Zhenya leaned back in his office chair, staring at the ceiling.
He had finished all the work he had been putting off out of sheer boredom and now found himself with nothing else to do.
Normally, he would be chasing after Kwon Taekjoo, but now that he had to focus on work for the first time, it felt tedious and frustrating, almost like a prison.
Not even Kwon Taekjoo's mother was answering his calls, leaving him with no way to pass the time.
Zhenya admitted that patience wasn't exactly his strongest virtue.
"Mmm..."
Wasn't there anything he could do to kill time?
Zhenya thought for a moment, pulled out his phone, and opened the secret espionage app.
This time, he wouldn't be tracking Kwon
Taekjoo but his second brother.
Whenever he had free time, he liked to keep tabs on his family... especially Bazim, as his activities were often tied to the Kremlin's plans.
After a moment, a marker appeared on the map, showing Bazim's current location.
Zhenya's eyes narrowed as he processed the information.
"So, he's in Vladivostok too. Interesting."
Bazim, the president's right-hand man, had left Moscow to visit Vladivostok.
What could he possibly be doing there? Bazim rarely left the capital, fully aware of the risks involved.
Leaving his post vacant meant he could easily be replaced in the world of politics.
The fact that a bureaucrat like Bazim, known for his cautious and distrustful nature, had suddenly traveled to a border region like Vladivostok suggested that something important was about to happen.
It was possible he was there to personally greet the North Korean
delegation on behalf of the president.
If that were the case, it was clear that the Kremlin was very interested in whatever gift the North Koreans were bringing.
"And what are they after this time?"
Zhenya pondered the question for a moment before hacking into Bazim's official networks, including his private email, a secondary account used exclusively for government matters, all
communications from his five phones, and even the documents from a secret folder on his personal computer.
Though everything was encrypted, decoding it was fairly simple—at least
for him.
Among the files that appeared on his monitor were highly confidential Russian government documents.
Zhenya quickly decrypted the double encryption keys for each file.
With his deep knowledge of the Russian security system and the advantage of having borrowed Bazim's access credentials, it was remarkably easy to break through.
Zhenya conducted a search for "Vladivostok" among the hundreds of confidential documents.
After filtering the most recent results, he began skimming through them one by one.
[In 2016, the thawing of permafrost revealed reindeer carcasses. A child who came into contact with them died of anthrax, and seven adults were infected. It was the first anthrax outbreak in the region since 1941.]
[In 2019, the remains of an ancient wolf that died 27,000 years ago were discovered in the Siberian permafrost. A highly infectious virus was confirmed in the wolf's intestines.]
[In 2022, a donkey carcass was found in the permafrost of Yakutia, supposedly buried under a lake 48,000 years ago. Thirteen new viruses were identified in the remains.]
Permafrost?
Permafrost refers to a layer of frozen ground that stays well below freezing temperatures, typically located in polar or mountainous regions.
Its depth ranges from a few centimeters to hundreds of meters, and it is common in frigid areas such as the polar regions, Siberia, Greenland, Alaska, and northern Canada.
Recently, permafrost regions had garnered significant attention due to global warming.
Atmospheric changes were causing the permafrost layers to thin, exposing buried flora and fauna.
This posed a serious problem, as these remains often harbored deadly bacteria or viruses.
If humanity didn't deal with these viruses, a pandemic could break out.
However, this had long been a concern raised by environmentalists and meteorologists.
Why was this public information included in confidential documents?
Zhenya found the answer in the next sentence he read.
[A new microorganism was recently collected from the crater of Mount Baekdu in North Korea. It is classified as a strict aerobe and causes acute sepsis if inhaled. It has developed effective defense mechanisms against the human immune system, and current antibiotics and vaccines are largely ineffective. Within 24 hours of infection, it causes headaches, fever, vomiting, confusion, hallucinations, and difficulty breathing, with a mortality rate of 98%.]
So, a deadly microorganism had been discovered on Mount Baekdu, listed alongside the viruses found in permafrost regions.
As Zhenya pieced the information together, one conclusion became clear.
A biological weapon.
Was the Kremlin really trying to develop one in this day and age?
Zhenya let out an incredulous laugh, but it quickly faded.
Nothing was impossible considering the Kremlin's greed and ambition.
