Bullets
Jose: "Look who it is. In-bae, is that you?"
In-bae: "Jose, it's been a while. How have you been?"
Jose: "This is the Congo, my friend. Just being alive means I'm doing well."
In-bae: "Glad to hear it. How's Poapy?"
Jose: "Poapy is doing great. He's actually quite good at his studies, and he trains hard, too."
In-bae: "Thanks for looking out for him."
Jose: "At first, I only did it because you asked, but now he feels like my own son. Anyway, what's up? Planning on coming back here?"
In-bae: "Well... first, I have a question. Can you get ammunition?"
After receiving La Fei's request, I hesitated for a moment. Could I even get ammunition? It wasn't something you could just buy at a convenience store. So, instead of giving her a definitive answer, I told her I'd look into it. That was the best I could do.
Though I had sold her guns, I didn't have a legitimate distribution channel. Those guns were just something I had happened to acquire from the Congolese rebels. Right now, I had no route to source weapons. I couldn't exactly go back to the rebels and ask them for bullets.
The only person I knew who could get weapons was Jose, the man who ran L'Oasis in the Congo and had sourced my sniper rifle. So, I contacted him, figuring it was worth a shot. If he could get them, I could use it as an excuse to visit the Congo and see Poapy's face.
Jose: "What kind?"
In-bae: "9mm Parabellum and 5.56mm NATO."
Jose: "Standard issue. I can get as many of those as you want."
In-bae: "Then get them for me. I'll come pick them up."
Jose: "You're coming all the way here just for some bullets? Aren't you in Korea?"
In-bae: "I don't have a choice. It's not like you're going to deliver them to me."
Jose: "True. Crossing borders is the hardest part with this stuff. Hang on, let me look into it. You might not even have to come all the way to the Congo."
In-bae: "Really?"
Jose: "We don't manufacture bullets here anyway. They're bought and distributed from somewhere else. Let me check."
In-bae: "Thanks."
Jose: "Don't mention it. I'll be in touch."
Kang Jae-ho came to find me, looking pale as he held a tablet.
"Boss, the initial design draft is ready."
Kang Jae-ho handed over the tablet. The moment I looked at the screen, I knew my choice had been correct.
Emerald Canyon was spread across the display. Even though Emerald Canyon wasn't actually there, looking at it instantly brought it to mind. The drab, skeletal concrete structure had been clothed in emerald nature. It looked mysterious and noble.
"Wow... this is amazing. You did an even better job than I expected."
As I was admiring the tablet, Sandro walked in.
"What are you doing? What are you looking at?"
"Sandro, take a look at this."
The moment Sandro saw the tablet, his expression shifted.
"What? What is this? Is this... that? That... thing?"
He was so shocked he could barely speak.
"Yeah. The resort we're finishing up."
"The design Mr. Kang made?"
"That's right."
"Looking at it like this, it looks completely different. The design is incredible."
"I was just admiring it myself."
"It's gorgeous. We can start on this right away. Patrick."
"Yes, Director."
"Get the interior crew together and prepare immediately."
"Yes, Director."
"Mr. Kang here didn't just design this; he used to run an interior business. A complete veteran. If we give him full authority and let him oversee it, the quality will be even higher. He's incredibly skilled. There's nothing he can't do. Mr. Kang, is that possible for you?"
"If you entrust it to me, I will do my absolute best."
"Patrick, you heard him?"
"I'll take care of it immediately."
Kang Jae-ho was incredibly happy to have his design recognized. This was the life he had wanted. Bringing his imagination to reality. He was achieving it here in the Philippines. This young boss in front of him had made it happen.
"Thank you so much, Boss. I'll do my best."
"I'm counting on you."
Kang Jae-ho and Patrick left to discuss the details, leaving me alone with Sandro.
"What should we name the resort?" I asked.
Sandro replied, "The name is already decided. Only one thing came to mind the moment I saw it."
"What is it?"
"Emerald Resort."
"Ah... that's perfect. Why didn't I think of that?"
A wave of self-loathing hit me. I had been thinking of something like Candy Resort Panglao since it was Candy Tour. I felt embarrassed. I shouldn't try to name things anymore.
"Let's go with Emerald Resort then. It fits perfectly."
"Yeah, it does."
We had agreed on the name, but Sandro still had more to say.
"Alex. I have a question about Emerald Canyon."
"What is it?"
"Emerald Canyon is empty during the day, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
Both Emerald Canyon and Lumina Lake are empty during the day. That's how the tour route is set up. After the group leaves for the land tour in the morning, Candy Tour's exclusive tour starts around the time that tour ends. So, during the day when everyone is on the land tour, Emerald Canyon is completely empty. It stays empty until 16:00, when the exclusive tour guests arrive. That's why we even stationed guards there—to make sure no one came to cause trouble during the day.
"Isn't it a waste to leave it empty during the day?"
"It is, but..."
"What if we sell packages to other travel agencies?"
"Won't it get too crowded? People come here for peace and quiet. If it turns into a chaotic market, they'll be disappointed."
"I have two ideas. First, we target only the six-star hotels and create a tour program that can only be booked through them. We exclude Lumina Lake and just have them visit Emerald Canyon during the day."
"That sounds good."
"The other idea is to integrate Emerald Canyon into the existing tour programs, but change the order. They visit Emerald Canyon first, but they must leave by 16:00 no matter what."
"Hmm... that would require completely restructuring the program. We can't just piggyback on the existing tours."
"Exactly."
It was a good idea. We could make money using the empty Emerald Canyon and show it to more people. But I didn't want it to become overcrowded. I absolutely wanted to avoid that.
