Chapter 14: 14 Sudden Emergence of a Competitor

Having said goodbye to Boss Lu, Joe Ga set off once again, driving northward for nearly a hundred kilometers, and finally arrived at the agreed upon location by dusk.

He drove his pickup truck up onto a small mound, then Joe Ga turned to signal to Karman to arm himself fully before placing his HK416 assault rifle and a tactical vest with ballistic plates on the passenger seat.

He put on a lightweight flight jacket to cover the gun holster on his lower back, though the gun holster strapped to his right thigh was blatantly obvious.

Once everything was ready, Joe Ga got out of the car and dialed a number after opening the door.

After a tense wait of nearly an hour, as darkness was about to fall, two battered pickup trucks carrying a dozen armed black men arrived.

The spot Joe Ga chose for parking was quite cunning. This modest hill, no more than ten meters high, could only accommodate one vehicle on top, forcing any subsequent vehicles to park on the slope or on the grassland below. S~eaʀᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

This was to prevent any foul play from the other side, allowing him the high ground for a counter-attack if necessary, followed by a quick getaway in his vehicle.

The black guys didn't seem to recognize any issue with Joe Ga's choice of location. They drove up the mound to find no space to park, so they had to grudgingly get out, leaving the drivers to keep the brakes pressed, lest the two clunkers without handbrakes would slide down.

Joe Ga looked at the leading guy who was quite presentable and dressed cleaner than the others; he was Kilsa from the Xiluk People, whom he had briefly met in Kamu.

In Joe Ga's mind, this was a straightforward deal. He wasn't one to mince words, so instead he opened the tailgate of the pickup, pried open a wooden crate to show the AK74s inside, then gestured for them to stop and announced, "The goods are here, show me the money, and then you can inspect the goods."

Kilsa was very pleased with Joe Ga's straightforward manner. He glanced at Karman, who was leaning against the car door with the rifle in hand, then gestured for his two men to follow him as the three walked over to Joe Ga.

The final payment, along with an expedited fee totaling 300,000 US Dollars, wasn't made in cash. Kilsa chose to pay with gold instead.

Handing Joe Ga a leather bag containing approximately 6 kilograms of gold, Kilsa grinned and said, "Hu Lang, you are a man of your word. We like dealing with people like you, far more than those damned whites. You are a true friend to us."

Joe Ga weighed the gold in his hand as the microcomputer in the 'Universal Toolbox' quickly completed its analysis.

Approximately calculating the current price of gold, even if the purity of the gold he held wasn't quite up to par, its value after secondary refinement would still exceed 300,000 Dollars.

Joe Ga was very satisfied with Kilsa's attitude. While handing over an AK74 to Kilsa, and prying open a crate full of ammunition for them to load and test the weapon, he casually inquired, "Whites? Someone has been offering you arms?"

Kilsa handed the rifle to one of his men and pulled out a pouch of tobacco, offering some to Joe Ga. Noticing Joe Ga's disinterest, he stuffed a bit of tobacco in his mouth and began to chew as he elaborated, "The United Nations has enforced a weapon embargo on southern SD for many years.

Just last year, when the Kadin Clan and the Ernu people reached a peace agreement, some folks came around here peddling weapons.

Recently, an Italian has been peddling weapons to the Kadin people, and after making a profit, he turned to us. However, we, the Xiluk People, prefer to trust a reputable friend like you."

Joe Ga had a very poor impression of the Kadin people. Of course, as an arms dealer, Joe Ga couldn't claim any high moral ground and he did not want to get involved in their conflicts.

But what he didn't expect was that someone would actually attempt to peddle weapons in southern SD to stir up tribal warfare.

The approach was particularly distasteful: selling weapons to the Kadin Clan and then turning to the oppressed Xiluk People.

Joe Ga couldn't grasp the thought patterns of the other party, nor did he know what they intended to do.

However, he realized that if the local tribes people lacked sufficient crisis awareness, South SD might soon become a cesspit. This information was extremely important, and Joe Ga had to inform his fellow Chinese clients who were staying in South SD so that they could prepare in advance.

This Kilsa appeared very lucid, but the Kadin Clan was never clear-headed.

Joe Ga, who wanted nothing more than to rid himself of this trouble, did not press further. He coached the militiaman, who was not too familiar with 5.56mm bullets, on how to properly stack the magazine and watched as he unleashed 30 rounds into the open space in the distance.

Tossing the loose gold in his hand, Joe Ga said with a smile, "Then our deal is done."

Kilsa gestured to his men to move the weapons from the pickup truck to his own vehicle, then looked at Joe Ga with a slightly disappointed expression and said, "Your products are excellent, which shows that you have a great arms supply channel. If you want to establish a firm foothold in South SD, then you have competition. Don't you have any thoughts on that?"

Joe Ga could clearly feel that Kilsa had a misunderstanding about his identity, and it was likely caused by his Chinese identity.

After all, a Chinese person trafficking arms in both SD and South SD could indeed cause misunderstandings.

Clearly Kilsa was inciting him to deal with that Italian arms dealer, but where did Joe Ga have the strength to engage in such an affair?

However, these were things he couldn't openly discuss. Faced with Kilsa's question, Joe Ga smiled inscrutably and said, "Thank you for the information; I'll pay close attention to it.

There are many ways to solve a problem ..."

Kilsa had dealt with many Chinese and cleverly filled in what Joe Ga had left unsaid, then, with a sudden look of realization, burst into laughter and said, "Hu Lang, you are a capable person. You can certainly solve problems.

Thank you for the help you've provided us. We'll come to you first for anything we need in the future."

Joe Ga thought to himself 'I wish you wouldn't', but his face showed a smile as he nodded and said, "As long as I'm in SD, we can collaborate. I hope my guns can reach those in need, to protect themselves."

The deal went unexpectedly smoothly. Kilsa's men briefly counted the bullets, test-fired a few selected guns, and then left.

Joe Ga watched them leave, then turned to Karman with a furrowed brow and said, "Do you feel something's not quite right?"

Karman shook his head and replied, "If you mean they paid quite readily, then yes, it's a bit unusual, but isn't that a good thing?"

Joe Ga shook his head and said, "That guy wants to use me to confront that so-called Italian arms dealer, and I can somewhat understand his thinking.

But his eagerness makes me uneasy."

Saying this, Joe Ga got into his car, took the initiative to put on his tactical vest, then placed his HK416 by the car door, and said to Karman, "Get in. We'll speed up and head back. I hope my premonition is wrong ..."