"My dear brother."
Yusuf delivered a soul-striking greeting upon arrival.
"You don't look very well, did you overindulge in lamb last night?"
He assud Song Heping was not acclimated to the local water and soil.
Last night at his ho, a few people had consud two whole sheep.
"No, no, no."
Song Heping felt sowhat embarrassed, but still pretended nothing was wrong.
"I just didn't sleep well last night, too excited."
"Oh! I am also very happy, knowing you is my honor."
Yusuf was a born lackey, always speaking pleasantly.
"Let's go, no ti to delay, I've arranged everything. We'll go check the goods now, and you can take whatever you want."
The group got into the car.
Song Heping and Samir sat in the front, while Disaster Star and Hunter flanked Yusuf in the back seat.
Seeing this arrangent, Yusuf felt completely secure.
The SUV quickly left Baghdad, speeding towards the outskirts of the city.
Baghdad imposed a curfew after nine-thirty at night.
Leaving the city at night was a very unsafe affair.
Not only was there the risk of attacks from resistance organizations, but also the need to confront jumpy Country M soldiers at various checkpoints within the city.
Luckily, both Yusuf and Song Heping had legitimate passes, and since those soldiers were used to seeing mbers of the Temporary Managent Committee hiring bodyguards for escort on official duties, the checkpoints they passed through didn't give them any trouble and waved them through.
Having left the city, a guilt-ridden Yusuf finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He began to prattle on about how big the munitions warehouse was and how complete its inventory.
The more he talked, the more anxious Song Heping felt inside.
After all, up to this point, he still couldn't think of a way to deal with such a huge quantity of munitions.
Only when they reached the outskirts of Fallujah, and the car veered off the main road onto a dirt track and drove south for over ten kiloters, did a small town suddenly appear in the night ahead of them.
Under Yusuf's guidance, the SUV stopped in front of the gates of a massive warehouse on the north side of the town.
"This place used to be a lumber mill, specializing in importing wood for Saddam's palace construction. After the war, no one paid attention here, and who knew there was so much munitions hidden inside."
Song Heping noticed several Illigo soldiers guarding the entrance, all ard and ready.
Seeing the SUV stop at the gate, they nervously raised their guns in their direction.
"It's !"
Yusuf, sitting in the car, hollered out to the soldiers at the gate: "Basel! It's Yusuf!"
The soldiers relaxed upon hearing this.
A bearded lieutenant hurried over, peering cautiously into the car and then fixing his gaze on Yusuf in the back seat.
"Boss, who are they?"
"They are the bosses!" Yusuf replied irritably: "Haven't I told you? Soone is coming to buy goods tonight!"
"Oh!" Lieutenant Basel imdiately flashed his white teeth at Song Heping and the others, making a welcoming gesture with a beaming smile: "Gentlen, you can drive right in!"
He then turned and waved to the few ICDC soldiers at the gate.
"They are guests! Open the gate!"
The ICDC soldiers imdiately pushed open the gates of the lumber mill, clearing the entrance.
Song Heping suddenly realized that Yusuf and Basel were not first-tirs at this kind of business...
Their skilled actions and that nonchalant, ingratiating expression showed they had sold arms before.
Song Heping suddenly understood.
He thought about how people were getting rich selling munitions, and not just them.
Big corporations could obtain very favorable prices by putting pressure through the Country M military, but with nearly twenty thousand rcenaries in Illigo, there were countless small teams and companies, and the source of their munitions might be right here.
If the heads of these companies were a bit resourceful, they could also think of taking Yusuf's route.
Illigo...
What a barbarically fertile and wildly lucrative place it was.
The SUV stopped in the factory courtyard, and Yusuf got out and urged Basel: "Let's go to the rifle warehouse first!"
"Good."
Basel turned to Song Heping: "Boss, this way, please."
Rifle warehouse?
Just hearing the na, Song Heping imdiately realized that Yusuf hadn't been bragging before.
The munitions stockpile here was enormous.
And varied.
That's why they categorized different weapons separately.
Just the rifles alone took up an entire warehouse.
This gave a sense of the astonishing scale of the arsenal hidden inside the lumber mill!
The factory area was large, with lumber stacked all over the place—nurous thick logs were piled up in the open yard.
"My brother."
Yusuf pointed at the wood while walking: "Do you have a way to sell these logs? They are high-quality timber imported from Africa. The wood from Saddam's palace mostly ca from here."
This piqued Song Heping's interest.
He felt and examined the wood.
It seed to be rosewood.
"Damn!"
This kind of wood was also pricey back ho!
At such a volu...
He looked around.
There really was quite a lot.
Though Song Heping had never dealt in lumber, judging from the setup, this factory had at least thousands of logs.
"How much are you selling them for?"
"If you want them, my brother, I'll give you a deal—30 US dollars per cubic ter."
$30 per cubic ter?
