Chapter 130
Chapter 130
130.
The Trace of the Killer
It was dawn.
Kwak Chi-young met Prosecutor Ahn Sang-hye at a junkyard on the outskirts of Seoul.
"Did you find anything?"
Kwak Chi-young's question was filled with anticipation.
Ahn Sang-hye hesitated for a moment before answering.
"I was able to check the investment records thanks to MH Future Security. But so far, nothing concrete has turned up."
"You don't have to dig too deep. Even a small thread can be stretched out."
Ahn Sang-hye's expression darkened slightly.
"I received a report from Prosecutor Roh Seung-jin and checked it myself..."
"...And? What did you find?"
"It's too clean. I checked all the investment details and the flow of funds, but nothing came out."
Kwak Chi-young's face instantly soured. He had expected to find some kind of loophole, so the result was unexpected.
"...You mean there's nothing at all?"
"Nothing at all. Frankly, it's too strange. Judging by how much they earned from the stock market, there should be something... Even when I checked the communication records, there were very few people they contacted. There are almost no other business associates."
"It could be a ghost phone."
"So I searched the entire office with a Search Warrant. But there's no hidden space or anything like a vault. If I had to pick something suspicious, it would be the military knife and folding Three-Section Staff that came out of Lillian Foster's office."
Kwak Chi-young tilted his head at this explanation.
"Why would those things be in the office?"
"I have no idea. Anyway, there was nothing else. Besides, I received a call from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office before coming here. It seems difficult to drag this out for too long because of that."
Kwak Chi-young sighed.
"Chairman Myung Joong-hwan must have moved."
"He contacted me first. It seems that Chairman Myung Joong-hwan cherishes CEO Baek Shin-woo more than I thought."
"He's a grandson who brings a lot of money to MH Group, so it's only natural."
Meanwhile, Ahn Sang-hye's worries deepened.
"What do we do now?"
"How long can you hold out at most?"
"The deadline I received from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office is three days from now. I have to make an official announcement by then. If nothing comes out, my position could be in danger."
"Hmm..."
With a sigh, Kwak Chi-young's expression sank deeply.
The situation was becoming increasingly bleak. During the day, Jeon Hyeong-beom, who had been Shinwoo's legal representative, even said he would give up.
With pressure from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Ahn Sang-hye might change her mind if he forced the schedule any longer.
"What should I do..."
Ta-da-dak—
While Ahn Sang-hye was speaking, hurried footsteps echoed from behind, and Oh Han-sung ran up.
"Director Kwak! Director Dorothy McDaniel is here."
"...What?"
Kwak Chi-young, startled, turned his head with a grim expression.
A group slowly walked out of the darkness. Kwak Chi-young's lips twitched at the sight.
"...Well, I never expected such a distinguished guest to arrive at this late hour."
"Long time no see, Director Kwak."
Dorothy greeted him with a smile and a wave. Of course, she didn't come alone. Her closest bodyguard, Braden Cross, and members of the 666 Unit were with her.
In response, Kwak Chi-young's 666 Unit members came out from the surroundings and stood as if confronting them.
Kwak Chi-young, seeing this, forced a hollow laugh, masking his hardened expression.
"You can say that again. If I had known Director McDaniel was coming, I would have gone out to meet you sooner. What brings you to Korea without even a call?"
"Director Kwak also paid a surprise visit last time. So I prepared a little event too."
This meeting was more than just an event.
Kwak Chi-young was meeting with Prosecutor Ahn Sang-hye from the Central District Prosecutors' Office, so he was more cautious than ever. That's why he had arranged the meeting at a junkyard on the outskirts of Seoul, where people rarely came, but Dorothy somehow found out and came.
"If I receive two events like this, my heart will fall out first."
"Is it just your heart? But did I intrude without being aware of the situation? If you're affiliated with the Central District Prosecutors' Office, that must be a pretty important guest."
Dorothy smiled and stared intently at Ahn Sang-hye. Ahn Sang-hye's startled eyes darted around.
"...Director. I'll excuse myself first. Please contact me separately for the remaining details, and I'll come to see you."
"...Alright."
Ahn Sang-hye, looking around nervously, fled outside as if escaping from the dangerous atmosphere.
Meanwhile, Dorothy's gaze was fixed back on Kwak Chi-young.
"Aren't you happy to see me? Your expression keeps getting worse."
"...I'm just too surprised. But what brings you here? I thought you had a lot of work in China. Aren't you busy? In many ways."
He was referring to the Black Ground Project in China. In particular, the TSF China branch would be largely responsible for the disappearance of the Ray Sung Group's slush funds, so he emphasized it as if to highlight it.
"There's someone important I'm looking for."
"Who...? Are you talking about Baek Shin-woo?"
He remembered that the two had met in China not long ago.
"He's someone I'm going to meet. I said I'm looking for someone."
With the atmosphere becoming serious, Kwak Chi-young stared at Dorothy with sharp eyes.
"Who the hell are you talking about?"
"...Cui Xun."
"Director Cui Xun? Didn't that woman die in the abandoned factory in Hebei? I thought the China branch had even taken care of the body."
"She was recently caught in our surveillance network. Just in case, I had marked her with counterfeiters in Southeast Asia and Russia, and she was caught. We even confirmed that she entered Incheon Airport with a passport made there."
In an even heavier atmosphere, Kwak Chi-young found it difficult to understand the situation.
