I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 174

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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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174 – Part-Time Work
174.
After talking with Team Leader Hwang On-yu, I felt it.
No—I was certain of it.
I couldn’t trust the government.
I couldn’t move forward trusting the government.
These bastards couldn’t even kill a chicken with a knife meant for cattle.
They were the type to quietly sheathe their blades and resort to “diplomatic language.”
They were satisfied with avoiding a fist fight.
So I had to find another way.
Honestly, what did I have?
The only thing I knew how to do was fight,
and the only thing I possessed was money.
Oh, and I was good at being a guide too.
Anyway.
I needed to establish some kind of connection on the Japan side as well.
I needed people I could pull out and use when necessary.
People who knew the local situation inside and out, people I could send on errands.
People who wouldn’t question whether something was right or wrong.
People who wouldn’t distinguish between legal and illegal.
Those were the kinds of people I needed.
There weren’t many who fit those conditions.
After deliberating, what I chose was the Yakuza.
A place where promises and power still held sway.
Men who were honest about the scent of money, who understood the price of betrayal.
That’s why the Yakuza.
.
.
.
As the door opened, the air changed.
The smell of cigarettes hit first.
These bastards should’ve opened a window or two.
How much had they smoked in this cramped room? Nicotine seemed to be floating in the air itself.
Were these guys so eager to die they couldn’t wait?
And in front of all of them sat glasses of liquor.
Whiskey—potent stuff.
To be honest, even without all this drinking and smoking, they didn’t seem to have many days left to live.
They were all quite old.
I saw a news report about the Yakuza aging, and it wasn’t an exaggeration.
They said more than half were in their fifties or older. It seemed to be true.
They were all getting on in years.
Whether to call them yakuza
or middle-aged men was ambiguous, but I stepped between them.
As we entered, the roughly twenty people gathered there turned to look at us simultaneously.
Though aged, their eyes held the piercing gaze befitting yakuza bosses.
Of course, it wasn’t a friendly gaze.
But curiosity filled those eyes.
Why did these Korean guys call us here?
Why did the man claiming to be the king of South Korean gangsters want to meet us? That curiosity was palpable.
I glanced at Dae-hun beside me.
The Dae-hun who had been nervously bouncing his leg on the private jet moments ago was gone.
In his place stood only the solid Boss of the Dae-hoon Faction.
He stood with a stern expression.
Dae-hun’s role ended here.
His part was finished—arranging this meeting and gathering these people.
Now it was my turn.
“I’m pleased to meet you all like this. I am···”
“Spare the pleasantries. Get to the point.”
From the center of the room.
The man seated at the head of the table cut off my words abruptly.
He was a white-haired middle-aged man.
But his eyes were no joke.
You could tell at a glance who held the center of power in this room.
The man seated at the head.
The one who could speak freely without permission, tossing out words carelessly.
That man was the true leader here.
His words nearly made my mind scatter, but I barely held it together.
“Of course. Business is what matters.”
I feigned composure, but internally I took a deep breath before speaking.
“Want to do some part-time work?”
The conference room erupted.
Several men who had been drinking spat out their alcohol at my words,
someone set down their glass and it clattered against the table,
and a few stared at me as if I were insane.
I had gathered the bosses of Japanese yakuza,
and asked if they wanted to do part-time work.
But the white-haired man who had cut off my words showed neither surprise nor confusion.
He simply set down his glass and looked me up and down.
He spoke with a hint of anger and slight disappointment.
“I came thinking the king of South Korean gangsters might be worth building a good relationship with, but this is pointless.”
“If he’s this much of a fool, it’s better not to know him at all.”
“That’s where we stop.”
He rose from his seat without hesitation.
He seemed unwilling to remain any longer and was preparing to leave.
I couldn’t let him walk out like this.
If he left, this place would fall apart.
He was the invisible leader here.
If I couldn’t convince him, I wouldn’t be able to work with anyone else in this room.
There was a high probability that everyone would follow him out.
