Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1363

“So……”

Kim Myung-chan’s face hardened.

“They got away?”

NIS [National Intelligence Service] Director Choi Ki-nam swallowed hard.

“Not yet. It’s too early to say they’ve escaped, Prime Minister.”

When Kim Myung-chan didn’t relax his expression, Choi Ki-nam quickly continued.

“Their destination is obvious. They’re likely moving through Harbin to Vladivostok.”

“……Vladivostok?”

“Yes. From there, they’ll likely try to smuggle themselves out…”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes, I am. We’ve confirmed the route Lee Jong-wook established in Vladivostok. To be precise, it seems Jang Pil-jae built the route, but it was passed to Lee Jong-wook…”

“Listen, Director of the National Intelligence Service.”

“Yes, Prime Minister.”

“How many times have I heard you say ‘certain’?”

“……I apologize.”

Choi Ki-nam bit his lip slightly.

Basically, the position of the NIS Director is lower than that of the Prime Minister, but it wasn’t a position where he should be reprimanded by the Prime Minister like this.

Unlike tenured positions, appointed positions could be terminated at any time, and if the NIS, which handles national secrets, were to be swayed by appointed officials, it would not be able to properly perform its duties.

Therefore, it was customary for the NIS Director and the Prime Minister to ignore each other, but Kim Myung-chan was no ordinary Prime Minister. He was even called the President’s confidant. His power was unlike any previous Prime Minister.

“I heard you mobilized the military?”

“That is correct.”

“……And yet, you couldn’t stop them?”

Choi Ki-nam remained silent.

It was incredibly rude, but Kim Myung-chan couldn’t point out Choi Ki-nam’s rudeness. His mind was too preoccupied to worry about such trivial matters.

“Even with the People’s Army mobilized, you couldn’t stop two people from reaching Harbin…”

Kim Myung-chan’s face grew increasingly stern.

After a long silence, Kim Myung-chan raised his head and looked at Choi Ki-nam.

“So, what’s the plan?”

“The Chinese People’s Liberation Army will fortify the border.”

“Those who couldn’t stop them from moving from Beijing to Harbin can defend that vast border? Even ordinary people can cross the border without much difficulty. Are you saying you believe you can stop Kang Jin-ho from crossing?”

“……Of course, I don’t think it’s highly likely we can stop him. But the point isn’t whether we can stop them. The important thing is to track their route.”

“Continue.”

“To enter Korea, they will eventually have to use the sea route. As you know, there’s nothing unmanned forces can do on the sea.”

Kim Myung-chan narrowed his eyes.

“So… you’re going to wait for them to leisurely sail out to sea and then sink them?”

“Exactly.”

At that moment, Kim Myung-chan slammed his fist on the desk.

“Is that what you call a plan?”

Kim Myung-chan’s face was filled with rage.

“If they were the kind of guys who could be dealt with using such obvious methods, they would have been killed already!”

“We are considering all variables. We are not approaching the area with ships, considering the possibility of a ship being hijacked. We plan to proceed with the operation using only submarines. And those submarines will not be from our navy, but from China.”

“You don’t have to worry. The moment they enter the sea route, they are as good as dead. What we need to figure out now is whether they will use the East Sea or the West Sea.”

Kim Myung-chan glared at Choi Ki-nam with annoyance.

But he soon sighed and shook his head.

‘There’s no other way.’

The root of all these problems is that the South Korean military cannot be mobilized to deal with Kang Jin-ho.

China can mobilize the People’s Army to deal with the unmanned forces, but that is impossible in South Korea. Due to its history, the mobilization of the military in South Korea carries a significance that cannot be compared to other countries.

Especially for powerful figures like Kim Myung-chan and Choi Ki-nam.

They don’t have the authority, but if it were discovered that Kim Myung-chan had tried to mobilize the military for any reason, he would be waiting for trial in a cold detention center within 24 hours.

As long as he couldn’t handle it himself and had to rely on others, there was no way to resolve this frustration.

“Director of the National Intelligence Service.”

“Yes, Prime Minister.”

“What do you think will happen if he returns to Korea?”

“This is not something that can be resolved with your life or mine. Do you understand?”

“Of course.”

A deep worry settled on Kim Myung-chan’s face.

“Have you contacted the Russian side?”

“……The Chinese side will be in contact.”

Kim Myung-chan chuckled.

“So, we’re just going to sit here and watch what China does while they handle our affairs.”

“I apologize, Prime Minister.”

“Why should you apologize?”

Kim Myung-chan rubbed his eyes. After a moment, Kim Myung-chan spoke in a low voice.

“Listen, Director of the National Intelligence Service.”

“Yes, Prime Minister.”

“I’ll trust you. Handle this flawlessly.”

“Don’t worry. I will complete the mission without fail.”

“Alright. You may go.”

“Yes. Then.”

As the NIS Director left the residence, Kim Myung-chan took out a cigarette.

Click.

Kim Myung-chan lit the cigarette and leaned back in his chair.

‘I’m a mess.’

He hadn’t slept for days, and his head felt like it wasn’t working properly.

As the situation unfolded, one thought kept lingering in his mind.

‘Where did it all go wrong?’

He thought it was a perfect plan.

