Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 165

167

“Bumsuk, let’s think this over calmly one more time.”

“What is there to think about here!”

Lexter, standing in front of the lounge vending machine, pleaded as if begging.

“I’m saying, let’s look at our situation. Right now, there are three major organizations targeting Rainbow Group. One is a group called the Economic Association, the second is LHN. And the remaining third is the Black Society. The problem is that none of these three organizations are ones we can handle. If we jump in without knowing anything, we’ll just get blown away with a single breath.”

Bumsuk glared at him with sharp eyes.

“So, you’re telling me to be patient!”

“I’m not saying be patient. I’m saying, let’s consider the importance of things first. What’s most important to us right now?”

“Revenge.”

Lexter, running a hand over his face, said quietly.

“Hey. We need to help Gloria first. And their intention is to dismantle Rainbow Group, so we need to solve this first. Then, naturally, we’ll get our revenge too.”

It was a valid point, but it couldn’t help but feel lacking. Bumsuk, with a dissatisfied expression, replied.

“Of course. We need to resolve the Rainbow Group situation. But I don’t intend to end it with just this one thing.”

“Okay. If you don’t intend to end it here, then it’s fine to do that, but let’s wait until we build up our strength. Right now, we’re too busy just dealing with Rainbow Group.”

“No. There’s no time to wait.”

“No time? What do you mean no time? We have plenty of time. We’re still young.”

That was even more of a problem. Bumsuk wasn’t rational enough to suppress his youthful ardor.

“If we don’t do it now, we won’t be able to do it later.”

Lexter, looking at him with a dumbfounded expression, said.

“Okay. Let’s say that’s true. How are you going to handle this? We need to meet with Chairman Balbar of LHN, but we don’t have the ability to do that. We clearly need the help of the Black Society, but if we express hostility, do you think they’ll gladly help us? We need to pretend we don’t know anything and use them for now.”

“Hmph. They’re deeply involved in the Rainbow Group situation, so do you think they’ll cooperate with us?”

“Of course, if we tell them honestly, they won’t. But we can create a different reason. Like saying we need funding to grow Leopard’s company or Natalie’s LKS Broadcasting. And Chairman Wilkins said he doesn’t care about the means or methods, and he didn’t mention anything about the amount. If we use a simple trick during the conversation with Chairman Balbar to get him to take money out of his wallet, it’ll be easily resolved. The Black Society will never know that we’re helping Rainbow Group.”

It made sense. The Black Society didn’t know he harbored resentment, so if he gave them a different reason, they might be willing to help. But Bumsuk shook his head as if there was no need to think about it further.

“No. Once we receive help, our hearts will weaken. Then, when we strike the Black Society, we might show some leniency. For the sake of thorough retribution, I won’t rely on them, even if it’s difficult.”

“Hey! Then how are you going to open Chairman Balbar’s wallet!”

Without hesitation, Bumsuk immediately opened his mouth.

“There’s a very easy way to open it.”

“How?”

“I’m going to mug him. LHN is the culprit of this incident. I don’t want to bow my head and beg the head of that organization.”

Lexter, his face turning pale, said urgently.

“You, you. Are you kidding me? How can you even say you’re going to mug the infamous Chairman Balbar!”

“It doesn’t matter. Chairman Wilkins said he doesn’t care about the means or methods.”

“Hey. That’s not what he meant. Did you forget for a moment? I’m a police officer. How can you say that in front of me? And if something like that happens to Chairman Balbar, all the police around here will be looking for you with fire in their eyes.”

Bumsuk looked at him with a serious expression.

“Ah, so that’s why I’m asking. Detective, please tell me how to avoid getting caught. You have a lot of experience, so you know how to escape the dragnet, right?”

“Ah, look at this guy. You’re trying to make me an accomplice. Even if I’m a corrupt cop, I don’t do robbery.”

“It’s for Gloria.”

Lexter, completely realizing that he wasn’t joking, grabbed his collar and warned him.

“Hey. Do you even know how many bodyguards follow someone like Chairman Balbar? You probably won’t even be able to approach him before getting caught. Besides, didn’t you hear what Chairman Wilkins said earlier? Chairman Balbar recently created a residential area in the LHN headquarters building and stays there all the time. That means he’s being protected by a thorough security system. It’s impossible!”

