Goblin Library - Chapter 188

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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 188.

Near the Frozen Storage Facility in Incheon, Jang Ma-ru’s hideout vehicle sat parked. Jang Ma-ru, monitoring the screens inside, spoke.
“Alright, I’ll trigger the system error now.”
With that, Jang Ma-ru’s fingers flew across the keyboard. An error alert began flashing on the monitor managing the Frozen Storage Facility’s systems.
“Okay.”
A Factory Employee near the computer saw the alert and appeared flustered, gesturing urgently to those around him—all visible to Jang Ma-ru through the surveillance camera feed on his monitor.
“If you can’t figure it out from looking, call right away. Don’t keep them waiting…”
As Jang Ma-ru muttered while watching the bustling activity, one of the employees picked up his phone.
“Okay.”
Jang Ma-ru grinned with satisfaction and looked at Lee Hye-eun. She inserted an earpiece into her ear.
Then the phone rang.
Ring! Ring!
“Yes, this is Shin Jin Equipment. Ah, you’re experiencing a system error in the Frozen Storage Facility? What error code is displaying? Code 47? One moment. I understand. As it happens, we have a driver on a business call nearby—shall I send him over? Understood.”
After hanging up, Lee Hye-eun looked at Choi Tae-sik and Jang Ma-ru. Both nodded at her gaze and opened the car door.
Jang Ma-ru, about to step out, paused and turned back to Lee Hye-eun.
“When I give the signal, just press the buttons I tell you to press.”
Lee Hye-eun nodded and waved the paper beside her.
“Don’t worry.”
The paper contained multiple command sequences. Following them would automatically hack the surveillance cameras and systems.
Choi Tae-sik and Jang Ma-ru exited the vehicle and climbed into the small compact car parked ahead.
As Choi Tae-sik gripped the steering wheel and began driving, Lee Hye-eun’s voice came through.
[So this is where the brain sits, huh.]
“What are you talking about?”
[Maru’s hideout. Anyway, it’s nice being here like this. Feels like watching a spy movie.]
When Jang Ma-ru detected the sound of chewing mixed into Lee Hye-eun’s voice, he spoke.
“Please don’t drop too many cracker crumbs.”
[Don’t worry. I put wet wipes next to me. I’ll wipe my hands before typing on the keyboard.]
“Thank you.”
Jang Ma-ru smiled and looked ahead. Since they were near the Frozen Storage Facility, they soon passed through the entrance.
After stating their purpose at the security booth, the two parked the car in the Parking Lot and immediately gathered their work bags.
“Once I mention inside that there’s an issue with Warehouse No. 5, let’s take a look around the area.”
Jang Ma-ru’s suspected location was Warehouse No. 5. The reason was simple: surveillance cameras were installed everywhere else, but not there.
As they entered the warehouse building, a man in work clothes approached from the entrance.
“Thank you for coming so quickly.”
“We were passing nearby anyway, so we’re fortunate too. Let’s start by checking the computer.”
Choi Tae-sik got straight to business, and the worker nodded, leading both of them to the Office.
“Here’s the computer.”
“Let me run a self-diagnostic first.”
The Factory Employee spoke as he watched Jang Ma-ru sit before the computer and type on the keyboard.
“The driver is quite young, isn’t he?”
“Our youngest came straight to the site right after high school graduation, so yes, he’s on the younger side.”
“Is that so? That’s admirable.”
“Thank you.”
Jang Ma-ru answered with a smile, then continued tapping the keyboard before turning to the Factory Employee and speaking.
“There seems to be a problem with Warehouse No. 5. I think we need to go inside and check it out.”
“Warehouse No. 5? Understood.”
The Factory Employee complied without hesitation and moved away. The Factory Employee who brought the two to Warehouse No. 5 spoke.
“Will you need to stay inside for a long time?”
“I’ll need to see where the problem is first. Some things can’t be determined just from error codes.”
“Then… at least wear this.”
The Factory Employee pointed to the thick one-piece work suit beside him.
At the Factory Employee’s words, Choi Tae-sik and Jang Ma-ru put on the work suits. Then, as they threw on thick jackets over them, the Factory Employee opened the frozen storage facility door.
Whoooosh!
As they stepped into the warehouse with cold air rushing out, the Factory Employee spoke to the two.
“This is Warehouse No. 5.”
Choi Tae-sik, who followed the Factory Employee into the warehouse, looked around.
Boxes were stacked all around. Though written in a foreign language so I couldn’t tell what was inside, the fish drawings suggested they were frozen fish.
The Factory Employee spoke while looking at a thermometer on one side.
“The temperature is being maintained well so far.”
“Even home refrigerators and freezers don’t thaw everything immediately when there’s a problem. Let me look around for a moment.”
As they spoke, Choi Tae-sik and Jang Ma-ru looked around.
[I don’t see anything unusual.]
At Lee Hye-eun’s words, Choi Tae-sik nodded and whispered softly.
