I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 237

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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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237 – Persuasion
237.
Central Zurich.
A Membership Restaurant nestled between ancient alleyways.
I had been invited to a place where entry was impossible without membership.
From here, one could see Zurich’s skyline, the Alps, and the lake all at once.
The view alone was worth the price of admission.
I was guided to the only private dining room in the establishment.
As I opened the door and stepped inside, Eduardo, a Brazilian executive, was already waiting.
“What did you want to discuss?”
Without even sitting down,
I cut straight to the point without pleasantries.
Eduardo looked flustered.
“Pardon?”
“Why did you call me here? If you have nothing to say, I’ll just leave.”
I asked again, my tone dry and businesslike.
“Ah… well, it’s just that we’ll be working together going forward, so I thought it would be good to see each other’s faces and get to know each other beforehand. That’s why I called you. Let’s share a meal.”
Eduardo answered, masking his bewilderment with a smile.
“Do you need personal connections to work? Is that how Parallax conducts business?”
Eduardo had meant it lightly, a simple suggestion to get along,
but my response carried a chill that cut through the air.
Eduardo felt both flustered and angry.
He hadn’t wanted to come here either.
He had come reluctantly, following Rodrigo’s orders to recruit Alex.
His plan was to feed him adequately,
ply him with alcohol, figure out what he liked, and put it in his hands.
If he liked money, he would give him money;
if he liked women, he would provide women.
He had no intention of rushing things.
He wanted to proceed slowly, tailored to the man’s preferences.
He wanted to break him in over time.
That’s why he had chosen this place.
Refined enough to be impressive,
yet making the other person feel valued and treated well.
If it had been up to Eduardo’s tastes, he would have gone somewhere with neon signs blazing and half-naked women dancing.
But this representative, the moment he arrived,
was making it abundantly clear that he wasn’t pleased.
He hadn’t even sat down yet.
His tone was arrogant,
and his gaze was cold.
The brat came as a representative, and he’s putting pressure on me with that stiff neck of his.
Under normal circumstances, I would have flipped this table right here.
I would have snapped that rigid neck of his.
I wanted nothing more than to put several holes through him with a gun.
That would make everything so much easier.
But this time, I couldn’t.
Right now, this disrespectful representative holds the upper hand,
and Eduardo is in the weaker position.
I had to play along.
Rodrigo had warned me repeatedly.
That I needed to make a good impression.
That I needed to build a good relationship.
Eduardo suppressed the turmoil churning inside him,
and spoke with a smile.
“Wow, that’s refreshing. You’re right. You don’t need personal connections to work together. But it’s also true that things go a bit smoother when you do have them. So let’s skip the personal stuff and just have a meal. The food here is excellent. It’s a place that’s hard to get reservations for, and it would be a waste to just throw it away. Let’s just eat. I’ve already ordered some good wine in advance. So let’s just enjoy the meal. That’s not so bad, is it?”
Eduardo answered with a smile.
It was unexpected.
I thought he’d flip the table at the slightest provocation,
but he was a man who knew how to hide his emotions.
“Then I’ll just eat.”
I answered.
To be honest, I was curious.
Why he wanted to see me,
what he wanted to talk about by calling me here.
I already knew.
The very fact that he arranged this meeting meant it was to bring me into his fold.
He’d probably try to sweet-talk me into joining his side, right?
I could guess that much.
But what would he offer me to make me join?
That’s what I was curious about.
I was curious about what he’d stake on me.
I was curious about how much power these guys had,
and who was backing them.
That’s why I sat down at this table.
“Yes, let’s eat.”
I answered and sat down in the chair across from Eduardo.
Eduardo spoke to the waiter.
“Bring out what I ordered.”
“Understood.”
Eduardo turned his head and looked at me.
“But you know who I am, don’t you?”
“Yes. I heard you’re the leader of the Brazilian Cartel.”
“You’ve done your homework. Parallax has considerable influence in Brazil. Or should I say South America? We practically control the entire continent.”
Eduardo flashed a smug grin and began to boast.
“Honestly, nothing happens in South America without our permission. Let me tell you how powerful we are…”
As Eduardo spoke, the food arrived.
The first dish to come out was
an amuse-bouche of smoked Swiss truffle cream on mini toast, topped with caviar.
I didn’t even listen to Eduardo’s words.
Without hesitation, I popped the amuse-bouche into my mouth.
There was no point listening anyway.
Parallax would just lay it on thick,
exaggerating how magnificent their cartel was and how immense their influence stretched.
But the amuse-bouche I’d eaten in one bite was genuinely delicious.