“Whether it’s impossible or not is something we won’t know until we try.”

“The problem is that if you try and fail, it’s over! You idiot.”

Bumsuk replied as if it didn’t matter.

“It’s okay. If it’s dangerous, I’ll just run away. You don’t think I’ll get caught by some guards, do you?”

For a moment, a conflicted look flashed in Lexter’s eyes. He thought that with Bumsuk’s skills, he could easily escape. There were no buildings without windows, so he could break one and jump out whenever he wanted. Of course, jumping out recklessly would mean certain death from falling, but he could just wear an expensive suit with a parachute or propulsion device.

But it was still dangerous. He absolutely couldn’t agree.

“Still no. Why are you trying to take the difficult path when there’s an easy way? I can never agree.”

“Then I’ll do it alone.”

Lexter, closing his eyes tightly, grabbed his forehead and said.

“Hey. Why are you being like this? Let’s please think rationally.”

“I’ve thought about it rationally enough. But no matter how I think about it, this is the only way to save Rainbow Group without bowing my head to people I hate.”

Lexter, biting his lip, grabbed his wrist and went outside. Even though it was during work hours, there was no one in the lounge, but the content he was about to reveal wasn’t light enough to be said anywhere. He soon went to Aaron, who was parked in the parking lot, got in, and said quietly.

“Are you really going to do it?”

“Yes. Of course.”

Lexter sat down weakly in a nearby seat and looked at Bumsuk calmly. If he didn’t listen even after this much persuasion, it meant he was determined to do it. Then his job was to either arrest him right away or support him from behind so that problems wouldn’t arise later.

Lexter eventually chose the latter. He couldn’t bring himself to arrest him because of their friendship.

“Sigh~ Then I’ll give you some advice.”

“So, you’re going to help me?”

He nodded and gestured to Bumsuk.

“But if you get caught, I don’t know anything.”

“Of course. I’m not shameless enough to drag you in, Detective.”

“Okay. Then I’ll tell you, so listen carefully. In carrying out this plan, the most important thing we need to focus on is maximizing the issue.”

“Maximize the issue? Wouldn’t it be better to handle it quietly?”

Lexter slowly shook his head from side to side.

“No. Then the police will quietly try to catch you until the end. But if the issue becomes so big that the whole nation knows about it, the police will invest a large number of personnel 24 hours a day to put all their efforts into it for the sake of their reputation. That’s when a loophole will appear for you to escape.”

“Why?”

“No matter how large an organization the police are, they can’t invest that many people in one case for a long time. Besides, the media’s attention is focused on it, so they’ll rush, and they’re likely to make mistakes. In other words, there’s a high possibility that they’ll mistake someone else for the culprit.”

Bumsuk tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.

“No, they wouldn’t just accuse an innocent person of being the culprit without any evidence, would they?”

“That’s true. But if there’s evidence and a confession, they’ll be completely trapped. Think about it. A crime occurs, and a criminal confesses, and the tools used in the crime are found intact in their house. Who would the police think he is?”

Bumsuk, judging that there was no need to think about it, immediately replied.

“Well. They’d think he’s the culprit.”

“Yes. That’s right. That means that as long as there’s someone to take the blame, you’ll be safe unless you’re caught in the act.”

“So, you’re saying we should bribe someone to take the blame?”

“No. Then he’ll confess under interrogation, or we’ll be finished the day the bribed funds are traced. We need to somehow make someone who has nothing to do with us confess on their own.”

Bumsuk looked at him as if he was dumbfounded.

“Come on. Where in the world is there someone who would take the blame for someone else’s crime for no reason?”

Lexter smiled faintly.

“That’s why we’re saying to make the issue big. You may or may not know this, but there are a lot of, let’s just say, *unique* people in the world. If a global incident is reported in the media, thousands to tens of thousands of people come to the police station and claim they committed it. Besides, it’s always the same people. So much so that our police have created and manage a blacklist to avoid confusion in the investigation.”

“Really?”

“It’s a funny story, but it’s true. We just need to pick one of them and pin it on them. The problem is how to make the issue big.”