Of course, I could stop him by force.
But then I’d have to be prepared for the consequences.
Things could get truly dangerous—a blade could find its way into my gut.
I had a gun in my inventory,
but I didn’t want to use it.
Once I did, there’d be no turning back.
I had to change the atmosphere somehow.
“By the way, you haven’t asked about the pay?”
“What?”
The White-haired Man’s head snapped toward me, his expression genuinely furious.
I remained unfazed, answering with composure.
“The pay. If you work, you should get paid, right? I just thought it was a shame to leave without even asking the terms. That’s all.”
I shrugged.
“It’d be wasteful to just walk out without hearing the conditions. You came all this way with such effort. The terms are probably quite good too.”
The White-haired Man slowly turned back.
His expression had changed.
It wasn’t irritation—it was a test.
If I failed to satisfy him here, he looked ready to kill me on the spot.
He seemed determined to exact payment for mocking him.
“Can you afford the amount I’d ask for?”
The man inquired.
I laughed.
“If money were going to be a problem, I wouldn’t have come here.”
The noise in the room gradually subsided.
The chaotic attention refocused once more.
The White-haired Man returned to his seat and sat down.
Then he spoke softly.
“Fine. Let me hear what this ‘job’ of yours is about.”
I grinned widely.
“It’s simple. All you need to do is help me when I ask for it.”
“What?”
“It’s exactly as you heard. I have things I need to do in Japan, and in the process, there are things I need. I need people who know the local situation well, I need connections, I need information. I need people who can handle all of this for me.”
The tension returned to the room.
The White-haired Man tapped his fingernails on the table while thinking, then finally spoke.
“Are you saying we should become your errand boys?”
“Errand boys? Partner? Running mate? Companion? There are so many better words, but errand boy is too much. Don’t sell yourself short.”
“I’m not interested. Helping you would be turning my back on Japan, wouldn’t it? I don’t think I can help.”
“Is that so? Then get out.”
At my words, the man’s brow furrowed.
“What?”
“You don’t want to work for a Korean and take their money. The yakuza I knew weren’t like that. Isn’t yakuza the kind that does anything for money? I miss the yakuza with guts and passion.”
Everyone seemed lost in memories of the old days.
The yakuza here all had times when their blood boiled.
“Ahem.”
“We’re looking for clean helpers to do the work, not patriots. We’re looking for people to handle things here. I’ll pay 100 million won as a daily rate.”
“Puhaha.”
At the mention of 100 million won, laughter erupted from the group.
“What are you supposed to do with that?”
“Is that supposed to cover meals?”
“So in Korea, 100 million won turns you into a dog? We should go to Korea too.”
Their tone was mocking.
The yakuza sneered.
While 100 million won was a significant sum, in this world it wasn’t necessarily that much.
Offering it as a daily rate only invited ridicule.
“Isn’t 100 million won per day not a small amount? Of course, that’s the standby fee for days when you do nothing. Wouldn’t 3 billion won per month be reasonable?”
I saw several eyes widen in an instant.
“That’s only the standby fee, and if you do the work I assign, I’ll settle the payment separately. We’re currently struggling a bit because we don’t know what to do. If you help us think it through, I’ll pay consultation fees too. Is there anyone here with expertise in this area?”
With specific conditions laid out, everyone’s mental calculators started running.
100 million won per day.
3 billion won per month.
Money earned without doing anything.
There was no reason to refuse.
In fact, they had to accept.
“I know this well.”
“I’m pretty sharp with this kind of thing.”
“I don’t know what field it is, but I know a lot of people. I can introduce them.”
“Use me.”
They were truly yakuza.
Yakuza who would do anything for money.
I had made the right choice.
With the government’s strong crackdowns, their work had decreased,
Elderly men with no money, sucking on their fingers in desperation.
Yet the yakuza still harbored their insatiable greed.
Dangle money before them, and they have no choice but to move.
Their tails wag.
The ambition to serve the nation had long since vanished.
