I'm a Master in India

Luca's last trip to Mumbai didn't go well.

This time, he's back with even bigger ambitions.

"My brother's ship is on the high seas outside, and it has over three hundred thousand US dollars in cash on it.

As long as Pant is ready with the goods, the money can be sent over immediately."

"Don't worry, I sent the list of medicines you wanted to Pant a week ago.

He'll be ready, and no one will dare mess with him this time."

After attending that meeting at Hadkhan's house, Ron was sure of one thing.

Pant had become one of the gang leaders under Hadkhan's jurisdiction, in charge of the medicine business.

No matter what his relationship with the other leaders was, as long as he was one of Hadkhan's people, no one would be foolish enough to cause trouble for Pant.

The kind of incident where someone came knocking on his door last year would definitely not happen again.

"Has a lot been happening lately?" Luca seemed to sense something.

"Mumbai's underground world has never been stable; you just get used to it," Ron said, patting his shoulder with a smile.

It was still the same fishing village dock as last time; the smell of seafood and the clanging of the ice factory instantly enveloped the two of them.

Some mischievous children with bamboo baskets on their heads came over laughing to greet Ron, then quickly ran off.

"Brother, you're very popular here, huh?"

"I provided free medical consultations for them for a while."

"Free consultations?"

"Of course, I'm a licensed medical practitioner," Ron said, puffing out his chest.

Certified by the Medical Council of India itself, he was now a proper doctor.

"My god, you're like a magician.

Tour guide, company boss, Mumbai hero, smuggler, black market dealer... and now a doctor?"

"It's all me, no need to be surprised.

More skills never hurt."

"Mumbai is damn crazy, you won't find another place like it in the world."

A sea breeze blew past, and Luca coughed twice.

"It's just the smell here isn't great.

It would be perfect if we could change the transaction location."

"This is the safest place.

Even police dogs would get lost here."

Ron walked ahead to a dilapidated courtyard, knocked on the door, and the person inside, seeing him, exchanged a few jokes before immediately letting them in.

"Look who's here?

Our good man, Dr. Sur!" Pant, with his big belly, was as enthusiastic as when they first met.

"I can tell you've been living well lately."

Ron tapped his belly with his hand, and Pant burst into laughter.

"Instead of seeking trouble, it's better to go with the flow."

He said something quite philosophical.

"When did you start contemplating Zen?"

"Cut it out, this is my life philosophy.

Oh, right, this is Luca?

From Brazil."

"Hello, mate."

The two shook hands, considering it a greeting.

It wasn't their first meeting, but they were clearly not yet friends.

"Let's get down to business first.

Are the goods ready?" Ron asked.

"Pretty much all here," Pant pointed to the warehouse behind the courtyard, "You can come pick up the goods tomorrow."

There were more goods this time, several times the amount from before.

As was customary, Ron had someone count them first.

Luca also personally got involved; a business worth nearly three hundred thousand US dollars was not something he could be careless with.

Before long, he came back with the list, a look of confusion on his face.

"The quantity is fine, but why has the manufacturer changed again this time?"

"It's all the same medicine, the efficacy is definitely fine."

Pant waved his hand dismissively.

"These manufacturers are all legitimate companies.

As channel providers, we naturally choose whoever has the best goods."

"Write down the names of the pharmaceutical manufacturers.

If you're not in a hurry to pick up the goods, you should check them first," Ron turned to Luca and offered his suggestion.

He was just an intermediary; theoretically, he should be doing his best to facilitate this transaction, take his cut, and leave.

But since it was medicine, something for people to use, it was better to be cautious.

"I'm going out to call my brother."

Luca took out a satellite phone, walked out of the courtyard; this was something they needed to discuss internally as well.

Pant watched with a cold eye the whole time, not urging anything.

Only after Luca left did he quietly remind Ron by his ear.

"Hadkhan personally inquired about this batch of medicine, you understand?"

"What do you mean?" Ron's eyes flickered slightly.

"Don't you get it?

Hadkhan wants to get involved in the medicine business.

These manufacturers are all arranged by him; I'm just an employee."

"So, is there a problem with this batch of medicine or not?"

Pant was silent for a moment, then replied, "No problem."

"I've been meaning to ask you, last time someone came to steal your business, and there was a shootout, how was it resolved in the end?"

Ron was very curious about this matter; he only vaguely remembered it was related to the Shiv Sena, also known as the Shiva Army.

However, he wasn't that familiar with Pant at the time, so he didn't ask much.

Now that they had some acquaintance and were more or less on Hadkhan's side, they could be considered insiders.

"The ones who stole my business were the Shiv Sena, the current masters of Mumbai."

Pant smiled, a very strange smile.

"Back then, they were as poor as mad dogs, daring to do anything to get money."

Ron couldn't help but think of Thackeray's villa, that nouveau riche style of doing things, which was still fresh in his memory.

"You know, they were really poor back then, they didn't even have money to pay bail for their subordinates.

