I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 236

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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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236 – Rodrigo
236.
The Conference Room door closed behind us.
The hallway fell silent.
Just moments before,
I had endured the piercing gazes of over thirty individuals radiating lethal intent,
but now only Mateo and I remained.
Only the sound of our footsteps echoed between us.
We descended the staircase, crossed the lobby, and climbed into the car.
The moment the door sealed shut, the tension drained from my shoulders like water through a sieve.
Only then did fresh air seem to fill my lungs.
We said nothing to each other.
Mateo gazed out the window.
His eyes held a certain dazed quality,
tinged with a hollow exhaustion.
His mind appeared turbulent with thought.
I offered him my praise.
“You did well.”
Mateo turned to me with surprise etched across his features.
“You too.”
His response was brief,
yet sincere.
We both understood the truth.
This was merely the beginning.
When Mateo had accessed Parallax previously,
Tian Zihao and I had watched his every move with unwavering attention.
We observed everything he did, everything he examined, without missing a single detail.
We remained vigilant, eyes blazing,
lest he harbor any treacherous intentions—yet he showed none.
All Mateo had done
was consolidate information.
He meticulously examined what new developments had emerged within Parallax,
how the organization was managing in Adrian’s absence,
conducting his investigation with painstaking care over an extended period,
ensuring nothing escaped his scrutiny.
It was fortunate indeed.
Had Mateo harbored different intentions,
we would have been forced to eliminate him,
and seizing control of Parallax would have become exponentially more difficult.
We would have been trapped in an endless cycle of meaningless conflict.
At least we can attempt this because Mateo is with us.
Of course, I’m aware that he’s not doing this out of fondness for me.
Countless possibilities must have crossed through Mateo’s mind as well.
Mateo has chosen not some vague notion of loyalty, justice, or honor,
but rather the most rational method—one with the greatest profit and the best chance of preserving his life.
That’s simply where things stand now.
Who knows how things might change as time passes.
Who knows how things might change if circumstances shift.
All I can do is continue to watch and wait.
I asked with a touch of playfulness.
“Did you see the look in Rodrigo’s eyes?”
“I did.”
Mateo replied with a slight smile.
The scene from the Conference Room came flooding back to mind.
“I thought Rodrigo was going to pull out his gun right then and there and shoot you. His eyes were absolutely murderous.”
“I flinched too.”
I pretended to ponder for a moment before asking.
“But why didn’t he? Wouldn’t that have been the easiest way? Just shoot and take the Signet Ring.”
Mateo laughed aloud.
“Heh heh. He probably wanted to. But do that in a Conference Room full of people? Impossible. Even if you’re doing the same thing, there’s a world of difference between doing it in secret and doing it right in front of everyone. If Rodrigo had killed me and stolen the ring in that Conference Room, what do you think would happen at the next meeting? Everyone would show up armed. No one would hesitate to put a gun to someone’s head at any moment. The organization would collapse. Rodrigo would be living in constant fear. Even if he got the ring, he’d want to take it secretly, away from prying eyes.”
“That’s true. Even a transparent lie needs some justification. Like what we’re doing.”
“Exactly.”
Mateo nodded in agreement.
I too found myself agreeing with Mateo’s reasoning.
And as I thought about it that way, Rodrigo’s actions began to make sense, and a new question arose.
“So Rodrigo hasn’t given up. He might be plotting something else?”
“Probably? I suspect he’s got something else in mind. Given Rodrigo’s nature, he absolutely won’t just sit idle.”
“That’s how it seemed to me too. He’s full of ambition.”
“And for that brief moment while Adrian was gone, he got a taste of what it’s like to be Chairman Parallax. He won’t want to let that go. Even if his role is just that of a mediator, the power he wields is formidable.”
“Right.”
“And then there’s the Asian Market that you control. You dangled that bait right in front of him like that—do you really think he’ll just leave it alone? He absolutely won’t let this slide.”
“So what?”
“I don’t know what he’ll do. But he definitely won’t just accept things as they are. He might even be gathering somewhere right now, plotting his next move.”
“Yeah… he’s definitely the type to do that.”
“You need to be careful. That nickname ‘The Butcher’ didn’t come out of nowhere. The man cuts first and asks questions later.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle it myself.”
“You have to hold your ground. If you fall, I die too.”
Mateo spoke to me with a certain gravity.
Those words felt genuine.
“I’ll hold strong. I won’t die.”
