Outskirts of Tijuana.
An old warehouse.
It was one of Rodrigo’s old bases.
It was difficult to find anywhere in Tijuana untouched by Rodrigo’s influence.
In Tijuana, whenever a suspicious person appeared, the first thing people did was report it.
So we had come right under his nose.
They say it’s darkest beneath the lamp, after all.
Perhaps because of the explosion,
only two or three of the men who were supposed to be guarding this place were visible.
Most of them had clearly been dispatched to the airport and downtown.
The Obsidian units that had arrived ahead of us dealt with them.
They finished inspecting the inside.
The factory was fine.
A short while later, the Obsidian units began streaming into the factory.
There were no discrepancies in the headcount.
No one was injured, and no one was missing.
Only after confirming that everyone had arrived safely
did the tension finally ease a little.
Meanwhile, Tian Zihao had opened his laptop and was assessing the situation.
He was gathering information by listening in on CCTV feeds across the city, communication networks, and even police frequencies.
Allen reorganized the equipment and weapons with the Obsidian units.
We had used up a great deal of weaponry on the way here.
We had used an absurd amount of explosives.
We didn’t have that much left.
The weapons and ammunition each team and each person possessed were different.
So we began collecting everything again and preparing to redistribute it.
We gathered the weapons and ammunition in one place and prepared to divide them up again.
Watching them, I took out the rest of the weapons I hadn’t brought out yet.
“There are weapons here too. Use these as well.”
I pulled weapons out of my inventory.
I took them out, one after another.
I kept taking them out.
Rifles, submachine guns, and sniper rifles appeared.
Boxes of ammunition spilled out,
and bags packed with grenades and other explosives came tumbling out.
Mortars appeared,
followed by land mines.
Suppressors, scopes, night-vision goggles, thermal-imaging equipment, bulletproof vests, and even tactical gear.
It was practically the equivalent of raiding an armory.
As weapons continued to pour endlessly out of my inventory, even these people were astonished all over again.
They knew I had some strange ability,
but they apparently hadn’t imagined that I possessed this many weapons.
Since the secret was out anyway, I continued dumping them out without restraint.
Allen clicked his tongue as he watched.
“This is too much, isn’t it?”
“Pick out whatever you need and use it. I can put the rest back.”
“We certainly won’t be short on equipment.”
Allen answered with a grin.
This wasn’t the time to conceal or hide my inventory.
We needed to prepare quickly and devise a plan.
Tian Zihao and Toto had already begun planning the operation.
They spread out a map and entered the data displayed on the laptop.
They began devising tactics suited to the situation.
They were analyzing the information we had and determining the location of Rodrigo’s base.
They were organizing where we needed to attack and where we needed to block.
There were two things we needed to accomplish in this attack.
Deal with Rodrigo.
And return home safely.
We didn’t have much time.
Rodrigo’s men would find this place soon.
We had to devise our plan before then
and escape this place.
We had to deal with Rodrigo
and get out of here.
We had enough weapons.
But we had no time.
If this dragged on,
not only Rodrigo,
but also the Mexican government and military would close in around us.
As I was planning the operation with a map displayed on my tablet, Sin Junggi cautiously approached me.
“I’m sorry about before.”
Sin Junggi apologized to me.
I said nothing.
I simply looked at him.
Sin Junggi lowered his head.
He seemed to be reflecting on his actions.
I decided to accept his apology graciously as well.
To be honest, Sin Junggi hadn’t really done anything wrong.
We had simply seen things differently.
He hadn’t been able to resolve it through conversation and had merely stormed off.
If I had been in Sin Junggi’s position,
could I have acted any better than he had?
When my brothers died in the Congo, what had I done?
When I thought about that, I couldn’t exactly say Sin Junggi’s actions had been wrong.
But because we were in different positions, our emotions could only be expressed differently.
Because the wounds we accepted were different,
the ways we expressed them were bound to be different as well.
So I let it go.
“It’s fine. There’s no need to apologize over something so minor…”
I spoke briefly.
“But I wanted to apologize. It’s been bothering me.”
Sin Junggi kept his head bowed.
“It’s not something you need to apologize for. If I were you, I probably would’ve acted the same way. Dennis must be lucky to have a friend like you.”
“I’d do the same even if you got hurt, Boss.”
Sin Junggi spoke as though making a vow.
“Hahaha. Don’t do that. You’re scaring me already.”
“…I mean it.”
“Heh. I’d better be careful not to get hurt, then. Otherwise, I’ll have to stop you from wiping out an entire city just because I got injured.”
I answered his earnest vow with a lighthearted joke.
Then I added one more thing.
“At St. Swithun’s Cathedral in Zurich…”
“Yes?”
“At Adrian’s funeral… not pressing the button… You did well.”
