I simultaneously traverse countless worlds

Now, Li Mo has brought them to his side and domineeringly forbids them from leaving him. However, he also doesn't need to take on the responsibility of the Lai Sheng family business or collect his father's artwork and relics. Similarly, Nogami Saeko doesn't need to worry about her father's various blind dates. Now, Li Mo and his group are enjoying themselves on the beach and having a barbecue party with fresh seafood as the main ingredient.

As Li Mo finished enjoying the delicious food and drinks at the beach barbecue party, and was embracing and kissing Kisugi Rui and Nogami Saeko, a message transmitted through the extraordinary network of the [Seed of Fusion] slightly diverted his attention:

"Hmm? The Moscow Hotel in Loalapra is finally making a move?!"

Chapter 25 The Wind of Roarapra

Siam, Roarapura

Compared to when Li Mo left with Robert, Solon, and others a little over a year ago, Roarapra seemed to have remained completely unchanged. It was still a sinful city unknown to ordinary people outside, a place still teeming with all sorts of illegal trades from Southeast Asia.

Of course, compared to when Li Mo left a little over a year ago, the number of small and medium-sized forces in Roarapa has probably changed quite a bit. Apart from the Moscow Hotel, the Triads, the church, and a few other established powerful forces, the turnover rate of other small and medium-sized forces in Southeast Asia here is absolutely comparable to the turnover rate of the Gallic president during the financial crisis. Every few days, you can see a small or even medium-sized force being replaced, and the new forces that take over are still carrying out various illegal transactions in Roarapa.

The reason has been stated before: Lo Arapura, this sinful city that is not publicly known by Siam and other countries, is a treasure trove for Siam and many other East Asian countries. The high-ranking officials and leaders of dark forces from various countries who continuously obtain blood-stained money from it have no intention of changing the situation in Lo Arapura; they only want to continue to obtain huge profits from it.

The major powers that have managed to establish themselves in Loa Arapa and avoid being replaced by other forces are all those with manpower, guns, and powerful connections. For example, the Triads from Hong Kong rely on their connections with Chinese communities in Southeast Asia, along with a large number of elite fighters, to occupy a piece of territory in Loa Arapa. They can make a lot of money every year by smuggling various goods and contraband. Other major powers are in similar situations, relying on outsiders or local strongmen to maintain their share of profits in Loa Arapa for a long time.

In this context, the Moscow Hotel is a case of an outsider crossing the river. Even though the red bear, one of the two superpowers, has collapsed, no one dares to underestimate Russia, one of the five major powers. In addition, the Moscow Hotel's group of killers are desperados who fought their way out of the imperial graveyard of Central Asia. In just over two years, they have already established a foothold in Loa Apra, exporting various types of weapons to various forces in Southeast Asia as their main business.

Therefore, Roalapura's Moscow hotel stronghold is actually more like a heavily fortified military base. It may look inconspicuous on the outside, but it is actually equipped with bunkers, booby traps, and armed guards. Many members are still wearing unmarked paratrooper uniforms!

"Captain!"

Upon seeing a military off-road vehicle return, a guard carrying an AKM assault rifle and grenades approached. Recognizing it as one of their own, they ordered it to stop at the main gate. A middle-aged man with visible scars on his face got out, returned the guard's salute, and quickly went upstairs. When he reached the second-floor lobby, he looked at the familiar, slender figure, saluted her, and spoke loudly.

This is the second-in-command of the Moscow Hotel. He has deliberately forgotten his name, or rather, outside of Russia, he can just use the nickname "Sergeant," which is how many of his comrades are addressed!

"You're back, Sergeant..."

Hearing her capable assistant's words, the beautiful woman who had just hung up the phone turned around. Scars, resembling war wounds, covered more than half of her pretty face, even extending down to her neck, giving this Slavic beauty with light blonde hair a strangely alluring, half-angel, half-devil aura. However, this woman, dressed in a red Western-style dress and draped in what once was a red Russian paratrooper's overcoat, pointed to the dozen or so former key officers waiting around her and said with a sigh, "Those guys in Moscow, they really have no choice but to send us to expand into Japanese territory!"

Captain Balalaika!

This is none other than the No. 1 of the Moscow Hotel in Loalapra from the original Black Lagoon anime, a former female officer of the Red Bear's airship squadron, born into a military family of the Red Bear, and an elite who experienced the Imperial Graveyard War in Central Asia.

