After confirming Rafa’s body had been burned, I returned to the city.

Luis and his men returned to the prison.

The next day, breaking news spread across broadcasts that Rafa had escaped.

The Mexican government immediately issued a manhunt for him, and the U.S. government placed a one-million-dollar bounty on his head.

Assuming there was still a possibility the evidence really existed, I sent someone to the bank Rafa had originally mentioned.

Inside the vault, registered under another person’s name rather than Rafa’s, were several ledgers and stacks of cash.

The ledgers contained the names of politicians who had accepted money from Rafa.

After skimming through them, I burned them immediately.

They were completely useless to me.

Once the rough cleanup was finished, I postponed my departure for several days and waited.

But nothing happened.

“Looks like there really wasn’t any evidence after all.”

No—even if there had been, the only person who knew about it was no longer among the living.

After laying the groundwork for Luis’ eventual release, I introduced him to Ramos.

“You still haven’t changed your mind?” 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

“No. It’s the only thing I can do.”

“Hm. Fine. You’ll be released next year through a presidential pardon. After that, you’ll work under Ramos in the execution squad. The training waiting for you won’t be easy. But at least you’ll kill fewer people for no reason. The pay will also be much better than what you earned as a sicario. Hear the details from Ramos.”

Leaving Ramos and Luis behind, I exited Rafa’s prison wing.

Warden Carlos was waiting for me.

“Haha. Did your discussion go well?”

“Yes. Thanks to you. Everything was handled smoothly.”

“I see. But...... is Rafa alive?”

I stopped walking and turned a cold gaze toward Carlos, who had been following beside me.

“Why are you curious about that?”

“Ah, no. It’s not that......”

Flustered, Carlos stammered out excuses, but I cut him off firmly.

“Warden. If you really want to know, I can tell you. But the price might be your life. Are you still alright with that?”

“No. I misspoke.”

“Don’t entertain unnecessary thoughts. As long as we help each other, that’s enough. You helped me, and I compensated you with money. Don’t be curious about anything beyond that. And don’t try to investigate either.”

“Understood.”

Leaving the stiffened Carlos behind, I resumed walking and spoke to Chief Ma.

“Let’s head back soon.”

Nearly half a year had passed just cleaning up the Mexican cartels.

I’d originally thought it could be resolved within a month or two.

But because of the tangled grudges and relationships between the cartels, things took far longer than expected.

Well, if I’d chosen to wipe them all out entirely, maybe it would’ve been faster.

“Let’s go to New York. Looks like we’ll be spending New Year’s there.”

It was finally time to leave this damn Mexico behind.

* * *

The air at John F. Kennedy International Airport felt completely different from Mexico.

It felt like the wildness clinging to my body had disappeared.

In Mexico, I had constantly kept my guard up.

“Boss!”

Han Kyungyeong had come to the airport to greet me.

Seeing him approach with that playful grin made me smile.

It truly felt like I had crossed from an age of savagery into an age of reason.

“You feel different somehow.”

Han Kyungyeong looked me up and down as he spoke.

“Really? What does it look like to you?”

“How should I put it? Sharper, maybe. I can’t explain it properly, but you definitely changed.”

“Well, if you say so.”

“What’s with that answer? Anyway, let’s grab a drink. Our appointment’s tomorrow.”

We left the airport together and arrived at the New York penthouse I’d recently purchased overlooking Central Park.

Han Kyungyeong and I drank wine while gazing out at the New York skyline.

“The night view from here is beautiful.”

Han Kyungyeong looked down below as he spoke.

“It is.”

“Feels like ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) you’re looking down at people from above.”

“Really? You’ve changed a lot too.”

Remembering the first time I met him made me laugh.

“Why are you laughing?”

“I just remembered the first time I came looking for you. You ran away from me back then.”

“Hey! Why are you bringing that up? That’s embarrassing.”

The way he grumbled with his lips sticking out hadn’t changed at all.

Private jets, penthouses, expensive cars, expensive wine.

Thanks to me, Han Kyungyeong had obtained everything he’d once dreamed of.

Maybe it was natural for those who possessed wealth to want to live higher than others.

In a society without noble classes, money itself had become the class system.

I couldn’t blame him for changing.

“Just remembered it suddenly.”

“Since we’re on the topic, let me ask. Did you really think I’d become this successful?”

“Hm......”

I briefly wondered how to answer.

Unable to endure even that short silence, Han Kyungyeong spoke again.

“It’s weird. If you needed an American citizen, there had to be better candidates than me.”

“The issue wasn’t ability. It was whether I could trust you. If I only cared about skill, there are countless talented people out there. But finding someone you can truly trust? That’s difficult.”

“Trust, huh? You met me for the first time back then.”

Quietly, I remembered my previous life.

The shock I’d felt when Han Kyungyeong first appeared.

I still hadn’t forgotten it.

The sight of him hunting Korean corporations as though driven by deep resentment had shocked Koreans immensely.

Naturally, I became interested in him and investigated what kind of person he was.

That was how I learned he had once traded stocks in Korea, accumulated massive debt, and fled the country.

That’s why, in this life, I sought him out and chose him as the perfect person to invest in America on my behalf.

He was someone who remained loyal to his investment firm until the very end despite countless temptations.

So I believed he would never betray the person who helped him at his lowest point.

My expectations were completely correct.

In this life, Han Kyungyeong was handling countless matters for me here in New York.

Others could be replaced.

Han Kyungyeong could not.

“I don’t know. You just didn’t look like someone who’d stab others in the back. That’s why I came looking for you. And don’t you remember being scared of me back then?”

