I'm a Master in India

Ron, find someone else for the travel agency. I need to come back.

Why? Don't you like that job very much?

I should have been there yesterday,

Anand looked very guilty,

Those two Punjabi bastards absolutely wouldn't have gotten away with it. I would have given them a good beating, slapped their faces, pulled their hair, and poked their eyes.

Nonsense. That tall, skinny guy clearly wasn't someone to mess with. It wouldn't have made a difference whether you were there or not.

Ron mercilessly shot him down.

He had seen Anand's clumsy fighting style before. Forget beating the enemy, it would be good enough if he could tell north from south after a flurry of wild punches.

His short and stocky build also had no deterrent effect. It might have been different if Vinod had been there.

At least I would have been there to organize people to handle the security for the electronics factory.

Anand complained.

That's true,

Ron nodded,

You keep an eye on the travel agency for now. We'll talk after I find a suitable person to take over.

Sur Electronics Factory wasn't without security guards. Gurish, who used to be the doorman, was in charge of that.

But Ron wasn't satisfied with his performance. He only poked his head out from the crowd after yesterday's incident was resolved.

Ron didn't like sneaky people. He felt more at ease leaving security to his own people.

Anand might not be able to fight, but he was loyal. He also had a lot of prestige in the slum near the electronics factory, and people were willing to listen to his command.

Ron was also planning to find a few people from there to be his bodyguards. They were the first ones to follow him and were trustworthy.

Yesterday's Rashid and Amit were good. They weren't afraid to step up when something happened.

Ever since he heard a lot of inside information about crime in Mumbai from Ajay, he had put the matter of security to heart.

Who knows if someone might kidnap him because they need money to tip a dancer.

He didn't even have any family in Mumbai, so there would be no one to pay the ransom.

Besides bodyguards, security also included a car.

Sitting in a car can help you avoid a lot of trouble. Even if someone wants to do something bad, they won't be able to.

After arranging the work at Sur Electronics Factory, Ron made an appointment with Hari and Singh at the Taj Mahal Hotel.

Do you know where I can get an imported car?

Oh, that's a little troublesome.

Hari gave him a meaningful look.

Ron, who was already familiar with them, knew this usually meant it would have to be solved through smuggling.

India still had very strict controls on imported cars, with tariffs as high as 100%, which was no different from an embargo.

Why not consider Ambassador cars? They are also good.

Singh suggested.

At this time, Ambassador cars were considered the pride of domestic products, known as the "Wheels of India", and were one of the symbols of India's automobile industry.

Currently, only government officials, taxi drivers, and wealthy families would purchase Ambassador cars. They were truly local luxury cars.

I prefer a tougher style. Ambassador cars are too round.

Ron could only explain it this way.

The truth was, he didn't trust Indian manufacturing. What could you expect from the Three Brothers?

Even a humble abode can fall apart, so it's reasonable for a car to lose a wheel while driving, right?

Which model are you interested in?

Hari asked. He was a customs official and well-informed.

Ford Taurus.

Then you'll need at least 30,000 US dollars, which is one million rupees.

This price is quite a bit higher than I expected.

Ron frowned.

This car sells for $20,000 in the United States. After going through official channels and adding various taxes, it would cost at least $50,000 in India.

I know a car dealer. I can give him a call. $30,000 is pretty much the lowest price.

Okay! I'll get the money ready in the next couple of days.

Ron gritted his teeth and agreed.

Let it be expensive, at least it's more reliable than the Three Brothers' cars.

One million rupees. If I pool money from the travel agency and the Bollywood agency, it should be enough.

As for the money from Sur Electronics, I'll try not to touch it. That's for expanding the scale.

By the way, why did you suddenly want to buy a car? You clearly have an endless supply of taxis.

Singh was a little curious.

He remembered Ron always taking taxis because he ran a travel agency and had partnerships with many taxi drivers, so they were available on call.

I recently encountered something...

Ron recounted his previous experience.

Mumbai is getting more and more chaotic,

Singh sighed a little,

Extortion happens every day.

I attended a wedding yesterday. The host of the wedding invitation temporarily changed the location from the Race Course to an unknown small church.

Hari also began to share his observations. He had previously received an extremely luxurious wedding invitation.

The cover was exquisitely made, adorned with a small statue of Ganesha. It was wrapped in silk, and inside were cards representing different wedding events. A single card cost fifty to a hundred rupees.

However, when he opened the invitation, the location of the main wedding was hastily written on a small piece of paper, pasted in the most prominent position, as if it were a last-minute change.

They were targeted by the gangs long ago,

Hari explained,

Just like fat sheep, the gang members are wolves.

How do these gangs know whose family is having a wedding?

Ron asked.

Because the first people they target are those in charge of wedding catering. The latter have a complete list of guests.

Then how do the gangs screen the 'fat sheep' from the list?

