Chapter 346: My Words Mean Nothing to You?!

Chief of the Central Committee General Office Zhang Hui cautiously addressed Chairman Xi Jinping, who was lost in deep thought.

“Chairman, shouldn’t we reward Vice Chairman Tang Guochang for rendering such a great service?”

“Give me a reason why I should.”

“He arrested the gang of Politburo member Liu Peiqi who killed Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan and Secretary Deng Zhiping. He could have taken the thirty tons of gold obtained by Deputy Secretary Zhang for himself, but instead presented it to you as a gift. On top of that, he gave us an idea capable of dealing a devastating blow to Kim Jonghun and North Korea.” ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

“Hmm... Now that I think about it, you’re right. What kind of reward would be appropriate?”

“How about offering him a seat on the Standing Committee?”

“Absolutely not!”

As expected, Chairman Xi Jinping rejected the suggestion outright.

However, Chief of the Central Committee General Office Zhang Hui was not worried in the slightest, confident that he could persuade him.

“I’m not saying that you should actually nominate Vice Chairman Tang for membership in the Standing Committee.”

“Then what are you saying?”

“I recently had the chance to speak with him, and it seems he has absolutely no interest in a seat on the Standing Committee.”

“You know better than anyone how greedy he is.”

“At first, I didn’t believe him either. Just in case, I assigned someone to keep an eye on him, but he hasn’t made even the slightest attempt to approach or bribe influential figures. Considering that, he clearly isn’t aiming for the Standing Committee.”

“The only reason he hasn’t tried to bribe anyone is because the competitors standing in his way were too powerful.”

Chairman Xi Jinping was referring to the deceased Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan and Politburo member Liu Peiqi.

“If that is your will, Chairman, then how about giving Vice Chairman Tang a generous monetary reward?”

“That’s another matter. By the way, is there any way to recover my personal funds that fell into Kim Jonghun’s hands?”

“North Korea will deny everything no matter what, so all we can do is wait until irrefutable evidence emerges.”

“And when exactly do you expect to obtain that evidence?”

After throwing out the sharp question, Chairman Xi Jinping lit another cigarette.

Chief of the Central Committee General Office Zhang Hui fell silent, not wanting to irritate him any further.

After some time, Zhang Hui cautiously spoke again.

“What if we sell the gold we received as gifts from Deputy Secretary Zhang and Politburo member Liu?”

“What are you basing that decision on?”

“Gold prices, which had remained stagnant for a long time, suddenly broke through the $1.16 million mark in just two or three days.”

“Why would gold suddenly surge like that?”

“It’s impossible to say for certain, but someone is playing the market with absolute confidence.”

“Ha-ha-ha!”

Chairman Xi Jinping suddenly burst into loud laughter.

Unable to read his thoughts, Zhang Hui merely blinked in confusion as he stared at him.

After a while, once he stopped laughing, the Chairman continued.

“To manipulate gold prices however they please would require astronomical amounts of capital. How many people on this entire planet do you think are capable of mobilizing that kind of money?”

At that moment, Bongard Investment Group immediately flashed through Zhang Hui’s mind.

With their financial power, manipulating gold prices would be no difficult task.

However, he had absolutely no desire to share his thoughts with Chairman Xi Jinping. The Chairman’s reaction was far too easy to predict.

“That’s true... Now that I think about it, you’re right.”

“Let’s sell it all once the gold price goes above $1.3 million.”

Brrrr—

At that moment, Zhang Hui’s phone vibrated on the table.

After explaining that it was a call from the subordinate he had sent to seize the gold from Politburo member Liu Peiqi’s secret apartment, he answered.

“What is it?”

[Well... the basement is completely empty.]

“What?!”

Zhang Hui roared at the top of his lungs as though he had been struck by lightning.

Chairman Xi Jinping immediately addressed him as though he had been waiting for this exact moment.

“What the hell happened?”

“They say all the gold that was stored in Politburo member Liu’s secret apartment has vanished without a trace.”

“Damn it!...”

The reception room sank into a heavy silence, broken only by Chairman Xi Jinping’s gloomy sighs.

***

“Excellent work. Pull out immediately.”

Click.

