I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 92

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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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092 – Landing
92.
By handing over the Ascend to Lafei in Macau, I had finally completed my grand journey of positioning Ascends throughout all of China.
It had been a truly long, tedious, grueling, and frustrating undertaking.
But now it was finished.
Whether it succeeds or fails, there is nothing more I can do.
Now I can only stand by as an observer.
******
Tian Guolin, who operated a hot pot restaurant in Guangzhou
In the early morning, he prepared ingredients and simmered broths,
During the day, he cooked, served, and handled payments,
And at night, he cleaned the restaurant before collapsing into bed for a brief rest, only to return before dawn
—such was his grueling daily existence.
Given the nature of hot pot, where meat and vegetables are cooked in long-simmered broth, ingredient preparation inevitably consumed enormous amounts of time.
The ingredients had to be brought to the table in their raw state, not already cooked into the broth.
Above all, they had to be fresh and varied.
Tian Guolin believed that only this could sustain his business.
So despite the hardship, he personally visited the market to inspect and purchase his ingredients.
Yet his revenue wasn’t growing proportionally, which weighed heavily on his mind.
“Why don’t you try this?”
“This? What is it?”
On a busy morning, two young men approached Tian Guolin and thrust a plastic container toward him.
“We’ve just developed a new candy product, and we brought some by for promotion and sampling purposes.”
“Never mind. Don’t bother me—just take it with you.”
“There’s nothing for you to worry about. We’ll just leave the container here, and all you have to do is let it sit. That’s all.”
“Just let it sit?”
“Yes, just let it sit.”
“You’re not going to ask me to pay for the candy later, are you?”
Tian Guolin remained suspicious until the very end.
He had encountered such people before.
They’d leave something claiming it was just a sample or promotional item, then later demand payment for having used it.
Of course he wouldn’t pay, but then he’d have to argue and raise his voice.
He didn’t want to expend that kind of energy.
Life was already too exhausting.
“Absolutely not. In fact, we should be paying you. You’re helping us with promotion.”
“You’re going to pay me???”
“You’re helping us with promotion and providing the space—we should compensate you for that. If you’d like, we can even draw up a contract.”
One of the young men pulled 250 yuan—about 50,000 won—from his wallet and handed it over.
“It’s not much, but it’s our way of thanking you for helping with our promotion.”
“You’re really giving it to me?”
“Then I’ll give you the real thing. Should I write up a contract as well?”
“No contract needed.”
Tian Guolin quietly accepted the money and pocketed it.
“Then I’ll leave the product here. It tastes great and has fatigue-recovery properties, so it should work out well for you.”
“Leave it. But I won’t touch it. Won’t pay any attention to it either. I’ll just leave it sitting there.”
“Yes. That’s more than enough. It’ll be fine if customers can take one each as they finish eating and leave.”
“I can manage that much.”
A faint smile crossed Tian Guolin’s face as he accepted the money.
The two young men who had left the candy at Tian Guolin’s restaurant made a phone call the moment they stepped outside.
“Yes, hyung. We’ve added one more location. Yes, yes. Hyung. It was easy. They said to just leave it once we offered money.”
“But is it right to give them money too? I don’t think we’d need to pay them at all?”
“Just give it to them, okay? Understood.”
“We could do plenty more. Should we add a few more?”
“Just stick to the quota?”
“Understood. We’ll fill today’s quota and head back.”
The two men pulled out a clear plastic container filled with candies from the car and headed toward another restaurant.
******
Li Yuantao, a Guangzhou City Hall official, ate a late lunch alone.
The meeting had run long.
It was a meeting regarding the Guangzhou Flower Market, which he had recently taken charge of.
The Guangzhou Flower Market Festival was a flower market and expo held around the Lunar New Year.
It involved roughly 3,000 shops across 11 markets.
It was a massive event with hundreds of thousands of visitors.
Though there was still plenty of time, as a mega-festival, there was much to prepare and coordinate.
But the preparation process was far from smooth.
It had been creaking from the start.
