Chapter 317: Consider This Your Last Chance

Hao Xun rose from his seat.

“Then I’ll be in touch.”

“Manager, could I get a business card? I might contact you later tonight.”

Manager Ma nodded and retrieved a card holder from his pocket.

Receiving the business card from Manager Ma, Hao Xun instructed his subordinates to pick up their guns.

“Leave the guns behind. If you raise one again in Korea, I won’t hesitate to take you down—all of you are aware of that, right?”

The subordinates of Hao Xun, who had bent down to grab a gun, froze in place.

Hao Xun, equally stiffened, ordered his subordinates to leave the guns alone.

Hao Xun and his party turned around and left the restaurant.

After he left, I turned to Wang Wei and gave a chilling smile.

“Hey, pig.”

“………”

“You can speak when I ask you a question.”

Whether out of stubbornness or the last bit of his pride, Wang Wei remained silent, just glaring at me.

“So you’ve got a bit of pride left, huh? If that’s the case, you shouldn’t have thought to betray a friend of decades. What do you think saying your pathetic pride will accomplish now?”

Wang Wei’s face flushed a deep red as he sighed and finally spoke.

“Huh… Just spare my life. I’ll pay you whatever you want.”

“You say you know me, right? Then why bring up money to me? Even if you offered all your organization’s wealth, it wouldn’t impress me at all.”

“…Shut it! No matter how much money there is…”

“Believe what you want; it’s up to you.”

If we were going to negotiate, you need to have a strong card to play. Cutting off the conversation coldly, Wang Wei hung his head in defeat.

He couldn’t even look at Yoo Sung-jin beside him.

“Chairman Yoo.”

“Yes, Boss.”

“What are you going to do? Will you just kill him right here? Or do you want to take him somewhere, gather information, and decide what to do next?”

“…I would appreciate it if you could trust me with this.”

Perhaps realizing how shameless it sounded to ask for trust, Yoo Sung-jin hesitated a while before speaking up.

I decided to trust Yoo Sung-jin’s fury and resolve.

“This is your last chance. I won’t give you much time. I’ll give you four days to tidy things up, including dealing with discontent within the organization. If you can’t clean it up by then, remember that your chair could also be in jeopardy.”

“Yes, Boss.”

Seeing Yoo Sung-jin bow his head, I stood up.

Wang Wei’s face flashed across my mind, and I couldn’t help but smirk.

“You thought you could take over Korea without knowing the first thing? Leaving behind the golden opportunity right beside you and teaming up with someone like Kang Jun-woo? That’s your blunder.”

“…Who do you think you are? Just a wealthy loan shark, right?”

Instead of answering, I continued speaking.

“The moment you betrayed Yoo Sung-jin, who considered you a friend while I had your back, was your first mistake.”

“…Chairman Yoo is too narrow-minded. He wouldn’t have sat idle while we moved into Korea. Therefore, we had no choice but to…”

Wang Wei only gave excuses, showing no signs of remorse. It was a conversation void of value.

“Nonsense. Even if your organization commanded that way, you should have risked your life to stop it. That’s what true friendship and loyalty mean. But you didn’t; all you cared about was your life, ignoring Yoo Sung-jin’s life completely.”

“No! That isn’t true! I never intended to take Chairman Yoo’s life!”

Wang Wei shouted in panic, but to me, it sounded like nothing more than barking.

“Don’t make me laugh. Even if you had no intention to kill Yoo Sung-jin, Kang Jun-woo wouldn’t. He can’t let Yoo Sung-jin live. While he’s alive, he will always think he can reclaim his position. You messed up from the start.”

This was a coup to eliminate his boss and seize his position.

Even if Kang Jun-woo had justification, it would be hard for others to understand, and keeping Yoo Sung-jin alive was never an option in a coup driven solely by profit.

If Yoo Sung-jin lives, war will continue.

Kang Jun-woo wasn’t a fool, and Wang Wei wouldn’t listen simply because he was ordered to. He knew if he didn’t kill, his own life was at stake.

Just like I had told Park Dong-su to eliminate his boss.

“Although you claimed to aim for Beijing, that couldn’t have been your only thought. Let’s see, when you tried to sell drugs in Korea, the Black Dragon Society was right there, a much larger force than you. You wanted to sell drugs but felt burdened to fight them. You probably thought about how to swallow them whole, and this opportunity presented itself to overturn everything. But guess what? I’m here.”

Wang Wei’s face turned pale in an instant.

“H-How did you know that…?”

“People like you, being thugs, would do anything if it means profit. You must have had some discussions with Kang Jun-woo. Whatever details you need, ask Yoo Sung-jin.”

I could no longer find a reason to continue the conversation with Wang Wei.

Hao Xun still had reasons to engage in dialogue, but not this guy.

“Let Chairman Yoo handle it and keep me in the loop.”

“Understood, Boss.”

I frowned upon seeing Wang Wei’s subordinates sprawled on the floor.

“Leave the bodies. Manager Ma’s men will take care of it. Manager, please call the cleaners and have them tidy everything up.”

I turned to leave. After exiting the restaurant, I arrived in front of the elevator.

“Get in touch with the Police Chief.”

The elevator doors opened, and I stepped inside as I instructed.

Soon, I reached the hotel lobby.

Outside, a crowd of onlookers had gathered. Seeing them, I turned away and said,

“There are too many people. Let’s head underground.”

I took the elevator again and disembarked at the underground parking lot.

“I’ve reached the Chief.”

I reached out to take the phone that Manager Ma handed to me.

“Yes, Chief. It’s Kim Mu-hyeok speaking.”

— Boss Kim, long time no see. What brings you to contact me?

“It’s been a little while, Chief. It seems like I always only call when there’s something going on.”

— Oh, that’s not what I meant. I apologize if it seemed that way.

