Chapter 72
Chapter 72
Episode 72: Shanghai Yaguza (1)
Leaving the mansion and stepping onto the street, Shinwoo immediately hailed a taxi.
"Please go to 668 Beijing East Road, Shanghai."(Please go to 668 Beijing East Road, Shanghai.)”
Upon hearing that, the taxi driver was taken aback.
“Shanghai? It’ll take over seven hours to get there.”
“That’s fine.”
At that response, the taxi driver turned around, pushed up his sunglasses, and scanned Shinwoo with a displeased expression.
Understanding the implication, Shinwoo took out fifty 100 yuan bills from his pocket and offered them.
“Payment in advance. Ok?”
The taxi driver’s eyes widened at the sight of the stack of bills.
【5,000¥】
It was about 900,000 Korean won. Considering the distance of about 730km from Qingdao to Shanghai, it was a generous amount.
“Yes!”
The taxi driver grinned and started the car.
Soon, Shinwoo called Lillian on his phone.
[Hoo… Hello?]
Hearing the response, Shinwoo tilted his head and spoke in Swahili. Speaking with a regional dialect made it difficult to understand even for those who knew Swahili.
“Why are you so out of breath? Aren’t you at MH Tech right now?”
[I just finished sparring. I’m at KITE.]
“Antenna? Did you finish checking it?”
It was for a mid-term check.
[I secured the blueprints. But it’s still under development, so it hasn’t been manufactured yet. They said they might need to make it and see if it needs improvement.]
“That’s somewhat fortunate. I’m taking care of some business and heading to Shanghai.”
[What happened?]
Shinwoo recalled Cheon Hye-rin, whom he had just met, and said,
“Im Hee-yeon was connected to Cheon Hye-rin, the chairman of Cheongwoo Group.”
[Huh? Auntie and Chairman Cheon of Cheongwoo?]
At that response, Shinwoo let out a long sigh.
“Are you turning into Jang Man-soo?”
[Are you crazy? Who looks like who?!]
“No other problems, right? More importantly, what was that about sparring earlier?”
[I thought I was a bit lacking in practical sense, so I’ve been doing it since lunchtime. I needed to loosen up too. I haven’t really moved properly since returning here.]
This time, Shinwoo laughed.
“Was facing Chad Palmer not enough of a warm-up?”
[That bastard was just a crazy, perverted murderer. Honestly, even then, I felt like I’d kill him if I went any further, so I held back appropriately(?).]
“It’s a relief you handled it well. Anyway, this matter is a bit unexpected.”
Lillian fully agreed.
Cheon Hye-rin’s request was among the missions Triad Eye had handled.
[How close are Auntie and Chairman Cheon?]
“…They said she’s an adoptive mother.”
[Adoptive mother? That means they’re very close. Then she probably knew about you, right?]
“Probably.”
Before the regression, he had no connection with Cheon Hye-rin.
Yet, she had specifically requested Shinwoo, who was an FA Mercenary. Even after creating Triad Eye, she had made several more requests.
The mission difficulty was also not high. It was so easy that it was suspicious. Those questions were now answered.
[I see… that must be a bit complicated.]
“It’s just… yeah.”
[In a way, Chairman Cheon took care of the Captain.]
“They probably did it to make themselves feel better.”
To Shinwoo, Im Hee-yeon was still a bystander, so he had no intention of changing his mind about her because of this.
[Where are you now? I can hear car sounds.]
“It’s a taxi. I’m going from Qingdao to Shanghai.”
[Shanghai? Are you going to find that guy?]
“It takes time to make the Antenna. If it’s within the range of what’s possible right now, I should look for Wei first.”
His current destination was a famous information broker in the Chinese underworld. However, it was a somewhat dangerous place, so Lillian was slightly worried.
[That guy will be really difficult since it’s your first time meeting him. If you mess up, several people might die today. Be moderate. Don’t accidentally kill anyone.]
“He should hope he doesn’t run his mouth too much.”
Ending the call, Shinwoo turned his gaze back to the window.
He took a taxi instead of a plane to minimize his travel route and traces. Using cash instead of a card was also one of the reasons.
At the same time, he slowly went to Shanghai, repeatedly reviewing whether there were any problems with his plan so far. Then, this time, he called Jang Man-soo.
It was to obtain the necessary information about the destination he was heading to.
.
.
.
About seven hours later. Before he knew it, it was evening, and the sky had turned dark.
Shinwoo arrived at the oldest electronics market in Shanghai. The building and atmosphere were not much different from the Yongsan Electronics Market.
Entering the market, Shinwoo found his way with familiar steps. Gradually, there were fewer people, and the shops with an older atmosphere than the building’s exterior began to appear.
Clatter— Clatter—
Just in case, he took out two eight-sided dice from his pocket and rolled them in his hand. As he went deeper into the alley, he saw men with menacing expressions.
"Stop."(Stop there.)”
A large man blocked his way.
In response, Shinwoo raised his head and looked at him, speaking in Chinese like the man.
“What’s wrong?”
“This is a dead end, so turn back.”
Shinwoo knew why they were blocking him.
“I have business here.”
“Haa… Do you even know where this is before you spout such nonsense?”
The man said that, placing his large hand on Shinwoo’s shoulder.
“You shouldn’t touch me.”
At the same time, the man and the other men around him began to laugh.
“Hahaha—! This guy must be crazy!”
“Ruan! Are you just going to stand there and listen?”
“Crush him!”
“We should tear him apart!”
Shinwoo frowned at the noisy voices of the men.
