I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 212

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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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212 – No Signal
212.
Parallax Office, Singapore.
The monitors covering the wall flickered with distorted images.
An Abandoned Factory on the outskirts of Zamboanga.
The recovery team’s perspective streamed live through cameras mounted on their helmets.
Gavin, Victor, and the other Agents monitored the scene through the screens.
“Target location reached. Perimeter clear. Initiating entry.”
Ragged breathing crackled through the radio.
The Team Leader raised his hand, signaling silently.
5.4.3.2.1.
Crash.
Military boots kicked the rusted iron door open,
and it swung inward without resistance.
“Entering.”
The Agents spread out in a fan formation.
“Left sector clear.”
“Right sector clear.”
“Second floor clear.”
The recovery team continued their systematic sweep of the Abandoned Factory.
Abandoned machinery and shattered conveyor belts came into view,
but no server appeared anywhere.
“No server visible.”
One of the Agents reported back.
“Expand the search radius. Tear this place apart.”
“Understood.”
An Agent moved toward the rear of the Factory.
An object shrouded in dust-covered tarpaulin caught his eye.
“Is that it?”
One of them carefully pulled back the cloth.
What lay beneath was not a server.
Hundreds of kilograms of TNT explosives were intricately wired together.
Above them, a red LED blinked ominously.
6
5
4
“B-b-bomb! Evacuate! Everyone out now!”
The Team Leader’s shout rang out, but it was already too late.
Boom!!
A blinding flash consumed the screen.
The monitor flashed white, then went dark entirely.
Only the words “No Signal” remained on the screen.
The Abandoned Factory crumbled without a trace.
Parallax’s retrieval team vanished into the rubble.
.
.
.
“No Signal”
That was all the screen displayed.
Gavin and Victor stood frozen, their eyes fixed on that message.
They were too stunned to move.
The scene was too surreal to comprehend.
They’d rigged explosives of that magnitude and obliterated an entire building?
The monitor showed a scene straight out of a blockbuster film.
Flames spread like special effects, and people simply vanished.
This couldn’t be real.
A momentary glitch.
Perhaps a signal disruption.
I wanted to believe that.
But no matter how desperately I wanted to believe it, reality didn’t change.
All communications and biometric signals had disappeared.
That was the reality.
I slowly surveyed my surroundings.
Everyone stared at the blank screen with vacant expressions.
They hadn’t removed their headsets, hadn’t lifted their hands from their keyboards—frozen in place, eyes locked on the monitor.
They couldn’t believe this either.
I asked Victor quietly.
“Do people still work like that these days?”
“Not recently, sir.”
Victor stared at the screen for a moment before responding.
“Why?”
“That method requires extensive preparation, introduces too many variables, and leaves far too much evidence. Witnesses multiply. It’s not an efficient approach.”
Victor answered calmly even in this chaos.
Recent trends were different.
Operations that made loud explosions were avoided whenever possible.
The principle was to handle things quietly.
Without traces, without sound, without records.
This was the complete opposite.
Display, declaration, challenge, mockery, threat, and declaration of war.
My eyes turned cold.
I couldn’t let myself get excited.
What I needed now wasn’t anger—it was calculation.
The opponent wasn’t an ordinary player.
He didn’t abide by the unspoken rules that governed this world.
If he knew even the slightest thing about how this underworld operated, he would never attempt something like this against Parallax.
This was either someone completely ignorant of how things worked,
or someone who didn’t care how things operated at all.
And Gavin was certain.
It was the latter.
That man didn’t care one bit how this world functioned.
Balance, power structures, the logic of force—none of it seemed to matter to him.
Men like that needed a clear demonstration of how things worked here.
Education was necessary.
To show what happens when you break the rules.
To teach him what happens when you stand against Parallax.
Gavin clenched his fist.
The pencil in his hand snapped with a sharp crack.
.
.
.
Gavin closed his eyes and replayed the situation once more in his mind.
He pushed away the explosion scene that kept surfacing in his thoughts.
He stripped away the emotion and began methodically retracing the sequence of events.
Anger wasn’t what mattered most right now.
I needed to identify where the breach had occurred.
From the moment I first met Dennis,
to where we sat at the table,
to Dennis’s tone of voice,
to his smallest gestures.
I went through it all, piece by piece.
Had I been hasty?
There was some truth to that.
Less hasty than quick in my decision-making.
