Director Luna turned pale the moment he received contact from the Sinaloa Cartel.

They didn’t give him even a moment to think.

They openly threatened him—if he didn’t cooperate, they would expose proof that he had taken bribes.

“W-What? What do I do...?”

Unable to hide his anxiety, Director Luna gnawed at his fingernails, pacing back and forth in agitation.

“We don’t even know how far the boss’s anger will go. If you refuse to help us... then we won’t be able to stop him.”

The cartel operative phrased it indirectly, but the meaning was clear—they could even harm his family.

“...Alright. I’ll hand over all the information by tonight.”

Hearing Luna’s answer, a subordinate of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán curled the corner of his lips upward and nodded.

“You’ll be rewarded generously. Then we’ll be waiting. And I’d advise you not to try anything foolish. We have eyes and ears everywhere—not just on you.”

Even as he left, he didn’t forget to issue a final warning.

After the man was gone, Director Luna clutched his head and collapsed onto the sofa.

“What am I supposed to do... what can I even do...?”

There was the option of contacting Kim Muhyuk and confessing everything.

But if that became known, his family would be as good as dead.

Perhaps even he himself.

El Chapo was a cold-blooded man, utterly without mercy.

Trembling, Director Luna bit down hard on his lip, then took out a key.

In the end, he made his choice—he handed over all information about Kim Muhyuk, including his current location, to the Sinaloa Cartel.

* * *

After receiving all the materials on Kim Muhyuk, El Chapo looked down at the photo and spoke.

“So this bastard is the one interfering with our business?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“He looks like an Asian. What’s his reason?”

“I wasn’t told that much.”

A murderous glint flashed in El Chapo’s eyes as he stared at the photo.

“Since I’ve been hit, I should at least send them a gift. Prepare it.”

“You’re planning to use force in Monterrey?”

“So what if I am?”

“...It might negatively affect the cartel.”

“Hey, Roberto!”

El Chapo raised his voice, but Roberto stood firm and continued speaking.

“Chapo. There are lines we need to respect. Unless you intend to go to war with the government. Isn’t that why you hid yourself in Nuevo Laredo before? If we proceed with this, we don’t know what kind of backlash we’ll face.”

El Chapo slammed the table where the map lay and stood up.

“What are you saying?! You want me to just sit here after taking a hit like this? Do you have any idea how ridiculous I’ll look to the other cartels? We couldn’t even finish off Los Zetas, we retreated, and on top of that we lost all our men! If I don’t take revenge, everyone will look down on me and this cartel! Do you understand, Roberto?!”

El Chapo’s eyes burned with madness as he ground his teeth.

“Getting pushed back by Los Zetas is humiliating enough—but what’s even more humiliating is getting wiped out by nothing but mercenaries! I refuse to just take that. I’ll make them pay!”

“But, Chapo...”

“Don’t argue with me! Prepare it!”

“...Understood.”

El Chapo’s stance was too firm. Roberto could no longer stop him.

“Make sure they understand what happens when they stand against us.”

“Understood. Will you go personally?”

El Chapo shook his head.

“No. Going to Monterrey myself would be foolish. I’ll stay here. Report to me once everything is ready.”

Roberto bowed his head and left. Left alone, El Chapo stared at Kim Muhyuk’s photo for a long time.

* * *

An explosion rang out, shaking the building, followed immediately by the sound of gunfire.

“Boss! It’s dangerous!”

As I raised my head, Chief Ma quickly shielded me, throwing his body over mine.

“Chief Ma, move.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“We need to move first. Staying here won’t solve anything.”

If someone was targeting us—no, targeting me—then staying here would solve nothing.

“Our security here isn’t something a cartel can just break through easily. Let’s get up first.”

Even though he knew I was right, worry made Chief Ma hesitate.

I lightly patted his shoulder, as if to reassure him.

“...Understood, Boss. I’ll move first. Please be careful.”

After saying that, Chief Ma stood up first, and I followed.

As I tried to move toward the window, Chief Ma stopped me.

“I’ll check the situation outside first.”

I nodded and turned back, sitting down on the sofa.

Gunfire continued. It sounded like a fight between our security and the attackers.

After a while, Chief Ma, who had pulled out a handgun from his coat, approached the window, slightly parted the curtain, and checked outside. Then he contacted the security personnel engaged in combat via radio.

After some time passed, he returned to me.

“It seems to be mostly under control.”

“What was that explosion earlier? The building shook.”

“They likely threw a bomb at the entrance. I haven’t received full details yet.”

“A bomb? These insane bastards...”

Even if this wasn’t Mexico City, this was still one of the largest cities in Mexico.

And they used a bomb here?

That was practically declaring war on the government.

“More importantly, how did they find this place?”

“Could it be the Gulf Cartel?”

I shook my head.

“Unlikely. There’s no reason for them to attack us after negotiations.”