Unfortunately, the Red Bear spent ten years entangled in the Imperial Graveyard in Central Asia, but ultimately withdrew its troops without success. Those Red Bear soldiers who had fought in the Imperial Graveyard faced the predicament of retirement and disbandment as the Red Bear disintegrated. Captain Balalaika, after witnessing one of his subordinates being driven to death by the Mafia for owing money, regrouped his men and joined the Mafia to fight for their future.

It should be said that the former Red Bear airborne troops were extremely powerful, and Captain Balalaika and her men were doing quite well in the mafia. However, when she and her men made a big fuss in Moscow and offended someone, she was forced to take her group of followers and be sent by the Moscow Hotel to Roarapa to expand their business. Fortunately, compared to the former Red Bear airborne troops, most of the forces in Roarapa were weak and insignificant, which allowed her to gain a foothold and develop her business.

If Captain Balalaika had followed his own ideas, the best way to develop would have been to establish a foothold in Roalapura, gradually expand their trading share, and exchange it for money and various necessary goods. However, the Moscow hotel headquarters in the Soviet Union seemed to have gone mad for some reason, directly demanding that Roalapura establish channels with Japan, the second largest economy, and extend their influence there.

Captain Balalaika is currently facing this problem, but even though she has a group of loyal subordinates, she cannot disobey orders from Moscow. Otherwise, the families of her subordinates in Moscow and other cities might be used as bargaining chips.

"Captain, how do we get to Japan? Personnel are manageable, but what about weapons and equipment? And once we're in Japan, how do we choose a suitable target to attack?"

Upon hearing Captain Balalaika's words, the sergeant remained silent for a few seconds before quickly glancing at his comrades. He noticed that these were at most second lieutenants or even senior sergeants, and they were all looking at each other, unable to offer any advice. Knowing that they were good at fighting but not to be relied on, the sergeant directly asked Captain Balalaika a few key questions.

"Yes, I also inquired with headquarters. They told me to handle it myself, and that they had contacted a few intelligence brokers who provided some information. As for weapons, we can entrust the Black Reef Company with it, and ask them to lend a hand. We've also identified a few targets..."

Upon hearing the sergeant's question, Captain Balalaika nodded with pleasure, expressing his approval of his capable subordinate and explaining as he reached into the cigar box in his suit's inner pocket, skillfully cutting a cigar and lighting it, a subtle, enigmatic smile on his face.

For Captain Balalaika, things were not as easy as she had made them out to be. Upon receiving the so-called orders from headquarters, she directly inquired why they were spending so much effort to expand their influence in Japan. The reply she received was that Japan, as the world's second-largest economy, should be very wealthy. However, because they had already made a minor news story in Moscow, they were forced to rely on their family connections to lead their subordinates away from Moscow. Captain Balalaika could no longer object to this seemingly absurd order.

After all, the Moscow Hotel, as one of the Russian mafia factions, is incredibly powerful; otherwise, it wouldn't have extended its reach overseas. Even if Captain Balalaika thought the order was absurd, openly defying orders is taboo in both the mafia and the military. She had to consider the situation of her subordinates and seriously think about how to make a breakthrough in Japan.

Knowing long ago that her subordinates were mostly killing machines, Captain Balalaika didn't expect them to offer any great suggestions. She was already quite satisfied with the fact that Sergeant was able to consider things relatively thoroughly, and she took the opportunity to explain the situation to her other subordinates.

"Captain, when shall we depart?"

Faced with Captain Balalaka and Sergeant Balalaka's explanation, the dozen or so junior officers and sergeants who had been paratroopers looked at each other. No one felt that they could offer a better opinion. One former second lieutenant asked Captain Balalaka a question that he and the others were most familiar with.

"Three days later, the sergeant and everyone else are ready, and we're heading to Japan!"

Captain Balalaika nodded happily at her subordinates' question, took a puff of her cigar, and slowly exhaled a conspicuous plume of smoke. Her pretty face, half of which was covered in scars, looked at her subordinates and gave orders without hesitation.

You said everyone discussed the plan?

Sorry, this isn't some kind of democratic vote. Neither the Mafia nor the military holds a nationwide referendum. Captain Balalaika's call for sergeants and junior officers was simply a preliminary notification to discuss how to proceed with the operation.

