Fatal Strike: Paladins Mercenary Road

Chapter 963 The Counterintuitive Nuclear Material Trade

Nuclear materials themselves are nothing special, and while smuggling nuclear materials along the US-Mexico border isn't common, it's not a life-or-death issue...

But at this point, Kobe's entire focus had been diverted...

He will need to coordinate a great deal of work in the coming period, including sorting out how much nuclear material had entered the country through this smuggling route, and also digging out all the people involved to find their connection with the Angel of Death.

Most importantly, he needs to use the current situation to unite the forces of those involved in corruption and, with their help, complete the encirclement of the Angel of Death.

On the contrary, these nuclear materials are not as important as people imagine...

There is a very counterintuitive fact: the price of nuclear materials has never been high.

Commercially available enriched uranium with a concentration of 3% to 5% costs less than $1500 per kilogram.

This is the fundamental reason why many countries are vigorously developing nuclear energy...

Because the raw materials are cheap!
One kilogram of 5% nuclear fuel can generate approximately 57 kilowatt-hours of electricity, which is roughly equivalent to the power generation of 700 tons of coal.

How much would 700 tons of coal cost?
Based on the current median market price of $70 per ton, it would require nearly $5.

The market price of 18% nuclear fuel will not be outrageously high; it will be capped at $20,000.

However, there is a problem here: the trade in enriched uranium is subject to strict regulation, and it is difficult for ordinary people and even top tycoons to buy it on the market, so the smuggled price may be ten or even twenty times higher.

Even so, 6 kilograms of 18% enriched uranium would cost at most 200 million.

Of course, if it were sold to terrorists, the price could potentially increase tenfold, but first of all, the deal itself would be invalid, because no one could afford the consequences.

In the past, Mexican gangs smuggled nuclear fuel by the ton, and some of it was even just uranium ore that looked like dirt. They would transport those things from the port to the United States, and then American companies would take over.

These are not always illegal; they are simply non-compliant practices by U.S. nuclear energy companies in an effort to reduce costs.

This isn't something the US alone has done; many countries around the world have done it...

Go to the uranium mining area, contact the locals, buy the uranium ore at the price of soil and rock, and then transport it back...

A ton of uranium ore costs around $200,000, but how much does a ton of soil and rock cost?
The price difference can sometimes reach thousands of times, enough to tempt related companies to take risks.

Uranium is extremely dangerous, but talking about quantity without mentioning concentration is simply irresponsible...

Without sufficient processing methods, uranium ore itself is a type of soil and rock that is harmful to the human body.

Therefore, in the past, large criminal groups like the Sinaloa Corporation smuggled nuclear fuel by focusing on quantity, and their partners were invariably large American corporations.

They were investigated once later and found that this stuff was not only dangerous, but also much less profitable than drugs, so they gave up on it.

The 18% concentration of nuclear fuel currently present here is approaching the 20% upper limit for commercial nuclear fuel concentration.

This is a very sensitive concentration, especially given the threat of dirty bombs to the United States; the appearance of this stuff will certainly attract enormous attention.

Mountain Eagle now feels that if all of this was planned by the Angel of Death, then he must hate the people on this line very much and want to kill them.

Los Zetas was indeed reckless, but they weren't foolish enough to send this level of enriched uranium into the United States through their own channels to people they didn't know.

Therefore, there must be someone within the United States providing the guarantee, and it is very likely that it is a laboratory, because nuclear energy groups do not need this concentration of nuclear fuel; only those laboratories can use it.

Outsiders couldn't see clearly, but Mountain Eagle had by now figured it out: the Angel of Death wanted to expose a series of internal problems within the United States through this series of events. Whether his aim was to create unrest during the upcoming leadership transition in the US to alleviate pressure on ISIS in Syria, or if he had other motives, Mountain Eagle couldn't guess…

But one thing is clear: Death Angel will definitely not be satisfied with just a little bit of gain. Just as Mountain Eagle guessed at the beginning, Death Angel wants to negotiate and will definitely jump out on his own!
To put it bluntly, Mountain Eagle never felt responsible to the United States for the dirty bomb issue. His goal from the beginning was to use the situation to seek revenge and then find an opportunity to eliminate the Angel of Death...

