Free Web NovelLai Changxing’s eyes widened in shock when he heard the name that came out of my mouth.
“No matter how I think about it, something feels strange. What you did in China is a massive crime even by Chinese standards. The media says it was smuggling... but from what I know, there were drugs among the contraband. In China, drug crimes mean severe punishment for anyone. Yet the Chinese government hasn’t made any real effort to arrest you.”
In the media, Lai Changxing was known as China’s biggest economic criminal.
The amount he evaded in taxes alone exceeded five trillion won in Korean currency. And he avoided any punishment by distributing part of that enormous sum to high-ranking Communist Party officials.
But Lai Changxing’s real identity was a drug trafficker who distributed and sold narcotics.
As seen in Yoo Seongjin’s case, China showed absolutely no mercy toward drug criminals.
Having once been ravaged by Western powers through the drug known as opium, China had adopted especially harsh punishments for narcotics.
“Am I wrong? Jiang Zemin used you to eliminate his political enemies. But he secretly left you an escape route so you could flee. If he had really intended to catch you, you would never have escaped mainland China.”
Lai Changxing swallowed hard.
“That part was very strange. So I ordered someone to approach you quietly. And the moment Jiang Zemin realized I had secured you, he started threatening me to hand you over. Strange, isn’t it? The shadow ruler of China demanding that someone like you — a mere smuggler — be handed over first.”
“...I don’t know anything about that. What are you talking about?”
Trying to feign ignorance, Lai Changxing avoided my eyes as he answered.
Seeing through the lie instantly, I smirked and leaned forward.
“Really? You don’t know? Then I guess it’s fine if I hand you over to Chinese public security.”
“What?”
“There’s no reason to protect someone who knows nothing. Wouldn’t it be better to hand you over and squeeze something out of them instead?”
“...That breaks our deal.”
“You’ve been talking about a deal since earlier. The promise to protect you only applies if you’re useful to us.”
I leaned back in my chair again and crossed my arms.
Lai Changxing nervously studied my expression.
“There are many ways to make someone open their mouth. But humans are intelligent creatures. Still, there are people who insist on choosing crude methods instead of sophisticated ones like conversation. Actually, most people are like that.”
I deliberately paused for a breath, then curled the corner of my mouth.
“I wonder which type you are.”
Lai Changxing’s eyes trembled violently.
With an exaggerated gesture, I pointed at Director Ma.
“The director here, and most of the others around us, are professionals. Experts at using their bodies. So what do you say? Want to talk with them instead of me?”
Lai Changxing’s uneasy gaze shifted toward Director Ma behind me.
He had already taken a punch from him, so he clearly wasn’t doubting my words.
“If you give me the answers I want, I promise you won’t be sent back to China.”
A nuclear weapon is threatening just by existing.
But the moment you actually use it, everyone dies.
Even if I obtained information from Lai Changxing, I had no intention of truly using it. Well, except perhaps as leverage.
“So which side are you on, Lai Changxing?”
It was my final question.
If he still refused to speak, I intended to stand up without hesitation.
If I left him to Director Ma, they would extract everything he knew within an hour.
“....”
Lai Changxing chose silence.
I nodded and stood up from my chair.
As I rose, I spoke to Director Ma in Korean.
“Director. One hour will be enough, right?”
“Yes. I’ll make him spit out everything he knows.”
“Good. Then...”
I glanced down at Lai Changxing and continued.
“Take him away.”
Director Ma signaled the nearby men with his eyes, and they slowly approached Lai Changxing.
They had spoken in Korean, so he couldn’t understand the words — but he seemed to grasp the situation from the atmosphere.
“N-no, don’t come!”
Lai Changxing waved his hands frantically, his face drained of color.
But the men ignored him and grabbed his arms, pulling him to his feet.
“What are you doing?! Stop! Let go!”
Lai Changxing twisted his body while shouting in Chinese.
“Let go!”
He screamed loud enough to hurt the ears, but the men dragged him away without the slightest hesitation.
Director Ma bowed his head toward me and turned to follow.
