My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 438

“We can’t afford to suffer the same losses as those guys.”

The men, clearly the brains of the operation, nodded, seeming to grasp the gravity of the situation.

“Okay, what should we tell them?”

“The most critical piece of information is that the location of their base has been compromised.”

“What?”

Everyone’s face tightened. The rebels had gone to great lengths to conceal their location. The fact that someone knew was a major blow.

“Don’t tell me the Chinese know too?”

“If we know, China knows as well. This information originated from an inside source.”

“Inside!”

That meant there was a traitor in their midst.

“They’re planning to escape by using the Karen people as scapegoats.”

Park Do-joon laid out the situation, and the men’s expressions grew darker with each word.

Aoong Shweun, the leader of the Jawa gang, was pleased with the considerable profits he’d been making from organ trafficking. However, news from another member of the Karen tribe had unsettled him.

“They know our location?”

“Yes, there’s a strong possibility the Chinese government is also aware.”

“Are those bastards lying?”

“There’s no reason for them to. We may not be on good terms, but aren’t we all Karen? They wouldn’t be getting paid to lie about this.”

“That’s true.”

The Jawa gang might be brutal, but their combat prowess was undeniable. If other Karen tribes were at the level of regular infantry, the Jawa gang was akin to special forces. Those who had grown complacent in peace, laying down their arms for over a decade, were no match for those who had lived and fought with guns their entire lives.

From the perspective of the Karen people, who were constantly battling the Myanmar junta [the military dictatorship in Myanmar], they couldn’t afford to alienate the Jawa gang simply because they disliked them. So, it was only logical for them to share this information to protect themselves.

“So, the negotiations are off the table?”

“Yes, and the problem is they’ve sold out our location.”

“Damn Chinese bastards.”

In reality, there was no genuine trust between them. Their collaboration was purely transactional, driven by money. But even that foundation was crumbling. No, it was definitely about to collapse.

Of course, it wouldn’t matter if this were a typical business arrangement where they could simply part ways after the contract ended, but that wasn’t the case.

“How many people have been captured so far?”

“Currently, there are 340 people.”

And China was demanding 1 billion [currency unspecified, but likely referring to Korean Won or a similar unit] per person, totaling 340 billion.

“We need to relocate the base.”

“Yes, now that the location has been exposed, that’s the only viable option.”

It wasn’t just about manpower. With their location compromised, even a simple bombing run by the Myanmar military’s air force could wipe them out.

“We need money.”

Relocating the base would require a massive amount of capital. This wasn’t the Stone Age, where they could simply find a new spot, chop down some trees, build a hut, and call it a base.

They needed to install everything from generators to electrical systems, erect new barbed wire fences, and construct hidden bunkers.

Since this couldn’t be done legally and had to be kept secret, the costs were even higher. In fact, even if they pooled all the money they’d received from the Chinese so far, it wouldn’t cover even half of what they needed.

But the money the Chinese were supposed to receive was a staggering 340 billion.

“It’s only fair that we take our share.”

Just as Park Do-joon had predicted, things were starting to unravel.

“What?”

Juo Lin, the boss in charge of the operation, frowned at Aoong Shweun’s demand.

“You want us to give you money?”

“Isn’t this something we worked on together? Of course, we deserve to be compensated.”

“We hired you with money.”

“No. You guys were freeloading on our base. And your carelessness led to the base’s location being leaked.”

“What are you talking about?”

Juo Lin recoiled at those words. The location had been leaked?

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re completely unaware? There’s a traitor in your organization. That bastard handed over our location. And we have intelligence that the Chinese military knows about this area.”

Juo Lin’s eyes widened. If that were true, it meant the Chinese could invade at any moment.

“Because of you bastards, we have to move the base. That costs a fortune. It’s all your fault. And you’re just going to walk away?”

Aoong Shweun resented the Chinese organ trafficking organization for simply taking the money and leaving, and Juo Lin was indifferent to their plight.

“Damn it. Crap!”

He had been trying to maximize his profits, but he was frustrated that he couldn’t.

“So, how much are you going to give us?”

“How much are we giving?”

“I heard. You’re supposed to get 1 billion per person, a whopping 340 billion?”

‘Who the hell told these bastards that?’

Of course, Park Do-joon was the one who had leaked the information. But he had no intention of actually giving them the money. His goal was to incite their greed and sow discord.

Tracking criminals was a basic skill for profilers. But sometimes, it was necessary to create conflict within criminal organizations, making them distrust each other and ultimately collapse from within.

Park Do-joon was putting that strategy into practice, and those who had never been manipulated in this way were falling for it.

“The Taiwanese bastards are only offering 30 million per person.”

“Just that?”

“Yeah, so negotiations are hitting a wall.”

In the first place, the difference between 30 million and 1 billion was too vast.

“Ah, shut up and give us the money. We have to move the base because of you!”

“Why us?”

“Are you saying you can’t give it to us?”

“We already gave you all the money we contracted for, didn’t we?”

“What?”

“If you’ve received all the money you’re supposed to, get lost. We don’t have any more money to give you.”

