🔊 TTS Settings
chapter 157
On the outskirts of Mexico City.
In an underground conference room.
Beyond the glass ceiling of the room, protected by a steel soundproof door, red lights flickered.
“What kind of crazy fool is this?! A three-month weapons shipment just went up in flames!! Even the ammo depot burned down! How do you intend to take responsibility for this?!”
A middle-aged man shouted, while the woman sitting opposite him smirked, holding a cigar in her mouth.
“Pretending to be the only victim, are we? Pathetic.”
“What did you just say!? You dare say something like that…!”
“My trade network to Southeast Asia has been blocked too. We were supposed to complete delivery within three days, and now it’s cut off! There’s no detour now!”
“……”
“Same goes for the ‘Sanguine Chapter.’ Everything is out of control.”
An elderly man, who looked to be in his eighties, let out a hollow laugh and tapped his cane against the table with his index finger as if exasperated.
“Even with just the damage we’ve identified so far… some investors have already sniffed it out and started asking questions. I’ve kept my phone off, but I don’t know how long we can maintain this.”
The finance officer adjusted his glasses and waved a stack of documents.
The middle-aged man pounded his chest with his fist in frustration.
“Damn it! Don’t talk numbers! Tell me how to kill the bastard! At this rate, it’s like we’re all going to lose a finger each!”
Urgent reports and maps lay scattered across the long conference table, mirroring the chaotic minds of the ‘Fingers’ seated around it.
All of this had been caused in just half a day by Gui-rye.
The rabbit hole arson.
The fire, which started in the Far East, was spreading throughout the entire network, causing massive damage—even reaching the City Cartel’s front yard.
“Javier! This is all your fault for the intelligence division!”
“I’ve been swamped covering the Black Market damages… and now you’re pointing the gun at me?”
“You couldn’t even track one human like Gui-rye, and you call yourself head of intelligence! Last time too—”
“Funny. At least the intel in my hands is cleaner than your face, it seems.”
“What?”
BANG!
The middle-aged man slammed the table and stood up. The man with glasses remained calm.
The situation was tense.
The elderly man beside him grabbed the middle-aged man’s wrist just as he reached for a gun.
“Enough.”
“Let go!”
“The Boss will be here soon. Do you intend to act like this in front of her too?”
At the word ‘Boss,’ the middle-aged man flinched.
At that moment, the steel door quietly opened, and a woman in a red cloak appeared.
“Mi familia, what’s all this commotion?”
Nayeli Vargas.
The head of the City Cartel who had summoned them.
The previously heated air of the conference room instantly cooled.
Everyone stood; half bowed their heads, half silently sweating.
The middle-aged man’s face went pale. His fingers trembled slightly. The macho who had just reached for a gun now seemed completely broken.
THUD!
Nayeli sat in the central chair presented by her butler, crossing her legs.
Sharp eyes.
The tension in the Fingers’ faces intensified immediately.
“Leon Ribelde.”
“Yes, Boss…!”
The middle-aged man hastily bowed.
“Do you not take my words seriously?”
“Th-that is—”
“I told you never to point a gun at family, didn’t I? A gun is only for those who have harmed your family. And…”
Nayeli smiled faintly and slowly approached the middle-aged man.
The closer her beautiful face came, the paler he became.
“B-Boss… th-that is—”
“The only one who has the right to discipline you is Mama, me. Understand?”
The middle-aged man collapsed into the chair, powerless.
Nayeli smiled brightly, hands in her pockets.
“M-Mama! Spare me! I never intended—”
He couldn’t finish his sentence.
The butler had already aimed a gun at his temple.
BANG!
The middle-aged man fell face-first onto the table, terrified.
Leon Ribelde.
The Venezuelan head of the cartel’s weapons trafficking network was dead.
So easily.
Although a hunter on par with top-ranking operatives, the butlers Nayeli commanded were trained solely for killing.
“Another finger snapped. How unfortunate.”
Her words were casual, almost playful.
“Clear it out.”
The other butlers hastily dragged the corpse away.
THUD!
Nayeli sat back as if nothing had happened.
Three Fingers remained.
The man with glasses adjusted his glasses indifferently, the woman avoided Nayeli’s gaze, and the elderly man smiled gently.
Her mere presence could suppress powerful minds, extending from Latin America to North America, effortlessly.
Her control restored stability to their shaken operations after the rabbit hole arson.
It was clear why Nayeli was not merely a top-ranking player but a global power in her own right.
“Fewer people than I expected?”
“Four are on long-term assignments or at war per your orders.”
The elderly man, Bruno Calisa, replied respectfully.
A plantation owner in the Caribbean who cultivates poisonous and narcotic plants, he also calmly steadles the hot-tempered Nayeli.
The Fingers relied on him for both temperament and character. He was Nayeli’s true family, earning him the title Left Thumb.
“Ah, right.”
