I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 221

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

221 – First Meeting
221.
The Indian Ocean.
Belle Mare Resort in Mauritius.
The air had been thick with tension since morning in this place.
Today was the day I would meet Adrian, the head of Parallax.
The resort was filled with such taut, suffocating tension it felt ready to explode at any moment.
The Obsidian Unit had arrived first.
And Parallax’s advance team.
Though brief, the psychological warfare between them continued relentlessly.
Nothing could be done with ease,
and nothing was allowed to proceed smoothly.
Even the smallest details were contested,
and trivial matters were seized upon with suspicion.
Positioning security personnel.
Verifying movement routes.
Even opening a single door became fraught with difficulty.
It all felt like a series of minor skirmishes.
Additional members of the Obsidian Unit were deployed,
and Parallax also sent reinforcements from their main force.
The resort, which would normally have been bustling with tourists, had transformed into an entirely different space.
The swimming pool and beach were devoid of people,
and the sunbeds and gardens stood completely empty.
Instead, scattered throughout were armed personnel,
each with an Earset fitted in their ear.
It was by no means an ordinary sight.
It felt like the calm before a storm.
Allen checked the time.
9:30 AM.
Only an hour and thirty minutes remained until the meeting.
Allen broadcast to all units via radio.
“All units, status report.”
– Western perimeter clear.
– Rooftop sniper team clear.
– Main gate team, no issues.
Reports came back in sequence.
Every team was holding position without incident.
“The meeting is at 11 AM today. Stay focused until the very end.”
– Understood.
A brief acknowledgment crackled through the Earset.
“What’s the situation with Gregor?”
– He’s been touchy, but there’s nothing particularly suspicious about his movements.
Gregor had been irritable, but he hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary.
Still, I couldn’t let my guard down.
Not until the Young Boss left this place.
Then a report came in.
“Report. The Young Boss has arrived at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport.”
– What’s the estimated arrival time?
“By road, it’s 10:42.”
Allen checked the time.
A little over an hour remained.
Allen asked again.
“Does anyone know when Chairman Parallax arrives?”
– Chairman Parallax isn’t sharing that information.
Allen let out a soft chuckle.
It was the expected answer.
We were keeping the VIP’s travel route and arrival time confidential as well.
“Good. Maintain full focus until the end. Report every minor movement.”
*******
“This is nice.”
Those were my first words upon arriving in Mauritius.
I could understand why people came here for honeymoons.
The crisp air,
warm sunlight that didn’t feel oppressive.
A gentle breeze brushed softly against my skin.
Just taking a deep breath
made my body feel lighter.
I looked at the prepared car.
Where the meeting would take place.
It’s a bit embarrassing to even call it a meeting.
It’s just seeing the old man’s face once.
A kind of formal introduction? A meeting?
About an hour by car to get there?
But I didn’t want to take the car.
I checked if there were other options.
“We’ve prepared a helicopter.”
“Let’s go by helicopter.”
.
.
.
A large cafeteria at the heart of the resort.
It had been converted into a conference room.
A long table sat in the center.
Across that table, Obsidian Unit and Parallax stood facing each other.
Their eyes locked in hostile stares.
All weapons, including firearms, were prohibited in the conference room.
Upon entry, both sides had searched each other’s bodies.
The process had involved some scuffling and bickering.
Everyone was on edge.
No guns, no words exchanged,
yet the air was thick with killing intent.
It felt as though the slightest provocation would ignite violence—
a brief, ominous calm before the storm.
Then it happened.
The sound of a cane tapping against the floor echoed from the entrance.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
All eyes turned toward the doorway.
An elderly man leaning on a cane slowly walked in.
His legs appeared frail,
but his upper body was remarkably solid.
His spine was perfectly straight,
and despite his apparent leg troubles, his gait was unwavering.
And his eyes…
were anything but ordinary.
Damn. Terrifying.
I sat in my chair, watching the old man approach.
His formidable presence startled me for a moment, but it changed nothing.
This bastard was nothing but the trash who killed Dennis.
An existence incompatible with sharing the same world.
They say revenge is a dish best served cold,
but waiting for it to cool was agony.
My heart was burning far too fiercely for patience.
I wanted to kill him right now.
The method was simple.
I could shoot him dead here and now.
I could pull the gun from my inventory and fire immediately.
Revenge would be accomplished in an instant.
But the moment I fired, countless Parallax operatives outside the conference room would storm in.
Our Obsidian Unit would rush in as well.
Someone on our team would be wounded again, injured, suffer losses.
I’m seeking revenge over losing Dennis,
but I don’t want to lose anyone else in the process.
I didn’t want to cause collateral damage.
I wanted to proceed as cleanly as possible.
