Chapter 303: Rules of Service
"I’m warning you, Yohan. Don’t let that man’s easygoing attitude fool you. He’s dangerous—very dangerous. I’ve never once seen him struggle in a fight," Gunjoo said with a weary sigh.
"What exactly does he do in your organization?"
"Officially, he runs a club. Unofficially, he launders most of our money through it." Gunjoo paused, frowning. "Why the hell am I even telling you this?"
"Relax," Yohan replied casually. "What do you think I’m going to do with the information?"
"I don’t know. Why don’t you start by telling me what you two talked about?"
"Something way above your pay grade," Yohan said with a grin, amused by how arrogant that sounded.
"Cut the crap. How did you make that guy side with you over the boss? When you escaped from the warehouse, I told Mason you didn’t get out on your own—that someone broke you out. Alfredo knew I was lying, but he kept his mouth shut."
Gunjoo narrowed his eyes.
"And now you’ve somehow forced him to come all the way here. So yeah, I’m curious. You’ve definitely got something going on behind the scenes."
"Don’t you have secrets of your own?" Yohan asked. "Why are you so obsessed with mine?"
"You bastard, you know exactly what I mean. So what’s the secret?"
"If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret anymore." Yohan stretched lazily before his expression turned serious. "Besides, I came here for something else. I need your men to help me storm Hatoru’s mansion."
Gunjoo stared at him for a moment before laughing.
"That sounds like a damn suicide mission. Why would you even attempt that?"
"Because I know I can take him," Yohan said confidently. "You just need to trust me."
Gunjoo chuckled again. "And why exactly should I trust you? You still haven’t fulfilled your last promise. You said you’d arrange a meeting between me and the Baker."
Yohan exhaled through his nose. "I said I would. Can you at least pretend to have some patience? It’s only been a day."
"I’ll wait until you’re ready," Gunjoo replied with a shrug. "But until then, no other business."
Yohan sighed in annoyance. "Fine. I’ll make it happen."
After leaving, he contacted Emily and told her he wanted to meet the Baker.
She had warned him it could take weeks before the man agreed to see him.
Which was why the sudden call from an unknown number caught him off guard.
...
Later that night, at the conference room of the Grand Palace Hotel, Yohan realized Emily wasn’t there.
Instead, the Baker himself sat waiting alone.
’I didn’t expect him to agree this quickly,’ Yohan thought.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet us," Yohan said politely.
Christopher smiled faintly. "High-priority customers always receive my full attention."
Yohan couldn’t tell whether the man was joking. He had never bought anything from him before so why was he a high priority customer.
"And this must be the friend you mentioned?"
Gunjoo stepped forward and accepted the offered handshake.
"Nice to meet you, Mr... Baker."
"The pleasure is mine, Gunjoo. I’ve actually been waiting for your boss to reach out."
"Oh?" Genuine surprise crossed Gunjoo’s face.
"I’ve been tracking your organization’s movements since before you entered this city," Christopher continued calmly. "Mason Blackfire may have built himself a respectable little empire, but it won’t survive long without the manpower to defend it."
"So what’s the deal?" Gunjoo asked directly.
"Our business functions much like any other underground operation, though we do things a bit differently." Christopher folded his hands together. "First, you tell me your budget and the purpose of the item you need. Then I present several options suited to that task. You choose whichever one fits best."
His smile widened slightly.
"Though I should warn you—my creations are extremely expensive."
"Honestly, I don’t understand how people pay for these things," Yohan muttered, "they’re far too overpriced,"
"That only applies to people like you," Christopher replied smoothly. "Someone with no use for enhancement items wouldn’t understand their value. To others, the things I create are miracles. Many would even call them sorcery."
"They’re expensive, yes, but I’ve never had a dissatisfied customer. And we offer different grades of products. If the premium options are beyond your reach, there are cheaper alternatives."
"That sounds fair enough," Gunjoo said. "Do you have anything on hand I can look at?"
"Of course. Given your line of work, I prepared a few combat-oriented enhancement items."
He knocked lightly on the door.
A moment later, Lena entered carrying a sleek black briefcase.
The instant Yohan saw her, his body stiffened slightly.
Without saying a word, she placed the briefcase on the table and moved to stand quietly beside Christopher.
The Baker opened the case, revealing three carefully arranged items inside.
"The first item is called the Iron Nut Biscuit."
He lifted a rectangular biscuit sealed inside a transparent wrapper.
"One bite of this will harden your body to the density of iron."
"Can it stop bullets?" Yohan immediately asked.
"Of course not," Christopher replied calmly. "But against almost everything else, your body would remain completely unharmed."
Yohan instantly lost interest.
If it couldn’t stop bullets, then to him it wasn’t worth much.
"But," Christopher added, "I could create something capable of doing exactly that."
Gunjoo’s eyes widened. "You can actually make something bulletproof?"
"Certainly. I don’t usually accept custom requests, but I may be willing to make an exception for someone like Yohan."
Yohan frowned. "You’re starting to seriously creep me out. What’s so special about me? I’m just a masseuse."
Christopher leaned back slightly. "Maybe a massage is exactly what I need."
Yohan smirked. "Well, one of the requirements for my service is having a soft chest and a fat ass."
He laughed, expecting at least someone else to react.
Nobody did.
The silence in the room became painfully awkward.
"In that case," Christopher said calmly, "I’m afraid I won’t be needing your services. Feel free to return when you’re ready to behave seriously."
Lena stepped toward Yohan.
"Sir, if you are not participating in the purchase, you’ll have to wait outside."
"What?" Yohan scowled.
"My apologies," Christopher said smoothly, "but those are the rules."
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