All arms shipped from Ukraine essentially are loaded onto ships in Odessa before being sent to various corners of the world. When Grand Ivan was in control, this was the procedure, and now that Gao Yang has taken over, this is still the way it’s done.
Of course, for Gao Yang, the source of arms is not limited to just Ukraine. Russia is also a major supplier of arms. But currently, Gao Yang mainly exports arms from Ukraine unless he is left with no choice or the Ukrainian warehouses lack certain items. Then he might consider exporting from other sources.
There is a reason why the focus is on Ukrainian arms. Traditionally, Ukraine itself was Grand Ivan’s arms warehouse. All the weapons that the Ukrainian Army could use—those not listed in Ukraine’s military equipnt inventory—were stored there. Grand Ivan neither could nor needed to build any warehouse himself; he would just transport them out of Ukraine’s stockpile when needed.
However, the situation is different now. With the civil war in Ukraine, the Ukrainian army naturally needs to arm itself. Weapons that Ivan could freely transport at any ti are now being used by the army for fighting. The weapons stored in the warehousing have been continuously requisitioned and consud on the battlefield.
Bullets, shells, rockets—Gao Yang doesn’t worry about these being used by the Ukrainian military, because the stockpile is enormous. Considering the scale and intensity of Ukraine’s civil war, unless it continues for tens of years, the ammunition reserved for World War III will certainly not run out.
But with cannons, tanks, and armored vehicles, Gao Yang feels a bit more distressed—even if they aren’t his own. These items have limited numbers. With Ukraine’s army logistics now exemplifying inventory consumption, every lost or damaged piece in battle doesn’t get replaced.
So now, Gao Yang must race against the Ukrainian governnt’s military—get the arms belonging to Grand Ivan out before they are used by the Ukrainian army. Thus, he prioritizes exporting Ukraine’s arms rather than those stored in Russia.
Ukraine now serves as the supply base for Grand Ivan’s entire arms group. Be it South Arica, Africa, Asia, or the Somalia supported by Gao Yang—these places have maintained a steady supply.
Grand Ivan doesn’t co out, nor do Uriyangko and Ivan. However, the arms networks in these areas haven’t been completely cut. They are still selling, just not as much and primarily rifles and ammunition, the smaller pieces.
Rifles, bullets, grenades—such small items are easy to transport. Say there’s a shipnt to the Middle East: only a few thousand rifles, hundreds of thousands of bullets. No need for a dedicated large ship; just hide these among regular goods, then unload and redistribute them upon arrival at their destination.
Larger items like tanks and cannons aren’t so lucky. When larger quantities are involved, a special ship must be arranged, disguises applied, and an entire shipload of large arms transported out. This requires coordination of the checkpoints they need to pass, adding hassle and costs. Thus, Gao Yang can continuously send small arms to Somalia, but for large items, he collects a batch before shipping. With logistics always tight, so items stored temporarily in Odessa will wait for their turn to be shipped out.
All these factors have made Odessa the major transit hub for Grand Ivan’s rchandise. Everything needs to be loaded onto ships from here, and naturally, many hands are needed for operations, along with a competent manager to oversee everything.
The person Gao Yang wants to et oversees the shipnt of arms from Odessa, appointed originally by Grand Ivan and once under Andre’s managent.
With Grand Ivan absent and Andre dead, the person in charge at Odessa naturally falls under Gao Yang. However, Gao Yang has only spoken to this person a few tis over the phone and has never t him in person. Since he’s now in Odessa, he would take the chance to et this key figure.
Rebrov drove while Gao Yang made calls. Though it wasn’t polite to wake soone up in the rainy dead of night to arrange a eting, it is an entitlent of the boss, isn’t it?
"Kanchelskis, hello, I’m Peter. I’m here in Odessa for so errands and have the ti for us to et."
Upon hearing Gao Yang’s voice, Kanchelskis was noticeably nervous. He smiled awkwardly and said softly, "Peter, what brings you here in this weather? Where are you? I’ll co see you right away."
Gao Yang smiled and said, "I’m almost at the port. You pick a place, and I’ll co over. It’s no problem."
"No, no, I’ll co see you. Just tell the place, and I’ll be on my way. I’m stepping out now!"
Gao Yang glanced around and laughed, "Okay then, let’s et at the gate leading to the docks. I’m in a blue car. Give a call when you’re close."
Kanchelskis turned out to be quite reliable, and his work had always been good—a given considering Grand Ivan and Andre wouldn’t have placed him in such a crucial position otherwise.
After waiting a good ten minutes, a car sped up, but it didn’t pull directly beside Gao Yang’s car. Instead, it stopped about two hundred ters away, where a person got out from the rear door and ran towards Gao Yang holding an umbrella.
A man in his forties, dressed in a neat suit, looking quite agile yet appeared in a rush. He arrived with his trousers wet from the puddles on the ground.
Gao Yang had already gotten out of the car early, watching the man approach and smiling, "No need to run, brother. We’re not in a hurry."
Stopping in front of Gao Yang, the man casually tossed the umbrella aside and gave Gao Yang a once-over, then sowhat hesitantly said, "You, you are Peter?"
Gao Yang smiled and replied, "That’s right, I’m Peter. First ti eting, how are you, brother?"
Upon hearing Gao Yang’s voice, Kanchelskis visibly relaxed after Gao Yang proactively opened his arms for a hug and cheek-to-cheek embrace, muttering, "Sorry, I should have been the one to welco you. I didn’t expect you’d co over at this late hour."
Rebrov handed over an umbrella and placed it over Gao Yang’s head. Gao Yang pushed the umbrella aside, smiled, and said, "No need."
Rejecting the umbrella, Gao Yang smiled at Kanchelskis and said, "I’m here for a small matter today. Having so ti after handling it, I thought to check on things here and apologize for disrupting your dreams."
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