Chapter 299: If We’re Lucky...

RUMBLE!

At that moment, another earth-shaking explosion erupted from the direction of the Abu Sayyaf base. The subordinate who had called Carlos had apparently been killed in the bombing, as no further sound came from the mobile phone's speaker.

After that, the fighter jets tore through the night sky several more times, subjecting the Abu Sayyaf base to a massive bombardment.

Carlos and Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui watched in stunned silence as tongues of flame rose into the sky. After a while, the airstrikes ceased, and silence once again settled over the dark night sky.

As though he had been waiting for precisely that moment, Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui cautiously addressed Carlos.

"...What's the situation now?"

"Haaaa..."

Carlos let out a long, anguished sigh before continuing.

"The thing is... some unknown bastards have bombed our main base."

"What are you saying?!"

Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui put on a convincing display of utter shock and horror.

Carlos apparently had nothing to say in response. He simply sat there with a dark, gloomy expression.

The only thing Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui could do was try to comfort him.

"Mr. Carlos, don't worry too much. I doubt the damage will be all that extensive."

"What makes you say that?"

"You said yourself that the government air force never conducts night exercises. Do you really think those incompetents could bomb the main base with such precision?"

"Hmm... Now that you mention it, you're right."

Carlos seemed to have decided that nothing too terrible had happened, and his dejected voice finally returned to normal.

"Still, we should prepare for the worst-case scenario, just in case."

"What do you mean?"

"If I were a high-ranking general in the government army, I wouldn't deploy the air force alone."

Carlos grew increasingly uneasy.

The government forces had surely deployed both ground troops and aircraft simultaneously to wipe out his organization once and for all.

The ground forces had most likely surrounded the base before the air force's fighter jets began their bombardment. Once the encirclement was complete, they had unleashed the aircraft. It was perfectly obvious.

And even if some of his subordinates had miraculously survived the airstrike, there was a high probability that the ground troops would shoot them or take them prisoner when they attempted to escape.

Having reached that conclusion, he began trembling all over.

Watching his condition, Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui offered him another few words of encouragement.

"Mr. Carlos, don't lose heart."

"What else are you trying to say?"

"A few years ago, Abu Sayyaf suffered losses that [N O V E L I G H T] nearly wiped out the entire organization. But thanks to your outstanding leadership, you managed to rebuild it. As long as you yourself are alive, Mr. Carlos, rebuilding the organization won't be difficult at all."

"Phew... Your words give me confidence, Vice Chairman Chen."

"Those government bastards are probably doing everything they can to arrest you."

"Most likely. Pablo, you know where to go, right?"

"Of course," the driver replied briefly before flooring the accelerator.

At that moment, Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui curiously asked Carlos,

"Where are we heading now?"

"I have a secure hideout prepared for situations like this."

"Just as I'd expect from you, Mr. Carlos. You've thought of everything."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Ah, by the way, don't you have a spy in the government army?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Then why did you know absolutely nothing about the government forces' impending attack?"

"How the fuck should I know?!" Carlos roared at the top of his lungs.

***

Meanwhile, we were listening to a report on the results of the operation to bomb the Abu Sayyaf base from General Maracao, who had personally commanded the attack.

"...Analysis of the footage recorded by a drone equipped with an infrared thermal imaging camera confirms that the Abu Sayyaf base has been completely razed to the ground."

"That must be thanks to the exceptional skill of the FA-50PH light attack aircraft pilots, wouldn't you say?"

"I have a slightly different opinion on that, Chief Cha."

I knew perfectly well what the real secret behind the destruction of the Abu Sayyaf base was.

Nevertheless, I had asked General Maracao that question with a very specific purpose in mind.

"I'd like to hear exactly where our opinions differ."

"The FA-50PH light attack aircraft pilots have practically no experience flying at night. So we can hardly say their skills suddenly improved overnight."

"Then what's the secret behind the successful destruction of the Abu Sayyaf base?"

"I believe it comes down to the superior performance of the FA-50PH attack aircraft themselves and the KGGB guided bombs."

That was exactly what I had wanted to hear from General Maracao: praise for the combat capabilities of the KGGB.

And he had gone a step further by bringing up the capabilities of the FA-50PH attack aircraft themselves.

I couldn't afford to let such an excellent opportunity slip away.

"General Maracao, are you considering purchasing an additional batch of FA-50PH attack aircraft?"

"I'm not quite sure I understand what you're getting at, Chief Cha."

The Philippines' financial situation was currently far from ideal, and the country couldn't afford to purchase large quantities of military equipment.

Naturally, General Maracao was well aware of the actual state of affairs.

It was therefore perfectly understandable that my unexpected question about purchasing FA-50PH attack aircraft had caught him by surprise.

"Ah! I forgot to mention one important condition: 'provided sufficient funds can be secured in the defense budget for purchasing weapons.'"

"Chief Cha, you make it sound as though we might actually be able to secure those funds. Am I understanding you correctly?" Defense Minister Fernando was the first to speak.

"If we're lucky, we really might be able to find the money to purchase weapons."

"How?" Defense Minister Fernando pressed impatiently.

"Carlos has amassed an enormous fortune selling drugs throughout the Philippines."

"Of course."

"What if we confiscated his assets and used that money to purchase FA-50PH light attack aircraft from Korea?"

"But we'd have to capture the bastard alive to do that, wouldn't we?"

"Bruno's team is tracking him as we speak."

BZZZT!

