The inspector is getting promoted!

“This fucking bastard!”

The chair that Chief Prosecutor Im Seong-jin threw shattered a mirror as it crashed to the ground.

“What, an informant? Informants are fucking worthless!”

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? Is that all you have to say? I told you to manage that bastard Shin Yong-ho properly!”

Im Seong-jin’s shoe slammed into Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jo Won-hyung’s shin.

With a sharp thud, Jo Won-hyung limped in pain, barely managing to stand.

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Somehow…”

“What do you mean ‘somehow’?”

Im Seong-jin’s loud yell reverberated through the office, followed by another sound of violence.

“How! are you going to do it! Tell me specifically!”

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jo Won-hyung finally collapsed to the floor.

Even so, Im Seong-jin couldn’t contain his anger and swept the papers from the table onto the floor.

“Damn it!”

He had been hit hard.

It was the mistake of demoting Shin Yong-ho to the provinces like the others.

Even though the guy had no money or connections, he never expected him to fight back like this.

Beyond his fears, Im Seong-jin had allied with Kim Seok-won, the Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutor’s Office.

Kim Seok-won.

He was one of the few high-ranking prosecutors Im Seong-jin couldn’t touch.

Moreover, with the High Prosecutor appointments coming up in a few months, Kim Seok-won would go all out to capture him for his own benefit.

He had to find a way out.

Right now, he was aware that Kim Seok-won was already preparing to strike through his subordinates, including the Economic Crime Investigation Department, but Kim Seok-won must have anticipated this situation as well.

He had probably planned his move from the very beginning.

There was no way he could get dragged into this just because a damned fool decided to throw himself into the fire.

He believed there had to be an escape route.

If there wasn’t one, he would create one himself.

Otherwise, he would truly be doomed.

“Deputy Chief.”

“Yes, Chief.”

“That bastard didn’t go directly to the Deputy Chief Prosecutor, right?”

“I found out that Shin Yong-ho, Gwangju District Prosecutor Choi Seo-jun, and Inspection Department’s Song Hyun-seong are all university classmates. Shin Yong-ho and Choi Seo-jun probably used Song Hyun-seong to reach the Deputy Chief Prosecutor.”

“Damn it! What the hell is Chief Prosecutor Baek Seong-tak doing, that he can’t even cut off this little parasite?”

Chief Prosecutor Baek Seong-tak from the Inspection Department.

Every time such a thing happened, Baek Seong-tak had cleaned things up, so the demoted guys couldn’t even speak up.

But this time, it was a problem that it had gone straight to Kim Seok-won, bypassing Baek Seong-tak.

“Seems like Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park Seung-su is in Kim Seok-won’s faction…”

“Do you think I didn’t know? I know, damn it!”

Im Seong-jin’s nameplate flew through the air, narrowly missing the side of Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jo Won-hyung’s head.

Jo Won-hyung, startled, quickly breathed a sigh of relief and asked:

“What should we do about the paperwork?”

“Forget the paperwork, we need to control the narrative first and take the lead. Unless the High Prosecutor actively intervenes, it’s unlikely the warrant will be issued today.”

Im Seong-jin clenched his fist and said:

“Call that reporter. If we mess this up, we’re all out of a job.”

“Understood.”

***

The operation to arrest members of the Economic Crime Investigation Department, which began early in the morning, continued hastily through lunch.

By now, the news must have reached them. They’ll surely try to do something before the warrant is issued.

As I was receiving instructions from Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Seok-won, someone urgently knocked on the door.

“Who is it?”

“Sir, it’s urgent!”

“Come in.”

Song Hyun-seong rushed in, breathless, and spoke urgently.

“Did you see the TV?”

“Why? What happened?”

“Right now, Im Seong-jin…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Park Seung-su, who was sitting across from me, picked up the remote and turned on the TV. On the screen, a caption reading “Breaking News” appeared, and Im Seong-jin’s face began to appear.

This doesn’t feel good.

“Turn up the volume.”

…While working, I discovered that some of my subordinate prosecutors were involved in serious corruption. They were prosecutors I considered as precious as family, so I spent a long time contemplating. However, as a prosecutor in a rule-of-law country like South Korea, I decided that I must reveal this. The creation of this situation is entirely my own fault. Please, feel free to criticize me. I will take responsibility and do my best to uphold justice.

At the bottom of the screen, the caption read, “Star Prosecutor Im Seong-jin Begins Investigation into Corruption of Subordinate Prosecutors.”

At first, I thought of simply demoting them, but I also believe that lenient investigations and covering up corruption within the prosecution are crimes. So, I am here, in front of all of you, to sincerely announce that I will investigate thoroughly…

“This crazy bastard.”

A curse slipped out of Park Seung-su, Deputy Chief Prosecutor.

He had expected Im Seong-jin’s ear to catch wind of the warrant application eventually, but he didn’t expect him to move this quickly.

The bastard had more than just the power to act — he had the drive, the intelligence, and the determination. Im Seong-jin was no pushover.

Still, it was within expectations.

They probably thought he would try to weasel his way out through media play.

The problem, though, was how early he had moved.

“Even if the Prosecutor General is backing him, isn’t that a bit too much?”

Kim Seok-won, Deputy Chief Prosecutor, smirked and nodded.

“Right. He’s basically saying he’s going to save himself and let everyone else burn.”

On the TV screen, Im Seong-jin continued speaking, his expression solemn.