As for the retired paratroopers, they didn't really have the ability to offer any good advice. If they had that ability and skill, they would have already shown it in the military. They wouldn't have ended up being forced to retire and disband without a place to live, forced to join the mafia with their former commander, and fight for their own and their families' future. All they were good at was killing and fighting.

Therefore, Captain Balalaika reached an agreement with the sergeant and other former junior officers and non-commissioned officers, and relayed the order to the other former paratroopers. No one stood up to protest, and they began preparations to go to Japan, a country they had heard of before...

(The image found on Baidu that best matches Captain Balalaika's image; please ignore the one on the right.)

Chapter 26 Individual Goals

The Moscow Hotel begins preparations for its operation. The main characters from the original Black Lagoon anime have been commissioned by the Black Lagoon Company to smuggle the weapons and equipment needed by the Moscow Hotel into Japan.

This was inevitable. The group from the Moscow Hotel could still enter Japan in various ways, but to bring in such a large number of AKS-74U assault rifles, sniper rifles, light machine guns, and even rocket launchers, it would be impossible unless the entire Japanese customs department was blind. Since it was impossible to bring weapons and equipment into Japan through legal channels, Captain Balalaika naturally sought other methods. The Black Lagoon Company, with its excellent reputation and previous collaborations, became their partner this time.

For Black Lagoon, Dutch and the others didn't care about the trivial matter of secretly transporting a batch of weapons and equipment to Japan. Even Locke, a former Japanese who had only joined Black Lagoon a few months ago, now wisely knew that being abandoned by the big companies meant that relying on Black Lagoon was his only way to survive.

Compared to the Moscow Hotel and Black Reef Chamber of Commerce, which had already begun preparations, the other forces in Loalapura were unaware of the situation. Even those who were aware simply assumed that the Moscow Hotel was merely changing personnel, since its headquarters were in Eastern Europe and Russia. They couldn't expect anyone to stay in Loalapura forever, and personnel rotation was a normal occurrence.

Black Lagoon Company goes without saying. Despite being the main characters of the original Black Lagoon manga and anime, Black Lagoon Company is actually a well-known jack-of-all-trades in Loa Alabura. It's the kind of small force that's a bit troublesome and doesn't make much money. It's a force that might be useful to everyone, and most factions won't provoke it, but they also won't pay too much attention to its movements.

However, Li Mo was quite concerned about this news. He had enjoyed a leisurely beach vacation with Robert, Laisheng Rui, and other beauties for a week, and then returned to Tokyo before meeting up with the Black Reef Chamber of Commerce in Tokyo at the Moscow Hotel!

………………

Ten days later, a medium-sized port in the outskirts of the Tokyo metropolitan area secretly welcomed the Black Reef Merchant Guild's transport ship. It was a smuggling route where goods were loaded onto merchant ships from Southeast Asia and transported secretly from the ships after passing through the waters off Tokyo.

As the outer members of the Black Lagoon Company approached the dock in their small boat, which weighed over a thousand tons, the soldiers from the Moscow Hotel appeared from the dock in unison. After exchanging secret signals, they quickly boarded the ship and began unloading the cargo. The hundreds of sealed crates were carried off the ship in pairs, and were all unloaded in less than ten minutes. Meanwhile, several members of the Black Lagoon Company, including Dutch, Levi, and Locke, walked with Captain Balalaika to a temporary residence on the side, talking as they went.

Compared to the conversation between Dutch and Captain Balalaika, the former Japanese office worker, now known as Locke, saw former paratroopers in the temporary quarters prying open sealed boxes and taking out weapons and equipment. Some soldiers skillfully disassembled and quickly reassembled AKS-74U automatic rifles, and the crisp sound of pulling back the bolt and cocking the gun sent chills down Locke's spine.

This is no toy. The AKS-74U automatic rifle may look small, but it was once the new short assault rifle used by the Soviet Union to equip paratroopers, armored troops, and internal staff. In the hands of these battle-hardened soldiers, it became a deadly weapon in battle!

"Hey kid, you're interested in the AKS-74U assault rifle? If you want, I'll give you two for free to use as your own weapons!"