It hadn't been long since an RNA virus spread across the planet, its
unprecedented spread and lethality throwing the world into chaos.
It disrupted politics, economies, societies, and cultures worldwide.
At the same time, immense wealth and power had accumulated in the hands of certain factions.
Given the upheaval and control a single
virus had caused, it was no surprise that the Kremlin was now interested in this new microorganism.
A pathogenic microbe originating from Mount Baekdu in North Korea... It thrived in oxygen- rich environments, making it difficult to contain and rendering current antibiotics ineffective in the event of an outbreak.
And now, Russia and North Korea were keeping this information under tight wraps.
The situation was becoming increasingly suspicious.
Humanity wouldn't learn of this
microorganism's existence until it was weaponized and posed a grave threat to their once peaceful lives. By then, it would be too late.
"Getting more childish, aren't you? You want to be a czar, but are you willing to throw away your nation's dignity for it?"
Speechless, Zhenya began searching through the rest of Bazim's personal phone records.
They were filled with messages notifying someone that he had arrived in Vladivostok, was heading to meet the North Korean delegation, had contacted air traffic control, and more.
The recipient was undoubtedly the Kremlin.
"How long will you keep kissing that old pig's ass?"
Shaking his head, Zhenya put on a pair of headphones and tuned into Bazim's calls.
Given the frequency of Bazim's communications with the Kremlin, it was only a matter of time before he made a call to the president.
As expected, a call notification soon appeared on his hacking screen.
Zhenya held his breath silently as he waited for the connection to be established.
A moment later, Bazim's voice came through the headphones.
["Hello, sir. The North Korean delegation just arrived at the airport."]
["what about the cargo?"]
["It will arrive tomorrow morning."]
["They're handling it carefully, right?"]
["Of course, sir."]
["Before negotiations begin, make sure to verify the contents of the cargo."]
["Yes, sir."]
The call ended quickly.
They hadn't mentioned the nature or purpose of the object, likely to avoid potential eavesdropping.
But piecing together the various details and information from the confidential documents, Zhenya easily concluded that the Kremlin was plotting something once again.
The Kremlin must have learned about the newly discovered microorganism in North Korea.
They were also aware of its potentially lethal effects on the human body.
Most likely, they had proposed a joint project to research the microorganism and develop a cure, justifying their involvement by citing North Korea's inadequate containment facilities.
The only uncertainty was whether the Kremlin intended to use the microorganism solely to develop a cure and whether they would make the research results public.
Zhenya was entirely convinced they wouldn't.
The president's order to Bazim to "verify the contents of the cargo" before the conference suggested that their intentions were far from ethical.
Most likely, those words referred to Bazim beginning human experimentation to verify the microorganism's lethality, as North Korea had claimed.
Did Kwon Taekjoo know what was going on?
Was he aware of the material being exchanged between the two nations and how dangerous it could be?
Zhenya reopened his hacking program and adjusted his target to check where Kwon Taekjoo was, what he was doing, and what orders he had been given.
However, all of Kwon Taekjoo's phone lines, both personal and work-related, were disconnected.
It seemed Kwon Taekjoo was determined to keep Zhenya away this time.
For now, Zhenya could only track his
location through the microchip he had secretly implanted.
Zhenya drummed his fingers on the desk, torn between the burning urge to go after Kwon Taekjoo and his sense of rationality, which tried to keep him grounded.
He watched the red dot blinking on the GPS tracker.
It had been moving around Vladivostok Airport but suddenly shifted toward the city center, heading toward the Bogdanov Hotel.
Unless there had been significant changes in the plan, it was likely that the North Korean delegation, under Bazim's direction, was staying there.
"…Taekjoo,"
Zhenya muttered under his breath.
He stood up abruptly and quickly left the room.
Kwon Taekjoo spent the entire night watching the Bogdanov family hotel without closing his eyes for even a moment.
The North Korean delegation, including Park Jeong-ho, had entered the hotel around 2 a.m., but since then, no relevant activity had been observed.
Russian police patrolled the area in shifts, but none ventured inside.
In fact, no one had entered or left the
hotel since the delegation's arrival.
The internal surveillance was undoubtedly far more rigorous than the external security.
The mission's objective was to uncover the topics North Korea and Russia would discuss at their conference.
