I'm not ready to talk yet
Raichangxing rolled his eyes in surprise at the name coming out of my mouth.
"No matter how much I think about it, it's strange. What you did in China is a huge crime even in China. The media reported it as smuggling, but… As far as I know, there were drugs among the smuggled goods. In China, anyone caught with drugs gets a heavy sentence. But the Chinese government doesn't make much effort to arrest you."
Lai Changxing, as reported by the media, is known as China's biggest economic criminal.
The amount of tax evasion he incurred was over 5 trillion won, and he distributed some of this enormous amount to high-ranking Communist Party officials with no sanctions.
But the real identity of Raichangxing was that of a drug dealer who distributed and sold drugs.
As Yoo Seong-jin's case shows, China has shown little mercy toward drug offenders.
China, which has memories of being trampled by Western powers over the drug opium in the past, has adopted a particularly strict punishment policy when it comes to drugs.
"Am I wrong? Jiang Zemin used you to eliminate his enemies. But he secretly left a backdoor open for you to escape. If he had intended, you would never have been able to escape mainland China."
Raichangxing swallowed hard.
"That was really strange. That's why I gave the order to approach you secretly, and as soon as Jiang Zemin realized that I had you, he threatened to hand you over. Isn't that strange? For someone in power behind the scenes in China to be the first to demand that a smuggler like you be handed over."
"······I don't know. What on earth are you talking about?"
As if he was trying to pretend not to know, Raichangxing avoided my eyes and answered.
I chuckled at his obvious lie and pulled my body forward.
"Really? You don't know? Then I can hand you over to the Chinese police?"
"what?"
"There's no reason to protect you when you don't know anything. Wouldn't it be better to hand you over and take something from them?"
"······That promise was broken."
"You've been talking about promises all along, but your promise to protect you only works if you're going to be of help to us."
I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms.
I could see Raichangxing looking at my complexion anxiously.
"There are many ways to get people to open their mouths. But humans are intelligent animals. But there are some people who want to use the low-level physical conversation instead of the high-level conversation method. No, most of them do."
I took a deep breath and asked with the corners of my lips curled up.
"I wonder if you are that kind of person too."
Raichangxing's eyes shook violently. I pointed at Director Ma with an exaggerated gesture.
"The director here, as well as most of the others, are experts. They are skilled at using their bodies. How about it? Do you want to talk to those people instead of me?"
Raichangxing's anxious gaze turned to Director Ma behind me.
He didn't seem to doubt what I said, since he had already been hit once.
"If you give me the answers I want, I will never send you to China. I promise."
The mere existence of a nuclear bomb poses a threat.
But the moment you use it, everyone dies.
Even if I got the information from Raichangxing, I had no intention of using it. Well, I might use it for blackmail purposes, though.
"Which side are you on, Laichangxing?"
Advertisements
That was the last question.
If I didn't open my mouth any more, I was going to get up without any regrets.
If you leave it to Director Ma, he will be able to find out everything Raichangxing knows within an hour.
"······."
Laichangxing chose silence. I nodded and got up from my chair.
As I stood up, I spoke to Director Ma in Korean.
"Sir, can you give me an hour?"
"Yes. I will tell you everything I know."
"Okay. Then······."
I looked down at Raichangxing once and then continued speaking.
"Take me."
Director Ma glanced at the men nearby, and they slowly approached Raichangxing.
Since we were talking in Korean, I couldn't understand what was being said, but I think I could tell from the atmosphere.
"Oh, don't come!"
Raichangxing waved his hands wildly with a bloodless face.
But the men paid no attention and grabbed his arms and lifted him up.
"What! Stop it! Let go!"
Laichangxing continued to shout in Chinese and twisted his body.
"Let go!"
He screamed so loudly that his ears were burning, but the men didn't waver at all and dragged him out.
The moment Director Ma bowed his head towards me and turned his body again.
"I'll tell you everything. Don't! Please don't!"
Laichangxing shouted urgently. But I shook my head slowly.
"The ship has already sailed."
