I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 227

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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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227 – Plan B
227.
Somewhere in Europe.
Adrian did not return to his office in Zurich.
Instead, he headed toward Chairman Parallax’s safe house.
Alex’s parting words continued to echo in his mind.
‘Imagine what your future will look like, having revealed your face before me.’
‘From now on, we’re playing a game of breath-holding. One where you die the moment you’re caught.’
‘Hide well. If I see a single strand of your hair, you’re finished.’
A faint smirk.
Words that should have been laughable.
Words so tedious they induced yawning.
How many times in his life had he been threatened?
Such words didn’t even qualify as threats.
They were merely light remarks,
tossed out to instill fear.
That’s what he told himself.
And it was true.
Yet somehow, those words clung to him.
They refused to fade.
They kept catching in his mind.
Even on the journey to this safe house,
Adrian had altered his route multiple times.
The thought that someone might be following him had flashed through his consciousness.
He had switched vehicles several times.
He wore a hat and a mask.
Even during the brief moments stepping out of the car,
he moved only through areas without surveillance cameras.
The exposure of his face to the outside world troubled him.
His caution was unnecessarily thorough.
Flawless.
Far more meticulous than his usual methods.
Not because he was afraid.
Not because he was intimidated.
He was simply being careful.
He simply didn’t want to give unnecessary grounds for suspicion.
That was all.
.
.
.
Adrian entered the safe house and downed a shot of espresso.
The rich aroma rose first, followed by a sharp, bitter taste spreading across his palate.
The crema floating atop the cup appeared unusually thick and luxuriant.
As the espresso entered my mouth,
my hazy mind sharpened into focus.
Adrian exhaled slowly, methodically retracing the events of the previous day.
There were no problems.
The negotiation hadn’t gone perfectly,
but I had never expected instant gratification.
I would continue to probe, shake things up, and apply pressure.
If I pushed relentlessly to the end,
I had absolute faith that Adrian would emerge victorious.
The return to the safe house had been flawless.
I constantly altered my route,
and never exposed my movements.
The security detail was sufficient.
There were no mistakes.
And yet.
Something felt off.
An inexplicable unease continued to cling to me.
I felt constantly hunted.
Since establishing Parallax, I had never experienced this sensation.
The feeling that someone was watching me.
It relentlessly gnawed at Adrian’s consciousness.
Whether it was because of what Alex had said,
or simply fatigue, I couldn’t tell.
Adrian set down the small espresso cup in his hand.
The moment I tried to dismiss this unsettling sensation as mere paranoia.
Knock, knock.
The door burst open, and the Secretary entered.
His face had gone deathly pale.
“Chairman…”
Adrian’s brow furrowed.
“What is it?”
“We’ve just received word that Team 3 has been completely annihilated.”
In that instant, Adrian’s hand froze.
“What?”
Team 3.
The unit that had been responsible for perimeter security in Mauritius.
Adrian immediately raised his arm to check the time.
It had been twenty-four hours since I parted ways with Alex.
The timing was precise.
Surely not.
Unease crept slowly through my body.
I didn’t need to verify to know.
Who had done it.
“What’s the reason?”
Adrian asked quietly.
“They lost contact during transit, and all personnel were later found dead at the scene.”
A brief silence.
“I see.”
Adrian gave a small nod.
His expression didn’t change.
But his fingers trembled slightly.
.
.
.
The next day.
The Secretary General entered through the door again.
This time, he could barely string his words together.
“T-Team 2 has also been completely wiped out.”
Adrian gave no response to those words.
He merely stared out the window.
The city was peaceful as always.
People walked about,
cars passed by,
and the long stretch of water glowed with light.
As if nothing had happened.
But Adrian’s mind was turbulent.
Team 2 and Team 3.
The common thread was that they had been deployed to Mauritius.
The other teams were intact.
There were no issues in other regions.
Only that day.
Only the teams that had been at the scene were being systematically eliminated.
Adrian’s pupils flickered slightly.
… Had I been exposed?
If so,
then this place isn’t safe either?
A moment of silence.
Adrian shook his head.
It couldn’t be.
I had erased every trace perfectly on the way here.
I came all this way, concealing myself like a thief.
No one could know about this place.
