Fatal Strike: Paladins Mercenary Road

Chapter 790 Trade Preparation
Venezuela and Cuba, two American countries that have long been subject to US sanctions, possess unique natural geographical advantages...

Venezuela has a per capita natural gas and oil reserves of over $150,000, ranking it among the top 20 in the world.

Cuba boasts the world's largest nickel reserves, with per capita mineral resources valued at $2.3.

In terms of per capita resources alone, these two institutions are many times stronger than the University of Tokyo.

In the past, many people even believed that Venezuela was the country most likely to achieve socialism.

Unfortunately, the sanctions imposed by the United States led to a major recession in both countries. The shortage of foreign exchange resulted in an extreme lack of goods in their countries, and the purchasing power of the currency held by ordinary people dropped to a very low level.

Cuba is actually doing relatively well. Their abundant natural resources, coupled with tourism and nickel exports, have helped them maintain basic national stability. Although they still face a severe shortage of foreign exchange, the lives of ordinary people are not particularly difficult.

But Venezuela is in a different situation. They face an 80% shortage of goods, with supermarket shelves often empty, making it impossible to buy anything even with money. Currently, over 45% of their population lives in extreme poverty.

The blockade imposed by the United States has plunged two countries that should have been prosperous into an abyss...

Venezuela itself was also disappointing; they didn't plan ahead at all before forcibly pushing for the nationalization of the oil industry...

Although they ultimately succeeded, the results showed that the cost of extracting Venezuelan super-heavy crude oil was far higher than they had anticipated. In addition, the lack of advanced extraction and refining technologies further increased costs.

Finally, their promises of welfare to the people were added on top of this, which meant that the price of crude oil had to be above $80 per barrel in order to maintain high welfare and make a profit.

Why was the Shah the richest one because he wore a piece of cloth on his head?
This is because their total production cost for crude oil is only $10 per barrel, and the break-even point for the energy economy is around $25. In other words, no matter how international oil prices fluctuate, as long as they remain above $25, they can make a profit.

The United States claims to control global energy, but its domestic shale oil industry has consistently failed to develop because the economic break-even point for shale oil is only $70...

Currently, international oil prices are fluctuating wildly, with the average price of crude oil around $45. If we only consider economic factors, then no matter how much shale oil is extracted in Venezuela and the United States, it will result in losses!
If Mountain Eagle wants to do shady business, he definitely can't do business with Venezuela economically, because he'll lose money if he sells to them, and he'll lose even more if he doesn't sell.

This desolate place has almost no local industry, and 80% of its goods need to be imported. What Mountain Eagle wants is to exchange industrial products for energy, and instead of going through formal channels, it wants to settle accounts through barter in a semi-underground manner.

This requires someone to scout ahead, and the best candidates are among the Arctic fox's family members...

The infamous 'Hunter Training Camp' is located in Venezuela, where a large number of mercenaries have been exported for more than a decade.

Among the Arctic Fox members who died were Venezuelans, and because of the existence of a 'pension', that family did not live a particularly good life, but it was quite respectable in Venezuela.

Mountain Eagle had no contact with those people, but Blood Fox knew and understood them...

After roughly finalizing his initial idea, the mountain eagle finally emerged from the cabin and found the blood fox...

Blood Fox was also extremely busy. He had orchestrated and directed this farce, sending Xiao Wan and the others all to Razer's hometown, which naturally left the camp short-handed...

With Mountain Eagle taking the initiative to handle the food arrangements, the remaining trivial matters were left to the old fox, Blood Fox.

He also transported the prisoners held in Anchorage to the Brown Bear Camp, and then concentrated them in a large warehouse.

The number of prisoners under the management of the Brown Bear Camp has now reached 215. Even if General Sid defectes with the remaining men, they will still have 183 prisoners to manage.

Bloodfox was responsible for classifying and managing these guys according to their affiliation, then filming and recording their statements one by one, and posting the videos on the dark web, demanding that their bosses pay 'war reparations'.

This compensation is not a ransom; it's just to keep them alive. If you want these people to be free, that's a different story.

For the past month or so, the underworld of the entire Americas has been in turmoil, all because of the old man Blood Fox stirring things up in the shadows. Following Mountain Eagle's instructions, he mobilized all his connections to spread the news of the battle taking place in Alaska...

And 'war reparations' were the catalyst for its spread!
The Mountain Eagle, already famous for orchestrating the Snowden affair and facilitating negotiations between US and Russian intelligence agencies in Los Angeles, has now truly achieved widespread notoriety...

Most people in the lower and middle levels of the underworld are unaware of the Edward Foundation, but almost everyone knows the Sinaloa Cartel and European arms tycoon Alex Vincent…

Now that Blood Fox has released video footage of the prisoners and is openly extorting money from them, and has also declared that it will carry out brutal revenge, everyone has changed their opinion of Mountain Eagle.

