I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 248

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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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248 – Diplomatic Protest
248.
Tijuana International Airport.
The Immigration Officer who had spoken with Allen glanced around cautiously before heading toward a secluded area devoid of people.
He needed to report to Rodrigo.
About the current situation,
and whether he should comply with their demands.
Whether it was permissible to send them through Cross Border Xpress.
After scanning the surroundings once more, he pulled out his phone.
But before the Immigration Officer could make the call, his phone began ringing first.
It was the Director.
Someone he rarely saw face-to-face under normal circumstances,
yet he was calling directly.
The startled Immigration Officer answered the phone.
The moment he picked up, a furious voice erupted through the receiver.
– What the hell are you doing?
– Why are you detaining people?
– Do you know the Philippine Foreign Ministry just sent us a formal protest?
– They’re saying we’re confiscating innocent Philippine citizens and will respond diplomatically.
– Is this how you’re going to handle things?
– I’m asking if this is how you’re going to handle things.
The Immigration Officer could only listen to the Director’s voice without uttering a word.
When the Director’s voice finally ceased,
the Immigration Officer cautiously began to speak.
“… Rodrigo made a request, sir…”
“Listen here, you need to show restraint. Restraint. If Rodrigo tells you to close the airport, will you close it? You need to exercise moderation in everything!”
“I apologize.”
“Resume processing immediately and approve them.”
“That won’t be possible, sir.”
“What?”
It seemed as though the Director’s fury had reached its peak.
The Immigration Officer felt anxiety and dread
threatening to bring tears to his eyes.
It would be simple to stamp their entry documents as the Director demanded.
But the moment he stamped those documents and they entered Tijuana,
Rodrigo would not remain idle.
He and his family could be killed.
They might be hanging from the Tijuana airport by the next morning.
It was not as simple as it sounded.
“I will contact Rodrigo and handle this matter, sir.”
“What? You’re listening to Rodrigo before me?”
The Director’s fury was unmistakable.
His composure had truly shattered.
His voice turned harsh.
“···.”
“You’ve got ten minutes. Resume the inspection and process it quickly. If you can’t, you’re done.”
Click.
The call ended.
I understood the Director’s anger.
But once the inspection counter opened, responsibility fell not on the Director, but on the Immigration Officer.
He received the orders.
He executed them.
Had the Director received those orders instead, perhaps his instructions would have been different.
But that wasn’t the point.
The point was that the Immigration Officer had received orders from Rodrigo’s side.
Once the immigration inspection was complete, it wouldn’t be the Director who became a corpse—it would be the Immigration Officer.
The Immigration Officer took one deep breath and called Rodrigo’s line.
“What is it?”
A sharp voice came through the receiver.
Rodrigo’s Secretary had answered.
“···.. The personnel you mentioned—we’re still holding them, but I don’t think we can keep them much longer.”
“What do you mean?”
“We received a protest letter from the Philippine Government.”
“A protest letter?”
“Yes. They’re saying we’re detaining Philippine nationals, and if we don’t release them immediately, they’ll take diplomatic action···”
“So?”
“Sir?”
“So what? Keep them detained no matter what. Whether the Philippines sends protest letters or love letters, that’s your problem to handle. The moment those bastards set foot in Tijuana, you’re dead. You, your family, and your family’s family—all of you will be buried alive.”
“···.”
“Think carefully.”
“That’s why I’m suggesting—what if we stamp their entry but send them directly to the United States through Cross Border Xpress?”
The Immigration Officer trembled as he barely managed to speak.
“Through Cross Border Xpress?”
“Yes. That way we solve our problem, and we can also drive them out to the United States, can’t we?”
“Hmm··· it’s a good idea, but···”
The Immigration Officer presented Allen’s suggestion as if it were his own idea.
“Shall we proceed right away?”
“But here’s the thing··· what if they go to the United States and immediately come back to Mexico?”
“Sir?”
“What if they just set foot in the United States and turn right back around?”
Since it wasn’t my idea from the start.
I wasn’t prepared for that aspect at all.
“Uh…”
The Immigration Officer hesitated, but an unexpected answer came.
“No, actually… this works out fine. The crossing point is narrow anyway. Once they come over, we handle it right there. They won’t be able to bring weapons across the border. I’ll need to station a few of my men there. Once they cross, shoot on sight. Got it? Release him. Send him straight to the United States. And assign people to watch those guys.”
“Understood.”
.
.
.
The Immigration Officer went to Allen.
“Everything will proceed as discussed.”
“Tell me exactly what that means.”
“I’ll stamp your passport with an entry visa. In exchange, you must go directly to Cross Border Xpress.”
