I simultaneously traverse countless worlds

When the former paratrooper heard that phrase in Chinese, before he even understood its meaning, he felt his vision go black and he lost consciousness, collapsing to the ground and becoming one of the more than twenty prisoners Li Mo had knocked unconscious.

Li Mo didn't intend to kill anyone directly. He went to visit the Moscow Hotel not to destroy this elite former paratrooper unit. However, if he wanted to discuss matters with Captain Balalaika and these former paratroopers, Li Mo felt he should show some strength. Otherwise, they would only see him as a wealthy and powerful client. He wanted to have a proper conversation with Captain Balalaika from the perspective of someone in a superior position, so he naturally had to demonstrate his strength.

However, even the slightest bit of strength that Li Mo displayed was enough to shatter the worldviews of the former paratroopers who rushed out to fight. They had no experience dealing with individual powerhouses, and seeing their comrades falling one by one, they thought they had been killed by the enemy!

"%＃%*＃!"

When Li Mo "killed" another of his comrades, another former paratrooper not far away went berserk. Ignoring the fact that they were in a very restricted temporary base, he pulled out a grenade, pulled the pin, and threw it over.

*Bang!*

The problem was that Li Mo's keen perception and reaction speed far surpassed those of the paratroopers. With a single step, he disappeared from the spot like a phantom. A pebble even knocked the grenade out of the window. The grenade exploded with a bang but did not hurt anyone.

If this were at a temporary outpost, the destructive power of this grenade would be absolutely terrifying. No one knows how many people the flying grenade fragments and blast wave would kill!

Those former paratroopers also knew that using explosive weapons such as grenades was too dangerous in a temporary stronghold where their own people occupied most of the area. However, the former paratrooper was blinded by rage. He had been saved by that comrade several times on the battlefield, and he had also saved that comrade twice on the battlefield. It could be said that the two had a true bond of life and death.

However, Li Mo wasn't too concerned about the damage from grenades. It wasn't that he was worried the grenade would kill his prisoners; he could even stand still and take the explosion without any problem. He really wasn't afraid of infantry light weapons.

After all, the limitations of the Black Lagoon world are significant, preventing Li Mo from unleashing his full potential. However, his physical abilities are not suppressed by much. While he may not be able to dismantle a Gundam with his bare hands, compared to a modern army, forces weaker than an armored regiment and attached to an army aviation squadron would be easy prey for Li Mo. Using various methods, he could easily destroy the command system of an entire legion.

Facing dozens of former Soviet paratroopers, even though they had experienced many battles in the "graveyard of empires" in Central Asia, Li Mo did not consider them equal opponents. When he realized that these former paratroopers were getting impatient, Li Mo slightly increased his speed. The temporary stronghold, which had little light source and relied on emergency lights, made his figure seem like a ghost, difficult to predict. Even though the former paratroopers began to concentrate their fire regardless of friendly fire, it was mostly in vain. Some even accidentally injured their unconscious comrades.

In less than three minutes, Li Mo easily captured more than forty former paratroopers. Eighty percent of them were captured without being injured, while the remaining dozen or so were mostly injured by ricochets or stray bullets. Fortunately, none of them were in any danger of death, and Li Mo took the opportunity to provide them with emergency medical treatment. Otherwise, the injured prisoners lying on the ground might have died from excessive bleeding.

However, Li Mo discovered that no one was coming down from the first floor of the temporary stronghold anymore, while there were faint sounds coming from the second floor. It was clear that Captain Balalaika, who knew about the battle below, had no intention of sending anyone down to the first floor to kill him!

"Heh, so you gathered your remaining forces on the second floor after realizing something was wrong?"

Seeing the current situation at the temporary outpost, Li Mo admired Captain Balalaika's decisive response. The enemy's initial response had been quite good; the outposts and the former paratroopers' reaction were swift, and their weaponry was decent. However, it had been futile against Li Mo. He scratched his chin, somewhat casually commenting on Captain Balalaika's decision: "For an ordinary opponent, this would be considered a strategy of waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out. Unfortunately, I'm not an ordinary person..."

Li Mo's assessment was actually quite fair. Captain Balalaika's actions would have been considered very decisive by a normal commander. Without knowing whether the attacking opponent was a strong individual or had brought a group of special police or even soldiers, temporarily retreating to the second floor to establish a defensive position and observe while holding the line was a good choice.