“Have you all said everything you wanted to say?”
At that moment, Shinwoo grabbed the wrist of the man’s hand on his shoulder and squeezed it tightly.
“Aaaaaaack—!”
Shinwoo had been exercising whenever he had the chance, regaining much of his strength and agility from his prime. Thanks to that, the man’s scream echoed loudly in the narrow hallway, startling the other men.
“Hey! Ruan! Are you messing around right now?”
“Finish it quickly!”
The man called Ruan tried to pull his wrist away, but it wouldn’t budge, so he threw a punch with his other hand.
However, Shinwoo lightly tilted his head back to dodge it and then struck the man’s chin upward with his palm as if to crush it.
Crack—
Soon, Ruan, whose eyes had rolled back, knelt down and collapsed to the floor.
“I came to trade with Yaguza.”
“Our boss?”
Yaguza was a half-human, half-beast Chinese monster that was said to eat people’s brains. It meant that he was a very vicious and cruel person.
“Are you going to guide me? Or are you going to keep attacking and then tell me after getting beaten up?”
With that question, Shinwoo stomped on Ruan’s left shin with his boot.
Crack—
“Aaaaaaaack!”
Ruan, who had lost consciousness, screamed with a chilling sound.
Even so, Shinwoo didn’t stop and raised his foot again.
“I’m thinking of crushing your face this time. What do you guys think?”
“W-Wait! Just wait a moment!”
Everyone must have felt that something was wrong, as they were frozen stiff. Then, the man who had shouted earlier took out his phone and called someone.
He kept bowing, probably talking to Yaguza, and then asked Shinwoo.
“Y-Your name is what!”
“Me? LOX.”
It was Shinwoo’s callsign. Liquid Oxygen Explosives.
It meant liquid oxygen explosive, which Lillian had given him in comparison to Shinwoo’s personality.
The man who was conveying Shinwoo’s words turned his head again.
“He says he doesn’t know him! Our boss only trades with regulars!”
“Of course he doesn’t know me since I came for the first time today.”
“Then it’s no good!”
It was a situation he had fully expected.
“It’s really hard to work quietly.”
Letting out a shallow sigh, Shinwoo kicked the head of Ruan, who had woken up in pain, and charged at the other men.
Starting with the head of the man at the front, he slammed him into the wall, kneed the neck of the man who was rushing in from the side, and before he knew it, Shinwoo grabbed and twisted the wrist of the man who had even pulled out a knife.
Shinwoo grabbed the knife that was falling to the floor and threw it at the thigh of the remaining man who was trying to escape.
Thwack—
“Kuaaaack!”
The man whose wrist was twisted was still being held.
Shinwoo stared at him and then knocked him out by slamming his elbow into his chin without any hesitation.
Thud— Thump!
“Hoo… Fortunately, I didn’t kill anyone.”
Shinwoo muttered that and then walked down the hallway again, stopping in front of a fire hydrant.
.
.
.
At the same time.
A man named Weisuan was sitting in a luxuriously decorated office, watching CCTV footage.
Weisuan was the man called Yaguza. And the CCTV screen was showing Shinwoo standing in front of the fire hydrant.
“Why is that bastard stopping there? Did the guys he beat up snitch?”
At that question, a subordinate standing next to him stepped forward.
“Either way, the guys outside don’t know the office password.”
In the CCTV footage, Shinwoo opened the fire hydrant and reached his hand into the ceiling inside. And soon after, the wall where the fire hydrant was attached moved, revealing a passage.
At the same time, those who were watching the screen couldn’t help but be surprised.
“Why is the door opening!”
“Could it be a customer who came with a recommendation from a regular?”
“If that were the case, he would have said the regular’s name first!!”
Yaguza Weisuan was a famous information broker in the Chinese underworld. If a customer needed something, he would get the item or find or connect them with a person by any means possible.
For that reason, many customers sought out Weisuan.
He had also established a system to some extent, hiding his office and creating rules for receiving guests.
Of course, there were also customers who pushed their way in like now, but he had been blocking them well at the entrance.
But this time, the atmosphere was different.
Thud— Thud—
At the sound of footsteps echoing on the marble floor of the office, Weisuan’s subordinates rushed forward.
“We will take care of it as quickly as possible.”
“Wait.”
“You’re… not going to take care of it?”
“Stand back!”
In the meantime, Shinwoo opened the office door and entered.
He saw Yaguza Weisuan sitting at his desk and six men standing to the side.
Of course, Weisuan looked 12 years younger than he had in his previous life.
“Is this how you treat customers who come to trade?”
Weisuan smiled bitterly at Shinwoo.
“A customer is a customer, but you only look like an uninvited guest to me.”
“Calling someone who might become a regular an uninvited guest… that’s too much.”
“My warning won’t be long. So, if you don’t want to die, you better leave right now.”
Click—
Weisuan took out a pistol from under the desk and aimed it at Shinwoo.
“Wouldn’t it be enough to prove that I’ll become a regular?”
“Are you crazy or just out of your mind… Do you even know the dictionary definition of those words? And I’m telling you just in case. This is a real gun.”
At that sight, Shinwoo shrugged his shoulders.
“I can tell it’s real just by the sound of it being cocked.”
“If you understand, then leave quietly, right? I don’t want to clean up corpses unnecessarily either.”
Only the tone was light, but the atmosphere between the two was heavy and murderous.
“Haa… I’m really going to have a hard time not accidentally killing him.”
“…What?”
Thud—
At that moment, all the lights in the office went out.