Mercenaries, I Will Be King Chapter 174 - 154: Offering Fortune or a Death Sentence

Tribe leader Haymour's words took Song Heping by surprise.

In Song Heping's view, as the forr dictator, all the gold within Illiguo was considered Sadam's personal property. After the first Gulf War, due to sanctions, Sadam had been increasing his gold reserves, hence the existence of these one hundred plus tons of gold.

But to say he didn't know where his own gold was, wouldn't that be a joke?

Recently, Sadam had been captured by the US Army, and Song Heping thought they would soon get their hands on this batch of gold. However, he did not expect this old man to say that even Sadam himself did not know the whereabouts of the gold.

So, was it all for naught that the Persians spent one million dollars hiring him to capture Hassan, and the Aricans went to great lengths to catch Sadam?

Seeing Song Heping's confusion, Haymour asked, "Are you surprised?"

Song Heping admitted, "I am indeed surprised."

Haymour said, "The Aricans have found only several tons of gold so far, but in fact, Sadam had a total of one hundred and eighty tons of gold. He only knew about the whereabouts of approximately one hundred and thirty tons of that. He didn't know where the remaining fifty tons were."

"Before the US Army broke in, Sadam knew he couldn't hold them off, so he entrusted the gold to different confidantes to hide it in various locations. So were hidden in his palaces, so elsewhere in Illiguo, and he gave about fifty tons to his trusted man Hassan to deal with. This portion of the gold was intended to fund a resistance army."

"Before leaving Baghdad, he also withdrew one billion dollars in cash from the bank. Gold may seem to retain its value, but it's not practical to use; it's less convenient than US currency, isn't it?"

Song Heping nodded repeatedly.

The old man made sense.

Yet, he still couldn't believe that Sadam didn't control all the hiding places for his gold.

But one thing surprised him: the na Hassan matched up.

This added credibility to the old tribe leader Haymour's words.

If he could ntion the na Hassan, it ant his words were not unfounded; he was one of those in the know.

"So you're saying Hassan knows the whereabouts of this gold?"

Song Heping probed deliberately.

"No, no, no."

Haymour shook his head, "He knew at first, but then he didn't anymore. Because he ended up on the Aricans' deck of cards, all intelligence agencies were tracking him. It would only be a matter of ti before he got caught, so he handed over this batch of gold to soone he trusted very much."

Song Heping savored the old chieftain's words carefully.

So, did Avanti send him on a wild goose chase to capture Hassan?

And the one million dollars, was it just a waste?

Song Heping suddenly found himself amused, as if watching a dark cody: "You're not going to tell that you're that person, are you?"

"No," Haymour said. "Of course not . Otherwise, I wouldn't have needed to invite you here. However, I do know who that person is."

The amount of information contained in Haymour's words was overwhelming.

Gold.

Everybody wants it.

But Song Heping was even clearer about another truth—having the gold is one thing, spending it safely is another.

He wanted it, but feared it might burn his hands.

Assessing the veracity of Haymour's words was secondary.

After all, Illiguo had its own national conditions.

"Let's talk about your terms. I don't believe you would offer such wealth for nothing."

Song Heping cut to the chase.

Haymour said, "I can tell you the location of the gold. Once you have it, I'll provide you with every convenience and assistance. In return, you need to take this batch of gold and be responsible for selling it—I want half of the money you get."

Song Heping thought for a mont and said, "What makes you think I can sell this gold? If there are really fifty tons, like you said, dumping that much gold on the international market would cause so disturbance. It would definitely draw attention, not to ntion the channels through which I'm supposed to sell it. There can't be many people on the black market who could provide so much money."

"You can sell it to the Persians." Haymour's lips curled into a sly smile.

Persia...

Undeniably, that statent caused turbulence in Song Heping's heart.

Does he know about my relation to Avanti?

Has he heard about the affair in the country of turkeys?

Regardless, that affair could not be acknowledged.

Because acknowledgnt would an death.

Even if this old man ant no harm, he couldn't be sure he wouldn't spill the beans.

"I'm not familiar with the Persians."

Song Heping replied nonchalantly to Haymour, then continued sipping his tea leisurely.

"Stop lying to . I've lived long enough to see through so things," Haymour said. "You have contracts for the two biggest oil wells in the northern border region. Previously, no one could guarantee safety there. You went there, and in less than a month, you took down the headquarters of the Freedom Army.

Your thods last night were completely consistent with that, but you managed to take down the Freedom Army headquarters with the help of the Madheh Army, behind which are the Persians. You can't hide that from ."

Seeing that Song Heping remained composed, Haymour continued, "Before your assault on the Freedom Army headquarters, the Madheh Army carried out large-scale military maneuvers, creating friction at their border with the Freedom Army, deliberately diverting their troops. When they moved their forces to the western border, you launched a nightti surprise attack.

Such strategic planning doesn't co from your intuition; it cos from having solid, precise, and reliable intelligence."

