December 18th, 2023, 17:05 (New China Time 16:05)

  Black Tiger Headquarters, City Hall District, Beijing, New China

  Without knocking, Commander Diao Yi-nan opened the door of the Captain’s office and entered.

  “What? What is it?”


  Captain Shin Baiqing, who was distressed by the tantrum, suddenly opened the door and reacted in surprise.

  “Sorry, I’m sorry. It was too urgent.”


  “What’s happened again?”


  Captain Shin Baiqing changed his tone to one that was full of worry and asked a question.

  “A hacking attempt was detected in the server security room inside the president’s office.”


  “What? What else do I have to say? What does this have to do with us?”


  “It is said that among the hacked information, the plasma core technology’s leak operation report conducted by the second Team of the Black Tiger Corps was included.”


  In an instant, Captain Shin Baiqing’s eyes grew big.

  “What does that mean? Do you mean that an external server contains such important documents? It’s not an internal network server, huh?”


  “I haven’t figured it out yet…In any case, it has definitely been hacked.”


  “Damn it! Things are getting more and more problematic. Are you tracking the hackers?”


  “Yeah, luckily we detected it right away and we’re tracking it now. It’s in Beijing.”


  “They’re out of their mind. Are our agents in the security room?”


  “Yes, they are.”


  “Tell them to join the chase right now! Do you know who is in charge of the security room?”


  “It is Nida Hong.”


  “Call them right now! As information relating to the Black Tiger Corps are also included in the hacked materials, tell them that we would also want to be a part of this and not to report it to the President’s office for the time being! No. I’ll contact them directly, so you call the agents right away!”


  “Yes, all right.”


  When Battalion Commander Diao Yi-nan left, Captain Shin Baiqing pressed the intercom button on the desk and picked up the receiver.

  “Yes, boss!”


  “Connect to the external network server security manager in the security room!”


  “Yes, I’ll connect you.”


  After a while, a signal was heard over the intercom receiver, and then the voice of a middle-aged man came online.

  “This is Nida Hong, the head of external network security.”


  “Hello. I am Shin Baiqing, Captain of the Black Tiger.”


  “I’m busy right now, so I can’t talk for a long time. If it’s not urgent, try calling again later.”


  “Chief Nida Hong! I know everything about the current hacking attempt.”


  “Ugh! That! How…”


  “Then how are we are supposed to call ourselves espionage agents? Reports say that our Black Tiger’s data is also included among the hacked data.”


  “That’s right. I’m sorry.”


  “I didn’t call to ask for an apology. Anyway, our department’s data was also hacked, so this case will be resolved by the Black Tiger Corps. Our agents will work with the security staff to track down the hacker.”


  “If you do, we will be grateful.”


  “However, we have one condition.”


  “What condition?”


  “Please do not report this hack to the president’s office until it is cleared up.”


  “Yes? It’s late, but I’ll report back later.”


  “Look. I mean, because of your neglect, important documents in our department have been hacked. Do you know how big of a deal it is? So, can’t you just say that our department is moving to solve it quietly? Don’t you know that your neck will be on the line just by reporting it before it is resolved?”


  “Oh, I see. Then I won’t report it for now. Instead, please make sure it gets resolved.”


  “Don’t worry about that. Just know that and wait.”


  “Yes, all right.”


  After finishing the call, Captain Shin Baiqing put down the intercom receiver carefully, took out his cell phone, and called the commander.

  “Yes, boss!”


  “Did you manage to contact the agents there?”


  “Yes, the final confirmed location was confirmed to be the Soap Hotel, which is less than three kilometers away from here, so we made an emergency departure with the special task force.”


  “Soap Hotel?”


  “Yes, it is.”


  “You definitely have to get them. Our lives are at stake. Do you understand?”


  “Yes, we will mobilize all agents in Beijing to have them arrested.”


  “I get it. If anything happens, call me right away!”


  “Yes, boss!”