Currently, the three prosecutors demoted to the provinces, Jeong Won-ho, Han Hee-joo, and Shin Yong-ho, have been found to be involved in a variety of corruption, including bribery, abuse of power, obstruction of justice, forgery, and accepting third-party bribes. However, it is expected that there are still more crimes to uncover, and additional accomplices may…

He even mentioned Shin Yong-ho’s name.

The other two mentioned were also prosecutors demoted from the Economic Crime Investigation Department.

He was trying to shift the blame to the prosecutors he had already cut off.

Im Seong-jin had always been a scoundrel, but now he had crossed the line into full-blown fraudster territory.

Right now, he was surely trying to stay low to escape the crisis, but the fact that he mentioned Shin Yong-ho meant he had already figured out that Song Hyun-seong and I were working together.

If he survives this, he will definitely come after us for revenge.

The game was already set. Now, in order to survive, we had to bring down Im Seong-jin.

“Deputy Chief.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“How much longer until the warrant is issued? The Prosecutor General himself contacted Judge Kim to make sure it gets issued today.”

Just then, Park Seung-su’s phone rang.

He checked the caller ID and answered.

“Let me check.”

Kim Seok-won nodded, and Park Seung-su answered the phone.

“Yeah, okay.”

After a few responses, he hung up and immediately turned to Kim Seok-won, his expression signaling that things were ready.

“The warrant was just issued. We can head out right now.”

***

Except for Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Seok-won, the Inspection Department prosecutors, together with us, immediately headed to raid the Economic Crime Investigation Department.

Because the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office and the Seoul High Prosecutor’s Office are right next to each other, once the warrant was issued, they couldn’t prepare much, and they were caught off guard.

Clearly, they hadn’t expected the warrant to be issued today, as the moment we entered the office, the sound of a shredder echoed, and various documents were scattered around or flying through the air.

It seemed they had been so busy with media play that they hadn’t finished processing the paperwork.

That will be your first mistake.

Baek Seong-tak, the head of the Inspection Department, showed the search warrant and explained to the Economic Crime Investigation Department staff.

“At this time, a search warrant has been issued for the Economic Crime Investigation Department, covering five charges, including bribery…”

He deliberately read the explanation slowly, as if trying to confirm the lines, but there wasn’t enough time to make sense of the situation.

Before the Economic Crime Investigation Department staff could finish organizing, the Inspection Department prosecutors began their search.

I wanted to join the search myself, but as I was from the Gwangju District Prosecutor’s Office, I had no authority here, so I stepped back and observed the situation from a distance.

Im Seong-jin let out a deep sigh and, holding a briefcase, approached Baek Seong-tak.

“How did the warrant come out so quickly, Mr. Baek?”

He tried to lower his voice, but he was so angry that his tone was higher than expected, and even I, who was standing a distance away, could hear him.

“You were told this morning, weren’t you?”

His voice was gritted through clenched teeth, as if he could eat someone alive.

As far as I knew, Im Seong-jin was junior to Baek Seong-tak by seniority.

But for him to react like this meant his power was considerable.

However, with so many eyes from the Inspection Department on them, Baek Seong-tak couldn’t answer and instead turned his gaze toward me.

It seemed he was signaling that this mess was because of me.

“I don’t recognize your face.”

Im Seong-jin said coldly, but I answered calmly.

“I’m here to provide support.”

“You came all the way from Gwangju to Seoul? I heard you’re friends with Yong-ho.”

“It’s the first time we’re meeting. You know me, though.”

I smiled, trying to provoke him, and his face twisted as he clenched his fists.

“Be careful.”

He glared at me with eyes that seemed to burn through me, then turned and walked toward the door.

His obvious trick was so ridiculous that it almost made me laugh.

I quickly followed him and grabbed the briefcase he was holding.

“You’ll need to leave that behind. Didn’t you hear the search warrant I just read?”

Trying to use a trick that seemed like something a third-rate criminal would do.

He distracted himself with other things, only to attempt this simple, familiar trick of trying to steal an important briefcase while under pressure.

It seems his sharp mind for media manipulation couldn’t come up with anything else when it came to a crisis situation.

In that moment, Im Seong-jin’s expression darkened.

“Let go.”

“I can’t let go.”

The moment Im Seong-jin and I clashed, the attention of the Inspection Department prosecutors and Economic Crime Investigation Department staff shifted toward us.

“Just to explain in case the chief prosecutor doesn’t know, a search warrant grants the right to search and seize everything in this office.”

If I took the briefcase carelessly, that would also be illegal.

With so many eyes on us, everyone would become a witness.

Im Seong-jin glared at me, grinding his teeth as he said:

“This briefcase belongs to a friend from the Human Rights and Honor Protection Department, who came this morning and accidentally left it behind. It’s not our property, so I’m returning it. And…”

He tightened his grip on the briefcase and pulled harder.

“You, a nobody, have no right to interfere. You’re not from the Inspection Department, are you?”

Despite his menacing tone, the briefcase he was pulling didn’t go to him. I had a firm grip on it, anticipating this move.

“If it’s your friend’s, then it’s not an Economic Crime Investigation Department item. So, as I’m not from the Inspection Department, it should be fine for me to handle it, right?”

With a smile, I yanked the briefcase hard, and eventually, the handle ripped off, sending the papers scattered across the floor.

Thanks to my childhood training in judo, the strength in my hands came in handy here.

“Ah, I’ll compensate for the damaged briefcase,” I said, shrugging as I looked at the pile of scattered papers.

“That is, if these aren’t documents belonging to the Economic Crime Investigation Department.”