So when dealing with bastards like that, I need to be even more careful, prepare even more thoroughly.
Either crush them with overwhelming force, or kill them without a trace.
That’s the best way to minimize casualties.
Regardless of my gaze, the old man approached with an indifferent expression and sat across from me.
Even his sitting posture revealed no openings.
“Pleasure to meet you. I’m Adrian.”
He extended his hand.
“Alex.”
I stated my name simply and shook the hand Adrian offered.
Adrian studied my face briefly, then smiled as if amused.
“Your eyes have that military bearing, but you’re not military, are you?”
“What makes you think that?”
“Usually military personnel stand to greet when someone arrives, don’t they? That’s how I was trained at DGSE.”
This bastard’s starting with a power play.
‘I’m your superior, so stand and greet me?’
He’s trying to establish the concept that he outranks me before we even begin talking.
Guys like me who didn’t learn that stuff as kids don’t know about it.
Especially not in front of this asshole.
“Oh, that? You only stand for people above you or people you’re actually glad to see. You want that kind of courtesy after creating this shitty atmosphere? Our elder here isn’t as perceptive as advertised, is he? All that talk about having good judgment must be a lie too.”
I glanced around the conference room once, smirking as I spoke.
“Haha. I wasn’t expecting courtesy. I just need to take what I came for.”
Slippery bastard.
He brushed off my jab with laughter.
“But I don’t have anything to give you. In fact, shouldn’t I be the one receiving compensation? I’ve suffered some losses too.”
I shrugged as I spoke.
Adrian’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“‘Take what I came for’… I wondered why you act so fearlessly, but seeing your face explains it. When you’re that young, you’re brave. You don’t know how scary the world is yet. Right now it probably feels like the whole world is yours, doesn’t it? But the world is far uglier and deeper than you think.”
Adrian spoke in an advisory tone, his voice calm and gentle.
I fired back immediately.
“You’ve got a real talent for missing the mark, old man. Is that cane for missing the mark too? How do you manage to dodge everything so perfectly? Do you really think I came all this way on a whim?”
“No?”
Adrian leaned closer to the table, genuinely curious.
He pulled his chair in tighter.
“Not a whim. I can’t say due to trade secrets, but I have some decent skills of my own.”
“Well, if that’s what you say. I’m not particularly curious about your know-how. It’s probably just small-time tricks that work in some backwater corner of the Philippines anyway.”
Adrian nodded.
Adrian didn’t seem particularly curious about my trade secrets.
He gave up far too easily.
The fact that he simply accepted it made me even more irritated.
“Fine, let’s leave it at that. But I’m curious about something too.”
“What?”
“Does Parallax have no talent? The old man could barely walk properly. Shouldn’t someone at that level retire and rest? Want me to buy you a resort here? You could relax there. If you’d like, I could even introduce you to a bride. This place gets a lot of honeymoon visitors—how about spending your whole life on a honeymoon here?”
I glanced at his legs as I spoke mockingly.
A brief silence fell, then Adrian burst out laughing.
“Khahaha. That’s amusing. I’d gratefully accept a resort. But let’s settle accounts first. The resort comes later.”
“So what do you want? Why do you keep pushing invoices that don’t even add up?”
I rested my chin on my hand and looked at Adrian.
“Your collection team that you wiped out. And the Singapore team. Plus Mateo and Victor. There’s a lot to calculate. How do you want to settle it? Cash is fine, gold is fine, and if not, weapons work too—though it’s hard to price those fairly. We have plenty of weapons ourselves.”
Adrian counted on his fingers as he spoke slowly.
“Our boss really doesn’t understand how the world works. The collection team came to steal and got eliminated—that’s on them. The Singapore team was payment for dealing with Dennis, so there’s no issue there. And Mateo and Victor are still alive, so it’s too early to put them on the scales.”
I also extended my fingers one by one as I spoke.
“Haha. This is fun. I can’t even remember the last time I met someone like you. You’re refreshing and delightful. I’m enjoying this. Khahaha. That’s why I can’t leave the field.”
“You should be able to leave just fine. Don’t cause trouble for others and retire when it’s appropriate. I’ll buy you a resort. You can play and eat there. But I have no intention of paying compensation. Okay? If you understand, I’ll be going.”
“Ah, young friend, you’re in quite a hurry. I haven’t even stated my terms yet.”
“You asked for money, I said no. Isn’t that the end of it? Why do you keep dragging this out? Can’t you let it go? Does Parallax not have money? Can’t you pay the men’s salaries without compensation? Isn’t this getting pathetic?”
Yet Adrian still maintained his leisurely expression.
He wasn’t bothered at all.