At that moment, the phone in Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok's hand vibrated.

Glancing at the screen, he informed me that Bruno was calling and handed me the phone.

I switched the call to speakerphone and answered.

"Team Leader Bruno, this is Cha Jiham."

[Chief Cha, there's an echo on your end. Are you on speakerphone?]

Well, Bruno hadn't become an FBI team leader just because he had a pretty face.

"Defense Minister Fernando and several other people are here with me."

[Ah, understood.]

"Go ahead and tell me why you're calling."

[We've been secretly following Carlos and his gang. They've just arrived at a cave located on a sheer cliff.]

"Can we assume that's their hideout?"

[That's what I believe as well, Chief Cha.]

"Understood. Is there anything else we should know?"

[They're carrying cardboard boxes from a truck into the cave.]

A suspicion immediately flashed through my mind.

"Team Leader Bruno, can you describe the size and weight of those boxes?"

[They're about the size of fruit boxes. And from what I can tell, they don't seem particularly heavy.]

"I see. Let me know once you've counted how many boxes there are."

[Will do, but...]

I understood perfectly well why Bruno had hesitated.

"There's a high probability those boxes contain dollars."

[Whaaat?!]

"What are you talking about?!"

Bruno and Defense Minister Fernando exclaimed in unison.

NIS Director Om Giyeon and CIA Director Griffin, meanwhile, sat there looking completely unperturbed, as though they understood exactly what was going on.

I apologized to Defense Minister Fernando and continued my conversation with Bruno.

"It seems Vice Chairman Chen intends to pay for the missile shipment in cash."

[Ah, now I understand.]

"Send me a message with the number of boxes and the coordinates of their hideout."

After discussing a couple more details with Bruno, I ended the call.

As though he had been waiting for that very moment, Defense Minister Fernando immediately addressed me.

"Chief Cha, do you really think those boxes contain dollars?"

I returned the phone to Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok and answered the minister.

"I only said there was an extremely high probability."

"Ah, right! But assuming they really do contain cash, how much money are we talking about?"

"I can't say for certain, but there should be around four million dollars in each box."

Ding!

At that moment, the phone in Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok's hand chimed briefly.

After quickly reading the message, he reported that there were exactly fifty boxes.

In other words, the boxes contained a total of two hundred million dollars.

"I see. Did Team Leader Bruno send the coordinates of Carlos's hideout?"

"Yes, he did."

"Put a map showing the location of those gangsters on the screen."

"One moment."

Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok made a few adjustments on his laptop and displayed a map of the area surrounding Marawi on the large screen.

After zooming in on the relevant section with his mouse, he used a laser pointer to indicate the location where Carlos was hiding.

Defense Minister Fernando studied the screen carefully before speaking a few moments later.

"Chief Cha, I know where that cave Carlos is hiding in is located."

"Excellent."

I nodded and gave Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok an instruction.

"Take a picture of the map and send it to Vice Chairman Wei Chen."

"Will do."

After giving a brief reply, Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok photographed the screen with his phone and immediately sent the image to Vice Chairman Wei Chen.

BZZZT!

A little while later, the phone in my hand vibrated.

I immediately knew who was calling and pressed the answer button.

"Yes, Vice Chairman Wei?"

[I just received a message from Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok. I'm calling to find out what's going on.]

"Before I explain the situation, zoom in on the area marked by the laser pointer."

A couple of seconds later, Vice Chairman Wei Chen's voice came through.

[I've zoomed in on the map.]

"Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui and Carlos are hiding at that location."

[Weren't they heading to their main base?]

"An hour ago, the FA-50PH light attack aircraft completely destroyed the Abu Sayyaf base."

[That quickly?!]

I had told Wei Chen and the others that the airstrike on the Abu Sayyaf base would begin at eleven o'clock at night.

Since the strikes had been carried out an hour earlier than scheduled, it was hardly surprising that Wei Chen had questions.

"Circumstances changed rapidly, so we moved the airstrike forward."

[I see.]

"It seems Carlos received a report from his men about the destruction of the base and fled to his hideout."

[Understood.]

Everything up to this point had merely been the appetizer.

Now it was time for the main course.

"I'd like to capture Vice Chairman Chen and Carlos alive before the night is over."

[Why the rush?]

"There's a high probability that Carlos will summon the rest of his men to the hideout in case of unforeseen circumstances."

[You mean we need to grab them quickly before reinforcements arrive?]

"Exactly, Vice Chairman Wei."

[All right. How should we proceed?]

"Don't come all the way here. Let's meet somewhere halfway."

[A sensible suggestion. Where should we meet?]

"If you look carefully at the map, you'll see a road junction north of the Agus River. I suggest we meet there in an hour."

[Agreed. I'll see you there.]

Click.

As soon as the conversation ended, Defense Minister Fernando, who had been listening attentively the entire time, asked with some concern,

"Chief Cha, are you planning to go to Carlos's hideout yourself?"

"I'm afraid I'll have to."

"But it's dangerous. Is it really worth taking that risk?"

"If I don't go, Saho will dig his heels in and absolutely refuse to go."

"Then why not simply leave Saho behind?"

I shook my head and answered Defense Minister Fernando.

"Before we begin the operation to capture Carlos and Vice Chairman Chen, we need to conduct reconnaissance inside the cave. And no one but Saho can handle that task."

"Ah, I see."

Defense Minister Fernando nodded in understanding, fully agreeing with my reasoning.