"I'm going to bite my tongue and die! I'm serious!"
Laichangxing threatened me with his life.
I met his eyes, smiling and shaking with anxiety.
"If you want to die, die. If you can."
After saying that, he turned around and went out.
Behind me, Raichangxing kept shouting something, but it sounded like a dog barking, so I ignored it and kept walking.
"I will serve you."
The person in charge I had just introduced followed me as if he was aware of it.
"Is there a place with a good view? I want to get some fresh air."
"Yes, I will serve you."
He took me towards a watchtower that stood tall to watch the outside.
Advertisements
I climbed to the top and looked out at the distant view of the sea, and lost myself in thought for a moment.
'There is something······.'
Raichangxing made a pointless threat to bite off my tongue, but I know people like that very well.
They were a group of people who feared death more than anyone else. They would do anything to save their lives.
How much time had passed? The person in charge called me.
"boss."
I turned my gaze from the sea to look at him.
"Director Ma is down below."
At those words, I looked down at the watchtower. Chief Ma was looking up at this place.
As we came down from the watchtower, Chief Ma gave a concise report.
"They said they would tell everything."
He nodded and went back into the house.
The face was intact, but all of the fingernails and toenails were pulled out.
"So listen when I speak nicely."
He clicked his tongue as he looked at Lai Changxing, who was slumped over on his chair. At those words, Lai Changxing began to sob.
I nodded as I sat down across from him.
"Now tell me."
"The Shanghai gang helped me smuggle. I don't know how much Chairman Jiang Zemin is involved. I've never met him······."
Laichangxing opened his mouth with difficulty. What he said next was quite shocking.
"······So what you're saying is that you smuggled money by holding the Shanghai faction's line while also distributing it to the Crown Prince's Party and the Communist Youth League?"
"Yeah. That's why no one tries to catch me. When I open my mouth······."
"Evidence? Is there no direct evidence other than your testimony?"
This wasn't a card that could be used at all without evidence.
"I have a ledger to prove who I met and who I gave money to."
Well then, that's right. The higher-ups must have told them not to leave any evidence behind, but these authors inevitably left evidence behind.
But that's not all there is. There must have been something more certain.
"Just a ledger? You didn't record or film it? A guy like you wouldn't believe in just a ledger, would you?"
Raichangxing looked at me and then spoke hesitantly.
"Here it is."
I knew it. Finally, I have something useful to do. I clapped my hands in delight.
"Okay. Pass it on."
But Laichangxing didn't answer. Look at this? He's still not completely recovered.
I sighed and shook my head.
"I'm not ready to talk yet."
"No! I'll give it to you! I'll give it to you, but promise me one thing instead."
Advertisements
At my sigh, he raised his head urgently and began to sob again.
When I raised my eyebrows as if to tell him to speak, Raichangxing clapped his hands.
"Please protect me and my family in a safe place..."
"Don't worry about that. Even though you won't be able to roam freely, I will make sure you live a comfortable life on the European island I own."
Li Changxing must never die.
No matter how much evidence there was, there was bound to come a time when this person would be used. If he was to be used then, he had to be kept hidden.
But his eyes were filled with distrust. I snickered and shrugged.
"If I had intended to kill you, I would never have brought you to Korea in the first place. And I even tried to have a gentlemanly conversation with you at first. But you were the one who refused."
"······I'll believe you."
"That's right. Where is it? Is it in China?"
He shook his head weakly in response to my question. He seemed to have lost all his energy.
"It's in a secret vault in a bank in Switzerland."
"You must also tell me the code number and password."
The secret vault does not require any proof of identity.
Only the code number and password are meaningful.
"C178A······."
Raichangxing said the code number and password.
"Sir."
"Yes. I will contact the staff in Switzerland immediately to secure it."
Director Ma took out his cell phone and made a call.
"Okay. Once we have the evidence, we'll treat you. You'll stay here for a while, and then we'll send you to Europe where your family is."
"Hey, keep your promise."