“Visitors keep complaining about the lack of restrooms. What’s the problem with setting up some temporary facilities?”
“Who said not to put restrooms? It’s the location that’s the issue, the location.”
“Exactly. Restrooms need to be where there are lots of visitors.”
“No, that’s not it. Think about it—if restroom odors waft over the flowers, what then? You need to make sense when you speak.”
“So you’re saying we don’t put restrooms at all?”
“Who said not to put them? Just put them in the parking lot or somewhere outside the flower market.”
“Who’s going to walk all the way to the parking lot to use the restroom while looking at flowers? The parking lot is incredibly far. And parking is already insufficient.”
“Anyway, it won’t work. I’ve made my position clear. It won’t work.”
.
.
.
“What are you saying? We’re paying to participate in the festival, and you want us to sell food outside the festival grounds? Does that even make sense?”
“The flower vendors say they absolutely cannot enter if there are food odors.”
“Then tell them to eat flowers. At least they’ll smell nice.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Enough. We’re here to make money, not to be extras for the florists. If it’s not a main position, we’re not participating. Once we secure a main position, contact us then. Let’s go.”
.
.
.
“How are we supposed to create a parking lot here? This area already has severe traffic congestion.”
“Isn’t parking shortage the biggest complaint about the flower festival? We still need to make an effort to solve it.”
“But you need space to create parking spaces. You’re asking us to secure parking unconditionally.”
“Still, shouldn’t your department handle this?”
“I’m not sure. We’ll do as we’re told. Please send it through official channels. Once we receive the official notice, we’ll proceed accordingly. We’ll be leaving now.”
.
.
.
Li Yuantao sat alone at a nearby restaurant, reviewing the meeting that had taken place earlier.
The meeting had run late, so he hadn’t eaten until now.
Perhaps because of the frustrating meeting, the food tasted bland.
It felt gritty, like chewing sand.
Everyone only cared about their own interests.
The florists wanted to eliminate anything that would interfere with viewing the flowers, since it was a flower festival.
The food vendors wanted to set up booths in high-traffic areas.
The government officials wanted to avoid getting involved as much as possible.
Conversely, visitors demanded a lot—convenient facilities, shopping, sightseeing, attractions.
It was impossible to satisfy everyone perfectly.
Yet from my position as the organizer and supporter of the event, I had to coordinate everything.
There would inevitably be complaints, but I had to minimize them and ensure the event ran smoothly.
I needed to create convenient facilities so visitors wouldn’t feel inconvenienced.
Restrooms, parking lots, public transportation, traffic flow management, safety and site management, promotion and marketing—everything had to run perfectly.
All of these needed to work in harmony, but instead, they were only compounding confusion.
Thinking about work killed my appetite entirely.
I set down my utensils and went to pay, noticing a plastic container of candies on the counter.
Since I hadn’t eaten properly anyway, I thought I might as well have some.
“Is it okay if I take some of these?”
“Of course. Please, take as many as you’d like.”
I grabbed a handful of candies and shoved them into my pocket, then unwrapped one and popped it into my mouth.
The moment it touched my tongue, a fragrant aroma bloomed, followed by a sweet taste spreading across the tip of my tongue.
This is delicious.
Beneath the sweetness, there’s a subtle tangy sensation hidden.
What flavor is this?
I’ve never tasted anything like it before.
As I continued, the sensation shifted from simply delicious to something intriguingly novel.
I became uncertain about what I was eating.
It had a refreshing yet dreamlike flavor.
The more I sucked on the candy, the more a crisp vitality seemed to surge through me.
My mind became clear.
My mood lifted, and my vision sharpened.
My thoughts brightened, and my senses grew acute.
I felt wonderful.
I wanted nothing more than to spend the entire day savoring candy.
I wanted to treasure it, sucking on it slowly in small portions throughout the day.
By the time I arrived at the Office, I had been savoring the candy the entire walk.
Usually, the return journey exhausted me, but this time I felt no fatigue whatsoever.
I sat down and examined the documents.