In fact, given Li Mo's observational skills, he had already discovered that Captain Balalaika and his men had set up several violent traps at the entrance to the second-floor stairwell of this temporary outpost. Those white phosphorus grenades were clearly capable of inflicting the deadly power of the intense flames that gnawed at anyone's bones. Moreover, at each stairwell entrance, there was a soldier carrying an RGP-7 rocket launcher on standby. It was clear that they had learned from the battle on the first floor that the enemy was almost ignoring light weapons fire and was preparing to give Li Mo a warm welcome with rockets.

Unfortunately, Li Mo never liked to follow other people's scripts. Even if he could ignore the power of light weapons or even RGP rocket launchers, he would not knowingly walk into a trap. Without hesitation, he turned around and jumped out of the window of the first-floor lobby, landing silently and leaping forward for dozens of meters before finally standing firm under a window on the second floor, and then immediately began his operation.

When Li Mo silently and nimbly leaped from the window to the second floor, he waved enthusiastically to Captain Balalaika and the others, who seemed to sense something was amiss and turned to look at him.

"Hi! Ms. Balalaika, can we have a proper talk now?!"

"Bang bang bang——————!"

Faced with Li Mo's welcoming smile, Captain Balalaika raised his gun without hesitation and pulled the trigger. In less than a second, the fully automatic Stechkin pistol fired six bullets in quick succession, covering the entire window. Although the bullets appeared to be scattered, they ensured that at least one normal person would be unable to escape the range of the gun's fire.

Moreover, Captain Balalaika's first shot was aimed almost directly at Li Mo's forehead, and the bullet was expected to hit his head, which would definitely prove the strength of this beautiful Slavic woman who had made great achievements on the battlefield of the Imperial Graveyard in Central Asia and won the respect of her subordinates!

Chi chi chi~!

The bullet grazed past the afterimage left by Li Mo, who had already rushed into the second-floor area from the window, landed directly on the ground, and casually swung a handful of pebbles. The dozen or so pebbles that were thrown made a faint, sharp sound as they cut through the air.

The pebbles thrown by Li Mo were extremely accurate and powerful. In an instant, they hit the former paratroopers and members of the Black Reef Chamber of Commerce at the Moscow Hotel, except for Captain Balalaika, Levi, and a few others. When the pebbles hit their foreheads or necks, it felt as if they had been punched in the head by a heavyweight boxer or had their necks cut by a martial arts master. Most of the former paratroopers and members of the Black Reef Chamber of Commerce didn't even have time to react before they felt a sudden blackout and pain and lost consciousness.

For example, the protagonist of the Black Lagoon anime, who goes by the alias Locke and is holding his defensive pistol, was hit on the head by a pebble. He seemed to have drunk half a pound of vodka in one go, and his mind went blank as he collapsed to the ground. The gun he was holding fell to the ground immediately.

Fortunately, Locke and the other former paratroopers were either rigorously trained or battle veterans, and their weapons and rocket launchers were not directly on the trigger. Otherwise, if it were someone who didn't know much about firearms, their finger would be on the trigger of a gun or rocket launcher with the safety off, and they could easily accidentally discharge it, let alone in a situation where they were knocked unconscious by gravel.

Li Mo's actions seemed to take a long time, but in reality, it was less than a breath. Nearly half of the twenty people on the second floor had fallen. Only Captain Balalaika, Levi, Dutch, and Sergeant Balalaika survived because they were not targeted by the pebbles or because of their strong physiques.

"Be careful!!!"

With Captain Balalaika's angry shouts, Levi and Dutch rushed towards the surrounding equipment boxes, finding cover while firing their guns. Bullets rained down on the spot where Li Mo was standing. Even Captain Balalaika joined in, firing his personal modified pistol continuously, emptying an entire magazine without regard for the firepower.

At the same time, the sergeant holding the AKS-74U short assault rifle forcibly suppressed the dizziness caused by a pebble hitting his forehead. This strong Slavic man raised his AKS-74U, pulled the trigger at the approximate target, and started firing wildly!

"Da da da—————— Boom!"

Facing the hail of bullets, Li Mo did not move. He took a step and turned, then swung his trench coat. The trench coat, which he swung with force, became like a shield. The bulletproof trench coat, made of Kevlar fiber mixed with special materials, managed to stop dozens of bullets. At most, it left a few marks on the trench coat that Li Mo had swung, but it did not achieve the attack effect that Captain Balalaika and the others had expected.

"How can this be?!"

Seeing this astonishing scene, Captain Balalaika, Sergeant, and Dutch were barely able to control their emotions, but Levi couldn't hold back her expression and couldn't help but utter a question from the bottom of her heart.

joke!

