Finally, I Can Replicate It
"So, you’re saying our Director Volk can supply me with exactly what I need? Did I understand that correctly?"
"Of course. Our company, Volcano Trading, handles a wide variety of items."
"Volcano? Does that mean 'fire mountain'?"
At Jun-ho’s question, Viktor Volk Choi—who had returned to the persona of a calm, intellectual Russian businessman of Goryeo-saram descent—showed a flicker of interest in his eyes.
"You know Russian?"
"No, not really. I just happened to help a Russian person out personally a long time ago. I learned a few words from them, that’s all."
"Ho-ho... And what kind of help was that?"
"...It was nothing. Just a small favor."
Whether he should call it the future or the past now... Jun-ho spoke calmly, staring at the very man whose life he had once saved. Viktor Volk Choi, who had been observing him with deep, piercing eyes, grinned.
"Although we started off with a bit of a misunderstanding, it seems you don't hold any ill will toward Russians. Anyway, I apologize once again for the mistake made by my staff. Shall we move on to business?"
"Let's do that."
"You need prescription drugs? I heard a rough outline of your pension situation from the boss."
"Yes. Thanks to Attorney Lee Dong-cheol, I’ve managed to secure the medical equipment, but given the nature of our pension, procuring the actual pharmaceuticals is a bit of a problem."
At a nod from Viktor Volk Choi, Lee Dong-cheol politely slid a tablet toward Jun-ho. It contained a neatly organized list of complex drug names in both Korean and English, along with their uses and effects.
"Antibiotics, local anesthetics, general anesthetics, painkillers, antipyretics, hemostatics, IV fluids, steroids, and anti-shock agents. We can even provide some vaccines."
"What about stability?"
When Jun-ho asked, Viktor Volk Choi’s eyes sparkled as he countered, "Aren't you going to ask how I manage to get all of this?"
"You said you run a large business in the Russian Far East, didn't you? I assume you handle a bit of everything. Things have been like that over there since the 90s, haven't they? I’ve done a bit of history study."
Viktor Volk Choi nodded. In truth, it wasn't much of a history study. The region, especially Vladivostok and the Primorsky Krai, had been heavily influenced by Korea, China, and Japan, and since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it was a place that could barely sustain itself without those three nations.
"Stability is not an issue. Everything has passed Korean, Japanese, and European standards. And if you wish, I can also procure medical-grade refrigerators and freezers."
"Is that so? You really do handle a wide variety of goods."
"In Korea and Japan, they call them 'General Trading Companies,' right? You can consider Volcano Trading to be similar to that."
Well, Russian mafias do handle anything that makes money. In a way, it wasn't strange to call them a general trading company. Moreover, Jun-ho knew of a special product that the Volcano Group had dealt in even during the apocalypse.
"Then, do you happen to sell fuel as well?"
"Fuel... you mean?"
"Gasoline or diesel. Machine supplies like engine oil would be good, too."
"Ho-ho..."
At the look that seemed to ask for the reason, Jun-ho shrugged.
"I don't know how it is in Russia, but in Korea, buying fuel in bulk is quite tricky. You need all sorts of paperwork and permits... anyway, it’s a huge hassle. I was just thinking that if your company handled petroleum, I’d buy it along with the medicine. If you don't, that's fine."
"No, I think I can procure that for you. For premium gasoline and diesel, would ULSD for vehicles be sufficient? How much do you need?"
"Oh, I don't need the fuel right away. Maybe next summer or autumn? I was hoping to buy it then."
"Very well. Just let me know when you need it."
"Yes, I will. For now, I’ll just buy the pharmaceuticals listed here. If we assume this is the first batch for about 100 people, how much would that be?"
"Considering customs risks and commissions, it should be about 150 million won. That includes a 20 percent commission."
"Oh? That's cheaper than I thought."
"It would be. Normally, the commission is 30 percent."
"Excuse me? Then why is it 20 percent for me?"
To Jun-ho, who wore a surprised expression, Viktor Volk Choi chuckled.
"Because I like you, President Lee Jun-ho. It’s hard to find a client as straightforward as you. Plus, since you mentioned you’d need other things, I assume we’ll be seeing each other quite often in the future."
"Doesn't it look that way to you, too, Director? Like I told you, he’s a straightforward person with absolutely no hidden agenda."
Lee Dong-cheol, who had been quiet, stepped in. Viktor Volk Choi smiled at him and nodded.
"I’m grateful to you, Attorney Lee, for connecting me with such a good client. Anyway, President Lee Jun-ho."
Viktor Volk Choi, shifting his gaze back to Jun-ho, pulled something from the inside of his black jacket and held it out.
"If you pass the items and quantities you want through Attorney Lee Dong-cheol, you will be contacted through this."
Viktor Volk Choi, who had handed Jun-ho a burner phone, stood up. He then stared at Jun-ho with a meaningful gaze and spoke.
"I like your style, President Lee Jun-ho. I absolutely hate people who talk too much, are overly suspicious, or try to calculate every little thing. While it’s true that one should be cautious in business... there hasn't been anyone who tried to play games while dealing with Volcano Trading like this. Or rather, even if there were, they aren't around anymore."
"......!"
Jun-ho was momentarily startled by the warning—or perhaps the truth—laden with so much meaning, but he replied with a calm expression.
"That goes for me, and for us as well. So, it seems you and I will be good partners."