At those words, Aoong Shweun gritted his teeth.

“You’ll regret this.”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

Juo Lin wasn’t afraid of Aoong Shweun because he had faith in his organization in China. To be precise, he was filled with the arrogance that comes from belonging to a powerful nation, looking down on the “poor bastards from a vassal state,” a common sentiment among some Chinese.

“Get lost.”

What was important now wasn’t Aoong Shweun. It was finding the spy within, the mole who had revealed their location.

“I’ll make you regret this.”

Aoong Shweun gritted his teeth and left, and Juo Lin immediately contacted his superiors. Then, with a menacing expression, he addressed his men.

“Our location has been compromised. The Chinese government or the Myanmar military might attack soon.”

“What?”

“No, how?”

“There’s a traitor among us.”

“A traitor?”

“Yes, they say there’s a traitor.”

Gritting his teeth, Juo Lin turned his head. His gaze landed on Wang Woo-hwan.

“Do you have anything to say, Wang Woo-hwan?”

In reality, he had called them together under the guise of finding the traitor, but Wang Woo-hwan was the prime suspect. The reasons being that Wang Woo-hwan was the one who had recognized the negotiation partner on the first day of the meeting, Wang Woo-hwan was the one who had suddenly stepped up and changed the order, and Wang Woo-hwan was the one who demanded 1 billion from Korea.

“What are you talking about?”

“If it wasn’t you, there’s no one else who would leak it. Isn’t that right?”

“That guy doesn’t know me. Weren’t we all wearing masks in the first place?”

“Yes, we were. And you were the only one who spoke. How close do you have to be to recognize someone just by their voice?”

“Tch.”

At those words, Wang Woo-hwan realized his mistake.

‘Could it be?’

Park Do-joon had acted as if he knew him. In fact, the original plan was just for Park Do-joon to deliver the money and plant a phone. But when Wang Woo-hwan acted like he knew him, he improvised to involve him.

But that alone was enough to throw them into confusion.

“It’s a trick. That bastard doesn’t know me!”

“Really? But your subordinates say otherwise?”

“What?”

At those words, two subordinates approached hesitantly.

“What did that *ppangzi* [derogatory term for Korean] bastard say?”

Juo Lin asked them in a voice that was so cold it was terrifying. And they told the story as they knew it, or rather, in a way that was advantageous to them.

“He, he came that day and said not to embezzle the money, saying he knew someone on this side.”

“So you didn’t embezzle the money?”

“No! Absolutely not.”

If they embezzled it, they wouldn’t just get beaten up, but their organs would be harvested and sold, so they weren’t subordinates who were bold enough to embezzle.

“But who did he say he knew?”

“He said he knew Wang Woo-hwan *hyung-nim* [honorific title for older brother or respected senior]… no, he said he knew Wang Woo-hwan.”

They instinctively knew that Wang Woo-hwan was isolated and being questioned. And they instinctively tried to hide their sins.

If they said they had mentioned Wang Woo-hwan’s name, they would also be held responsible, so they naturally said that Park Do-joon already knew Wang Woo-hwan’s name.

‘No, how?’

Wang Woo-hwan’s mind went blank. There was no way Park Do-joon could know him. There was no point of contact, and their cases had never overlapped. But how did he know him?

‘He knows me. No, that can’t be. In the first place, there’s no direct connection….’

And Wang Woo-hwan realized his mistake.

‘I made a big mistake.’

He shouldn’t have revealed personal feelings there. Park Do-joon caught on to that and immediately judged that he had some kind of relationship with him. And since a criminal and himself couldn’t be on good terms, he must have set a trap.

‘Hong Woo-jong said so, that he’s a scary guy.’

He thought he was just a mediocre profiler from Korea, which was no better than a vassal state. Not like himself, a profiler from a great country like China, and moreover, not like himself, who had his skills recognized and was scouted by the Triads [Chinese transnational organized crime syndicate].

‘He’s a dangerous guy.’

In that short time. As soon as he recognized him and expressed personal feelings, he caught on to it and put him in a trap.

‘When I go back, I have to deal with that bastard first.’

He gritted his teeth and said.

“It’s a trap. That bastard Park Do-joon set a trap.”

“Do you think that makes sense? How did he know your name?”

“The truth is, I was involved in some major cases in Korea. Park Do-joon was involved in several cases related to those. If he was monitoring those, there’s a possibility he knows me.”

There’s no possibility, but they don’t know about the Korean situation. In fact, if it weren’t for the negotiations, there would have been no reason for Wang Woo-hwan to come here.

“Is that what you call an excuse?”

“It’s not an excuse. In the first place, that bastard is a profiler.”

“A profiler?”

“Yes, he’s a guy who reads people’s minds and comes up with countermeasures, just like me.”

Everyone flinched slightly at the word profiler. They knew how helpful Wang Woo-hwan’s abilities were, even though he was only the third-in-command here, and how impressive it was from their perspective.

“A profiler?”

“Yes, and he’s the most famous guy in Korea.”

Of course, this is a lie. But in this situation, if he doesn’t praise that bastard’s skills, he’ll be cornered.