Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Late one night, Sion woke Yi-hyeon.

- Wake up, Yi-hyeon!

His voice sounded unusually excited for someone who belonged to a 'race of mental beings.'

'What is it, Sion?'

Yi-hyeon answered mentally without even opening his eyes, but Sion urged him again.

- I said wake up, Yi-hyeon. I've taken control of China's Ministry of State Security servers.

'···What? Finally···!'

Sleep vanished instantly. Yi-hyeon leaped out of bed, hastily rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and hurried to his study. The computers in the room were already displaying a dazzling flurry of activity.

- This isn't particularly useful, and neither is this···.

Sion continued muttering to himself as he searched for something. Even at a glance, Yi-hyeon could tell he was navigating the enormous database of some organization. Most of the documents were written in simplified Chinese, but another section contained vast amounts of English material, alongside countless documents in Arabic, Japanese, and Korean.

It felt as though mountains of documents in languages from every corner of the world had been piled together. A veritable ocean of information.

As Yi-hyeon watched in amazement, something suddenly occurred to him, and he asked urgently.

'Sion. Is it really okay to rummage around like this?'

- Of course it is. Nobody at the MSS even knows I'm here. Even if someone searches the very documents I'm examining at the same time, they won't notice me. I didn't get in here through some crude hacking technique.

'······.'

Yi-hyeon, a humanities student through and through, fell silent for a moment.

He didn't understand the exact principle, but apparently Sion could now move around the MSS servers as freely as the ultimate administrator, without leaving a trace.

After a while, the screens went dark, and Sion spoke calmly.

- These fools are hoarding mountains of practically useless information. Most of it concerns human beings. It looks as though they've scraped together every conceivable piece of information circulating on Earth and stored it as data. And they're running twelve entire data centers just to collect and preserve this rubbish.

Yi-hyeon was dumbfounded. One organization, the MSS, was operating twelve data centers? Those lunatics!

If most of the information concerned people, they were probably concentrating their efforts on collecting intelligence about Chinese citizens hostile to their government, along with hostile individuals in other countries.

Sion spoke again.

- Whenever I have time, I'll come back and search for historical information connected to Yi-hyeon. Their system doesn't use conventional keyword searches, so it may take a little while. Instead, I'll arrange things so I know immediately if anyone tries to initiate an operation involving you.

'···I'm counting on you.'

- Now let's try penetrating the CIA. I've had a brief look, and the CIA seems somewhat easier to handle than the NSA.

'Yes, sir!'

Yi-hyeon couldn't understand how the CIA could be easier to penetrate than the NSA, but since this was Sion's specialty, he could only take his word for it.

* * *

The people Master Sergeant Lee Myeong-hun had brought with him last time numbered four in total.

All were military veterans, ranging in age from their late twenties to their mid-thirties, and their current occupations varied. Team Leader Yu Min-seon had already completed their background checks, and Sion and Yi-hyeon had verified them using their own unusual methods. All four were hired.

For the time being, they were formally employed by S&K Investment so they could receive salaries. The corporation was already generating enormous, stable income and had substantial retained earnings, so paying their wages was hardly an issue.

However, keeping them in the same office as the investment company's growing staff could create problems later. Yi-hyeon therefore arranged a modest office for them in his Nonhyeon-dong building, managed by S&K REITs, and instructed them to report there.

Then, one day,

- Yi-hyeon, someone on the MSS computer network is mentioning you.

Yi-hyeon immediately tensed at Sion's words.

'What are they saying?'

- They're the people who approached the Industrial and Commercial Bank after I left that trace last year··· There's an internal meeting document they shared. Huh? It just disappeared. Those fools must have uploaded it to the network by mistake and deleted it. Hehehe.

Hearing that the document had been deleted, Yi-hyeon asked anxiously.

'If they deleted it, does that mean we can't read it anymore?'

- Of course not! The moment I detected it, the document was preserved intact in the space I've set aside for myself.

'What on earth does that mean?'

When Yi-hyeon asked in confusion, Sion answered casually.

- I've arranged to use part of their surplus data center capacity. It's storage space that only I can access.

'···.···'

He was speechless.

As though freely entering and leaving the MSS servers weren't enough, Sion had apparently created his own private inventory inside their systems.

