Chapter 140: The Plan is Born

"I understand, Grandfather," Lin Fan said with a playful wink. Inazu Ichiro naturally saw their expressions, but he could say nothing; after all, he was currently living under someone else's roof and had to ask for a favor.

"You are with the Black Dragon Society. What brings you to China?" Elder Tang asked, feigning ignorance.

Inazu Ichiro forced a smile onto his face and replied, "Surely Elder Tang is aware that the businesses of our Black Dragon Society span the globe. Why would it be strange for us to have business in China?" By the end of his sentence, Inazu Ichiro clearly exuded the pride of a man serving as the Black Dragon Society's representative in China.

"If you have something to say, spit it out. Why all the endless crap?" Lin Fan said, curling his lip in irritation.

*What the hell are you putting on airs for? Just because you've got some pathetic little business, is that really worth showing off?* Lin Fan simply could not stand Inazu Ichiro's smug expression. If Elder Tang hadn't told him to come, he certainly wouldn't have stayed here listening to these little Japanese run their mouths. In Lin Fan's view, the best way to deal with these people from Wa was to use sheer force, just like during the War of Resistance. If you don't beat them until they hurt and cower in fear, they'll never know how many eyes the Grim Reaper has.

"Young man..." Elder Tang scolded him symbolically, though he was inwardly amused. *This kid really is fierce, way tougher than I am, and completely unwilling to give the Black Dragon Society any face at all. Regardless of anything else, the Black Dragon Society is a world-class criminal syndicate.* Yet the more Lin Fan acted this way, the more Elder Tang liked him, and the more convinced he became that his judgment was sound. After all, not everyone possessed such audacity—the audacity to look down upon the entire world!

"Grandfather, please, do go on. Continue," Lin Fan's expression shifted in an instant. His phoenix-like eyes nearly narrowed into slits, and he looked at Elder Tang with a face full of smiles.

To use a common Chinese expression, one played the good cop while the other played the bad cop. Even if Inazu Ichiro were a fool, he could see right through it. His expression shifted slightly, and he pressed on: "My coming here uninvited today is simply on behalf of the Black Dragon Society, to ask for your help with a small favor!" In Inazu Ichiro's view, by invoking the Black Dragon Society, even if Old Man Tang wouldn't give him any face, he would surely grant face to the Black Dragon Society. After all, the Black Dragon Society was the largest gang in Wa and one of the top ten criminal syndicates in the world.

"Oh, let's hear it," Elder Tang said indifferently.

Inwardly, Lin Fan sneered, *This little Japanese bastard is dragging his feet too damn much; it's true what they say about lazy people making extra trips. After all that nonsense, he's finally getting to the point.*

"We've heard that Elder Tang has connections with Russian arms dealers, and we merely wish to purchase a batch of weapons through you," Inazu Ichiro said.

*The supreme leader of Russian arms dealers, Konovsky?* That was Lin Fan's first reaction upon hearing Inazu Ichiro's words. He hadn't expected the old man's social circle to be so vast. It wasn't strange for Lin Fan himself to know arms dealers—after all, given that Dragon Soul was such a massive mercenary organization, it would be difficult to maintain a foothold in the mercenary world without arms as a backup.

Yet the old man was different. Although he had been an underground emperor in the Central Plains region during his youth, he had long since washed his hands of the underworld and gone straight. Lin Fan had never expected that he would have accumulated such powerful connections, nor that Elder Tang's reach could extend overseas.

However, recalling his very first meeting with Elder Tang, when the old man had instantly identified the leader of the Dragon Soul mercenaries as Lin Fan—though he wasn't certain at the time whether the two Lin Fans were the same person, the fact that he could dig up that information spoke volumes—Lin Fan felt his earlier surprise fade away. It made sense that the Black Dragon Society would come looking for Elder Tang to buy weapons.

Elder Tang let out a cold chuckle and said, "Though I used to walk the dark paths, that is all in the past. Now that I am of age, I am an upright businessman. Not a single industry under my banner has any ties to the underworld, and surely you must know that. Besides, if you want to purchase weapons, you can contact the people in Russia directly. There is no need to make a special trip to find me, is there?"

Inazu Ichiro cursed inwardly before a bitter smile crept onto his face. "Surely Elder Tang is aware that our Black Dragon Society has some minor friction with the Russian arms dealers. If we go to them directly, they won't sell us a single bullet, let alone any other weaponry."

*Minor friction? If it were only minor friction, would they refuse to sell even a bullet to you people from Wa? I suspect you must have done something despicable,* Lin Fan sneered inwardly. The people of Wa had never been known for keeping their word and regarded human lives as dirt; this was evident from the War of Resistance. Treachery was second nature to the little Japanese. If it were up to him, selling them weapons was out of the question—killing them wouldn't even appease his hatred.

And indeed, Lin Fan had guessed correctly. A few years prior, just as Lin Fan was entering Dragon Soul, the Russian arms dealers had sold three hundred million dollars' worth of weaponry to a small African nation. Unexpectedly, the Black Dragon Society had interfered, forcefully hijacking both the money and the cargo. Ever since then, the Russian arms dealers had issued an underworld bounty notice stating that they would never again sell any weapons to the people of Wa.

Nearly the entire underworld worldwide knew of this incident. Lin Fan, having just joined Dragon Soul at the time, wasn't too familiar with the details, but he had wholeheartedly approved of the Russian arms dealers' action. In the aftermath, the Japanese had initially remained arrogant because they still had the economically formidable United States backing them. Lately, however, the Japanese had grown increasingly disobedient and attempted to break away from American control, prompting the U.S. to find excuses to reduce its arms supplies to Wa.

Elder Tang hadn't expected that the Japanese, completely out of options, would ultimately turn to him. "I truly am powerless here, having washed my hands of the underworld many years ago and long since stopped interfering in its affairs. Even if I wanted to help you, I wouldn't know where to begin," Elder Tang said calmly.

Hearing Elder Tang refuse him once again, Inazu Ichiro grew anxious. The Black Dragon Society was in desperate need of weaponry; they had already gone to war with the Italian Mafia in Europe and urgently required reinforcements. The problem was that their traditional arms supplier, the United States, was currently ignoring them as well, which had thrown the upper echelons of the Black Dragon Society into a panic.

Consequently, upon learning that Elder Tang had a life-and-death friendship with the supreme leader of Russian arms dealers, they had dispatched their representative in China, Inazu Ichiro, to beg for his assistance.

"Elder Tang jokes. If you can help us this time, our Great Wa Empire will not forget you. You will be the most honored and respected friend of our Great Wa Empire, and of course, we are willing to offer one hundred million US dollars as a reward," Inazu Ichiro pleaded. If he failed his mission this time, while the Black Dragon Society might not do anything to him directly, the humiliation he had just suffered would have been for nothing.

A shock went through Lin Fan's heart. He hadn't expected these little Japanese to fork over so much money as a reward. One hundred million US dollars wasn't an astronomical sum to Zhentian Group, but since these little Japanese had brought money right to his doorstep, there was no way Lin Fan would let them leave empty-handed.

The corners of his mouth hooked upward, forming that familiar, wicked smile. A bold plan to deal with the Black Dragon Society began to take shape in Lin Fan's mind...