Securing the object that North Korea had transported would be a bonus, but
that was a concern to be dealt with later.
Overstepping could jeopardize the entire mission.
Moreover, Kwon Taekjoo wasn't working alone, so he chose not to risk a dangerous infiltration into the hotel.
The operation had begun with the American agent "Foxtrot" tracking Pyongyang's special train at Khasan station and the Japanese agent"Sierra" monitoring activity on Russky Island.
Meanwhile, Kwon Taekjoo kept watch over the North Korean delegation from afar, hidden in a vantage point that allowed him to observe the Bogdanov hotel through gaps between the tall buildings in front of him.
For now, infiltrating the hotel was out of the question.
Since he hadn't managed to set up any
cameras or listening devices in advance, he deployed tiny cameras, the size of insects, through the narrow gaps in the ventilation grates and drain pipes.
These cameras were designed to look like cockroaches, making them discreet enough to avoid attention.
After connecting his two laptops to the cameras, Kwon Taekjoo sent one to the room of Sim Young-il, the North Korean General Staff Department's operations chief, and the other to that of the biologist Park Jeong-ho.
The radio waves needed to control the cameras had to pass through multiple walls, which made precise maneuvers difficult.
With no better options, Kwon Taekjoo hid the cameras in lonely corners and resolved to gather as much information
as he could.
After a full day of observation, Kwon Taekjoo noticed something strange.
Many people came and went from Sim Young-il's room, freely using their personal devices, but in contrast, Park
Jeong-ho stayed in his room all day, sitting idly.
Except for brief trips to eat or use the
bathroom, he remained in the same spot, with no visitors.
Guards entered periodically to check on him, inspecting his room before leaving.
Each time, Park Jeong-ho withdrew into a corner, silently watching as they searched his bed and belongings.
Kwon Taekjoo couldn't tell if Park Jeong-ho was being protected or strictly monitored.
It would have been believable if someone had told him that Park Jeong-ho was confined in a prison.
"...Seriously, what the hell?"
Wasn't Park Jeong-ho supposed to be a key figure in the upcoming conference?
Why did it seem like he had been dragged there against his will?
Several things didn't add up.
Suddenly, the alarm that Kwon Taekjoo had set earlier went off.
He glanced at his wristwatch.
It was time for the other agents to report in.
But his communicator remained ominously silent.
None of the agents had reported on time so far, and when they did, their reports were vague at best.
It seemed like they were looking for a way to cover themselves in case anything went wrong in the future.
It was also possible that they were taking their time to report to their own organizations first.
This was exactly why Kwon Taekjoo preferred working alone.
With a sigh, Kwon Taekjoo put on his earpiece, attempting to make contact himself.
Suddenly, the communicator buzzed to life.
["Hunting."]
"Two tigers."
["Foxtrot here. Pyongyang's special train 677 arrived in Vladivostok. Only a few passengers have disembarked, and the train has entered a maintenance depot without unloading anything."]
"Hmm. So, all the cargo must have been moved to storage in the depot. What's the security like?"
["Tango 4. They're only guarding the car right behind the locomotive. Four armed guards."]
"Understood. Keep monitoring until further notice."
["What? You want me to just sit here and watch? This is the perfect chance to check what's inside.The train's stationary, and there are fewer guards around. We should take advantage of the relaxed security and..."]
"Are you sure they even have any cargo? Do you even know what it is?"
["That's why I'm saying we should investigate further."]
"Listen, Foxtrot.The primary objective of this mission is to uncover the conspiracy
between North Korea and Russia and find out what they're trading, not to steal the object. Don't jeopardize the mission with reckless actions."
["Agh...You're as slow as they said you'd be. I don't know if Asians are just overly
cautious or too timid,"]
Foxtrot muttered sourly, clearly irritated.
It was an obviously racist remark, but Kwon Taekjoo chose not to argue.
He understood Foxtrot's frustration... after all, Foxtrot had been tracking the object secretly transported from North Korea to Russia, so it was understandable that he wanted to know what it was.
Even Kwon Taekjoo would have been eager in his position.
But they had to be extremely meticulous at a time like this, with so many things entangled in a complex web.
Acting impulsively now, with so many uncertainties, could ruin the operation
and make them bear all the blame.
Kwon Taekjoo restrained his growing indignation and sternly warned Foxtrot.
