Chapter 55: Damn, Those Annoying Bastards

"Director Cha, don't you think this is strange?"

Yesterday morning, Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui arrived in our country to take Chen Shao back to China.

We had expected him to contact the police yesterday afternoon.

However, for some reason, thirty hours had already passed, and he still hadn't left his hotel.

Because of that, Chairman Park Yeongil had begun to question his true intentions.

It looks like he's plotting something. But what exactly?

As I pondered the matter, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

If my guess was correct, we'd have to completely change our strategy against Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui and his son.

"I can't say for certain, but it looks like Vice Chairman Chen is waiting for someone."

"You must have a reason for thinking that."

"Chen Shao is one of the Triad's key leaders. He personally oversaw the production and distribution of narcotics in our country. Drug-related crimes carry far harsher penalties in China than they do here, and if he's sent back, he'll most likely be executed. Even so, he's stubbornly remaining silent just to return home. That means he has a very good reason to believe he'll be safe."

"Hmm... Now that you mention it, you're right. So who is that bastard counting on?"

"China is governed under the strict dictatorship of the Communist Party."

"Are you saying some high-ranking Party official is protecting him?"

"The chances are extremely high."

At that moment, Executive Director Cho Myeongjeong suddenly spoke up, as though he'd just thought of something.

"Director Cha, what if we send Saho into Vice Chairman Chen's hotel room?"

"He's staying on the twenty-fifth floor. Unless Saho has learned how to fly, that's impossible."

"Ah... Right."

Bzzz...

As Cho Myeongjeong nodded in disappointment, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan's phone began to ring.

After checking the caller ID, he informed Chairman Park Yeongil that Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong was calling before answering.

"Commissioner Choi."

["The Triad leader is waiting for reinforcements. Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection is already on his way to our country to take the criminals back to China."]

"The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection? What exactly does that organization do?"

["To put it simply, it's the agency responsible for supervising and disciplining members of the Chinese Communist Party."]

"But shouldn't Public Security—the regular police—be the ones coming to retrieve Triad criminals?"

["That's exactly what I thought too, Chief Secretary Kang. But China isn't a country where ordinary logic applies."]

"A country where logic doesn't apply... Coming from you, Commissioner, I suppose I can't argue with that."

["By the way, we've confirmed that Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan is Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui's brother-in-law."]

"Ah... So that's the person Vice Chairman Chen has been waiting for all this time."

["Why would you say that?"]

"Just before your call..."

Without leaving anything out, Kang Inhan explained to Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong the discussion that had just taken place between Chairman Park Yeongil and Cha Jiham.

["I see. I'd like to speak with Director Cha. Could you hand him the phone?"]

"One moment, please."

Taking the phone from Kang Inhan, I greeted the Commissioner.

"Commissioner Choi, you wanted to speak with me?"

["Yes. In your opinion, how should we deal with this Party official Zhang who's flying in from China?"]

"Before anything else, I'd like to clarify exactly what capacity he's entering the country in."

["According to the official statement, the Chinese side wishes to resolve this incident quietly and unofficially."]

That meant Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan was entering the country purely as a private individual.

"Chen Shao is far too important. He knows the Triad's entire operational structure. If the Chinese government truly intended to investigate the organization, they would have formally requested his extradition so they could dismantle the entire network. Under those circumstances, sending a senior government official disguised as a private citizen makes absolutely no sense."

I paused briefly before continuing.

"I believe Vice Chairman Chen is using his brother-in-law for one reason only—to quietly get his son out and hide him."

["That sounds extremely convincing."]

"My assumptions may still be wrong, so we need to verify them."

["And how do we do that?"]

Honestly... Do I have to spell everything out for them every single time? I sighed inwardly.

"As far as I know, our embassy in China has National Intelligence Service operatives stationed there."

["Ah... Now I understand where you're going with this."]

"If my assumption turns out to be correct, I'll tell you exactly how to deal with Official Zhang."

["Go on."]

"Treat him as though he represents not a private citizen, but the entire Chinese government."

["Hahaha!"]

Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong burst into laughter, immediately understanding what I was getting at.

After waiting for his laughter to subside, I concluded,

"Commissioner, I don't think I need to explain any further."

["Haha! Of course not."]

After exchanging a few closing remarks, I ended the call.

Chairman Park Yeongil immediately looked at me with unconcealed curiosity.

"Director Cha, care to tell us what you and Commissioner Choi were whispering about?"

***

"Greetings, Brother."

Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui hurried over to greet Zhang Jinan as he emerged from the arrivals gate.

"It's unusual to be meeting my brother-in-law in Korea instead of back home."

"Haha, that's true. There are too many eyes around here. Let's get moving."

Chen Zhihui quickly led Zhang Jinan toward the terminal exit.

A luxurious sedan sat waiting by the curb with its engine already running.

The moment they got inside, the driver immediately pulled away.

Waiting until they were well underway, Chen Zhihui spoke quietly.

"I transferred ten million dollars into your Swiss account."

"That much?"

A broad smile spread across Zhang Jinan's face.

As always, money worked wonders.

"You're going through so much trouble for my foolish son. It's only a small token of my gratitude."

"Well, thank you. Now I'd like to hear exactly what happened."

"...Sigh."

Chen Zhihui let out a heavy sigh before speaking slowly.

"The Korean drug market is enormous, but demand greatly exceeded supply. To seize complete control of it, I sent my son here under the pretense of studying, accompanied by our most trusted men. We expanded little by little, and no one noticed a thing. Then somehow the police found us and destroyed the entire operation."