While I conversed with the Police Chief, my ride arrived to pick me up.

Manager Ma smoothly opened the back seat door, and I got in without hesitation.

“I can’t even joke with the Chief now.”

— Haha, that’s not it. I was just glad to hear from you after so long.

A chuckle tinged with humor echoed through the receiver.

When I first met him, he was far from easygoing, but after some cash exchanged hands, he became quite smooth-tongued.

“The thing is, there was a bit of a disturbance at the Myeong-dong Hotel today. Our Manager Ma contacted the appropriate police station, but I thought it best to inform you personally as a matter of courtesy.”

— Ah, I received the report. I heard there’s a film shoot taking place; is there a problem?

It was evident that this Police Chief wasn’t a fool either.

He understood my words and smoothly steered the conversation to what had happened.

“Haha, no. I was just misinformed; it seems it was wrong to contact you. Let’s go out for a meal sometime; I’ll treat you to a nice place.”

— If Boss Kim invites, I will always go. Just let me know anytime.

“Okay then, I’ll contact you later.”

After hanging up, I passed the phone back to Manager Ma, who was in the passenger seat.

“Please send two boxes of apologies to the Chief, and send one box to the head of the Jungbu Police Station. Also, negotiate with the media to ensure this incident doesn’t get reported.”

“Yes, Boss.”

“I’ll take a little rest, so wake me up when we arrive.”

I leaned back against the seat with my eyes closed. Though I kept my eyes shut, my mind raced.

I need to set the Chinese to move and take over the Japanese drug market. That should shock the Yakuza. It’ll turn into a bloody war between the triads and the Yakuza. A conflict between the Chinese and the Japanese… This could be entertaining.’

A sinister smile crept across my face.

* * *

Not even a day later, I received a call from Hao Xun.

“Boss, Hao Xun wants to meet. What should we do?”

“That was quick. Tell him to come to the Myeong-dong office tonight; six in the evening will be perfect.”

“Yes, I’ll relay that.”

When the appointed time came, Hao Xun arrived at the Myeong-dong office.

He came alone, without a single subordinate.

“Mr. Kim Mu-hyeok, I apologize for no recognizing you sooner.”

Hao Xun walked into the office and immediately lowered his head deeply, as if ready to kneel.

“You’re quite different from yesterday. Did you speak with the person behind you?”

“Yes, I was sent by him.”

“Welcome. You made it.”

As I extended my hand, Hao Xun gently grasped it with both of his.

The complete transformation in his demeanor within a day brought a soft smile to my face.

“Let’s sit down for now. I wonder what your backer asked you to say to me.”

As I took my seat first, Hao Xun sat down beside me on my left, still bowing slightly.

“Did you explain yesterday’s events properly?”

“…Yes, I was scolded severely.”

“Scolded?”

“I moved the black agents without permission, and because of it, I got highly blamed. Luckily, though, my boss didn’t kill them, so it didn’t spiral out of control.”

While I had said he killed them, it was just a simple suppression; they weren’t killed.

Making the Chinese government lose face would benefit neither me nor the companies I had invested in.

“I don’t unnecessarily kill unless it’s needed. I had no choice with Wang Wei’s subordinates brandishing guns. If it had been you who brought them, they would have been dead.”

“Thank you.”

Hao Xun bowed again. His demeanor reduced to almost servitude made me raise one corner of my mouth.

“There’s plenty to be grateful for. By the way, let’s hear what you came here for.”

“Yes. Can I ask you a favor first?”

“A favor?”

“Yes. This is a matter tied to my life.”

Hao Xun’s unexpected request caught me off guard. His eyes were filled with fear.

“Speak. If it’s something I can do, I’ll help as much as I can.”

Hao Xun had to bleed for me in Japan. He couldn’t die yet.

“That person has nothing to do with the drug business. If they find out I tried to mobilize black agents for drug sales in Korea, I’m a dead man. So please, leave the drug business alone.”

“You didn’t know?”

“Isn’t it well known what drugs mean in China? If that becomes known, I’ll die without a trace.”

This was an absurd claim. There was no way he didn’t know. The Opium Wars had shaken the Qing Dynasty, leading to its downfall.

As a result, it collapsed under the pressure caused by drugs.

This serious reason led the Chinese Communist Party to stringently punish not only the sale of drugs but even possession after seizing power.

Nevertheless, the triads couldn’t afford to give up drugs that brought in massive profits.

The triads paid exorbitantly for it, while the top elites turned a blind eye.

But to claim he didn’t know? If negotiations fell apart, he was probably thinking of finding a way to slip away…

This was a clear case of cutting off ties. Politicians are the same everywhere.

“Let’s say you didn’t know. You won’t be exiting the drug business, will you?”

“…Yes.”

“It’s not hard to pretend not to know. Fine then, I’ll keep it confidential.”

“Thank you.”

Hao Xun bowed deeply once more. His forehead nearly touched the table.

“Is that all you came here to discuss?”

“No, please wait a moment. Let me take out my phone.”

Hao Xun asked for my consent to retrieve his phone from his suit’s inner pocket.

Once I nodded, he pulled out his phone and dialed someone.

“Yes, this is Hao. Yes, yes. I’m with Boss Kim Mu-hyeok. Understood. I’ll pss you over now.”

Despite being on the phone, Hao Xun kept bowing his head in respect to the person on the other end.

After apparently getting the okay, he extended the phone to me, saying,

“This is him.”

“Him?”

“You’ll know who it is once you pick up.”

“Hmm…”

Just who could it be? It was surely a high-ranking member of the Communist Youth League.

I accepted the phone and opened my mouth.

“This is Kim Mu-hyeok. Who is this?”

— Ah, Mr. Kim Mu-hyeok. It’s Hu Jintao.