How a Salaryman Became an Underworld Boss

“Director Cha, why do you think that bastard fled specifically to the Philippines?”

It seemed everyone was thinking along the same lines. Vice Chairman Wei Chen asked the exact same question as Chief Secretary Kang Inhan.

“I believe there are two reasons.”

“And what are they? Tell me.”

“He tried to secretly supply North Korean weapons to Philippine insurgents, but the Americans caught wind of it.”

“You mean he rushed to the Philippines to cover his tracks?”

“Exactly. The second reason is that he believes he’ll be safer in the Philippines than in China.”

“Why would that be?”

“The Philippine branch of the Triad is made up of people loyal to Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui.”

“Ah...”

Wei Chen hesitated, as though he had only just grasped the meaning behind my words.

“Chen Zhihui will most likely hole up in the Philippines and start plotting his revenge against you, Vice Chairman Wei.”

“That may be true, but right now he’s nothing more than a kite with a broken string.”

I had to explain the situation a little more clearly.

“There’s a high probability that Chen Zhihui will summon his loyal subordinates from all over the world to the Philippines. He’ll also try to turn the local insurgents into his allies.”

“Hmm...”

Wei Chen fell silent again, deep in thought. I knew perfectly well what was going through his mind. While I considered how to answer the questions he was bound to ask next, he spoke again.

“Director Cha, what do you think I should do?”

“There is a direct method and an indirect one.”

“I’d like to hear the indirect one first.”

“You need to prevent the senior leaders loyal to Chen Zhihui from reaching the Philippines.”

“I’d gladly do that, but I don’t even know who they are.”

The flash drive taken from Chen Shao contained a list of every senior leader loyal to Chen Zhihui. That was exactly why I had steered the conversation in this direction. However, I had absolutely no intention of handing over that information for free.

“Chen Shao had a list of the senior figures under Chen Zhihui’s command.”

“Is that so? Can I obtain that list?”

“I’ll try speaking with Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong of the National Police Agency, but he won’t give it away for nothing.”

“Of course. Could you ask Commissioner General Choi what he wants in return?”

“I will. As for the direct method, I assume I don’t need to explain it separately?”

“Of course not. The only problem is that I have no idea where in the Philippines he’s hiding.”

“He was caught attempting to illegally supply weapons to the Islamic extremist terrorist group Abu Sayyaf, whose base is located on the Philippine island of Mindanao.”

“Ah, now I understand what you’re getting at.”

“I only told you where Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui fled.”

“I’ve said enough. I hope he understood the hint.”

“Ah, yes, of course! As promised, Director Cha, I’ll deliver those Leech Gang bastards directly to Korea.”

“Haha. Then we have a deal.”

“I truly hope you’ll be able to obtain that list of Chen Zhihui’s senior leaders.”

“I’ll do everything I can. I’m a little busy right now, so I’ll call you back later.”

Click.

The moment I ended the call, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan asked in confusion,

“Director Cha, don’t we already have the list of executives loyal to Chen Zhihui?”

“If I’d told him we had it, Wei Chen would have started viewing us with suspicion.”

“Ah, now I understand.”

“We should meet Commissioner General Choi at the National Intelligence Service safe house.”

Cha Jiham’s words carried a clear implication: summon Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong to the NIS safe house. Kang Inhan understood perfectly, and pretending otherwise would have amounted to dereliction of duty.

“What time should I arrange the meeting with Commissioner Choi?”

“I think around eight this evening would be appropriate.”

***

NIS Safe House.

While waiting for Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong to arrive, I passed the time talking with NIS Director Om Giyeon.

“Director Om, I’ve been wondering why you invited Directors Griffin and Nevers.”

“I actually refused and told them not to come, but they threw a complete fit and insisted, so I had no choice but to agree.”

“I see. Do you know why they’re so desperate to come to our country?”

“They urgently want to question Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol of North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau about something.”

“In that case, shouldn’t we demand compensation in exchange for allowing them to meet Jo Ilcheol?”

“Of course we should. But what sort of favor should we ask of the United States in return?”

“How about using this opportunity to relieve President Cho Seokchin of one of his headaches?”

“How exactly?”

“Our country has been placed in a difficult position because of Westinghouse’s tyranny...”

The hair on NIS Director Om Giyeon’s body stood on end.

If Cha Jiham’s plan went smoothly, Westinghouse would no longer be able to twist Korea’s arm over nuclear power plant design rights. Directors Griffin and Nevers would make certain Westinghouse did not get away with it.

As Om Giyeon shook his head in amazement at how far ahead Cha Jiham had planned, the discussion drew to a close.

“...If we proceed like this, we’ll be able to put a complete stop to Westinghouse’s arbitrary behavior.”

“I never dreamed Director Cha planned this far ahead.”

“I’m a citizen of the Republic of Korea too.”

“Hahaha!”

Knock, knock, knock.

Just as NIS Director Om Giyeon burst into loud laughter, a knock sounded at the door. It opened, revealing Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong, Superintendent Hwang Dongsok, and Superintendent Hong Ingi.

We rose from the sofa to greet them.

“Director Om’s laughter could be heard all the way outside. Did something good happen?”

“Director Cha came up with an excellent way to rid President Cho Seokchin of one of his many headaches.”

“The President has no shortage of those. Which one are you referring to?”

“Commissioner Choi, you already know how Westinghouse has been twisting our country’s arm.”

“You mean there’s a way to put those arrogant bastards in their place?”

NIS Director Om Giyeon did not answer Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong’s question. Instead, he turned toward me.

I immediately understood his intention and spoke.

“Let’s sit down, and I’ll explain everything.”