No one should know about this place.
Yet I couldn’t hide the unease in my heart.
I had precisely targeted Teams 2 and 3.
It was no coincidence.
Was it because I revealed my face that day?
Or was there another reason?
A thousand thoughts flashed through my mind.
Since that day, Adrian hadn’t slept peacefully even once.
******
Northern Mindanao Air Force Base.
Through the slightly open hangar door,
containers and pallets were visible.
Unable to fill the hangar alone,
equipment was stacked on the road beside it.
All of it was supplies airlifted from South Korea.
Even at this very moment,
transport aircraft were shuttling back and forth,
and cranes and forklifts moved ceaselessly.
Ammunition. Anti-tank weapons, communications equipment, various military supplies.
What had arrived at the air force base alone was enough to outfit an entire front line.
At sea, container ships were transporting even more weapons.
But the people inspecting the weapons were not the Philippine Military.
It was the Obsidian Unit.
“No discrepancies in count.”
“Quantities match.”
“No defects.”
Brief, terse reports continued.
Allen walked slowly between the weapons.
He verified every single weapon, every single crate with his own eyes.
“Classify them by weapon type. Prepare them for immediate deployment.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Obsidian Unit moved immediately at Allen’s command.
Beside them, someone stood quietly observing the scene.
The instigator of the civil war,
the leader of the Rebel Forces officially being hunted by the Philippine Government.
It was Simon.
But there was no sense of that atmosphere here at all.
After all, it was a rigged game.
Both the Government Military and the Rebel Forces knew this wasn’t dangerous.
Rather, the opposite—Simon’s eyes gleamed with greed as he gazed upon the weapons.
“These are them?”
“Yes.”
Simon asked, and Allen answered concisely.
“Wow, these are incredible. They’re on a completely different level from what we used to have. Absolutely top-tier.”
Simon approached the weapons and caressed them with his hand as he spoke.
His touch carried both covetousness and affection.
“We dealt in black market goods, you see. Used equipment. These are brand new.”
Allen replied while examining the weapons.
“If war doesn’t break out with Parallax, all of this becomes ours, right?”
Simon asked with a slight smile.
But his voice was already thick with desire.
“That would likely be the Young Boss’s decision, wouldn’t it?”
Allen answered, deliberately avoiding Simon’s gaze.
“Of course it would. But there’s so much here. You said more would be coming?”
Allen spoke to Simon’s thoughtless remark with a hint of admonishment.
“This is just what the Young Boss managed to secure. It’s the weapon to eliminate Parallax, our trump card to avenge Dennis.”
At those words, Simon’s expression hardened.
He withdrew his hand from the weapon he’d been touching.
The gleam of greed in his eyes dimmed.
“…Ah.”
He exhaled sharply.
His face showed the realization of what he’d been thinking.
The moment Dennis came to mind, his previous thoughts felt foolish.
Simon cleared his throat awkwardly.
“That’s not what I meant… ahem, is there anything else you need? We can help.”
Simon glanced at him briefly.
“You’re already helping us greatly. Please just continue as you are.”
Simon gazed upon the weapons once more.
But it wasn’t the same greed as before.
It held something different.
.
.
.
“I’ve received the items you sent.”
“I’m relieved they arrived safely.”
Through the phone,
President Kim Min-su’s composed voice reached me.
“Thank you for expediting this. We arrived far sooner than expected. Because of that, we’ve had time to prepare. It’s been an enormous help.”
This wasn’t mere formality.
It was genuine.
No matter how much money changes hands,
a nation doesn’t move like this.
A nation must follow law and procedure.
If even the slightest problem arises in that process,
the media and political circles will seize upon it, scrutinize it.
His political career could very well end.
Beyond that, he’d face international scrutiny.
America would demand explanations,
and Japan and Russia would voice their displeasure openly.
China would stay quiet.
They could always call later.
In any case.
President Kim Min-su had accepted all those consequences and proceeded with this operation.
For the sake of helping me.
And for the sake of rescuing his own citizens held captive.
“Rescuing our nation’s hostages is the right thing to do. Of course we must.”
“I’m truly grateful for that commitment.”
A brief silence fell between us.
We both understood.
The extent of what he was risking by proceeding.
