Watching the commotion on the distant dock gradually subside, Li turned to face Ryuzaki Makoto, who was walking towards him, a playful smile on his face.
"It seems that something unpleasant happened on Ryuzaki-kun's side."
Ryuzaki Makoto remained calm and composed, showing no sign of panic. He simply said:
"Something unexpected happened, please forgive me, Brother Li."
Li smiled and waved his hand dismissively, saying:
"As for Ryuzaki-kun, if you walk by the river often enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet. Some accidents are inevitable."
"To be able to operate such a large operation in Huya Liu's territory during such a crackdown period, and to clean up the mess so well, I really admire his skills and courage."
Li's words were sincere. As a fellow underworld figure, he knew better than anyone how astonishing the scale of this transaction was. To be able to handle things so smoothly under the noses of the authorities, Ryuzaki Makoto truly possessed considerable skill.
Ryuzaki Makoto didn't seem too pleased by the praise, after all, business is business.
He turned around, pointed to the containers that were already neatly stacked on the dock, and gestured "please" to Li.
"Let's skip the pleasantries. Time is of the essence, let's inspect the goods first."
Li Jianlongqi was decisive and got straight to the point, without any more pleasantries.
He clapped his hands twice.
The members and technicians who had been waiting there immediately sprang into action.
With tools in hand, they nimbly climbed onto the True Dragon Society's trucks and skillfully opened the doors of the containers placed on them.
"Creak—"
With a screeching sound of metal scraping against metal, the heavy container door was slowly pulled open.
Li, along with Ryuzaki Makoto, jumped directly onto one of the containers.
The box was filled with a strong smell of engine oil and wood.
He casually pulled open a wooden crate that wasn't yet sealed, and reached inside to pull out a heavy weapon with a long barrel and a cold, metallic sheen.
He skillfully pulled back the bolt, then introduced it to Ryuzaki Makoto:
"The M24 sniper rifle, 7.62mm caliber, is the police version produced by Remington. Its accuracy is frighteningly high. Both its range and stability are a step above the standard version issued to the US military. I know that Ryuzaki-kun values his snipers very much. This batch of fifty of them is top-notch stuff that I specially obtained from there through special channels."
As he spoke, he skillfully disassembled and reassembled the weapon, demonstrating every detail of it.
After introducing this box, Li opened several more wooden boxes next to it, displaying them with pride as if they were his treasured jewels.
"Not only that, but it also includes the H&K MP5 submachine gun that you specifically mentioned, fully automatic mode, a weapon of choice for urban warfare; the classic M16A2 assault rifle, which needs no introduction; and the Mossberg 500 pump-action shotgun, which is a death sentence at close range; of course, the latest Kevlar body armor is also standard equipment, and each gun comes with two basic loads of ammunition..."
He spoke eloquently, like a general displaying his abundant spoils of war.
What appeared before Ryuzaki Makoto was indeed a terrifying arsenal.
Ryuzaki Makoto casually picked up an MP5 submachine gun and skillfully fiddled with it for a couple of moments.
The gun feels heavy and has an excellent grip.
He raised his gun, looked through the scope at the distant sea, and gently stroked the cold trigger with his finger.
The surface coating of the firearm is uniform and delicate, with no signs of wear or tear, and you can even smell the unique and captivating rust-preventive oil odor of a new gun.
Ryuzaki Shinya was a gun expert. The luster, weight, and feel of these guns told him that they were indeed a batch of brand-new guns that had just come off the production line and were in excellent condition, rather than some refurbished goods pieced together from the battlefield to fool him.
Ryuzaki Shin lowered his gun and nodded in satisfaction.
Li had been observing Ryuzaki's expression the whole time, and when he saw this, he smiled smugly.
"If you're still worried, Ryuzaki-kun, we can take some time to go through all the containers you brought one by one. After all, this transaction involves such a large amount of money and is of great importance. If you're at ease, I'm at ease too. That's the foundation of doing business in the long run."
Ryuzaki Makoto smiled and waved his hand, saying magnanimously:
"Brother Li, you're too kind. Don't you trust me? One look and I can tell it's good quality. There's no need for all that trouble."
After saying that, Ryuzaki Makoto's smile faded, and he got straight to the point:
"Since there's no problem with the goods, shouldn't we talk about how to settle the remaining payment? You know, it's inconvenient for me to carry such a large sum of money with me."
Li then acted even more magnanimously, waving his hand and saying with a broad smile:
"Oh, no rush. Tonight is not just a transaction, but the beginning of a deep cooperation between our two sides. My father has already prepared a banquet on the cruise ship, and is waiting for Ryuzaki-kun to come and celebrate together."
"This cruise ship is very close by, and it hasn't stopped in international waters yet. Let's go over and have a few drinks first. Once the cruise ship enters international waters, we can do whatever we want and nobody can stop us! We can talk about the money later while we're drinking."
Ryuzaki chuckled inwardly; in this charade, the other party had performed even better than he had.
He didn't refute it, and nodded readily:
"Alright! Let's go then. It's been a long time since I've seen Chief Li."