I answered with sincerity as well.
“I’m counting on you.”
Pleased with my response,
Mateo smiled faintly and opened the car door to step outside.
By then, we had already arrived at our destination.
*****
On the outskirts of Zurich.
Beyond the reach of the city’s lights,
an ancient Winery Basement steeped in the deep aroma of grapes.
A Wine Cellar for storing wine.
In one corner of the cellar, oak barrels stretched endlessly.
A small door, inconspicuously concealed, sat hidden away.
Stepping through that door,
an entirely different space unfolds.
Thick concrete walls.
Layered over them again with sheets of lead.
External signals are completely blocked.
Mobile phones become useless,
a space where eavesdropping and tracking are impossible.
A completely isolated room.
The key figures of the South American Cartel were seated there.
And at the center stood Rodrigo.
A bottle of wine sat on the table,
but no one had touched it.
“Everyone saw it, right?”
Rodrigo asked about today’s meeting.
“We did.”
One of them spoke up.
It was Carlos, Rodrigo’s right hand.
He possessed excellent situational judgment,
and excelled at formulating strategies accordingly.
“What do you think?”
“Mateo prepared far more than expected. Bringing in the Alex Group was completely unforeseen.”
“Yeah… I didn’t anticipate it either. Still, it seems he learned something while chasing after Adrian.”
His words were light,
but his eyes didn’t smile at all.
Rodrigo stroked his chin with one hand, clearly troubled.
Another voice spoke up.
It was the Brazilian Cartel Leader.
“The Signet Ring is also a problem. We can’t figure out how Mateo obtained it. If Adrian truly handed it over…”
“Kahahaha. Adrian just handed it over? You believe that? Do you still not know Adrian?”
Rodrigo answered with absolute certainty.
“I can’t believe it. But given the circumstances···”
“He must have seized it.”
“Then what happened to Adrian?”
“He’s dead, most likely. Or trapped somewhere.”
The people’s expressions hardened at Rodrigo’s indifferent response.
It was a moment to accept reality.
Adrian’s era as the absolute sovereign of Parallax had ended.
A new age was about to dawn.
But Rodrigo’s thoughts diverged.
He spoke as though such matters held no interest whatsoever.
“That’s not what matters now. What do we do going forward?”
“Wouldn’t killing Mateo and seizing the Signet Ring be the fastest and easiest method?”
The Brazilian Cartel Leader spoke with obvious pride, as though it were the most natural solution.
Rodrigo shook his head.
“That won’t work.”
The Brazilian Cartel Leader couldn’t comprehend it.
Simply killing Mateo would end the matter cleanly.
Yet Rodrigo refused.
Rodrigo the Butcher.
“May I ask the reason?”
The Brazilian Cartel Leader inquired.
“Without Mateo, I can’t establish a cooperative relationship with the Alex Group. We can’t abandon the Asian Market.”
“Then what do we do?”
Rodrigo smiled slowly.
Very slowly.
He opened a bottle of wine that sat on the table.
Pouring it gradually into a glass, he spoke.
“We’ll figure that out starting now.”
.
.
.
Not long after, Carlos spoke first.
“If we can’t seize the Signet Ring from Mateo, what if we drew him to our side instead?”
All eyes in the room naturally turned toward Rodrigo.
He remained silent for a moment, contemplating.
“Mateo?”
“Yes. Wouldn’t that solve all our problems?”
“I don’t think that will work.”
“Is there a particular reason···?”
“It’s not that I dislike him, but would Mateo, who already controls the Alex Group, willingly cooperate with us? He holds all the cards. If anything, he’d try to crush us instead.”
It was a point that cut straight to the heart of the matter.
Mateo possessed the Signet Ring,
and he also controlled the Alex Group.
He could accomplish everything alone,
so there was no need to share the pie by cooperating with Rodrigo.
“Then···what if we create something like a standing board of directors? We could pass resolutions through it to render Mateo powerless, making him nothing but a figurehead?”
It was a practical proposal.
But Rodrigo rejected it.
“I don’t like that idea.”
“Sir?”
“If I set that up···even after I become Chairman, it’ll be a hassle.”
Rodrigo spoke frankly.
He wanted to seize absolute power and wield it alone.
He had no desire to share the intoxicating taste of authority with anyone.
But if he created a standing board of directors,
it was obvious that it would shackle not just Mateo, but Rodrigo himself as well.
