Chapter 296: Oh. Well, Would You Look at That!

Unlike Director Griffin, I couldn’t blindly celebrate because two problems were bothering me.

First, if the submarines couldn’t free their propellers from the tangled nets, there was a risk they might sink.

Second, if the submarines caught in the nets remained on the surface, local fishermen might spot them.

And that could send events down a completely different path from the one we had planned.

Wanting to know whether he had a solution, I asked Director Griffin straight out.

[The North Korean submarines are afloat, so there’s zero chance of them sinking.]

“What about the second problem?”

[As a precaution, Philippine Navy ships have taken control of the waters around the incident site.]

“You don’t think the North Korean submarines will notice them?”

[The warships are staying more than five kilometers away from the accident site, so they won’t suspect anything.]

“Well, then there’s no problem. By the way, how did the North Korean submarines manage to get caught in the nets in the first place?”

[There’s a strong current in the area where the incident happened, so there are a lot of fish. Naturally, the fishermen set a ton of nets there. The North Korean submarines, unaware of that, just kept charging forward until their propellers sucked the nets right in.]

At that moment, something occurred to me.

“Could our submarines and the American ones get caught in those nets too?”

[The nets are set within twenty meters of the surface. The North Korean submarines got them wrapped around their screws because they were traveling on the surface.]

“What about ours and the Americans’?”

[They’re traveling at a depth of one hundred meters, so there’s no risk of getting caught in the nets.]

“Ah, I see. How long will it take the North Korean submarines to clear their propellers?”

[The nets are wrapped around them very tightly, so it’ll take quite a while.]

“So they won’t be able to reach the coast of Iligan by six tomorrow evening?”

[We’re leaning toward the same conclusion, but we need to watch the situation a little longer.]

“Understood. If anything unexpected happens, let me know immediately.”

Click.

As soon as I hung up, I gave NIS Director Om Giyeon and the others a detailed account of my conversation with Director Griffin.

“...He says there’s no chance they’ll reach Iligan on time.”

“Getting their propellers tangled in fishing nets... What pathetic carelessness.”

I shook my head and continued speaking with Vice Chairman Wei Fei.

“Actually, getting fishing nets wrapped around a submarine’s propeller isn’t all that rare.”

“Not long ago, in the northeastern waters of Norway, an American Virginia-class nuclear submarine got caught in nets set by a fishing vessel in exactly the same way. If even the newest submarines can fall into a trap like that, what do you expect from those old Romeo-class tubs?”

Backing me up, NIS Director Om Giyeon added:

“I had no idea incidents like that happened.”

“Ordinary people wouldn’t know about things like that, so there’s no need to fill your head with it.”

“I see.”

“The joke that a submarine’s greatest enemy is a fishing net didn’t come from nowhere.”

“Ha-ha-ha. Is that so?”

Leaving the awkwardly chuckling Vice Chairman Wei Fei alone, NIS Director Om Giyeon turned to me.

“Chief of Staff Cha, where did Saho go?”

“He seemed bored, so I kicked him outside to hunt.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

Director Om Giyeon didn’t know how gleefully Saho had hunted in Switzerland.

That was why he asked the question.

If I told him the whole truth, the conversation would drag on, so I gave him another reason instead.

“Director, you know yourself how clever he is.”

“That’s true... Now that I think about it, you’re right. It’s already late, so I think I’ll head back to my room.”

“I was planning to go upstairs too, so the timing works out.”

Following NIS Director Om Giyeon, Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol and Vice Chairman Wei Fei rose from the sofa.

After seeing them off, we came back and sat down in the living room again.

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan spoke in a low, confidential tone.

“Chief of Staff, should our company invest in gold futures too?”

“The return is only around five percent at best.”

Cha Jiham’s answer clearly implied that investing in gold futures wasn’t worth it.

However, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan had a different opinion.

“Chief of Staff, every little bit adds up.”

“Instead of getting damp in a light drizzle, wouldn’t it be better to stick your head under a downpour?”

“May I take that to mean there will soon be an opportunity to make truly serious money?”

“Ahem. Well, how should I put it...”

Ding-dong.

The moment I let out a faint chuckle, the doorbell rang.

As if he already knew who had arrived, Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok went to open the door.

As expected, Team Leader Seo Donghun entered the suite carrying Saho in his arms.

But something was off.

Normally, the instant Saho saw me, he would immediately sprint over at full speed and leap into my arms.

Yet for some reason, right now the beast showed no intention whatsoever of getting down from Seo Donghun’s arms and was diligently avoiding my gaze.

After giving me a slight nod in greeting, Seo Donghun walked straight into the bathroom with Saho still in his arms.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who found the situation strange. Chief Secretary Kang Inhan asked with a puzzled expression:

“Chief of Staff, why did Team Leader Seo take Saho into the bathroom?”

“Probably to wash the blood from whatever he hunted off his face and fur.”

“You mean Saho ate some wild animal?”

“I can’t think of any other reason.”

Some time later, the bathroom door opened, and Saho shot like an arrow straight onto my lap.

To test my suspicion, I stared at the beast with a stern, probing gaze.

Knowing he had done something wrong, Saho lowered his nose and pretended none of this had anything to do with him.

Wanting to confirm my suspicion once and for all, I casually felt his belly.

‘Oh. Well, would you look at that!’

Smack!

Without a shred of mercy, I gave Saho a sharp slap to the back of the head and roared:

“You little bastard! When did I ever give you permission to eat wild animals?!”

“......”

“Oh, there’s just no dealing with you!”

Pounding my chest in frustration with my fist, I turned toward Seo Donghun as he sat down on the sofa and asked:

“What kind of animal did this beast eat?”

“Well... he caught and ate a cobra.”

Snakes were part of a wild cat’s regular diet.

