I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 123

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

123 – Solar Panels
123
The Command Room, now emptied of all personnel.
The aftermath of the grenade still lingered in the air.
The acrid stench of gunpowder hung thick and heavy,
and destruction was scattered throughout the space.
Blood caked to the floor of the Command Room seemed to testify to just how brutal things had been mere moments ago.
Yet I still had to negotiate with Wei Zhonglin here.
This was the only place where I could resolve Zamboanga’s and Unity Town’s electricity needs cheaply and efficiently.
Honestly, when these men came to kidnap me, I nearly greeted them warmly.
I’d thought that negotiating with China would make acquiring solar panels as easy as obtaining weapons.
I hadn’t anticipated the grenades, though.
Things hadn’t gone according to plan, but here I was, face-to-face with Wei Zhonglin nonetheless.
Even in this situation, Wei Zhonglin showed no sign of agitation.
Was this the military background showing through?
He regarded me with sharp, piercing eyes.
Perhaps he was simply projecting more confidence to mask any intimidation he might feel.
“God, I nearly died there.”
“Nearly? You don’t actually think you’re walking out of here alive, do you?”
Wei Zhonglin spoke with absolute confidence, as though all the leverage belonged to him.
“Let’s hope so. If I die here, you’ll have a problem too. Dead bodies in a Command Room tend to complicate things.”
“Ah, you’ll die alright—just somewhere no one will ever find you.”
“Is that so? Then Assand won’t get its supplies, will it?”
“According to our intelligence, it’s being produced somewhere in the Philippines. We suspect Mindanao. If we cooperate with the Philippine government, finding it will be simple. And producing it ourselves would be even simpler.”
“You think the Philippine government can just march into Mindanao?”
“Of course. We’ll help them. Or we can go in ourselves.”
“Ha ha ha. Insane. Most people call that war, don’t they?”
“So what? The Philippine government would love it. They’ve never been able to touch Mindanao, but thanks to us, they could clean it up nicely.”
“It’s not that simple, is it?”
“It’s only complicated if you think it’s complicated. If you keep it simple and push forward, it works fine. Enter under the banner of development—no problems at all. The Rebel Forces become a threat to development. We dispatch our military as a necessary measure to protect innocent Chinese citizens. Once the Chinese military enters Mindanao, they’ll destroy everything you’ve built. People, organizations, buildings—everything. Everything except the Assand Factory. Ha ha ha.”
Wei Zhonglin laughed with absolute certainty.
“I see.”
With that, I reached down and picked up the gun I’d set beside me.
Wei Zhonglin’s eyes widened at the sight of my weapon.
He’d apparently forgotten I had it.
“What are you doing? Why are you picking up the gun? I thought we were talking.”
“We were. But you’re standing right in front of me, openly telling me you’ll kill me and destroy everything I’ve built. It’d be ridiculous just to sit here and take it.”
“Whoa, put the gun away. That’s cheating.”
“Cheating? Nonsense. You use every method at your disposal, so I use every method at mine. I’ll be honest—if you deploy your military, we can’t win. But in war, even if we can’t win overall, I can still kill you. If I kill you here, someone will take your place, but at least they won’t wage war the way you would. From my perspective, that’s a bargain. If I can prevent war by trading your life for mine.”
Wei Zhonglin fell silent.
Wei Zhonglin hadn’t anticipated this situation, and his expression grew troubled.
“You have two options. Want to hear them?”
“Go ahead.”
Wei Zhonglin answered with a cynical tone.
“First option: you die here by my hand. Then I die too. But we prevent the war. That’s the first option.”
“What’s the second?”
“Set aside emotions and handle this cleanly—business only.”
“Business?”
“You need Assand. I take goods in fair exchange.”
“Goods?”
“Wasn’t there a handover?”
“Unfortunately not. There was no one to hand it over to.”
“Fair enough. Let me explain it clearly again. We supplied Assand, and in return we received weapons. Whatever fell short or exceeded was covered in cash.”
“Hmm…”
Wei Zhonglin fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.
“There’s much I didn’t know.”
“Going forward, there will be many things only you’ll know while others remain ignorant. You sit in a position where that’s inevitable.”
Did those words sound like I was acknowledging Wei Zhonglin as my successor?
Wei Zhonglin’s expression seemed considerably more at ease.
“That would be true, wouldn’t it?”
“Of course. But there’s something we need more than weapons.”
“What is it?”
“Solar panels.”
“Solar panels?”
Hearing the words “solar panels,” Wei Zhonglin seemed genuinely delighted.
It was a trivial thing.
The previous government had apparently given weapons in exchange for Assand.
