King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

Joe Ga never expected that even the elite triple-pay-rate proposition from Tian Peng for mercenary work wasn't too high.

The near-suicidal mission of protecting the ambassador was actually just 80,000 yuan per person...

'Trigger' was a retired SEAL sharpshooter, 'Madman' was a Ranger, 'Hammerstrike' was from the Marine Corps.

When they set out, there were six people in the team; now only three were left.

These weren't the top-notch experts that Tian Peng kept on a long-term basis, they were temporary workers.

It was like a contractor taking on a job and only then starting to look for people.

These guys had it even worse, being forcibly assembled by Eric using the pressure of his financial connections.

They didn't even know each other a few hours before!

The consequence of the corporate-style military contracting company was this: in order to reduce costs and increase efficiency, those soldiers who weren't top-shelf experts just became a number on the company's performance record.

You complete the mission, I pay you; you die, I send three times your salary as consolation money to your family.

That's all there is to it!!

Calling 'Trigger' and his peers elite is fine, but actually, these guys, who are a notch below the top experts, are in the most awkward position.

They didn't qualify for the company-fed positions of 100,000 yuan annual salary plus bonuses, access to training camps, and so on.

Nor did they look down on the regular sign-ups with annual salaries of 30,000 to 50,000 yuan, whose long-term jobs involved patrolling in Afghanistan; they ended up in an awkward middle ground as temporary workers.

Such people actually don't earn too little in a year, and if willing to exert themselves, they can easily earn 100,000 to 150,000 US dollars a year, but if they die, the consolation money is a lot less than what contract workers get.

This wasn't the first time Joe Ga had heard about this situation, but it was the first time he understood that there were 'contractors' in the mercenary trade.

Such people are in contact with all the major military contracting companies, specializing in taking on the small projects outsourced by big companies, usually tasks related to security and defense.

Joe Ga truly wanted to get in touch with such people; with his business expanding, P·B couldn't keep up with the demand for manpower, and sometimes bringing in some temporary workers seemed like a good idea.

Like the Frenchman 'One-Eye,' everyone got along with him very well.

What Joe Ga didn't expect was that when he managed to get the satellite phone number for 'Trigger' and the other two and called them, the person on the other end, upon hearing who he was, hung up impatiently...

This really pissed Joe Ga off, and he deeply remembered the name 'Gunfire'!

Joe Ga didn't know that 'Gunfire,' who had rushed from Tripoli to support his comrades, was now lost in Benghazi and had no interest in answering business calls.

The guy had borrowed a private plane from an oil tycoon he was protecting, took two people, and risked parachuting into Benghazi, only to find upon landing that he couldn't locate his people.

.........

The P·B convoy got on the road smoothly; their destination was a small town on the eastern border of Benghazi and Fati named 'Ebidar.'

The workers were all from China's domestic communication companies, charged with restoring mobile communications in the east of Libya.

Ebidar had now become a battleground between the National Army and Al Qaeda, and those workers were trapped by the war!

The National Army's control over its territory was too weak, and the terrorists liked to fight in the city because they knew it would allow them to use civilians to avoid heavy firepower.

Ebidar wasn't too far from the gas fields, and they reached it in just over an hour, covering a distance of more than 60 kilometers.

But when the P·B convoy arrived at Ebidar, Joe Ga discovered they couldn't get in.

The National Army had blocked the main road with tanks, armored vehicles, and rocket launchers, not advancing into the city but instead having a contingent of soldiers in armed pickups fighting terrorists within the city.

Even from several kilometers away, one could see fires raging throughout the city.

Joe Ga understood the situation; heavy weapons were completely useless in this kind of urban street battle and could only serve as meat shields, a role the National Army clearly couldn't afford, as human life was a bit cheaper for them.

Joe Ga disliked this situation intensely. He pulled Li Weiguo forward to negotiate, but to their surprise, the officer in charge of the defense line didn't give them any attention.

As Li Weiguo turned to seek help from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs via satellite phone, trying to put pressure on the National Army's Haftar, Joe Ga frowned and pulled out two rolls of US Dollar bills as a sign, then walked up to the officer...

"I need to get in there. There are Chinese workers inside. Give me some information, and all this money is yours."

The officer's eyes grew greedy at the sight of the two rolls of bills, and he picked up a radio to make a call...

Soon, someone on the radio responded...

"A group of Chinese are trapped in the market on the eastern side; we're engaged in fierce battle with the terrorist organization right now and can't check for more."

The middle-aged officer glanced at Li Weiguo, who was anxiously making a call, then said with feigned concern, "Your convoy can't get through the city, especially those buses."

As he spoke, he naturally took the bills from Joe Ga's hand and stuffed them into his pocket, then said, "You can go in. I'll notify my men to mark you as friendly, but it would be best if the buses stayed put. We'll protect them."

How could Joe Ga possibly trust this guy?

He turned his head to signal Antar, then looked around and pointed at a dozen old military trucks parked on the gravel surface, saying, "I want to buy 6 trucks. Give me a price. You know they won't be of use anymore..."

The officer surely understood that what Joe Ga was implying was many of his people would die.

However, selling military supplies in front of everyone like this still made him hesitate.

Joe Ga couldn't stand to see the officer's dithering, sneaky behavior, so he turned back to the vehicle, took out a small bag, walked up to the officer, and unzipped it to show him; 10 stacks of hundred-dollar bills were neatly packed inside, sealed in transparent plastic bags...

Seeing the officer still hesitated, Joe Ga pulled out one stack and stuffed it into his own pocket, saying, "Now there's ninety thousand left. Three seconds. After three seconds, the offer drops to eighty thousand..."

"Deal!"

The officer, who had never seen so much money, grabbed Joe Ga's hand and said, "I'll give you 6 trucks, but you have to wait for my men to unload the stuff on top."

Joe Ga glanced at his watch, nodded, and said, "15 minutes. You have 15 minutes..."

Li Weiguo, who had seen Joe Ga's actions while on the phone, quickly explained the situation over the phone and then walked up to Joe Ga, looking a bit embarrassed, and said, "Thank you, Hu Lang, things are just too rushed on my end..."

Joe Ga was waiting for Antar's reconnaissance results and just shook his head indifferently in response to Li Weiguo's thanks, saying, "We're all on the same side, no need to be so polite.

It's actually not impossible to force our way in, I just don't think it's necessary."

As he spoke, Joe Ga pointed at the trucks that were about to be delivered; he hesitated for a moment and said, "We're a bit short on personnel. Can you arrange a few truck drivers on your side?"

Li Weiguo found it amazing that Joe Ga not only paid 'road money' but also managed to secure trucks, which surprised him greatly...

"Yes, yes, yes, there's nothing much at the construction site except for drivers; I'll find a few who are brave enough to take charge of driving."

Joe Ga shook his head and said, "Three will do. I'll arrange for people to drive the other three. This time we'll split up. My men will find a safe route. Part of my team will escort you ahead through Ebidar to the eastern highway and wait for me.

I will bring 6 armored vehicles and three trucks to pick up those workers..."

As Joe Ga spoke and saw Li Weiguo about to interject, he shook his head and said, "For this, you have to listen to me. All you need to tell me now is who's in charge of those workers."

Li Weiguo knew it wasn't the time for pretense; he nodded decisively and said, "The person in charge of the workers is called Zhao Shiyi, in his fifties, with a buzz cut, dark and lean.

Once you find him, just let me talk to him.

Oh, and bring a national flag; they will trust you!"