...
Several speedboats that had been waiting by the dock started up quickly, their engines roaring, carrying Ryuzaki Makoto and his group, as well as Lee, piercing through the dark waves and heading towards the distant deep sea.
The sea breeze howled, making people's clothes flutter.
Li stood at the bow of the speedboat, arms outstretched, facing the oncoming sea breeze, looking incredibly heroic.
He looked at the brightly lit cityscape of Huyaliu receding into the distance behind him, as if the city was already his for the taking.
"Ryuzaki-kun! As long as we work together, with our financial resources and connections, plus the bravery and territory of your True Dragon Society, this little Toaru, and even the entire underworld of Sakura Country, will be ours sooner or later! Hahahaha!"
Ryuzaki Makoto sat in the back row, coldly watching Li's arrogant back, and sneered inwardly.
Yes, this city of Huya will be mine sooner or later.
Unfortunately, there's no place for you and your son in it.
However, the show wasn't over yet, and Ryuzaki Makoto, still very cooperatively feigning an expression of longing and a smile, flattered him as he spoke:
"Brother Li, you have great vision! I knew that cooperating with you would be the right choice. I hope you will give me your guidance in the future."
The speedboat sped across the sea for more than ten minutes before pulling up to a luxury cruise ship anchored on the dark sea.
Ryuzaki Makoto stepped onto the cruise ship deck and frowned slightly.
He keenly sensed something amiss.
Li Mingming said this was a place for "celebration" and "revelry," but the entire cruise ship seemed somewhat lifeless. Apart from a few guards on guard, there wasn't a single woman in sight, nor could any laughter be heard.
It wasn't that Ryuzaki really wanted to play around with women, but given the pleasure-seeking nature of the Li father and son, since they said "do whatever makes you happy," how could they possibly lack beautiful women and fine wine to enhance the fun?
This obvious anomaly meant that, at the crucial moment of the final operation, any slight unusual occurrence would be seen as a harbinger of a trap.
Ryuzaki Makoto feigned disappointment, asking with a hint of drunkenness and dissatisfaction:
"Brother Li, that's not very kind of you. Didn't we agree to a victory celebration? I was thinking of relaxing on the ship and having a good time, but there's not a single woman in sight. Where am I supposed to vent all this passion?"
Seeing this, Li immediately stepped forward, affectionately put his arm around Ryuzaki Makoto's shoulder, and explained in a low voice:
"Ryuzaki-kun, don't be anxious. You know how things are right now. This ship is still quite a distance from international waters. If we run into those patrol dogs from the Japan Coast Guard who have a keen sense of smell and come looking for us, and find some contraband or something we don't want to see, then our business will be in trouble. Better safe than sorry."
As he spoke, Li pointed to the deeper, darker sea in the distance.
"The real show, the real paradise, is waiting in that big ship anchored on the high seas. It has everything; if you can think of it, it has it too."
After explaining this, Li didn't wait for Ryuzaki to think too much and led him towards the largest luxury private room on the second floor.
Pushing open the heavy door to the private room, I found it brightly lit inside.
Lee's father, Lee Jae-sung, was sitting upright on the sofa in the main seat, holding a glass of whiskey, seemingly having been waiting for a long time.
As Ryuzaki Makoto walked in, Lee Jae-sung's originally cold and hard face instantly broke into a warm smile, and he stood up to greet him.
"Ryuzaki-kun! You must be tired from your journey! Are you satisfied with the quality of that batch of goods?"
Without any hesitation, Ryuzaki sat down on the leather sofa opposite him with his legs crossed, a satisfied smile on his face.
"Satisfied, of course satisfied! The quality is impeccable, all top-quality goods, clearly brand new and unopened. Manager Li really knows how to handle things properly!"
Seeing that Ryuzaki Makoto had already inspected the goods and expressed satisfaction, Lee Jae-sung stopped wasting words and went straight to the point:
"Alright! Since Ryuzaki-kun has no problem with the goods, and we're all straightforward people, can we consider settling the remaining balance? After all, we've already invested a lot of money in this batch of goods."
After saying this, both Li father and son stared intently at Ryuzaki Makoto, and the atmosphere became subtly tense for a moment.
Ryuzaki Makoto seemed oblivious to the subtle atmosphere, chuckled, and said with an air of matter-of-fact composure:
"Of course it's the right thing to do! Business is business, and I, Ryuzaki Shin, never renege on my debts!"
As he spoke, Ryuzaki Makoto slowly pulled out the black bank card from the inner pocket of his pocket.
Meanwhile, Li Zaicheng, sitting opposite him, had already taken out a special card reader from under the coffee table, which he had prepared specifically for checking large international transfers, his eyes gleaming with greed.
However, just as Ryuzaki Makoto's hand, holding the bank card, was about to hand it to the Lee father and son...
"Woo-woo-woo-woo-"
Suddenly, without warning, a piercing and urgent siren sounded on the previously quiet sea outside the cruise ship!
Red and blue police lights pierced through the window in an instant, flashing wildly on the dim sea surface, illuminating the entire private room in a flickering light...