21st Century Goguryeo

"This is Alpha One! The current time is 14:02:26! Check!"

"Alpha One! This is the First Right Wing Headquarters! The bombing mission has been canceled. Come back."

"This is Alpha One! Confirm receipt of orders! I'll return immediately."

After completing the communication, Lieutenant Colonel Choi Young-ho exhaled so loudly that everyone in the control room could hear him.

"Sigh."

"Haha, Captain Oh! You were nervous."

"It's a real relief. Captain!"

Captain Oh Tae-bin and Captain Cho Eun-bin each said.

"Do you think that I have a heart made of steel? It was not an easy task to complete. To maintain my mental health, I don't think I'll accept these kinds of missions in the future."

"Yes, that's right; because it was an upper order, we had no choice but to follow, but this mission was a huge burden."

"Yes, let's hope we don't get this kind of mission again in the future, and let's get back home as soon as possible!"

"Yes, captain! We will ascend to the exosphere."

"Yes, 1,200 degrees and maximum speed."

"Roger that!"

While they were waiting for the final order in the atmosphere above Moscow, the Minister of Foreign Affairs sent a firm response to Ambassador Egor Titov five minutes ago.

The response was that the Republic of Korea would take measures to protect Russian citizens who were staying in Korea. In response, public power had been placed in all areas where the violence had occurred. Measures have also been taken to ensure not only the safety of Koreans but also the safety of non-Korean residents, and the injured will be treated free of charge at nearby hospitals. Those who wish to return to their home countries will be safely returned.

When Ambassador Egor Titov informed the Russian government officials of Minister Kang Kyung-hee's response, they became enraged. However, they quickly changed their minds after hearing the General Staff's opinion, which stated that it was a possible solution. As a result, they were forced to comply with the Republic of Korea's requirements. If the Russian government had heeded it even a little bit later, it could have resulted in disaster not only for Russia but for the entire planet.

If the Republic of Korea had dealt with it without using its extreme card that could cause a global catastrophe, it would not have received such a response from the Russian government.

President Choo Un-hee, who saw through this, purposefully used the most effective tactic she had. As a result, it worked perfectly, and the damage caused by the violence was mitigated.

* * *

December 3rd, 2023, 14:30 (13:30 Hong Kong time)

The Hong Kong Special District of the Republic of China, also known as Singyeji (Safety House of the Hong Kong Branch of the National Intelligence Service).

On the eighth day after arriving in Hong Kong, the Foreign Intelligence Division One discovered that New China and the Black Tiger Corps were possibly behind the leak of confidential information, and Jjang Chun was a Black Tiger Corps agent. These were the only findings, which were disappointing because the Foreign Intelligence Division One had played a significant role in a number of countries in the past.

Regardless, the Foreign Intelligence Division One had been on the move since dawn today to gather full-fledged information on Jjang Chun, the only clue to the incident.

When they arrived in Hong Kong for the first time, they launched an investigation into the criminal organizations based there. Recently, they received information from an executive of the Long Lai faction, a drug trafficking organization and a sub-organization of the Triad, that there is a Qingdao faction, an emerging drug trafficking organization that is rapidly gaining power in Hong Kong and that it is led by a man named Jjang Chun.

The Foreign Intelligence Division One made a judgement call to check on the emerging organizations, but two days ago, the name Jjang Chun came up again during the investigation with Li Yu Kang, an agent of the Black Tiger Corps, so further investigation into the Qingdao faction was required.

According to information obtained again from the executive of the Long Lai faction, the Shandong Peninsula, including the West River (Qingdao), was incorporated into the federal government of the Republic of Korea under the name of Xuzhou with the end of the Korean Chinese War. All Han Chinese had been forced to naturalize through screening or leave their homes. The criminal gangs that were operating on the Shandong Peninsula had to be expelled as well. Some criminal gangs attempted to continue their operations by concealing their identities, but as a strict anti-crime policy was implemented, the majority were apprehended, imprisoned, or deported.

When the majority of the gang's members were apprehended, they abandoned Qingdao, their main base of operations, and began to gradually expand their power in Hong Kong beginning from the year before.

The Long Lai faction, a subordinate organization of the Triad with over 200 members, pushed back the Qingdao faction, which had only about 30 members, and 35 percent of Hong Kong's current drug business was transferred to the Qingdao faction.

Knowing about the Qingdao faction, they attempted to discover more about that man named Jjang Chun, who was behind Qingdao's illegal weapons and business funds, but he was completely veiled and no more clues about him could be recognized.

According to the information provided by the Long Lai executive, it should have been regarded as a forced confession. The Foreign Intelligence Division discovered that not only did this man have the same name as "Jjang Chun," but he also had a similar period of activity in Hong Kong.

The man, whose arms and legs were tied to a chair and his mouth was gagged, looked around as if he had regained consciousness, then screamed through his gagged mouth.

That man's name was Ryu Chingji, and he and two members of his gang were on their way home from a restaurant on the Guryong Peninsula two hours ago when they were hit by an unidentified group. He woke up in an unidentified room while the others had been drugged and were still unconscious on one side of the room.

"You punks! What are you doing? Long Lai faction? Are you looking for war? You're all going to die, you punks!"

Ryu Chingji, who tilted his head and mumbled Mandarin, appeared to think that those who kidnapped them were the Long Lai faction, an opposing organization that was impeding their power expansion.

This was due to frequent conflicts with them over their drug-related interests when they first arrived in Hong Kong and entered the drug business.

"He is awake, are we going to start?"

Chief Yoo Ha-yeon of team two, who was keeping an eye on Ryu Chingji, turned around and said. As a result, all the three team leaders looked at manager Lee Ja-sung at the same time.