"Let's start with the hotel program first. We'll mix it with our existing tour program to create a new product, and keep it exclusive to us. We'll have to adjust the hotel discount rates, right?"
"Of course. I'll handle that. Hehehe."
Seeing Sandro's sly grin made me anxious. I knew he would do a good job, but I still couldn't help but feel uneasy. I was looking forward to what he would bring back, but worried he might cause trouble. I'll have to make sure he doesn't take a gun with him.
Suppressing those feelings, I spoke to Sandro.
"Thanks, Sandro. I'm looking forward to it."
Jose contacted me.
I sent messages to the two IDs Jose had given me, stating that I wanted to purchase some ammunition.
The Thai wholesaler said they didn't sell ammunition separately. The Filipino wholesaler said they did, but they didn't do retail. Their minimum order was ten thousand rounds.
Ten thousand rounds sounded like a massive amount, but it was just two hundred boxes containing fifty rounds each—boxes smaller than the palm of your hand. I figured I could use them myself eventually, so I decided to buy plenty.
They would be heavy, but since I had my Inventory, it was fine.
I decided to purchase twenty thousand rounds of pistol ammunition (four hundred boxes) and twenty thousand rounds of rifle ammunition (four hundred boxes). In total, I was buying eight hundred boxes, or forty thousand rounds.
The problem was the transaction location: Zamboanga City on Mindanao Island.
Zamboanga City. A port city on the southwestern tip of Mindanao, close to Basilan Island. Rebel forces still lingered there, and it was a dangerous city where terror attacks and kidnappings used to happen frequently. Although the Philippine military and police had cracked down heavily in recent years, improving security, armed groups were still active. South Korea had even designated it a travel-ban zone.
In short, it was an extremely dangerous place where anything could happen at any moment.
I traveled to Cebu with Scott, then took a flight to Zamboanga International Airport.
Scott's movements walking beside me had improved significantly. When we went to Seoul last time, he was constantly getting in the way, so I taught him how to guard properly—how to protect the client without overlapping with their path. I made him memorize it and practice repeatedly.
The Seoul National University study method. It works fast.
We rented a car at the airport. Having Scott around was great for things like this. As a local, he handled everything. He rented the car and drove.
Wait, come to think of it, aren't I Filipino too? Alex.
We arrived at the meeting spot, the Sulu Sea Hotel.
The plan was simple: pick up the weapons at reception, stay the night, and head back tomorrow. Simple. I told Scott to go to the reception and ask if there were any packages for Candy Boy.
Scott went to the reception. After he said something, the male staff member checked something and gestured for him to follow.
I watched this and quietly followed them.
The hotel staff member opened a back door and went outside.
Naturally, they had to go outside. Forty thousand rounds of ammunition. While not massive in volume, it weighed a lot—nearly five hundred kilograms. Even split into multiple packages, it was too heavy to carry. It would be impossible to hand over at the reception desk. A car-to-car transfer made the most sense.
The hotel staff member politely guided Scott to a van parked in the corner of the parking lot and opened the sliding door.
Scott peered inside to check if the goods were correct. It was a funny sight. Scott wouldn't know even if he looked, because I hadn't told him what the package was. I had just told him to pick up a package from reception.
At that moment, the hotel staff member struck Scott on the head with a blunt weapon.
Scott collapsed. The staff member loaded him into the van, got in the driver's seat, and drove off.
I quickly started my rental car and followed them. Quietly and stealthily, keeping out of sight.
All that driving practice during my special forces training is finally paying off.
The van headed toward the outskirts of the city. I had to widen the gap between our cars. There were no other cars on the road. If I tailed them too closely, they'd definitely notice.
Even as I followed them, I had no idea what was going on. I had just come to buy some bullets. Because I was being cautious, I sent Scott instead of going myself. I had no idea why they knocked Scott out and kidnapped him.
Right now, the only thing that mattered was saving Scott. That was all I needed to focus on.
Fortunately, they didn't seem to want to kill him. If they did, they would have finished him off there. Knocking him out and kidnapping him meant they wanted something from him. They probably thought they could squeeze some money out of him.
After driving for over thirty minutes, we arrived at an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Zamboanga.
As the hotel staff member's van pulled in, men emerged from the factory, opened the door, and carried Scott inside. They looked highly experienced, like they'd done this many times.
And the fact that people came out of the factory without any call meant someone was inside watching. I have to be careful.
I parked my car nearby and sneaked around to the back.
I peered through a window on the opposite side to scan the inside of the factory.
About a dozen men were standing around, with Scott collapsed on the ground in front of them. A man who looked like the boss was sitting in a chair, watching them.
The boss nodded, and someone brought a bucket of water and splashed it on Scott.
Scott groaned and slowly regained consciousness.
"Ugh..."
"Are you awake?"
Even then, Scott didn't seem to fully grasp the situation, looking around in confusion.
"Where is this? Who are you guys?"
"You don't need to know that. Why do you need so many bullets? I'd understand if you were buying guns too, but what are you planning to do with all those bullets without any guns?"
"What? Bullets? What bullets?"
Scott asked, completely serious, which made the boss slightly taken aback.
"What's with this guy? Is he an actor? Did he regress into an actor? I almost fell for it. Damn, that's some method acting."
"I really don't understand what's going on."
"Oh, great acting. If you don't understand, I guess we'll have to make you understand. Boys."
Before the boss could even finish his sentence, the men standing behind Scott surrounded him.
Just as they were about to beat Scott up—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshots rang out from somewhere.
When they looked to see what happened, three men were already bleeding on the floor.
Terrified, everyone scattered to find cover. The boss hid as well.
"Who... who is it?! Who the hell is that?!"
"It's me, you son of a bitch."