Then—
“I’ll tell you everything! Don’t do it! Please don’t!”
Lai Changxing shouted desperately.
But I slowly shook my head.
“The ship has already sailed.”
“I’ll bite my tongue and kill myself! I swear!”
Lai Changxing threatened me with his own life.
I chuckled and met his anxious eyes.
“If you want to die, go ahead. If you can.”
Leaving those words behind, I turned and walked out.
Lai Changxing continued shouting behind me, but it sounded no different from barking dogs, so I ignored it and kept walking.
“I’ll escort you.”
The manager who had been introduced earlier followed behind me.
“Is there somewhere with a good view? I’d like some fresh air.”
“Yes. This way.”
He led me toward a watchtower that stood tall to monitor the outside.
When I reached the top, I looked out at the distant sea and sank into thought.
There’s definitely something there...
Lai Changxing had threatened to bite his tongue, but I knew people like him very well.
They feared death more than anyone.
If begging for their lives meant survival, they would do anything.
How much time had passed?
The manager called out to me.
“Boss.”
I turned my gaze away from the sea.
“Director Ma is here.”
I looked down from the tower.
Director Ma was staring up at me.
When I came down from the tower, Director Ma gave a brief report.
“He says he’ll tell us everything.”
I nodded and walked back into the house.
His face was intact, but all his fingernails and toenails had been ripped out.
“I told you to listen when we spoke nicely.”
I clicked my tongue while looking at Lai Changxing slumped weakly in the chair.
At those words, he began to sob.
I sat across from him and gestured with my chin.
“Now talk.”
“The ones who helped my smuggling were the Shanghai clique. I don’t know how directly Chairman Jiang Zemin was involved. I never met him...”
Lai Changxing spoke with difficulty.
What he said next was quite shocking.
“...So you’re saying you ran your smuggling operations through the Shanghai clique while also distributing money to the Princelings and the Communist Youth League?”
“Yes. That’s why no one tried to arrest me. If I open my mouth...”
“Evidence? Not just your testimony. Do you have direct evidence?”
Without evidence, this card couldn’t be used properly.
“I have ledgers proving who I met and who I delivered money to.”
Of course.
Even if the higher-ups told him to leave no evidence, people like him always kept something.
But that couldn’t be all.
Someone like him would definitely keep something more solid.
“Just ledgers? Didn’t you record video or audio? A guy like you wouldn’t trust only ledgers.”
Lai Changxing glanced at me nervously before speaking.
“I... I have some.”
I knew it.
Finally, something useful.
I clapped my hands in satisfaction.
“Good. Hand it over.”
But Lai Changxing didn’t answer.
What’s this?
Still not scared enough.
I sighed and shook my head.
“You’re still not ready to talk.”
“No! I’ll give it to you! I will! Just promise me one thing!”
At my sigh, he hurriedly raised his head and pleaded again.
I raised an eyebrow, telling him to speak.
Lai Changxing rubbed his hands together desperately.
“P-protect me somewhere safe. And my family too...”
“Don’t worry about that. You won’t be free to roam around, but you’ll live comfortably on one of the islands I own in Europe.”
Lai Changxing absolutely couldn’t die.
Even with evidence, there would come a time when this man would be useful.
To use him then, he had to stay alive.
But his eyes were still full of distrust.
I shrugged with a smirk.
“If I planned to kill you, I wouldn’t have brought you to Korea in the first place. And I tried to have a gentlemanly conversation with you at the beginning. You’re the one who refused.”
“...I’ll trust you.”
“You should. Where {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} is it? In China?”
He weakly shook his head.
It seemed all his strength was gone.
“It’s in Switzerland. In a bank’s private vault.”
“Then you’ll need to tell me the code and password too.”
Private vaults require no identification.
Only the code and password matter.
“C178A...”
Lai Changxing recited the code and password.
“Director.”
“Yes. I’ll contact our staff in Switzerland immediately and have them secure it.”
Director Ma pulled out his phone and made the call.