So he couldn’t agree to it.
He couldn’t afford to agree.
The Brazilian executive spoke up.
“Then···what about destabilizing the internal structure of the Alex Group?”
“The Alex Group?”
“Surely there are people over there who harbor grievances, yes? If we could somehow align ourselves with them···”
“Destabilize the Alex Group from within?”
Rodrigo asked the Brazilian executive slowly, studying him.
The Brazilian executive answered with confidence.
“Yes. If we offer them enough money, wouldn’t they defect?”
“But do you even know where the Alex Group is located?”
The Brazilian executive faltered at the unexpected question.
“Sir?”
“You didn’t even know the Alex Group existed until the meeting just now.”
“···.”
The Brazilian executive went rigid.
“How long would it take to find information about the Alex Group, investigate it, and understand its internal power structure? A year? Two years? Perhaps five?”
“I apologize.”
The Brazilian executive bowed his head.
Then Carlos spoke up.
“What if we simply establish direct contact with the Alex Group?”
“Direct contact?”
This time, Rodrigo’s reaction was different.
He straightened up a bit more.
He became more engaged.
“That man who came to the Conference Room earlier as a representative—wouldn’t it be enough to just bring him over to our side?”
“Oho···.”
Rodrigo felt intrigued.
“No need to complicate things—go straight for the heart of it. Is there a man who dislikes money or women? Or we could scare him a bit.”
“Kha ha ha. Good. Make it happen.”
Rodrigo nodded with a satisfied expression.
I thought it would end there.
But Carlos had more ideas.
“At the same time···”
“At the same time?”
“We eliminate Mateo. If we’re not going to bring him to our side, shouldn’t we remove Mateo?”
“I said we can’t get rid of Mateo.”
Rodrigo’s bright expression darkened.
But Carlos continued without hesitation.
“I’m not talking about killing him and taking his Signet Ring. Mateo can’t do everything alone anyway. We bring the executives close to us and the operational staff to our side. We tie Mateo’s hands.”
“Tie up the operational staff?”
“No matter how impressive a contract Mateo lands, no matter if he collaborates with the Alex Group, someone has to execute it in the field, right? If that doesn’t work smoothly, Mateo is powerless. Is he going to carry weapons himself and deliver them? Absolutely not. That’s when we step in. Once we step in, everything gets resolved. We plant that image in their minds—both Mateo’s and the Alex Group’s.”
“Kha ha ha ha ha. Good. I like it.”
Rodrigo laughed heartily at Carlos’s words.
Perhaps the mood was good?
Opinions poured out from all sides.
“Let’s find Mateo’s weaknesses. That bastard must have something dirty. We use that to blackmail him.”
“We hide the technology and assets we have. We become uncooperative. Parallax is just a name—they won’t be able to do anything.”
“We monopolize the trade routes through us. Otherwise, the deal itself becomes impossible.”
“Exactly. Without us, Parallax is nothing.”
They spoke over each other, competing to be heard.
Rodrigo listened quietly.
Then Pablo, who had been sitting in silence, opened his mouth.
“What if we search for Adrian?”
The mood dropped again at those words.
“Huh? Adrian?”
Rodrigo asked Pablo to clarify once more.
“If we find Adrian, then Mateo and his Signet Ring become nothing but lies. We gain justification to execute Mateo.”
“Hmm···”
Rodrigo stroked his chin again.
Pablo continued.
“If Adrian is alive, if we can only save him··· Adrian will owe us a great debt. He cannot act carelessly toward his savior, his benefactor.”
“Do you know where Adrian is?”
Rodrigo asked, grasping at straws.
Pablo had spent considerable time alongside Adrian.
Perhaps he might know something, or so Rodrigo hoped.
“I don’t know. But if he’s out there, he’ll leave traces. Finding those traces is what we’re experts at, isn’t it?”
Rodrigo paused briefly before reaching a decision.
“Begin immediately. Start the search for Adrian right now.”
“And prepare to recruit the representatives from the Alex Group.”
“Compile a list of Parallax operatives we can bring over to our side.”
Everyone nodded at Rodrigo’s words.
Rodrigo lifted the wine glass before him.
As Rodrigo raised his glass, the others followed suit.
“There’s no need to rush. No one will know we’re making our move. So we proceed quietly and decisively.”
“Yes.”
“Then, to our Parallax.”
“To Parallax.”
Clink.
The sound of glasses meeting filled the small room.

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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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