The instant Director Pan Kai hung up, Chairman Zhen Weiliang asked impatiently,

“Director Pan, how did it go?”

“The men sent to Politburo member Liu’s secret apartment left with embarrassed looks on their faces.”

“Ha-ha! Is that so? But this won’t cause us trouble later, will it?”

“We didn’t leave a single piece of evidence behind, not even one strand of hair, so there’s nothing for you to worry about.”

Chairman Zhen Weiliang nodded in understanding before turning toward me.

“Chief Cha, shouldn’t we generously reward Director Jean-Philippe for providing us with such invaluable assistance?”

Gabriel, Antonio, and the others had hidden part of the money they earned from selling drugs in Switzerland.

After seizing their hidden assets, we handed a portion of them over to the Swiss government.

It was out of gratitude for that that Director Jean-Philippe had readily agreed to fulfill my request.

So I saw no need to reward him separately.

The only problem was that Chairman Zhen Weiliang didn’t know all the details of what had happened in Switzerland.

In such an awkward situation, the best solution was to brush the matter aside and change the subject.

“I’ll take care of it myself.”

“I would be extremely grateful. By the way, when are you planning to return to Korea?”

Our flight was booked for nine in the evening.

So if we wanted to make it in time, we had to leave for the airport no later than six.

However, I still hadn’t been able to contact Vice Chairman Tang Guochang, who had been summoned by Chairman Xi Jinping.

Because of that, I was stuck, unable to make a move.

“I can’t return home until I speak with Vice Chairman Tang.”

“Why don’t you call him first?”

“If he happens to be with Chairman Xi Jinping, we’ll end up in one hell of a situation.”

Bzzzt—

At that moment, the smartphone in my hand vibrated. Looking at the screen, I saw Vice Chairman Tang Guochang’s name.

After telling everyone that it was him, I answered at lightning speed.

“Yes, Vice Chairman Tang.”

[Chief Cha, I just got free. I’ve been with Minister He Lifen this entire time.]

“Can you tell me why?”

[Chairman Xi ordered Minister He to come up with a plan to take revenge on North Korea. And I suggested that Chairman Xi destroy their nuclear weapons storage facilities.]

“And how did Chairman Xi respond?”

[Ha-ha-ha!]

The answer was already obvious from Vice Chairman Tang Guochang’s satisfied laughter.

“Ha-ha. I understand. And what happened afterward?”

[Minister He and the locations of the North Korean nuclear weapons storage facilities...]

To reduce Vice Chairman Tang Guochang’s explanation to its essence, he had been discussing an operation with Minister He Lifen to destroy North Korea’s nuclear facilities.

[...It was decided that the nuclear weapons storage facilities would be eliminated before the end of this year.]

To destroy facilities like those, several necessary procedures had to be completed.

First, they needed to determine the exact coordinates of where North Korea was hiding its nuclear weapons.

After that, they would have to bribe a high-ranking officer serving at the facility.

And finally, they would need to supply him with all the necessary weapons so that he could strike the storage facility.

Considering how complicated and meticulous such preparations would have to be, destroying the nuclear facilities before the end of the year was simply unrealistic.

I asked Vice Chairman Tang what he thought about my assessment.

[What choice do we have other than relying on Minister He and the MSS’s capabilities?]

At that moment, a brilliant idea flashed through my mind.

Quickly shaping it into a concrete plan, I continued my conversation with Vice Chairman Tang Guochang.

“What if we bring Minister He Lifen over to your side?”

[I’m already doing everything I can to make him one of my people.]

“That’s excellent. I’ll tell you how to bring him completely over to your side.”

[Speak quickly!]

“Tell Minister He that you’ll help him locate North Korea’s nuclear weapons storage facilities.”

[Don’t tell me...]

I immediately understood why Vice Chairman Tang Guochang had stopped mid-sentence.

“You guessed correctly. Our country and the United States know the exact coordinates of the nuclear weapons storage facilities.”

[Is that so? Incredible. I’m actually curious how you managed to obtain information that secret.]

“Pak Jongchon, First Deputy Director of the Central Committee Department of North Korea’s Military Revolutionary Party, personally supervised North Korea’s ICBM development. The FBI kidnapped him in Dandong and transported him to our country.”

