My Peninsula 2007

Chapter 470 Investigation
At the Ministry of National Defense headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, a silver Volvo drove in from the guard post with two barriers, circled around the open courtyard for a short while, and finally entered the parking lot, stopping in a parking space.

Inside the car, Zheng Junnan turned off the engine, took his briefcase and umbrella from the passenger seat, and was about to open the car door when his phone, which was on the center console, suddenly rang.

He handed his briefcase and umbrella to his left hand, took the phone with his right hand, glanced at the caller ID on the screen, and then pressed the answer button.

"Boss, didn't you ask me to investigate An Rusong? Guess what I found?" The phone had barely connected when a young man's slightly excited voice came through.

"Are you going to make me guess?" Zheng Junnan said, holding his phone between his ear and shoulder as he opened the car door.

It was raining outside the car. The rain wasn't heavy, but the raindrops were quite large.

For the past three or four days, Seoul has been experiencing continuous rain. Yesterday afternoon, it finally cleared up for half a day, but then it started raining again late at night and shows no signs of stopping.

The person who called Zheng Junnan was Jin Zhiyu, a prosecutor's assistant who assisted him in his work. Jin was a young man who had just started working and still had a bit of a youthful air about him.

Jin Zhiyu on the phone was taken aback by his blunt remark. After a moment of silence, he said, "Um, boss, I found out that An Rusong is currently serving in the military. He is an active-duty soldier in the First Guard Regiment of the Capital Guard Command, but his military service registration is with the Aircraft Maintenance Command."

"Oh?" Zheng Junnan paused in his work; this news was truly unexpected for him.

Prior to this, he knew very little about An Rusong. He did know that the guy was young, but he never expected that as a newly minted billionaire, this guy had not yet completed his military service, and was even currently serving his military service.

Of course, just from Jin Zhiyu's words, he could guess that An Rusong was serving in the regular reserve service, the easiest type of military service, which didn't even require going to the barracks. The reason why the Republic of Korea still had such a type of military service was purely to provide those with status and background with a way to help them evade military service in practice.

"That's all?" Zheng Junnan asked casually as he reached out of the car and opened the umbrella.

“Not only that,” Jin Zhiyu said with no small amount of pride, “I also looked into that Lieutenant Lin Ya’en. According to the information I received, this guy is An Rusong’s direct superior in the First Garrison Regiment of the Capital Guard Command, but the relationship between the two…”

Zheng Junnan had already climbed out of the car. He steadied himself and closed the car door with his right elbow, which was holding the umbrella, but his attention remained focused on his phone.

"The person who gave me the information said that those two have definitely been sleeping together for a while now," Jin Zhiyu continued on the phone. "That Lieutenant Lin Ya'en has many suitors, but she usually doesn't pay any attention to any of them. Now..."

"Did I ask you to inquire about these gossip stories?" Zheng Junnan interrupted the other person impatiently.

He wasn't interested in such low-class gossip, let alone such baseless tabloid news. Even if he could produce evidence to prove that Lin Ya'en and An Rusong really slept together, and in all sorts of ways, so what? He was a military prosecutor, not a tabloid reporter.

“Oh, I also found out that An Rusong’s meeting with Zheng Shizhi the night before last was likely related to the ‘Military Home’ renovation project that the Army Association is currently operating,” Jin Zhiyu quickly changed the subject after being scolded again.

"The Military Home?" Upon hearing this name, Zheng Junnan subconsciously stopped and turned to look southwest, asking instinctively, "The 'Military Home' near Longshan Station?"

In his memory, there was a "Military Personnel's Home" in front of Longshan Station, and he had to pass by that place every day on his way to work at the Ministry of National Defense.

“Yes, it’s that ‘Military House’,” Jin Zhiyu said. “For some time now, the Army Association has been planning to renovate it and operate it as a hotel open to the public, but they haven’t been able to find a suitable source of funding. To that end, the Army Association has even put the whole project online, hoping to find more potential investors or bidders.”

Zheng Junnan walked to the main building of the Ministry of National Defense, holding an umbrella. The rain seemed to be intensifying, the raindrops pattering against the umbrella with a strange rhythm. "The information I've gathered is that someone has their eye on this project recently, and Zheng Shizhi is the middleman," Jin Zhiyu continued on the phone. "Because of this, the Army Association has already removed the project's announcement from the internet. The person who provided me with the information doesn't know who Zheng Shizhi is connecting us with, but considering what we saw the night before last, it's most likely An Rusong."

