The next morning, Jack had just woken up and was about to turn on his computer to type for a bit before dawn when he received a video call from Hwang Dong-kyun.
"My guys watched the traffic surveillance all night and followed the two Mercedes-Benzes. They found Hikita's body on a fishing platform not far from Incheon Port. He'd been dumped there like this."
Jack switched screens and looked at the photo Hwang Dong-kyun had sent. Hikita's body, though wide-eyed and visibly dead, wore a strange smile.
He frowned. "The Ichijo-gumi killers killed Hikita without even getting the whereabouts of the 30 kilograms of drugs out of him?"
"Huh? Why do you say that?" Hwang Dong-kyun, who was originally holding the phone, was pushed aside by Ma Seok-do, his large face completely blocking the screen.
Jack patiently explained, "If they found the poison sticks, the Ichijo Group would simply dispose of the bodies privately and then return to Ichijo Yoshio with the sticks.
The Diaoyutai Islands are directly beneath the ocean, making it easy to dispose of the bodies. They deliberately placed Hikita's body there as a warning. They might believe Zhou Xingzhe has the sticks."
"If that's the case, then it makes sense. Guess who I'm looking at now."
The phone's camera flipped, switching to the rear camera. It zoomed in, focusing on a distant figure on the Diaoyutai Islands: none other than Zhou Xingzhe.
"Since he's received the warning, should we just keep a close eye on him?" Huang Dongjun struggled to retrieve his phone and asked Jack on the screen.
"Now that Yintian is dead, the only person who could testify against him is gone. Don't forget that this guy is a captain of the Narcotics Division. It's useless even if we catch him red-handed. He can just explain that he is investigating the case. What can you do to him?"
Huang Dongjun's expression froze when he was asked this question by Jack. He scratched his head in pain, "Then what should we do? Our captain is still missing. He must be related to this gang. Zhou Xingzhe may be the only person who knows about it." "
Of course we still have to find a way to find those drug cartridges first. As long as these drug cartridges don't fall into Zhou Xingzhe's hands, those Taiwanese drug dealers will not let him go, and the killers of the 'One Group' will not let him go either."
Ma Xidao, who was suddenly dominated by his IQ, slapped Huang Dongjun on the back of the head, snatched the phone away again, and said to Jack.
"After all, we still have to find the drugs first. Let's go interrogate the thugs we caught at the Little Fatty nightclub last night. Do you want to come?"
"After noon, I need to contact my colleagues in the US and ask them to look up intelligence on the assassins from the 'Ichitsu Group.'" Jack checked the time and made an excuse. The intelligence was true, but more importantly, he needed to pick up the Wolf brothers at Incheon Port. After a moment
's thought, he continued, "Send two more people to my place. We need someone to monitor Zhou Xingzhe's movements 24/7 to prevent him from finding the drugs before we do."
"Okay, I'll notify Brother Zhentai to come over. He's just been discharged from the hospital," Ma Xidao said, then hung up the video call.
While waiting for Jiang Zhentai to arrive, Jack went for a few laps, made himself some breakfast, and called his friends in the US to check in.
Jubal, who received Jack's call, quickly sent him detailed intelligence on the assassins from the 'Ichitsu Group.' Of note was the bearded man named Richie, who was one of Ichitsu Yoshio's most capable men.
His preferred weapon is the katana, and he particularly enjoys severing limbs, even chopping off heads. His notoriety extends beyond the Ichijo-gumi, and he's a renowned villain throughout the entire Yamaguchi-gumi. A Japanese man who enjoys
chopping heads with a katana, Jack sneered as he placed a crowbar in the trunk of his BMW. He was curious to see which would prove stronger, the much-vaunted katana or the holy grail of physics.
"Hey, you actually live in such a big house by yourself! It's much more comfortable than the shabby house my parents had back home."
A Renault Samsung Koleos SUV pulled up behind the BMW. Jiang Zhentai's entire family leaned out of the car windows and exclaimed in amazement at the entrance to Jack's rented Korean house.
Jack's brow furrowed. This guy had brought his wife, children, and sister-in-law along.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Jiang Zhentai apologized after exiting the car, bowing his head.
"Last time, the bad guys we were dealing with kidnapped my wife and children. So, when we heard it was the Yakuza this time, I was planning to send them back to the countryside for a few days. Xidao said you were in a hurry, so we came along."
Jack didn't mind at all. He didn't think the Wolf brothers would stay with him even if they came, so he casually gestured for them to come.
"Then there's no need to go back to the countryside. There are plenty of rooms here for you to stay in. We'll have at least two people on duty monitoring the room 24 hours a day. Nothing's known here, and we guarantee your absolute safety."
"That's embarrassing," Jiang Zhentai said, turning and ushering in his three beautiful women, large, medium, and small, with their luggage.
"Thank you so much for the trouble. We'll definitely pay the rent for the next few days," Jiang Zhentai's wife, Park So-yeon, said apologetically, carrying their daughter into the courtyard.
Park Min-young, with her head lowered, dragged her suitcase, looking ashamed to face anyone. She looked completely sober, likely having been severely scolded.
Last night, before she was completely drunk, Jack had tricked the girl into a lot of things, so he understood Jiang Zhentai's seemingly impertinent behavior.
Last year, a North Korean police officer named Lin Zheling arrived from the north to arrest a dangerous North Korean defector.
Due to the bizarre political situation between the two sides, Jiang Zhentai, who had been working as a day laborer in the Guangsuo Team, was made the scapegoat, assigned to a mission ostensibly to assist in the investigation but actually involved covert surveillance.
Park Min-young didn't elaborate on the specifics of the case, but the mission led to the kidnapping of Kang Jin-tae's wife, Park So-yeon, and daughter, Kang
Yeon-ah, who were nearly killed by a time bomb. Ultimately, thanks to the dedicated efforts of Lin Zheling and the desperate Kang Jin-tae, the case was successfully solved, and during this time, the handsome Lin Zheling and Park Min-young developed a crush.
However, due to the disappearance of crucial evidence, Kang Jin-tae was transferred from the Guangsuo Team to the Cyber Crime Investigation Division, where he remained on the bench. Lin Zheling also returned to the north.
The incident likely left a deep psychological scar on the family. Ma Seok-do was the only
person who knew about Jack's residence, and he likely had some understanding of the situation, so it's likely he was the one who came up with the bad idea. While he may appear brusque, he can be quite thoughtful. After all, the investigation into Zhou Xingzhe wasn't formal.
Although Jack and Prosecutor Kim Jun-ho privately reported the case by phone, no formal procedures were followed; everything would have to wait until they found solid evidence.
When the Guangsou team was attacked, Jiang Zhentai pretended to be dead, but he did meet Zhou Xingzhe. The two were old acquaintances, so arranging his family to stay with Jack was a precaution.
(End of this chapter)