I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 133

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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133 – La Camara
133.
Zamboanga Port.
An enormous cargo ship was pulling into harbor.
Carrying a small modular reactor.
Just seeing it filled me with satisfaction.
I was genuinely grateful.
He’d sent it already.
Wei Zhonglin was truly a tsundere.
He’d shown such reluctance, yet when it came time to send it, he did so without hesitation.
Even the shipping was free.
Though I’ll admit I’d complained a bit in the meantime.
We genuinely had no electricity.
With the power cut, I might not be able to produce Assand.
I wanted to supply it properly, but the conditions here were unfavorable.
There was a real risk that Assand production could halt entirely.
Just yesterday, the power went out for a couple of hours.
So I spent considerable time reconfiguring everything.
What could I do?
Wei Zhonglin complained that he’d already provided solar panels and battery storage,
but I could dismiss that with a single phrase.
“The clouds have rolled in these past few days, so we’re not generating power.”
This is what they usually call negotiation technique.
Right?
Not extortion, surely?
Besides, those solar panels weren’t a gift from Wei Zhonglin.
I paid for them myself.
This needed to be clear.
I traded Assand for them—they weren’t charity.
In any case, thanks to my negotiation technique, the small modular reactor that was originally allocated elsewhere came to us first.
Wei Zhonglin truly was Asia’s most generous leader.
Because of him, we received the small modular reactor ahead of schedule.
.
.
.
One-on-one business dealings were absolutely incredible.
I wished I could conduct more one-on-one transactions.
The reason this was such a windfall was simple.
The small modular reactor being sent from China belonged to the Zamboanga Electric Company.
Not to the Philippines—to the Zamboanga Electric Company.
In other words, my company.
I bought it from Magiting for 100 pesos—about 2,500 won.
Through a one-to-one business deal, we obtained a nuclear power plant for free.
In exchange for conducting tests.
Once the nuclear power plant generates and supplies electricity, people use it and pay fees.
Those fees go to us.
We don’t pay for building the nuclear power plant, yet we keep the fees.
Even Bong the con artist wouldn’t believe something like this existed in the twenty-first century.
A special case, you say?
A deal that only happens because of my relationship with Wei Zhonglin?
True.
But even if we paid for it, it’s still a profitable venture.
Why?
We own it, but if we don’t repay later, the government guaranteed it, so the government has to pay instead.
So to explain it simply.
Let’s say our company purchased a nuclear power plant from China through a one-to-one business deal.
We promised to repay it over twenty years.
During that time, principal and interest would accrue, right?
But what if we don’t repay that money?
We’re supposed to repay the principal plus interest by selling electricity, but if people don’t use as much electricity as expected, or we simply refuse to repay, what happens?
Then the Philippine Government repays it instead.
One-to-one deals require national guarantees.
Would the Chinese government just sit idle until then?
Wouldn’t they demand payment before that?
They wait.
They even prefer to wait.
From China’s perspective, dealing with a government is far more convenient than dealing with a single company.
There’s more to threaten, more to coerce, more to seize.
After selling what needs to be sold and securing what needs to be secured, file for bankruptcy and the Philippine Government assumes responsibility for the rest.
Suck all the honey while leaving the shit behind.
Earn money but don’t have to repay the debt.
Where else does a business like this exist?
So that’s why people are so eager to devour infrastructure projects.
Looking at Melchor’s assets, there was a reason he had so many infrastructure projects.
Clever bastards, the lot of them.
Truly, they play in a different league.
*******
Celeste Del Rosario watched television with an indecipherable expression.
On the screen, both panels were engaged in a heated debate over the topic of term limits.
Though “heated” was generous to call it.
Underlying it all was the basic premise that the two-term limit system wasn’t inherently flawed.
It was crafted perfectly to deceive anyone who wasn’t paying close attention.
The two-term limit system isn’t bad, but it’s still premature.
One side argued that there were many aspects that needed to be refined.
No, the Philippine people now have more than enough capability to distinguish such matters.