Seeing Locke cautiously watching his subordinates clean their weapons, Captain Balalaika, who was smoking a cigar, exhaled a smoke ring, glanced at Dutch and Levi, and then spoke directly to Locke.

"what?!"

Upon hearing Captain Balalaika's words, Locke turned and saw the strikingly beautiful Slavic woman. Knowing she meant what she said, he couldn't help but swallow hard. Then, very carefully, he politely declined her offer to give him a gun: "That's really unnecessary. I already have a pistol for self-defense, and carrying an automatic rifle would be more dangerous for me and everyone else than for the enemy..."

When Locke said these words, he was truly sincere. Although the past few months had been much more exciting than the previous twenty years, that was only in terms of his experiences and observations, not in terms of him becoming a super soldier.

In fact, let alone the fact that most recruits need at least three months of rigorous training to master automatic rifle shooting skills, Locke was only occasionally taught how to use a pistol by Revy and Dutch. Unfortunately, he really didn't have any talent in this area. Currently, even with a relatively safe revolver, he could only guarantee that he wouldn't miss the target within 20 meters. As for where he would hit the opponent, it depended on luck and the opponent's chances. Revy described him as a "second-rate marksman."

You mean he should use an automatic rifle now?

Well, Locke himself felt that it was simply asking the impossible. If he were to fire the AKS-74U assault rifle, whether he would hit the enemy first or his own men first was a question worth discussing. Locke himself was well aware that it was a very dangerous move for him to hold that assault rifle, and most of the danger would probably be directed at his own teammates.

Locke himself was very self-aware of this, and Dutch and Levi also agreed. They didn't want to be accidentally injured or even killed by their own people while they were fighting the enemy, that would be too frustrating!

"Is that so? Then let's forget about it..."

Captain Balalaika nodded in understanding in response to Locke's words. She also recalled the many warnings her instructors had given her during her basic training, such as the rule that recruits must never point their guns at their own men, even if the guns were on safety or unloaded.

After all, in recruit camps in the Red Bear and even in countries around the world, there have been incidents of recruits accidentally shooting their own men or accidentally injuring themselves while training and shooting targets, which forced recruit camps to establish such a rule!

"Ahem, Captain, aren't you going to consider how to proceed with the infiltration operation into Japan?"

At this moment, Dutch coughed twice, interrupting the topic. He was looking intently at Captain Balalaika, whom he had once helped greatly, wanting to know how this extremely dangerous older woman planned to enter Japan and establish herself.

"Of course, I've already found a few suitable gangs and am ready to pick one to take action... What happened?!"

Captain Balalaika was quite agreeable to Dutch, to whom she owed a great debt of gratitude. Just as she was about to explain and consider asking the Black Lagoon Company for help, the sudden gunshot made her expression change drastically.

If it were in Roarapra, hearing a few gunshots wouldn't be a big deal. In fact, it would be rare to hear no gunshots or explosions at all in Roarapra that day. However, in Japan, with the Moscow Hotel having just arrived a few days ago and just taken over the weapons and equipment delivered by the Black Reef Merchant Guild, the sudden gunshots were quite intriguing. Not only did Captain Balalaika's face turn grim, but even Dutch and the others looked solemn.

In the tense atmosphere, the former paratroopers quickly completed their armaments, and Captain Balalaika and the others didn't have to wait long. In less than ten seconds, she heard the intelligence coming from the radio:

"Report! Captain, a powerful enemy has appeared outside... Ah!!!"

……

"Mo, are you planning to act alone again?"

Just as the members of the Moscow Hotel and the Black Reef Chamber of Commerce had finished taking inventory and arming the smuggled weapons and equipment to their temporary base, Li Mo was already outside that temporary base. He could still hear Robert's voice coming from the other end of the phone. With just a little thought, he could imagine that the mixed-race beauty on the other end of the phone was definitely in a very unhappy tone.

"Haha, Robert, you can stay home for now!"

Upon hearing Robert's voice, Li Mo chuckled and reassured the somewhat reluctant maid who was guarding the house. He then used his [Shadow Power] to barely block out the sound and blurry images before leisurely preparing to storm the stronghold. At the same time, he told Robert the purpose of his trip: "I'm just here to pay them a visit, not to kill them..."