I couldn’t even imagine what grand demands this madman would make in exchange for Assand, and I was somewhat afraid. But solar panels?
Solar panels, he says.
That’s manageable.
Almost something to be grateful for.
If I proposed exchanging weapons and Assand now, having seized power through a coup so recently, there could be resistance from multiple quarters. But solar panels could actually be presented as an achievement.
It’s all about how you package it.
China leads the world in solar panels.
Overwhelmingly in first place.
The performance is respectable, but in terms of sheer volume, no one comes close to China.
China produces eighty percent of the world’s solar panels.
Recently, they’ve been producing so much that inventory has piled up—a perfect opportunity to clear it.
You can have your cake and eat it too.
“I’m thinking of buying an electric company in the Philippines these days, but the power plants there are inadequate. So I’m considering building a solar power plant instead.”
“Solar power is excellent. It’s cheap, environmentally friendly, and highly efficient.”
“See? When we set aside emotions and focus purely on business, isn’t it wonderful? We each get exactly what we want.”
Wei Zhonglin offered a faint smile.
“Clean and simple. So we exchange Assand for solar panels? Deal?”
“Agreed. However…”
“What else do you have to say?”
“I think we need to adjust the unit price.”
“The unit price?”
“Yes. We considered China a partner. But looking at this situation, I realize we were merely a subcontractor whose supply could be cut off at any time. And since you unilaterally terminated the contract, you should pay a penalty.”
“…”
“We thought of China as a partner, believing we should prosper together and share hardships. But that was just our delusion. The reality is we were subcontractors.”
“Ahem. That’s…”
“So this time, I’m going to charge proper rates. I’m not happy about it either, but let’s leave emotions out of this.”
“So how much?”
“Exactly ten times the current price.”
“What?”
“Why are you shocked? I told you—we considered you partners. That’s why we supplied at prices below cost. Why? Because you dealt with us using weapons, which carry significant risk. I valued that highly. But solar panels aren’t like that. Those are just commodities you can buy with money.”
Wei Zhonglin’s expression showed clear displeasure at my words.
“If you don’t like it, we can settle in cash. I’ll give you a slight discount for immediate payment. But I’ll source the solar panels elsewhere.”
Wei Zhonglin had no idea how much he currently paid for Assand imports.
He had no information whatsoever about what annual payments would be required if he agreed to a tenfold increase.
Naturally, he couldn’t simply agree to this.
“We’ll need to review that separately. This is quite unexpected, after all.”
“What are you talking about? Isn’t that why you called me here today? And now you say it’s unexpected. Are you unprepared? Or did you come completely unprepared? Or were you planning to kill me and take the goods by force?”
“No. It’s a misunderstanding. The situation differs greatly from what we anticipated.”
“By the way, once I leave here, every proposal I’ve made today disappears. So decide quickly and carefully. I won’t be coming back here a second time.”
As I spoke, I reached into my pocket and placed Assand on the table.
Of course, I’d retrieved it from my inventory.
Wei Zhonglin’s gaze fixed on the Assand.
This bastard is an addict after all.
That makes conversation easier.
I shifted my tone of voice.
I spoke with genuine desperation.
“Chairman Wei. We need to develop our technology too. We’ve worked incredibly hard to create Assand for the Chinese market. You know this is a Chinese monopoly, right? That’s why we put everything beneficial into it—vitamins, zinc, iron. But side effects emerged. Our research and development team is working tirelessly to eliminate those side effects. But we lack funding and electricity, so we can’t continue research. The researchers leave at five o’clock. When I ask why, they say because we use solar power, the electricity cuts off at five. So they can’t continue research? Chairman Wei, if you learned about these poor researchers, wouldn’t it be wonderful if you compassionately provided them with a nuclear power plant or something? But we don’t even have nuclear power—we’re just asking to exchange Assand for solar panels, and you’re still hesitating. I’m frustrated. I feel like I’ve approached the wrong person. We’ve truly worked hard to realize China’s dreams, but the result is only this. I’m deeply disappointed.”
Wei Zhonglin glanced at me cautiously.
Even he would feel my words made sense.
His eyes had already turned to the Assand.
“Well then. We’ll exchange Assand for solar panels. But tenfold is too much. Let’s make it fivefold.”
“Deal. But throw in an ESS system as a service.”
“What?”
“You’re not going to conduct research at night? Will you just sleep when the sun sets? You’ll need electricity at night too. So throw in an ESS unit as part of the package. That’s something you can easily provide as a service, isn’t it? You’ve already capped Assand’s price increase at fifty percent, and you’ve achieved solar exports. Isn’t that an extraordinary achievement?”