Commissioner Choi and the others quickly took their seats on the sofa and stared at me with burning curiosity. I calmly gathered my thoughts and began.

“Commissioner Choi, do you know what the CF100 campaign is?”

“I have so much work that I honestly haven’t had time to pay attention to it.”

In other words, he had no idea.

“CF100 is a movement aimed at reducing carbon emissions completely to zero. It was originally launched with the goal of generating electricity solely through wind, solar, and hydroelectric power, but nuclear energy and hydrogen fuel cells were later added.”

I paused briefly to catch my breath before continuing.

“Because of the low efficiency of wind and solar power, countries around the world have begun constructing nuclear power plants on a massive scale. The leading countries in the nuclear power plant construction market are Korea, France, and the United States. The problem is that the nuclear plant designs used by our companies bear similarities to Westinghouse’s technology.”

“I’m well aware of that.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Westinghouse has been placing obstacles in our path and trying to sabotage nuclear power plant construction contracts put out to tender by countries around the world. I intend to put them in their place.”

“And how do you plan to do that?”

Unable to contain his impatience, Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong leaned forward and pressed me for an answer.

“CIA Director Griffin and FBI Director Nevers are currently on their way to Korea to meet Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol. If we take them by the throat, we can crush Westinghouse’s tyranny.”

“I understand what you’re suggesting, but Westinghouse’s largest shareholder is Cameco, a Canadian renewable energy investment company.”

“Canada is the kind of country that sneezes whenever the United States catches a cold. The largest shareholder of Cameco is the Royal Bank of Canada, and its largest shareholder is Bongard Investment Group.”

“So you intend to ask Chairman Bongard for help?”

“If we want to break Westinghouse’s back, we’ll need every bit of help we can get.”

“Very well. Let’s join forces and crush those arrogant businessmen!”

At that moment, apparently deciding that the main topic had concluded, Superintendent Hwang Dongsok spoke up.

“Director Cha, isn’t Korea Investment handling the Scorpion Gang?”

I immediately understood the implication behind Hwang Dongsok’s question. He was asking why they had been summoned at such a late hour.

“You’re right, Superintendent Hwang, but I asked Commissioner Choi to meet for an entirely different matter.”

“A different matter?”

“Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui is currently in the Philippines.”

I gave Commissioner Choi Dongyeong and the others a detailed account of the information I’d received from Director Nevers, as well as Vice Chairman Wei Chen’s request.

“...I want to give him the list of senior figures loyal to Chen Zhihui and extract the greatest possible benefit from it.”

“Director Cha, thank you very much!”

“Haha, come now. There’s no need to thank me.”

“Still, what compensation should we demand from Vice Chairman Wei Chen?”

“That’s precisely what we need to consider.”

NIS Director Om Giyeon, who seemed to have an idea, joined the conversation.

“Commissioner Choi, why make it complicated? Why not simply settle it with money?”

“I’d gladly do that, but I don’t know the extent of Wei Chen’s wealth.”

“When I met him in Macau, he mentioned that he could mobilize as much as five billion dollars at once.”

“Then there’s no problem! Director Cha, how much do you think we should demand?”

“Why are you dragging me into this?”

“How about asking for exactly one billion dollars?”

“How much?!”

Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong’s eyes bulged in complete shock.

“If Wei Chen fails to eliminate Chen Zhihui and his supporters, he’ll live in fear for the rest of his life. Considering that and his financial resources, one billion dollars isn’t such a large sum.”

“Hmm... You do have a point. Could you negotiate with Wei Chen on my behalf?”

“Yes, of course.”

With that, I called Vice Chairman Wei Chen.

The phone had barely rung once before he answered, as though he had been waiting for my call.

“Director Cha, did you speak with Commissioner Choi?”

“He’s sitting right in front of me.”

“I see. Did he agree to provide the list?”

“He said there would be no problem.”

“And what is his price?”

I decided to test Wei Chen a little.

“Commissioner Choi said he’s willing to give you the list for free.”

“And why is he being so generous?”

“Commissioner Choi has his own score to settle with Chen Zhihui.”

“What kind of grudge is there between them?”

“Chen Zhihui supplied methamphetamine to our country.”

“Ah, I see.”

“What do you think of Commissioner Choi’s offer?”

“Hmm...”

Wei Chen hesitated while considering his answer. Fortunately, the silence did not last long.

“I sincerely appreciate Commissioner Choi’s kindness, but my conscience won’t allow me to take the list for nothing. How about I pay for it?”

“Name whatever amount you believe is appropriate.”

“Because I purchased the gold bars from you, Director Cha, I can only offer one point three billion dollars.”

Wei Chen’s scale of spending was truly astonishing.

I desperately wanted to accept the full one point three billion, but excessive greed never led to anything good.

“Vice Chairman Wei, how about exactly one billion dollars?”

“Would that amount be acceptable?”

“Commissioner Choi nodded as well and said it was perfectly reasonable.”

“Please convey my sincere gratitude to Commissioner Choi.”

“Very well. Transfer the one billion dollars to the same account used for the gold bar transaction. As soon as I receive confirmation of the transfer, I’ll send you the list of Chen Zhihui’s senior leaders.”

After exchanging a few more words, I ended the call.

The very next moment, Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong raised his thumb.

“I had no idea you possessed such outstanding diplomatic talent, Director Cha!”

“Haha, thank you. But you’re not planning to pocket all of it and pretend nothing happened, are you?”

“Should I give you half?”

The answer yes was on the tip of my tongue, but my conscience would not allow me to say it aloud.

“Half would be too much. Instead, treat us to a luxurious late-night dinner.”

“...What?”

“Haha, it looks like tonight is going to be a long one.”

I merely gave an awkward smile.