“What about the Tijuana Cartel?”

“They already agreed to cooperate with us. Even less likely.”

The Tijuana Cartel had contacted me as soon as Rafael was released, pledging active cooperation.

Now that they knew I could free someone like Rafael with ease, they wouldn’t consider opposing me.

Moreover, once it became known that we had wiped out Los Zetas without significant losses, no cartel in their right mind would dare challenge me.

With no concrete information, it was impossible to definitively identify the attacker.

At some point, the gunfire subsided. Shortly after, the head of the security team came to see me.

“Boss.”

“What’s the situation?”

“We took some losses due to the sudden attack, but we managed to repel them.”

“I see. Any dead?”

“...Hyeongtae is dead.”

The moment I heard the name, a familiar face came to mind. He had been one of the guards who had worked with me for a long time.

“The body?”

“...He was guarding the entrance when the bomb came in...”

The team leader trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

If he had been hit directly by a bomb, the body wouldn’t be intact.

I let out a deep sigh.

“...Recover what you can as cleanly as possible. We need to send him back to his family in Korea.”

“Yes, Boss.”

“How many attackers were there?”

“Approximately between ten and twenty.”

“Did we catch them all?”

“No. Those who were watching from afar fled immediately once the situation turned against them. The Boss’s safety was the priority, so we did not pursue.”

“You made the right call.”

After giving further instructions, I turned to Chief Ma.

“Contact Korea and prepare Hyeongtae’s funeral. You should personally inform his family.”

“Yes, Boss.”

After sending both the security team leader and Chief Ma away, I fell into thought.

‘The ones bold enough to send me a warning like this... Sinaloa Cartel or Los Zetas.’

But Heriberto Lazcano had just been killed.

That left only El Chapo.

* * *

After relocating to another safe house, I spoke.

“It’s most likely the Sinaloa Cartel. No other cartel has a reason to clash with us right now. Not only did they attack in one of the largest cities in the northeast, ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ but civilians were also killed and injured. Even the government can’t ignore this.”

I concluded that the Sinaloa Cartel was responsible.

“The important question is how they found my location. Did the president leak it?”

That was my first suspicion.

But the president stood to gain far more from me eliminating the Sinaloa Cartel than from eliminating me.

“It’s most likely Director Luna.”

“Do you really think it’s him? I was worried about his greed.”

“He’s the type with too many weaknesses. Maybe not the president, but someone like Director Luna is an easy target for El Chapo.”

“Alright. Investigate his movements.”

“Yes, Boss.”

Shortly after, Chief Ma returned.

“Boss, it seems to be Director Luna. He met with a Sinaloa Cartel operative.”

I let out a dry laugh and pressed my forehead.

“So in the end, he chose the worst possible option. Then... how should we return the favor?”

I had given Luna more than enough chances.

What I got in return was betrayal.

There was no reason to let him live.

“Boss, how about entrusting this to the Tijuana Cartel?”

“The Tijuana Cartel?”

“It would be cleaner than you acting directly.”

I understood what he meant.

“You’re saying we stage it as him dying in cartel conflict?”

“Yes. If we directly eliminate a government figure, it could cause serious problems later.”

After thinking for a moment, I nodded.

“Alright. Contact Javier and arrange a meeting.”

“Yes, Boss.”

A day after the attack—

“Charlie, I heard you were attacked.”

Javier, the boss of the Tijuana Cartel, came to see me within a day of being summoned.

“Word travels fast.”

“I’m glad you weren’t hurt. So—what do you need us to do?”

Straight to the point. Good.

He had already guessed that the reason I called him was related to the attack, so I went straight to the matter as well.

“Javier. It seems this attack was carried out by the Sinaloa Cartel.”

“I think so too. They’re the most likely.”

“You’re not on good terms with them either, right?”

“Of course not. Ever since my brother was captured, they’ve been nibbling away at our territory. They have no sense of rules.”

“Then I have a favor to ask.”

Sensing where this was going, Javier spoke first.

“Charlie, we don’t know El Chapo’s location.”

Impatient.

I shook my head.

“We’ll deal with El Chapo ourselves.”

“Then...?”

“Director Luna. Take care of him.”

“What? You mean the federal director, Luna?”

Javier was visibly shocked.

“Yes. He’s the one who leaked my location to the Sinaloa Cartel. It’s a bit troublesome for me to handle personally.”

“...Our organization could collapse over this.”

Killing the head of federal law enforcement would be tantamount to declaring war on the government.

“Don’t worry. I’ll handle the aftermath. Nothing will trace back to the Tijuana Cartel.”

“....”

“Because the one who killed Director Luna...”

I gave a faint, chilling smile.

“Will be the Sinaloa Cartel.”

Javier’s eyes widened.

I intended to make it look as if the Sinaloa Cartel had assassinated Director Luna.