My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 432

“Did you find out where that organization is?”

“We know they’re connected to the Triads, but…”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“……”

“Are you telling me you don’t know their location, affiliation, or even how many people are being held!”

“I’m sorry, Prime Minister.”

If things are left as they are, China will, of course, carry out a rescue operation. But that would be the worst-case scenario for us. How big of a shock would it be if our own people realized that their country couldn’t even protect them properly?

With pro-China factions already gaining power within Taiwan due to China’s long-standing strategy, neglecting this issue could lead to a pro-China victory in the next election, potentially endangering Taiwan’s independence.

“The only way is for us to pay to get them back.”

“Pay the kidnappers?”

“Yes, we have no choice.”

Taiwan has neither the authority to investigate nor the means to conduct a rescue operation.

Yet, we can’t just abandon them.

“Ugh.”

“Korea has also negotiated with the Taliban, paid money, and brought their citizens back.”

“But…”

“Prime Minister, I understand your concerns. But that’s a problem for later; right now, the lives of those captured are the priority.”

Indeed, it’s not just one or two people, but hundreds, even thousands, who are being held. Even if it were the United States, if thousands of its citizens were captured in another country, the options would be force or negotiation. Taiwan, unable to use force, has no choice but to negotiate.

“What does Korea say?”

“They say they will cover the cost of rescuing their citizens.”

“Ugh…!”

At those words, the Prime Minister could only grit his teeth.

“Is there a way to contact them?”

“The Korean government has provided a phone number.”

“Start negotiating. We can’t let them all die at the hands of the Chinese bastards.”

With no other choice, the Prime Minister had no option but to grit his teeth.

# Negotiation and Deception

As Park Do-joon said, Taiwan urgently began negotiations, desperate to rescue its citizens before the Chinese government stepped in and crushed them. At the same time, Wang Woo-hwan entered Myanmar and was raising his voice with key figures within the organization.

“We must kill them all.”

“What?”

“If we leave even one alive, they’ll have an excuse to track us down.”

“Are you making sense? Don’t you know we’re negotiating with Taiwan?”

“Money isn’t the issue. If we negotiate like this, we’ll become major targets.”

“Are you saying that if we kill them, China and Taiwan won’t target us?”

“That’s…”

Wang Woo-hwan was speechless at those words. Because they were true. With thousands dead and the situation exposed, China and Taiwan would never leave them alone.

“We’re targets anyway. Wouldn’t it be better to take the money and send them back cleanly?”

Indeed, killing them and sending them back alive would create different levels of pressure in the pursuit.

‘That’s true, but.’

Wang Woo-hwan couldn’t help but know how these negotiations work. He is a profiler, after all.

‘But why am I so uneasy?’

Everything the organization says is correct. But an inexplicable sense of unease was gripping him.

“Furthermore, do you know what the Karen [an ethnic group in Myanmar] are saying right now?”

“What are they saying?”

“They say we’ll have to kill them first if we want to kill the hostages.”

“What?”

“We can leave, but they can’t, can they?”

From China’s perspective, if all the Taiwanese people they declared as Chinese die, they would have to retaliate. And the Karen, who are settled, are much easier to deal with than Chinese criminals whose whereabouts are unknown.

Bombing them with fighter jets and crushing them with helicopters would grind down even the Karen.

“Let me ask you. In this situation, what do you think is the best course of action?”

“That’s…”

Wang Woo-hwan gritted his teeth at the obvious answer.

“To agree to the negotiation, receive the money, and release them.”

That way, they could receive a considerable amount of money from Taiwan. It’s not just about the money. If Taiwan takes them, China won’t have a reason to retaliate.

Because, contrary to their claims, they would become Taiwanese.

“Then we’ll be safe.”

Of course, there might be attacks on the organization within China, but that could be smoothed over by distributing some money within the organization. International attention would be focused on Myanmar, not China.

“If China has no reason to come to Myanmar, then the Karen have no reason to be in danger either. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s correct.”

“But you’re insisting that we kill them all. Tell me why.”

“……”

Wang Woo-hwan was speechless. It was just a feeling. Of course, as a profiler, his specialty is predicting the other party’s behavior patterns and designing accordingly. But this time, it was impossible. Rather….

‘I’ve been read?’

The thought suddenly occurred to Wang Woo-hwan. His behavior patterns, the Karen’s behavior patterns, the organization’s behavior patterns, even China’s and Taiwan’s behavior patterns, had all been read.

‘Who?’

But who could have read all of this? Taiwan? Those incompetent fools? China? There’s no one there with the judgment to use the Party like that.

To be precise, anyone who tried that would risk their own life, so all profilers in China unconsciously try to block variables that could endanger the Party.

He, as a Chinese profiler, knows that better than anyone.

