Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Self-Destructing Data
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"If, and this is a big if, they find out the warehouse was attacked, they'll go into hiding. We won't even get a glimpse of the cruise ship. Or maybe they'll pretend to show up at the deal and launch an all-out attack."
Kanghyeok put a cigarette between his lips and gave a look of agreement.
"We'll leave the rest to God."
They had done all that was humanly possible.
The rest was in God's hands, and if something went wrong, it couldn't be helped.
It was his way of saying they shouldn't worry about what hadn't happened yet and should focus on what they could do. However, Amos and Gabriel seemed to interpret his words differently.
"Do you believe in God?"
Kanghyeok looked away from Amos, lit his cigarette, and exhaled a harsher cloud of smoke than usual.
'Do I believe in God?'
If he had to say yes or no, he leaned toward yes.
He had no choice, really, since he'd met God.
Twice, in fact.
Kanghyeok had spoken with him and even received his help.
To borrow Gabriel and Amos's terms, like a saint or a holy man.
But feeling that such grandiose titles were far from the truth, Kanghyeok brought the cigarette to his lips.
"But you don't serve him."
Gabriel said, her voice tinged with a strange disappointment. Kanghyeok scoffed and gave a bitter smile.
Serve a guy like that?
His appearance, his way of speaking—everything about him was completely different from the God people talked about.
Frankly, he wasn't a very likable fellow, and Kanghyeok had absolutely no intention of joining a religion that worshipped him.
*You still have work to do.*
The god's words unconsciously drifted through his mind.
He hadn't understood it when he first heard it, but now he thought he did.
The events unfolding one after another, like a series of falling dominoes, definitely felt like they were guiding him toward a certain destination.
Kanghyeok took a deep drag from his cigarette, exhaled, and tossed the nearly full cigarette away.
"There's a place we need to stop by before we part ways. Come with me."
"Is it dangerous?"
Kanghyeok pulled the USB from his pocket and answered Gabriel.
"A PC bang."
The three of them sat side by side in a nearby PC bang.
It wasn't crowded, but the noise leaking from headphones and the frantic, fast-paced game screens on the surrounding monitors felt distinctly alien.
Even more alien were the three of them, including Kanghyeok.
They clearly didn't fit the PC bang's atmosphere, and the fact that Gabriel and Amos, sitting on either side of Kanghyeok, hadn't even turned on their computers despite having paid made them look all the more suspicious.
"Couldn't we have just used the laptop?"
Amos, unfamiliar with PC bangs, asked. Kanghyeok shook his head.
"They did something to that laptop. The USB could be damaged the moment I plug it in."
"Ah."
Understanding why they had come all the way to a PC bang, Amos watched as Kanghyeok paused, his eyes on the USB before plugging it in.
The USB they had tried so hard to protect.
He didn't know what was on it.
But they had tried to protect it.
That meant it must contain information they couldn't afford to lose, and whatever it was, Kanghyeok was certain it would be of great help to him.
Kanghyeok carefully brought the USB toward the long, horizontal speaker beneath the monitor.
He then plugged it into the port, and a moment later, a folder opened on the screen.
Kanghyeok clenched his jaw and stared at the monitor.
On either side of him, Gabriel and Amos also focused on the screen, their fists clenched tightly.
Even without exchanging a word, a sense of elation and accomplishment surged through them.
'Got it.'
The folder contained transaction records for the warehouse goods.
Items that came in and went out were saved on a monthly basis, and there was even a separate file managing a client list.
*The bastards! So this is why they risked their lives to protect the USB.*
Kanghyeok moved the cursor toward the client list.
Gabriel shot him a quizzical look, but he had no time to respond.
He was in a hurry.
There was something he needed to find.
'William.'
He had to know if William was involved with these people.
He wanted to know if he was someone he could trust, or someone he would eventually have to eliminate.
*Click, click!*
He clicked the left mouse button repeatedly, and an unbelievably vast client list appeared.
It happened right after.
[Abnormal Access Detected. Initiating Data Deletion.]
An ominous message popped up, and a red bar began to fill from left to right.
The data began to be deleted in real time.
*Tap, tap, tap!*
Hitting the ESC key or trying to close the pop-up did nothing; the bar kept filling.
"Damn it."
Kanghyeok stopped Amos's hand as he reached to pull out the USB.
He then hurriedly clicked the search button in the client list and typed in William's name.
The data was being corrupted anyway.
If so, he would at least find out whether or not William was involved with them.
*Click!*
[No Results Found.]
The moment the result appeared, Kanghyeok yanked out the USB.
"Hngh."
The USB was hotter than he expected, and he dropped it onto the keyboard. Gabriel's and Amos's eyes were fixed on him.
"Plug it in again."
Gabriel said. Kanghyeok twisted his lips and replied.
"No. The remaining data will be deleted too."
"I've heard of something called a data recovery service. What about using that?"
Could there be a more naive question in the world?
Kanghyeok looked at Gabriel with a complicated expression. She looked back at him as if to say, 'It's a good idea, isn't it?'
"The data deletion was slow."
"Is that a problem?"
"Files deleted by writing and erasing dummy data can't be recovered."
When you delete data, it's not completely erased.
