True Apocalypse Game

Though not nearly as notorious as Pablo in his day, Martin Benitez was still a ruthless figure who struck fear into the hearts of the people of Medellin.

Huangmao and his two companions never once doubted Shen Feng’s claim.

After all, no one would dare fabricate such a lie to provoke Martin Benitez unless they had a death wish.

Soon, Huangmao and his companions led Shen Feng to the entrance of a bar.

This was a bar controlled by the 13th Brigade, and it also served as one of their distribution points.

Leaving the other two to watch Shen Feng, Huangmao pushed open the door and went inside. He found the man in charge and relayed Shen Feng’s message.

Huangmao quickly returned and led Shen Feng inside through the bar’s back door.

Inside, several burly men covered in tattoos were waiting. They immediately frisked Shen Feng upon his arrival but found no weapons.

His backpack only contained a pile of broken rocks and some daily necessities—nothing of any value.

Huangmao and his two companions knew this was their cue to leave and departed tactfully.

After all, they had arrived in territory controlled by the 13th Brigade; what happened next had nothing to do with them.

One of the burly men led Shen Feng to a meeting room. He had only been sitting on the sofa for a few minutes when a middle-aged man entered. The man was wearing a white suit, dark sunglasses, and had a handlebar mustache and slicked-back hair. He walked up to Shen Feng and asked,

"You’re the one looking for Mr. Martin? You said you’re one of Ye’s men? Which Ye?"

Shen Feng looked up at the man, and information about him immediately flashed through his Silicon-Based Brain.

’This is a mid-level leader in the 13th Brigade. It looks like what I said earlier caught the attention of the right people.’

He smiled faintly and said,

"Mr. Ye Zhenli, of course. Mr. Ye is currently in the United States, which complicates things. There are still some unfinished matters from his previous agreement with Mr. Martin, so he’s sent me to negotiate in his stead."

Ye Zhenli, a citizen of Hua Country and the owner of the Mexican United Chemical Pharmaceutical Company, was the number one supplier of raw materials for Mexico’s entire drug market. Exploiting the regulatory loopholes between East and West, he imported massive quantities of pseudoephedrine-based chemical precursors from the Eastern Power. Under the pretext of manufacturing cold medicine, he supplied these materials to major Mexican drug lords like Guzman, becoming an industry giant in his own right.

When he was arrested at his mansion in 2007, the Mexican government found $207 million in cash alone.

One could say he had enough control over the raw material supply to dominate the entire industry.

As Ye Zhenli was still in the custody of the Mexican government, many of his previous operations had ground to a halt or were mired in disputes, severely affecting downstream production.

Shen Feng had already discovered numerous clues online. A large portion of the 13th Brigade’s raw materials also came from Ye Zhenli.

Now, with Ye Zhenli’s operations at a standstill, the 13th Brigade’s own production had fallen into a predicament.

On top of that, there was a large outstanding debt between the two parties.

Upon hearing Shen Feng say Ye Zhenli’s name, the mustached man in the white suit immediately became much more serious. He sized Shen Feng up and asked,

"What proof do you have that you’re one of Mr. Ye’s men? And what do you want to talk about?"

Shen Feng gave a wry smile and said,

"Proof... I have a video message from Mr. Ye that I can show to Mr. Martin. I’ve also secured a new source of supply. I’m hoping to see Mr. Martin as soon as possible so he can make a decision. After all, every day of delay is a day of lost profits. We’re talking about a great many US Dollars every single day."

"A new source of supply?" The mustached man in the white suit froze, then his eyes lit up.

As a mid-level leader in the 13th Brigade, he knew exactly what that meant.

It meant more product, and more US dollars!

Shen Feng nodded, his pleasant smile never wavering. He said,

"That’s right. A new source of supply, from Indonesia and the Philippines... You know how it is. The policies in those two countries are relatively lenient, and their officials are just as fond of US dollars... What’s more, Mr. Ye said that as a gesture of sincerity, the previous three-hundred-million-dollar debt can be forgiven. Of course, these are things that must be discussed with Mr. Martin face-to-face. I’m sure he wouldn’t be comfortable with any other arrangement."

The man in the white suit was much more courteous now. He said to Shen Feng,

"Please wait a moment. I need to make a phone call."

He then turned, stepped out of the room, and dialed a number.

Shen Feng’s Silicon-Based Brain immediately intercepted the signal and began to eavesdrop.

Once the call connected, a deep voice on the other end asked, "What is it?"

The man in the white suit replied with hurried deference, "Someone is here claiming to be one of Ye Zhenli’s men. He wants to negotiate with Mr. Martin. He says he has a new source of supply, and he wants to talk about that previous payment... he said they’re willing to forgive the debt entirely..."

The voice on the other end of the line was silent for a moment, then said:

"Bring him here."

Then the call was disconnected.

Shen Feng had already pinpointed the other party’s location via the signal and gave a slight nod.

Based on the voiceprint of Martin Benitez he’d acquired from the dark web, the person who had just answered the phone was not Martin Benitez.

However, he couldn’t be far.

After what had happened with Pablo, these South American crime bosses had all become incredibly paranoid. They shrouded themselves in secrecy, making them notoriously difficult to find.

On the other hand, delivering himself directly to their doorstep like this was far more convenient.

Soon, the door was pushed open. The man in the white suit returned and said to Shen Feng with a grave expression,