1:45 PM. Makati gun range.
Jae-Min parked the GT-R in the basement. Killed the engine. Sat for a moment.
The two red dots from this morning had vanished before he opened the door. No one in the hallway. No sound. Just empty carpet and the faint smell of jasmine from the hallway diffuser.
He hadn't slept. Hadn't eaten. But his mind was sharp. Cold. Ready.
He stepped out of the car. Checked his reflection in the side mirror. Dark circles. Hollow cheeks. Dead eyes.
Good.
He looked like a man who had nothing left to lose.
Inside, the range was loud. Muffled gunshots echoed through the walls. The smell of gunpowder and sweat hung heavy.
Uncle Rico was waiting by the front counter. Beside him stood a man Jae-Min had never met.
Tall. Broad. Shaved head. A thick scar running from his left ear to his jaw. He wore a plain black shirt that barely contained his arms. A tactical holster peeked out from under his jacket.
"Jae-Min." Rico nodded. "This is Victor Galvez. Ex-Marine. Ran private security in Iraq for six years. Now he... procures things."
Victor looked Jae-Min up and down. Smirked.
"This the kid with sixteen million?"
"This is my nephew."
Victor extended a hand. Jae-Min shook it. The grip was crushing. Testing him.
Jae-Min didn't flinch.
Victor's smirk widened. "Not bad. Rico said you want hardware. Military grade. No paperwork."
"Yes."
"What kind of trouble are you in?"
"The kind that doesn't exist yet."
Victor raised an eyebrow. Looked at Rico. Rico just shrugged.
"Okay." Victor turned and walked toward a back door. "Come."
They followed him through a storage area. Past stacks of ammunition crates. Past weapon racks covered by tarps. Into a back office.
Victor closed the door. Locked it. Pulled out a tablet.
"Tell me what you need."
Jae-Min pulled out his phone. Opened his notes.
"Nine millimeter pistols. Glock 19 Gen 5. Four of them."
Victor nodded. Tapped the tablet.
"Shotguns. Benelli M4. Two of them."
"Tacical or standard?"
"Tactical. Extended tubes."
"Done."
"Rifles. Remington 700. Long range. Two of them. Plus scopes."
"What range?"
"Eight hundred meters minimum. But I need something custom."
Victor paused. "Custom?"
"A sniper rifle. Built from scratch. Surgeon Scalpel action. Heavy barrel. Adjustable stock. Suppressed. Calibrated for extreme cold weather."
Victor stared at him. "Extreme cold?"
"Minus seventy. Celsius."
The room went quiet.
"Kid, you know we're in the Philippines, right?"
"I know what I need."
Victor looked at Rico. Rico's face was blank.
"Surgeon Scalpel builds take time," Victor said slowly. "Three weeks minimum. Maybe four."
"You have two."
"Two weeks? That's impossible."
Jae-Min pulled out a thick envelope from his jacket. Set it on the table. It hit the wood with a heavy thud.
"One million pesos. Upfront. Cash. You deliver in fourteen days, there's another million in it."
Victor stared at the envelope. His jaw worked.
"Who the hell are you?"
"A customer."
Victor reached for the envelope. Thumbed through the bills. His eyes flickered.
"Custom suppressor adds another two hundred thousand."
"Done."
"I'll need to source the steel from a specialist in Pampanga. Cold-forged barrel. Cryo-treated."
"Whatever it takes."
Victor tapped the tablet. "Anything else?"
"Ammunition. Nine millimeter. Twelve gauge slugs and buckshot. Three hundred Winchester Magnum for the Remingtons. Ten thousand rounds of each."
Victor's hand froze over the tablet.
"Ten thousand."
"Yes."
"That's a small armory."
"It's a start."
Victor looked up. Studied Jae-Min's face. The dead eyes. The hollow cheeks. The absolute lack of fear.
"Rico." Victor's voice was low. "What is this kid planning?"
"A war," Rico said quietly.
Victor stared for a long moment. Then he went back to the tablet.
"Body armor?"
"Level IV plates. Six sets. With carriers."
"Knives?"
"Combat knives. Four. Plus two tomahawks."
"Optics?"
"Night vision. Four PVS-14s. Thermal scope for the Remingtons."
"Comms?"
"Eight handheld radios. Encrypted. Long range."
Victor added everything. The total on the screen climbed. ₱4,800,000.
"Four point eight million," Victor said. "Plus the two million for the custom build. Six point eight total."
"Transfer the money today. Deliver the standard gear in three days. The custom rifle in fourteen."
Victor closed the tablet. Leaned back.
"Delivery location?"
Jae-Min slid a piece of paper across the table. An address in Pasay. A warehouse near the port. One of his old logistics hubs.
"There. Back entrance. Midnight."
"Alone?"
"I'll have someone with me."
Victor nodded. Stood up. Extended his hand again.
"Pleasure doing business, kid. You're either a genius or completely insane."
"Can't it be both?"
Victor laughed. A real, rough laugh.
"Rico. Keep an eye on this one. He's going to either save the world or burn it down."
Rico didn't smile. "I'm betting on the first one."
They left the office. Walked back through the storage area. Past the weapon racks.
Jae-Min paused.
One of the tarps had shifted. He could see the edge of a metal crate underneath. Stenciled on the side in faded white paint was a symbol.
A serpent eating its own tail. An ouroboros.
Underneath it, a single word.
TAIWAN.
Jae-Min stared at the symbol. A cold feeling crawled up his spine.
In his first life, he had seen that symbol once. Sprayed on a wall in a military camp. Right before everyone inside vanished without a trace.
"Victor."
Victor turned. "Yeah?"
"What's in that crate?"
Victor glanced at the tarp. His expression flickered. Just for a second. Something like fear.
"Nothing you need to worry about, kid. Classified shipment. Passing through. I'm just storing it for a friend."
"Who?"
"Someone you don't want to meet."
Victor walked toward the exit. Fast. Ending the conversation.
Jae-Min watched him go. The ouroboros symbol burned in his mind.
Rico touched his shoulder. "Jae-Min. Let's go."
Jae-Min didn't move.
Someone was moving weapons through the Philippines. Stolen from Taiwan. Stamped with a symbol he didn't understand.
Not yet.
But he would.