What Levi knew was that she, Captain Balalaika, and Chairman Dutch all used their own modified firearms, which were completely tailored to their personal preferences and habits. The firearm parts were all carefully selected and even handcrafted by senior technicians.

The ammunition used by the three individuals was not ordinary ammunition produced on a typical ammunition production line. Instead, it was special ammunition that was handcrafted by individuals and had modified bullets. Its lethality was more than twice that of ordinary guns of the same model. For example, the special ammunition for the short gun used by Levi could not even stop enemies wearing ordinary body armor, which shows that its power was far beyond that of ordinary short guns.

As for the AKS-74U short assault rifle in the sergeant's hands?

Similar to the weapons and equipment that the Soviet Union spared no expense in developing before its collapse, you can look down on the Soviet Union's light industry and agriculture, which have no notable achievements, but you absolutely cannot look down on the sophisticated weapons and equipment produced by the Soviet Union's distorted military industry. The AK series of automatic rifles produced by the Soviet Union is a case in point. Using many rare metals and with excellent workmanship, they can even be picked up and fired normally after being thrown into swamps and deserts for years.

The AKS-74U short assault rifle in the sergeant's hands is also outstanding in performance. Its lightweight size makes it very suitable for self-defense or short to medium range use. The 5.45mm caliber bullet is actually quite lethal, and its lethality against the human body is even stronger than that of the 7.62mm bullet. In theory, at a distance of less than fifty meters, the firepower of the AKS-74U short assault rifle exceeds that of many submachine guns, and it is difficult to survive even if one is wearing a body armor.

The problem was that everyone, including the sergeant, stared in disbelief at Li Mo, who had actually blocked dozens of bullets with just his cloak. This completely shattered their understanding of the lethality of firearms.

Even the experienced Captain Balalaika and Sergeant felt bewildered for a moment, unsure how to face Li Mo, this powerful individual!

"Tsk, then I'll return the favor!"

Seeing that Captain Balalaika and the others were momentarily stunned by him, Li Mo knew that these people were not so easily subdued. He stretched out a hand and showed the falling bullets, flicking them away before he could finish speaking.

A few flashes of light appeared and disappeared in an instant. The bullets were deflected by Li Mo and hit the remaining four people. Captain Balalaika's hand, which was holding her beloved weapon, was hit directly by the bullets. She felt a sharp pain coming from the back of her hand. When she instinctively let go in pain, she found that the gun in her hand had fallen to the ground. However, her slender hand that had been holding the weapon only had a red mark and was not actually injured.

Not only Captain Balalaika was disarmed, but Sergeant, Dutch, and Levi also received the same treatment. Even though they were probably extremely tenacious fighters or were elites who had experienced many battles, they would never let go of their weapons when facing the enemy. However, when Li Mo fired those bullets and hit sensitive nerve points, the pain was indescribable. The instinctive reaction of the body was not something that could be easily overcome by willpower alone.

With the sound of weapons hitting the floor, Captain Balalaika, Sergeant, Dutch, and Revy were all unarmed. Perhaps some of them were still confident in their fighting skills, but when faced with a bug-level powerhouse like Li Mo who could block bullets with just his cloak, no one felt they could defeat him in close combat. Even Revy, who was usually very straightforward, remained silent.

At this moment, anyone with a normal IQ could see that Li Mo had no intention of killing anyone. Otherwise, the people on the second floor would probably already be corpses. So, the remaining four people didn't seem to be looking for their own deaths.

“Well, Ms. Balalaika, can we talk now?”

Undoubtedly, Li Mo's tone was more flippant than it had been a minute ago, but Captain Balalaika had no intention of underestimating him. The combat prowess displayed by this unfamiliar Asian man was enough to command respect from anyone, including Dutch, Levi, and Sergeant.

Captain Balalaika surveyed the second floor of the temporary stronghold. Apart from Dutch and Levi, who were barely able to stand, the other members of the Black Reef Chamber of Commerce were lying on the ground unconscious. Even the dozen or so former paratroopers from the Moscow Hotel were unconscious. AKS-74U automatic rifles, rocket launchers, and light machine guns were all around them. However, Captain Balalaika was well aware that even fully armed, they would have little chance against a monster like Li Mo, let alone in their current predicament of being almost unarmed.

Especially since the other party had shown mercy and hadn't killed him and his men directly, even the sergeant who was loyal to Captain Balalaika didn't try to court death. He joined up with Captain Balalaika and signaled to his superior with his eyes that none of his comrades-in-arms had been killed or injured. Dutch and Levi also found that the rest of the Black Lagoon Company members had simply fainted.