So the fact that Saho had caught a snake in itself wasn’t particularly unusual.

But a venomous cobra was an entirely different matter.

I glared fiercely at Saho again and shouted:

“Hey, you idiot! Do you have any idea how dangerous a cobra is?!”

Saho stared back at me with the most innocent expression imaginable, as though he had absolutely no idea what I was talking about.

“Ugh! I’m the idiot for even talking to you. Get lost!”

The instant those words left my mouth, Saho turned tail and bolted.

***

Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui’s insides felt dry from nervous tension.

At around eleven last night, he had spoken on the phone with Captain Choi Dongcheol.

The captain had told him that the submarines had run into trouble—their propellers had become tangled in fishing nets.

At the same time, the captain had made it sound as though clearing away the nets wouldn’t take very long.

Taking his words completely at face value, Chen Zhihui hadn’t thought much of the situation.

But six hours had passed since then. It was already five in the morning, yet the phone remained deathly silent.

Carlos, who had been watching him, spoke anxiously.

“Dawn is almost here. I’m genuinely starting to worry.”

The North Korean submarines needed to submerge before fishing boats arrived in the waters where the accident had occurred.

Otherwise, the fishermen would spot them.

That was exactly why Carlos was so worried.

“I agree with you, Mr. Carlos.”

“Should we start preparing for the worst-case scenario?”

“It seems we may have to.”

Bzz-bzz...

At that very moment, the phone in Chen Zhihui’s hand vibrated violently.

As though he already knew who was calling, he swiped to answer with lightning speed.

“Captain Choi, what’s the situation?”

[We just finished dealing with the accident.]

“Phew...”

Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui let out a breath of relief and continued speaking with Captain Choi Dongcheol.

“Thank God. But why did it take so long?”

[The current was very strong, so untangling the nets was extremely difficult.]

“In any case, the important thing is that you dealt with it. When do you expect to reach the destination?”

[We expect to arrive sometime between one and two in the morning.]

Chen Zhihui frowned in confusion.

Originally, Captain Choi Dongcheol had said that the submarines would be able to reach the coast of Iligan at around six this evening.

Their arrival time had been pushed back because they got caught in the nets.

But if clearing them had taken six hours, they should have arrived closer to midnight.

Yet the captain was giving an estimate one or two hours later than expected.

“Captain Choi, is there some problem with the submarines?”

[No. It’s just that during daylight hours we’ll be traveling submerged, which reduces our speed. That’s why we’ll be delayed.]

“Ah, now I understand.”

[What about my request?]

Captain Choi Dongcheol had asked them to provide fuel for the return voyage to North Korea.

That was what he was asking about now.

“Mr. Carlos promised to provide more than enough fuel.”

[That’s excellent news. But we can’t dock directly at Iligan Port. We need a solution to that problem.]

“Don’t worry about that. We’ve already prepared a cargo ship equipped with a crane.”

[Then there shouldn’t be any obstacles. We’re submerging now, so I won’t be able to contact you again until nightfall.]

“Yes, I understand. We’ll meet at the site.”

Click.

The moment Chen Zhihui ended the call, Carlos rushed over to him.

“What’s the situation?”

“He says they successfully cleared the nets from the propellers.”

Chen Zhihui told Carlos everything he had discussed with Captain Choi Dongcheol without hiding anything.

“...He says they’ll arrive between one and two in the morning.”

“Understood.”

“What time should we leave for Iligan?”

“Since we’ll be driving at night, we need to leave no later than seven in the evening.”

“I see. By the way, how exactly do you plan to use the missiles?”

“Several years ago, we seized Marawi while fighting for independence. At the time, government forces deployed fighter jets and subjected both Marawi itself and our main base to an unprecedented bombing campaign. Entire groups of our leaders were killed in those airstrikes... It was a true tragedy.”

Carlos clenched his teeth so hard they creaked and continued.

“Because of that catastrophe, we had no choice but to retreat from Marawi with our hearts trembling.”

“I see...”

“But this time will be different! With the missiles we bought from North Korea, we’ll blow the air base near Marawi to pieces!”

“Make sure you get your revenge in full.”

“Of course! That’s exactly what we’ll do.”

Carlos clenched his fists, his entire posture radiating unshakable confidence.

***

Ring-ring-ring.

A pleasant melody came from the phone lying beside my pillow.

I groped around with one hand, picked up the smartphone, and looked at the screen.

Director Santiago was calling.

I quickly sat up in bed, cleared my throat to shake off the drowsiness, and pressed the answer button.

“Director Santiago, I’m listening.”

[Chief of Staff Cha, am I calling too early?]

The answer, ‘You’re actually asking?!’ nearly flew out of my mouth, but I summoned superhuman patience and held it back.

“I’m used to getting up early anyway, so it’s fine. What is it?”

[The North Korean submarines that got caught in the nets resolved the problem half an hour ago and left the accident site.]

“That’s excellent news. When will they reach the target?”

[I intercepted Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui’s conversation with Captain Choi Dongcheol. They expect to arrive between one and two in the morning.]

“That’s a perfectly suitable time. Is there any other information I should know?”

[Vice Chairman Chen and Carlos are planning to leave the base personally to receive the North Korean missiles.]

Vice Chairman Wei Fei was supposed to eliminate Chen Zhihui and his henchmen.

And we planned to capture Carlos alive in order to dismantle his drug network in the Philippines.

That was why we had intended to lure them into a safe zone immediately before the FA-50PH light combat aircraft bombed the Abu Sayyaf stronghold.

But now the two of them were heading to Iligan on their own to collect the missiles.

Which meant the operational plan I had devised would have to be rewritten on the fly.

“Director Santiago, it looks like we’ll have to have breakfast together.”