  December 18th, 2023, 17:11 (New China Time 16:11)

  Soap Hotel, City Hall District, Beijing, New China (Room 501)

  Just as Manager Namgoong-won said, about 10 minutes later, several black vans stopped in front of the Soap Hotel. Men in black suits alighted from the vans and ran into the lobby. Some Black Tiger agents blocked the hotel entrances and started a checkpoint search for hotel guests entering and leaving the hotel. They used all the equipment they brought with them and thoroughly checked everyone.

  “This is Alpha Two! Prey have been spotted entering the lobby. Over!”


  “This is Alpha Zero! Copy that. Over!”


  “This is Alpha One! The lobby has also been spotted swarming with a lot of prey! Some are waiting in the lobby while others are taking the elevator up. Over!”


  “This is Alpha Zero! Copy that. Over!”


  “This is Alpha Three! Two black vans have arrived in the underground parking lot! Multiple prey are controlling the entrance to the parking lot and everyone is going upstairs. Over!”


  “This is Alpha Zero! Alpha Three! Be careful not to get caught. Over!”


  “This is Alpha Three! Copy that. Over!”


  Meanwhile, two agents of the special security team hacked all the computer networks of the Soap Hotel in a secret house in Huairou District and were controlling the CC cameras. In the black van in which Namgoong-won was riding, the Black Tiger agents and security staff, who were now called prey, were all looking at the CC camera through a laptop.

  When the elevator carrying the Black Tiger agents and security personnel arrived on the fifth floor, they each pulled their pistols from their holster and ran down the hallway. Then, after stopping in front of room 501, they immediately kicked the hotel door open, held up their guns, and looked around the room.

  However, when they had confirmed that there was no one in the room but a laptop placed on the table in the living room, a tall man who looked a little older than the other one made a call.

  He was the Chief of the Special Operations Team, Huang Xuen.

  “This is Mandarin Duck! Alpha Four! Scan the face of that guy who’s making a call now and turn up the volume a bit!”


  Namgoong-won, who was watching the situation in the living room through a micro camera installed in the living room, notified Alpha Four via voiceless communication.

  “This is Alpha Four! Scan done! Turning the volume up to maximum.”


  As soon as Alpha Four finished speaking, the voice of Chief Huang Xuen speaking on the phone could be heard.

  “Captain! No one but a laptop in the living room. It seems that he noticed that he was caught and ran away.”


  “Security staff are checking the laptop right now. Please wait a moment.”


  At this time, the security staff who was checking the laptop saw Chief Huang Xuen and shook his head from side to side and said.

  “Hoo! The hacked material remains as it is, and it seems that no copies have been taken. There appears to be no copy made.”


  “Is that true?”


  “Yes, I’ve checked it twice and that seems to be the case.”


  “I’m relieved but why didn’t they bring the laptop with them?”


  “That’s what I am not sure of. Maybe they forgot since they had to run away in a hurry? Anyway, we got the hackers’ laptop, so if you take it and inspect, I think something is bound to come up.”


  Chief Huang Xuen immediately wondered if he would have left a laptop behind. It was not a heavy desktop and could be easily taken along. Realizing that he was still on the phone, he put the phone to his ear and reported.

  “Captain! Fortunately, it has been confirmed that the hacked material is still on the laptop and no copies have been made. They’ve also said that further inspection of the laptop back at the security room might lead us to uncover more information.”


  “Yes, Yes!”


  “Yes, all right.”


  After receiving further instructions for something, team leader Huang Xuen immediately ended the call and ordered his subordinates to retrieve the laptop. At this time, communication came from his subordinates.

  “Soho 2. I have footage from the CC camera.”


  “It’s great. Did you find anything suspicious?

  “About 15 minutes ago, it was confirmed that a woman came out of room 501, and a minute later, a man came out and took the elevator out of the hotel.

  “Have you sent it to the tracking team? Yes, it was sent immediately after checking the CC camera but they have reported that the couple completely disappeared behind the hotel.”


  “Secure all information about the guests of Room 501 from the hotel!”


  “Yes, all right.”


  At the same time, agents of the Foreign Intelligence Unit 1 were inspecting the Black Tiger agents and security staff from their respective locations. Black Tiger agents were requesting information of the guests staying in room 501 from hotel staff at the concierge, while other Black Tiger agents were checking all vehicle numbers in the underground parking lot, and were controlling the elevators and stairs going up to the parking lot entrance and upstairs. More Black Tiger agents were also looking around the area outside the hotel, and other agents were monitoring everyone, not even leaving out a single guard.

