Sooho

While Ahn Soo Ho flipped the slums upside down, the Hong Kong police dealt with internal conflicts regarding rebellion suppression.

“Random shootings? Do they think this is mainland?”

“We have to stop this madness!”

“This is Hong Kong! Hong Kong!”

The one who poured cold water over condemning the special agent’s brutality was none other than Director General Raymond Woo of ICAC. He threw a pile of documents to the police executives in front of him.

“What’s this?”

“Read it.”

Multiple people gasped as soon as they flipped through the first page.

The triad and foreign criminal organization working in Hong Kong.

The new drug route is through Guangzhou, Macao, and Hong Kong.

Human trafficking and organ trafficking.

Hong Kong prostitution business.

The route of children sales

Each page contained shocking material.

“Haven’t we seen this before?”

Hong Kong from the 70s and 80s was much worse. After staring at the executives who were gasping, Raymond Woo stared at the director of the police.

“If you’re not stupid, you’ve probably realized how much danger Hong Kong is in right now. In contrast to the external index, the internal situation is on the verge of explosion. We have to put off trying to blame someone for it and look for a solution immediately.”

They all went silent as soon as he mentioned the word “solution”. Police executives weren’t incapable. However, after Hong Kong was returned to China, the Chinese Communist Party made constant efforts to make the Hong Kong society friendlier with China. The police couldn’t overlook such efforts. They still put the effort first, but favorable treatment was added on top of that.

The pro-Chinese influence enforced their power in various industries once they established their position. The police and government workers were just the tip of the iceberg. The politicians had gone over the mainland a long time ago. The companies with many knowledgable people such as professors were still opposing, but no one knew how long that could last. If Raymond Woo had run for office after Hong Kong was returned to China, he could have become pro-Chinese as well.

‘I’m not saying pro-Chinese is bad.’

What was bad was forgetting one’s own goals and behaving irresponsibly.

“From this point forward, you must follow Hong Kong’s autonomy law and follow my directions.”

The special agent’s shootout made Raymond Woo angry as well, but once he thought about it, desperate measures had to be taken to put Hong Kong back in its place in such a short time. He decided that if he couldn’t stop this from happening, he might as well use it to his advantage.

“My first order is…”

Mainland started it first.

“The police may use live ammunition.”

******

Whee-oo, whee-oo-

More paramedics went around Hong Kong than the police. The gunfight that started in the slums soon started to spread to the capital. Ahn Soo Ho thought that he used as less force as possible, but no one would have been able to understand how he took everyone down with just one gun. However, that didn’t mean they all died by bullets.

“Ugh!”

As soon as his foot touched his chest, he destroyed the furniture and flung backward. He then slammed another guy’s face into a desk which led to him breaking his nose and front teeth. Chairs and knives were flung around, but Ahn Soo Ho dodged them all.

“Shit!”

Ahn Soo Ho barged into the office so suddenly, that they thought Ahn Soo Ho was a fellow member. In any case, he beat all of them up to a pulp.

“Ugh…”

Once he got away from the groaning punks, he looked through the laptops and books. There were traces of police and government collusion. No matter how anti-corrupt someone was, everyone was weak in front of money. It held more power than any kind of magic. Ahn Soo Ho collected important information. The police were in the midst of straightening out their messy office, but there was no way the truth was going to surface.

As soon as he got out, police officers walked by. If he decided to suppress anyone, the Hong Kong police had his back. That was the key to today’s operation. Of course, the special forces were also dispatched to carry out the mission, but due to strong resistance, people were harmed. In response, the Hong Kong media didn’t hesitate to criticize the government and police for the crime and war that began. They also tied it to the Hwang Chi Rin terrorist attack and created rumors to circulate on social media.

The Islam terrorist group! Are they invading China now?

As a result of the Hong Kong terrorist attack, there are now travel warnings in South East Asia!

The terror of Chairman Hwang Chi Rin was caused by the Chinese government!

Anti-government leads to violence which is bad for the Hong Kong economy!

The reason why the revolution stopped midway was because anti-government protesters knew that it posed negative effects on Hong Kong’s economy. This time, they were claiming that the independence movement leading to more crimes. According to the media, once the police started focusing on the anti-government protestors and him, they didn’t have enough manpower to take care of the organized crimes.

‘They’re full of tricks.’

This scenario hit its peak when it was announced that North Korea was responsible for the Hwang Chi Rin terrorist attack, and Pyeongyang played along by sending their sympathies to China while putting all the blame on Kim Taek Sun. In the end, they made it seem like in the midst of briberies that took place between Hwang Chi Rin and Kim Taek Sun, a North Korean middleman accidentally caused the terrorist attack. As a result, Chairman Hwang and A&E were unable to avoid prosecution investigation.