Of course, I had to account for the fact that they could stab me in the back at any moment.
These bastards will prepare to backstab me the instant I give them an opening.
But there’s a perfect method for situations like this.
The best way to elevate their loyalty.
“First come, first served. We don’t need all of you. We don’t even know what you’re capable of yet. However, we’ll provide industry-leading compensation.”
My words ignited fierce competition among them.
Even the White-haired Man showed interest in his eyes.
But it seemed he couldn’t bring himself to step forward due to pride.
“Come now, form a line. We’ll conduct individual meetings with everyone. We’ll decide after the meetings. Don’t worry. We’ll provide 100 million won per meeting. Prepare what you can contribute. Write down your strengths.”
As I spoke, the elderly yakuza scrambled to write down my words.
There were only a few lines—they could’ve just memorized it.
Watching them, I couldn’t help but laugh.
In truth, I planned to hire all of them.
If I could extract their information for 100 million won per organization, that’s a bargain.
You could call it a recruitment fee.
Twenty organizations.
If I could extract their intelligence for 2 billion won a day, that’s efficient.
Watching them, oblivious to my scheme, their eyes blinded by the money before them as they listed their organizations’ strengths—I couldn’t help but laugh.
Of course, I planned to pay them in Candy Coin.
Even depositing it into GoGo Casino.
Under the guise of money laundering necessity.
Claiming it was unavoidable to provide clean money.
I’d tell them they had to exchange it at GoGo Casino.
Conveniently, GoGo Casino had just opened a new pachinko corner recently.
I wondered if these elderly yakuza could simply walk past pachinko machines right before their eyes.
Once they got hooked initially, they’d definitely lose.
I’d heard the pachinko touch here was absolutely lethal.
I could only hope these men would safely convert their winnings to cash.
******
A traditional Japanese restaurant in Tokyo, Japan.
Behind towering buildings that seemed to pierce the sky, a single low structure came into view.
Though situated in the heart of the city,
this place felt like a space separated from the urban landscape.
A luxury sedan came to a stop before it.
A location that didn’t even appear on maps.
It was a place where people who shouldn’t be known frequented.
There was no signboard.
A single weathered lantern served that purpose instead.
“Gengetsu”
True to its name—the black moon.
This place bore no resemblance whatsoever to the glittering image of Tokyo.
It felt as though an entire forest from the Edo period had been transplanted here.
Sato, the CEO of Mizuhara Heavy Defense, stepped out and gazed up at the building for a moment.
Mizuhara Heavy Defense.
The largest defense contractor in Japan.
Warship design and construction, aircraft components, missile defense systems—
They stood at the forefront of the defense industry.
As Sato entered Gengetsu, the interior felt like an entirely different world.
It felt severed from Tokyo itself.
“Welcome.”
A Kimono Woman greeted Sato.
There was neither warmth nor softness in her demeanor.
Yet her movements carried an unmistakable dignity.
Her actions contained no unnecessary flourish.
Following her guidance deeper into the establishment, I felt as though entering a small forest.
After crossing a moss-covered stepping stone path, a reserved room appeared.
The Kimono Woman quietly slid open the shoji door.
Inside, people were already gathered.
Ishikawa Technologies.
Toyo Electronics.
Representatives of Japan’s defense industry—names that needed no introduction.
“My apologies. I’m late.”
Sato entered with a formal bow of apology.
Though he wasn’t actually late, everyone except Sato had already arrived.
“Welcome.”
“Not at all. You’re right on time.”
“We only just arrived ourselves.”
“It’s been quite some time.”
Formal pleasantries were exchanged.
As Sato took his seat, he surveyed the room once.
Once Sato was seated, Miyamoto, the Export Strategy Director of the Defense Equipment Agency occupying the seat of honor, began to speak.
“Thank you all for gathering on such short notice.”
“I’ll get straight to the point.”
“The ‘Gengetsu’ I mentioned last time has submitted an unofficial protest to the South Korean government.”
At those words, a subtle sense of relief washed across the faces of the defense contractors.