Zheng Junnan climbed the steps in front of the main building. As he entered through the main entrance, he folded his umbrella and questioned his phone, "That 'Military Home' building is about forty years old, right? I think it's close to forty. Would An Rusong, a man worth hundreds of millions of dollars, be interested in that run-down place?"

“That’s hard to say,” Jin Zhiyu said. “Who would complain about having too much money?”

“Your argument won’t convince the prosecution team, and it won’t even convince me,” Zheng Junnan said dismissively.

South Korea's military prosecution system is directly under the Ministry of National Defense, and its highest body is the Military Prosecution Team. If Jung Joon-nam wants to investigate Ahn Yeo-song, he will definitely need the approval of the prosecution team. Although Ahn Yeo-song is just a recruit without a regular military rank, his identity is very special. If an investigation is launched against him, the impact will definitely be significant. Therefore, if Jung Joon-nam wants to get approval from above, he must find a reason that can convince the prosecution team.

“Maybe… I mean, maybe, maybe the person interested in the ‘Military Family’ project is Lieutenant Lin Ya’en?” Jin Zhiyu guessed. “You saw it the night before last; the document was in Lieutenant Lin Ya’en’s hands. Her relationship with An Rusong is ambiguous; maybe she could whisper in his ear and he would step in to smooth things over for her?”

Jung Joon-nam didn't speak. He had already walked to the elevator. In his heart, he felt that Kim Ji-woo's guess was not impossible. Although the "Military House" was very dilapidated, it was still a multi-story building. Jung Joon-nam couldn't guess how much the entire project would cost, but he estimated that it could be several billion or even tens of billions of Korean won.

Would An Rusong really step in and secure such a huge project just for a woman? Zheng Junnan felt it was unlikely. Although he was a military prosecutor, he wasn't exactly honest and upright; he had several mistresses and other women outside the marriage. While he wasn't exactly stingy with his mistresses, he would never do something like securing a business worth billions or even tens of billions of Korean won for them unless he was out of his mind.

“Your speculation is meaningless,” Zheng Junnan said finally, watching the elevator numbers slowly drop. “What I need is concrete evidence, real materials. Here’s what we’ll do: you continue your investigation until this afternoon.”

As he was speaking, his phone suddenly vibrated; another call was coming in. Looking at the caller ID, the screen displayed "Bai Genzheng".

"Okay, let's meet up for a meeting this afternoon, around 3 o'clock. I'll hang up now," Zheng Junnan quickly said one last thing before hanging up on Jin Zhiyu.

Just then, the elevator arrived at the first floor, but he didn't go in. Instead, he stood at the door and answered the call from "Bai Genzheng"—the signal in the elevator was bad, and he was worried that the call would be interfered with, since Bai Genzheng was his superior and a ministerial prosecutor in the military procuratorate.

"Prosecutor Bai." Zheng Junnan had barely finished greeting him when a warm voice came from the other end of the line, "Junnan, where are you right now?"

“Prosecutor Bai, I just got downstairs and am waiting for the elevator,” Zheng Junnan replied hurriedly.

“Oh, that’s perfect,” Bai Genzheng laughed on the phone. “Don’t go back to your office yet, come to my place first.”

“Okay, Prosecutor Bai, I’ll be right there,” Zheng Junnan replied.

Zheng Junnan and Bai Genzheng have an extraordinary relationship. His father was a military prosecutor in the Military Procuratorate, and once served as the third chief prosecutor. Within the entire Military Procuratorate system, he was one of the top leaders. At that time, Bai Genzheng had served as an investigator for his father. Because of this, Bai Genzheng has taken good care of him over the years.

By the time the call ended, the elevator had already started going up. Fortunately, another elevator next to it was about to go down to the first floor. Zheng Junnan quickly changed his position and squeezed in with several other people who were also waiting for the elevator.

The Ministry of National Defense is a large institution, with several office buildings in just one compound. The main building alone houses seven or eight agencies. Among them, the Military Prosecutor's Office is located on the sixth floor. As a military prosecutor, Zheng Junnan does not yet have his own office. He shares an office with two investigators and two assistants in his team.

However, Paik Geun-jung, as a ministerial prosecutor, is different. Given his rank, he naturally has his own dedicated office. As things stand, Paik Geun-jung's position is what Jung Joon-nam is striving for.

(End of this chapter)