“The investigation is just for formalities.”

In response to the news about Hwang Chi Rin’s investigation, Wang Cho Shan made excuses. Since Ahn Soo Ho said to leave Hwang Chi Rin alone, the Chinese Communist Party wasn’t going to try anything. However, Chairman Hwang’s enemies were not only in mainland China. There were tones of greedy executives in A&E who wanted to find the top businessman’s flaw.

‘But that’s for the person directly involved to resolve.’

He looked out for Hwang Chi Rin, but he wasn’t responsible for his position.

“How is it wrapping up?”

“They’ll be deported or imprisoned depending on the severity of their crimes, and the only organizations that can be regulated will remain.”

“That’s that for the Hong Kong police, but ICAC shouldn’t be underestimated.”

“As long as the minister of administration is in our hands, the ICAC doesn’t have anything on us.”

“You’re so confident.”

“Once the education policies are modified, Hong Kong will be assimilated to the mainland.”

The Chinese government realized later on that the overseas Chinese individuals couldn’t be completely regulated. They were no longer Chinese. As soon as they acknowledged that, they were able to approach it in a more objective manner.

‘This is something the Koreans should learn as well.’

China and America were different in every way, but they had this one thing in common.

‘They’re cold-hearted and are willing to do anything for their country’s profit.’

Just like how there was no eternal ally, there was no eternal enemy either.

Ahn Soo Ho headed over to his final destination of the day. While the Hong Kong police dealt with the remaining dregs, Ahn Soo Ho was going to meet someone that even the Chinese Communist Party avoided. Because he had a lot of money and power? Not at all. It was because his reputation heavily relied on rumors, and his reputation was just as dirty as those rumors.

In Hong Kong, one-on-one prostitution was legal, but large companies were illegal. As such, some of the foreign women that went to Hong Kong used their own means or a broker to start their own prostitution business. Did the illegality of prostitution companies mean they didn’t exist? Not at all. Hong Kong and Macao were home to the biggest prostitution companies in Asia.

Jamie Bricks International

JBI sounded like some kind of investment firm, but it was actually the biggest matchmaking company in Asia. The demand for matchmaking in China was huge, and the number of members on dating sites were explosive. This was a famous trend in China.

“It’s a name that I didn’t even think about.”

“That’s how well they’re hidden.”

Wang Cho Shan had no idea that prostitution was at the center of a marriage information company.

“They use all sorts of methods to lure people in and then trap them so that they can use them to their advantage.”

“Why isn’t anyone reporting them?”

“Because getting involved in a sex scandal is fatal.”

Compared to before, sexual issues were more discussed among the public, but sex scandals were still avoided.

“Since there are branches in South East Asia, Japan, Korea, and Australia, they’re all probably involved.”

“The number of members… is astronomical.”

“But only some of them probably engaged in prostitution.”

They made enough profit with normal operations alone, but it didn’t stand a chance against the money that prostitution brought in. There was a similar organization in France as well, but the only difference was that younger women were lured in by fraudulent job offers.

“Does that mean they didn’t start with the plan of human trafficking?”

“JBI grew drastically in the last few years, and it hasn’t been long since they entered human trafficking.”

It was around the same time the Chinese Communist Party tried to screw over Hong Kong. Wang Cho Shan laughed bitterly.

“This is a variable I didn’t predict.”

“How nice would it be if everything went our way? Plans can always change course.”

He wasn’t trying to comfort anyone. He was just answering his own question.

‘No matter how well you prepare, changes always happen.’

For that reason, back-up options were needed.

“Do you really think your superiors had no idea about JBI’s business?”

“Well…”

It was actually something that could have been found out at Wang Cho Shan’s rank.

“We’ll know for sure once we meet him.”

The police and investigators arrived at the JBI headquarters at the center of Hong Kong and began their search. In contrast to the slums, most of the people there were JBI employees who were working hard. So there was no reason to hit them down with sticks. Contrastingly to the noisy lower floors, the office on the highest floor was pretty quiet.

As soon as Wang Cho Shan nodded, an agent opened the door.

“The person in charge is finally here.”

There was someone in the president’s office wearing an expensive suit and looking relaxed. It was as if he saw this coming.

“Go on and pretend to do an investigation and then evacuate my building.”

He ordered Wang Cho Shan around, and Wang Cho Shan wasn’t the kind of person who would accept that kind of treatment.

“As a scumbag criminal, did you damage your head or something? Do you want to be executed right here?”

“Ha! This young friend looks overexcited. Look here. What’s your name?”

“I’m not giving my name to a scumbag like you.”

“Haha!”

In response, the old man’s face showed no hints of fear or worry.

“Young man, my name is Zhouxun Bao. Have you heard of me before?”

“Zhouxun Bao?”