“Could there be a cash box hidden inside the boxes?”
Then Jang Ma-ru answered in a lowered voice.
“That’s unlikely. When we asked to see Warehouse No. 5, the Factory Employee showed it without hesitation. The workers here don’t even know about the cash box’s existence.”
“Then maybe a different warehouse?”
“That’s not it either. The other warehouses are all covered by surveillance cameras. This one without cameras is definitely the right place, but…”
Jang Ma-ru stopped mid-sentence as if he’d discovered something. Then, looking around as if calculating something, he spoke.
“Sister, that’s… not it.”
[Why?]
“It’s complicated to explain in words, so I think it’s better if I just do it here.”
Jang Ma-ru took out his phone and remotely accessed the computer in the car.
Then he scanned from the entrance to the opposite wall.
The monitor displayed the distance from the entrance to the wall.
“There’s 5 meters unaccounted for.”
“5 meters?”
At Choi Tae-sik’s question, Jang Ma-ru nodded.
『It seems similar to our hideout.』
Lee Hye-eun asked at Jang Ma-ru’s words.
[A hideout?]
『Our hideout was also made by building walls inside a warehouse to create space. That’s why the actual space here is smaller than the blueprints show.』
As Jang Ma-ru spoke, he looked at the frozen storage facility blueprints on his phone and said,
『There’s a space beyond that wall.』
[5 meters… with a length of 5 meters and width as well, the space must be enormous.]
『Exactly. There should be an entrance somewhere….』
As Jang Ma-ru examined the wall, a factory employee approached.
『How long do you think it will take?』
『I’ll need to check how the fan is operating.』
With that answer, Jang Ma-ru walked toward the fan attached to one wall.
Stepping on the stacked boxes and climbing up, Jang Ma-ru spoke.
『Tae-sik, go over toward the wall and take a look. I’ll draw this person’s attention from here.』
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Choi Tae-sik nodded and began moving near the wall, pretending to look around. Walking while only looking at the wall would raise suspicion.
The factory employee glanced at Choi Tae-sik and said,
『But that gentleman isn’t looking, and the young driver is the one examining the machinery.』
At the employee’s words, Jang Ma-ru laughed while inspecting the fan and said,
『I’m quite skilled at this. And if I don’t know something, my brother will come and check again. The fan seems weak. You can hear the sound, right?』
『Yes. Now that you mention it, it does sound quieter than usual.』
『This seems to be the problem.』
As he spoke, Jang Ma-ru pulled electronic equipment from his bag and pretended to work on the fan.
While Jang Ma-ru drew the employee’s attention, Choi Tae-sik’s voice came through.
[This must be it.]
At that, Jang Ma-ru pulled out his phone. Through the small camera attached to Choi Tae-sik’s body, he could see what he was seeing.
What Choi Tae-sik saw were frozen storage boxes stacked in front of the wall.
『What’s wrong?』
[These stacked boxes here show signs of being moved.]
Jang Ma-ru confirmed the traces Choi Tae-sik mentioned on his phone screen and spoke to the employee.
『I think I know what the problem is. Let’s go back to the office.』
『Really? What’s the issue?』
『Well, looking at this here….』
As Jang Ma-ru explained using complex electrical terminology, the employee who had been staring blankly at him laughed and said,
『Let’s go.』
He decided not to press further, as the employee clearly wouldn’t understand even if asked more questions.
As Jang Ma-ru climbed down, he spoke toward Choi Tae-sik.
『Brother, when I give the signal, check if the fan is running properly.』
『Got it.』
『Isn’t that gentleman coming up?』
“I need to check on things here while I’m working at the office. Otherwise, I’ll have to come back and report later.”
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, the Factory Employee glanced toward Choi Tae-sik.
“You must be cold.”
“I install and repair freezers for a living—this is nothing. I’ll be fine. Or if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate a warm cup of coffee after we’re done.”
“Understood.”
As the Factory Employee and Jang Ma-ru descended from the box and headed toward the office, Choi Tae-sik glanced around and spoke.
“There really aren’t any surveillance cameras in here, right?”
[That’s right. Maru checked multiple times, and we verified again when you arrived.]
At Lee Hye-eun’s words, Choi Tae-sik grabbed one of the boxes that bore traces of movement. Confusion flickered across his face.
“This is lighter than I expected.”
Speaking as he pulled the box, Choi Tae-sik dragged it downward in one smooth motion. But the entire row of boxes moved together.
From the outside, they appeared to be stacked individually, but they were all connected in a single line.
Moreover, they were surprisingly light. Not empty-box light, of course.
But compared to the weight when those boxes were fully loaded, they were remarkably light.
Shhhhk!
After pulling out the boxes and removing the ones behind them, the space beyond became visible.
And Choi Tae-sik smiled.
“Found it.”