The rich, earthy aroma of the mushroom and the briny essence of the caviar burst on my palate, melting smoothly across my tongue.
This is good.
I found myself nodding unconsciously.
To serve food of this caliber, they must operate this place as a membership-only restaurant.
The taste was truly impressive.
The dishes kept coming.
Oven-roasted lobster, black truffle consommé, perfectly seared Dover sole, wagyu ribeye steak, and dessert.
The wine pairings throughout were exceptional as well.
I paid no attention to whatever Eduardo was saying,
focusing entirely on the food.
“… and that’s when the President himself came running out. Haha.”
“…”
Smack, smack, smack.
“The food seems to suit your palate?”
Only then did Eduardo seem to notice something amiss and spoke up.
With a hint of sarcasm mixed in.
“Yes. It’s delicious.”
I answered honestly.
Because it truly was delicious.
Eduardo chuckled, clearly amused.
“Would you like me to get you a membership here? You can come eat whenever you like.”
I shook my head.
“No, thank you. Food like this tastes best when eaten occasionally. Eat it too often and it becomes tiresome. Besides, if you eat this kind of thing too frequently, you can’t enjoy other foods anymore.”
My answer seemed to surprise Eduardo, and he laughed.
“Haha. You know how to eat. You’re right. If you get too accustomed to haute cuisine, other food becomes unsatisfying. That’s why you have to keep trying new things and challenging yourself.”
Eduardo paused briefly, took a breath, and continued speaking.
“So here’s the thing… wouldn’t it be better for the Alex Group to try something new this time?”
“Something new?”
I set down my fork and looked at Eduardo.
“It’s nothing major, but since we’re going to work together anyway, wouldn’t it be inconvenient having Mateo in the middle? We have plenty of capable people too, and narrowing our communication channel to just one person is like imposing restrictions on ourselves.”
My expression twisted without my realizing it.
Seeing that, Eduardo changed his tone.
“Look, I’m not saying we should cut Mateo out completely… we can work with him too. But couldn’t we handle a few projects separately from you? We can adjust the terms to suit everyone.”
“Terms?”
“Yes. We can work out the terms. After all, the Alex Group wants to make money and expand its influence, right? But wouldn’t it be much better to move directly with us rather than moving with Parallax in tow?”
“Why?”
“Why, you ask? Parallax has been in chaos since losing Adrian. They still lack direction. If we exclude Mateo and proceed, things won’t move smoothly on their end. It’s hard to even get started. But we’re different—we’re efficient, our market is broad, our influence is strong. We have the capacity to adjust terms easily. If we work together, you won’t regret it.”
I widened my eyes as if I knew nothing and asked back.
“Really? Things won’t move smoothly?”
“Mateo isn’t a field operative. Though he’s military-trained, he’s not someone seasoned in the field like us. So he doesn’t understand the situation well. It’ll be completely different from Adrian’s time. There’s a high chance Mateo won’t be able to control Parallax.”
“What happens then?”
“We’ll have to see how things unfold. Either the chairman changes, or the organization splits.”
I exhaled softly.
It was to appear as though I was deep in thought.
“Hmm…”
“By the way, there are already quite a few people who won’t work with Mateo.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Honestly, someone you’ve been working with suddenly gets his hands on a ring and tries to act like a king—it’s not a pleasant sight, is it? He’s not the Lord of the Rings. Mateo already has no support base within Parallax. Meanwhile, we have many people we’ve worked with for a long time.”
I was somewhat surprised.
It was faster than expected.
These men had already begun their internal operations.
I deliberately spoke a beat late.
“It sounds like a situation I need to think seriously about?”
“Exactly. And, Agent.”
Eduardo leaned slightly toward me.
“Yes?”
“Honestly, you’re in the same boat. This is work to make money, but no matter how hard you work day and night, how much will you really earn? Just a salary? Maybe a little incentive? But if you work with us, it’s different. If you put in a good word for us, if you open a direct line for us, we’ll compensate you separately.”
“Compensate me?”
“Well, if you prefer cash, we’ll launder it properly and give it to you. Or we could give you something like coins. We could give you Candy Coin, right? Candy Coin is all the rage these days. You should buy some too. They say it’s going to skyrocket in the future. We already have information that several South American countries are working behind the scenes to use it as currency. Since this information came from a hotline, it’s bound to be reliable. I’m only sharing this information with you.”
Eduardo spoke with a smirk.
I took a moment to organize the situation.
“So to summarize: working with Mateo might not go well. Mateo has no support base within Parallax. On the other hand, working with you would allow projects to proceed quickly and smoothly. Plus, I could receive personal compensation?”