"'Think before you act.' Last I checked, that advice isn't exclusive to Asians. It's much safer to be overly cautious than to act recklessly out of impatience. Don't risk everything for a chance that may or may not pan out. I'm warning you, don't go off on your own."
[Pff. Got it.]
Foxtrot ended the conversation with clear irritation.
"Agh, what a nightmare."
Kwon Taekjoo ripped the earpiece from his ear and leaned back.
The anger he had been holding back surged up in an instant.
This was exactly why he hated relying on others or working with partners during missions.
It was impossible to control all the agents, and the slightest mistake could bring the entire operation crashing down like a domino effect.
It might have been a bit better if he had prior experience working with Foxtrot or Sierra, but they were complete strangers from foreign countries, meaning disagreements were inevitable.
So much for "cooperating." This whole
operation felt more like an awkward three-legged race where each person was of a different height and build.
Kwon Taekjoo glared at the laptop with distaste.
Moments later, a knock was heard in Sim
Young-il's room.
Kwon Taekjoo put on his headphones to tune in.
["Enter."]
Sim Young-il's voice soon echoed through the recording.
His secretary, Kim Gilha, entered the room shortly after.
["So, how did it go?"]
["We left it at the train maintenance depot, as you ordered. The Russian railways said they would handle the transportation from there."]
["Everything will be fine, right?"]
["We warned them well in advance, so there's no way they'll cause us any trouble over it."]
["Um, I suppose so. Very well then, you may leave."]
["Yes, sir."]
Sim Young-il waited until Kim Gilha had completely exited the room before making a discreet phone call.
As soon as the connection was established, he bowed his head in respect, clearly indicating who was on the other end.
He glanced cautiously around the room and moved toward the window.
As soon as he did, Kwon Taekjoo's headphones emitted static.
It seemed Sim Young-il had installed some kind of interference device to block any eavesdropping attempts near the window and door.
With his mouth covered throughout the
conversation, Kwon Taekjoo found it hard to decipher what was being said.
With a slight sigh, Kwon Taekjoo removed his headphones.
He had thought everything would
go smoothly, but it was clear he had underestimated his opponent.
Sim Young-il's call ended without Kwon Taekjoo gaining anything useful.
Looking visibly relieved, he left the room.
He was undoubtedly pleased that things had gone according to his plan.
Kwon Taekjoo started feeling unnecessarily anxious.
He knew the right moment would come
after exercising patience, but they couldn't just sit idly by waiting for it to arrive.
They had to stay vigilant to avoid missing their chance.
Even so, he couldn't shake the nagging worry that he might be overlooking something crucial while silently monitoring his enemies' movements.
Just then, his communicator beeped again, startling him. Kwon Taekjoo quickly put it in his ear.
["Hunting."]
"Two tigers."
["Sierra reporting. Alpha, can you hear me?"]
It was a radio call from the Japanese agent, 'Sierra'. What had they found during their surveillance of the Far Eastern Federal University?
"I hear you loud and clear. Report the situation."
["The area's been suspicious since midnight. Several black vans and trucks arrived, and the Natural Sciences Building has been completely off-limits since the afternoon for a fire inspection. They even set up barricades, making it impossible to get close."]
"According to Foxtrot, they seem to be holding something important on the train that left Pyongyang. I believe they plan to transfer the cargo to the building tonight. Do you see any guards wearing gas masks or hazmat suits around?"
["Negative. Not a single one."]
"What about the trucks?"
["They're all cube trucks, so it's hard to tell."]
"Can't you get closer to see what's inside?"
["Wouldn't that be too risky?"]
"...Fine. Just leave it for now if you're not feeling confident. Report immediately if you see anyone with a gas mask, hazmat suit, or any kind of quarantine equipment."
["Do you have any idea what they're trying to do?"]
"I'm still not entirely sure. I'll update you when things become clearer. If everything goes as expected, that cargo will be transferred tonight. Things will get much more intense from here on if that building is really their final destination, so stay alert and have a gas mask ready, just in case."
["Understood."]
Kwon Taekjoo let out another sigh as he finished the call with Sierra.
They were observing from a safe distance, which made it hard to gather much useful information.
One of his teammates wanted to act recklessly on his own, while the other was behaving far too passively, which only amplified his nerves.
