Chapter 301: Let’s Pump in Sleeping Gas

If there were no exits, we wouldn't be able to respond properly in an emergency.

However, Carlos was far from stupid, so he must have built at least one secret passage.

Fortunately, my suspicions proved correct. Saho successfully located a secret passage.

What I hadn't expected was for it to be blocked.

With the passage sealed off, Saho had no way of getting inside the cave.

'Hmm... How should we solve this problem?'

Noticing that I was deep in thought, Director Griffin cautiously asked,

"Chairman Cha, was Saho unable to find a secret passage?"

Saho only understands Korean.

For that reason, I had been asking him questions in Korean.

As a result, the foreigners, including Director Griffin, had absolutely no idea how things were progressing.

"He found a secret passage, but it's also completely sealed off by a thick steel plate."

"That's unfortunate..."

"What a shame!"

All the foreigners present, including Director Griffin, let out disappointed sighs.

"It looks like we'll have to find another solution."

"What if we plant explosives at the cave entrance and blow it open?"

I shook my head at Director Griffin's suggestion and replied,

"The problem is that we don't know how thick the steel plate blocking the entrance is."

"Composition H6 is powerful enough to penetrate even thick steel without difficulty."

"Let's save Composition H6 as an absolute last resort, when we've exhausted every other option."

"Is there a particular reason you're being so careful with it?"

"There's a high probability they've stacked the cardboard boxes right behind the entrance."

Director Griffin immediately understood what Cha Jiham was worried about.

Composition H6 possessed tremendous destructive power, so its detonation would inevitably produce a powerful shock wave.

The cardboard boxes stacked directly behind the door would burn up in the explosion, along with all two hundred million dollars.

"How likely is it that they've moved the boxes deeper into the cave?"

"Carlos only intends to hide in the cave until things settle down. Considering that, I doubt they would have bothered carrying the boxes all the way to the back."

"That's true... Now that I think about it, you're right."

At that moment, Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok indicated that he had something to add and asked for permission to speak.

"Chairman, may I offer an opinion?"

"Of course. Go ahead. I'm listening."

"If the entrances are completely sealed off, the air quality inside the cave will inevitably deteriorate."

Blocking the entrance to a cave disrupts air circulation.

This isn't particularly critical in a spacious cave, but if the enclosed space is small, breathing becomes difficult.

For that reason, ventilation shafts are usually installed as a precaution against unforeseen circumstances.

That was precisely what Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok was hinting at.

Wanting to confirm my suspicion, I quietly asked him about it.

"Your guess is absolutely correct, Chairman."

"Then where would Carlos have installed a ventilation shaft?"

"Considering that air warmed by people's breathing rises, it's most likely located somewhere near the top of the cave."

In other words, they would have taken advantage of a simple physical principle: cold air sinks, while warm air rises.

I nodded in agreement and stroked Saho's head as I spoke to him.

"There's probably a ventilation shaft somewhere near the top of the mountain. I know you're tired, but please find it for me."

"Chairman Cha, wait a moment."

Just then, NIS Director Om Giyeon called out to me, stopping Saho before he could leave.

"Director Om, did you want to say something?"

"Let's assume Saho finds the ventilation shaft. Shouldn't we reduce the time he spends going back and forth?"

There was a very specific implication behind NIS Director Om Giyeon's words: we shouldn't send Saho alone.

It would have been negligent of me to understand what he was suggesting and pretend I hadn't noticed.

"Team Leader Seo, take a miniature camera and follow Saho."

"Yes, sir. Understood."

"Do we have any equipment that would allow us to look inside the cave through the ventilation opening?"

Hearing our conversation, Team Leader Bruno asked to speak.

"Chairman Cha, we have an industrial endoscope."

"Team Leader Seo, did you hear Team Leader Bruno?"

Team Leader Seo Donghun took the miniature camera and industrial endoscope and hurried after Saho.

Meanwhile, we continued our interrupted conversation as we waited for their return.

"Chairman Cha, suppose Saho finds the ventilation shaft. What will we do then?"

After thinking for a moment, I answered Director Griffin's question.

"That depends on the size of the ventilation opening."

"If the passage is large enough, are you planning to send Saho inside?"

"To capture Carlos's gang alive, we need to find out what's happening inside the cave."

"Ah, I suppose that was a pointless question. But will Saho be able to knock out Carlos's entire gang?"

For a moment, Director Santiago couldn't believe his ears.

No matter how extraordinary Saho's abilities were, there was no way he could take on more than twenty grown men by himself.

Yet Director Griffin spoke as though it were entirely possible.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Santiago asked Cha Jiham,

"Can Saho really knock those bastards out?"

"If Saho strikes an opponent with his front paw, putting his entire body weight behind the blow, he can easily knock them unconscious."

"That may be true, but there are more than twenty of them!"

"Saho is a nocturnal predator. If the cave is completely dark, he won't have any trouble dealing with them."

"Incidentally, Saho can even cut the power to a building by flipping the main breaker," NIS Director Om Giyeon added to lend more credibility to my words.

"Wow! Saho really has some incredible abilities!"

"Hahaha! I won't argue with that. Please continue your conversation with Chairman Cha."

NIS Director Om Giyeon grinned good-naturedly and stepped back.

"Chairman Cha, what are conditions like inside the cave?"

"I can't say for certain, but I doubt it's pitch-black in there."

