Chapter 68

They had planned to infiltrate the facility in the dead of night to steal data and raw materials, but they were struggling. There were no guards, yet the security was as impenetrable as steel, and the center lacked even a single window.

“Keep it down. You’re going to wake up the whole neighborhood.”

Frank, who had been warning his colleague struggling to pick the side door, suddenly felt a chill and turned his head to scan the surroundings.

‘...What is this? I’ve never felt anything like this in my life.’

He was a veteran industrial spy who had spent years in the field, never hesitating to take a corporate job or use physical force if necessary, but he had never experienced such a bone-chilling sensation.

He rubbed his goosebump-covered arms and walked around to check the area, but there was nothing there.

‘Is it just my imagination?’

He had been told he had good instincts since he was a child, and he had always trusted his gut in his line of work, but no matter how hard he looked, there were no signs of anything unusual.

Thud.

Thinking it was just nerves, he turned back toward his colleagues who were still working on the lock, when he suddenly felt a sense of wrongness.

‘Why, why is it so quiet? And what was that sound just now?’

He had only stepped away from his colleagues for a moment to check the perimeter, and he expected to see them still picking the lock when he turned back.

It was a personnel access point, but since it was a steel door, it should have made noise even if they were trying to be quiet. Yet, behind him, there was absolute silence.

Thump- thump- thump- thump-

The sound of lock-picking was gone. All he could hear was the sound of something falling and the frantic, deafening beat of his own heart.

Gulp-

As he swallowed hard and tried to turn his head, he felt a dull ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠impact at the back of his neck.

‘Wh-what? Was that a bullet?’

Paralyzed by fear, he couldn't even bring himself to turn around. Instinctively, he reached up to touch the back of his head ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠before losing consciousness.

“Three neutralized. Sam, how about you?”

I had shot an anesthetic dart into the guy who was trembling and trying to turn around, then tied up his limbs after he went down.

“The remaining two are secured. But, boss, are they dead? They just dropped like they were shot.”

It was a specially developed anesthetic dart, but its performance was enough to make them lose consciousness and collapse in an instant.

“They’re breathing, so they’re alive. Kyle, just secure the driver and we’re done.”

James, who had given the order to Kyle, who was on standby, took out masks, gags, and headsets and put them on the three fallen men one by one.

As he put the headset on the last one, a radio message came in saying the driver had been secured as well.

“Good work, everyone. Clean up and head home.”

“The US, China, and now Europe?”

It hadn’t been long since the announcement, and seeing the intense interest everyone was showing made me quite proud as a creator.

“But there’s nothing to gain by breaking into the center... They came all this way just to get beaten up.”

The center held machines, robots, and raw materials, but there was no sensitive data to be found. Even if they stole the raw materials, there wasn’t much they could actually do with them.

“Still, their intentions are all equally despicable.”

Still, they were the most tolerable of the ones who had picked a fight with me so far.

“It’s much better to come in like a man than to play dirty behind the scenes. And the cleanup is clean, too, right?”

Of course, I hadn’t even started the cleanup yet.

“What did you do with the captured spies?”

I heard they used an anesthetic gun, but did they use one meant for elephants? Why would they sleep all day?

“The team members didn’t see your faces, right?”

I watched the footage from the helmet cams, and the way they were trembling while trying to look behind them was priceless.

“How should we handle these guys?”

Maybe it’s because so much has happened over the last few weeks, but I feel exhausted.

“Should we just hand them over to the police this time? We have the evidence, and considering how much tax Cheonmun pays, we should get some help from the state.”

Foreign currency is flowing in nicely thanks to the hair loss pilgrimage, so if I tell them that was targeted, wouldn’t it hit the ‘trigger button’ for this country, even if they do act like pushovers a lot?

I don’t really like things taking a long time, but I want to see the government’s response at least once, so it’s worth the wait.

“The time isn’t that big of a deal... but will the judgment of the law be enough?”

“That’s not quite enough. Hand them over to the police, and confiscate every cent of the wealth they’ve built illegally and transfer it to a foundation. We need to return it to society.”

The next day, South Korea, which should have been peaceful as always, greeted a refreshing morning with breaking news.

A single headline shattered the peaceful Korean morning.

The news article stated that six armed intruders had infiltrated the facility, targeting internal classified documents and raw materials, and that they had been neutralized by the center’s security team and handed over to the police.

