Chapter 85
Chapter 85
85.
The Planned Betrayal
The TSF Investment China branch in Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, China, was in a state of emergency, with a sharp atmosphere permeating the air.
Soon, vehicles from the airport lined up in front of the building, and men poured out along with a young blonde woman.
A blue pantsuit contrasting with her blonde hair, sunglasses covering half her face.
The woman was Dorothy McDaniel, the newly appointed head of the TSF China branch.
A Chinese woman, one of those standing separately in front of the building, approached Dorothy McDaniel.
"You must be tired from your trip. I am Xue Yulan, who has been acting as the branch manager's proxy. You can ask me about the work that former branch manager Cui Xun was in charge of."
Dorothy slightly removed her sunglasses and scanned Xue Yulan with a strange gaze.
"Did you dispose of the trash properly?"
"Yes? Ah… I cleaned it up without any problems."
She was referring to the bodies of Cui Xun and his 666 Unit members, which the support force had cleaned up near the abandoned factory.
"I heard that the public security bureau arrived at the abandoned factory first, so it was impossible to clean up. It wasn't exposed to the Chinese government, was it?"
"I checked separately, but there was nothing that could leave a trace."
Dorothy put her sunglasses back on and walked ahead.
"So you're not completely useless."
"...Thank you."
She entered the building and arrived at the branch manager's office.
Dorothy sat down at the desk and received a tablet from Braden Cross, a brown-haired Westerner who was her secretary and bodyguard.
It was filled with data from the China branch that had been handed over before she came to China.
"The general matters seem to be fine… The most important thing right now is the 'Black Ground Project.' Exactly how far has it progressed?"
"We've completed diverting the funds from Ray Sung Group. Once Ray Sung Group's bankruptcy is finalized in this state, it's over."
"How much has been secured?"
"Approximately 10 billion yuan."
That was 1.38 billion US dollars, or about 1.8 trillion Korean won.
It was an enormous amount, but Dorothy's expression didn't change.
"Not bad. There won't be any problems with storage, will there?"
"It's being safely stored in a warehouse owned by a paper company. The company was created as a nominee corporation so that it can't be traced even if a problem occurs…"
At that moment, Dorothy slightly lowered her sunglasses and glared at Xue Yulan with a sharp gaze.
Xue Yulan, who had stopped speaking abruptly, met Dorothy's eyes and felt as if she was suffocating.
"Why are you assuming there will be a problem?"
"Well… there's the incident with former branch manager Cui Xun, and the Ray Sung Group case has been highlighted recently, so I was just saying that out of concern."
The Black Ground Project was based on a plan to divert a large slush fund to the TSF China branch through the Ray Sung Group real estate crisis.
However, as the Ray Sung Group case was highlighted earlier than originally planned, the funds that should have been transferred beforehand were stuck in the paper company.
"There are no problems in my dictionary. There are only the results I want."
"...I'm sorry."
"So, when can the withdrawal be made?"
The funds had already been withdrawn through various nominee accounts and were being stored in cash. Dorothy expressed it simply and waited for Xue Yulan's answer.
"As I said before… the government is also watching the private vaults concentrated in Macau due to the Ray Sung Group case. Once the current situation is initially alleviated…"
"I wasn't asking you to say we have to wait."
"Yes? But…"
"This plan for the Black Ground Project is just the beginning. But what do you think it would be like if there were delays like this from the start?"
At that moment, Braden, who was standing next to her, took out a pistol from his pocket and pointed it at Xue Yulan's temple.
Click—
Xue Yulan, startled, swallowed hard and couldn't move.
"I, I'll find a way."
"No. You have to execute it, not find it."
"I… I understand. I'll have it prepared right away."
Xue Yulan took out her cell phone and called a Seven Circle Society Macau branch executive in charge of security at the Haishin Trading warehouse.
[It's been a while, Xue Yulan.]
"It's important. We need to move the Haishin Trading warehouse. Please prepare immediately."
[…Excuse me? Didn't you move it a while ago?]
Xue Yulan's expression instantly hardened.
"What are you talking about? Moved it?"
[Someone who said they were a representative from Haishin Trading came. And just in case, I even had a video call with branch manager Cui Xun. Isn't there some kind of mistake on your end?]
"When did you move the warehouse… no, when did you have the call?"
The other person's voice was filled with annoyance at Xue Yulan's rambling questions.
[It was about two days ago.]
In the meantime, the air inside the branch manager's office became grim. Two days ago, Cui Xun was already dead.
At the same time, Dorothy, who was listening to her, could roughly guess what the situation was.
"J, just a moment, I'll check again and contact you."
Xue Yulan hurriedly ended the call, her hand trembling as she lowered her phone.
Dorothy stared at her with an even colder expression than before.
"Are you saying the money is gone?"
"It seems like something went wrong."
"A problem? Haa…"
Braden stepped forward at her long sigh.
"I'll go check right away."
"Secure the person you just spoke to first. I don't care what happens to their limbs, just make sure they can talk."
"Understood. Xue Yulan, come with me."
"Yes? Ah… yes. Yes…"
Braden put the gun back into his pocket and left with Xue Yulan and his 666 Unit members.
