Chapter 365: Ha! How Long Do We Have to Wait?

"Vice Chairman, we're in trouble!"

Minister He Lifei sat down on the sofa and addressed Vice Chairman Tang Guochang in an anxious voice.

"What on earth has happened to make you panic like this?"

"The rumors about the Chairman are spreading at an unstoppable rate."

"What did you say?!"

Vice Chairman Tang Guochang reacted with a stunned expression, as though he were genuinely shocked.

Minister He Lifei lowered his gaze and remained silent for a moment, waiting to be addressed again.

As a result, a profound silence settled over Vice Chairman Tang Guochang's spacious office.

After a while, he spoke as though something had just occurred to him.

"Didn't we establish control over the internet to prevent rumors about the Chairman from spreading?"

"That's right, but hackers have breached the firewalls installed on the main servers of the internet portals."

Vice Chairman Tang Guochang found this strange.

Companies that operated internet portals had practically flawless firewalls installed to protect against hacking attacks.

Yet somehow, the hackers had managed to penetrate those defenses.

He directly asked Minister He Lifei how such a thing was even possible.

"I'm wondering the same thing, Vice Chairman Tang, but the fact remains that the firewall has been breached."

"Then block their access again. What's the problem?"

"The hackers' attack is so powerful that we still haven't managed to do that."

"Haa, unbelievable!"

"If the Chairman receives a report about this, it'll be a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions."

Chairman Xi Jinping had secretly accumulated a fund of $756 billion without the public's knowledge, only to have the entire amount stolen.

To replenish the lost funds, he had pressured eleven banks into lending him an enormous sum of money.

However, after investing that money in gold futures, he had suffered nothing but colossal losses.

If the public learned these facts, they certainly wouldn't let the matter slide.

That was precisely what Minister He Lifei was worried about now.

"I suppose you're right."

"So what should we do in this situation?"

"What can I possibly do?"

Bzzzt—

At that moment, the phone Minister He Lifei was holding vibrated.

After glancing at the screen, he informed Vice Chairman Tang Guochang that Chief of Staff Zhang Hui of the Central Committee was calling.

Looking utterly dejected, he spoke briefly with Chief of Staff Zhang Hui before hanging up.

"Minister He, what did Chief Zhang say?"

"The Chairman is absolutely furious."

"That's understandable. Go to the Chairman immediately."

Looking as though he had just lost his country, Minister He Lifei opened the office door and left.

Vice Chairman Tang Guochang decided that the right moment had arrived and hurriedly called Cha Jiham.

After several rings, he heard his voice.

[Vice Chairman Tang, I'm listening.]

"Director Cha, we're in trouble!"

[Calm down. I'm perfectly aware of the situation currently unfolding in China.]

"Don't tell me..."

Vice Chairman Tang Guochang faltered, as though he had realized something.

[You're thinking along the right lines, Vice Chairman Tang.]

"So my suspicions were correct. Explain in more detail what's going on."

[The first person to spread the rumor about Chairman Xi was Chairman Zhen Weiliang.]

"Chairman Zhen?"

[The most important condition for the success of your coup is nationwide protests against Chairman Xi. However, there are fewer than one hundred days left until the end of the year, and there still haven't been any signs of such protests.]

Vice Chairman Tang Guochang couldn't blame Chairman Zhen Weiliang.

After all, the man was doing everything in his power to ensure the success of his coup d'état.

But the situation with Cha Jiham was different.

He hadn't passed along such important information.

Pointing this out, Tang Guochang directly asked him why.

[I thought Chairman Zhen had already contacted you.]

"If that's what you're saying, then I have nothing more to argue about. Please continue."

[The Ministry of State Security and the police took extreme measures and established control over the internet to stop the rumors from spreading.]

"And because of that, the rumors died down almost immediately, correct?"

[You're right, Vice Chairman Tang. Chairman Zhen considered that an unfortunate setback and asked me to find a way to make the rumors spread with renewed force. And I lived up to his expectations.]

At that moment, a suspicion flashed through Vice Chairman Tang Guochang's mind.