[Ah... So that’s how it was.]

Covering the phone’s speaker with my hand, I turned to NIS Director Om Giyeon.

“We need to give Vice Chairman Tang the coordinates of the nuclear weapons storage facilities.”

“Understood. Tell Vice Chairman Tang that we’ll send them as soon as possible.”

Nodding, I relayed NIS Director Om Giyeon’s words to Vice Chairman Tang.

[Please convey my sincere gratitude to Director Om.]

“I will. We’re returning to Korea this evening.”

[You’re already going back?]

“Director Om, Director Griffin, and Director Nevers entered China secretly. For security reasons, it would be better for us to leave the country as soon as possible.”

[In that case, I have no objections.]

After exchanging a few more words with Vice Chairman Tang Guochang, I ended the call.

At that moment, Chairman Zhen Weiliang turned to Vice Chairman Wei Chen.

“We should have a proper drink with our guests before they leave for Korea, shouldn’t we?”

“Ha-ha-ha! Absolutely!”

Vice Chairman Wei Chen’s delighted voice echoed throughout the living room.

***

“Do my words mean nothing to you?!”

Minister He Lifen’s roar cracked through the room like thunder from a clear sky.

The high-ranking officials gathered for the emergency meeting all lowered their heads at once.

Burning Deputy Minister Huang Xuan with a fierce glare, He Lifen growled,

“Deputy Minister Huang, explain why it’s impossible!”

“At present, North Korea has completely sealed its borders, making infiltration extremely difficult. But even if infiltration succeeds, there is no freedom of movement in the North, so determining the exact coordinates of the nuclear facilities would take an enormous amount of time.”

“So what you’re saying is that we should disobey the Chairman’s direct order?!”

“......”

Deputy Minister Huang Xuan fell silent, unable to come up with an answer.

Minister He Lifen slowly swept his gaze over the high-ranking officials present and continued.

“I can’t go into the details, but the Chairman must retaliate against North Korea. If we fail to carry out the Chairman’s order, none of our heads will be worth a damn.”

Brrrr—

At that moment, Minister He Lifen’s phone vibrated on the table.

He quickly glanced at the screen and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

The caller was Vice Chairman Tang Guochang, whom he had parted ways with only an hour earlier.

Gesturing for everyone to remain silent, he answered the call.

“Yes, Vice Chairman Tang.”

[Minister He, could you come to the naval hospital immediately?]

“Of course, but...”

Minister He Lifen deliberately paused, trying to figure out Vice Chairman Tang’s intentions.

[I’ve just obtained information on the exact locations of North Korea’s nuclear weapons storage facilities.]

“Is that true?!”

Genuinely shocked, Minister He Lifen shot up from his chair.

[Why would I lie to you, Minister He?]

“Understood! I’m leaving immediately!”

Click.

Hurriedly ending the call, Minister He Lifen rushed out of the conference room, shoving the door open.

The high-ranking officials attending the meeting could only stare after him in bewilderment.

***

The moment Minister He Lifen sat down on the empty sofa, Vice Chairman Tang Guochang spoke with an apologetic expression.

“Minister He, forgive me for making you rush all the way here.”

“Not at all. I’m simply eager to know how you managed to obtain information on the nuclear weapons storage facilities.”

“I have a rather close relationship with Kim Changho, the head of North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau.”

“Are you saying he leaked the information?”

The classified information on the nuclear facilities had actually been obtained from NIS Director Om Giyeon.

How could Tang Guochang possibly reveal such a shocking truth out loud?

“You’re absolutely right.”

“But why would he leak information that classified?”

“He has recently lost Kim Jonghun’s trust. Because of that, he is planning to flee abroad. I promised to help him and ensure his safe escape.”

“Ah, now I understand.”

“But I have no intention of giving you information this valuable for free.”

Vice Chairman Tang Guochang openly demanded something in return.

“Tell me what you want.”

“I would like to establish a closer and friendlier relationship with you, Minister He.”

“Deal! I accept your proposal, Vice Chairman Tang.”

Vice Chairman Tang Guochang carried out the task brilliantly and successfully brought Minister He Lifen over to his side.