Chapter 160
Chapter 160
Episode 160. You want me to hunt them, don't you?
Shinwoo sat in Jang Man-soo's office, exuding a serious atmosphere.
A moment later, Wen Wei, who had returned after giving the bodyguards at KITE a hard time, also sensed the atmosphere.
“What's going on that's so serious? Did a terrorist organization attack or something?”
Jang Man-soo then had Wei sit down and explained the whole story.
“The Captain’s military records have been transferred to China’s MSS.”
Wei, who knew a little about Shinwoo's UAD days, couldn't help but be surprised.
“What?! Then what do we do? Hacking? If you knew about the data leak, couldn't you have done something?”
“By the time we realized it, they had already taken it offline. Still, we found out where the records were sent from.”
“Where?”
Shinwoo let out a sigh next to him at the question.
Jang Man-soo soon spoke with a similar expression.
“TSF Korea branch.”
“…Kwak Chi-young? You're saying that bastard handed over the Captain's information to China?!”
“I wondered who was behind Piranha, Greenwhale, and Antlion pit when they raided the Ministry of National Defense… so it was them.”
Last time, Jang Man-soo had traced the IP address from the PC bang and only found out that the surrounding CCTV had been hacked. He had continued to investigate afterward, but the three hackers had apparently prepared thoroughly, making further tracking difficult.
“So, the ones who tried to hack the MH Group server last time were TSF?”
“That’s right. In the process, they tested by breaking into the Ministry of National Defense, and the UAD records were leaked without being properly disposed of.”
Everyone frowned deeply, their brows furrowed as if they had a headache.
Jang Man-soo looked at Shinwoo, who was still deep in thought, and asked,
“Captain! What do we do now? TSF wouldn't have handed over the UAD records to the MSS for any good reason. Shouldn't we use our strengths to get it back now?”
“Our” referred to Shinwoo and his colleagues' original form, Triad Eye. It also meant resolving any issue with force.
“Why? Should I snipe from a kilometer away? Or should I ask Lillian to make an IED and blow up the car?”
“There’s no reason we can't. They’ve already used excessive force, haven't they?”
This referred to Shinwoo's car accident, the incident in China and at the party where Im Hee-yeon almost died… and the attempts on Myung Joong-hwan's life.
“If it could be resolved with such a simple method, we would have done it long ago.”
“Because of Brilliant Group?”
The most significant problem was TSF Investment and the 666 Unit, which were spread across the globe and formed its foundation.
“Funds amounting to 10 billion yuan are being prepared in China alone. It's the same in Korea. Naturally, similar plans might be underway or already completed in other countries.”
Jang Man-soo nodded in understanding.
“Indeed, Brilliant Group's scale was immense. So, getting rid of Kwak Chi-young right now wouldn't be of any use?”
“They'd just bring in a replacement.”
There was the precedent of Dorothy McDaniel being sent after Cui Xun died in China.
“But they cut ties with the Captain first. That's why they manipulated MH Electronics and MH Foods to support Myung In-chul.”
Shinwoo had originally planned to maintain his relationship with Kwak Chi-young and infiltrate from within.
“Bringing Kwak Chi-young or Dorothy back in would be the best way…”
“But Kwak Chi-young must be in a tight spot after targeting small and medium-sized businesses this time.”
It was an issue that could only be resolved thanks to the information Dorothy provided.
“The place Kwak Chi-young might turn to next, now that he's short on funds.”
“If we convert the technological patents and equity value held by small and medium-sized businesses into money, it's about 400 billion. Are there any places domestically that can secure that much capital immediately?”
Amidst such conversation, Wei remained silent, his lips tightly shut, unable to interject.
Shinwoo finally organized his thoughts and spoke.
“S1 Finance.”
“Huh? The place where their mother, the one whose knees you shattered last time, is?”
This referred to Yoo Ji-young, Ahn Seung-joo's mother and the chairman of S1 Finance.
“That's the only place that comes to mind for now. Based on the phone encryption we found from them before, only someone from there could secure that much capital.”
“Ah—!”
Jang Man-soo recalled what he had found after completing the encryption decryption program he had created. It contained records of some of the people killed by the 666 Unit's movements within South Korea.
“Check on Yoo Ji-young's movements.”
“Wait a minute. I'll run the program right away.”
With that reply, Jang Man-soo turned towards the computer. LEUCO was activated, CCTV footage around the S1 Finance building appeared, and information on Yoo Ji-young and Kwak Chi-young began to cross-reference.
Soon, something was caught, and the screen changed, stopping at the image of a vehicle entering S1 Finance.
“What did you find?”
“It's Kwak Chi-young's car. Judging by the time, he visited just a few minutes ago?”
“As expected, he went to see Yoo Ji-young for funds. Can you find out how much capital Yoo Ji-young can secure immediately?”
“It shouldn't be difficult unless she's in an underground bunker.”
Jang Man-soo's fingers moved busily again. As a result, Yoo Ji-young's and S1 Finance's financial records were thoroughly scrutinized, generating numerous lists.
“How much do you think it is?”
