Goblin Library - Chapter 187

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 187

While Lee Hye-eun was deciding where to donate and considering the amount, Jang Ma-ru spoke up.
“Within four years, twenty people have been released and then re-imprisoned. And… fourteen of them have… remarkably extensive medical records.”
“Remarkably extensive?”
“Fractured limbs, facial fractures, broken ribs… fractures everywhere… Some people suffered burns, then two weeks later another burn in a different area, and two weeks after that, another burn. This looks like… torture?”
“Torture… So that’s what it is.”
“So that’s what it is? What do you mean?”
Choi Tae-sik’s question prompted Lim Sung-un to answer.
“They caught people who betrayed them on the outside and brought them back to prison. It’s more shocking for criminals to be punished inside prison than outside, and word spreads faster that way.”
“Getting someone sent back to a specific prison would require considerable influence…”
Lim Sung-un nodded at Choi Tae-sik’s observation.
“That’s when they must have gained their power.”
Then Lim Sung-un looked around at his team members and spoke.
“From now on, we investigate The Won and Lee Gang-hyuk’s finances. Look into buildings and warehouses owned by The Won and Lee Gang-hyuk. Focus on remote locations—buildings or storage facilities.”
“Buildings or warehouses?”
Lee Hye-eun murmured before asking.
“Are you thinking they’ve stashed cash somewhere?”
“Criminal funds can’t be deposited in banks. They’d be hiding cash in remote locations, like that mountain building where the Administrator operates.”
“Wow, I’ve never actually seen a place like that with stacks of cash.”
“Neither have I.”
As he spoke, Jang Ma-ru began typing something in English on the monitor.
“What are you doing?”
“Writing a program. Cash transport trucks wouldn’t be that large, so I’m setting it to search primarily for small trucks entering and leaving The Won about once a month. I’ll filter out trucks belonging to other companies and exclude personal cargo trucks doing regular business. I’ll track only trucks that operate occasionally.”
Lee Hye-eun nodded at Jang Ma-ru’s explanation, then spoke.
“Trucks are good, but also check company vans and similar vehicles.”
“Company vans?”
“Trucks are definitely best for moving things, but cleaning vehicles are quite useful too.”
“Cleaning vehicles…”
“Cleaning companies need to carry a lot of equipment when they go to clean jobs. Hand carts loaded with supplies and all. And with carts that size… you could easily fit two billion won in fifty-thousand-won bills.”
As she spoke, Lee Hye-eun demonstrated the size of a stack of money with her hands, then looked at Lim Sung-un.
“When you think about it, wouldn’t trucks be overkill? A truck could easily transport ten billion won in fifty-thousand-won bills. Would they really move that much money at once? And even for a criminal enterprise, no matter how profitable, moving that much in one go? It seems difficult.”
Lim Sung-un considered Lee Hye-eun’s words and nodded.
“You’re right. Search for cleaning company and sanitation company vehicles that operate with vans as well.”
“What about trucks?”
“Include trucks too. You never know.”
“Understood. I’ll need to rewrite the program then.”
After Jang Ma-ru responded and began typing on the keyboard, Lim Sung-un suddenly ran his hand across his face.
*Hmm!*
Seeing Lim Sung-un exhale deeply, Choi Tae-sik rose and brought over a cup of coffee.
“Boss, you’ve been pushing yourself too hard lately. Why don’t you head in and get some rest?”
At Choi Tae-sik’s words, Lee Hye-eun laughed and stood up, retrieving honey water from the refrigerator and setting it before him.
“How can you give coffee to someone who needs rest? In times like these, you need to consume sugar and then sleep.”
Watching Lee Hye-eun place the honey water, Lim Sung-un nodded and spoke.
“You’re right. Today… I really should just rest. Everyone take a break, and Maru, get some rest when you can. Things will get hectic once the vehicles arrive.”
“Understood.”
After Lim Sung-un gathered both the honey water and coffee and left the hideout, Choi Tae-sik watched his departing figure with a worried expression.
“The boss seems to be having a rough time lately.”