Wei Zhonglin seemed to waver slightly as he listened to my words.
Assand’s distribution. Solar exports.
And the Assand standing right before his eyes.
But an ESS unit was far too expensive.
To give it away as a service.
“Chairman, there are hordes of people out there right now who can’t work and just stand around like zombies. You’ve seen them yourself, haven’t you?”
Wei Zhonglin flinched at my words.
It was a side effect of Disand.
For Wei Zhonglin, it was the part he most wanted to conceal.
And it was also the problem he needed to solve first.
And the solution to that problem was Assand.
“They’re all precious citizens of China. You have to embrace them in China’s arms. You have to embrace them with Assand. But are you really going to cast the people aside over a mere ESS unit? You’re not that kind of person, are you? Am I wrong? You’re a good and virtuous person. You have principles, and when you believe something is right, you’d walk through fire itself. You’re someone who would sacrifice anything for the people. Isn’t that why you made such a bold decision this time? That’s right, isn’t it? That’s how I see it. That’s why I came to meet you. Because you’re a great person. Someone with principles and conviction.”
Wei Zhonglin was moved.
Every word was true.
Wei Zhonglin looked at the man sitting before him again.
He was a man with remarkable insight, completely at odds with his casual exterior.
He was the only person who understood what Wei Zhonglin truly felt in his heart, something no one else knew.
That’s right.
Wei Zhonglin had not orchestrated this coup for his own benefit.
For the people.
It was an unavoidable action to create a great China.
Wei Zhonglin had not sought power—he had made a sacrifice.
This man understood that.
No one else knew, but this man alone truly understood.
I was grateful.
I barely managed to hold back the tears welling up in my eyes.
A person with such insight should be kept close.
In exchange, a single ESS unit was not a loss at all.
“All right. Okay. I’ll give you the solar panels and the ESS.”
.
.
.
An emergency alert was issued at the Central Security Bureau.
A grenade had detonated in the Chairman’s office.
Something that had never happened in history was unfolding.
All personnel were deployed, and the military stood ready for immediate mobilization.
Personnel cordoned off the corridors in front of the office,
and surrounded the building multiple times over.
Every entrance and exit was secured with multiple layers of protection.
They had sealed off the entire area so thoroughly that no one could escape.
The agents were simply waiting for the Office door to open.
The moment it did, they would arrest the man and transport him immediately.
The entire plan had been devised in a remarkably short time.
They would arrest him and take him to a secret prison in China.
The darkest, coldest, most brutal place imaginable.
A place where only death offered solace—they would take him there and torture him for the rest of his life.
They would thoroughly uncover who was behind all of this.
Wei Zhonglin’s loyal agents had steeled themselves and waited for nothing but the opening of that door.
Click.
The sound of the Office door’s lock disengaging echoed through the corridor.
Dozens of agents stationed outside the Office raised their weapons, aiming them at the door.
No one knew what was about to unfold.
They had to be prepared for every contingency.
Tension coursed through their hearts.
Gulp.
The door swings open.
But the scene visible through that open doorway defied all expectations.
They had formulated every operation on the assumption that he would take Wei Zhonglin hostage and escape.
Yet there was no hostage—the two of them were walking out arm in arm.
They appeared to have become best friends in that brief span of time.
None of it made sense.
This was the man who had detonated a grenade in the Office.
And now he was arm in arm with Wei Zhonglin.
But what Wei Zhonglin said next was even more incomprehensible.
“Effective immediately, I am elevating Alex’s status to that of a State Guest. Ensure all protocol befitting a State Guest is observed.”
Everyone who heard Wei Zhonglin’s words could only stand in shock, yet they had no choice but to obey.
The personnel who had assembled to arrest the man were immediately reassigned to provide him with proper State Guest protocol.
.
.
.
Beijing’s finest hotel.
I had relocated to the hotel within the Summer Palace Hotel.
Wei Zhonglin had suggested I stay at Zhongnanhai, but I had no desire to remain there any longer.
After checking into the hotel, I lay on the bed like a corpse for quite some time.
I was utterly exhausted.
So much had happened in a single day.
After lying there for a while, I picked up my phone and called Edward.
– Yes?
“Edward, let’s get to work.”
– Work again? You’re resuming Assand production?
“Yeah. We need to restart production for now. And we’ll need to develop new products too.”
– Again?
“That’s how things have turned out.”
– What’s the approach this time? Do you have a direction for this one too?
“I do. This time, maximize the addictive properties to the absolute limit. These bastards won’t listen otherwise. Make it extremely potent. Can you do that?”
– Ehehehehe. That’s exactly what I do best.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————