“Fine. Let’s do it that way.”
Allen readily agreed.
“You cannot enter Mexico again immediately after going to the United States.”
“Isn’t that overstepping your authority?”
Allen chuckled as he replied.
“Pardon?”
“Whether I go to Africa or Hawaii after the United States, what business is that of yours?”
The Immigration Officer’s expression hardened.
“I’m speaking out of concern. If you come back, I’m sure you won’t have a pleasant experience.”
“Concern? You’re overstepping. Whether I have a pleasant experience or a miserable one is my business. It’ll be far better than looking at your face while you take orders from drug cartels.”
The Immigration Officer’s face crumpled.
“Speaking to me that way could cause problems with your entry. You could even be denied entry.”
The Immigration Officer spoke through gritted teeth.
Allen stepped closer to the Immigration Officer.
He whispered quietly into his ear.
“The problem already exists. If you were going to threaten me, you should have done it earlier. That’s why you live like this—because you can’t read situations properly. Stop wasting time and just stamp it.”
Allen thrust his passport forward.
The Immigration Officer glared at Allen.
Allen didn’t avoid that gaze.
The Immigration Officer sighed once, then began stamping.
.
.
.
The stamping was finished quickly.
“You should go this way. You cannot go anywhere else.”
The Immigration Officer emphasized this repeatedly.
“I keep my promises. So back off.”
“···. This way, please.”
An Immigration Officer led the way at the front.
Airport security personnel were interspersed throughout.
They escorted the Obsidian Unit.
Or rather, they were preventing the Obsidian Unit from slipping away under the guise of an escort.
It was surveillance.
We exited the airport and entered Cross Border Xpress.
The border connecting the United States and Mexico.
It wasn’t particularly impressive.
It was a structure resembling an overpass built across the border between the United States and Mexico.
An overpass sealed on all sides.
That was the border, and that was Cross Border Xpress.
The distance from the airport to the United States was just over 100 meters.
Cross this short distance, and you’re in the United States.
“This is as far as we go. Once you pass through to the other side, you’ll be in the United States.”
“Understood.”
Allen nodded.
“Travel safely.”
“Right. Thanks for your trouble, and let’s not meet again next time.”
Allen offered a cynical farewell and was about to cross into the United States when it happened.
The Obsidian Unit was attempting to proceed through the narrow corridor into the United States, but the corridor shook.
It was a small tremor, but
I hesitated to set my foot down.
In that moment of hesitation,
BOOM.
With a deafening roar, the glass of the corridor shattered and the walls warped.
Then it began to collapse.
In an instant, Allen’s eyes gleamed.
“Get down!!”
*******
Cross Border Xpress.
A corridor connecting the United States and Mexico.
A bridge just over 100 meters long connected the two nations.
Beneath Cross Border Xpress lay the massive border dividing the United States and Mexico,
and armed soldiers patrolled in front of that border.
But the atmosphere wasn’t so bleak.
Many tourists were already gathered in front of the border.
They laughed and chattered there, taking commemorative photographs.
Shin Jung-gi and Toto stood beneath Cross Border Xpress like the other tourists.
“Is this the place?”
“Yes.”
“Their border is really strange.”
Shin Jung-gi murmured quietly, gazing at the steel-reinforced border.
It was certainly an alien feeling.
The city sprawled right beside it.
There was an airport, roads, and the border itself.
Cafes, restaurants, markets selling goods—and the border stood directly in front of them all.
Unlike us, far away,
in a place where no one else existed.
“I know what you mean.”
Toto also found this sensation odd, nodding as he replied.
The two of them wandered around beneath the CBX like tourists taking photographs,
spending considerable time exploring the area.
Of course, it was to find where to attack this place.
We searched for weak points,
but it proved difficult.
There was only one answer.
A single passage overhead.
There was no way around it—we had to attack the CBX directly.
No other options presented themselves.
No matter how much I searched, this was the only way.
“You’re certain about the CBX?”
“Yes. Tian Zihao said the Obsidian Unit would go to the United States through the CBX.”
“If they reach the United States, things become complicated..”
Shin Jung-gi deliberated.
It was right under our noses,
connected by the CBX,
but what happened in Mexico and what happened in the United States were entirely different matters.
What occurs within Mexico’s borders is Mexico’s affair.
Mexico handles its own business.
But if the explosion spreads into the United States, everything changes.
The incident becomes much larger.
Investigation and inquiry would become far more difficult.
We had to intercept the Obsidian Unit before they crossed into the United States.
“We need to steal them before they cross into the United States.”
“Right. We can’t let them reach the United States.”