“......”

“I trust you. But if that trust ever breaks, the me from back then will come for you. Just remember that.”

After finishing my words, I smiled and took a sip of wine.

Apparently my words sounded quite threatening to him.

“You bastard! Smiling while saying terrifying shit. Why would I betray you? Just staying beside you earns me more money than I could spend in ten lifetimes. Am I crazy?”

After lightly patting Han Kyungyeong's shoulder, I walked over and sat on the sofa.

“So what happened with what I told you to investigate?”

It was time to prepare for a major opportunity.

The coming global financial crisis would be the biggest event the next ten years had to offer.

And for that, I intended to acquire a blade.

Too many eyes were watching us for us to move directly.

“I looked into someone named Michael Burry from Scion Capital. He’s a pretty interesting guy.”

“Right. Quite an unusual background.”

Han Kyungyeong nodded.

“He used to be a doctor before becoming a hedge fund manager.”

“Besides that, he’s been insisting for quite a while now that the American real estate market is going to collapse. He’s already buying CDS positions.”

“And he’s taking huge losses because of it, right?”

“Yeah. Investors are demanding their money back, but he still refuses to back down.”

“What do you think?”

“Before you mentioned it, I was negative too. But after digging deeper because of what you said, I get it now. The moment interest rates start dropping, this whole structure collapses.”

The economic crisis that would erupt within two years would begin in America.

A mere housing bubble popping wouldn’t trigger a global financial crisis by itself.

But the wolves of Wall Street would pour gasoline onto the embers.

The greedy bastards on Wall Street went beyond simple mortgage lending and turned those loans into ABS products.

“The moment this explodes, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will start shaking. And if those two shake, American finance shakes with them.”

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Ordinary people barely knew those names.

But Fannie Mae alone was the largest corporation in America by asset size.

And Freddie Mac had originally been established by the government to encourage home ownership.

Though privatized in 1989, it was still effectively controlled by the Treasury.

The government could never simply stand by and watch those two collapse.

“Exactly. That’s the core issue. The U.S. government won’t be able to watch Wall Street’s financial institutions collapse.”

Too big to fail.

That saying applied not only to Korea, but America as well.

“The amount of bailout money is limited. That means priorities have to be set. Some gigantic financial firms are going to be sacrificed. You understand what that means, right?”

“You really think it’ll go that far?”

“Absolutely. Even I can’t predict this completely. Nobody knows which financial institution will collapse. This is going to become a massive crisis. The signal flare for a great recession that’ll last at least ten years.”

Perhaps thirsty, Han Kyungyeong gulped down his wine.

After letting out a deep sigh, he asked,

“You’re planning to short the market through Michael Burry?”

“Exactly. We’ll keep ourselves out of the spotlight, put him at the front line first, then attach a few people to him. My plan is to make sure nobody ever dares challenge us again after this.”

There were others warning about the housing bubble besides Michael Burry, but no one else had truly begun betting against it yet.

Using Michael Burry would allow us to shift any suspicions aimed at us directly onto him instead.

“He’s getting pressured by investors, so he won’t reject our proposal. He’s a strange guy, after all.”

“I heard he’s unbelievably stubborn. Investors are losing their minds over him.”

“That’s exactly why I like him. He won’t bend. Though I’ll still place one of our people beside him as a safety measure.”

“Got it. But I don’t need to go?”

“No. People still don’t know I’m in New York yet. It’s better if I meet him directly. Too many eyes are watching who you meet.”

If Han Kyungyeong met anyone, rumors spread through Wall Street in less than an hour.

No matter how carefully security was maintained.

That was why Han Kyungyeong mainly handled public schedules that didn’t matter if they became known.

We stayed up all night continuing to talk.

The next day.

I visited Michael Burry’s company.

His secretary guided me into the office.

The moment I opened the door, I saw Michael Burry running on a treadmill.

Wondering if something had gone wrong, I unconsciously checked my watch.

It was our appointment time, and he was exercising?

Just like I’d heard, he really was unusual.

“Michael. Your guest is here. Stop already.”

The secretary called out to him, but Michael Burry acted as though he hadn’t heard anything.

Even after being told several times, he ignored her completely.

Growing irritated, the secretary walked over to the treadmill.

The moment she tried to turn the machine off, Michael Burry exploded.

“What are you doing?!”

Startled, the secretary froze.

“This is my routine. No matter how important the appointment is, I can’t break it!”

“It’s alright. Finish what you were doing.”

The secretary returned to my side and apologized.

“I’m sorry. Michael’s a bit eccentric......”

“It’s fine. I can sit and wait, right?”

“Of course. What would you like to drink?”

“Just water.”

I sat down on the sofa she indicated and waited.

Even after that, Michael Burry continued exercising for another ten minutes before finally approaching me while wiping his face with a towel.

“Hello. I’m Michael Burry.”

Without apologizing, he extended his hand toward me.

I stood and shook it with a smile.

“I’m Kim Muhyuk. Call me Charlie.”

“Charlie! Of course. Of course.”

After the handshake, he even clapped his hands excitedly.

There was no pretense in his behavior.

He felt completely different from the masked investors of Wall Street.

“So why did you want to meet me today?”

“I heard investors have been giving you a hard time lately.”

“......That’s true. But what does that have to do with you?”

“Return all their money. I’m going to invest a much larger amount instead. My thoughts are the same as yours.”

I smiled warmly at Michael Burry.

He had cashed out too early and missed the chance to earn much more.

This time, I intended to place Michael Burry in the palm of my hand and control him.