Our citizens have matured in consciousness enough that we can hold elections with confidence in them.
The electoral system itself is prepared so flawlessly that electoral fraud is impossible.
Therefore, there’s no problem with implementing the two-term limit system. They countered with the same logic.
Regardless, the two-term limit system isn’t bad.
The question is when to implement it. That nuance came through strongly.
After watching the TV debate in the office for quite some time, she called the Secretary through the intercom.
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Summon La Camara.”
.
.
.
Celeste Del Rosario.
In her early fifties, she was the Chairman of the massive conglomerate “Del Rosario Group” and the eldest daughter of the politically prominent Del Rosario family.
Her grandfather was a former Senate President, and her father was a former Minister of Economy.
Moreover, her mother came from a financial magnate family and operated a fairly large insurance company.
Naturally, growing up among such circles, I had developed an easy familiarity with politicians, tycoons, and military generals.
With just that, I faced no inconvenience in living my life.
I could have lived like a princess my entire life.
But I wasn’t satisfied with merely that.
I wanted to achieve something more.
Recognized for my management abilities, I took over and began managing Del Rosario Insurance, which my mother had operated.
Smart since childhood, I knew well what my weapons were.
And I didn’t hesitate to use them.
If necessary, I mobilized everything I possessed.
Whether it was money, power, or charm—it didn’t matter.
My tall stature and slender figure, pale skin and golden hair were yet another weapon that made me stand out.
For me, means were always merely choices to achieve my goals.
A little dishonesty and illegality in the process?
That was only natural.
To have the ability to use something and not use it.
Isn’t that the stranger thing?
The world isn’t fair.
I was born into a better family than others, and I’m superior to them.
So naturally, living a more privileged life than others was only inevitable.
Was that why?
She was in her fifties, yet her appearance belied her age—meticulously maintained, almost impossibly so.
Her sharp intellect, rapid calculations, and precise judgment had only grown more acute with the years.
Her relentless pursuit of objectives, once she had set them, had become even more methodical and calculated.
Del Rosario Insurance had strengthened the group’s financial stability through restructuring, stabilized its revenue streams,
and secured new growth engines through M&A, capturing fresh markets in the process.
Thus, Del Rosario Insurance expanded steadily.
It was no longer Del Rosario “Insurance”—it had become the Del Rosario “Group.”
Once unranked, it now stood among the nation’s top five conglomerates.
It had begun in insurance but blossomed into finance, then energy, mining, logistics, and real estate.
Rather than manufacturing—the foundation of livelihood—she concentrated on finance and real estate, logistics and other ventures where capital multiplied exponentially.
As a result, she had become the head of one of the Philippines’ most recognizable corporations—a name everyone knew.
Yet Celeste Del Rosario’s true identity was not that of a corporate chairman.
Her real face was that of the leader of the Philippines’ political cartel: La Camara.
Built through decades of meetings between families and families, between individuals and individuals.
La Camara—a cartel forged from ancient networks—and she was its true architect.
The countless restructurings and M&A deals had not simply materialized.
They were transactions that should never have occurred under the rule of law.
All of them were products of dealings with politicians, tolerance of illegality, and forceful coercion.
And behind it all stood La Camara.
To the outside world, La Camara appeared as an ordinary charitable organization.
Politicians and business leaders gathered to aid the Philippines’ underprivileged.
A respectable philanthropic foundation.
But beneath the surface lay an entirely different reality.
Composed of the Philippines’ most influential political and business figures, La Camara made critical national decisions behind closed doors.
They selected among themselves who would become president or congressmen.
Should anyone displease them, they employed every method to torment and imprison them.
Deciding on state projects and dividing them among themselves was so routine it hardly warranted surprise.
But there was more.
They monopolized markets by secretly acquiring or bankrupting competing enterprises.
They pressured major media outlets to suppress any coverage unfavorable to their interests.
Major legislation and regulations proceeded according to their will.