Singh also became interested.

It's simple, through building contractors, household servants, interior designers...

Hari shrugged.

Ron also had to admit a fact: after the bombing, the number of young people joining gangs surged.

This unrest destroyed many people's livelihoods. With nowhere else to turn, they didn't care about so much.

Mumbai's police were surprisingly incompetent, and the gang势力 grew larger and larger, practically becoming one of the masters of the city.

See those guys in the corner?

Hari suddenly winked.

Ron and Singh turned their heads. There were five or six men eating and drinking heartily. Their movements were crude, completely disregarding the strange looks cast by the people around them in the lobby.

Those guys are gang members. They don't have to pay for themselves; the table next to them will take care of it.

At Hari's reminder, Ron and the others indeed noticed that a family at the neighboring table kept looking at those few people. Their expressions were nervous, and their faces were pale.

This is the Taj Mahal. Why didn't that family resist?

Singh frowned.

They either choose to pay obediently, or they choose to say goodbye to the new Toyota car they drove to the hotel.

Hari had seen this kind of thing many times. These thugs weren't even after money; they just wanted to enjoy a service at the Taj Mahal.

If they weren't in a gang, they would never be able to come to a place like this in their lifetime.

Everyone who seeks fame and fortune in Mumbai sees the Taj Mahal Hotel—this fortress symbolizing the glory of the empire—as a benchmark for them to strive upwards.

Because, like them, the Taj Mahal Hotel was born from humble beginnings.

After the founder of the Tata family was humiliated by the Watson's Hotel next door, he swore to avenge himself, and he succeeded.

Thus, the Taj Mahal Hotel became a symbol of self-improvement.

However, not everyone belongs here. The restrooms near the hotel lobby are an excellent place to test a person's self-esteem.

Theoretically, anyone dressed decently can enter the lobby to cool off or use the restroom.

But you need confidence from the inside out, to sit comfortably on the luxurious sofas, in the opulent restrooms, and show no fear under the gaze of top Arab billionaires, charming socialites, and the constantly moving doormen and cleaners.

If you cannot firmly believe you belong here, how can you make others believe it?

Of course, the thugs don't care about that. As long as they've been here, they'll have enough to brag about when they go back.

They will be treated as legends in the slum: Look, those guys have been to the Taj Mahal Hotel, they are so impressive!

Just as Ron and the others were secretly observing, several police officers suddenly entered through the door.

Leading the way was Ajay. He also spotted Ron. However, he didn't come over here. After nodding, Ajay went straight to the hotel front desk.

Guided by the lobby manager, Ajay walked towards the few thugs. They had long lost their swagger from earlier, each of them looking like mice seeing a cat, shrinking their necks and slinking away.

It turned out the lobby manager had secretly made a call. After all, letting thugs extort people in broad daylight at the hotel was really an eyesore.

The family at the next table was extremely grateful to Ajay. They had been targeted even before entering the hotel. If it weren't for Ajay, it was hard to say what else might have happened later.

Not only them, but other prominent figures in the hotel also got up one after another to greet Ajay.

Recent newspaper reports about Ajay in Mumbai were even more extensive than those about Ron back then. His progress in solving the bombing case was incredibly fast; it was said he had already arrested over a hundred suspects.

Elite individuals are always very enthusiastic towards people like Ajay who can truly protect their safety.

However, Ajay didn't stay long. He walked directly to Ron and sat down, attracting envious glances from everyone.

Those guys have been caught.

Who?

Ron was taken aback.

The people who kidnapped you,

Ajay took a sip of iced coffee,

We even uncovered a fake currency production ring.

Hari and Singh pricked up their ears. As officials, they didn't often hear the inside story of such big news.

Ajay explained that this batch of fake currency was printed at a printing press outside Islamabad. A few templates could print hundreds or thousands of fake rupees with Saint Gandhi's portrait.

Subsequently, these fake rupees were transported to Kathmandu and arrived in various parts of India by rail or road.

Once they entered the country, people would exchange them for small denominations of real currency, or mix them with real currency, turning them into cash for market transactions or spending at bars.

The interrogation of those two Punjabis led them to expose the entire transportation chain.

As expected, the Dawood gang was involved in the mastermind behind it. According to Ajay, he would soon face serious trouble.

Because he was also involved in the bombing, the Indian government would take serious action once there was enough evidence, even if he was in Dubai.

The issue of fake currency also made Hari and Singh quite emotional. They said there were rumors that the Reserve Bank of India would no longer handle 500-rupee banknotes.

This was because the proliferation of fake 500-rupee notes had seriously affected businesses.

This gave Ron a heads-up. From now on, all business transactions at Sur Electronics would go through the bank payment system.

Although the taxes would be a bit higher, it was still better than fake currency, right?

Not long after returning home, Kavya called again. She wanted to write a report about Sur Electronics.