Because we understood without explanation,
words became unnecessary.
We could only support each other.
“How are the hostages?”
“They’re doing well. You needn’t worry.”
I closed my eyes for a moment and pictured the hostages.
A smile crossed my face.
The hostages must be content.
Playing on pristine white sand beaches every day—they must be enjoying it.
Eating what they want, doing what they please—it must be pleasant.
With no contact with the outside world, they’d have no worries whatsoever.
The hostages and their families could only communicate with the outside through National Intelligence Service personnel.
The families had come to the Philippines under the name of the Philippine Kidnapping Incident Family Response Committee.
All they had to do was spend joyful time together with their loved ones.
“I’ll continue to rely on your support.”
“Yes. I’ll take care of it.”
“You know the field best, so I trust you.”
“Thank you. I’ll handle it well.”
“If you need anything during the operation, contact me anytime.”
“That’s already sufficient.”
“Still…”
“I’ll reach out then.”
“Then I’ll be waiting for your call.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
The call ended.
.
.
.
Once the conversation finished, I headed toward the hangar where Simon and Allen were.
The area around the hangar was bustling with activity.
“How is it?”
“No issues. The quantity matches, and there are no defects.”
Allen answered with a satisfied expression.
Seeing Allen’s pleased face, I felt satisfied as well.
I found myself feeling oddly proud of my homeland.
“South Korea does this well. They don’t cheat.”
“That appears to be the case.”
Allen gave a brief nod of agreement.
“What about testing?”
No matter how urgently we’d brought them in, testing was essential.
Weapons had to function in any circumstance.
Heat or cold, desert or jungle.
But understanding that difference
and applying it in the field were entirely different matters.
Just because we could drive a car,
driving on a highway differs from driving on a rural road.
Just because we could swim,
swimming in a pool differs entirely from swimming in the ocean.
Knowing how to use a weapon
and actually handling it properly were completely different propositions.
Time was needed to familiarize ourselves with the new equipment.
Practice was necessary, and adaptation was necessary.
“As you mentioned, we conducted testing immediately upon receiving the weapons.”
“Really? How is it? Any problems?”
I asked out of habit.
“There’s something odd.”
Allen tilted his head as he spoke.
“Why is it defective?”
Had something gone wrong?
I felt a twinge of concern.
“No… it actually performs better than expected.”
“What?”
“The performance exceeds the specifications.”
“What do you mean by that?”
I let out a soft chuckle.
“The specs list an 80% accuracy rate, but so far it’s been 100%.”
“Really?”
Allen nodded and added to his assessment.
“The effective range is also significantly longer than what the specs indicate.”
“That’s fortunate. It’ll be a real asset to the operation.”
I nodded in agreement.
“Yes. It seems like it will be incredibly helpful.”
Allen spoke with unwavering confidence.
Just then, Simon, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, interjected.
“So, will that bastard Adrian actually show up?”
“I doubt he will.”
“Why?”
Allen answered, and I asked, curious about his reasoning.
“Haven’t we already eliminated Parallax’s third and second teams? He’s probably terrified right now.”
“I think so too… but that guy’s unpredictable.”
Given the current situation, Adrian couldn’t afford to show himself.
Yet Adrian had always found alternative ways.
I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.
If he didn’t come to me, I’d hunt him down myself.
.
.
.
“Have we pinpointed Adrian’s location?”
I asked Tian Zihao.
Tian Zihao had used TracerNet to locate all of Parallax’s operatives.
Even with their faces concealed, he could identify their hiding places through body shape, gait, and movement patterns.
I naturally assumed Adrian’s location would have been identified as well.
But.
“No. We couldn’t locate Adrian.”
That was unexpected.
But if I can’t find Adrian, I’ll just clean up his surroundings.
The way Adrian did to me.
“If we sweep through his associates, wouldn’t he show up?”
“It looks like he changed all his security personnel. The guards who were protecting him in Mauritius are now stationed somewhere completely different.”
“Is that so?”
That’s Adrian for you.
He’s exceptionally skilled at hiding like a rat.
He’s probably holed up somewhere unknown, plotting his next operation.
But I have no intention of taking this lying down.
It’s time to activate Plan B.

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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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