Chapter 177
Chapter 177
Episode 177. The Fashionista's Plaything (2)
In the quiet atmosphere, Bastian looked at Rosa Taylor and spoke again.
“Putting the Paimon Project aside, you're saying MH Future Security's systems can't be breached because of the security system created by that person called Black Hole?”
“As of now, it seems difficult to find a solution immediately.”
To Bastian, Rosa was an extremely capable secretary and a member of the 666 Unit. Since she had never failed to come up with a solution before, he wore a surprised expression.
“Black Hole… If we can't kidnap CEO Baek Shin-woo and interrogate him in the current situation, it will be hard to get an answer, won't it?”
It was highly probable that Baek Shin-woo was aware of Black Hole's existence and had recruited him. Furthermore, Bastian knew well that Kwak Chi-young had also targeted MH Future Security, along with Baek Shin-woo, multiple times.
The fact that they hadn't succeeded so far suggested it wouldn't be easy, so there was a need to refrain from any rash approaches unless better information was secured.
“Director Kwak.”
“…What is it?”
“While I was hacking into the Korean branch's server, I found something.”
“What is it?”
Rosa took out a tablet from her bag and handed it over.
“It's the movement records of the 666 Unit members under Director Kwak. When I cross-referenced it with recent incidents in Korea, I found a specific event.”
On the tablet, the movement records and a news article were displayed.
【Two bodies found murdered with firearms in a northern Gyeonggi Province mountain. The identities of the deceased are presumed to be Mr. Nam (24) and Mr. Kim (22). The circumstances suggest Mr. Nam attempted to murder Mr. Kim with a firearm but failed. Subsequently, Mr. Kim, who took the firearm, is believed to have murdered Mr. Nam before dying from excessive bleeding…….】
Bastian understood the meaning after reading the content.
“Are you saying this incident was carried out by the Korean branch?”
“The GPS movement records and the date match.”
“So, who are these individuals?”
“When I hacked into the police server, their names were Nam Min-joon and Kim Seok-hwan. They were wizard-class hackers who operated on the dark web under the names Greenwhale and Antlion pit.”
Bastian couldn't help but frown at the question leading back to hackers.
“Are you saying Kwak Chi-young was up to something with hackers?”
“There are no publicly disclosed facts, but the possibility is high. And it looks like traces of them cleaning up after the job.”
As Bastian scrolled through the tablet screen, his eyes widened.
“…Black Hole? UAD Project?”
“When attacking the MH Group server, Director Kwak seemed to be aware of Black Hole's existence as well. And the UAD Project is a file obtained from the Ministry of National Defense server, which was damaged from the start. However, based on the context of the content, it appears to be an operation conducted by the military under the South Korean government.”
It was an image file where parts were obscured by noise, making it difficult to see properly. Even at a glance, it was clear that a significant number of pages were missing.
Bastian, who was seriously reviewing it, scowled more than ever.
“Karam of Mahabad? Daoud and Rayyan of Herat, Afghanistan…?”
Because familiar names appeared.
“If that operation project is true, it would be a highly controversial issue publicly.”
“It's absolutely not something the South Korean government would do alone. Nor is it something any involved government would admit to.”
The names listed in the records were clearly linked to figures in foreign governments, politics, and economies. Moreover, the reasons for their deaths were often matters known to Interpol, making them difficult to bring up carelessly.
“Director Kwak was hiding some very dangerous cards.”
“He’s a man whose hidden depths are unknown. That's how he could rise from being a 666 Unit administrator to the Director of TSF.”
Bastian fell into deep thought. After some time, he spoke to Rosa again.
“For now, make a separate report on the current situation.”
“Will a report for the higher-ups suffice?”
With the information discovered so far, Bastian intended to pressure Kwak Chi-young.
“Do that.”
.
.
.
At the same time.
At MH Future Security, Jang Man-soo, who had been typing furiously on his computer, scowled in annoyance.
“Oh, look at that? They narrowly escaped.”
Shinwoo was also watching the situation beside him.
“You missed them, didn't you?”
“I thought it was a golden opportunity… It’s truly a shame.”
“They came out of nowhere and threw ridiculous offers at you, and then… They weren't pushovers like Kwak Chi-young.”
“Still, I caught a trace. It seems Agares is among them.”
Shinwoo tilted his head at the explanation.
“Agares? What's that? Is it a hacker name like Antlion pit?”
“…A. Ga. Res. It's the name of a demon. It's said to stop fugitives or make them return, and Agares primarily uses the Return Virus.”
It was still an explanation in an area Shinwoo didn't understand well.
“…If you say so, they must be quite skilled?”
“I've never lost to him yet, but as good as he is at tracking, he's also excellent at escaping. That's why I don't know his true identity.”
Shinwoo recalled Rosa Taylor, the secretary, and the bodyguards who had visited with Bastian earlier.
“So, there’s someone among them who’s your match.”
“Nah, not a match. I just said I've never lost, didn't I?”
“And you said they've never been caught either.”
At that moment, Lillian, who had been listening to the conversation from across the room, nodded her head.
“Exactly. They’re a match. Or maybe you’ve lost once? Honestly, only Mansu knows, so we wouldn't know.”
“That’s not true?!”
Jang Man-soo finally stood up abruptly and yelled at Lillian.
“Hey! You’re raising your voice at an older sister?”
“Does being older make you an older sister?”
Shinwoo and the others sitting around, Wei, Hector, and Rick, shook their heads.
Then, Hector offered his opinion with a serious expression.
“If they’re dangerous individuals, shouldn't we target them immediately?”