"What terrible luck..."

"Out of fifty-one men, forty-five were arrested, and six were killed during the assault."

"Those are catastrophic losses. But how did the police manage to find you?"

Chen Zhihui had been asking himself the same question over and over.

The Korean Triad headquarters had been located in an exclusive neighborhood filled with luxurious mansions.

Its security system had been virtually flawless.

On top of that, every operative functioned in isolated cells, minimizing the risk of exposure.

And yet the police had known the exact location of the headquarters.

At that moment, a thought flashed through his mind.

Convinced it was the only logical explanation, he answered.

"There's a very high chance that bastard Wei Chen tipped off the Korean police."

"Who's that?"

"My biggest rival for the position of Triad leader. A complete piece of trash."

"Why would he betray his own people and ruin the business?"

"He was always jealous of how quickly I expanded our Korean operation."

"Disgusting bastard. Should I deal with him?"

"Don't dirty your hands over someone like him, Brother. There's no reason for someone in your position to concern yourself with such small fry."

"Very well. What exactly do you need me to do while I'm here in Korea?"

"Help me quietly get my son out and take him back to China."

Just then, the driver unexpectedly interrupted.

"Vice Chairman, we're being followed."

"The Korean police?"

"If it were the police, they wouldn't be tailing us this discreetly."

"Then Wei Chen's people?"

"That's the most likely possibility."

"Damn, those annoying bastards. Turn the car around. We're going straight to our embassy."

***

As soon as Chief Secretary Kang Inhan hung up, Chairman Park Yeongil asked impatiently,

"What did Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok report?"

"Zhang Jinan arrived alone. Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui personally met him at the airport."

"So he really did come secretly to protect his nephew."

"When our people deliberately made it obvious they were tailing them, they immediately changed course and headed for the Chinese Embassy."

"Hmm..."

Chairman Park Yeongil broke off and thoughtfully tapped the armrest of the sofa with his fingers.

Kang Inhan and I remained silent, careful not to interrupt his train of thought.

After some time, he seemed to reach a conclusion and turned toward me.

"Director Cha, why do you think Official Zhang went to the embassy instead of the hotel?"

"They most likely concluded that the police were following them. By going to the embassy, they're trying to demonstrate that they have the backing of their government."

"Hmm... That's certainly possible."

At that moment, my eyes fell upon Saho, who was comfortably sprawled across the sofa.

Time to put this rascal to work.

"Chairman Park, where exactly is the Chinese Embassy?"

"It's in Myeong-dong, not far from our headquarters. Why?"

"I'd like to hear what Official Zhang and Vice Chairman Chen are discussing."

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

"We'll attach a miniature hidden camera to Saho and send him straight into the embassy compound."

However, as if he understood every word I said, Saho immediately shook his head from side to side in protest.

I wasn't worried in the slightest.

I already had the perfect way to motivate him.

"Chief Secretary Kang, order some top-grade marbled beef from the butcher..."

I hadn't even finished speaking before Saho launched himself off the sofa in a single leap and landed directly in my arms.

"Complete the mission successfully, and I'll feed you enough premium beef to make your stomach burst."

Jumping down from my arms, Saho dashed over to Kang Inhan and immediately began tugging insistently at his pant leg with his teeth, trying to drag him along.

Kang gently picked the cat up and headed toward the office door.

Chairman Park Yeongil and I simply exchanged silent glances as we watched the wild cat display behavior that was astonishingly human.

***

That same evening.

Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong, who had been summoned by Chairman Park, sat down on the sofa and asked anxiously,

"Chairman Park, what's the current situation?"

"An hour ago, Zhang Jinan and Chen Zhihui entered the Chinese Embassy. To find out what they're discussing, I sent one of our employees inside."

"Oh no... That's a huge problem!"

Park Yeongil understood perfectly why the country's top police official was so alarmed.

An embassy's grounds are legally considered the sovereign territory of another nation and are protected by diplomatic immunity.

Entering such a place lawfully requires endless procedures and approvals.

Any unauthorized intrusion could trigger a massive international incident.

Now that he'd heard someone from the corporation had secretly entered the embassy, the Commissioner was genuinely worried about the consequences.

Naturally, if we revealed Saho's secret, all of his concerns would disappear immediately—but that would require a long and utterly ridiculous explanation.

"Commissioner Choi, this employee of ours successfully infiltrated the Triad headquarters twice—a place guarded more tightly than most military fortresses—and returned safely both times. Everything will be fine, so don't worry."

"But those missions happened in the middle of the night! It's still broad daylight now!"

"I'm not much of a gambler, but if you'd like to make a wager, I'm willing to bet absolutely anything."

"You're really that confident nothing will happen?"

Bzzz...

Just then, the phone in my hand vibrated.

Looking at the screen, I saw Kang Inhan calling.

After excusing myself to the Commissioner, I answered.

"Chief Secretary Kang, what's the result?"

["Our agent has just successfully left the premises."]

"Tell our employee he did an excellent job."

["Is anyone with you?"]

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan truly deserved his position beside Chairman Park.

The moment I referred to Saho as an "employee," he immediately grasped the situation and realized I couldn't speak openly.

"Yes, Chief Secretary Kang, you're right. Just as I promised, feed our employee the finest beef available, then return to the office as soon as possible."

["Understood."]

Click.

The instant I hung up, the Police Commissioner, who had practically been straining to overhear every word, immediately asked,

"Director Cha, so he got out safely?"

"That's right."

"Whew... Thank goodness."

At last, Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong let out a long sigh of relief.