Chapter 162: Susaka
Chapter 162: Susaka
Fang Jing wasn’t bothered by the old woman’s mocking words. Such a small thing wasn’t enough to anger him.
Besides, he came here intending to use the information provided by an information broker named Okamoto.
There was no point in starting a conflict over some verbal argument.
“Are you the ‘Okamoto’?” he asked directly.
“I’m Okamoto,” the old woman wheezed. “But kid, the words from people like me? They’re both trustworthy and untrustworthy. It depends on how you take it.”
Okamoto chuckled darkly, hinting at something more.
“Higashi Yuantai paid a substantial price. We’ll provide anything you need. First, a question: Did Higashi Yuantai really send just you alone, or are there others?”
“No, only me.” Fang Jing’s voice was flat. He worked best alone; others would only get in his way.
“You’re serious?” The old woman clearly didn’t believe him. Trying to kill Susaka alone? It sounded like pure fantasy.
“When do you plan to move?”
“As soon as possible. I can strike immediately with detailed information on Susaka.”
Fang Jing glanced at his phone.
“If I have the info tonight, I’ll act tonight.”
For assassinations, speed was key, needing to be swift and hard to prevent.
His arrangement with Higashi Yuantai was secret. He had only arrived in Bunokura City from Kitsuwa City twelve hours ago.
The faster he acted, the lower the chance of leaks, increasing his success rate.
“…Acting tonight.” The old woman sat on the tatami, tapping her pipe silently. A cold laugh formed in her mind.
She doubted Higashi Yuantai’s man could succeed, especially against Susaka, who was slippery as an eel and guarded by many. This kid was just walking into death.
(Not sure why Higashi Yuantai has such a grudge against this kid, sending him to die. No… Wait. Could he be just bait? A lure?)
Oh well. She’d received her payment; she’d just do her job.
“Alright. I’ll have someone assist you with arrangements.” She decided not to dwell on it.
Information brokers had their own rules. Don’t meddle in what you shouldn’t.
“By the way, kid,” she added as Fang Jing stood, “What model do you prefer? State it. We almost always carry good gear here for clients. But if you already have your preferred model, just ignore me.”
“Model?”
“If you brought your own luggage, it’s fine, but you seem to have arrived empty-handed…”
“You mean weapons?”
“Obviously… Wait. You’re not seriously going in empty-handed, are you?”
The old woman’s eyes narrowed like a cat’s. Seeing Fang Jing’s confused expression, she let out a bitter laugh.
She pressed something unknown.
The entire Japanese-style room transformed instantly. Tatami panels flipped upwards, walls slid and rearranged. Out came rows of weaponry: automatic rifles, submachine guns, pistols, military daggers, crossbows, various grenades, even a small grenade launcher. The room now looked like an arsenal.
“Standard models. I have them all. Custom orders? Possible within forty-eight hours for urgent needs.”
“Appreciate the offer, but I don’t need any.”
Sadly, Fang Jing didn’t know how to use firearms. Even with a gun, it would be useless.
Old Woman Okamoto seemed choked up. Her eyes fixed on Fang Jing for a long moment, silent. Her stare looked at him as if he were already dead.
…
Fang Jing didn’t notice anything strange about that stare.
He was utterly pleased with the “service.” He never expected a mere information broker to offer so much extra help.
After talking with the old woman called Okamoto,
Fang Jing got into a car and arrived at what looked like a vacation villa.
“Hello, friend. Name’s Joel.”
The owner was a tall, middle-aged white man who introduced himself as Joel. Probably one of the old woman’s subordinates, Fang Jing didn’t care enough to ask.
“Hello. Call me ‘Fang Jing’.”
He directly stated his former “name.”
“That pronunciation… sounds Chinese.” Joel glanced at him, looking surprised.
“…”
Fang Jing smiled faintly without offering any explanation.
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“Mr. Fang… You’re not truly planning to act alone, are you?”
After discussing for a while, Joel was sharing valuable intel and also attempting to dissuade him.
“This private villa sits backed against a large forest, as you might’ve seen. From the villa, heading deeper into the woods, about 34 kilometers across, is one of Susaka’s hidden facilities. A key base, alongside a large villa.”
—The man called Susaka was unbelievably cunning and bold.
His core business was twofold: illegal arms dealing and human trafficking.
Both immensely profitable. For him, “making piles of money” was no exaggeration.
“It pretends to be a logging company. Half the employees are locals, the rest illegal foreign workers. They actually manufacture AKs, AR rifles, MAC-10s, VZs… hot commodities onsite.”
“Also… Susaka keeps a holding warehouse for women. Sourced mainly from Southeast Asia. Sold abroad as prostitutes or as secret slaves for the rich.”