“I have plenty of lingering attachments. There’s a mountain of things I should receive from you.”
“I told you I can’t give them. If you’re going to bring an invoice, bring a proper one—not this hastily scribbled mess.”
Adrian smiled and spoke in a very gentle voice.
“Do you think I’ve only met one or two people who talk like you? But eventually, they all coughed up the money. If they didn’t have enough, they sold organs to make up the difference.”
“Is that so?”
“I love conversation, so I prefer to settle things through words if possible. And right now, I’m enjoying myself.”
“Interesting. Keep going.”
“I need compensation for my assets that you destroyed. As compensation: 100 million dollars. And I want Phantom Grid.”
Adrian stated his final ultimatum with decisive firmness.
As he spoke, Adrian was utterly serious.
“Hahaha. You old folks are all just greedy and clueless about how the world actually works. Watch some YouTube and see how things really operate. Or maybe you watch too much YouTube? When you watch YouTube, you only see the world you want to see, right? Anyway, I have no intention of paying compensation. But I can sell Phantom Grid. For 10 billion dollars, I’d be willing to sell.”
“Tsk tsk tsk. Young friend, you’re not listening to advice.”
Adrian spoke with a hint of exasperation.
His eyes held the look of someone watching a child who refuses to understand good counsel.
“All the guys who listened to that advice are dead. That’s why I’m the one who survived by not listening.”
I spoke with a touch of arrogance.
Adrian chuckles softly.
“When you say ‘those friends,’ you’re talking about Okapi Sting, right?”
The moment I heard those words, I froze completely.
Here, and especially from Adrian’s mouth—
I never expected the name Okapi Sting to emerge.
I hadn’t anticipated it at all.
Okapi Sting was what we called ourselves.
It was the codename given to our team.
Though Okapi Sting had become very famous in Congo,
that fame belonged to the team itself—we maintained strict operational security regarding individual identities.
So if the name Okapi Sting had surfaced,
it could only have come from within military channels.
Okapi Sting was our pride and our symbol.
It was an achievement my brothers and I had built together, our spoils of war.
I hated seeing it tainted by others’ words and hands.
That’s why I’d kept it so carefully hidden.
I’d done my best to conceal it,
but being exposed to this old man was unsettling.
And hearing it from Adrian’s mouth infuriated me.
Especially the way he was mocking my brothers.
Adrian was insulting them.
My expression shifted without my control.
The playfulness I’d been carrying,
the urge to provoke this old bastard—it all evaporated in an instant.
This was no longer a simple first meeting or casual negotiation.
I had far more questions now.
I barely managed to steady my racing heart, then spat out words laced with mockery.
“You’ve prepared quite thoroughly, haven’t you? But ‘Okapi Sting’ is far too sacred a word to come from that filthy mouth of yours. If you want to live out whatever time you have left with any dignity, you should be more careful with your words.”
“Is that so? I had more prepared, but that’s unfortunate. Candy Boy.”
Adrian spoke with a smug grin spreading across his face.
The moment I heard those words.
The instant Adrian spoke the name “Candy Boy,” something felt wrong.
Rage began to surge up,
but then it shrank back from somewhere deep inside.
Shame washed over me.
Someone who knew my past was sitting right in front of me.
Before this man, I felt completely exposed.
It was as if nothing could conceal who I really was.
Should I just kill him?
Should I just kill him and then kill myself?
I thought of my inventory.
Dozens of guns were listed there.
All I had to do was choose, and a gun would materialize in my hand—then I’d just need to pull the trigger.
That’s the end of it.
At least I can achieve my purpose—killing Adrian.
He’s wearing a bulletproof vest, so I just need to aim precisely at the space between his eyebrows.
The distance between Adrian and me is less than a meter.
There’s no room for error.
One shot would be enough.
But I have to restrain myself.
Only then can I protect these people.
If I draw a gun here, it’ll be a catastrophe.
Obsidian Unit and Parallax will collide.
Everyone could become entangled and destroy each other.
I clenched my teeth.
How much does this old bastard actually know?
What else is he aware of?
Suddenly, I became cautious.
Fear began to creep into my words.
As I fell silent,
Adrian continued speaking.
“We’ve had our share of trouble too. So many names—I’ve never met anyone who took this long to dig into a background. How did you manage to compartmentalize your identities so perfectly? It’s truly remarkable. Ah, now that I think about it, I should also charge for the intelligence team’s operational expenses. We spent quite a bit investigating you. Hehehehe.”
His face bore the unmistakable expression of a victor who had completely won.
I clenched my fists tightly.
I couldn’t even remember when I’d last felt this angry.
I was helpless—all I could do was clench my fists and keep my mouth shut.
It was my complete and utter defeat.

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