Chapter 494 - 324: First Impression of Mexico

Chapter 494: Chapter 324: First Impression of Mexico

In the cabin of the Gulfstream G650ER, the lights were set to a warm ambiance.

Li Wei, Don Quixote, Chen Haisheng, and Jin Heon were among the eight people sitting quietly in the cabin.

Besides the four of them, there were also four mercenaries—three men and one woman.

When Anya learned that Li Wei’s group had to go to Mexico on a business trip, she had strongly insisted that Li Wei bring along some "insurance"—namely, the four mercenaries sitting in the rear of the cabin.

They belonged to that private defense company specializing in serving high-net-worth clients in Eastern Europe and the Middle East—the same one Sergey was on good terms with. They had also coordinated the supply transport in Utah.

The reason for bringing them was simple. In Miss Anya’s own words: "You’re going to Mexico to negotiate a deal without bodyguards? Are you insane? Do you think your life is cheap?"

Although Li Wei was confident that no one could harm him under normal circumstances, he considered his uncle’s and Jin Heon’s safety. In the end, the four mercenaries came aboard the plane.

Once the plane reached a stable cruising altitude, Don Quixote grabbed a glass of champagne from the bar and stood up.

"Alright, everyone," he said, looking around the cabin and raising his glass. "We may not be heading to a match this time, but we *are* going to negotiate a massive deal worth over a hundred million USD."

Jin Heon, Li Wei, and Chen Haisheng stepped forward, and the four mercenaries stood up as well.

"Here’s to a smooth negotiation in Monterey," Don Quixote said, raising his glass. "Let’s sign the contract, get the production line running, and leave those sons of bitches at Pepsi-Cola speechless."

"And Coca-Cola," Li Wei added. "They wouldn’t spare us any more of their production lines."

"That’s right," Jin Heon chimed in. "And those sons of bitches at Coca-Cola, too."

"Cheers!" Don Quixote said in English. He then looked at the four mercenaries and added a phrase in Russian.

The four mercenaries froze in unison.

They exchanged hesitant glances, and finally, the female mercenary spoke up.

"...Thank you."

Li Wei let out a laugh.

"Did I say something wrong?" Don Quixote asked Li Wei, confused. "I specifically took the time to learn a bit of Russian and memorize some vocabulary."

"Well... you used the wrong preposition. It’s not *’Na zdoróv’ye,’* which means ’You’re welcome,’" Li Wei corrected. "It’s *’Za zdoróv’ye,’* for ’Cheers.’ You told them ’you’re welcome,’ so of course they froze."

The four mercenaries all nodded in agreement.

"Mr. Don Quixote, please do not question our English proficiency," the female mercenary said coolly. "You can just speak English."

"Oh, alright," Don Quixote said, rubbing his nose. "Russian really is hard to learn."

"Spanish is easier to learn, isn’t it?" Li Wei said with a smile, suddenly switching to Spanish. "When we get to Monterey, want to go try the local barbecue? I hear it’s famous."

Don Quixote froze. He could speak Spanish; he’d learned it back in school and had spent many years washing dishes in the kitchen of a Spanish restaurant.

He just never expected that Li Wei could also speak Spanish—and quite well, at that.

"You..." He paused. "When did you learn Spanish?"

Li Wei waved a dismissive hand and sat back down on the sofa. "I had some free time recently, so I picked it up."

In reality, he had only started studying the night before last. It had taken him roughly two nights to memorize an entire Spanish vocabulary book from A1 to C2, learning all the grammar along the way.

’Sorry, but having a high Spirit lets you do whatever you want.’

Jin Heon discreetly jotted down a note. ’The boss knows Spanish. This might be useful for expanding into the Latin America market in the future.’

After finishing her note, Jin Heon went back to work diligently for a while. After all, she was now the COO of LW Beverages, drawing a high salary of over thirty thousand USD a month and holding shares worth tens of millions.

If they could secure this production line, she estimated LW’s valuation would exceed five billion USD in less than six months.

At that point, she would be granted an additional one percent of shares. Her total two percent stake would instantly make her worth over a hundred million. The thought made Jin Heon hate herself.

’Why couldn’t I just evolve past the need for sleep?’

After about three and a half hours of flying, she closed her laptop and prepared to go say hello to her roommate for the next few days: the sole female mercenary.

This was her first business trip to a "dangerous" place—though to be fair, Monterey wasn’t *that* dangerous.

She had been a bit nervous following Li Wei to Tampa Bay, Miami, and Los Angeles, but that was still on the soil of the United States of America. At worst, the sports fans got a little too wild.

But Mexico was different. Growing up, she’d heard an endless stream of news about Mexican drug traffickers.

From Netflix documentaries to CNN border reports, her mental image of Mexico could be summed up in three words: drugs, gunfights, and beheadings.

"Hi, I’m Jin Heon," she said, walking over to the female mercenary and sitting down. She offered a friendly hand. "It’s nice to meet you."

"Aleksandra Popova," the female mercenary replied, her face and voice devoid of expression.

"Do you have any hobbies?" Jin Heon asked. "Maybe we can chat sometime when we’re free?"

Aleksandra’s stony expression didn’t change.