“Forty plant workers. Plus, extensive spies under his watch, and over thirty specially trained mercenaries.”
Joel pulled up satellite photos: aerial views of Susaka’s hidden factory complex and the attached villa area.
It showed Susaka’s villa built within the factory grounds itself. Workers and mercenaries encircled his private sanctuary centrally.
High-resolution images even revealed his large private pool, its blue water glinting clearly through the satellite photo.
(Forty workers, plus thirty trained killers. Hmm… Quite the gathering…)
At least Higashi Yuantai’s assassination job now offered a tiny bit of challenge.
Fang Jing thought for a moment, then pointed to a map on a tablet.
“Couldn’t we… take this highway loop to arrive directly at the harbor front near the factory?”
“The harbor area is crawling with Susaka’s spies,” Joel answered grimly. “Going in that way loudly announces you’re heading there to kill him.”
He explained carefully: That entire harbor zone was Susaka’s purchased private land. Protected under the guise of a local fisheries company.
The hidden factory backed onto deep forest wilderness. If the police ever closed in, Susaka would retreat those forces deep into an endless forest—supporting zero chance evidence could ever be found against them.
On the flip side, its proximity to the coast allowed smuggling boats to mingle easily with local ships fishing vessels to deliver their illicit goods.
Susaka operated seamlessness due to exploiting loopholes and using numerous clever tricks in his schemes.
This ruthless “effort” of his provided a life of financial splendor: massive mansions, private jets and luxury cars, extravagant spending nightly in casinos at enormous scales.
But Susaka wasn’t satisfied, aiming to expand his empire by uniting with the Black Devourer Syndicate and secretly connecting with the Kanto Confederation to plan an incursion into the main island territory.
“Mr. Fang, approaching Susaka’s territory via the highway is asking to die. But, if you somehow manage to succeed… I have contacts at the harbor. I could arrange an escape vehicle for once you’ve completed your mission… or if you fail.”
Joel pointed to a specific section of the satellite photo.
He referred to Susaka’s complex not as its factory but simply as “his territory”.
Effectively, Susaka ruled here as king—a bloody tyrant reigning with personal sovereignty and arbitrary command.
Joel outlined his limited aid: direct assistance inside was impossible.
But he knew people at the harbor and had connections at a local small casino. He could potentially arrange a car ready near action completion—whether as extraction if Fang succeeded or to evacuate him away if he failed.
“Let’s confirm… I cross 35 kilometers through deserted mountains and forest—with no support or guide—reach Susaka’s compound unassisted, penetrate security, locate and terminate him?”
“Correct. That’s the optimal route. The immense woodland provides natural flank security for Susaka against rear approaches. Yet that vast forest remains his strongest shield… and paradoxically, the fortress’s greatest weakness.”
Joel couldn’t prevent a pained laugh: “Though I must advise against trying… For one person attempting Susaka via that route? It requires wilderness survival ability, jungle warfare special ops competence, specialization in tactical field strike engagements. Realistically—it needs an entire Special Forces Airborne Strike Battalion.”
—To kill the Susaka today? A task beyond any human working solo.
—You require a dedicated military strike force unit.
—Any idiot walking bare-handed into a brutal king’s personal sovereign land is just seeking self-destruction pain and suffering.
Fang Jing finally understood his strange treatment—the old woman Okamoto surely regarded him as doomed cannon fodder sent by Higashi Yuantai.
“Also, Mr. Fang… the woodlands themselves aren’t safe. Tourists saw black bears recently there. Wild boars and poisonous snakes roam the mountains too. Traversing that terrain unseen represents immense danger as well.”
Joel added more: While boars and snakes posed less danger, encountering bears remained extremely serious alarmingly risky. Though black bears across Kyushu were officially declared extinct, recent sightings supposedly happened within the border mountains of Fukuoka and Saga.
After laying out everything clearly, this good-natured white man seemed genuinely determined to stop what looked to him like insanely stupid “unwise assassination fantasy”.
(About my daughter’s age… Probably raised since childhood as assassin fodder… Or child-soldier battle-scarred? Oh Lord… Whatever his origins… I just cannot watch a man this young go to slaughter.)
Joel understood too deeply: Susaka—leader of his own gang, alongside his followers—proved they were literally heartless demons wearing human skin underneath human sociopathy. Attempting harm upon them guaranteed fates far worse than merely dying violently.
“Prepare me military-grade maps, a GPS tracking device… compass functional gear for wilderness survival… Please.”
Fang Jing smiled faintly: “If possible… I think I shall commence my journey… immediately now.”