“Denied. This is not a battlefield.”
“……”
Shinwoo looked at his colleagues and said,
“For now, our ultimate goal is to prevent the completion of Brilliant Group and completely eliminate the subordinates beneath them, the 666 Unit.”
At that moment, Jang Man-soo added one more thing.
“There's Harpas Industries too. Because of the proposal Bastian Marchion made earlier, when I looked into them, they own shares in TSF and are one of the entities that manage a large portion of its funds.”
“What's the scale?”
“Their official funds last year were 500 million dollars, about 670 billion won. Besides that, checking the US stock exchange, Glenn Larson, the chairman of Harpas Industries, personally holds a 2% stake in TSF Investment.”
The current market capitalization of TSF Investment is 155 trillion won. 2% of that is about 3.12 trillion won.
However, Jang Man-soo's explanation didn't end there.
“…But looking at the fund transaction situation, several companies associated with Harpas Industries also hold shares in TSF. Combined with Glenn Larson's personal 2% stake, their total TSF shareholding is 5%. Wow! Approximately 7.8 trillion won. This might actually make them the largest shareholder of TSF.”
It was uncommon for the management of a publicly traded company to hold a large number of shares.
Unless it was a holding company. Usually, the company itself owned a large stake, while individuals often held less than 3%.
“What is the stake held by TSF's Chairman James Cannon?”
“It's 2.7%, 24.3 million shares. Compared to Harpas's holdings, it's just over half.”
“So, they can be seen as the de facto superior organization of TSF.”
As Shinwoo's mind grew complicated, Jang Man-soo added to the explanation.
“As everyone knows, the predecessor of the subsidiary that operated as a defense contractor within Brilliant Group, before we died, was North Wall, which swallowed Harpas Industries.”
North Wall was a defense contractor superior to Harpas Industries as of the current time.
Having returned from the future, the companies that formed the backbone of Brilliant Group, associated with death, were the top priority for surveillance.
Naturally, North Wall, one of those backbones, had been carefully monitored by Jang Man-soo.
However, there had been no significant movements, which he found puzzling.
“It’s possible North Wall suffered the same fate as Baeseong Corporation.”
Shinwoo’s opinion was met with nods from Jang Man-soo and Lillian.
“That's probably right. If they have the plan and the time, destroying a company is no big deal.”
“In the original future, MH Group was destroyed just like that, wasn't it?”
“It was truly instantaneous. Even the NIS's Economic Security Bureau tried to stop it, but it was no use……”
Especially since TSF had a card in the form of Myung In-chul for MH Group. With the influential Im Hee-yeon and Chairman Myung Joong-hwan dying one after another, nothing stood in their way.
Of course, Myung In-chul and his siblings were abandoned as soon as TSF took over MH Group.
“How many TSF shares have you secured through the nominee accounts of Oculus Fund?”
“So far, I've gathered 20.7 million shares, which is about 2.3%.”
This amounted to a staggering 3.8 trillion won worth of shares.
“That’s a difference of 0.4% from TSF's Chairman James Cannon.”
“If we shake things up a couple more times, I can secure more.”
“At this point, we should start collecting what we've spread out.”
Jang Man-soo said with an expectant look.
“Ok. I'll buy up as much as possible whenever TSF is shaken.”
“Then I should contact Chairman Cheon Hye-rin of Azure Feather Group.”
“You're going to join forces with your great-aunt?”
Shinwoo's eyes sharpened at Jang Man-soo's playful tone.
“…The trap we set in China for TSF is the most useful right now.”
“And Chairman Cheon Hye-rin would be the icing on the cake. Well, she's likely to grant your request.”
Hector and Rick, who had joined the conversation last, tilted their heads.
“Chairman Cheon of Azure Feather is the boss's great-aunt? And Azure Feather is the one who commissioned us before, isn't it?”
“It turns out the boss's mother was Chairman Cheon Hye-rin's benefactor. She was supposed to have died, but after the boss saved her, incidents occurred in China, leading to their connection.”
Jang Man-soo explained the other details at length.
The two men immediately understood and nodded.
“…The ties of fate are so vast they seem endless, yet they are as close as what is right before our eyes.”
“It just happened that way.”
“So, what's the final plan for now?”
Hector sensed that Shinwoo had grasped something.
“You're still sharp.”
“I can tell just by the change in the boss's eyes.”
Hearing such words, everyone wore a familiar, deep smile.
“It's going to be incredibly chaotic. And because of that, we need to make TSF, Harpas, and the 666 Unit even more chaotic than us.”
“Great∼!”
“Isn't it obvious?”
“Are we finally moving properly? I've been feeling so stiff, I can really loosen up……”
“Wei, shut up.”
Hector warned Wei, and finally, Rick shouted.
“Let's go—!”
Hearing his colleagues' words, Shinwoo could only smile at the atmosphere he felt after a long time.
Even if they were entering a death zone, he felt confident that with his current comrades, they could tear apart even the Grim Reaper and return.
Of course, he had also returned to the past with death…
With that thought, Shinwoo took off his watch and held out his left wrist, the underside facing up, towards his colleagues who had gathered in the center.
The eye tattoo, which hadn't been erased even after his regression, was shown to his colleagues.
“The ordeal is—!”
As Shinwoo shouted, his colleagues also extended their fully revealed left wrists.
They all had the same eye tattoo drawn on their wrists.
“Not over!”
The phrase written beneath the eye tattoo.
It was the Triad Eye's rallying cry, shouted together just before embarking on missions where death was a constant possibility.