"Director Cha, did Director Om use National Intelligence Service operatives to spread the rumors?"

[Director Om did get involved, but he didn't deploy any NIS operatives.]

"Then who are these hackers?"

[Operatives from North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau who were operating in Dandong have defected to our country.]

North Korea employed RGB operatives to hack cryptocurrency systems and obtain dollars.

Because of the deplorable state of the internet inside North Korea, the RGB's elite personnel had been permanently stationed in Dandong.

Under the protection of the now-deceased Politburo member Liu Peiqi, they had been engaged in cryptocurrency hacking.

Fortunately, through the combined efforts of the NIS, CIA, and FBI, they had been abducted and successfully transported to South Korea.

"Are you saying it was those RGB operatives who breached the internet portal companies' firewalls?"

[Exactly, Vice Chairman Tang. Now we're getting to the most important part, so listen carefully.]

"I'm listening. Go on."

[Because of the breach of the internet portals' firewalls, Minister He Lifei has found himself in a critical situation.]

"He came to see me just before this, and during our conversation, Chairman Xi summoned him."

[I see. For Minister He to get himself out of this predicament...]

As he listened to Cha Jiham's words, Vice Chairman Tang Guochang felt goosebumps rising all over his body.

If events unfolded according to his plan, Minister He Lifei would easily overcome this crisis.

Moreover, there was a strong possibility that Chairman Xi Jinping would even praise him.

And as an added bonus, Minister He would end up completely under his control.

While Tang Guochang shook his head in amazement at Cha Jiham's astonishing insight and cold, calculated judgment, their conversation drew to a close.

[...As soon as we finish this call, I'll send you the list of generals and officers serving at North Korea's nuclear weapons storage facilities.]

"Director Cha, thank you so much!"

[You understand why we're helping you, don't you, Vice Chairman Tang?]

"Of course. Once I seize power, I'll generously reward both South Korea and you personally, Director Cha."

[Ha-ha. It's a deal. You don't have much time, so let's end the call here.]

Click.

Shortly after the conversation ended, his phone vibrated briefly.

Cha Jiham must have sent the list of generals and officers stationed at North Korea's nuclear facilities.

Vice Chairman Tang Guochang wasted no time forwarding the message to Minister He Lifei.

"Heh-heh. Now all that's left is to wait."

Bzzzt—

As he muttered to himself, the phone in his hand vibrated.

Knowing who was calling, he answered without delay.

"Minister He, are you calling about the message I sent you?"

[That's right, Vice Chairman Tang.]

"I received the message I forwarded to you from Kim Changho, the head of North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau."

In reality, Vice Chairman Tang Guochang had received it from Cha Jiham.

But since he couldn't tell Minister He Lifei the truth, he lied without batting an eye.

[Can you tell me what kind of information it contains?]

"You've already figured it out yourself, haven't you, Minister He?"

[I'm sincerely grateful for your kindness, Vice Chairman Tang.]

"There's no need for such formalities. Now, let me tell you how to get out of this mess."

[I'm listening carefully.]

"As for the breached firewall of the internet portals..."

***

"Chief Zhang, why aren't those two here yet?!"

Chairman Xi Jinping pressed Chief of Staff Zhang Hui of the Central Committee in an irritated voice.

"I just checked. Minister Chen and Minister He should arrive at almost the same time."

"Fine. But who is behind this?"

Chief of Staff Zhang Hui desperately wanted to know that himself.

Internet portals were constantly subjected to attacks, so their firewalls were constructed in multiple layers.

Nevertheless, the hackers had managed to breach those defenses.

"I've already ordered the MSS and the police to identify those responsible, so we'll know soon enough."

"Ha! And how long do we have to wait?"

"Perhaps we should trust in the professionalism of the MSS and the police?"

"Ah, enough of that. Have the rumors about me been blocked?"

"Well, the thing is... The hackers' attack is so powerful that we still haven't managed to block them."

Chairman Xi Jinping fixed Chief Zhang Hui with a ferocious glare and lit a cigarette.