“Exactly, Agent. Your learning ability is truly exceptional. You’ve got it perfectly.”
I asked while pretending to think for a moment.
“But who exactly do you mean by ‘we’?”
Eduardo paused for a moment.
“Pardon?”
“You keep saying ‘we’ and ‘us,’ but I have no idea who you’re referring to.”
“Just think of them as people on the inside.”
Eduardo tried to brush it off vaguely.
“No, that won’t do.”
“What?”
“I’d have to report to headquarters to change our distribution lines. Am I supposed to do that without knowing who’s on our side? Based solely on your vague and ambiguous words? Can you really operate that way? At minimum, I need numbers or names.”
“Hmm···.”
Eduardo hesitated, clearly uncomfortable with naming names directly.
I seized the opening.
“At least I know Rodrigo is the central figure.”
The moment Rodrigo’s name left my lips, Eduardo’s eyes widened in surprise.
“What? How did you know that?”
I shrugged.
“In the current situation, only Rodrigo has the capacity to orchestrate something on this scale.”
A brief silence.
Eduardo burst into laughter.
“Hehehehe. You grasp the situation faster than I expected.”
“I have to, to survive.”
“Competition must be fierce on your end. If you’re already reading the situation this well, we can move quickly. As you know, South America is organized around Rodrigo as the central figure. There are many who want to help.”
I cut him off immediately.
I already knew Rodrigo was the center of power.
The real question started here.
“How many people inside are helping you?”
He hesitated briefly before answering.
“A considerable number.”
I shook my head at once.
“That’s not good enough. This is frustrating. I already told you—reports require actual numbers, not ‘many’ or ‘few.’ I’m not even asking for names, just numbers. Why can’t you give me that? Don’t you have them? Or is this a bluff?”
Eduardo’s expression hardened.
“No. It’s not like that. Among the executives, there are already over ten. But the ones in the middle are currently defecting to our side, so I can’t give you an exact number yet.”
“So, over ten executives, and you’re currently recruiting more? Can I understand it that way?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
I feigned amazement.
“Wow. That’s impressive.”
“Right?”
Eduardo smiled with satisfaction.
“These aren’t just South American executives, are they?”
I asked with suspicion in my voice.
“You mean… are just a few South American guys behind all this? No. If it were only them, we’d have no chance of winning. Security, Operations, Logistics, Intelligence—they’re all our people. And growing. This should be enough.”
Eduardo spoke with evident pride.
I clapped my hands.
Clap, clap, clap.
“That’s impressive. With skills like that, you could establish a separate organization, so why stay within Parallax?”
Eduardo immediately shook his head.
“Going out and building an organization from scratch? That sounds nice in theory, but it’s a nightmare. Everything I need already exists within Parallax, so why would I exhaust myself starting over? Taking Parallax wholesale would be far more efficient.”
“That’s a fair point.”
I found myself in complete agreement with Eduardo’s reasoning.
Building a new organization from the ground up is never easy.
Things that seem trivial in an established organization become monumental challenges when you’re starting fresh.
What I once took for granted while working at a company—
suddenly becomes precious and expensive when I’m the one footing the bill.
Copy paper and toner cartridges. Phone bills.
Even the coffee in the break room.
What was once routine overhead
becomes pure money, time, and energy in a new venture.
So consuming Parallax is far more efficient than building something new.
And I gain access to the tremendous brand that is Parallax itself.
Abandoning Parallax would be foolish.
Eduardo spoke smoothly.
“If we develop a close relationship through this process, I believe we could be of considerable help to each other. To you personally, as well.”
I leaned back slightly from the table.
It was time to wrap this up.
“I’ve understood everything you’ve shared today. I’ll review it carefully and contact you again.”
“Of course. This isn’t a decision to make on the spot. But I don’t even know your name. Could you tell me?”
I laughed lightly.
“I’m just a representative, after all. You can simply call me that.”
“But we can’t keep calling you ‘representative’ indefinitely.”
I paused as if thinking, then answered.
“Since I represent the Alex Group, you can simply call me Alex.”
“Come on, how is that a name?”
“It should be fine. And thank you for the excellent meal and this valuable conversation.”
“Don’t mention it. It was nothing special.”
Eduardo smiled awkwardly.
“No, hearing about Parallax’s internal situation in such detail—it was an invaluable time for me.”
In that moment, Eduardo’s expression hardened.
A chill ran down my spine.
I had said too much.
Driven by the thought of recruiting him.
By the desire to bring him to my side, I had crossed a line.
And only then did I realize it.
Who held the upper hand in this conversation.

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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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