Official Career Storm-Chapter 1399

To be the secretary of the Security Command's top leader, one needs to possess many professional qualities.

And for such a professional secretary to display such anxiety and nervousness, it is far from ordinary.

General Nan took the phone to check the email.

His expression seemed unchanged, yet the secretary still detected a subtle fluctuation in his demeanor.

General Nan handed the phone back to the secretary and said, "Notify Minister Zhang... I'll make the call myself."

He returned to the living room, picked up his own phone, and dialed the Foreign Minister's number.

Minister Zhang was also ready to rest at this moment, and the sudden call did not make him think much of it.

But when he saw the call was from General Nan of the Security Command, Minister Zhang's expression changed instantly.

A myriad of thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

"General Nan..."

"Minister Zhang." General Nan spoke calmly, succinctly recounting the incident that happened at the Jiangzhou City Consulate in Hua Country.

As the Foreign Minister, Minister Zhang was aware of who Song Guanchao was.

However, every time on a mission, Song Guanchao was always referred to by the code name "No.1."

Upon hearing General Nan's recounting, Minister Zhang first breathed a sigh of relief, then became serious again.

He initially thought something had happened internally in the country, but fortunately, it was not the case.

However, events concerning this "No.1" were also not trivial.

"I understand, I will handle it."

Minister Zhang assured him.

After hanging up the phone, he immediately searched for Cui Shibin's number.

Cui Shibin, having eaten dinner, did not return home but instead took Consul Park and others to a high-end club to drink.

Drunk as a skunk, he was having fun with women at a hotel.

Hence, Minister Zhang's call could not be connected at all.

Minister Zhang's face darkened; it was only past nine in the evening, and the two countries had almost no time difference, yet Cui Shibin just wouldn't pick up the phone.

As an envoy abroad, a phone needs to remain constantly available, which is the most basic professional quality.

The unavailability of the call had only one reason.

Cui Shibin was distracted by something else.

As for what it was, even a toe could guess.

Minister Zhang continued scrolling through the contacts, only to find the number of Cui Shibin, the consul general.

The other members' positions were too low, and anything of importance had to be reported tier by tier, thus not having their contact information.

He called the secretary, asking the secretary to find out other contact information for the Jiangzhou consulate's personnel.

A few minutes later, the secretary sent over all the consulate's contact information.

He called Consul Park, but no one answered.

He called Jin Yongjun, but no one answered.

He reached the last person's number, yet still no one answered.

Minister Zhang, dignified as the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, often met with high-level leaders of other countries, already accustomed to keeping composed amid great crises.

Tonight, however, he rarely showed anger.

Such a large consulate, yet not being able to contact a single person.

Evidently, Cui Shibin had taken everyone out to play, and they were having a wild time.

This is how South Korean workplaces are; once a team-building event occurs, no one is allowed to ask for leave.

Furthermore, subordinates must show absolute respect to their superiors, and the drinking culture is called the best in the world.

Though the drinking culture in Hua Country is seen as dross, compared to South Korea, it pales significantly.

This is why tonight, when Cui Shibin called everyone out to play, regardless of any pressing matters the subordinates had, they immediately put it aside.

Moreover, they genuinely enjoyed accompanying Consul Cui.

Minister Zhang glanced at the time, thought about General Nan's words, took a deep breath, and dialed the secretary's number again.

"Arrange for the regional division to go to Jiangzhou."

"Now?"

"Now!"

"Minister Zhang, what happened?"

"Go ahead and arrange it." Minister Zhang did not explain and hung up the phone somewhat wearily.

The secretary felt a chilling unease: "Yes, I'll arrange it immediately. Minister, what are they supposed to do in Jiangzhou?"

"Temporarily take over the duties of the consul general at the Consulate in Hua Country, immediately remove Cui Shibin and all other consuls from their positions."

The secretary swallowed hard, increasingly curious about what exactly had happened.

"Okay, I understand."

The two countries are close, and Jiangzhou City being a provincial capital has many flights.

At 1:30 AM, the deputy director of the regional division, Zhao Guangxian, temporarily assigned to Jiangzhou City, arrived at Jiangzhou City's International Airport.

Though it was late at night, he was quite awake, with the words from the Minister's secretary still echoing in his mind.

Minister Zhang was going to remove everyone from the consulate on the spot!

This shocked him tremendously!

Such a situation hadn't occurred in many years.

Though he was unclear about what precisely happened, Zhao Guangxian sensed danger.

But danger and opportunity coexist.

The regional division serves as a reserve appointment for overseas envoys; without special circumstances, members of the regional division wanting to take over abroad could only wait for other consuls to return when their terms ended.

Yet this time, the opportunity arose.

If he performed well, he might go from being an acting consul general to becoming the actual consul general!

He first arrived at the consulate, where the doors were shut, the lights were out, only the security booth had someone on duty.

But since the main personnel of the consulate were absent, no one could verify his identity.

He could only try.

So, he walked over, showed his credentials in fluent Mandarin to the several security guards, and explained his identity.

The security guards, with a dubious look, tried contacting someone in the consulate who could make decisions.

But the phone didn't connect.

"Mr. Zhao, please come back tomorrow."

Zhao Guangxian had no choice but to temporarily leave and find a hotel near the consulate to stay.

Arriving at the hotel, he immediately contacted the Minister's secretary, reporting that he had arrived and visited the consulate, but was unable to contact other consuls and would go again the next morning.

The secretary instructed him to keep reporting his actions in real-time tomorrow.

Before hanging up, Zhao Guangxian asked, "Secretary Huang, what exactly is happening here?"

The secretary replied, "Minister Zhang didn't say, you should go ahead as per the minister's instructions."

"Alright."

His questions remained unanswered, leaving Zhao Guangxian feeling somewhat regretful.

Early in the morning, Zhao Guangxian arrived at the consulate, but he came too early; the consulate hadn't yet opened, and the nighttime security had changed shifts.

He had no desire to continue explaining, thus waited nearby.

...

City Committee.

Upon arriving at the office, Zhou Zheng's first task was to send people to understand Song Guanchao's case.

Learning that Song Guanchao was still at the police station, he felt relieved.

He also wanted to see how Lu Zhizhong would react.

City Government.

Zhang Yan placed a call to Director Li, learning that last night Wu Qiangwei and Liang Jianfeng had gone to the police station but did not retrieve anyone.

Her lips curled into a mocking smile.

This time, she believed her strategy was flawless.

Currently, it was Song Guanchao who was apprehended, but she planned to widely disseminate the event afterward.

By then, both the province and the city would know about the conflict between Wu Qiangwei and the Korean Embassy.

Though Wu Qiangwei wasn't implicated this time, whether it would impact her career trajectory remained uncertain.

At ten in the morning.

A black Mercedes Benz drove into the consulate parking lot, where Consul Park, in a suit, got out carrying a briefcase under his arm.

Due to being assaulted, Jin Yongjun had been arranged some time off.

As for Cui Shibin, generally without anything pressing, he would only drop by the consulate briefly each day, typically not staying long.

Upon entering the consulate, Consul Park noticed everyone's gaze at him seemed odd.

Feeling a bit puzzled, he walked towards his office.

Suddenly, a woman's voice sounded behind him at the reception: "Consul Park, Deputy Director Zhao is waiting for you in the office."