In this process, they did not hesitate to exploit public funds and infrastructure projects for personal gain.
It sounds absurd, but examining the membership roster of La Camara reveals it was no fiction.
High-ranking government officials, media figures, economic leaders, and military personnel—diverse sectors all belonged to La Camara.
La Camara’s members possessed unwavering loyalty and devotion to the organization.
Thus, they were transforming the Philippines into La Camara’s kingdom.
.
.
.
A high-rise building somewhere in Manila.
An emergency meeting of La Camara was convened at that vantage point overlooking Manila.
It was a hastily assembled gathering called by Celeste Del Rosario.
Only about a dozen of La Camara’s most senior members had gathered.
“You understand why we’re here, don’t you?”
Everyone flinched at Celeste Del Rosario’s icy voice.
Though they hadn’t done anything particularly wrong, her mere tone was enough to make them feel diminished.
Not a single person in this room was someone who would pale in comparison elsewhere.
In other places, these were all people who spoke with commanding authority, yet here in La Camara, they became as docile as lambs.
Before Celeste Del Rosario, none of them dared even whisper.
This was precisely why she was called the White Empress.
“Does no one really know? Haven’t you watched the news?”
“My apologies.”
Someone from somewhere offered a quiet apology.
“I don’t have time for this, so I’ll get straight to it. There are people trying to change the single-term presidency to a two-term system···”
The moment Celeste Del Rosario spoke, they finally understood and began speaking over one another.
“It absolutely cannot happen. The public sentiment won’t allow it.”
“That’s right. We will absolutely prevent it.”
“I’ll mobilize the media. I’ll create reasons why the two-term system won’t work and broadcast them.”
“I’ll handle the newspapers.”
“I’ll meet with members of Congress and bureaucrats.”
“It absolutely won’t happen.”
“Congress won’t pass it either. You don’t need to worry.”
They all spoke with confident voices.
Watching them, Celeste Del Rosario placed a hand to her head in frustration.
The thought of working with these people left her feeling helpless.
She’d felt this way before, but the helplessness only grew.
They were all too old, and their appetites were far too bloated.
They no longer desired change, nor did they wish to progress.
They despised thinking, and they despised action even more.
All the people gathered here wanted was to maintain the status quo.
For them, this place was paradise.
They felt no need for change whatsoever.
So they had no interest in how the world was turning.
Everyone except Celeste Del Rosario.
“That’s not it at all.”
“Pardon?”
Everyone in the conference room was startled.
They thought they’d given a perfect answer, yet apparently they hadn’t.
“Why didn’t we think of that? Why didn’t we think of changing the single-term presidency to a two-term system?!”
At Celeste Del Rosario’s sharp words, they all fell silent once more.
Honestly, they never even considered changing the presidential system.
Whoever became president would obey orders.
What did it matter which obedient dog sat in the chair?
Whether it was Nurengi, Hwanggu, or Happy—it made no difference.
As long as the tail kept wagging beside me, nothing else mattered.
No one could become president without La Camara’s support.
So I wasn’t even concerned about it.
But then, out of nowhere, talk of consecutive terms emerged.
And what came next was even more shocking.
“Help me. Make it so we can switch to consecutive terms.”
“Pardon?”
“This time, let’s try not lifting a finger ourselves.”
Celeste Del Rosario offered a faint smile.
.
.
.
The meeting had ended, but Celeste Del Rosario remained in the conference room.
She stayed behind, still seated at the table.
And across from her, one person lingered.
I couldn’t tell what he’d done wrong, but Bituin across from her bore an expression of deep anxiety.
Bituin served as the Director of Internal Revenue—a position similar to the country’s tax authority—and came from a prominent family.
Through his connection with Celeste Del Rosario, he’d been able to join La Camara, and his promotions came swiftly.
He was already the Director of Internal Revenue.
It was a powerful position that oversaw all the government’s financial income.
Yet despite his status, Bituin shrank in Celeste Del Rosario’s presence.