To avoid angering him even further, Chief Zhang Hui lowered his head toward the floor.

A moment later, after exhaling clouds of smoke into the air, the Chairman asked quietly,

"What will happen if these rumors about me spread?"

"I believe it will have an extremely negative effect on your position."

"And knowing that, you still couldn't block the rumors?"

"I have no excuse to offer."

Knock, knock, knock.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door, and Minister of Public Security Chen Yirun and MSS Minister He Lifei entered the office.

Both men bowed slightly to Chairman Xi Jinping, who was seated at the head of the table, and sat down on the vacant sofa.

At that very moment, Chairman Xi Jinping spoke with a venomous, sardonic sneer.

"When exactly did I summon you?"

"...I apologize."

Minister He Lifei, who had a plan of his own, decided not to apologize to Chairman Xi Jinping.

"I was personally directing an emergency operation, so I couldn't arrive any sooner."

"So what? Are you saying the MSS has repelled the hackers' attack?"

"The emergency operation I'm referring to was something else entirely."

"And what was it?"

"For the past several days, I've deployed MSS operatives to carry out an operation to obtain a list of high-ranking generals and officers serving at North Korea's nuclear weapons storage facilities."

"Is that so? And did you obtain the list?"

Chairman Xi Jinping asked with genuine curiosity in his voice.

"Fortunately, we obtained it an hour ago."

"Ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Chairman Xi Jinping burst into booming laughter, unable to conceal his delight.

Minister He Lifei waited for his laughter to subside before continuing.

"Because I was personally directing this emergency operation, I was unable to devote sufficient attention to blocking the hackers' access to the internet portals. I apologize."

"You're making it sound as though, once the MSS operatives get involved, they'll be able to block the breached firewall. Is that true?"

Minister He Lifei had anticipated such a question from Chairman Xi Jinping.

That was why he had asked Vice Chairman Tang Guochang in advance exactly how he should respond.

Recalling the instructions he had received, he answered Chairman Xi's question.

"You're absolutely right, Chairman. We'll have everything blocked by noon at the latest."

"Can I trust your word, Minister He?"

'Well, Vice Chairman Tang guaranteed the result.'

"I'll do everything in my power to block them."

"Ha-ha-ha. I understand."

At that moment, Chief of Staff Zhang Hui of the Central Committee, who had a question of his own, interjected.

"Minister He, have you verified whether the information obtained by the MSS operatives is genuine?"

Minister He Lifei had anticipated this question and prepared a flawless answer in advance.

"The MSS operatives hacked into RGB Director Kim Changho's computer and extracted the information directly from it."

"Is that true?!"

Before Chief of Staff Zhang Hui could react, Chairman Xi Jinping himself exclaimed in astonishment.

"That's exactly right, Chairman."

"Was there anything among the information obtained from Director Kim's computer that I should know about?"

Minister He Lifei decided that the decisive moment had arrived.

Depending on how he answered now, the situation could change dramatically.

Recalling the details of his conversation with Vice Chairman Tang Guochang, he slowly replied,

"We've established that North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau was behind the breach of the internet portals' firewalls."

"What did you say?!"

Everyone present in the office expressed extreme astonishment at the same time.

A couple of moments later, Chairman Xi Jinping asked with a bewildered expression,

"Minister He, do you know why those North Koreans would do such a thing?"

"We were investigating whether Kim Jonghun had hidden his secret funds in our country. It seems rumors about that investigation reached Kim Jonghun himself."

"Are you saying they attacked the internet portals to warn us and force us to leave their secret money alone?"

"There's simply no other explanation."

"Hmm..."

Chairman Xi Jinping hesitated, resting his chin on his hand with his elbow propped against the armrest of the sofa, and sank into thought.

His deliberation didn't last long. Straightening up, he asked Minister He Lifei,

"So how should we respond to Kim Jonghun's warning?"

"Until we destroy their nuclear weapons storage facilities, it would be best to pretend that we've heeded their warning."

"Very well. Let's do that."

Chairman Xi Jinping made his final decision without much hesitation.