Chapter 122
Chapter 122
122.
Dying Embers (2)
Kwak Chi-young checked the current status of MH Group share acquisitions.
Due to the design and technology issues at MH Electronics and the mold incident at MH Foods, the stock prices continued to decline. Thanks to thorough preparations, MH Group was unable to do anything as expected.
"Currently, MH Electronics' stock is down 9.72%, MH Foods is down 12.77%, and MH Holdings is down 4.25%."
The drop in MH Electronics' stock alone amounted to approximately 38 trillion won. An enormous amount of capital had been drained away by a single article.
Kwak Chi-young smiled in satisfaction.
"Good."
"However, gnats are starting to swarm."
A massive corporation was faltering. It was clear that overcoming the crisis would be difficult, so various companies and individuals with capital were jumping into the fray.
Kwak Chi-young remained unfazed by Oh Han-sung's explanation.
"Those bastards would have caught the scent and come running anyway."
"DAX is also involved."
Kwak Chi-young's brow furrowed slightly.
"I thought they'd be quiet with the Baesung Distribution bidding coming up... so they've decided to jump into this game after all."
"We don't know how much capital they have at the moment, so we need to investigate further. But our relationship with China right now..."
Dorothy McDaniel, the head of TSF's China branch, had been quietly waging war against the Seven Circle Society, using the 666 Unit as her vanguard.
The Seven Circle Society had been cornered by this offensive, but they were still holding out due to their considerable size.
In the current situation, Dorothy McDaniel might have discovered that Kwak Chi-young was the source of that conflict. Naturally, it was highly likely that she would not be cooperative in providing information from China.
"LAOJIA was fine because we had been working on them for a while. Otherwise, it would be reckless, just as you said."
He pondered for a moment.
Then, a message arrived on Oh Han-sung's phone. Oh Han-sung's expression hardened slightly as he checked the contents.
"Director."
"...What is it?"
He sensed that the atmosphere was unusual.
"The staff member we had planted in the MH Group Chairman's office has been caught."
"...How were they caught?"
"We had them plant a listening device in the Chairman's office because we were concerned about Baek Shin-woo's movements within MH Group. It seems Gu Sang-ho discovered the device."
Kwak Chi-young's brow furrowed deeply.
"Have you become careless with your work because you've been too busy lately?"
"...I apologize. MH Group's security system has been upgraded to a high level this year, so we had to approach it in a way that left as little trace as possible, which was unavoidable. Of course, she wouldn't have been able to find out anything about us through her."
Oh Han-sung hadn't been moving carelessly either.
At the same time, Kwak Chi-young knew the reason for the enhanced security.
"It's because of Baek Shin-woo's KITE. So? You didn't find out anything at all?"
"Before Gu Sang-ho caught her, Baek Shin-woo was having a private meeting with Chairman Myung Joong-hwan."
Recently, Myung Joong-hwan had been frequently visiting the headquarters due to the problems that had erupted in the affiliates. He needed to find a way to address the situation.
"There's nothing he can do in this situation... why do I have such an ominous feeling?"
"Go Seok-ju and An Dong-won, whom we extracted from MH Electronics, are also hidden in overseas safe houses with their families, so there are absolutely no loopholes in your plan, Director."
At the same time, Kwak Chi-young clicked his tongue.
"Tch! It only means the probability of success is high. There's no such thing as absolute in anything."
"I was being presumptuous. In any case, there are no problems so far. No matter how much MH Group worries, the outcome is obvious, isn't it?"
Kwak Chi-young also knew that there were no loopholes in this plan. He himself had said that there was no such thing as absolute, but he thought that this time was more perfect than ever.
"Is it still difficult to find out the movements of MH Future Security?"
The only thing that bothered him right now was Baek Shin-woo.
Oh Han-sung wore a bitter expression.
"We've only been able to determine that 90% of the actual sales are conducted from Baek Shin-woo's office. However, the security in that office is so tight that even the people we've planted can't even infiltrate it."
"What about the hacker who can breach MH Group's system?"
Oh Han-sung immediately replied.
"The final check on the three Wizard-level Hackers we contacted on the dark web was completed not long ago."
"That took quite a while."
"The task at hand is important, so we had to check more than necessary. If those bastards turn their backs on us, who knows what they might do."
It was no ordinary task; they had to raid MH Group's headquarters and MH Future Security inside it. Of course, they wouldn't reveal TSF's existence to the hackers, but unlike people who fight mindlessly, they were sharp, so they had to be cautious.
"As soon as possible..."
Vroom— Vroom—
Just as Kwak Chi-young was about to answer, a ringtone came from Oh Han-sung's pocket.
It was a satellite phone. He checked the screen and felt a strange sensation.
"It's from Ecuador."
That was the country where Go Seok-ju and An Dong-won, whom they had extracted from MH Electronics, had been sent. It was a country that had not signed an extradition treaty, so TSF had chosen it in case problems arose.
"Let me listen too."
Kwak Chi-young also felt uneasy.
Meanwhile, Oh Han-sung pressed the call button on the phone and switched it to speakerphone.
"Id dice. (Speak.)"
What came out of Oh Han-sung's mouth was the 666 Unit's Code.
But there was no voice on the other end of the line. Instead, it was filled with the sounds of gunshots and the screams of men fading away.
Kwak Chi-young, who was listening to the sound next to him, was able to recognize the identity of the ominous feeling.