"Are you saying they've started a generator to produce electricity?"

"If they were running a generator, there would be a smell of exhaust fumes."

"Then are they burning candles?"

I shook my head at Director Santiago's question.

"If I were Carlos, I'd use portable battery packs for lighting."

"Hmm... That makes sense."

No sooner had Director Santiago nodded than Director Nevers joined the conversation.

"Chairman Cha, would Saho be able to turn off a portable battery pack?"

"Saho has no idea what a portable battery pack looks like, so he wouldn't be able to turn it off."

Director Nevers realized that this was bad news.

Saho could only unleash his full potential in complete darkness.

However, Cha Jiham had just said that plunging the cave into darkness would most likely be impossible.

Under those conditions, Saho wouldn't be able to neutralize Carlos's gang.

He decided to ask directly whether Cha Jiham had a solution to the problem.

"If we can't make the cave dark, I'll have Saho conduct reconnaissance only."

"Then how are we going to neutralize Carlos's gang?"

"That depends on whether Saho finds the ventilation shaft."

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

"Just be patient a little longer. Everything will become clear soon."

Bzzzz—

As time passed, the phone in Chief Secretary Kang Inhan's hand began to vibrate.

After checking the screen, he handed it to me and reported that Team Leader Seo Donghun was calling.

"Team Leader Seo, I'm listening."

[Chairman, Saho found the ventilation shaft.]

"That's excellent news. Can Saho get inside through it?"

[The shaft is approximately 80 to 85 centimeters in diameter. We lowered the industrial endoscope into it, and the cave is about five meters high.]

Saho could jump more than five meters.

Once he entered the cave, he would have no trouble getting back out through the ventilation opening.

"Team Leader Seo, send Saho inside."

Click.

After hanging up, I briefly relayed the contents of my conversation with Seo Donghun to my companions, who were burning with curiosity.

"...I'll explain the plan of action after we've examined the footage Saho records."

"Can we take this as a sign that we'll be able to capture Carlos's gang alive without any trouble?"

"If luck is on our side, we should be able to pull it off. Director Santiago, do you have any sleeping gas?"

Director Santiago immediately understood Cha Jiham's plan.

He intended to pump sleeping gas into the cave and put Carlos's entire gang to sleep.

Once they were unconscious, all that remained was to remove the steel plate blocking the entrance.

They could then enter the cave and arrest the criminals, bringing the operation to an end.

Expressing his admiration, Santiago gave him a thumbs-up and answered his question.

"How much sleeping gas should we prepare?"

"I'll keep it simple: the more, the better."

"Haha! Understood."

"We'll also need blowers to help the gas spread through the cave faster."

Director Santiago immediately called someone, gave a brief instruction, and ended the call.

"Chairman Cha, give me one hour."

"That should be more than enough time."

"I hope we can round them all up in one fell swoop this time."

About thirty minutes passed.

Saho came racing back like an arrow and immediately leaped into my arms.

Patting him on the back in gratitude for a job well done, I asked,

"Where's Team Leader Seo?"

Instead of answering, Saho simply turned his head to look behind him.

In the distance, I could see Team Leader Seo Donghun running toward us.

I nodded to show that I understood and gave Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok an order.

"Let's take a look at the footage Saho recorded."

Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok removed the miniature camera from Saho's head.

With a quick movement, he connected the camera to a laptop using a cable.

Everyone present, including me, crowded around the screen.

He quickly skipped through the unnecessary footage with the mouse.

The video began playing at normal speed from the moment Saho entered the cave.

I had suspected that Carlos would use portable battery packs for lighting.

My calculations proved correct. The interior of the cave was illuminated by a soft, dim light.

Disappointed by this development, Director Griffin turned to me.

"Could we teach Saho how to turn off portable battery packs?"

Director Griffin's question revealed his desire to send Saho in to deal with Carlos's gang himself.

However, I had a different opinion on the matter.

"To do that, we'd have to get our hands on exactly the same battery pack they're using inside the cave. That's not feasible right now."

"Hmm, that's true..."

While Director Griffin and I whispered to each other, the video continued playing.

Carlos and Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui were sitting on a wooden platform at the back of the cave, drinking alcohol.

Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui's close associates were seated nearby, chatting among themselves.

Carlos's bodyguards, armed with assault rifles, were guarding the main entrance and the secret passage.

Just as I had suspected, cardboard boxes were stacked high directly behind the entrance door.

As I studied the screen closely, I noticed one critical problem.

The footage Saho had recorded alone wasn't enough to determine the exact area of the cave.

There was only one way to solve this problem: ask Saho himself.

"Saho, was it spacious in there?"

Saho nodded, confirming my suspicion.

"Is the cave bigger than our basement and the first, second, and third floors combined?"

Saho thought for a moment, then shook his head.

As though he had been waiting for precisely this moment, NIS Director Om Giyeon turned to me.

"Chairman Cha, what's the floor area of your house?"

"About 200 pyeong, or roughly 660 square meters."

NIS Director Om Giyeon nodded in understanding and turned to Team Leader Seo Donghun.

"And what's the height from the floor to the ceiling?"

"Considering that the cave's ceiling is uneven, the average height is about four meters."

"Understood. Director Santiago, the cave has an area of 660 square meters and an average height of four meters."

"Ah, now I see what you're getting at!"

Nodding, Director Santiago gripped the phone in his hand.