“They sent me a message asking forgiveness for not answering your call immediately.”
“You needn’t apologize.”
“All of us owe our growth and ability to feed our families to your grace. That’s why we always feel a bit guilty.”
Nayeli smiled, pleased.
“Since everyone’s busy handling the situation, let’s get straight to the point.”
Chewing the cigar offered by the butler, she began.
“Camila died in Korea, and the card key was stolen. Roughly 40% of the rabbit hole network has been affected.”
Several Fingers unconsciously swallowed hard.
40%.
Damage had already spread while the Fingers were gathering.
“The damage is spreading along networks toward the western and southern Pacific.”
“Boss… could someone really dare touch the rabbit hole like this?”
“No. That’s why I’m angry.”
“Then how… Gui-rye, was he smart enough to bypass the security system you painstakingly created?”
“It’s because of the fire he set. No matter what we tried, it wouldn’t go out.”
“That’s serious.”
“So, we closed all gates to the affected dungeons and changed the entire encryption system… but we must remain vigilant; the sparks could flare up anywhere.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
Bruno nodded seriously.
The fire left by Gui-rye was like a computer virus.
It had crept through hidden tunnels like a Trojan horse, ready to spread unpredictably.
How did he do it? How did he crack the encryption? How did he map such a complex network? How did he infiltrate places Camila’s card key couldn’t access? He knows the rabbit hole better than even the Boss…
The rabbit hole was Nayeli’s network, designed by her and embedded with her powers. It shouldn’t have been easy to breach.
Is there someone else behind this? Or… is there a rat among the Fingers?
The problem: the damage is so subtle it’s hard to trace Gui-rye’s path or objectives.
“A careful enemy. We must capture him and trace every connection… root him out.”
Bruno, Nayeli’s chief butler since childhood, could never forgive anyone who betrayed her. He was certain a traitor existed within the organization.
“Camila, clever as she was, gave us trouble even at the end. Ha.”
He clicked his tongue but his gaze was deadly.
“That’s why I gathered you all. Ensure your zones aren’t affected, and calm the family below.”
The Fingers nodded.
“You will deal with Gui-rye, right? Have you decided how?”
Natalia Espina, a narcotics trafficker controlling Cartagena’s sea routes, asked.
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, blood for blood. Someone who broke a Finger and touched the familia’s property cannot simply be killed.”
“Then…”
“Carido will handle it.”
“Ah, that one is reliable.”
Natalia’s eyes softened.
If one of the Boss’s most trusted butlers acted, this chaos would end quickly.
The other two Fingers nodded.
“Javier.”
“Yes, Boss.”
The man with glasses bowed.
Javier Rojas, in charge of finance and intelligence.
“Track Gui-rye’s location. Ensure Carido can reach him safely.”
“Yes, Boss.”
Javier tapped the laptop a few times. Complex codes reflected off his glasses.
“Reports indicate… he seems to be in Guam. ‘Cielo’ was just flattened. Not only family but guests as well. The safe… and… uh…”
Javier, usually poor at reading emotions, instinctively avoided Nayeli’s gaze.
Other Fingers were silent.
Cielo was one of the Cartel’s most cash-heavy establishments, tied to laundering and VIP management.
Its destruction meant losing hundreds of thousands of dollars and cutting political and business-related financial flows.
Eavesdropping devices, DB servers, all gone… sensitive data lost… maybe Gui-rye even took the servers.
Bruno let out a bitter laugh.
If other Guam establishments are next… this is terrifying.
Guam held strategic importance for the Cartel. Losing it could shake their foundation and Nayeli’s authority.
Now, Gui-rye’s goal was clear: war.
A single person really wants war with us? Why? Revenge, or is someone else behind him? Who?
Bruno’s eyes darkened.
There might be a connection between Gui-rye and Jet. Korea, the lightning… I need to check if Jet is in Korea.
Nayeli’s expression showed no emotion. Silence settled.
“And it seems he’s targeting other Guam establishments too. That’s why Guam is in chaos—”
CRACK!
Nayeli clenched her teeth. Javier bowed hastily, though he was innocent.
“Send Carido to Guam. Immediately!”
“But, the problem is—”
“What now!”
Murderous intent surged.
Javier’s head sank lower.
“All gates to Guam and the surrounding Mariana Islands are closed. We’ll have to take a private plane or ship…”
“……!!!”
Nayeli’s eyes flared with fire.
“AAAAAH! Gui-rye! GUI-RYE!!!”
CRASH!
Meanwhile…
“Burning very nicely.”
Casinos, banks, resorts, entertainment venues…
Lee Hyun watched the City Cartel’s businesses engulfed in flames, feeling satisfied.
His inventory was already full: cash, illicit art, collateral items from gamblers, and holy relics—all now his.
Beside him, the server shivered. Even in the humid weather, it seemed like it had caught a cold.