“He must be. A regular prosecutor already works late nights just handling the cases assigned to them, but the big boss handles those cases plus all of our cases too…”
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Lee Hye-eun paused to think before speaking.
“Between prosecutor work and our work here… how much sleep does the boss actually get?”
Jang Ma-ru sighed and answered.
“About two hours a day.”
“What? How do you know that?”
In response to Lee Hye-eun’s question, Jang Ma-ru pointed to the smartwatch on his wrist.
“I use this to monitor the health status of our team members.”
Lee Hye-eun glanced at the smartwatch on her own wrist and spoke.
“Two hours a day… he’s really pushing it hard these days.”
Jang Ma-ru smacked his lips and shook his head.
“It’s not just lately. I gave the big boss a smartwatch not long after we met, and he’s almost never slept more than two hours.”
“Really? How can a person function on just that?”
“With so much work… he just doesn’t sleep. Anyway, we need to wrap up the cases we’re currently handling and make sure he gets some proper rest. At this rate, the big boss is going to collapse.”
Choi Tae-sik squinted his eyes.
“The boss can’t collapse. Should we get him some tonics or something?”
“Rest is more important than tonics.”
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Lee Hye-eun spoke.
“Then we should move quickly and efficiently to reduce the boss’s workload.”
Then Lee Hye-eun looked at Jang Ma-ru.
“You need to write good programs to really cut down on the boss’s work.”
“That’s right. Come on, you two should go get some rest.”
As he spoke, Jang Ma-ru settled into position and began typing on the keyboard.
After watching him for a moment, Lee Hye-eun asked Choi Tae-sik.
“Got anything to do?”
“Nothing really.”
“Then how about we have a drink?”
“A drink?”
“We got a bunch of frozen food today. Let’s heat up a few and have some beer and soju.”
As Lee Hye-eun laughed and pulled frozen food from the freezer, Jang Ma-ru spoke.
“Sister, if you look over there, there should be chicken feet. I’ll have that.”
“Okay!”
Lee Hye-eun smiled and retrieved the chicken feet from the freezer, then began preparing them using a microwave and an air fryer.

***

Lim Sung-un was listening to the briefing at Jang Ma-ru’s Base.
“It took a few days, but I found a rather suspicious vehicle.”
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Lim Sung-un instructed him.
“Pull it up.”
Jang Ma-ru displayed the vehicle on the monitor.
“It was a pest control company vehicle.”
“Bug 112… Is it a legitimate business?”
“It’s a registered company that pays taxes. However, they primarily contract with and work for places connected to The One. Anyway!”
Jang Ma-ru spoke with a smile, eyes fixed on the monitor.
“After digging through nearly a year’s worth of nearby surveillance footage, I discovered that Bug 112 is temporary.”
“Temporary?”
“Before Bug 112, there was a cleaning company called Sparkling Clean, and before that, a bottled water company called Oda Water. They change their company name every few months and seem to be transporting something.”
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Lee Hye-eun asked.
“Something? Not cash?”
“I suspect it’s cash, but I haven’t opened it to verify.”
At Jang Ma-ru’s response, Lim Sung-un asked.
“What makes you think they’re transporting something?”
“The company name changes, but the employees doing the transporting remain the same.”
As Jang Ma-ru typed on the keyboard, photographs of two men appeared on the screen.
It meant that these two were still working at Bug 112, with only their company uniforms changing.
“Any criminal records?”
“None.”
“They have no records?”
“That’s right. Clean.”
“People with no criminal records, huh…”
Lim Sung-un looked at the person on the screen, then turned to Choi Tae-sik and asked.
“What’s your impression?”
“It’s just a photo, but they look solid.”
At Choi Tae-sik’s words, Lim Sung-un examined the monitor once more.
“So these two are the ones doing the transporting?”
“No. Looking at it, when this vehicle enters and exits, a sedan leaves with it.”
Jang Ma-ru pointed to the sedan following the Bug 112 vehicle on the screen.
“So you’ve confirmed the destination?”
“I have.”
As Jang Ma-ru typed on the keyboard, a map appeared with a point marked on it.
“It’s Incheon.”
“Incheon….”