Wait.
What’s this?
Why does the solution suddenly seem so obvious?
The space that had been vague until now, the festival grounds that had never materialized even dimly in my mind,
the chaotic layout suddenly became crystal clear.
From the entrance of the venue to the shops, facilities, and restroom locations—everything appeared vivid in my mind, showing exactly where each should be placed.
The positions for Police and firefighters, the traffic flows for staff and event vehicles—I could arrange them all without overlap.
I would place a flower store on the main street, with restrooms stretching along the riverbank below.
Restaurants would go on the side facing the River.
Li Yuantao was astonished.
That I had solved this problem in an instant.
Simultaneously, he felt a wave of self-reproach for having agonized over such a simple problem for so long.
Li Yuantao immediately began drafting the report and proposal.
His hands never paused.
There was no time to deliberate.
He wrote the report at a speed faster than his eyes could follow.
The people around him watched Li Yuantao with bewildered expressions.
******
Li Xin sat blankly before the monitor, staring only at the blinking cursor.
For days now, he had been losing sleep over the same error code.
A “segmentation fault” kept appearing, and he had no idea where the problem lay.
He had already reviewed the code countless times, yet the answer eluded him.
Each time he looked at the code, his eyes felt as though they were spinning.
He rose from his seat and went to a nearby Cafe.
He needed to recharge with caffeine.
As he ordered coffee, he noticed candy sitting on the counter.
“How much is this candy?”
“Oh, we put that out for promotion. Please, have some.”
“Really? I’ll enjoy it.”
Li Xin picked up a single candy.
It was wrapped in colorful, pretty packaging with only the word ASCEND printed on it.
He popped the candy into his mouth while stepping out with an Americano that had an extra shot.
A fleeting sweetness passed across his tongue, followed by a sharp, tingling sensation.
Was this really candy?
Should I call this spicy?
It’s stimulating.
Yet I don’t want to spit it out.
Rather, I want to let it dissolve slowly in my mouth for as long as possible.
When I’d consumed more than half the candy, a strange sensation washed over me.
I’d been unable to sleep properly for several nights, exhausted and foggy-minded, but suddenly the drowsiness vanished completely.
Blood began to circulate throughout my body.
Energy surged through me, and my body felt impossibly light.
My senses sharpened to the point where I could smell the air itself.
My memory began to crystallize with perfect clarity.
My body had reached peak condition.
Why?
There’s no reason for this.
My condition suddenly improves just because I had a sip of coffee?
I can’t make sense of it.
As I walked toward the office, every line of code I’d ever written came flooding back to me.
As if there were a monitor right in front of me.
No—as if I had become the code itself, I could see exactly how each line operated.
Examining it slowly, line by line, I found the error.
It was a single parenthesis.
Just one parenthesis, yet I’d struggled for days without finding it.
But how can I remember such a long code in its entirety?
How can I understand it more accurately than looking at a monitor?
How can I feel the code executing?
I have no answer.
All I knew was that I needed to ration this coffee carefully.
*****
Liu Mei stood before the design mockup she’d promised to deliver to the client next week, sighing heavily.
She’d created it according to the client’s specifications, but it simply didn’t sit right with her.
Following the client’s demands resulted in a design that was utterly compromised,
yet touching up the design would only anger the client.
It’s frustrating.
I feel like I’m going mad.
The client will probably ask me to redo it anyway, even if I deliver exactly what they requested.
The design is a mess.
It’s uncomfortable to look at.
If I touch it, they’ll claim that’s not what they meant and demand I remake it.
No matter what I do, it’ll need to be redone.
Through that process, I’ll have to communicate with this stubborn client who refuses to listen.
I’ll have to grovel and nod along to everything.
Just thinking about it gives me a headache already.
That’s when someone handed me a candy.
“What’s this?”
“They were handing them out after the meal. So I grabbed two. Thought we could share.”
“Thanks. I was craving something sweet, and the timing is perfect.”
Liu Mei popped the candy into her mouth without hesitation.