Seeing that his men were at least still breathing, and knowing that the other party was Captain Balalaika who had shown mercy, he quietly took a deep breath to calm himself down. While quickly considering the other party's purpose, he asked in a very amicable manner:

"...Sir, what would you like to discuss with me?"

Consensus Reached in Chapter 29

"...Sir, what would you like to discuss with me?"

Seeing Li Mo leisurely walk to a distance of ten meters, with a very friendly demeanor, Captain Balalaika tried to calm the anger rising in his heart, forced a smile, and asked in a low voice.

Admittedly, Captain Balalaika did feel aggrieved and angry. Anyone who has fought and earned merit on the battlefield to become an officer is probably not a good-tempered person. Being directly attacked and having dozens of soldiers easily wiped out by one person is definitely not something to be proud of, even if the other party is a strong individual.

The problem is that Captain Balalaika has determined that they are probably no match for the enemy. They managed to withstand close-range fire from automatic rifles, so they would likely need heavy weapons or concentrated fire. However, they only have four men left.

Besides, is Li Mo really without any background?

Captain Balalaika didn't believe this, nor did Dachi, the president of the Black Reef Merchant Guild. The two knew far more than ordinary soldiers or general forces. For example, individual strongmen in various countries often have lineages. It's not that just anyone with exceptional talent can become an individual strongman. At least you need power or someone to teach you to reach a level that ordinary police officers can't handle.

In particular, Li Mo's Asian appearance made Captain Balalaika and Dutch have all sorts of wild ideas. In addition, since they were in Japan, the country with the strongest economy in East Asia, it was really hard to say what kind of background this individual powerhouse Li Mo had!

"Yes, you can call me Li Mo, or sir, or sir. Captain Balalaika and members of the Black Reef Merchant Guild, I don't mind the way you address me!"

Facing the watchful eyes of Captain Balalaika and Dutch, Li Mo naturally looked at them and introduced himself. However, his obvious mention of the Black Reef Merchant Guild made the Sergeant, Dutch, and Levi even more cautious. He, however, completely disregarded their thoughts, waving his hand and looking at Captain Balalaika, saying, "Actually, the reason I've come to see you is to discuss the Moscow Hotel's strategy for entering Tokyo..."

Upon hearing Li Mo's words, Captain Balalaika and Dutch's expressions did not improve; instead, they became even more serious. Dutch, the president of the Black Reef Merchant Guild, had his already dark skin turn ashen. However, including Levi standing next to him, they all understood the seriousness of the matter and remained silent.

Just kidding! The Black Reef Company isn't some Fortune 500 company or anything like that. It might have some name recognition in Loa Apra, or be considered a moderately well-known shipping company in the dark side of Southeast Asia. Its fame is only so-so. Besides, Dutch and Levi aren't arrogant enough to think that they and their organization will be known to everyone.

So, how did Li Mo find out about the Black Reef Chamber of Commerce?

Unaware of this unexpected situation involving time travelers, Dutch naturally deduced based on common sense that their actions were being watched by the other party. Otherwise, the other party wouldn't have just happened to arrive at the temporary base where they met with the Moscow Hotel and then knocked them all to the ground. Whether the other party was watching the Moscow Hotel and the Black Reef Merchant Guild was something that didn't need much consideration.

Daqi was unaware of the facts, but he had already guessed some of them. Li Mo had arranged for several spies to act as spies in Roa Alapra, but those spies were not only paying attention to the Black Reef Chamber of Commerce, but also to the movements of the Moscow Hotel!

"Um, Mr. Li Mo, if you are unhappy, we will immediately withdraw from the Tokyo area. We are very sorry to have disturbed you..."

Faced with Li Mo's words, Captain Balalaika was suddenly startled. He had no time to pay attention to the various thoughts rising in the mind of his hired man, Dutch. He put on an apologetic attitude and was really prepared to cancel his expedition to Tokyo.

There was no way around it. Having witnessed Li Mo's fighting prowess, Captain Balalaika's anger had already subsided. Fighting against such a powerful individual who could withstand a barrage of short assault rifle shots was, in Captain Balalaika's eyes, suicide. While she was certainly resolute and decisive, she would never do something like leading people to their deaths. Otherwise, she wouldn't have brought people to join the Mafia in the first place, but instead would have fought them to the death.

As for the orders from the Moscow Hotel?