Realistically, it was almost impossible for South Korea to eliminate Kang Jin-ho. The difference in power was not even a consideration. The question was how much power could be mobilized to eliminate Kang Jin-ho.

There was almost no way to eliminate Kang Jin-ho, who was living in South Korea. Just thinking about whether it was possible to bring a mechanized division into the middle of Seoul and request air force support, the answer was obvious.

Special forces?

They would be annihilated before they could even fire a shot. Kim Myung-chan’s calculations were correct. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army was proving that now.

Therefore, two things had to be done first to eliminate Kang Jin-ho.

The first was an organization that could mobilize enough power to eliminate Kang Jin-ho.

And the second was a place where mobilizing that much power wouldn’t be a problem.

‘There was no other option.’

Kim Myung-chan chewed on the cigarette filter.

There was only one place that satisfied these two conditions.

China, and the People’s Liberation Army.

He had secured the perfect place and the perfect power. He had used his political skills to the fullest to negotiate a deal that wouldn’t harm his side.

If it had worked out, this could have been the greatest achievement of Kim Myung-chan’s political career. But the result was twisted, and now East Asia was on edge because of the actions of one man.

What went wrong?

Kim Myung-chan let out a hollow laugh.

‘There couldn’t have been a problem.’

If there was a problem, it was only that Kang Jin-ho’s power, which he thought he had perfectly understood, was beyond his expectations.

Kim Myung-chan got up from his seat.

Kim Myung-chan stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray and went out of the room to the elevator. Kim Myung-chan went down to the second basement floor, dismissed his guards, and headed to a room in the corner.

“Open it.”

“Yes.”

He opened the locked door and went inside. His aides tried to follow him, but Kim Myung-chan waved his hand to stop them.

“I’ll go in alone, don’t follow me.”

“B-but, Prime Minister.”

“Do as I say.”

“……Yes.”

Kim Myung-chan closed the door and turned his head. He saw a man sitting in a dark corner of the room.

“I don’t know if the food is to your liking.”

The man who had been crouching in the corner slowly raised his head.

“……Anyone would think I’m a pro-democracy activist captured by the Agency for National Security Planning [a former South Korean intelligence agency]. Don’t give me that hollow look, I haven’t even tortured you.”

“Isn’t this torture? What else is torture?”

The man chuckled.

“Taking away a smartphone from a modern person, not giving them a computer, and taking away the TV and radio, if that’s not torture, what is?”

“I gave you books, didn’t I?”

“You’re too old-fashioned, Prime Minister. Kids these days don’t read that stuff.”

Kim Myung-chan chuckled.

Whether he was bold or had given up, he was still joking in this situation.

“Listen, Lee.”

“Yes. What is it, Prime Minister?”

Kim Myung-chan stared at Lee Jong-wook for a moment before speaking.

“Are you uncomfortable?”

“How could I be uncomfortable? I was dragged to a safe house, and I haven’t had my fingernails pulled out or my bones broken. I should be grateful for three lifetimes, so how could I dare to talk about being uncomfortable?”

“What kind of era is this?”

Lee Jong-wook chuckled.

“I think I’m lucky it’s this era. If it were thirty years ago, I’d be chicken feed by now, wouldn’t I?”

There was a bone in his soft voice.

“And… I don’t think you came all the way here just to ask that. Don’t waste your precious time and just tell me what you want. I’ll answer anything.”

Kim Myung-chan took a cigarette from his pocket and threw it to Lee Jong-wook. Lee Jong-wook silently took the cigarette.

“Is this a new kind of torture? You give me a cigarette, but no lighter…”

Before he could finish, Kim Myung-chan threw a lighter to Lee Jong-wook.

Lee Jong-wook took out a cigarette, lit it without a word, and then got up from his seat and approached Kim Myung-chan. He politely offered the cigarette and lighter.

Kim Myung-chan took a cigarette and spoke.

“Why did you do it?”

“……What do you mean?”

Kim Myung-chan slowly exhaled cigarette smoke.

“I trusted you not because of your abilities. It was because I believed in your loyalty and patriotism.”

Kim Myung-chan’s eyes sank.

“Yes, that’s right. I believed that no matter what happened, you would never betray me. Even if Choi Ki-nam betrayed me, I believed you would never betray me and would give your life for the country.”

Lee Jong-wook smoked his cigarette without answering.

“But why did you betray me?”

The small space was quickly filled with cigarette smoke.

The hazy, cloudy space seemed to reflect the reality they were experiencing.

Frustrating and… unpleasant.

“Did you say betrayal?”

“Yes, I did.”

“You’re mistaken. I have never betrayed you.”

“Are you trying to play word games?”

“You’re the one playing word games, Prime Minister. No, to be precise, you don’t even know what you’re doing right now.”

Kim Myung-chan’s face slightly contorted.

“Are you saying that not opposing Kang Jin-ho is patriotism? You wouldn’t say something like that, would you?”

A sneer appeared on Lee Jong-wook’s lips.

“Prime Minister.”

“Speak.”

“What do you think is the reason why those who were respected by everyone and pursued the greater good even at the risk of their lives before entering politics become corrupted when they gain power?”

Kim Myung-chan’s face hardened.