But that was a matter of timing.
Phantom Grid was a critical technology that couldn’t be missed.
To obtain it, I had to decide quickly.
Before any other faction could intervene.
There were no mistakes in dispatching the retrieval team.
I had naturally conducted preliminary reconnaissance,
and surveyed the surrounding terrain.
The search was thorough.
But the result was total annihilation.
It was a trap.
Gavin had been played perfectly.
Had he underestimated Dennis so badly?
No, that wasn’t it.
He’d been cautious enough.
Gavin recalled Dennis’s face.
That smug, self-satisfied expression,
speaking freely while smiling,
dismissing the staggering sum of ten million dollars as pocket change before kicking over the negotiation table.
And showing no intimidation whatsoever before the name Parallax.
This was no ordinary opponent.
But there was no point in dwelling on it.
The answer was clear.
The one who detonated the bomb and Dennis were two halves of the same whole.
Capture Dennis, and the other would follow.
“Where is Dennis now?”
“He’s staying at Marina Bay Sands Hotel.”
Gavin’s eyebrows twitched.
“Audacious bastard. Lounging in a hotel after pulling that stunt?”
A thought flashed through his mind.
The urge to shred Dennis into pieces welled up immediately.
But emotion was a luxury.
This didn’t end with Dennis alone.
He needed to draw out whoever was behind him.
To do that, Dennis had to be secured.
“I’m going myself. Get ready.”
“Yes, sir.”
Victor responded to Gavin’s command.
“You coordinate on-site too, Victor. We can’t have that rat slipping away.”
“Already handled. He won’t take a single step outside the hotel doors now.”
A cold smile spread across Gavin’s lips.
“Good. Have the car ready.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Agents in the Office moved with urgency.
They donned body armor and secured their weapons.
Personnel already deployed surrounded the Hotel inside and out.
The lobby, Parking Lot, elevators, and even the corridor outside the guest rooms.
Gavin himself put on body armor and headed toward the scene.
.
.
.
Ding dong.
The doorbell rang.
When I opened the door, Gavin was standing there.
His expression was blank, but it was easy to tell he was barely containing his anger.
“What’s the matter?”
“I have something to tell you.”
“Come in.”
Whether he didn’t understand the situation,
or was ignoring it despite knowing,
Dennis invited Gavin inside without the slightest hesitation.
There was no tension in his demeanor.
“Beer? Wine? Or coffee?”
“If you have whisky, pour me a glass. Single malt.”
Meanwhile, the moment Gavin saw Dennis’s face, his anger flared up.
That composed expression.
He wanted to punch him right then and there.
“Single malt? I don’t have whisky. Should I get it from the minibar? That’ll cost money though···”
Dennis grumbled about the minibar expense.
Gavin found his behavior utterly repugnant.
Yet he suppressed his rage and continued speaking.
“That’s not so bad. Or I can cover the minibar charge myself.”
“Come on, why so stingy? You might become our client, so that much is on me. Should I order room service too? They have decent steaks here.”
“A single malt is enough.”
By now, Gavin had grown comfortable speaking with Dennis, and Dennis was equally at ease.
Dennis pulled out a small bottle of whisky from the minibar and handed it to Gavin along with a glass.
It was lukewarm whisky without ice, but Gavin poured it and downed it in one gulp.
The burning sensation of alcohol sliding down his throat actually cooled his mind.
“Hey··· go easy on it. That’s the most expensive thing here.”
Gavin listened to Dennis’s grumbling while organizing his thoughts.
“Anyway, what brings you here? I don’t think I’ve mentioned the demonstration date yet.”
Dennis asked about his purpose.
“You know why I’m here.”
“I’m not a mind reader. You have to tell me.”
“Zamboanga.”
Gavin spoke softly, uttering just one word.
For a moment, Dennis’s movements paused, but he soon responded as if nothing had happened.
“Zamboanga? That’s a nice place. Beautiful sea, good air.”
“Our team suffered something terrible there.”
“Why? Did something happen? Should I look into a hospital for you?”
Gavin spoke as if he knew nothing of the situation.
It was mockery.
“Some madman planted a bomb there. How terribly outdated.”
Gavin answered with a direct approach.
His voice was low, but sharp.
Sharp enough to make the listener flinch.
But Dennis remained unmoved.
“Is that so? But I’m curious—why are you asking me about this here?”