***

At the hideout, the Lim Sung-un Team examined the photographs Choi Tae-sik had brought.
“If you remove two rows of boxes, there’s a door like this. And the door has security measures installed…”
When Choi Tae-sik looked at Jang Ma-ru, he nodded and pointed to the security devices.
“What you see here is a fingerprint recognition system, the second is a keypad. And there’s card authentication.”
“Fingerprints… So the same person always handles the transfers.”
At Lee Hye-eun’s remark, Lim Sung-un spoke.
“Secrets are safest when fewer people know them.”
Then he looked at Jang Ma-ru and asked.
“What about hacking?”
“That system is independent, so we can’t hack it from outside. To hack it, we’d have to do it directly from inside.”
“If we do it directly, can we break through all the security?”
“I’m not sure since we haven’t made a direct connection, but it’s just a matter of time.”
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Lim Sung-un paused in thought before speaking.
“What about getting inside?”
“While I was working on the computer this time, I set it up so hacking would go smoothly. As long as we avoid being seen, getting inside won’t be a problem.”
“Then the issue is how much we can carry out.”
“What do you mean? We need to take everything.”
Lim Sung-un answered Lee Hye-eun’s words.
“If our assumptions are correct, there will be stacks of cash in there. A large bag filled with money would be incredibly heavy. We’d probably need twenty such bags, or even more… At this rate, I’m not sure when we’ll manage to move it all.”
At Lim Sung-un’s words, Lee Hye-eun spoke up.
“I can carry three, or even four of them.”
Lim Sung-un paused briefly at Lee Hye-eun’s offer before responding.
“Let’s go in first and assess the situation, then move as much as we can. We’ll execute the plan this evening.”
“Right now? Today?”
The repair technician for the frozen storage facility had just left today—wouldn’t it look suspicious if they went in immediately?
“That’s exactly why we’re doing it. The repair technician’s identity was fake anyway.”
Then Lim Sung-un continued.
“This evening, the three of us will go in—me, Choi Tae-sik, and Hye-eun.”

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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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