Song Heping didn't know the market price, so he didn't dare to answer imdiately, but he still took note of it.
"Do you have legal procedures for these goods? Can they be exported?"
"Yes, the Temporary Managent Committee will issue you with legal procedures. These are assets confiscated from the previous governnt, so they'll be dealt with at a low price. We will provide the docuntation and take care of the export permits for you, but as for your country, we can't help you with that."
Hearing Yusuf say this,
Song Heping seed to understand.
This was also a way for the Temporary Managent Committee to make money.
It's not that there was no use for timber locally.
But under the current circumstances in Illiguo, how many locals could afford to buy timber at this price?
$30 per cubic ter —many people don't even earn that much in a month.
Besides using so for themselves, those big shots in the Temporary Managent Committee were probably eager to sell these goods at a low price in exchange for US dollars for a sense of security.
Given how chaotic Illiguo was at the mont, even the bigwigs in the Committee didn't know how long they would stay in power. It's possible that the Country M bosses might dismiss them if they beca displeased, or they could be ousted from the center of power during struggles for dominance.
Having power but not using it before it expires is a waste.
This statent couldn't be more true in Illiguo.
"No problem, I'll contact you. Wait for my ssage."
In fact, Song Heping thought of Old Demon first.
Old Demon was good at doing business, especially in trading.
Old Demon had always handled the customs clearance for their partnerships in the past; he was experienced.
After the business collapsed, Old Demon lost a lot as well.
Now that he had made it, Old Demon returned to the country in disgrace, burdened with debts.
He couldn't forget this brother who had shared hardships with him for several months.
When the ti ca, he would call him and see if he was interested in this stuff.
If he was interested, he could set up a deal for Old Demon to make so money and pay off his debts.
At last, the group arrived at one of the warehouses.
Basel led the way, unlocking and pushing open the door.
It was pitch-dark inside, nothing was visible.
Basel confidently walked to the side and pulled the switch.
Clack—
The sound of the switch activating echoed, and the warehouse was instantly illuminated.
Song Heping and Hunter, along with the others, couldn't help but exclaim in astonishnt—
"Wow!"
Wooden crates were everywhere.
There were also gun racks.
The warehouse was huge.
It covered several thousand square ters, at least.
If he had to estimate by eye, there were at least 80,000 guns here, if not 100,000!
The guns on the racks were covered in a layer of yellow moisture-proof paper, indicating they were brand new and unused.
Song Heping walked up to a neatly stacked pile of crates, bent down, and read the Russian letters on them.
He could only make out a rough idea.
Things like AK47 assault rifles, or AKM assault rifles, or RPD light machine guns...
He then went over to the gun rack, picked up a gun, and lifted the moisture-proof paper to find a gleaming AKM assault rifle underneath, with many spots still visibly covered in solidified yellow gun oil.
Clack—
Song Heping expertly pulled the bolt, checked the action and firing pin, then peered down the barrel.
Brand new!
Truly brand new goods!
Too beautiful!
For Song Heping, firearms were a form of art, an art of weaponry.
Deep down, every man harbors an inexplicable love for weapons, a gene ingrained from the days of early humans.
That kind of goods, and Harvey was getting them so cheaply!
Even if he added a 50% markup, reselling them would be profitable!
An AK47 assault rifle, Harvey would get it new for $50, and even with a 50% markup, it would only cost $75. Harvey's store sold second-hand ones for $150, so wholesaling them for $150 wasn't excessive, at least doubling the profit!
An AKM assault rifle, Harvey got for $100 apiece, retailing at $400. With a 50% markup, that's just $150 each, and selling them for $300 wouldn't be unreasonable—the profit margin was even larger!
Song Heping wished he could snap up all the goods here.
Suddenly, the warehouse issue popped back into his mind.
Even if he currently had one million dollars of liquid funds at his disposal, where would he store the goods after purchasing?
"Yusuf..."
He had to face this serious problem.
"There's sothing I have to tell you."
Song Heping decided to be sowhat frank and reveal that he hadn't secured a warehouse yet.
"I'd like to buy one million dollars' worth of arms. I have the funds for it, but I haven't found a suitable warehouse yet. Can you hold the goods for for a while? I'll find a warehouse and then make the purchase."
Yusuf was taken aback.
Song Heping hastily added, "I can pay a deposit first. I assure you that I'll have the warehouse ready within half a month, and this deal will definitely not fall through!"
Song Heping did not want to miss out on this opportunity to make money.
After saying this, he looked sincerely at Yusuf.
His request was indeed a bit excessive.
He was unsure if Yusuf would agree.
After all, when he had asked for goods the night before, they had arranged it imdiately. They had even risked danger to bring him out of the city to see the goods late at night, and now, just as they were about to finalize the deal, he was saying he didn't have a warehouse and needed to delay the transaction.
Anyone would have enough reasons to be angry.
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