At Jun-ho's words, an incredibly deep smile spread across Viktor Volk Choi’s lips. He highly valued and liked men who were as confident as Jun-ho.
"I like that very much. Good. If there are other things you need in the future, and if they are things that Volcano Trading handles, I will procure them all for you."
"That is a very grateful offer. I look forward to it."
The first meeting with the wolf of the Volcano Group seemed to be a huge success. Was it not said that knowing yourself and your enemy leads to victory in every battle? Even if he was the second-in-command of a Russian Far East mafia organization that dominated Busan, knowing exactly what kind of person he was proved to be incredibly advantageous.
* * *
"Then, I’ll leave it to you, Director."
"Understood. You will receive the goods within a month. The contact will come through the prepaid phone I gave you. Be careful not to lose it."
At those words, Jun-ho smiled, holding up the burner phone he had received.
"I’ll always keep it in my hand. Anyway, today was a pleasure. Let’s meet again next time."
"Yes, President Lee Jun-ho."
As Jun-ho greeted him with a polite yet confident attitude, Viktor Volk Choi stepped forward and held out his hand. When Jun-ho took his hand to shake it, Viktor Volk Choi pulled him in slightly, gave his shoulder a light hug, and whispered.
"Увидимся, брат (Uvidimsya, brat)."
Viktor Volk Choi, who had spoken in a low voice, pulled away from Jun-ho. He then grinned and climbed into the back seat of the German SUV, where the organization member who had been knocked down by Jun-ho an hour ago held the door open.
"Then, President Lee Jun-ho, I will contact you tomorrow."
Lee Dong-cheol, who spoke quickly, got into the back seat with him, and immediately after the organization member who had bowed to Jun-ho several times sat in the passenger seat, the SUV drove away slowly, emitting a low exhaust note.
As soon as the car they were in disappeared, Jun-ho blew out a breath and muttered the Russian words that Viktor Volk Choi had just left behind.
"Uvidimsya brat... I’m hearing this again, Volk."
In English, it was an equivalent to 'See you, bro.' It was the same phrase Viktor Volk Choi had left behind when he gifted him a Glock 17 before leaving in his previous life. Through the event of regression, which still felt hard to believe, he had met him again, and hearing those same words once more made Jun-ho feel a new wave of emotions.
Most of all, the fact that Viktor Volk Choi had called him 'brat' just like before meant that, at the very least, the Busan branch of the Volcano Group would treat him as a Гость семьи (Gost semyi), or a 'guest of the family.'
And that meant the possibility of obtaining items through him that were difficult to acquire through legal channels in Korea before the apocalypse had increased significantly. Not just the prescription drugs they had agreed to trade today, but also fuels like diesel, which were tricky to buy in bulk in Korea. And above all else.
"I’ll be able to get guns, too..."
Of course, to do that, he would need to build a very strong foundation of trust. So, he would start with the pharmaceuticals and other items, trading cleanly to build credit little by little. And when the atmosphere was ripe...
"I just need to let him know who the traitor is and who they’ve been colluding with."
Before the regression, he had already been hit hard and was being chased even during the apocalypse, but currently, there was a betrayal brewing within the organization beneath the surface. If he could find the right moment to quietly tip him off, he would be able to acquire firearms, which were not something one could trade with just anyone. And not just any guns, but submachine guns and semi-automatic rifles that came with Picatinny rails as standard, equipped with accessories like silencers, red dot sights, and magnified scopes.
"I only need two of each. Plus subsonic ammunition."
With that much, he would be invincible for the first year or two after the apocalypse broke out. Of course, he didn't know what would happen if he encountered military units that hadn't made it to Jeju Island, deserters, or groups of looters armed with K2 rifles. No, even if he had to face such people, Jun-ho was confident he could defeat and handle them. It was hard to imagine that 'Our Shelter,' which possessed armored vehicles linked to high-performance drones and was equipped with a cutting-edge surveillance and wireless communication system covering everything from the shelter site to the Gahyeon-ri area, would be defeated by people who were barely struggling to survive.
* * *
Tak. Jun-ho, who had gotten into the driver's seat and started the engine, muttered as he pulled out of the parking lot.
"If everything goes according to plan, I might be able to get real guns by next summer..."
But looking at it coldly, that was still just an uncertain assumption and a wish. That was why, for Jun-ho, the 'event' that would happen in a few days was more important.
It was going out hunting with Jun-hyeok for the first time with air rifles. Of course, he didn't intend to do any real hunting. He would catch a few harmful pests to use as a cover, but Jun-ho’s true purpose was.
"I can finally replicate them by disassembling the air rifles."
Baek Ha-il had already finished preparing the vehicle equipped with the gear to precisely scan the parts after disassembling the air rifles. Since it was the age of information, one could find blueprints for various firearms on the internet, but there would be a huge difference between just having blueprints and gaining the experience of directly replicating them, starting with a performance-verified air rifle. So, if he could disassemble the air rifles tomorrow and obtain the exact specifications of the parts.
Before the apocalypse broke out, he would be able to prepare dozens of high-performance air rifles capable of taking down zombies or looters within a 150-meter range. Furthermore, those air rifles wouldn't just be used by people.
"I can also link them to CCTV cameras and use them like turrets."
Because in 'Our Shelter,' there was already Yoon Young-su, an AI computing expert who had realized that even in a much harsher environment before the regression.