'Hehehe, brilliant, Sion. Show me what you've got.'

Ding.

An email notification immediately appeared on Yi-hyeon's smartphone.

- Read that. They stopped what they were doing midway, but we should still be able to guess their intentions. Oh, and that email will automatically go 'boom' five minutes after you read it.

'Whew···.'

Yi-hyeon no longer had the energy to be surprised.

This went far beyond ordinary hacking. Sion had created a private space for himself inside someone else's servers.

When Yi-hyeon opened the email, he found a document written in simplified Chinese.

"Damn it···."

Naturally, Yi-hyeon couldn't read simplified Chinese.

- Study harder, Yi-hyeon! You still don't understand a writing system as simple as that?

Yi-hyeon felt unfairly criticized.

'Listen, Sion. You're calling Chinese characters simple? Chinese characters are a classic example of logograms. There are more than six hundred thousand of them, and even as we speak, new characters are being created somewhere. People keep inventing new characters to express new knowledge.'

- Enough whining. If new ones appear, just memorize them.

There was no reasoning with him. Yi-hyeon waved his phone.

'Could you at least make this readable?'

Ding!

Another email arrived almost immediately. When Yi-hyeon opened it, he found a perfect translation.

'Thank you, Sion.'

Yi-hyeon quickly became absorbed in the contents.

[To: Yangtze Execution Team Five

From: Chang'an Headquarters

Subject: Your team is to establish a base in Seoul within the next two weeks and begin surveillance of Song Yi-hyeon. Submit regular reports every night at midnight and report immediately in emergencies.

Reporting Guidelines

Deploy sufficient surveillance personnel to ensure the target's movements are monitored twenty-four hours a day. Station permanent operatives at Korea University, which the target frequently visits, and at his recently established company···.]

Those bastards···.

Now even agents from China's MSS would be swarming around Yi-hyeon. Adding the NIS's Sky Team and America's Burgundy Team meant operatives from three countries were involved.

Yi-hyeon first summoned Lee Seung-uk and Lee Myeong-hun and briefly explained the situation.

"What? The American CIA, and now China's Ministry of State Security?"

Lee Seung-uk stared with his mouth open in disbelief, while Master Sergeant Lee Myeong-hun blinked and asked,

"So you're saying agents from all three countries are surrounding Representative Song. And the reason is connected to your father's death?"

That wasn't entirely accurate, but explaining further would be awkward, so Yi-hyeon nodded.

"I don't know exactly what the Chinese want, but that's roughly right. From now on, stay in close contact with NIS Team Leader Yu. I don't think they'll try to harm me for the time being, so there shouldn't be any immediate danger."

Lee Myeong-hun's eyes gleamed.

"Good! I've barely arrived and we've already got work. We'll follow Representative Song at a distance and provide protection. That should allow us to spot anyone watching you."

Yi-hyeon nodded.

"If something unexpected happens, we'll grab them immediately. Prepare a safe house somewhere secluded and secure plenty of vehicles for that possibility. Speak to Senior Associate Lee about the expenses."

Yi-hyeon intended to observe the situation a little longer, but the opportunity to seize those men came sooner than expected. Yu Min-seon contacted him and asked to meet at the safe house.

* * *

Eight in the evening, at the Sinsa-dong safe house. A little snow had fallen during the day, leaving the streets filthy with slush.

"Just as we expected, the Chinese have started moving. We still need to confirm exactly which organization these bastards belong to, but judging by the personnel we've identified so far, there's a strong possibility the MSS is involved."

Yu Min-seon stood with her arms crossed and launched straight into business without even asking Yi-hyeon to sit.

The NIS was certainly impressive.

Granted, Yi-hyeon had the cheat code known as Sion and had learned about the operation much earlier than Yu Min-seon, even identifying the unit as Execution Team Five. Still, the NIS wasn't far behind. There was a reason it was considered Northeast Asia's finest intelligence organization.

Yu Min-seon continued.

"There's a problem. We've confirmed that those bastards are armed."

"What?"

Armed··· Yi-hyeon hadn't known about that yet.

"Five of them entered the country in the first wave. Immediately after arriving, they went to an MSS safe house in Incheon and received firearms."