"Team Leader Sung should do it! We all cannot speak Chinese. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"This is my specialty. Too bad. I wish I had known how to speak Chinese."

"Right, our team leader Yoon had experience with such criminal organization. It is a pity he can't speak Chinese."

"Do you want to die?"

Youn Tae-jin raised his fist and shook his head when first team leader Park Gi-oong teased him.

"LOL, look at him! Look at his expression. He looks completely like a member of an organized criminal."

"Hey, you!"

"You two! Be quiet! Do the team leaders try to fight whenever they have time? Aren't you embarrassed that your subordinates could see you?"

At manager Lee Ja-sung's words, the team members behind him covered their mouths and laughed. While Park Gi-oong and Yoon Tae-jin exchanged growls and stopped speaking.

For the time being! Team leader Seong Sang-yoon approached Ryu Chingji and sat on the front small chair, taking off his black suit wearing a white shirt with his arms rolled up. Then Ryu Chingji, who couldn't see properly due to the lighting, screamed and turned his head from side to side.

"Oh, sorry! If you want to see my face, look! However, I won't take responsibility."

Ryu Chingji turned his head and avoided eye contact when team leader Sung Sang-yoon spoke fluent Mandarin.

In a situation like this, it was obvious what would happen next if you could see the face of the opposing organization's kidnapper. You could have been cut into several pieces to become fish food, or if you were lucky, they would just have your eyes removed.

"Punk! Aren't you stupid?"

"What the hell do you want?"

"I will tell you that step by step from now on, so tell me everything you know. If you lie or conceal things from me, this will solve the problem. Because of the serious side effects of it, if something goes wrong, you won't be able to eat on your own until you die."

Team leader Seong Sang-yoon took a small syringe from his pocket and shook it in front of his eyes.

"Now! You know what I'm saying, right?"

In response, Ryu Chingji nodded while avoiding his gaze.

"That's right. That's the right attitude. Keep it that way till the end."

Team leader Seong Sang-yoon then returned to the small chair, sat down, and began a full-fledged interrogation.

"Let's keep it short. You know Jjang Chun, right?"

"Jjang Chun?"

"Yes."

"I've never heard of him."

"Oh, you changed your attitude very quickly. I told you to keep it that way until the end."

Ryu Chingji, who had been hit in the face by team leader Sung Sang-yoon, groaned with his face tilted back.

Hit!

"Ugh!"

"I'm not going to say it again. If you act inappropriately in front of me again, I will use the syringe I showed you earlier. To be honest, it's also comfortable for us. I'm treating you with courtesy because I don't have any ill will toward you, so please cooperate. Huh? I'll ask you once more."

Team leader Sung Sang-yoon, who sat on the chair again, continued to ask questions.

"Tell us what you know about Jjang Chun!"

"The boss knows Jjang Chun well. I only know the name."

"Do you really only know the name?"

Ryu Chingji, who flinched when team leader Sung Sang-yoon raised his fist while raising his voice, urgently continued.

"Oh, I will just tell you what I know. Two years ago, when our organization lost its base in Qingdao and was on the verge of collapse, a man named Jjang Chun appeared and met with our boss to discuss some business. According to my boss, it was a proposal to increase the amount of business and illegal weapons so that Jjang Chun could run a drug business in Hong Kong. Jjang Chun has helped us since then and we now run a drug trafficking business in Hong Kong, depositing money for drug sales once a month. Apart from that, I don't know much else."

"You don't know his real name, age, where he lives, contact number or anything else?"

"Even my boss doesn't know such information. That man has always been the one to contact my boss first."

"Hey, are you that useless?"

Team leader Sung Sang-yoon spat lightly, took the syringes from his pocket, and asked again.

"Do you still get calls from him?"

"Usually, we'd get a call every two to three days but we haven't heard from him in over a week."

"Why?"

"That, that's it. I'm not…Oh, right. I heard from my boss that he was leaving Hong Kong for Macau or Bangkok for the time being."

"Macao? Bangkok? Are you sure you don't know where?"

"It's likely to be Macau."

"Do you know why he went to Macau?"

"I don't know."

"You really don't know?"

"Really, I don't know. It's true."

"Okay! I'll trust you. Give me the account number where your boss deposited the funds, as well as the phone number from which he receives Jjang Chun's call."

"I don't know that now."

"You don't know the phone number too?"

"I'm not sure because it's not my boss's regular number. He uses a different one."

"This isn't going to work."

"I'm telling you the truth."

The tears that streamed down his cheeks did not appear to be a lie.

"Okay, I'll give you one more chance!"

Team leader Sung Sang-yoon stabbed Ryu Chingji's arm with the syringe he took out. Then, he administered the drug inside.

"Argh! Argh! What are you doing? I told you everything I knew, you punk!"

"Hey! Don't get too excited! You are not going to die. However, if you don't take the antidote within two days, I'm sure you know what will happen, right? You will have to be fed by others for the rest of your life."

"You punk! I'm going to kill you."

"In the next three days, if you find out your boss' previous number, account number, and where in Macau Jjang Chun is, I'll give you the cure."

"What drug did you give me?"

The pain that erupted in Ryu Chingji's body as the poison flew through was strong enough to cause him to break the chair he was tied to.

"If you're curious, go and see a doctor to seek treatment! Whether the treatment is possible...I think they'll admit you right away. You're infected with a new virus. For your knowledge, we have no interest in your organization or the drug trafficking business. We simply want information about Jjang Chun. So, instead of wasting any time, you should work hard over the next two days. The other two members were also given the same medication as you. I hope that persuades you to ensure that there won't be any issues."

While Sung Sang-yoon was speaking, Ryu Chingji had lost consciousness and had fallen.

"Hey! Get rid of them at a vacant lot nearby!"