“Because I believe this is your doing.”
“Hahaha. How amusing.”
“What?”
“What else? Is it my fault that people got hurt in the Middle East? That someone got shot in South America? That someone’s drowning in drugs? Everything is my fault?”
“What did you just say?”
“I regret that your people suffered, but you can’t just come here and whine about it. Especially not so rudely. Who stormed out of the negotiation room? We didn’t part with smiles and handshakes—and yet here you are, causing a scene. Does Parallax not teach manners?”
Gavin’s anger surged to the very top of his head.
He wanted to draw the pistol hidden beneath his shirt right then and there.
But logically speaking, everything Dennis said was correct.
In the negotiation room, Gavin had tried to pressure him using Parallax’s name, and that’s why the negotiation fell apart.
So they went to steal, and were annihilated.
By this logic, Dennis bore no fault.
But the situation was different.
This was a grand scheme orchestrated by Dennis.
Gavin poured the remaining whiskey and drained it in one gulp.
“I told you to drink it slowly.”
“So you have nothing to do with this incident?”
“Of course not. And you tried to steal from someone else’s home and got caught—do you really have the audacity to question me like this? I hear human rights have improved these days, but do thieves get such generous treatment? If I’d known, I should have become a thief instead of a smuggler. Do I get workers’ compensation?”
“Your words are harsh.”
“I only speak, but you took action. You made a mistake, and now you’re here making excuses to cover it up. What am I wrong about?”
Gavin was certain.
This was no coincidence.
The explosion was definitely Dennis’s orchestration.
“You’re right. But there’s one thing you’re overlooking.”
“What’s that?”
“This situation. This is Singapore. My Agents are layered two and three deep here. Without my permission, you won’t survive this place.”
“Yes. Yes. Yes.”
Dennis answered playfully.
“Did you not understand what I said?”
“I understood perfectly. It’s just too clichéd.”
“Trite?”
“Yeah. Threatening me with nothing but my life? Is that all you’ve got?”
“Hmph. No fear at all.”
“This job requires putting your life on the line. You know that, don’t you?”
“So you’re saying you have nothing to do with this?”
“Exactly. I know nothing about it. They didn’t ask me, didn’t get my permission—yet they’re questioning me about it. I can’t make sense of it.”
“I’ll give you one last chance. How about you cooperate right now?”
“Cooperate on what?”
“That man behind you. Bring him to me, and I’ll let you live.”
“Ha ha ha. Parallax must be short on talent.”
Dennis laughed.
“What?”
“How did someone with such pathetic intimidation skills climb to Purchasing Director? If he were on our team, he couldn’t even move merchandise. Maybe I should join Parallax too? Do you hire experienced people? What’s the benefits package like?”
Gavin’s anger reached a boiling point.
Unable to contain his rage, Gavin reached for his gun.
“You draw that, you’re dead.”
Dennis’s voice came low and heavy.
A gun was already in his hand.
Startled, Gavin raised his hands.
“You’re fast. But no matter what you do, you won’t escape this place. Put the gun down and let’s talk.”
Gavin spoke as he raised his hands.
“You people are all strange. You were the one who wanted to draw. I drew first, and now you’re telling me to put mine down? Be careful with your own gun.”
Gavin carefully withdrew his gun from his jacket and placed it on the table.
It was humiliating, but there was no choice.
“And do you think I’d be sitting here if I couldn’t calculate that much?”
At Dennis’s words, Gavin’s heart sank.
No way.
Was this entire situation orchestrated?
Did he know Gavin was coming?
Was he waiting here all along?
Dread swept through his entire body.
“If you’re curious, why don’t you try the radio?”
Gavin carefully called Victor on his phone.
The signal went through, but the call wouldn’t connect.
Gavin quietly called Victor on his earpiece.
But there was still no response.
No one from Parallax—not even Victor—answered.
The Agents he’d positioned in double and triple layers didn’t respond at all.
Dennis spoke with a smile.
“Parallax isn’t the only team out there. We have one too.”
Dennis winks.
“So, what do you think? Phantom Grid? Killer, right? You really thought it was there, didn’t you?”
Phantom Grid?
Why is Phantom Grid mentioned here?
That signal was fake?
A deliberately planted signal?
They fabricated a non-existent signal and inserted it?
This was the moment I truly grasped the terror of Phantom Grid.

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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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