Yi-hyeon exhaled.

If the NIS had confirmed it, there was little doubt.

"I'll capture them first."

"What?"

Yu Min-seon stared at him in astonishment.

Yi-hyeon's tone grew increasingly resolute.

"I can't live with people like that lurking around me. Approaching me with weapons···."

Yu Min-seon studied Yi-hyeon's suddenly cold profile before speaking with difficulty.

"But I can't provide you with weapons right now, Representative Song. As you know, headquarters has its own regulations, and there's also···."

"I understand. Forget the weapons. When something happens, I'll capture those men and hand them over. Just make sure you handle everything afterward without delay."

Yu Min-seon sat with her mouth open for quite some time before answering.

"If you hand them over alive, we'll take care of the rest. But how exactly do you intend to capture them, Representative Song? They're armed with handguns at the very least."

"Don't worry about that."

After leaving Yu Min-seon's safe house, Yi-hyeon gave instructions to Lee Seung-uk, who was driving.

"Before we acquire firearms, prepare whatever weapons we can legally obtain. You practiced kendo, didn't you? Then you'll need a stick."

"I can handle bastards like that without a stick. Don't worry. More importantly, I'll inform the Nonhyeon-dong team."

The Nonhyeon-dong team had earned its name because Lee Myeong-hun and his subordinates occupied an office in Yi-hyeon's building in Nonhyeon-dong. The team would now equip itself with stab-resistant vests, telescopic batons, and every other piece of equipment money could buy.

"So the war is beginning."

Yi-hyeon murmured quietly. At the wheel, Lee Seung-uk felt his shoulders stiffen with tension.

* * *

Friday evening. Yi-hyeon left the office late.

His greatest concern lately had been recruiting employees. The REITs company only needed to manage existing properties, so everything would run smoothly once he'd hired competent maintenance, property management, and accounting departments.

The investment company, however, was an entirely different matter. No matter how sharp Yi-hyeon's mind had become, he couldn't know things he'd never learned or experienced. That was precisely why he needed specialists.

In such circumstances, the sensible approach was to hire an experienced professional manager and let that person build the corporation's operational foundation. Yi-hyeon had just finished interviewing three executive management candidates.

"Someone's following us."

Almost simultaneously with Yi-hyeon's warning to Lee Seung-uk at the wheel,

- Two cars are following us. Four people altogether.

Sion provided the details.

"Yes, sir."

Lee Seung-uk answered briefly, switched on his phone, and made a call.

"Team Leader. Someone is following the representative's car."

"Understood."

Lee Myeong-hun, the leader of the Nonhyeon-dong team, answered just as tersely. He and his subordinates were presumably watching Yi-hyeon's surroundings from a distance.

"Don't go home. Let's head somewhere quiet and bring those bastards along."

"Yes, sir."

Lee Seung-uk answered without looking back. He began searching his phone with one hand, looking for a suitable location.

A short while later, Lee Seung-uk called Lee Myeong-hun again.

"Yes, Team Leader. We're heading to Osoe-dong. It's next to Gimpo Airport."

"Understood. It's quiet over there. Good place to catch those bastards."

Osoe-dong was a neighborhood bordering the southern side of Gimpo Airport. Because its proximity to the airport subjected it to various development restrictions, residential buildings were few and far between.

The two vehicles had maintained a distance of more than fifty meters while following them through the city. But as Yi-hyeon's G-Wagen entered the road near the southern end of the airport runway, they began closing the gap.

"Look at these bastards···."

"Something's strange about them, sir."

Lee Seung-uk had apparently noticed the same thing. If they were merely conducting surveillance, they should have increased their distance upon entering such a deserted area. Otherwise, the risk of discovery would rise.

Yet these men were doing the opposite. That meant they had another objective.

"Looks like they want to take me somewhere."

Yi-hyeon murmured before instructing Lee Seung-uk.

"Pull over somewhere suitable nearby. I'm tired of dragging them around."

"Yes, sir."

Lee Seung-uk turned onto a road behind an old warehouse, stopped the car, and spoke into his phone.

"We're stopping here."

Lee Seung-uk and Lee Myeong-hun had installed a couples' location-sharing application on their phones, allowing them to track each other's positions.