Honestly, at this point, it would've been better if Kwon Taekjoo had been assigned to all three locations himself.
Even lifelong partners sometimes couldn't agree.
What could you expect from a last-minute team?
Kwon Taekjoo pushed aside his frustrations and turned his attention to Park Jeong-ho on the monitor.
The man had been sitting motionless for hours, but suddenly, he stood up and
walked directly toward the hidden camera.
"Huh...?"
Before Kwon Taekjoo could react, Park Jeong-ho's face filled the screen.
"There's a cockroach here…"
He reached out, grabbing the insect-like camouflaged camera. The screen immediately went dark as his hand covered the lens.
"Ah, crap. Did he find me out?"
Park Jeong-ho examined the device, turning it over in his hands.
At first glance, it looked like an innocent insect, but upon closer inspection, it would undoubtedly raise suspicions.
As a biologist, it was only a matter of time before he realized what it truly was.
Kwon Taekjoo pulled at his hair and sighed in frustration.
Meanwhile, Park Jeong-ho had walked into the bathroom with the camera in hand.
Without hesitation, he tossed it into the
toilet and flushed it.
The current quickly swept the device away, disappearing from view.
The final recording showed Park Jeong-ho calmly watching before the feed cut out.
"Damn it!"
Kwon Taekjoo quickly grabbed his binoculars and moved to the window, trying to spot any activity at the hotel.
He activated his communicator, ready to alert Foxtrot and Sierra in case their operation had been compromised.
But, no matter how long he waited, the hotel remained eerily quiet.
If Park Jeong-ho had alerted his superiors about the hidden camera, there should've been some noticeable reaction by now.
Strangely enough, even after a long while, there were no signs of disturbance.
The area around the hotel was unnervingly silent and calm.
Even the guards stood in complete stillness, not even communicating via their radios.
"What the hell...?"
Had Park Jeong-ho not reported the camera?
Why? Of all people, he would've known that the camera wasn't a real cockroach.
Come to think of it, it was odd that he had flushed the camera in the first place.
If he wanted to report that he was being spied on, he'd need solid evidence.
Handing the camera to the guards would've made more sense than discreetly disposing of it.
Don't tell me…
A hunch hit Kwon Taekjoo.
He rushed back to the couch and rewound the live recording.
Park Jeong-ho, who had been sitting quietly all day, suddenly fixed his gaze directly on the camera.
Kwon Taekjoo zoomed in, analyzing the footage closely.
Park Jeong-ho remained still, his eyes locked on the camera, as if he knew he was being watched.
Then, he abruptly stood up and approached the camera.
"There's a cockroach here…"
He grabbed the camera as if he were catching a bug and examined it closely.
Then, just as before, he headed to the bathroom and flushed it, just as Kwon Taekjoo had observed earlier.
A strange sense of foreboding washed over Kwon Taekjoo as he rewound the recording and played it back at 0.5x speed.
Once again, Park Jeong-ho focused on the camera and slowly approached.
He grabbed it and carefully inspected the strange object, which could have come
from anywhere.
"What is this?"
After watching closely, Kwon Taekjoo paused the recording and rewound it 10 seconds.
"There's a cockroach here…"
The slow-motion playback of Park Jeong-ho approaching the camera was the same as before.
The only difference Kwon Taekjoo noticed was that his lips moved for a few seconds longer after mentioning the cockroach.
He didn't say anything else.
Kwon Taekjoo turned the volume up to maximum and brought out an audio analyzer to check.
But, as expected, the recording hadn't picked up any sound, other than Park Jeong-ho's breathing.
Despite this, Kwon Taekjoo played the same segment over and over.
Although he still couldn't hear any other sound, Park Jeong-ho's lip movements became clearer each time.
"I think he's trying to say something."
He played the recording again.
Park Jeong-ho subtly moved his lips toward the camera, clearly aware that the North Korean surveillance cameras in the room might detect his gestures.
Kwon Taekjoo focused intently on his lips, trying to decipher the words he was mouthing.
"Sa...Save..."
Kwon Taekjoo kept reading Park Jeong-ho's lips with deep concentration, as if he were trying to read his mind.
The result was:
"Save me... please?"
A completely unexpected message emerged from his reconstructed words.