“……”
“Thank you.”
Sin Junggi didn’t answer.
He seemed unable to think of a suitable response.
He merely dipped his head once as if to say he understood, then turned his eyes back to the laptop.
He plugged in a USB
and began tapping on the keyboard.
“What’s that?”
“Phantom Grid 2.0.”
“2.0?”
A headache began pounding in my head.
That lunatic had brought out something strange again.
The entire mess we were in had started because of Phantom Grid 1.0,
and now Sin Junggi had 2.0 in his hands.
My head hurt.
Sin Junggi turned the screen around to show me.
“This time, it’s not just simple interference. I’ll continuously transmit false signals that can be used in the city. Communications, traffic, even drones—I’ll throw everything into constant confusion.”
“Wow… That’s impressive.”
Tian Zihao had appeared beside us at some point and spoke up.
He was staring at the laptop screen with an astonished expression.
Thanks to that, our reason for dealing with Rodrigo became even clearer.
We couldn’t leave Rodrigo alive.
He would definitely come after Phantom Grid.
We established our plan, made our preparations, and even got some rest.
We savored the calm before the storm.
.
.
.
The plan was completed quickly,
but without a single gap.
We didn’t have much time.
It seemed Rodrigo would get the situation under control soon.
We had to finish before that happened.
“I’m going back to the hotel. I’m going to attend Rodrigo’s invitation.”
“What?”
Everyone looked flustered at my words.
“I made a promise. Shouldn’t I keep it?”
“Seriously?”
Tian Zihao asked with wide, round eyes.
“Of course.”
“But isn’t that too reckless?”
Tian Zihao’s face was filled with concern.
“I can go. But… will they be able to come?”
“What?”
“Given the situation, will they even have the capacity to worry about me? They’ll have enough trouble dealing with what just happened.”
At my words, Tian Zihao nodded as if he understood.
“You mean that even if you go and wait there, they won’t come?”
“Exactly. I can use that to pressure Rodrigo. I could even serve as bait. If we’re lucky and he comes out, we’ll be able to determine the exact location of Rodrigo’s base. We have nothing to lose.”
I would go wait in front of the hotel at exactly seven.
They wouldn’t be able to come, though.
The airport had just exploded.
How could they possibly make it here?
At the same time, we would begin the bombardment from here.
“What about the artillery preparations?”
“Finished.”
Allen answered.
When I looked toward the place Allen indicated,
the mortars had already been set up.
Dozens of mortars were in position, waiting only to be fired.
And then.
When I took out the last item, Sin Junggi’s expression stiffened.
“Gasp… You brought this…”
“Did you bring it properly?”
I asked as though it were nothing unusual.
“Yes. It’s perfect for the current situation.”
Sin Junggi slowly approached.
He reached out and looked at it carefully.
What I had brought was none other than “Nemesis.”
Sin Junggi stroked the Nemesis I had brought with him as though he were caressing something precious.
Nemesis was one of the weapons Sin Junggi had created to avenge Dennis.
First stage—ground shock wave.
Second stage—collapse of underground structures.
Third stage—massive thermobaric explosion.
Simply put, it was a bunker buster, but when it detonated, it exploded like a thermobaric bomb.
It drilled through underground facilities and detonated inside them.
When it exploded, it consumed every bit of oxygen.
It created a vacuum.
Even if the explosion itself didn’t kill them, the loss of oxygen would.
That was Nemesis.
The ultimate weapon created for Dennis’s revenge.
Even if they dug tunnels underground and hid,
it would be useless against Nemesis.
In summary.
I would become the bait.
I would wait for Rodrigo in front of the hotel and draw their attention there.
I would pressure them by demanding to know why they weren’t coming.
Second, Allen would command the bombardment.
We would mercilessly attack the place believed to be Rodrigo’s main base.
We had plenty of mortars,
and even more shells.
We simply had to keep firing without tiring.
We would cut off the roads and destroy the infrastructure
so Rodrigo couldn’t recover.
Third, Sin Junggi would create diversions.
Using Phantom Grid 2.0, he would conceal our position and create new enemies.
They would be searching for us in completely different places.
If they were relying solely on their eyes, it might be different,
but if they relied on machines, they would never find us.
Once the enemy’s location was confirmed,
we would launch Nemesis.
And finally, we would infiltrate.
We would enter and deal with Rodrigo and his remaining forces.
After wiping out every enemy with the mortars and Nemesis,
we would move in.
We would leave nothing behind.
That was the plan we had devised.
The preparations for the operation were complete.
We were about to move into position when one of the agents shouted.
“I think you should come check this out.”
When we went over, we found a secret room concealed with remarkable skill.
An agent had discovered it while looking around the factory before the operation.
When we opened the door,
“Wow…”
An enormous quantity of drugs was hidden inside.