Ideally, this would resolve the dirty bomb crisis; if not, then it's a problem inherent to the United States itself.

Even the Mountain Eagle believed that as long as the Death Angel lived, the dirty bomb would not explode!

Because the actual power of a dirty bomb is really small, it poses no threat at all if it's in a remote place.

According to intelligence, the Angels of Death had previously detonated a dirty bomb in a remote town in the eastern United States to prove that they possessed it, but the damage was minimal. After the news was blocked, Americans had no idea what had happened.
The reality is that this thing will only be effective as a deterrent if it is placed in the heart of America, in areas where housing prices exceed $10 per square meter, and only when it is not detonated!

If a dirty bomb were to explode, it would be a second 9/11, and ISIS would inevitably be plunged into an abyss of destruction. In fact, much of the Arab world would face rejection from secular politics.

A guy who can manage to mobilize so many people wouldn't do something that doesn't benefit him.

Therefore, the Mountain Eagle couldn't possibly be as anxious as Kobe; his focus was completely different...

Just as Kobe had his men take over the scene and started loading the women and children into the vehicles, a convoy of police cars and civilian vehicles had arrived just a few kilometers from the farm.

Mountain Eagle didn't have time to stay and comfort the little girl who was so dependent on him. After repeatedly instructing Kobe to get these people across the border, he turned around, got into a car, and drove to the previous battle site. Under the watchful eyes of Department of Homeland Security field agents, he removed the Vulcan helicopter from the crashed Black Hawk helicopter, loaded it into the car, and then met up with Robin and Galahad. They set up a deadly trap on the road near the farm...

Galahad watched as Mountain Eagle drove the pickup truck up to his position. The old man stood up, supporting his still aching back, and looked on in astonishment as Mountain Eagle single-handedly carried the heavy Vulcan truck down, and then actually lifted the huge ammunition box to the ground with one hand.

The old man was aware of what was happening at the farm, but he didn't know the specifics...

Seeing the mountain eagle's determined look, Galahad shook his head with a sigh and said, "What are you doing?"
First they deployed Claymores on the road, and now it's Vulcan...

Mountain Eagle, we're not even sure who the people coming are.

There are police cars in the convoy, if we..."

Mountain Eagle set up a tripod and hammered rivets into its supporting legs. As he deftly set up the Vulcan, he coldly said, "Los Zetas' main force is tied up in Nuevo Laredo. It seems they're preparing to completely trap those special forces personnel and then negotiate with the Mexican authorities."

Los Zetas couldn't possibly send anyone here, and the police in New Laredo certainly couldn't send anyone either. So either it was someone sent by 'Arthur', or someone who wanted to kill Kobe.

I prefer the latter...

I promised Kobe I'd help him crack down on corruption along the US-Mexico border, and I'm keeping my word!

Galahad watched as the mountain eagle skillfully adjusted the 'Vulcan' and nodded slightly, saying, "That whip strike must hurt a lot..."

As he spoke, Galahad took out an infrared telescope and looked down at Robin, who had already planted Claymore mines and was now retreating towards the hillside...

Galahad sighed and said, "Thirty broadswords, how could those mercenaries lose with so much stuff?"

Mountain Eagle didn't explain much. He smiled and tested the Vulcan's electric shock. After confirming that the device was working properly and could be activated, he glanced at his watch and said with a smile, "Perhaps it's because evil can never defeat justice!"
Keep a close eye on them. Once we're sure they haven't left any survivors, we'll head to the New Laredo time zone to capture 'Arthur'.

The 'White Whale' has been captured. Once you've dealt with this old woman, your mission with Robin will be over!

After that, you can choose whether you want to rebuild the 'Knights of the Holy Grail' or retire and live a peaceful life.

(End of this chapter)