I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 251

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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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251 – Bunker
251.
My grip tightened around the phone.
It wasn’t shock so much as unease.
He was the representative of the Alex Group.
I hadn’t expected him to call directly.
I thought he’d flee when we threatened him to come alone.
I thought he’d hide somewhere out of sight.
But it was the opposite.
Instead, he’d shown up alone at the meeting place and was now pressing me about why Rodrigo hadn’t arrived.
In truth, Rodrigo had completely forgotten about this appointment.
With the bomb detonation and its aftermath to manage, the meeting had slipped his mind entirely.
Anyone within Tijuana could be handled at will.
That confidence was absolute.
Perhaps that’s why I hadn’t bothered to pay attention.
I glanced at my watch—exactly 7 o’clock.
“You’re not coming?”
Tijuana was in chaos, yet the representative’s voice remained perfectly calm.
I gestured silently to the Secretary, mouthing “Where’s Matthias?”
The Secretary shook his head.
Matthias must have gone to handle the explosion as well.
“My apologies. Has it really gotten this late? I’ve been swamped.”
“Heh. Disappointing, really. Your hospitality is terrible. I carved out time from my busy schedule for this.”
Laughter came through the phone.
It sounded like a hollow laugh born of disbelief,
or perhaps a mocking one.
There’s no time to decipher the meaning behind that laughter now.
Handling the bomb takes priority.
I just need to keep the representative occupied for now.
Would it help to send the Woman in Cheongsam?
“The situation is what it is, you understand. If you’re standing in front of the Hotel, you can see it clearly. The city’s in turmoil right now. I’d appreciate your understanding. In return, I’ll make sure we have an unforgettable time together.”
Rodrigo spoke smoothly, persuasively.
“Understand? Me? Why?”
“What? Look at the current situation. Shouldn’t you be understanding about this?”
“What does this explosion have to do with us meeting?”
“What?”
“Did you cause this explosion?”
“No.”
“Or are you the Mayor or Police Chief?”
“Neither.”
“But why are you cleaning up the bomb?”
“Still, as a citizen of Tijuana···”
“You made the promise first.”
“··· That’s true.”
“You said to come alone.”
“··· That’s true.”
“So I came alone, but you’re not here?”
“I told you. The situation right now is···”
“I know. I understand. But what does that have to do with us meeting? By your own logic, you’re just a citizen of Tijuana. Leave that to the professionals and get over here quickly.”
The proxy’s urging left Rodrigo speechless.
Rodrigo was the invisible king of Tijuana.
Nothing could happen in the city without his permission.
With explosions occurring throughout the city at this moment, Rodrigo had much to do.
He needed to control the city and clean up the mess quickly.
But officially, he was nothing.
He held no position.
So using the city’s explosion as an excuse to break his promise?
That was hard to justify.
Then the factory suddenly came to mind.
“One of our important factories has run into problems. I need to handle that first.”
“Oh? Really?”
“Yes. It’s an important matter.”
“You mean that factory on the outskirts? The one you reach when you exit the highway?”
When the proxy mentioned the factory’s location, Rodrigo was taken aback.
“What? How do you know that?”
“Because I was just there.”
Rodrigo’s heart sank.
“What?!”
“I’ll make good use of the medicine you left there.”
Now Rodrigo understood the situation.
It was the Alex Group that had raided Warehouse 3.
Rodrigo’s fury reached its peak.
“What? Hey!! Don’t you dare touch that. If you touch it, you’re dead.”
“Were you planning to let me live?”
“···”
“I’m ending the call now. I’ve pinpointed your exact location.”
A chill ran down Rodrigo’s spine.
He had been deliberately prolonging the call all this time.
To pinpoint his exact location.
“Bombardment will begin there now. Try to survive.”
Click—the call disconnected.
Rodrigo remained frozen in shock for a long moment.
The phone in his hand felt impossibly heavy.
Even holding it became unbearable.
He dropped it onto the table as if casting it away.
‘… I’ve been tracked.’
The game had flipped.
Moments ago, I was the hunter,
but in an instant, I became the hunted.
Rodrigo stared at the Secretary with a vacant expression.
The Secretary refused to meet his gaze.
Then it happened.
Boom.
A tremendous explosion shattered the air.
The ground trembled beneath us.