To Lim Sung-un, who was studying the map intently, Jang Ma-ru displayed the precise location using a satellite map.
“To be exact, it’s a frozen storage facility in Incheon.”
“A frozen storage facility….”
Choi Tae-sik spoke up.
“How about I go in and check it out?”
“That would be best.”
Lim Sung-un asked Jang Ma-ru a question.
“Can you tamper with the freezing system there?”
“It’s possible.”
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Lim Sung-un looked at Choi Tae-sik.
“Once Maru disables the freezing system, you’ll go in disguised as a repair technician.”
“Tae-sik alone?”
At Lee Hye-eun’s words, Choi Tae-sik looked at her.
“Why, should you come with me?”
“I’m just worried about sending you alone. Should I come too?”
“It’s rare for a woman to accompany a repair technician on a job like this.”
At Choi Tae-sik’s words, Jang Ma-ru stepped forward.
“Then should I go with him instead?”
“You’d go to the site?”
“I’m better with machinery than my brother.”
“Won’t you look too young?”
“I can say I’m an apprentice who started after graduating high school.”
As Jang Ma-ru spoke, he looked at Lim Sung-un. At his gaze, Lim Sung-un nodded.
“Not bad. What about the criminal records of the frozen storage facility employees?”
“None. This place is clean too.”
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Lim Sung-un asked several more questions.
“When was the last shipment brought here?”
“The 13th of this month.”
“What’s the shipping cycle?”
“Usually once a month.”
Lim Sung-un nodded and issued his instructions.
“In four days, Tae-sik goes in and breaks the freezing system equipment. Then both Maru and Tae-sik enter together. And Hye-eun, you provide backup from outside.”
“Understood.”
“Good. You’ve all worked hard. Since we’re nearing the end, let’s push through just a bit longer.”
At Lim Sung-un’s words, Jang Ma-ru nodded, then said, “Ah.”
“About my cousin Lee Gang-hyuk.”
Lim Sung-un looked at him, and Jang Ma-ru continued speaking.
“They cleaned him out completely.”
“Cleaned out? The gambling establishment?”
“Yes.”
As Jang Ma-ru reached for the keyboard, Lim Sung-un spoke.
“Just tell me verbally.”
Jang Ma-ru nodded and explained.
“He kept losing, so he borrowed money from the gambling establishment. Like always, he won with the borrowed money at first, but after going a few more times, he lost everything. Now he’s in debt for 40 million won.”
“40 million?”
At Lee Hye-eun’s murmur, Jang Ma-ru spoke.
“A professional gambler worked him over—it happened in an instant.”
“So what?”
At Lee Hye-eun’s question, Jang Ma-ru laughed.
“When he couldn’t repay by the deadline, they went to his house and caused a scene, demanding payment. They told him to sell the building if he couldn’t pay. But wow, that father is tough. He refused to sell the building, saying they might as well take him instead.”
Jang Ma-ru shook his head and continued.
“Apparently he heard somewhere that gambling debts aren’t legally binding, so he was going to report it to the police. But his son said if he reported it, he’d get arrested too, so in the end he couldn’t report it.”
“So what’s happening now?”
“The son is throwing a fit, demanding his father take out a loan using the building as collateral to come up with 40 million won. Meanwhile, the father just smokes.”
As Lim Sung-un listened to the story, he stroked his chin.
“What should we do?”
At Jang Ma-ru’s question, Lim Sung-un answered.
“Leave it for now. He can’t claim innocence when he embezzled his dead brother’s estate. Let him suffer a bit.”
“And after that?”
“After that, he’ll have to pay for his sins.”
Lim Sung-un stood from his seat as he spoke.
“Before we start the job, familiarize yourself with the blueprints of the Frozen Storage Facility.”
With that, Lim Sung-un left the hideout, and Jang Ma-ru looked at Lee Hye-eun.
“Can you handle computers?”
“At a basic level? Why?”
“If you’re going to help us with backups, you’ll need to know how to operate my equipment. Why don’t you spend the next few days practicing with my gear?”
“I don’t really want to study…”
“It’s fun.”
Jang Ma-ru smiled and began teaching her how to operate the equipment, one step at a time.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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