‘But now, instead of that, they’re using the Party’s power.’

Then the Myanmar military? All those guys know how to do is shoot.

‘Who the hell is it?’

Wang Woo-hwan, unaware of the existence of the one Korean among the hostages, felt a chill down his spine.

“So, what do you think?”

“That’s…”

Having been read, the best way is to create variables in a way that the guy can’t anticipate. But there are too many dangerous factors to do that. First of all, the Karen wouldn’t just stand by.

They have to send the merchandise back alive to stop China.

“I think it would be best to return them through negotiation.”

In the end, Wang Woo-hwan had no choice but to admit that there was nothing he could do.

A simple plan to save people through negotiation. And Taiwan sent people for that purpose. But there was a Korean among them.

“Will everything be alright?”

“As long as that idiot Lee Sang-won doesn’t blurt out that he’s Assemblyman Lee Eok-ho’s son.”

Since there was only one victim from Korea, sending too many people to rescue him would raise suspicion. So, Yoon Tae-min stepped forward, and Park Do-joon was dispatched to help Yoon Tae-min.

“Wouldn’t it be better to leave it to Taiwan?”

“No. That’s not an option. Taiwan isn’t interested in our citizens. They might even cut corners to save money.”

Park Do-joon said, looking at the passing forest outside the window. The negotiation location they proposed in Myanmar was unknown to anyone, so the only way to get there was by car.

“So, as I said, our negotiation should take place after Taiwan’s is finished.”

“Why?”

“Because those guys will be exhausted.”

Negotiations are bound to be exhausting if they drag on. Moreover, in the current situation, neither Taiwan nor the Triads have time. Both sides have the mental burden that China will intervene if too much time passes.

“After negotiating quickly, the human trafficking organization will definitely be exhausted. In that situation, there’s no reason for them to prolong negotiations with us.”

Moreover, it’s not like there are many people; it’s just one person.

“Of course, if we ask for the same conditions as Taiwan, they’ll definitely object. So, offer to give them about 100 million won [approximately $75,000 USD] more.”

If we give them too much money, they’ll be suspicious, and if we ask for the same conditions, the negotiations will likely drag on a bit because the country is different, and it’s true that Korea is a bit better off than Taiwan, so they’ll naturally want to squeeze out a bit more.

“But 100 million won should be enough for them to be satisfied and back down.”

Of course, that amount isn’t a huge burden for Lee Eok-ho, a major politician in Korea.

“Then the negotiation will end without any problems.”

“Yes.”

If we had started negotiating from the beginning, how much would they have asked for? At least 1 billion, 2 billion won.

But with the big case of Taiwan over, they’re exhausted, and there’s no point in holding out in that situation, so they’ll reach a reasonable agreement.

“China is just lending its name and not getting any benefits.”

“Well, it ends with just creating a brief issue, but even that wouldn’t be a loss for China.”

Of course, we can’t ignore the possibility that the Chinese military might directly intervene in the worst-case scenario, but since neither Taiwan nor the criminals want that to happen, we can safely assume that things won’t go that way.

“Here it is.”

A tent spread out in the middle of a desolate field. Entering inside, there were guys wearing masks to hide their identities.

“For now, let’s stay behind while the Taiwanese are negotiating.”

“Understood.”

The situation has already been communicated, so there were no problems. But there was one thing. There was something Park Do-joon hadn’t considered.

‘That guy?’

Wang Woo-hwan, who was sitting at the negotiation table wearing a mask, widened his eyes as he spotted Park Do-joon.

‘Why the hell is that guy here?’

In this situation, Wang Woo-hwan was the most skilled at negotiating. Of course, the criminals could negotiate themselves, but they thought it would be possible to squeeze out more if there was an expert, so they called Wang Woo-hwan.

Of course, he had seen several photos of Park Do-joon in Korea, so he couldn’t fail to recognize him.

‘Could that bastard be behind all of this?’

Of course, that possibility didn’t seem high. But just because the possibility is low doesn’t mean there’s no possibility at all.

No, in the first place, it doesn’t make sense for Park Do-joon to come here in a situation where the possibility is low.

‘Is it that guy?’

And Wang Woo-hwan could intuitively tell. That Park Do-joon was involved in this case.

‘Why?’

It didn’t make sense. Of course, each country knows that profilers are involved in negotiations and other cases. But for decades, Korea has been very reluctant to involve profilers in political issues. Because that way, they can hold and wield more power.

‘But they’re sending a profiler for just one person? No way, looking at the Korean government’s approach so far… That’s it. Korea… I left out Korea.’

Wang Woo-hwan, who had only thought about Taiwan, China, and Myanmar, suddenly had a thought in his head.

His true calling is a profiler.