Less than three minutes after Lee Seung-uk got out of the parked car and lit a cigarette, headlights appeared from the east. Seeing their target stop, the men had apparently paused to assess the situation before approaching.

"Those bastards are in a hurry."

Lee Seung-uk smiled as he pulled a pair of brown leather gloves from his pocket and put them on. The gleam in his eyes suggested he was getting excited.

Yi-hyeon examined the ground. Although the road was unpaved, the winter cold had packed the earth hard. Anyone slammed into ground like this would be knocked unconscious immediately.

Yi-hyeon was wearing a suit. As the owner of an investment company, he'd been interviewing professional managers earlier that day, so he'd dressed formally, right down to a necktie. He'd left his winter coat in the car, however.

At that moment, Lee Seung-uk's phone vibrated.

"Yes, Team Leader."

"Hey, Senior Associate Lee, I'm almost there. Just hold out until I arrive. There are two cars following you, right? I got caught at a traffic light."

"Don't worry."

As soon as Lee Seung-uk ended the call, the headlights of the approaching vehicles illuminated them. The two cars pulled up nearby and stopped, and four men climbed out, two from each car.

"Mr. Song Yi-hyeon?"

One of the approaching men, a tall fellow, stepped forward and asked. His accent was unmistakably foreign, but his Korean was remarkably fluent. He stood roughly six or seven meters away.

"What do you want?"

Yi-hyeon asked, walking a few steps forward. The distance between them was now five meters.

Watching from behind, Lee Seung-uk grew intensely nervous. The representative he was supposed to protect had suddenly stepped forward first, putting his nerves on edge.

Yi-hyeon, however, was completely at ease now.

At this distance, even if the men drew their guns and fired, he could strike faster.

"Ah, you're even younger than I've heard. An important person is waiting to meet you. Please come with us for a little while."

Yi-hyeon bared his teeth in a grin at the man's fluent Korean.

"You block my car in the middle of the night, walk up to me, and demand that I follow you. Do I look like someone who would simply obey?"

Yi-hyeon asked expressionlessly. Lee Seung-uk stepped forward beside him and spoke.

"Some people sure have an easy way of living. Who the hell are you?"

At Lee Seung-uk's question, the man suddenly frowned and spoke in a low voice.

"The attendant would do well to stay out of this. I'm speaking with your employer, aren't I?"

"······."

Lee Seung-uk saw no reason to continue the conversation. This wasn't someone who could be reasoned with. He glanced toward Yi-hyeon.

"Let's capture them first and ask questions afterward."

Whoosh!

The moment Yi-hyeon finished speaking, Lee Seung-uk launched himself forward. He had no intention of giving the men time to draw their weapons.

Swish!

Yi-hyeon moved at the same moment. He advanced while looking directly into the eyes of the man before him, who suddenly felt as though his entire body had gone rigid.

"Hah!"

With a shout that seemed to rise from deep in his abdomen, the man twisted his shoulders. He barely managed to escape the pressure of Yi-hyeon's presence and tried to regain his stance. Taking a step backward, he clenched his fists.

The fight had begun without warning, but he saw no alternative. The overwhelming force of this youngster's presence left him no room to hesitate.

Seung-uk had charged in ahead of Yi-hyeon. He, too, was keenly aware of the weapons these men carried.

Hah!

Crash!

The sounds came from Lee Seung-uk. As his opponent leaped sideways to evade his initial attack, Seung-uk kicked off the side of a car and sprang after him. Still airborne, he drove his knee into the man's ribs.

"Huugh!"

The instant one man collapsed, Lee Seung-uk spun around. He still had one more opponent to deal with.

Yi-hyeon strode forward and reached out to seize his opponent's face. The movement was plainly visible, so the man dropped his body as low as possible and thrust out his right hand.

If this strikes his chest, he's finished!

Just as delight flashed through the man's eyes, a tremendous impact struck his jaw, and he fell flat on his back. Yi-hyeon's fist had knocked him unconscious.

Yi-hyeon turned toward the last remaining man and spoke.

"You. Come here."

"Wh-what···?"

The man glanced around, retreated, and slipped a hand inside his jacket.

He was reaching for his gun.

© Saedungi#1tjzr