Convenience Store Manager: Ran entered at the Start

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Black Market Contacts: 16, 18, 22

Early morning.

"Checkout."

A middle-aged man placed a bento box on the counter.

"500 yen."

As Akira looked up, a ripple of surprise flashed across his otherwise calm face.

At the same time…

The man on the other side of the counter felt something was off.

Their eyes met.

Akira's mind instantly flashed back to the night before last.

That night, this very man had tried to make some quick cash by robbing him at knifepoint. But

instead of an easy payday, he had been beaten so badly that he barely managed to crawl away

from the dark alley.

"It's you?!"

The would-be robber gasped, his face filled with shock and now, undeniable fear.

He never expected to run into Akira again—let alone discover that he was running a

convenience store on this very street.

Memories of Akira's effortless and brutal combat skills resurfaced in his mind…

His legs almost gave out.

"500 yen. Pay up."

"Don't try anything funny."

The man nodded furiously.

Like hell he would dare!

Even with a knife and a mask, he had been no match for Akira. Now, in broad daylight, he

didn't even have the guts to think about it.

Without hesitation, he paid the 500 yen.

As he walked out of CLOVER Convenience Store, he kept glancing over his shoulder every few steps,

terrified that Akira might suddenly attack him from behind and drag him to the police.

"A robber…"

Akira shook his head helplessly.

Mikacho was truly a chaotic place.

One moment, a robber walks in. The next? Who knows, maybe a serial killer.

Who could predict these things?

Ding-dong—

"Welcome."

The store's automatic door chime went off again.

But this time…

It wasn't a new customer.

It was him again.

The same guy who had just left now stood at the entrance, cautiously looking around. Once he was

sure there were no other customers inside, he walked straight to the counter and lowered his voice.

"Boss… do you still mean what you said last time?"

As he spoke, he subtly gestured with his hand—a finger gun.

Akira instantly understood.

Ah, so that's why he came back.

Perfect.

His casual remark from before had worked.

His first arms deal customer had voluntarily come knocking.

"Come with me."

Akira wasn't about to let this deal slip away.

He had already considered the risks of selling firearms.

After two days of careful analysis…

There was nothing to fear.

The law required evidence.

All his weapons came from the system's inventory. He would only place an order when a buyer

approached him.

Even if his customers were caught and snitched on him, so what?

The police wouldn't find anything illegal in the store—only the standard merchandise on the

shelves.

No supply chain.

No records.

No evidence.

Akira led the man into the storage room.

Then, he handed him a brand-new Glock 17, unloaded.

The man's eyes lit up with greed.

"How much for this?"

Holding the truth in his hands, his voice trembled with excitement.

"500,000 yen."

"Bullets are 1,000 yen per round."

Akira had only spent 1 yen to acquire the gun.

Selling it for 500,000? A massive profit.

And on top of that, he would earn 10,000 system experience points.

All for a risk he had already deemed insignificant.

"Not bad."

"That's actually pretty fair."

Despite saying that, the man frowned.

Not because he was afraid of Akira.

A brand-new Glock at that price was reasonable, but getting his hands on half a million yen wasn't

going to be easy.

"Hold onto it for me."

"I'll gather the money and come back."

His expression hardened with determination.

Damn it.

It's time to level up and dominate the streets!

Akira was right.

How could he expect to succeed in the business with just a knife?

A gun would increase his robbery success rate exponentially.

A knife? Intimidating, sure.

But a gun? That was power.

"No need."

"Take it now."

"Once you've robbed enough to cover the cost, bring me the money."

The man froze.

Did he hear that right?

Was this really happening?

"W-What did you just say?"

"Fifty rounds."

"Come back if you need more."

Akira had just given him the gun in advance.

Not out of kindness.

Not because he was naive.

He simply couldn't wait any longer to open up the black market in Mikacho.

And step one?

Make sure people know where to buy guns.

By giving this guy a gun, he was ensuring that after a couple of successful heists, word would

spread—

CLOVER Convenience Store sells weapons.

"Boss…"

"My name is Yamamoto."

"I swear I'll pay you back."

Despite being a robber, the man's face was filled with sincerity.

But toAkira, that didn't matter.

All that mattered was that Yamamoto would go out there and advertise for him.

…..