The drugs were piled up like a mountain.
This went far beyond simple storage.
It wouldn’t be wrong to call it a distribution hub.
I smiled faintly as I looked at the drugs.
I moved closer to them.
Then I reached out toward the drugs.
Hundreds of packaged boxes disappeared in an instant.
They all entered my inventory.
Tian Zihao laughed from beside me when he saw it.
“They’re going to panic a little, aren’t they? Their source of money has been cut off.”
“Not just their source of money.”
“It might even become Rodrigo’s greatest weakness.”
If this much product disappeared, it would create a major problem for Rodrigo as well.
******
Rodrigo’s mansion.
His secretary came rushing in.
“Ch… Chairman.”
“What happened? Did you find those bastards?”
Rodrigo asked, looking displeased as he stared at his secretary.
“We’re still searching.”
“What are you doing? What do you expect me to do if you still haven’t found them?”
It was infuriating.
No, was it really so difficult to find them?
All of Tijuana was under Rodrigo’s influence.
If that many people were moving around, they would inevitably attract attention.
All they had to do was find them, yet he couldn’t understand why it was taking so long.
He didn’t like how long it was taking.
But at the time, he didn’t know
that they were already being affected by Phantom Grid 2.0.
Their equipment wasn’t functioning properly.
“I’m sorry.”
“What about dealing with the airport?”
Rodrigo asked with his brow deeply furrowed.
The secretary kept fidgeting anxiously.
“We’re doing our best, but… the situation isn’t good.”
“What’s happening?”
“The police and firefighters have been dispatched and are working to bring the situation under control. The government has also sent people to investigate the cause. And…”
“And what?”
“They say the United States is sending people to investigate the incident.”
The secretary answered with his head bowed low, as though he had committed a crime worthy of death.
Rodrigo’s expression hardened.
The last thing Rodrigo wanted was for the United States to get involved.
The Mexican government and the United States government were entirely different.
Their methods of handling incidents and their approaches to resolving them were completely different.
The worst possible outcome was
for the United States to get involved here.
They had to bring the situation to an end before that happened.
If the United States got involved, the entire game would change.
“Why those bastards? That place isn’t even in the United States. It happened in Mexico, so why are the Americans getting involved?”
“...They say that since the border has been breached, the United States naturally has to investigate. They’re calling it a matter of their national security.”
Rodrigo shouted, and his secretary’s body began to tremble.
Given Rodrigo’s temper, no one knew when or where he might pull out a gun.
Fortunately, Rodrigo did not draw his weapon.
He merely tossed out a single remark.
“This is ridiculous. Deal with the airport quickly. We can’t drag this out. Before the Americans arrive, classify it as nothing more than an accident, no matter what.”
“...Yes. Understood.”
But even after answering, the secretary remained where he was.
As though he still had something to say,
he could not keep still, fidgeting like a dog that needed to relieve itself.
Fear kept him from opening his mouth.
“Why? Is there something else?”
“...We’ve lost contact with Warehouse No. 3.”
“Warehouse No. 3? Isn’t that a distribution hub?”
“That’s right. It’s where we store the merchandise.”
“That place has tight security!”
“Everyone was deployed to handle the incident and track the Alex Group, leaving only the minimum personnel behind.”
“So that’s why we can’t reach them?”
“I’m sorry.”
Rodrigo was deeply troubled.
It was the distribution hub, of all places.
The place where drugs manufactured in various locations were gathered.
From there, they were sent to the United States.
Of course, it would be ideal to manufacture large quantities of drugs in a single location, but they never knew when a crackdown might come.
A single large factory was easy to hit in a raid, and once it was caught, it was difficult to restore.
That was why manufacturing was generally divided among several locations.
They always had to be prepared to lose a couple of factories.
The same rule applied in Tijuana, Rodrigo’s territory.
If anything, they sometimes deliberately sacrificed a factory to pad the police’s performance record.
But a distribution hub was different.
No, the hub itself did not matter.
What mattered was the drugs inside it.
All the drugs produced at the various factories were gathered there.
If they disappeared, it would be a truly serious problem.
They were goods that had to be delivered.
If he failed to make those deliveries, the people on the other end would not sit idly by.
The money would vanish, and trust would be broken.
Rodrigo’s life might even be in danger.
“The merchandise is safe, right?”
“It should be safe. It’s in the secret room.”
The secretary answered reluctantly.
That was the only answer he could give at the moment.
Then it happened.
Rodrigo’s phone rang.
An unfamiliar number.
Rodrigo had a bad feeling.
He answered the call but said nothing.
He waited for the other person to speak first.
“Aren’t you coming?”
A single, terse question.
Rodrigo’s gaze changed.
He remembered that voice.
It was the voice of the Alex Group’s representative.