“Bituin. Don’t you have something to report to me?”
“That is…”
“The Melchor matter—I think you should inform me. Where did Melchor’s hidden assets go?”
Melchor had collapsed in an accident.
He was unconscious.
But Celeste Del Rosario seemed to have little interest in Melchor’s health.
She appeared concerned only with the assets he possessed.
As expected, Melchor was also a member of La Camara.
Naturally, the president had received La Camara’s support, and La Camara had greatly assisted in building his wealth.
Melchor didn’t keep the wealth from the casinos, farms, and PPP contracts to himself.
He shared everything with La Camara.
It was a promise made from the moment La Camara had “permitted” Melchor to exist.
So Melchor’s assets were less his own property and more a joint holding with La Camara.
The fact that La Camara took a larger share than Melchor made this abundantly clear.
Still, Melchor could never refuse.
Although I prepared everything myself and they merely assisted with the relevant approvals.
Still, Melchor had no choice but to continue making payments.
If Melchor refused, these people would remove him and install a different president in his place.
So he obeyed their commands.
He was a well-trained dog.
“Why aren’t you answering? Surely you’ve grasped the situation by now, or are you saying it’s fine without it?”
“No, ma’am.”
“We need to understand the situation to devise countermeasures.”
“Well… President Melchor held all his assets under shell names.”
As Celeste Del Rosario’s voice softened slightly, Bituin finally opened his mouth with difficulty.
“We’re aware of that.”
“We approached it to locate Melchor’s shell assets, but… they’ve all vanished.”
“What? What are you saying? The assets disappeared?”
“Yes. All of them were transferred to different names, and every shell name Melchor previously used has been deleted.”
Celeste Del Rosario questioned him repeatedly, as if unable to believe it.
“Sigh. You expect me to believe this? How is this believable?”
“I apologize. We’ve verified it multiple times, but we cannot determine where those shell names disappeared to.”
In other words, for example, Melchor had managed his assets under a shell name like “Hong Gildong,” but when they checked on Hong Gildong’s assets one day, Hong Gildong had already disposed of everything and vanished.
When they checked the shareholdings, an unknown company held all of Hong Gildong’s shares.
They investigated that company, but all they could determine was that it was registered in the Cayman Islands.
The shell account names weren’t just Hong Gildong, and there weren’t merely one or two shell accounts, but they understood.
Someone had meticulously orchestrated this entire scheme.
There was no other way to wrap things up so cleanly.
Traces should remain somewhere, yet there are none.
It’s impeccable.
Whoever did this was undoubtedly a professional.
And audacious.
To steal La Camara’s money like this.
Even in this bewildering situation, Celeste Del Rosario maintained her composure.
She wasn’t worried.
She knew that money and assets would return to La Camara’s hands.
Though it had become somewhat troublesome and tedious.
“You said Laksa? That person who managed Melchor’s slush funds. We should find that person.”
“We’re searching for him as well, but his whereabouts remain unknown.”
Celeste Del Rosario couldn’t suppress the deep sigh that escaped her at Bituin’s response.
“Sigh. This is deeply disappointing. To think you couldn’t even manage that much.”
“I apologize.”
“I’ll give you one week. Bring me Laksa. Along with the shell accounts.”
“That… that’s…”
Bituin, about to say it was impossible, met Celeste Del Rosario’s cold gaze and found himself with no choice but to comply.
“…Yes.”
“I hope you don’t make any mistakes this time. Isn’t becoming Finance Minister what you’re supposed to do?”
Celeste Del Rosario concealed the coldness from moments before, offering Bituin encouragement with a warm voice once more.
“Yes. I’ll do my best.”
Bituin answered in a small voice, keeping his head bowed.
I knew it wouldn’t be easy.
But there was no option to refuse.
I had to succeed, no matter what.
If I failed, it wouldn’t end with simply not becoming Finance Minister.
It wouldn’t end with being expelled from La Camara.
My life was on the line.
Bituin began moving to find Laksa.

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