Bumsuk scratched the back of his neck and looked perplexed.

“Well. How should we make it big?”

“It’s actually simple. You can record the scene of you mugging Chairman Balbar and send it to all the broadcasting stations. Think about it. The head of the world’s largest bank is being mugged, why wouldn’t that be news? Every media outlet will probably write about it extensively.”

A faint smile appeared on Bumsuk’s face. That definitely made sense.

“Well, I guess so. But while filming is possible with a miniature camera, how do we send the recorded footage to the broadcasting station? The corresponding IP [Internet Protocol] address will be recorded during transmission, so we’ll be caught right away.”

“It’s okay. I can recruit someone to solve this problem.”

“Really? Who is it?”

“It’s a world-class cracker who uses the alias ‘Shadow,’ and her skills are amazing.”

A cracker meant a hacker who commits crimes on the network using computers. They often did it to show off their technical skills, but some did it for money or to hack a specific company they had a grudge against.

“How good is she?”

“There’s almost no firewall she can’t penetrate. Besides, she’s so meticulous that she’s never been caught.”

“Ah. Really? But do you know her, Detective?”

“She lives in Lima City. So, whenever a hacking incident suspected to be Shadow occurred, I received instructions from the Federal Police Agency and our police station always monitored her, but we could never catch her because there was no evidence.”

Bumsuk, hearing Lexter’s words, showed a vague expression on his face.

“Come on. If you monitored her directly and she wasn’t caught, isn’t it possible that the cracker named Shadow might not be her?”

“No. I’m sure. I caught her… sort of.”

And Lexter began to tell the true story of how he caught Shadow.

It was about three years ago. At the time, TNB Bank, which ranked third in the industry, was being openly attacked by an unidentified hacker, and Shadow was also on the list of suspects. So, the Federal Police Agency issued a monitoring order for her to all police stations in Lima City, and cyber police and criminal investigators from the investigation department worked around the clock, performing surveillance and networking monitoring tasks.

However, even after several days, no suspicious signs were found from Shadow. Her younger sister often came to visit, but she stayed home and avoided going out, and the network signals flowing out of her house were just at the level of searching ordinary sites, and no attempts to hack were specifically detected. Then TNB Bank was attacked again, and it was determined that Shadow was not the culprit, and the emergency duty imposed on the Lima Police Station was lifted.

But Lexter felt strange for some reason. He remembered that her younger sister had come to visit briefly on the day of the hacking. Thinking that she might have committed the crime at her brother’s instigation, he changed his target again and went into hiding [undercover]. However, he, who didn’t even know the basics of hacking, couldn’t tell at all whether Shadow’s younger sister was hacking or playing games by watching from afar. So, he focused on the past investigation and found a clue here.

He and his younger sister had lost their father early and grew up in a government facility, but his existence was too vague except for records and photos. No matter how much he inquired, only his younger sister knew, and no one remembered Shadow.

So, he went into tailing [following discreetly] again and finally caught the tail. Shadow’s younger sister had gone on a business trip to another city, and a house near the place where she stayed for a while became the starting point for the continued hacking attacks.

“So, are you saying that younger sister was…?”

“That’s right. That younger sister was the culprit. The brother who had been suspected of being Shadow until now was a virtual person created on the network.”

“So, did you catch her?”

Lexter immediately denied it.

“Why catch her? She’s too valuable to use over and over again. I often get help when I need it on the condition that I don’t arrest her.”

Bumsuk, interested in the fact that she was a woman, subtly asked a question.

“But is she pretty?”

“Well, she’s quite pretty, but what’s the use of a human woman being pretty? It’s enough if she’s good at her job.”

Bumsuk, whose face was already full of smiles, poked Lexter in the side.

“When are you going to introduce me?”

“Hmm. Well. There are several things to discuss about this matter, so I’ll introduce you soon.”

“Hehe. Thank you. I will never forget this favor.”

“What favor? How much have you done for me so far? Anyway, you have to be really careful about this, so you have to prepare thoroughly.”

Lexter was mistaken about the meaning of his favor. Bumsuk’s interest right now was in the pretty woman named Shadow. But it didn’t matter; they continued to discuss the upcoming attack on Chairman Balbar throughout their return to Lima City.