He poured more tea into Song Heping's cup.

Then he continued, "I may be old and my eyes blurry, but my heart can see clearly. How could the Yijibai Tribe survive in the northwest of Illiguo for a thousand years without a certain power base? Young man, it's better to be honest in front of an elder."

In truth, when he ntioned the confrontation with the Freedom Army, Song Heping's heart had settled.

Because it was clear Haymour knew nothing about his deal with Avanti, the other deal, about the gold.

Sure, this can work.

The affair with the Free Army can be easily fobbed off by myself.

Even if the CIA finds out, it's no big deal—it won't cost my life.

As long as the matter with Persia remains secret, both myself and the company will be safe.

But still, I had to feign surprise. So, setting down the teacup, I pretended to be shocked and said, "It seems I've underestimated you, old chieftain. I thought you managed only your own little patch in this village, but it turns out you're well-inford, nothing escapes your eyes."

After a pause, pretending as though I'd struggled internally before making a tough decision, I said, "Alright, I admit I have certain connections with the Madheh Army. As you said, they have contacts with the Persians. I eliminated the Free Army purely for my own safety and, because of this, had so dealings with the Madheh Army. So, you can say I've had dealings with the Persians too."

Haymour showed a satisfied smile.

A glint of victory flashed in his eyes.

Domineering an opponent, winning them over—it was a matter of pride for a haughty leader.

"Excellent, since that's the case, it seems we can cooperate on this deal," Haymour said. "So, are you willing to work with ? Share that batch of gold. I offer you a treasure akin to Alibaba's, and all you need to give is so military supply and the cut I deserve."

Song Heping said, "There's sothing I want to clarify before I decide whether to cooperate with you."

Haymour raised his hand to gesture, "Go ahead."

Song Heping asked, "Since you know the whereabouts of the gold, why seek a partnership with ? Wouldn't it be better to go directly to the Aricans? Or can't you just retrieve it yourself?"

Haymour shook his head: "No, neither option is viable. The gold is guarded by an elite Suicide Squad, and even if I could endure heavy casualties to snatch it, I wouldn't be able to sell it afterward. If I went to the US Army, how much do you think they would pay ? Would they split it with or just take it all?"

Well, the old man's words did make sense.

"You seek , thinking I can surely get it and also dispose of it?" Song Heping countered.

Haymour replied, "As long as you can contact the Persians, they will definitely be able to help you liquidate it."

"I'm curious as to why you'd enlist a rcenary like for this job," Song Heping asked. "Our company's capabilities are not outstanding."

"If I approached Black Water, do you think they'd ingest the entire batch of gold?" Haymour replied.

After thinking it over, Song Heping laughed.

After all, cooperation is about finding a partner of equal strength.

If the partner is too strong, then even if the project is successful, the results aren't yours.

Sure enough, the old man was wise.

Engaging with , first, he was impressed by how I took down the Salafi Ard Organization headquarters, and second, my small company, even if it managed to get the gold, would have a hard ti shaking him off, which made it more reassuring. Plus, he was interested in my relationship with the Persians.

Indeed, the reputation I built up in Illiguo the past two months had its effects.

Otherwise, the old man definitely wouldn't have chosen to tackle such a significant venture with .

At the sa ti, Song Heping was calculating a math problem in his head.

If it indeed was fifty tons, that ant fifty thousand kilograms, over one and seven hundred thousand ounces.

After the war in Illiguo, gold prices soared to about 400 US dollars per ounce.

That ant, at a standard valuation, the fifty tons of gold would be worth around 700 million US dollars.

700 million US dollars...

Even cut in half, that'd be 350 million US dollars.

My god!

This was a fortune!

Just the deal from last night itself would set the company's shareholders on the path to financial freedom!

Song Heping felt his brain beginning to overheat.

Everyone knows there's nothing more alluring than gold.

But he cald himself quickly.

This math problem might look beautiful, but it involved huge operational risks. Even just the selling posed extre difficulties.

Not to ntion, handling fifty tons of gold isn't like moving fifty tons of sand. Once acquired, it had to be transported to Persia.

From this vicinity to the Persian border was nearly two hundred and fifty kiloters.

How would confidentiality be maintained along the way, and how could safety be assured?

If I could receive the information, what about the CIA?

Were they watching?

What about the Persians?

And what about Avanti?

Was this old man before bestowing upon a wealth of riches or serving a death sentence?

This needed to be thought through clearly.

One must remain calm in tis of great importance.

So many issues to consider.

"I'm quite interested in your plan, but I must think it through carefully," Song Heping said. "I need so ti to consider before I can give you an answer."

Haymour stated, "I've approached you for cooperation because I believe you are decisive and calm, and capable. I can't give you much ti to think—a re fifteen minutes. If you don't have an answer after fifteen minutes, then our discussion is over, and you'll forget what you heard tonight."