"It seems they've been attacked. Where did the call come from?"
"Machala."
It was a small city in southern Ecuador. Of course, the safe house was located quite far from there, so no one should have known about it unless information had leaked from the inside.
"Contact Muisne immediately!"
Oh Han-sung made a call as Kwak Chi-young instructed.
But only a ringing tone continued to come out, as if there was a problem on that side as well.
"...I can't get through."
"Are there no other communication channels?"
"We operate with minimal communication channels because we use overseas personnel in strict secrecy."
The existence of SAHSS, the 666 Unit, should not be revealed to the general public. Of course, they didn't care much because they were planning to kill Go Seok-ju and An Dong-won, as well as their families.
However, until then, the 666 Unit's superiors should not know about the current situation, so they kept it a secret.
"Are there any other troops that can move to Ecuador?"
It was information that was difficult to recall immediately. As a result, Oh Han-sung thought for a moment before answering.
"There is a team deployed in Venezuela. But they are assigned to Douglas's work."
"Emil Douglas?"
The owner of that name was the brother of Lloyd Douglas, who had disappeared in Russia some time ago. At the same time, Emil Douglas was a criminal who ran a massive drug farm in Venezuela.
The 666 Unit was protecting Emil Douglas while receiving a large sum of money from him.
"That's right. The Emil Douglas who is known as the drug king."
"It would be impossible to move those troops."
"Even if they did move, the situation would be reported to the higher-ups."
MH Group was the core of the 'Black Ground Project' in Korea. Originally, they were supposed to deal with Im Hee-yeon and Myung Joong-hwan in order, and then shake things up without difficulty.
But because that plan had gone awry, even the 666 Unit members waiting overseas were being moved around arbitrarily.
Of course, it might have been possible if they had requested approval in advance, but they couldn't do that because it would be like admitting their own lack of ability.
"Try to contact them to at least understand the situation."
"To Douglas's side?"
"Contact them quickly...!"
Vroom— Vroom—
At that moment, a vibration rang from the desk. The phone he normally used was in his pocket.
Kwak Chi-young walked over to it and opened the drawer. A black flip phone was flashing an LED light, indicating that a call was coming in.
"LAOJIA. Contact Douglas first."
With those words, Kwak Chi-young picked up the flip phone.
"Hello."
[Are you kidding me right now?!]
The voice that came from the other end of the line was Huang Ziyi Xu, the chairman of LAOJIA.
"What's wrong?"
[Haa... What's wrong? About the MHD323B from MH Electronics that we received from you! Why is it already registered with the Korean Intellectual Property Office?!]
He had clearly extracted it through Chief Researcher An Dong-won. He had also made sure that there were no problems in the process, creating forged documents to make MH Electronics believe that it had not been registered for a patent.
It was a precarious gamble, but it was possible because Myung In-chul was completely off guard.
But it was already registered?
"I don't understand what you're saying. There were no problems on our end."
[Are you saying that I, who just received a notification from the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty), am lying?!]
"Then... are you saying that MH Electronics actually registered the patent?"
[How many times do I have to say it? If you don't believe me, check it yourself!]
LAOJIA had even issued an official statement against MH Electronics for design theft and technology patent infringement.
But if MH Electronics had the technology patent, LAOJIA would face a backlash, tied to the design theft.
The call ended like that.
Kwak Chi-young, who was dumbfounded, began to piece together the cause of the ominous feeling he had felt earlier.
But there were still a mountain of problems to deal with immediately.
"Have you contacted Douglas?"
Oh Han-sung had finished the call at some point and was cautiously waiting for Kwak Chi-young, whose face had turned red.
"Fortunately, they said they would send someone. They said they would contact us after confirming the situation. However, it seems the team leader there won't be able to prevent reporting to the higher-ups."
"That can't be helped. Check with the Intellectual Property Office. See if there's anything about MH Electronics' MHD323B patent being filed."
Oh Han-sung, who was next to him, had heard Kwak Chi-young's call. However, it was difficult to understand because something that had already been taken care of had resurfaced.
"Are you saying that... MH Electronics' patent is already registered, as you said earlier?"
"Find out quickly!"
"Ah, I understand."
Oh Han-sung immediately contacted the Intellectual Property Office. And before long, he looked at Kwak Chi-young with a pale face.
"Is it really registered?"
"They say it was registered nine months ago with a different patent name."
TSF's technology patent extraction had taken place before that. It was to make MH Electronics complacent and then use it as a decisive blow.
"...What? Huh... Then Myung In-chul deceived me?"
"But didn't he seem completely unaware?"
Kwak Chi-young recalled Myung In-chul's appearance when they had met at the villa not long ago.
If he had deliberately turned his back on him, he should have lived as an actor, not a businessman.
"How did the situation turn out like this?"
"Wouldn't it be better to call President Myung In-chul first and check?"
"No. It's possible that Myung In-chul didn't know either. If he knew, he wouldn't have let himself be kicked out of the MH Electronics presidency."
"Isn't it possible that Myung In-chul planned everything?"
Kwak Chi-young, whose head was complicated, walked around the office and then slumped onto the sofa.
"...Where did it all go wrong?"
Everything he had designed for years was collapsing. Of course, the MH Foods incident remained, but it would be resolved before long if MH Electronics calmed down.
But right now, Kwak Chi-young was focused on the 'Black Ground Project'.