This process, coupled with several shooting incidents in Mexico involving high-ranking officials in Sinaloa, has kept the Mountain Eagle constantly under scrutiny and scrutiny.

When Mountain Eagle found Blood Fox, the old man was making a phone call in his container room...

“You did a good job. I’ve contacted ‘Mission Accomplished’ and you can take their plane to Sonora tonight. There are a few targets there that you need to take care of…”

"........."

"Don't worry, I've already arranged a safe house. Someone will send you the target's location and movement patterns later."

Kids, this is business. If you want to make money, then taking risks is what you have to be willing to do!

"..." As he spoke, Blood Fox saw Mountain Eagle come to his door. After hanging up the phone, he checked the notebook in front of him, then took off his reading glasses and said to Mountain Eagle, "You need something from me?"

Mountain Eagle sensed that Blood Fox's tone wasn't good, and he said with a smile, "Of course I have something to discuss with you..."

I won't be leaving Alaska for the next few months, but business outside can't stop, so I'd like you to try and mobilize the Arctic fox descendants in Venezuela. I have a plan for trading supplies for crude oil; could you please send it to them? I'd like to know if my plan is feasible..."

Upon hearing this, Blood Fox painfully pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Supplies for energy? Venezuela?"

He rubbed his numb face vigorously, downed a cup of cold coffee in one gulp, and said helplessly, "Mountain Eagle, we still have a lot of things to deal with. Do you really think you have the energy to focus on so many things and problems?"

Mountain Eagle sat down opposite Blood Fox and nodded, saying, "The Alaskan matter needs to be settled, but the business outside can't stop."

Regarding Venezuela, I only have an intention for now. Whether it will actually work out depends on more information and investigation, and most importantly, on the ability of the person in charge.

I will be heading to El Salvador in June, and I need to get a detailed assessment before then.

This will determine my next plan...

Upon hearing this, Blood Fox rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on...

This old man is incredibly capable. Although he doesn't know much about trade, he's very clear about Mountain Eagle's current industrial layout and the reasons behind his actions...

Like playing chess, the mountain eagle has captured one of its opponent's pieces. While maintaining its territory by reinforcing itself, it is also planning to expand into more territory...

It means always thinking two steps ahead of others and completing the layout before the opponent even notices it.

This overly rapid pace of expansion was making it difficult for Blood Fox to keep up.

After hesitating for a few minutes, Blood Fox sighed and said, "I'll contact Ricardo's family, but I can't guarantee what the outcome will be."
The situation in Venezuela is very bad; money alone cannot make a difference there.

Mountain Eagle nodded nonchalantly and said, "I'm not in a hurry. I'm just giving it a try. There are many people in Chavez's faction. As long as we can get in touch with one of them, the deal may be possible."

In reality, Venezuela's needs are rigid, and I can easily switch to other targets.

Bloodfox didn't need Eagle's reminder in this regard; as a veteran KGB officer, he knew better than anyone how to find politicians to cooperate with...

Bloodfox jotted down Mountain Eagle's request in his notebook, then flipped back a few pages and said, "You've been busy for the past few days. State Trooper Reddick called several times but you didn't answer, so he called Old Ruby..."

You need to pay attention; the FBI hasn't given up the investigation!

The mountain eagle paused for a moment, then turned to look outside...

The heavy snow has stopped, but temperatures in central Alaska have dropped to below -40 degrees Celsius, and nighttime temperatures could even reach around -50 degrees Celsius.

The FBI still hasn't given up under these circumstances? That's not like American civil servants at all!
Just as Mountain Eagle frowned, Blood Fox smiled and said, "You need to think of a way. If the FBI catches you, the Brown Bear Camp will have a tough time in the future."

You need to find a way to distract them and shift the blame...

This shouldn't be difficult for you!

Mountain Eagle nodded slightly upon hearing this, then smiled and said, "That devilish woman Dalia has been avoiding me lately. Did she ask you to pass these words on to me?"

Blood Fox sighed and said, "Dalia is only thinking of you. You've already deducted her salary for this year, so you don't have to scold her every time you meet..."

I'm over sixty years old, and I'm finding this kind of high-intensity work a bit too much. You could let Dalia take over some of the work; it's not good to have her running around between the warehouse and the kitchen all day.

"That's enough punishment after so many days!"

As Bloodfox looked at the amused expression in Mountain Eagle's eyes, he sighed and said, "OK, I promise I'll never interfere in your family affairs again..."

Dalia told me that a woman named Kate called her, tentatively inquiring about what was happening in Alaska, and that she felt this Kate was the key to solving the FBI problem…

After listening, Mountain Eagle frowned, thought for a moment, and nodded slightly, saying, "Kate from the Bangkok team..."

This wicked woman came to my door herself, which means I have what she wants!

This is getting interesting!

(End of this chapter)