Rodrigo’s Mansion shook violently.
A bomb had clearly fallen not far from the mansion.
.
.
.
I sat in the hotel lobby, phone pressed to my ear.
My tablet suddenly gleamed with a new message.
It was from Tian Zihao.
[Location acquired]
The corners of my mouth lifted slightly.
The call had never been mere conversation.
Truthfully, I had nothing to say to him.
I didn’t want to say anything.
I simply needed to buy time while Tian Zihao pinpointed his location.
And we succeeded.
“I’ll end this call now. I’ve pinpointed your exact location.”
I spoke those words and hung up immediately.
I had no desire to hear that repugnant voice any longer.
The moment I disconnected,
the Obsidian Unit beside me stepped forward and asked.
“Shall we move?”
Just before.
When I said I’d relocate from the warehouse to the hotel, Shin Jung-gi had tried to stop me.
“Phantom Grid 2.0 is sufficient to mask our location. There’s no need to go to the hotel. It’s dangerous.”
But I shook my head.
It’s possible.
Guide Matthias might still come.
My prediction that he won’t arrive isn’t a certainty—merely a forecast.
The circumstances simply make his arrival unlikely.
Had the guide shown up, I would have needed to execute Plan B accordingly.
So for now, I had to head to the Hotel.
I could deceive machines,
but I couldn’t deceive people.
That’s why I came to the Hotel.
But I didn’t come alone—I brought roughly ten members of the Obsidian Unit with me.
As expected, no one from Rodrigo’s side showed up,
and we were able to pinpoint Rodrigo’s exact location.
“No. Artillery strike first. Tell Allen to open fire.”
We’d breach from the perimeter inward, peeling back their defenses.
An Obsidian Unit member picked up the radio.
“Fire authorization granted. I repeat. Fire is authorized.”
“Roger.”
A brief acknowledgment followed by the metallic sound of movement.
The faint sound of ammunition being chambered echoed.
And moments later.
A deep boom seemed to reverberate from somewhere in the distance.
.
.
.
The Warehouse had already been fortified into a fortress.
Windows were barricaded with sandbags,
and barricades stood at every entrance.
Atop the steel framework,
Obsidian Unit members with machine guns had taken position.
And on the opposite side of the Warehouse.
Mortars were lined up in the wide-open outdoor space.
The angles were already set.
I verified the new coordinates Tian Zihao had obtained.
Then I converted them for mortar fire and handed them to Allen.
I’d inputted terrain data and wind direction information as well.
Allen called out the azimuth to the Obsidian Unit member receiving the coordinates.
“Azimuth 2-8-0-0! Range 1-1-0-0! Prepare to fire.”
As Allen called out the coordinates,
the Obsidian Unit moved with perfect synchronization.
The gunners pressed their eyes to the sights, aligning their aim,
The soldiers removed the safety pins from the mortar rounds and waited.
“Targeting complete.”
“Load.”
Tian Zihao had not revealed the exact coordinates of Rodrigo’s location.
Instead, he called out the coordinates surrounding Rodrigo.
The Young Boss had ordered them to reduce Rodrigo’s headquarters to rubble.
So they planned to start with the perimeter and work inward.
There was nowhere for him to escape anyway.
“Wind speed 3.2. East to west.”
“Adjustment complete.”
“All batteries. Prepare for effective fire!”
“Fire!”
As Allen’s command rang out, a heavy round dropped into the barrel.
Thud.
With a dull metallic clang, the mortar round shot skyward.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Rapid successive fire followed.
The air trembled.
Flames erupted from the mortars, painting the surroundings in orange.
The rounds tore through Tijuana’s twilight sky.
Parabolic arcs.
They traced perfect trajectories.
And at the end of those arcs stood Rodrigo’s Mansion.
“Direct hit.”
Tian Zihao confirmed the target through his drone feed.
He relayed the confirmation to all units via radio.
Then, 0.5 seconds later, BOOM!!!
The ground shook violently.
The outer perimeter guard post was obliterated.
Concrete walls tore apart like paper.
As the barrage continued, Rodrigo’s base began to crumble.
Vehicles parked in the lot erupted in flames.
Windows shattered into countless fragments.
Steel roofs were pierced clean through, and explosions detonated inside the building.
“Keep going. Don’t stop.”