  About an hour later, 20 Black Tiger agents remained at the Soap Hotel and continued the checkpoint search, while the rest of the agents headed back to the black vans they had arrived in.

  This was the moment when the highlight of smoking the rabbit hole began. Alpha Two Chief Yoon Tae-jin and his teammates, who had been in a transparent state for over an hour in TCS mode, sneaked onto the black vans before the vehicles departed and were waiting for a free ride.

  Chief Yoon Tae-jin, who was lying flat on the roof of one of the black vans like Spider-Man, sent a silent communication.

  “We’re leaving now. Follow the vans closely.”


  After a long time playing as a spy, Chief Yoon Tae-jin seemed to be having fun. He could sense it as he sent a silent communication.

  Just as they had arrived, the black vans began to move in the same order out of the hotel grounds, and the agents of Team 2, each on the roof of four vehicles, held on as they traveled along the road in the middle of Beijing in a transparent state. Meanwhile, the cars of the Alpha Four agents who were waiting across from the hotel followed them one at a time.

  Shortly after turning onto the main road, at the intersection of Sidan Station, the three vehicles from the front turned left, while one vehicle continued straight. As a result, three of the four Alpha agents turned left and the other went straight.

  The three black vans of the Black Tiger Corps who turned left drove on for about 20 meters, then turned left again and headed for the underground parking lot of the first big building. This building was a famous building called Beijing Capital. The three cars that were following them checked their location after turning left and passed on by.

  December 18th, 2023, 17:20 (New China Time 16:20)

  President’s Office External Network Server Room Headquarters, City Hall District, Beijing, New China

  The fourth vehicle that went straight on from Sidan Station, drove about 600 meters and entered the underground parking lot on the right. This place was unfamiliar from the start. Several cameras were running and the staff working at the entrance were in uniforms and carrying pistols.

  The Alpha Four agent’s vehicle that was following them behind drove slowly, pinpointing its location, and began accelerating again to avoid any suspicion.

  This is the building that operates the external network server room of the president’s office, and the black van drove down from the entrance of the underground parking lot to basement three, passing a total of three checkpoints before arriving at the spacious parking lot. Director Yoo Ha-yeon, who had been holding his breath while hanging flat on the roof until then, got off the roof and walked towards the doorway.

  Director Yoo Ha-yeon, who was alone, checked the CC cameras on the ceiling and everywhere and committed them to his memory one by one.

  Then he headed to the door the security staff had walked through.

  Again, the door was composed of a password and an iris recognition system.

  “This is Alpha Two Again to Alpha Four! Can you hear Alpha Zero?”


  He searched for Manager Ja-Sung through silent communication, but there was no response probably due to communication interference.

  Facing a situation where he was left alone and unable to communicate with anyone, Director Yoo Ha-yeon took a moment to think about a way to complete his task.

  Since he was in basement three of the security building, Director Yoo Ha-yeon thought that there might be a communication interference. He knew that he had to somehow make his way upstairs to communicate with his team. At this time, the display of the X-K02 terminal on his left arm flickered, indicating that the battery had 5 percent remaining.

  After moving to a blind spot where there were no CC cameras, Director Yoo Ha-yeon quickly turned off the TCS mode, replaced the battery in the X-K02 terminal, and then activated the TCS mode again.

  There were two spare batteries brought for emergencies, but only one was fitted into the case. It seemed that one may have fallen when he was on the roof of the van. This was a disaster.

  Each battery could activate TCS mode for only one hour and 30 minutes. Director Yoo Ha-yeon had to get out of this place within an hour and a half. Otherwise, the TCS mode would be shut off and he could be caught. Director Yoo Ha-yeon had many obstacles ahead of him.

  However, Director Yoo Ha-yeon was a black agent for the Foreign Intelligence Service – the toughest department in the National Intelligence Service. Like most elite black agents, Yoo Ha-yeon made up his mind and moved toward the doorway, waiting for someone else to open the door so that he could make his way through……