Sorry, Captain Balalaika doesn't consider herself a die-hard fan of the Hotel Moscow. The reason she joined the Hotel Moscow in the first place was that its leader and many members were former soldiers, and they were enemies of the mafia that killed one of her subordinates. However, Captain Balalaika brought her men to join its ranks and did quite a bit for it. Later, because she caused a minor incident in Moscow, Captain Balalaika had to take her men and be transferred to Roarapra.

Previously, Captain Balalaika had not objected to the orders from the Moscow Hotel headquarters because she did not want to strain relations with the headquarters. However, now that Li Mo, a powerful figure who could easily deal with her and her subordinates, was present, if it were made clear that Tokyo belonged to his territory, she would have to stand up to the Moscow Hotel headquarters no matter how unwilling she was to cause trouble, and resolutely bring her people back safely from Tokyo.

Anyway, Captain Balalaika didn't think that Li Mo's failure to kill just now meant the other party was afraid to kill. She could even keenly sense the powerful, oppressive feeling emanating from Li Mo, like the illusion of an infant surrounded by a prehistoric beast...

"I said, I didn't say I was going to stop your plans. On the contrary, I was looking for you because I had the idea of ​​cooperating to open up the market in Tokyo!"

Li Mo stared speechlessly at Captain Balalaika's apologetic gesture. He hadn't expected the other party to be so flexible and adaptable, raising his hand to stop him from continuing and directly stating his intention to seek cooperation with him.

"Cooperation? To break into the Tokyo market?!"

Upon hearing Li Mo's words, Captain Balalaika wondered if he had misheard and couldn't help but ask Li Mo again to confirm the situation.

“That’s right! To be precise, I can help provide clues. The Moscow Hotel is cooperating with me to take over a territory as your base…”

This time, Li Mo spoke slowly, beginning to explain his plans.

Seriously speaking, Li Mo had already established himself in Japan when the EU Group entered the country. Moreover, he had already subdued the Washine Group and Washine Yukio, so there was naturally no need for him to open a new account. However, Li Mo had other ideas about the Moscow Hotel.

The Moscow Hotel's desire to establish itself in Tokyo is unacceptable to the Japanese yakuza, but Li Mo is not one of those local Japanese yakuza groups. Naturally, he is weighing the pros and cons of the Moscow Hotel moving to Tokyo. Besides, do you think there aren't foreign yakuza or mafia groups in Japan?

To put it simply, South Korea actually has considerable influence in the Japanese yakuza world. They even issued a restriction order on yakuza organizations in Japan, which greatly restricted the yakuza organizations in Japan. However, it was difficult to control the yakuza forces from South Korea. Many gray-market businesses such as pachinko have been taken over by South Koreans. Countries like America, South America, and China are also interested in Japan.

It's simply that America operates openly. The American soldiers and aircraft carrier fleet stationed in Japan are America's greatest military threat to Japan. Economic ties, on the other hand, make Japan completely dependent on America. Otherwise, America wouldn't have demanded that Japan sign the Plaza Accord, and Japan, knowing it would bring them great harm, would have had to bow its head and sign it. The reason is that Japan is America's cash cow, and even if it's being harvested, it has to grit its teeth and cheer.

Most of the yakuza forces from China, South America, and even Southeast Asia don't have much influence in Japan. The businesses they can engage in include smuggling goods, human trafficking, and illegal trade such as laundry detergent. In particular, the two major regions in South America and the Indochina Peninsula, which are famous for producing raw materials for laundry detergent, regard Japan, the world's second-largest economy, as a fertile ground, and they are doing a great deal of business in the laundry detergent trade.

Now, it's not a big deal for Li Mo to let the Moscow Hotel have a foothold in Tokyo. Besides, he doesn't think the Moscow Hotel will make much money in Japan. On the contrary, he's just paying a little something in advance to win over Captain Balalaika.

"President Dutch, what's your opinion?"

Hearing Li Mo's words, Captain Balalaika was once again certain that the other party was not fooling her and was genuinely planning to cooperate with her. She suppressed her doubts and curiosity and turned to look at Dutch and Levi, who were standing not far from her, to seek the opinion of the Black Lagoon Company, one of the partners.

If it were just Captain Balalaika's side, she would have agreed to Li Mo's request for cooperation without hesitation. However, Captain Balalaika had previously invited the Black Reef Merchant Guild for help. When she led the Moscow Hotel group to establish themselves in Roa Arapa, she had also received a great favor from Dutch. If she made a decision without consulting Dutch now, with him still present, Captain Balalaika was certain that her friendship with Dutch would come to an end.