“Good. Once the evidence is secured, we’ll treat your injuries. Stay here for now, and then we’ll send you to Europe where your family is.”
“K-keep your promise.”
Does he think I’m like those Chinese officials?
I nodded and stood up.
“Once we secure the evidence, treat him and give him whatever food he wants. No alcohol. Didn’t he say he wanted coffee earlier?”
“Understood.”
The men took Lai Changxing away to treat his wounds.
Even as they dragged him away, he kept glancing back at me nervously.
But I had already stopped paying attention to him.
“Let’s head back. Tell them to bring the evidence straight to Korea as soon as they secure it.”
“Yes. I’ve already instructed them. It should be secured within an hour. And Boss...”
Director Ma stepped closer and whispered something to me.
Just as I thought.
A major figure was involved.
It had been a while since I obtained such a good card.
“Jia Qinglin... Now I understand why Jiang Zemin wanted Lai Changxing.”
The Lai Changxing card was a royal straight flush.
* * *
A few days later.
The ledgers and evidence safely arrived in my hands.
“So this woman is Jia Qinglin’s wife, Lin Youfang.”
The video clearly showed Lai Changxing meeting Jia Qinglin’s wife and handing over money and gold bars.
The video quality wasn’t great, but her identity was unmistakable.
Another video showed money being handed to Xi Jinping as well.
“So we now have a card that can topple Xi Jinping...”
Yet another video contained footage of Song Defu, known as Hu Jintao’s successor.
But that card had little value.
Song Defu was already terminally ill with lung cancer.
“So that’s why Hu Jintao didn’t act aggressively.”
It was easier to let things sink together rather than move aggressively for someone who was already dying.
There were also recordings of numerous high-ranking politicians and officials.
“With this, Hu Jintao won’t be able to stab me in the back.”
After finishing my review of the ledgers, I called Wen Jiabao using the number we had agreed on beforehand.
— President Kim. It’s been a while.
“Yes, Premier. It has been a while.”
— I apologize for not contacting you sooner. My situation was not easy either...
“No problem. I understand. I heard you were placed under house arrest.” ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
— Thank you for understanding.
After brief greetings, I got straight to the point.
“I secured testimony from Lai Changxing.”
— Is that true?
“Yes. But Premier, I have one question.”
— Please go ahead.
“If you had to choose between me and Hu Jintao, which would you choose?”
— ...That’s a difficult question.
“Please answer. It’s necessary if we’re going to have an honest conversation.”
After a moment of silence, Wen Jiabao spoke in a low voice.
— Even if I said I chose you, would you believe it?
“I’ll decide that myself. Please answer.”
If I gave him even a small opening, he would slip away like a snake.
So I left him none.
“If you don’t answer now, I will end our relationship here.”
— President Kim.
“Please answer.”
Wen Jiabao let out a small sigh before speaking.
— ...Isn’t my partner President Kim? I have no choice but to choose you.
I couldn’t know whether his words were true.
But that was the answer I wanted.
“Good. I’ll believe you.”
— Was that all you wanted to hear? Aren’t you trusting me too easily?
Hearing the confusion in his voice, I laughed loudly on purpose.
“I’m not trusting you, Premier. I’m trusting myself.”
— ......
“First of all, Lai Changxing is also connected to Song Defu.”
— What? Is that true?
“Yes. There’s video of Song Defu receiving money from him.”
Song Defu was the current Party Secretary of Fujian Province sent by Hu Jintao himself.
— ...There’s no one left to trust.
“Hu Jintao probably already knew about this. That’s why he sent Song Defu down to Fujian Province — to avoid leaving evidence.”
Xi Jinping, who had been the provincial Party Secretary at the time, was also connected to Lai Changxing.
But Xi Jinping handled the case passively, and Hu Jintao later sent him to Zhejiang Province.
“That’s why we can’t hand everything over to Hu Jintao. This operation should be led by you, Premier.”
I planned to use Wen Jiabao as a messenger — to restrain Hu Jintao and pressure Jiang Zemin.