“Everything is fine, but why did it become the ‘Cheonmun Bio Center’?”

I hadn’t bothered to change the name when I acquired it because it was a hassle, but the media had renamed it on their own.

Well, it doesn’t really matter what they call it.

Anyway, unlike the media, which was writing articles while keeping a certain line, the online communities—which had no such thing—were reacting with raw, unfiltered energy.

Seeing the communities explode since early morning, I expected the government to react sooner or later.

At the same time, the Crisis Management Center of the National Security Council, located in the basement of the Blue House.

Usually, this place only opened during national disasters or security crises, but since early morning, key figures including the President, government heads, the Commissioner of the National Police Agency, and the Director of the National Intelligence Service had gathered here.

“So…”

President Seo Geon-woo opened his mouth while rubbing his forehead.

“Are you saying that a giant French cosmetics company sent armed spies to steal the secrets of our country’s company?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

Commissioner of the National Police Agency Park Tae-min replied, wiping sweat with a handkerchief.

“Around 3:00 AM, a van with broken glass was discovered near the Siheung Police Station by personnel returning from patrol.”

The Commissioner continued his explanation while looking at the photo displayed on the screen.

“Inside the vehicle, six fully armed foreigners were found tied up and unconscious, and a laptop containing their instructions and the mastermind behind them was also discovered.”

The faces of the ministers who heard this were filled with a mix of absurdity and shock.

“Are you sure the mastermind is France’s Divence Group?”

At the President’s question, the Director of the National Intelligence Service cleared his throat and stepped forward.

“As a result of checking the data on the laptop, we have secured documents with the signature of the Divence Group Chairman, recordings, conversation logs, and even cryptocurrency transfer records. In fact, all evidence points to Divence being the mastermind.”

“Huh…”

A hollow sigh escaped the President’s lips.

“Mr. President, we need strong measures right now!”

The Prime Minister, who had once been bald but had found salvation, was foaming at the mouth as if someone had broken into his own house.

“Since the evidence is clear, there is no reason to hesitate. Publicize these matters to the media immediately. After the article is released, the Minister of Foreign Affairs should summon the French Ambassador to Korea and lodge a strong protest.”

Friction with a major European power was a significant burden for Korea, but if they hesitated while buried in that risk, they could lose something even greater.

“…They really went all in, didn’t they?”

I had handed them everything on a silver platter, but because of the precedents Korea had shown in the past, I was half-doubting them—but this time, they had slammed into France as refreshingly as a horse off its leash.

[This is a clear illegal act committed within the territory of the Republic of Korea, and a terrorist act targeting the nation’s core technology. We strongly urge Divence Group to issue an official apology immediately and for the French government to cooperate with the investigation.]

I don’t know where they sold off their diplomatic rhetoric, but on the news, the Minister of Foreign Affairs was launching a fierce attack on the French Ambassador to Korea.

“Next, we will have a statement to the nation from the Prime Minister.”

The screen switched, and the Prime Minister, who had recently been praised for regaining a full head of hair and looking 10 years younger, looked at the camera with burning eyes and opened his mouth.

[This government defines this incident not as an industrial espionage case between individual companies, but as a grave terrorist act targeting the national interest of the Republic of Korea and people suffering from disease.]

“Wow…”

They were slamming into them like crazy people, so I could only admire it.

“What’s the expected revenue for this month?”

We were expanding production lines, and there were many problems since it was the first month of release, but if 1 trillion won in revenue was expected, it was no wonder the government was protecting us like that.

“Revenue will keep trending upward, so from the government’s perspective, they have to take good care of us. How about France?”

There’s a reason France is nicknamed the ‘China of Europe’.

Thinking about that, I didn’t have high expectations.

“Hmm~ of course they would come out like that. I would have been disappointed otherwise.”

Maybe it’s because I didn’t have expectations, but I’m not even disappointed.

“…But unexpectedly, China is quiet? I thought they would send people right away.”

The China I expected didn’t move, and the China of Europe came instead.

“It turned upside down just because I touched them a little bit.”

Before the government could release additional data, the deteriorating situation inside Divence exploded first.

“…Why? It’s not like you did anything.”

Divence had been losing its influence in the industry, and they had made the decision to send industrial spies to reverse their grim situation, but that had failed miserably.

“And yet, they just stab them in the back immediately.”