“Hmm… funds channeled through nominee accounts are around 200 billion. If it looks like this, it's likely usury? Besides that, S1 Finance's own liquid assets are about 230 billion. As a company that manages money, it's no joke.”
Shinwoo, standing beside him, confirmed the details and could now be certain.
“As expected, they're trying to secure the remaining funds through S1 Finance.”
“What should we do? Should we hand over all this data to the prosecution? To get them suspended?”
It wasn't a bad idea. If that happened, S1 Finance would be unable to move over 200 billion in funds immediately, and Kwak Chi-young would thus fail to obtain the capital.
“Kwak Chi-young must be furious. And Yoo Ji-young is involved too. They'll block that kind of problem by any means necessary. If the prosecution delays the investigation even slightly, they'll be able to recover the funds in the meantime.”
“Then what?”
Shinwoo, racking his brain again, had a good idea.
“Man-soo.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Do you know any voice phishing organizations?”
“……?”
Jang Man-soo tilted his head, unable to comprehend.
* * *
Kwak Chi-young looked out the hotel room window at the arriving dawn.
Silence hung in the air until a ringtone sounded from the phone on the table. It was a different phone than the one he usually used. As he had been waiting for this call, he cleared his throat and answered.
“It’s been a while. Orthros.”
[Indeed it has. Ryan. Have you been well?]
“Not particularly.”
The voice on the other end, called Orthros, belonged to a middle-aged man. And from their brief conversation, it was clear he was Kwak Chi-young's superior.
[I heard you've had a lot of trouble in Korea. It must have been tough, right?]
Despite the seemingly sarcastic question, Kwak Chi-young didn't even consider retorting.
“It wasn't that tough. More importantly, what is the reason for your call?”
The reason Kwak Chi-young had stayed awake waiting until this hour was that the other party had chosen a time convenient for them. This also implied that the person he was currently speaking with, Orthros, was not in Korea.
[I'm contacting you for management purposes, ahead of the harvest that is fast approaching.]
“…Orthros? Wasn't Chimera in charge of that?”
Chimera was Kwak Chi-young's direct superior and the chairman of TSF Investment. Naturally, the chairman should be managing the TSF branches under his command.
It was therefore baffling that Orthros, who was in charge of a different sector of the organization, would bring up the Black Ground Project.
[Due to various issues, the higher-ups have temporarily entrusted me with the task of verifying the harvest festival.]
“Ah… I see.”
[Especially in Korea, like China, there have been many disturbances, haven't there? I heard you even had a dispute with Dorothy.]
TSF Investment branch managers like Kwak Chi-young were merely hunting dogs within the organization.
On the other hand, Orthros, like Cerberus who was the commander-in-chief of the 666 Unit (SHASS), was a guard dog protecting the entrance to the organization.
Both were disposable if they became useless, but their hierarchy was determined by the difference between being inside and outside.
“It was just a little noisy. And there’s nothing problematic now.”
[That's a relief then. …So, you have no worries about the funds for the harvest?]
Kwak Chi-young didn't hesitate for a moment at the question that flew back.
“There are no disruptions to the plan.”
[That's truly a relief.]
Then, Kwak Chi-young asked cautiously.
“…How many are left, by any chance?”
[I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you that.]
“No, it’s fine. Ah, and… I have a proposal for Orthros. I was planning to contact you separately anyway, but since the situation has turned out this way, may I speak about it?”
Kwak Chi-young's voice became even more cautious.
A brief silence followed from the other end of the receiver.
[…Go ahead.]
“It’s not about anything else, but there is a highly skilled technician in Korea. I'm being quite cautious on my end, so I thought perhaps Orthros could approach him.”
[What kind of technician is he?]
Kwak Chi-young felt he had half-succeeded with this question.
“He is the talent who developed R2ED, which was recently announced through the Korean Ministry of National Defense. I also know he is researching other technologies, and I believe it would be beneficial for the organization and Orthros's sector to secure such talent.”
This referred to Jang Man-soo, the main developer of R2ED.
Of course, his name had not been publicly announced, but with Kwak Chi-young's domestic intelligence capabilities, discovering his name was not difficult.
Especially since he was working with Myung In-chul at MH Group, access to information was even easier.
[I saw that article too. Due to R2ED, the export of the new radar we were preparing recently ran into problems.]
“I heard that news as well, which is why I'm making this proposal.”
Orthros let out a sigh.
[Haa—! If you send me the relevant data, I can review it. If he is truly a necessary talent, securing him under any condition could be beneficial for both of us.]
“I will send it to you once our call ends.”
As the conversation seemed to be concluding, Orthros spoke up this time.
[I heard you recently contacted Emil Douglas.]
This was about Emil Douglas, who was involved in the drug business in Venezuela.
At that time, Kwak Chi-young's plans began to go awry when the key figures in the MH Electronics incident, whom he had hidden in Ecuador, were raided by an unidentified armed group.
“I needed some information, so I used some 666 Unit members temporarily.”
[Is the unauthorized movement of unit members waiting overseas also related to that reason?]
Kwak Chi-young could only let out a long, drawn-out groan at the question.