I felt relieved at the news that Gengetsu, that troublesome obstacle, had been shackled.
“South Korea still hasn’t grasped the situation accurately.”
“South Korea is focused on finding Gengetsu’s development journal.”
“We must make good use of this time while South Korea is concentrated on the development journal.”
Everyone nodded as Miyamoto finished speaking.
One of the representatives quietly posed a question.
“What’s the next step?”
“We’ll spread rumors to each country’s Ministry of National Defense that Gengetsu’s core technology originated from Japan, not South Korea.”
“Will they believe it?”
“It doesn’t matter. Instead, they’ll hesitate in their decisions. They’ll ask the South Korean government to verify it. South Korea won’t be able to produce proper evidence. That’s enough for us.”
Miyamoto paused briefly before continuing.
“By our calculations, we have a maximum of two years to work with. Within that time, we need to develop a new radar that surpasses Gengetsu. Is that possible?”
No one met Miyamoto’s gaze.
In truth, none of the people here were genuinely committed to defense industry work.
Defense contracts were simply a business where you could earn massive profits with minimal investment.
No matter how shoddy the product, the Ministry of Defense would purchase it.
So they never invested in expensive technological development.
They simply repackaged technology from other subsidiaries to make it appear innovative.
As long as the product looked convincing, that was sufficient.
No one got hurt. No one died.
The government simply paid a premium price for the goods.
War wouldn’t happen anyway.
Japan couldn’t wage war.
So cutting corners was acceptable.
But radar was different.
Radar was Japan’s only competitive product in the defense sector.
Radar was crucial to Japan.
As an island nation, it was even more essential.
They had to monitor both sky and sea simultaneously.
Yet that very radar had nearly been blocked by Gengetsu, making exports difficult.
There were already countries in export negotiations.
Price, schedule, and terms had been largely settled.
But if Gengetsu entered the market, this contract would become complicated.
Performance comparisons would begin, and price renegotiations would likely follow.
The contract had to be completed before Gengetsu flooded the market.
Once the export was finalized, it meant far more than simply selling one unit.
First, they’d gain the title of an operational deployment nation.
Operational data would accumulate.
Using that data as leverage, they’d gain the upper hand in negotiations with other nations.
This contract had to be protected.
Gengetsu couldn’t be allowed to get involved.
If South Korea had been tarnished, that would be enough.
If Gengetsu didn’t appear, that would suffice.
“I’ll do my best.”
Someone answered formally.
“Then how far does the support extend?”
When asked about support policies, the executives showed interest.
It was the part they cared about most.
“Nothing has been decided yet. However, if you simply manufacture it, our government will have no problem purchasing it. As much as you can make.”
Miyamoto’s expression became unreadable, and it didn’t take long for the defense contractors’ representatives to grasp the meaning behind that look.
It meant they would buy whatever was produced.
The executives wore satisfied expressions.
It was a satisfying arrangement.
They had obtained everything.
They had eliminated Manwol, who had been an obstacle to exports,
and secured a promise to purchase radar systems.
On the way back after the meal ended.
Miyamoto exchanged farewells with the executives.
“Please go in safely.”
“Today was enjoyable.”
“It was a good time.”
A USB drive was carefully slipped into Miyamoto’s hand during the handshake.
As the other executives shook hands, they discreetly pressed it into his palm.
Miyamoto didn’t refuse.
It likely contained Candy Coin inside.
In fact, Miyamoto knew as well.
That these people wouldn’t actually develop anything.
It didn’t matter.
Whether Miyamoto would still be in this position by then was uncertain.
His successor would handle it.
But this arrangement guaranteed Miyamoto’s retirement for life.
Through the inventory, he had become a major player in the black market.
174-Part-time Job
E-book Publication
/ January 16, 2026
Author
/ Black Card
Publisher
/ Son Je-ho
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/ Munpia
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/ Doosan Landmark Tower 12F, 308 Gangnam-daero, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
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© Black Card, 2026
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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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