Wang Cho Shan tilted his head upon hearing that name and then was surprised upon realizing something.

“Khan Taegeuk?”

“Oh! My reputation is still alive! That’s right. I’m Khan Taegeuk, Zhouxun Bao.”

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ cruelty was exposed during the Tiananmen incident. After that, the Chinese human rights activists were suppressed which led to the constant mentioning of it, and the foreign press that heard about the brutality of the Tibetan uprising was shocked and fearful. Khan Taegeuk was a legend from those times.

Wang Cho Shan unknowingly glanced at Ahn Soo Ho, but he just stuck out his tongue in a carefree manner. Wang Cho Shan gulped. The person who was talking the talk was an unexpected tycoon.

‘I think Mr. Ahn knows something about this…’

He definitely knew that there was a tycoon behind JBI.

“Please explain, Sir.”

“Sure. No problem.”

Zhouxun Bao found Wang Cho Shan’s changed response cute and decided to be warm toward the young lad.

“As you know, it’s been 15 years since I retired.”

Once he retired, he received another offer from the standing committee. His job was to monitor Hong Kong and Macao. So he willingly accepted and began his duties only to face difficulties soon afterward.

“Hong Kong and Macao were different from the mainland.”

He was fully prepared for something different, but once he actually started the job, the reality of Hong Kong and Macao was beyond his imagination. It was a whole another world. He dedicated decades to his party and the people, but he had never experienced such a crazy city.

He had to visit Beijing often as a part of his job, but he only visited Shanghai once for a vacation before his retirement. However, Hong Kong was a busier city than any of them. Once he made up his mind, he contemplated how he would monitor Hong Kong and Macao. Should he have used the corrupt ones that were dissatisfied with the Hong Kong government just like they did in other regions? Or should he have bribed government officials? Or should he have created a recon team? He contemplated many methods, but compared to the mainland, the police, government workers, knowledgeable people, and average people’s education levels were much higher.

After many failures, Zhouxun Bao pulled out a traditional trap. He was able to quit drugs and alcohol with his own will but not sex. Unless one was willing to cut themselves off from the world, dating and marriage were inevitable. Before JBI was born, he went through many trial and errors with other dating sites and matchmaking companies.

“Hide the 1% lie within the 99% truth. Those are some wise words.”

He used the excuse of international matchmaking to build branches in each country in Asia, and as a result, JBI’s monitoring system expanded vastly. The problem was that the Chinese intelligence agency didn’t know about JBI’s existence. That was because they were like an information team that only some of the legislative members knew about. Not even Premier Yuhaipung knew of their existence.

It began with obtaining information regarding trends of companies connected to China. They weren’t looking for national top secrets, but the sex industry skyrocketed in no time which led to more information at a higher quality. In the intelligence world, the more secrets one knew, the more professional one had to be.

From a certain point onward, they only picked the most qualified candidates, and people like that were rare. What kind of beautiful and smart women would have wanted to sell her body? That was absolute nonsense. Once they started to work with higher quality information, the members dealing with Zhouxun Bao were more careful with him. Since he got a taste of how it felt to control the world with the power of information, he had no intention of going back, and in order to grow JBI even more, he started to dip into immoral industries.

“Ultra.”

Zhouxun Bao showed interest in Ahn Soo Ho’s whispering.

“Who was that?”

“How dare you skip on formalities in our first meeting, you son of a bitch?”

“You?”

“You?’ Am I your friend? You little bastard. Learn some damn manners. How can you not know who I am when you work with such great information? But then again, how accurate could information obtained in bed be? You’re just a pervert obsessed with voyeurism, you crazy bastard.”

99% of men bluffed in bed. But more than that, it was comical that he didn’t know who Ahn Soo Ho was as someone who dreamt of being the leader of an intelligence agency.

“Did you have fun brainwashing women and children? Huh?”

“I did it for the future of our land.”

“Sure, sure. In just words alone, I’m sure you’re a patriot and a hero.”

Zhouxun Bao glared at Wang Cho Shan while hearing this, but he backed off. And that gesture meant that he knew Ahn Soo Ho was above him.

“You little! Ugh!”

“Agh!”

Ahn Soo Ho pulled out a high kick on one of Zhouxun Bao’s subordinates’ temple before he could get up. Ahn Soo Ho then kneed him and broke his nose with his elbow. At the sound of a crash, three or four people rolled and screamed.

“Huh? If you hurt me, I won’t leave you alone!”

Ahn Soo Ho raised his foot on the table and smiled at Zhouxun Bao who was trying to get back up.

“Fuck you.”

He then shoved the lighter on the table down his throat.

“Ugh!”

For a boss, he died in a vain way.

< Protect – Episode 161 – Ultra [1] > The end.