Jin Heon paused, then got up and went over to Li Wei.

"Boss," she said, lowering her voice, "why are they so serious all the time? Are they unhappy? Could that be a problem?"

Li Wei followed her gaze and saw the four mercenaries sitting like concrete blocks. None of them were talking, and none showed any expression.

"That’s just how they are," Li Wei said. "Most Russians are like that. It doesn’t mean they’re unhappy."

"Then what’s their expression when they *are* happy?" Jin Heon asked.

"When they’re happy..." Li Wei thought for a moment. "It’s the same."

Jin Heon paused.

"But Emma and Miss Anya are Russians too," she countered.

"I guess they’re the exceptions," Li Wei said with a smile.

After the brief interlude on the plane, the Gulfstream G650ER landed smoothly at the private terminal of Monterey’s Mariano Escobedo International Airport just after 2:00 PM.

The moment the cabin door opened, a rush of dry air poured in, carrying a mixture of diesel, dust, and the fragrance of flowers.

Monterey is the third-largest city in Mexico and the capital of the northern state of Nuevo León. An industrial powerhouse, it’s often called the "Chicago of Mexico."

However, it is also one of the largest cities closest to the U.S.-Mexico border, making it a crucial waypoint for all drugs heading north into the United States of America.

The private defense company had arranged everything in advance. Two dark-colored Toyota Land Cruisers were already parked neatly beside the tarmac.

The mercenaries greeted the handover team, took two large duffel bags from them, and got into the vehicles.

"We’re good to go," Aleksandra said.

The convoy drove out of the airport, following the highway into downtown Monterey.

The cityscape of Monterey was somewhat different from New York. The highway acted like an insurmountable chasm, starkly dividing the city into rich and poor.

On one side of the highway stood modern, glass-curtain-walled office buildings and massive shopping centers. On the other side, dense clusters of colorful, low-slung houses were stacked haphazardly up the hillsides like toy blocks.

By comparison, even New York seemed more subtle about its inequality.

This sense of division became even more pronounced upon entering the city proper.

Through the car window, Li Wei saw a wall riddled with bullet holes. Someone had filled them in with different colors of paint, turning the pockmarks into small, painted flowers.

During a red light, a small, skinny boy ran up to the lead Land Cruiser, gave the windshield a quick wipe with his hand, and then held out a grimy palm.

Rehab clinics and pharmacies outnumbered restaurants. At the bus stops, missing person flyers were more common than graffiti.

The car radio was playing a local news broadcast. Li Wei caught a few keywords and said to Aleksandra, who was driving, "Turn up the volume."

The rapid-fire voice of a male announcer came from the radio.

"What’s he saying?" Jin Heon asked curiously. "Any important news?"

"It’s about the Sinaloa Group’s regional head in Monterey, Kuchilo, fighting with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel over the northern corridor," Li Wei explained. "Sinaloa and Jalisco are the names of both places and two different cartels."

He listened for a few more moments before adding, "It says they had a ceasefire for a few days last month because of... uh... the Super Bowl? And now they’re back at it."

"What?!" Jin Heon exclaimed, startled. "Doesn’t that mean it’s really unsafe here?"

"Yeah, but it’s alright," Li Wei said, still listening. "Downtown Monterey is fine. It’s just the northern outskirts and the surrounding highways that are a bit dangerous."

"It’s not a huge problem," he said, having Aleksandra turn off the radio. "Our factory is in an industrial park. We’ll finish our talks tomorrow or the day after and get out of here. We won’t be staying long."

To Jin Heon’s relief, the security at the hotel she had booked for the group seemed quite reliable.

It was the best hotel in Monterey. There were armed guards at the entrance and metal detector gates in the lobby.

Don Quixote, Jin Heon, and Chen Haisheng were heading to the hotel restaurant to eat and to have a video call with Arthur about the contract’s legal clauses. Jin Heon also had her own work; she needed to coordinate the next day’s itinerary with the factory representatives.

Li Wei, however, was more interested in the local Mexican cuisine.

"Anyone want to go out for some barbecue with me?" he asked, raising his hand. "If not, I’m going by myself."

"You shouldn’t go alone," Jin Heon warned.

"I’ll take one of the bodyguards," Li Wei said, gesturing to the mercenaries behind him.

"Take all of them," Don Quixote insisted.

Even without bodyguards, Monterey’s crime situation posed no threat to Li Wei. His Power and physique were what they were, and he also had the [Vision Obscura] skill, allowing him to turn invisible at will.

But since everyone was insisting, he figured he might as well take them. It would save him from their nagging later.

Li Wei put on a pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap and headed out with Aleksandra and the other mercenaries.

They wandered around the nearby neighborhood and found what looked like a very authentic Mexican barbecue joint.

The place was small, with an open kitchen dominated by a massive griddle covered in beef and onions. The smoky aroma of charcoal mixed with the unique tang of Mexican chilis, filling the entire shop.

’This has to be way better than the hotel restaurant,’ Li Wei thought as he walked inside.

Li Wei ordered several large portions of grilled meat and burritos, and the four mercenaries placed their own orders as well.

Suddenly, he noticed a young man sitting at the table next to them.

A young police officer.