Before Li Mo finished speaking, the former paratroopers stationed outside the temporary stronghold had already spotted Li Mo's undisguised figure. The first former paratrooper to be equipped and relieved of guard duty raised his gun without hesitation and pointed it at Li Mo, demanding that he stop. When he was ignored, he pulled the trigger.

For these former paratroopers who fought their way out of the imperial graveyards of Central Asia, when they first left those areas, they had an instinctive urge to draw their guns and order any woman or child dressed in heavy clothing to stop. However, their time in Moscow and Loa Apra had somewhat helped them suppress that instinctive habit from the imperial graveyards. But now, while on guard duty in Japan, if they found strangers approaching without stopping, the guards opened fire without hesitation.

However, Li Mo's figure suddenly disappeared from the spot. A burst of bullets hit the ground directly. Apart from the flying pebbles, the enemy who should have been killed was nowhere to be seen. Before the former paratroopers could even exclaim in surprise, Li Mo had already appeared beside them, easily knocking two of them unconscious. Then, he nimbly dodged the bullets and continued to charge forward.

Seeing the bizarre situation before them, the former paratroopers only had time to utter a warning before Li Mo subdued and knocked them unconscious one by one. He didn't stop, and went straight into the temporary outpost...

Chapter 27 A Warm Visit

"Da da da——————!"

"He's there?!"

"not good!"……

Gunfire and shouts filled the temporary stronghold chosen by the Moscow Hotel and the Black Reef Chamber of Commerce. The elite paratroopers of the Red Bear were in trouble. Even with more than fifty fully armed paratroopers, they could not stop Li Mo's advance.

That's right! Captain Balalaika led her former paratrooper subordinates to Japan, totaling only about fifty people. Her former subordinates combined numbered less than two hundred. However, according to normal reasoning, fifty or so fully armed former Soviet paratroopers would be able to run rampant in Roalabura. For the Japanese yakuza, it would be a crushing defeat, like a king playing against a bronze-level opponent.

The Japanese yakuza are indeed boasted to be terrifying. In the 1990s, the Japanese yakuza even had hundreds of thousands of members. However, most of them were just weaklings who fought with steel pipes, baseball bats, or samurai swords. They could be divided into more than a hundred yakuza organizations of different sizes, and further subdivided into groups of varying sizes. It can be said that most members of the Japanese yakuza had never even touched a gun. Those who did own guns were mostly core members or leaders of the Japanese yakuza, and their combat ability was far inferior to these former paratroopers.

In the original Black Lagoon anime storyline, the Japanese yakuza gang that ran a laundry detergent business was almost wiped out by the Moscow Hotel like autumn leaves falling in the wind. Even when the Washi-gumi, who hired the Moscow Hotel, tried to stop things from going wrong, they were easily crushed by the former paratroopers, which shows how big the difference in combat power was between the two sides.

However, those former Soviet paratroopers, who were known for their formidable fighting prowess, were now astonished to find themselves facing an enemy they could not defeat. When Li Mo stepped into the stronghold, he was met with concentrated fire from AKS-74Us, but hundreds of 5.45mm bullets merely grazed past his afterimage. When Li Mo reappeared, he had already rushed in front of three paratroopers and, with a wave of his hand, turned them into unconscious prisoners.

Unfortunately, the difference in combat capabilities between the two sides was simply too great. It was almost midnight, and the temporary outpost was being illuminated by emergency lights. It was already quite an achievement to be able to accurately aim at the enemy's general outline and fire. In addition, they also had to consider the space filled with a lot of old machinery and wooden crates, and the need to avoid accidentally injuring their own men. As a result, the paratroopers' firing angles were quite limited.

The next instant, Li Mo stepped out again, which made the other paratroopers even more shocked and angry. Their short assault rifles seemed to have become toys. The seemingly slow but actually fast steps of the other party made it easy to avoid their concentrated fire attack!

"Crack!"

A former paratrooper, hiding behind a pile of abandoned wooden crates, was intently firing his weapon when he suddenly heard the sound of his AKS-74U short assault rifle going off. Knowing that his magazine was empty, he almost instinctively took out a magazine from the pouch hanging on his chest, quickly reloaded it, and prepared to continue firing at the enemy.

However, just as the former paratrooper was changing the magazine, he suddenly felt his vision go dark, and then he saw the enemy, who looked like a demon, appear in front of him, smiling and saying something to him!

"Please take a break!"