Shin Jung-gi pondered how to proceed.
Despite wandering extensively beneath the border, no suitable location emerged.
Still, attacking the CBX pillars remained the only viable option.
Then Toto spoke lightly.
“Why don’t we just bring this place down?”
“What?”
“It’s not that complicated. If we just blow up this pillar, the structure will tilt and automatically create an exit for us, don’t you think?”
“You want to detonate a bomb here?”
Shin Jung-gi was startled.
Destroying the pillar connecting the border.
“It seems like that’s our only option right now.”
“That’s going to cause chaos, isn’t it?”
“Still, it seems like that’s our only way. If we wait any longer and Allen crosses Cross Border Xpress into the United States, it’ll take much more time. Getting into the United States and coming back out won’t be easy either, and if we go to San Diego, then to Mexicali, and cross back by vehicle, it’ll take at least five hours no matter how fast we go.”
“But… this is going to blow up into something huge?”
Shin Jung-gi hesitated.
This wasn’t the same person who had tried to blow up the church itself not long ago.
With Toto nearby, Shin Jung-gi was being cautious.
At the very least, he wanted to send Toto out alive.
So he was being as careful as possible,
but the real madman was Toto.
However, Toto added his own thoughts instead.
“Actually, the bigger the incident we cause, the more trouble it’ll be for Rodrigo, wouldn’t it?”
“Trouble for Rodrigo? Why? I’d think he’d be happy about it. He’d probably send more Organization Members.”
“If this were an outlying area and not an airport, he’d definitely prefer that. But this is an airport. It’s the border.”
“That’s true.”
“If a major incident happens here, would the Mexican Government just sit back and do nothing?”
“···..”
“The Government lets the Tijuana Cartel operate because things run smoothly enough when left alone. But if a major incident like this breaks out? Would Rodrigo be happy about it? Or would he desperately want to cover it up?”
“He’d want to cover it up, wouldn’t he? Especially if it involves the United States?”
“The bigger the incident, the more the Government and the United States will have to look into it, and the more uncomfortable it’ll be for Rodrigo. So we need to make this even bigger. Instead of Rodrigo’s subordinates coming here, we need the Police to come. The Police will protect us from Rodrigo’s subordinates.”
Listening to this, Shin Jung-gi found it plausible.
And he couldn’t think of any other method anyway.
If we’re going to cause trouble, we might as well cause a lot of it.
“So the bigger the incident, the more Rodrigo’s influence actually diminishes.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
They rented a nearby hotel room.
Once inside, they locked the door and pulled out the items they’d prepared.
Materials easily obtainable from a supermarket emerged.
Sugar, aluminum powder, gasoline, camping butane canisters, a digital watch and batteries. Copper wire.
They were easily obtainable items,
but for those who had only ever made weapons, they were the finest materials.
Clack, clack, clack.
As they mixed the materials and connected the wires, a rather convincing bomb took shape.
It happened in an instant.
He’d even placed it in a beautiful bag so no one would suspect it contained explosives.
“Shall we go?”
.
.
.
Shin Jung-gi and Toto sat in a nearby Cafe, monitoring their laptop.
Toto maintained continuous contact with Tian Zihao, tracking Allen’s location.
They had already confirmed the positions of the border guards, their shift changes, and the patrol zones.
Toto, eyes fixed on the laptop screen, spoke quietly.
“The Obsidian Unit is moving. They appear to be heading toward Cross Border Xpress.”
“Should we prepare as well?”
“Yes, we should. Fortunately, it’s exactly shift change time right now. We have about ten minutes.”
“Good. I’ll go place the bag and come back.”
Shin Jung-gi left the Cafe carrying the beautiful bag he’d prepared earlier, the explosives concealed within.
Toto remained seated at the Cafe, watching through the window as Shin Jung-gi moved into position.
Shin Jung-gi approached the base of the Cross Border Xpress structure naturally.
He set down the explosives.
Then he hurled several of the bombs toward the structure itself.
The adhesive-coated explosives stuck firmly to the Cross Border Xpress.
Shin Jung-gi disappeared,
and via GPS, Allen’s position was confirmed directly in front of Cross Border Xpress.
Now was the moment.
There was no room for hesitation.
Toto immediately pressed the button.
Click.
Simultaneously, the pillar supporting Cross Border Xpress collapsed,
and the passage fractured.
The corridor tilted downward entirely.
With only one side of the overpass pillar destroyed, it became a downward slope.
And through the gap, a familiar figure emerged.
Allen.
Behind him, the silhouettes of the Obsidian Unit became visible.
Toto smiled.
I should go meet them.
Toto gathered his belongings and headed outside.

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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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