Allen roared the command.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Mortar rounds ascended endlessly into the sky.
Rodrigo’s base began its collapse.
The fortress that had once boasted impenetrable security was crumbling before their eyes.
The CCTVs, checkpoints, and armed guards were all disappearing.
With each shell that fell, concrete shattered and fragments scattered.
“Take cover.”
“Hide.”
Someone shouted, but it was meaningless.
All that happened was another shell landing in that same spot.
Mortars rained down like a deluge.
I couldn’t fathom how many rounds were in the inventory,
but no matter how much they fired, the ammunition never ran dry.
The barrel grew so scorching hot
that they rotated through mortars, continuing to unleash their fury.
Both the mortars and shells were in abundant supply.
The only thing in short supply was Rodrigo’s composure.
******
Beneath Rodrigo’s Mansion.
Rodrigo had retreated into the underground bunker he’d constructed.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
The relentless thunder of artillery fire echoed continuously.
Rodrigo stood motionless in silence for a long moment.
The artillery fire wasn’t mere noise—
it felt like a hammer striking reality itself.
Everything I had built.
My title as the King of Tijuana.
My position as the absolute authority.
It all felt as though it were being shattered by that hammer.
My entire world was crumbling.
I barely managed to steady my trembling hands.
I drew in a slow breath.
“… Damn it.”
Cursing was all I could do.
I pressed my hand against the wall.
The thick, solid concrete barrier.
Over a meter in thickness.
A bunker designed to withstand bombardment.
That fact alone was barely keeping me grounded.
‘It’s fine. It’s fine. No one can breach this place.’
I tried to convince myself.
I continued muttering the words repeatedly.
‘They can’t penetrate this. It’s just noise. This place is safe.’
But as the bombardment dragged on.
The longer Rodrigo spoke, the weaker his voice became.
It was less persuasion and more pleading.
Rodrigo turned on the CCTV to check the surrounding situation.
Crackle… crackle…
Nothing appeared on the screens.
Only black displays.
“···. Sigh”
I felt suffocated.
I called my subordinates over the radio.
But no one answered.
I pulled out my phone,
but there was no signal.
I felt suffocated.
I didn’t know the situation, couldn’t reach anyone, and had no subordinates.
No one was there.
All that remained was this Bunker and myself.
It was the first time.
Being this completely isolated.
‘Should I have brought the Secretary with me?’
I had rushed into the Bunker and locked the door behind me.
So no one could enter.
Now I regretted it.
Rodrigo thought to himself that he was insane.
He could accomplish things others wouldn’t dare even conceive of,
things they wouldn’t even attempt—one of the few people in the world capable of such feats.
He was a pioneer and destroyer who fearlessly navigated territories that common sense forbade.
That’s what he believed.
But he was wrong.
Compared to the Alex Group, Rodrigo was merely an ordinary citizen.
No different from the thugs you’d encounter every three seconds walking through Tijuana.
He was an opponent that could never be matched from the start.
You don’t fight madness.
This was madness on a different dimension.
What madman would think to fire mortars like that from another country?
Here, you have to consider the aftermath of firing even a single shot.
But the Alex Group had none of those concerns.
They fired indiscriminately.
They seemed like people with no consequences.
It was suspicious how they obtained so many weapons in such a short time.
These are weapons that are difficult to acquire here.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Hearing the artillery fire, Rodrigo slapped his own cheek.
He pulled himself together.
“This isn’t over yet.”
He wiped his face with his hand.
I need to think.
About how to survive.
Come to think of it, if they’re firing artillery like that,
someone will respond—whether it’s the police or the military.
My mind began to sharpen.
If the government moves in response to the artillery fire?
The military will come. Those Americans might show up because of the border.
Rodrigo’s eyes began to regain their clarity.
‘Those bastards can’t hold out long anyway.’
Rodrigo was certain of it.
If they keep firing like madmen, the authorities will respond,
and I just need to hold out while they deal with the Alex Group.
Then I’ll survive,
and after regrouping, I’ll crush the Alex Group.
With that thought, my heart grew lighter.
That conviction gave me the strength to endure.
‘I hold this position. For hours, for days—I hold it.’
Rodrigo slowly surveyed the bunker.
Food, weapons, water—all sufficient.
Time was also on my side.
I just needed to hold out.

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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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