Then somehow, they set their sights on my business!"

Pant's tone was resentful; this matter still infuriated him to this day.

"Later I found out it was that bitch Elizabeth who, in order to get the support of the Shiv Sena, revealed my business to them."

"Madam Elizabeth?" Ron heard another familiar name.

"Exactly!

That slut had just arrived in Mumbai and desperately needed the protection of local forces.

The Shiv Sena were capable fighters and short on money, a perfect partner."

"You went to the Palace, they figured out you were weak, and then turned around and sold you to the Shiv Sena?"

Facing Ron's guess, Pant remained silent; that was pretty much how things happened.

The difference was that he wasn't "weak"; he had been scraping by in the Persian Gulf for many years and had quite a few desperate men under him.

However, he was facing the Shiv Sena, among whom were people with genuine military backgrounds; many of their thugs came from the National Volunteer Corps.

What happens when a brave and ruthless gang meets a regular army?

The outcome is obvious.

"Did Hadkhan settle this matter later?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Pant twitched the corner of his mouth, "He spent a large sum of money to satisfy the Shiv Sena.

The price was that 90% of the profits from the medicine business would go to him from now on, and the remaining 10% to me."

Ron took a light breath; he finally understood why Pant was so unhappy.

Everyone else respectfully called him Had Bhai, but only he called him by his name, Hadkhan.

Going from being a self-made smuggling boss to being a subordinate gang leader, and having to hand over most of the profits, the treatment was naturally vastly different.

"Hadkhan is a guy who eats people without spitting out the bones."

Pant glanced at Ron and smiled again.

"You've already been eaten clean."

Ron raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

"Your travel agency, he earns over a hundred times what you do, but you haven't gotten a single cent," Pant said, laughing maliciously.

Ron shrugged, offering no further explanation.

He wasn't a gang leader under Hadkhan, so why would he get a cut?

Moreover, Ron didn't want to get too deeply involved with Hadkhan; just getting a little something was fine.

The more he took, the harder it would be to get out later.

His core business wasn't the travel agency; it was Sur Electronics.

"So you understand, there's not much I can do in the medicine business."

Pant had completely lost the spirit he had during their first transaction.

He had no hope of turning things around, let alone getting revenge.

Especially the Shiv Sena, who had soared to prominence using the unrest at the end of last year.

The government of Mumbai was nominally in the hands of the Congress Party, but those who were truly in power looked to the Shiv Sena for guidance.

Many times, Thackeray's words carried more weight than the Mumbai government; he was the "deep state" of Mumbai.

Over there, Luca seemed to have finished his call; he swept away his previous hesitation.

"Loading the ship tomorrow night, cash and goods cleared."

"No problem!" Pant readily agreed.

"See you tomorrow."

Ron said goodbye to him.

"Don't forget the customs, you guys handle that yourselves!"

Ron gave him an OK gesture; he was already clear on this kind of thing.

A business worth over three hundred thousand US dollars, this time, if it went well, the commission could be 100,000 US dollars, and a detached villa near Malabar Hill would be within reach.

"Ron, you go find customs, I'll go out to sea with people to pick up the money."

Luca started acting with urgency.

"So urgent?"

"Every day of delay is money.

This batch of goods needs to get back to Brazil as soon as possible, the faster the better."

"Alright, be careful yourself."

For the villa near Malabar Hill, Ron also became dedicated; he found Hari almost without delay.

"This time is unusual, you know, Mumbai is very tense right now, and you have a lot of goods."

Hari's eyes gleamed.

"So, what's your suggestion?" Ron became slightly wary.

"Ahem, I have a few colleagues who are very curious about the Palace."

Ron's expression became interesting; he thought the other party wanted more money, but it turned out they wanted to learn a foreign language.

He had heard Dijean talk about that place; it was full of foreign call girls, not a single Indian girl.

"I'll arrange it tonight, but my ship must sail on time tomorrow."

"No problem!" Hari excitedly nodded his head.

The name of the Palace had long since secretly spread throughout Mumbai, and these officials wanted to go too.

The most important thing was that Indian men could openly enjoy white women; that feeling of high-and-mighty conquest was enough to drive people crazy.

No one could resist the temptation of the Palace; Hari had long been drooling over it, having heard about the many tricks inside.

Now that he had finally found an opportunity, of course, he wouldn't easily let it go.

Although Ron agreed to take Hari to the Palace, in reality, he had no idea how.

He didn't even know where the Palace was, and as for Madam Elizabeth, Ron couldn't avoid her fast enough because of the land purchase last year.

There was no other way; to complete this transaction as quickly as possible, Ron prepared to go ask Johnny.

As Hadkhan's number one enforcer, he must know something about the Palace.

"Don't you have two foreign girls by your side?

Unsatisfied?" Johnny looked him up and down.

"Cut it out, I'm taking someone else."

"Go find Hela."

"Who?" Ron was shocked.

"Hela, she's more familiar with the Palace than I am."