Who do you think those Chinese guys are? I nodded and got up from my seat.
"Once the evidence is secured, I'll treat you. If there's anything you want to eat, bring it to me. No alcohol. Didn't you say you wanted coffee earlier?"
"All right."
The men took him to treat Laichangxing.
He glanced at me anxiously as he was being dragged away, but I ignored him.
"Let's go back. Tell them to bring the evidence back to Korea as soon as they have it."
"Yes. I have already relayed that. I think I can secure it within an hour. And boss······."
Director Ma came closer and whispered something to me.
As expected, a big shot was involved. It felt good to finally have a good hand after a long time.
"Since he calls himself Lin······. Now I understand why Jiang Zemin wanted Lai Changxing."
The hand called Lai Chang-shing was a royal straight flush.
* * *
A few days later.
Advertisements
The ledger and evidence arrived safely in my hands.
"This woman is Lin Yufang, the self-proclaimed wife of Lin."
The video showed Lai Changxing meeting Zhao Lin's wife and handing her money and gold bars.
The picture quality wasn't that great, but I could tell who she was.
And in another video, he is seen handing money to Xi Jinping.
"We have also secured the card that can overthrow Xi Jinping······."
Another video showed Song Defu, Hu Jintao's alleged successor.
However, using this card was of little use, as Song Defu was already in the terminal stages of lung cancer.
"That's why Hu Jintao didn't take the initiative."
It would be easier for him to sink together with the person who is going to die than to actively secure Li Changxing.
In addition, high-ranking politicians and high-ranking officials were individually photographed.
"If this is the case, I won't get stabbed in the back of the head by Hu Jintao."
After checking the ledger, I called Wen Jiabao at the number we had agreed on in advance.
- Mr. Kim. It's been a while.
"Yes, Prime Minister. It's been a while."
― I'm sorry I couldn't contact you. I also wasn't in a good situation······.
"No, I understand. I heard you were put under house arrest."
- Thank you for your understanding.
After a brief greeting, I got straight to the point.
"We have secured testimony from Raichangxing."
- Is that true?
"Yes. But, Prime Minister, I have one question for you."
- Go ahead.
"If you had to choose between me and Hu Jintao, who would you choose?"
―······That's a difficult question to answer.
"But please answer me. It's essential for us to have an open conversation."
Wen Jiabao, who had been silent for a while, spoke in a low whisper.
― Would you believe me if I said I would choose President Kim?
"I'll be the judge of that. Just tell me."
If you give him just a little bit of space, he'll slip away like a snake.
I pushed him without giving him even a little bit of room to maneuver.
"If you don't give me an answer right now, I will have no more dealings with you, Prime Minister."
- Mr. Kim.
"Please answer."
Wen Jiabao let out a small sigh and opened his mouth.
Advertisements
―······Isn't my partner Mr. Kim? I have no choice but to choose you.
There was no way to know if what he said was true or not.
Still, I wanted that answer.
"Okay, I will believe you."
― Is that all you wanted to hear? Aren't you trusting me too easily?
At the voice full of questions, I laughed out loud as if to tell others to listen.
"It's not about trusting the Prime Minister, it's about trusting me."
―······.
"First of all, Laichangxing is also related to Song Defu."
- What? Is that true?
"Yes. There is a video of Song Defu receiving money from Lai Changxing."
Song Defu was the current Fujian Province Party Secretary sent by Hu Jintao. He was also sent by Hu Jintao himself.
―······There's no one I can trust.
"President Hu Jintao probably knew about this. That's why he sent the person down to Fujian Province to avoid leaving behind any evidence."
Xi Jinping, who was the party secretary at the time, was also involved with Lai Changxing.
But Xi Jinping handled the incident lukewarmly, and Hu Jintao sent him to Zhejiang Province.
"That's why we can't leave everything to President Hu Jintao. This time, the Prime Minister should take the lead and carry out the work."
I intended to use Wen Jiabao as a messenger to check Hu Jintao and pressure Jiang Zemin.
< Not ready to talk yet > End