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong understood perfectly why he objected.

The moment news of the Triad's destruction hit the media, drug dealers across Korea and their regular customers would immediately disappear into hiding to avoid the inevitable raids.

That would make it many times more difficult for the police to drag them out of their holes.

He thought exactly the same way himself.

Unfortunately, there was no other choice.

“During the assault on the Triad's hideout, Korea Investment personnel shot and killed six gang members. That fact will inevitably reach the Chinese government. And what do you think will happen then?”

“Well...” Hong Ingi hesitated, fully understanding where that could lead.

“To minimize the inevitable protest from China, we have no choice but to make the entire operation as public as possible.”

“I understand, Commissioner.”

At that moment, Chairman Park Yeongil firmly entered the conversation.

“Commissioner Choi, I'd like the official reports to present the destruction of the Triad as a successful operation carried out by the police special forces.”

“Are you certain that's for the best?” Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong's eyes widened in surprise, clearly not expecting such a generous offer.

“What concerns me is the fact that we were, in essence, civilians who eliminated foreign nationals. I'd rather avoid unnecessary complications.”

“Ah... My apologies. I hadn't considered that aspect.”

“However, I have one firm condition before we hand all the credit over to the police.”

“I'm listening, Chairman. Please go on.”

“The only reason we uncovered the trail leading to the Triad's unchecked expansion in our country was because Chen Shao committed a hit-and-run accident. Because of his cowardice, the victim, Cha Hyeonji, is still suffering severe aftereffects from her injuries, while two completely innocent witnesses were brutally murdered.”

Chairman Park Yeongil paused briefly to catch his breath before continuing in a hard voice.

“Make sure that Chen Shao, who committed the hit-and-run, and Li Jiahan, who murdered the witnesses, are tried and punished to the fullest extent of Korean law, here in Korea. And squeeze enough compensation out of that brat Chen Shao's personal assets to fully repay every victim for their losses.”

“It will be done. You have my word.”

Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong's voice rang with iron resolve.

After returning to the living room, we resumed our interrupted conversation.

“Commissioner, how is the operation to eliminate the local criminal organizations progressing?”

Instead of answering personally, Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong directed the question to Superintendent Hwang Dongsok.

The latter immediately understood and reported,

“There were thirteen criminal organizations on our target list. Before we came here, the leaders of eleven gangs had already been successfully arrested. However, the leaders of the remaining two organizations, whose bases are located in Incheon and Mokpo, have not yet been taken into custody.”

“Have there been difficulties capturing them?”

“Unlike the others, those two gangs have significantly larger numbers of members and are putting up fierce resistance.”

“The important thing is that none of our officers are killed...”

Bzzzz! Bzzzz!

At that moment, Superintendent Hwang Dongsok's mobile phone vibrated loudly.

After glancing at the screen, he realized it was an urgent call, stepped aside, and answered immediately.

About two minutes later, he returned at a brisk pace and reported to Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong with visible relief.

“We've just received confirmation. The leaders of the gangs in Incheon and Mokpo have both been completely subdued and taken into custody.”

That marked the final conclusion.

The large-scale simultaneous operation to destroy the Korean branch of the Chinese Triad and every local gang under its control had been successfully completed.