Traces remain, which can be used to recover it.
But it's a different story if it's deleted by writing over the files.
The data paths get all tangled, and you could run recovery programs for a hundred days and still not recover a single thing.
Though it looked fine on the outside, this USB was now as difficult to recover as if it had been run through an industrial press.
"Should we try using their laptop?"
This time it was Amos who asked. Kanghyeok twisted his lips as he answered.
"It's pointless."
The kind of people who would plant a program like this on a USB would surely have done something to the laptop as well.
"Hah!"
Kanghyeok leaned back deep into his chair and sighed. Gabriel and Amos looked down at the USB with pity.
"A shame. If we had this, we could have tracked them."
Kanghyeok leaned his head against the headrest and gently pressed his eyes.
It was frustrating to have the information he'd worked so hard to find vanish before his eyes, but he had still gained something.
'William.'
It wasn't definitive proof that he could be fully trusted.
He had searched while the data was being corrupted, and the possibility remained that William had contacted them in a way that wasn't recorded in the ledgers.
Still, it was enough to tip the scales of his assessment of William, which had been perfectly balanced between suspicion and trust, ever so slightly toward trust.
Kanghyeok removed his hands from his eyes and picked up the USB.
"I'll hold onto this."
"Why?"
"I'll try to analyze it when I get the chance."
There was still some data left.
The rest would be deleted the moment it was plugged into a computer, but he didn't think it was a completely hopeless situation.
If he found someone trustworthy within the company, he might be able to secure the remaining data through them.
"In that case, we'll take the laptop."
Kanghyeok nodded at Amos.
He didn't have high hopes for the laptop.
Even so, Amos looked satisfied, as if they had exchanged tokens of mutual trust.
"If either of us finds anything out later, let's share it."
"Deal."
Kanghyeok stood up.
Gabriel and Amos followed suit, and the three of them parted ways at the entrance of the PC bang.
There was no need to say they would meet again tomorrow at the appointed place.
***
The old man sat on a throne-like chair, a cigarette between his lips.
The office of Iron Mask.
The room, which felt like a museum of long history compressed into a single space, was filled with a chilly air.
*Crackle, crackle.*
Even as the fireplace burned, radiating warmth, the chill did not dissipate.
His subordinates stood as rigid as the suits of armor displayed on one wall, not daring to even blink.
The atmosphere and the situation were just that dire.
It was because of the news Iron Mask's son had delivered over the phone.
The warehouse had been attacked.
The laptop, the documents detailing the plan for this job, and even the USB had all been stolen.
With these things that should never have happened, the office of Iron Mask was gripped by an air more unbearable than usual.
His subordinates were desperately wishing for this moment to pass.
*Knock, knock.*
"Your son has arrived."
The old man flicked a finger toward the door, and a nearby subordinate hurriedly opened it.
"I'm sorry, Father."
Perhaps it was because of his nickname, Lento.
The son of Iron Mask, who ducked his head and bowed as soon as the door opened, gave the impression of a turtle.
*Crackle, crackle.*
As Lento dared not even lift his head, the old man shifted his gaze to the crackling fire.
"Where is Walter?"
Lento squeezed his eyes shut.
His heart felt like it was being torn apart.
To him, Walter was not just a subordinate, but something close to a friend.
"Walter?"
When no answer came, the old man asked again. Lento barely managed to reply.
"He died at the scene. I saw his body myself."
"I don't understand."
At the old man's completely emotionless voice, Lento, still facing the floor, felt a surge of anger.
He wasn't in a position to expect comfort, but he had hoped for at least a shred of empathy.
"What were you doing when Walter died?"
But the old man's next question immediately extinguished the anger in Lento's eyes.
"Th-that's..."
"Don't make me repeat myself. What were you doing when Walter died?"
The old man's gaze toward his son was chilling.
The shape of his eyes hadn't changed, and his expression was still, but his pupils held a clear reprimand.
*What on earth were you doing that you alone survived?*
Lento, who briefly met the old man's eyes, clenched his trembling fists and lowered his head again.
A long time passed.
"Hmm."
The old man exhaled a groan-like puff of smoke, his eyebrows twitching.
"You are my son."
"Yes, Father."
"That is why I put you in charge of this job. My reason told me not to, but a father's heart told me to do it. So I put you in charge, but you accomplished nothing."
"...I'm sorry."
"You have betrayed too many things. My faith in you, Walter, the men who trusted you as their leader, and even the trust of the client who commissioned this job."
"..."
"Though it was a commissioned job, it was our job. It was our future. Something that should never have happened, happened, and yet you are the only one standing before me alive."
"I'm... I'm sorry."
Lento said through sobs.
His father's words were like daggers, tearing his heart to shreds.
*If only I could be acknowledged by my father, just once.*
It had been Lento's long-held wish, but once again, he had only disappointed him.
"That is all you ever say."
The old man spoke with contempt in his eyes and voice, then closed his eyes as if he didn't want to see anything anymore.
His pale, faded eyebrows trembled. When his eyelids opened again, his eyes were devoid of all emotion.
"Someone, bring me a sword."
Not only the subordinates but also his son flinched in shock as the old man's voice continued.
"And mete out punishment to that incompetent fool."