"That woman is alive and came here?"
"That's right. I think Cui Xun embezzled BGP (Black Ground Project) funds. I had evidence to that effect."
With her answer, Dorothy showed Kwak Chi-young the video call records that Lu Wens, the Seven Circle Society's Macau branch manager, had saved on his phone.
It clearly showed Cui Xun showing her face and saying that she would move the slush fund container she had entrusted to Lu Wens.
"Huh... You've been hiding this fact until now?"
Kwak Chi-young had also suspected the loss of slush funds. But he never dreamed that Cui Xun, who he thought had died in the process, would appear.
"Our TSF was backstabbed, so we had to be careful. Of course, I reported it to headquarters. That's why I came here."
"Honestly, isn't that too strange?"
"What do you mean?"
"How much money came out of Ray Sung Group's slush funds?"
"10 billion yuan."
Kwak Chi-young nodded and continued his explanation.
"That's a lot. But why would she come to Korea with 10 billion yuan? There are so many other countries."
"I don't know right now, but... if I were to guess... wouldn't it be because she had to meet someone? She made a fake identity with a forged passport anyway."
At the same time, Dorothy met Kwak Chi-young's eyes with an expression full of meaning.
"...Don't tell me I'm being suspected? That I colluded with Cui Xun to embezzle Ray Sung Group's funds?"
"Honestly, no matter how great Cui Xun is, she couldn't have done such a thing alone. Moving funds requires manpower. Of course, there would have been a collaborator, and in the current situation, who is in a position to work with that woman?"
Dorothy's finger, which had been hovering in the air for a moment, pointed at Kwak Chi-young.
"You mean it's me."
"Just looking at the video call with Lu Wens of the Seven Circle Society, she didn't move the funds herself. And Director Kwak Chi-young used to be quite active in China for a long time. He had a special relationship with the Seven Circle Society."
Kwak Chi-young had once been an executive of the Seven Circle Society. Thanks to that, he was able to hire the Three Fiends last time. In the end, he betrayed them and made them be dealt with by Dorothy's hand...
"You seem to be misunderstanding something big."
"Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, we'll have to figure out the situation."
"So you're saying that the China branch is going to search my territory, Korea?"
"Why can't I? Director Kwak moved LAOJIA as he pleased. Without even asking for my permission."
Sharp thorns seemed to form at the end of her words.
"It was just a necessary thing to do. And it's not a problem to use a company, is it?"
"I wouldn't even say this if you had done it properly."
A vein twitched on Kwak Chi-young's forehead for a moment. The MH Electronics deal had completely fallen through.
"You've been saying some harsh things since earlier."
"That's because the funding for the BGP in Korea has been blocked. Headquarters is bound to be uncomfortable. What are you going to do?"
Kwak Chi-young quickly turned his head.
"I can't move in my territory for long, so I'll give you fifteen days. Look for it within that time, and if you can't find it, go back quietly."
If he stopped Dorothy's actions here, he would definitely be more suspicious.
"Not bad. Oh, and I can take Baek Shin-woo, right? You chose President Myung In-chul, so it's okay, right?"
Kwak Chi-young's heart twitched at this question as well.
On the other hand, Dorothy smiled innocently and waited for his answer.
"Why do you want to take Baek Shin-woo?"
"He's capable. It's hard to find someone with that much ability in the organization."
"But Baek Shin-woo is a member of MH Group. If you take over there, he's one of the people you'll have to get rid of in the end."
"Hey, he's an illegitimate child. Do you think he'll take revenge just because that place goes bankrupt? Judging by his actions so far, he seems to pursue practicality rather than emotions."
Of course, Kwak Chi-young hadn't even thought about getting rid of Baek Shin-woo. He was even thinking of bringing him in as his own person and using him as soon as MH Group was cleaned up.
But Dorothy seemed to have noticed that and was aiming for Baek Shin-woo.
"I forgot to mention one thing."
"What is it?"
"Baek Shin-woo seems to have found out a little about his mother's incident being related to the 666 Unit in China. It seems like his feelings aren't good, so are you really okay with that?"
This time, Dorothy's expression darkened slightly.
"Did Director Kwak tell him?"
"How could I talk about the organization's affairs? Officially, the Snow Leopard Strike Force solved the abandoned factory incident, but in reality, the Azure Feather Group stepped in. So where would the information have leaked from?"
Dorothy, who had begun to worry, pursed her lips this way and that.
"That's what Cui Xun did, not me. It wouldn't be a bad gift to catch that woman this time and bring her to Baek Shin-woo or Im Hee-yeon."
"In a situation where you don't have enough to deal with members of the organization internally, you're going to bring them to outsiders?"
Dorothy replied, unconcerned by the sensitive question.
"I think Baek Shin-woo is worth it. When things are settled to some extent, I might even recommend him to headquarters."
"Do you think headquarters will listen to that?"
"I have to try. Maybe he'll be evaluated higher than Director Kwak, wouldn't that be something?"
The atmosphere between the two became so tense that they seemed ready to tear each other apart.
When Kwak Chi-young fell silent, Dorothy smiled again.
"I only have fifteen days, so I'll go first. Oh, and I'll use the facilities of the Korean branch. I don't have much of a base here."
Dorothy said that and disappeared with Braden and her 666 Unit members.
Meanwhile, Kwak Chi-young gritted his teeth and glared at Dorothy's back as if he wanted to kill her.