The sweetness spreads through her entire body.
Is it fruit flavored? What is it? An indescribable taste.
But it’s delicious.
As the candy begins to dissolve slightly.
The monitor before my eyes looks different.
The colors feel more vivid.
I think I could match those color tones if asked.
Temperature and smell become sharper.
Sensation returns to my fingertips.
My thoughts become faster and clearer.
And looking at the design draft, I see it.
A way to satisfy the client’s demands while improving the design aesthetically.
With the idea in mind, Liu Mei quickly grabbed the mouse and immersed herself in the design work.
Liu Mei was pouring her life’s greatest masterpiece into creating a neighborhood storefront sign.
******
Tian Guolin, who operates a hot pot restaurant, finished closing up.
After cleaning, it was already past ten o’clock.
A grueling day had come to an end.
Now I just need to go home and collapse into sleep.
But thinking about having to wake up at four in the morning tomorrow and come back,
My body feels heavy just from the thought.
I really wish I could get some proper sleep.
As I step out of the shop, I notice the plastic container those young men left behind this morning.
Looking inside, only one remains.
‘Didn’t they say this also helps with fatigue recovery?’
Tian Guolin placed the last remaining candy in his mouth with a prayer that it would help restore his energy, then put away the plastic container.
On the way home.
My body feels light.
The exhaustion clinging to my body dissipates like morning mist.
Vitality surges through every fiber of my being.
Strength floods into my arms and legs.
Energy erupts from within.
My body feels reorganized, stabilized, whole.
The Tian Guolin from a minute ago—weary and drained—no longer exists.
Now there is only Tian Guolin overflowing with vigor, needing no sleep.
Tonight, I feel as though I could go without rest entirely.
*******
“Everything ready?”
“Yes. All preparations are complete.”
“Tracking?”
“Absolutely impossible.”
Tian Zihao, who oversaw the Asand purchasing site, answered.
Tian Zihao was a programmer belonging to Yingjie Xian, the organization he had accessed previously to obtain the source code for GoGo Casino.
He was talent I had acquired during the raid on Yingjie Xian’s office.
His expertise in evading tracking.
His mastery of site construction was unparalleled.
These were the men who analyzed user behavior and manipulated win rates in real time.
No team possessed such technical prowess for selling Asand.
Over several months, they had remained in Mindanao, constructing the purchasing site.
Now, one simply needed to scan the small QR code on the packaging to access it.
Then Asand’s SNS would appear.
Through SNS, one could navigate to the purchasing site.
The address changed constantly, designed to prevent any tracing.
That day’s gains extended far beyond this.
I had established a cooperative partnership with Yingjie Xian.
Yingjie Xian—they do anything, create anything, as long as the money flows.
It is Yingjie Xian distributing Asand through restaurants across Mainland China.
Yingjie Xian distributes Asand, whether directly or through outsourced channels.
Thanks to them, I only needed to stock Asand in the warehouse.
“You’ve all worked hard. In two or three days, we should start seeing responses. Rest well until then. When the time comes, we’ll push forward again.”
“Yes.”
“Then take your rest.”
As I turned to leave their office, a sound reached my ears.
Ding.
“What’s that sound?”
“Ah? It seems someone has accessed the site.”
“What do you mean? We only started distributing Asand today. It should take at least two or three days before we see any response.”
“No, that’s not it—an order has come in.”
Tian Zihao answered while staring at the monitor.
“What? An order came in? We listed it at 50 yuan per unit—that’s 10,000 won, right? Who would actually buy this at that price? Is this a glitch?”
“No, sir. The order was placed through normal channels.”
“Seriously?”
I checked the monitor myself.
There it was—a clear record of an order for ten units.
I was marveling at how quickly Edward’s product was generating interest when I heard the sound.
Ding.
Ding.
Ding. Ding.
Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.
The alarm kept ringing relentlessly.
“Orders keep coming in. More orders are arriving.”
From the very first day we released Edward’s product, orders began flooding in.
Edward, what exactly did you create?

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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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