.
.
.
A desolate vacant lot near the Taipa Ferry Terminal in Macau. Hundreds of abandoned-looking container boxes were piled up.
However, unlike the location, there were many men with a dangerous aura.
Braden entered the place with Xue Yulan. As soon as they got out of the car, a man approached.
"I'm from TSF. I've contacted Director Lu Wens, so he should know."
"He's waiting. But first, I'll take your weapons."
Braden nonchalantly took out a pistol and a knife from his pocket and handed them over.
The man received them with a slightly surprised expression. After a body search, they were allowed to enter.
Beep—
An electronic sound rang, and the steel door of the office built from containers opened.
Lu Wens, a Seven Circle Society Macau branch executive who had been waiting inside, had a deeply furrowed expression.
"You've arrived, Miss Xue Yulan."
"Please double-check. Are you sure our side took the warehouse?"
"Didn't I tell you earlier?"
"The receipt… can I see it?"
Lu Wens looked at her as if she was a nuisance, then gestured to the subordinate standing next to him. The subordinate took out a document from the drawer and brought it over.
Xue Yulan, who started checking it, immediately noticed something strange.
"Why is the representative of Haishin Trading listed as a person named Meng Hanshu? It should have been named Gao Weiyan originally. That's the name we entrusted it with at the beginning."
"Branch manager Cui Xun said he changed it for safety. Of course, I thought it was strange too, so I checked the company's registration and the representative was changed without any problems."
"...The representative has been changed?"
"Besides, branch manager Cui Xun called me directly on his cell phone and confirmed it, so what else am I supposed to check?"
At that time, Braden, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, stepped forward.
"Do you have a record of the video call?"
Braden spoke fluent Chinese with a Western appearance.
However, Lu Wens was very displeased because he spoke in informal language.
"Why? Do you think I'm going to scam you? I'm a trustworthy person too!"
"The record?"
"Haa… Look at this bastard…? I knew this would happen, so I even saved it. This…!"
At that moment, Braden quickly lunged forward and grabbed Lu Wens' neck.
At the same time, Lu Wens' subordinate, who was standing next to him, tried to attack, but Braden's foot stretched out first and kicked his chest hard.
"Keuk—!"
The other subordinates also hurriedly tried to take out their guns in that situation.
Braden saw this and threw Lu Wens at them, then rushed after them.
Thud— Thwack—
Heavy fists and feet were planted on them, and Braden held the pistol that the subordinates were trying to take out.
Bang— Bang-bang— Bang—
The bullets fired without any hesitation pierced the chests and heads of the subordinates except for Lu Wens.
Lu Wens, who was watching the situation, sensed that something was terribly wrong and tried to escape, but Braden, who had noticed in advance, shot his leg.
Bang—
"Aaaargh!"
"Where's the video call record you saved?"
"You crazy bastard! Do you think you can get out of here alive after doing this?!"
Since gunshots had been fired, the subordinates who were all over the outside would come.
But Braden calmly looked at him and said in a heavy voice.
"Don't you know why your subordinates haven't come in yet?"
"What…?"
Knock knock—
Along with the knocking sound, an unfamiliar voice was heard from across the door.
"Boss! The outside is all cleared."
"Okay. Maintain perimeter security."
Lu Wens knew what the situation was just from that conversation.
"...Don't you know that touching this place is an act of turning the Seven Circle Society into an enemy?"
"That's none of my business."
The Black Ground Project, which involved a whopping 10 billion yuan. The TSF China branch had put in a long time and effort through Ray Sung Group for that plan.
"Kuh… You'll never be safe!"
"Shut up. Tell me where the video is."
Lu Wens judged that it was difficult to resolve the current situation.
"T, there… the bottom drawer on the left side of the desk. There's a USB in that envelope."
At that answer, Braden gestured, and Xue Yulan walked over and searched the desk, finding an OTG USB.
"Here it is."
"Check it."
The USB was connected to Xue Yulan's phone and displayed as a video.
Braden, who started checking the video, had an even heavier expression than before.
"Keep it safe."
Afterwards, when the steel door opened, the 666 Unit members who had entered dragged Lu Wens out.
Braden and Xue Yulan followed behind. And they could see Lu Wens' subordinates lying dead all over the vacant lot floor.
At the same time, Xue Yulan was startled and terrified.
"Eek—!"
"Load all the bodies and dispose of them so there are no problems. Erase the contents inside after securing only the data."
As the order was given, the 666 Unit members moved busily.
In the meantime, a car was parked at the entrance of the vacant lot, and Dorothy McDaniel got out.
Dorothy walked straight to Braden and looked at Lu Wens, who was lying on the ground on one side.
"Is this the person?"
"That's right. And after checking the situation, it seems that someone changed the representative of Haishin Trading and impersonated branch manager Cui Xun to take the warehouse."
"Impersonation?"
At Braden's explanation, Xue Yulan held out the video she had shown him earlier.
Dorothy, who was watching it, couldn't help but have a hardened face like Braden. This was because the screen that Lu Wens had video-called had a face that anyone could think was Cui Xun