America: My Time

Chapter 1507 Crazy Idea

Chapter 1497 A Crazy Idea
"Will we be able to see Mr. John at this time, and will he give us such an opportunity? After all, this is not a small matter, and if we make a move, those guys will be provoked, and the situation may change even more?" Some of the Middle Eastern tycoons were worried that if they went to the United States to find John, it would worsen the situation. Before they could even discuss things with John, things would be out of control, and those guys might even invade the country directly!

"I can't think of any other way. If we're really worried that the situation here will worsen, we can only talk over the phone, but that will come at a higher price. After all, we can't just give up without paying a price. And we've already determined that those people are untrustworthy. If possible, I'd like to cut off all contact with them! Don't forget, Mr. John warned us that if anyone causes trouble at this time and blames everything on us, the consequences will be severe, and we won't even have a chance to explain!"

Everyone present understood what the Middle Eastern prince was implying, and they were all provoked by his words. They were also worried about the worst-case scenario. After all, if that moment really came, their losses would be significant, and they themselves would be implicated. If something went wrong, they would all be in big trouble!

"Alright, I accept that warning. But we need to resolve our own problems quickly, otherwise everything will happen at the same time, and our situation will be too dangerous. If possible, we need to prepare for the worst and rebuild a new base to prevent those guys from having another chance to scheme against us!"

Wow, this is the extravagance of Middle Eastern tycoons! They don't hesitate to go all out, even rebuilding a new base. Only they would be so reckless and so indifferent to money. Most other people wouldn't even consider this; building a base is no small matter, requiring a huge investment.

"That's a good reminder, but rebuilding the base won't be easy. We don't have the capability ourselves, and we're worried about being tricked if we let outsiders do it. Unless we get Jaguar Security to do it, none of us will feel at ease. We'll all be afraid that everything will be exposed to the enemy at a critical moment!"

"Let them build it then. We're not short of money. If they can also build us a hidden base, or even a concealed communications and weapons depot, that would be a good thing for us. Money isn't important to us!"

Money is not important. If this were said to anyone else, it would be a joke. But to Middle Eastern tycoons, it's the aura of the super-rich. They genuinely don't care about money; they just value their own safety more.

However, they were unaware that all of this was part of John's plan. The more concerned they were about their own safety, the more they fell into John's trap. Now John was waiting for their 'cooperation' and for a large order from them.

Time waits for no one, and the Middle Eastern tycoons don't have that much time to waste. Besides, many people don't trust the prince, so they directly asked the prince to call John to discuss his decision.

“Prince, are you sure you’re not joking? Accelerating the system upgrade isn’t a problem, but rebuilding a new base, or even constructing a hidden communication network, seems a bit too far-fetched. It’s completely unnecessary for you; it will only waste a lot of your funds.” Although John was very happy and eagerly anticipating the order, for the sake of his reputation and public image, he still advised the Middle Eastern prince against it. They didn’t need it; their existing communication network was sufficient!
"No, Mr. John, you don't understand our situation. Safety is the most important thing for us. Money is nothing. What we need now is to get this done as quickly as possible, to not give those enemies a chance to scheme against us, to not give them a chance to invade us, and to not expose our secrets. So we can afford this investment!"

Upon hearing the tycoon's words, John sighed and said, "Alright, since you have such determination, I won't say anything more. Upgrading the system is not a problem, but rebuilding the base and creating the communication network will take time and must be done in secret. It cannot be known to outsiders, otherwise they will lose their reason for existence. My people need some time!"

"No problem, we can accept the timeframe, but safety must be guaranteed, there can be no compromise on that!"

"Of course, we've cooperated more than once or twice, and you should know my reputation. I wouldn't ruin it for such a small thing. Don't worry, once things here are settled, we'll quickly start construction on your side. But that's not enough. If you really want to develop a hidden trump card, you'd better prepare a counter-attack weapon as well."

John paused slightly at this point, then thought for a moment before continuing, "If possible, you'd better come to the United States. Gulfstream Space has a new plan, and if you're interested, you can definitely get involved!"

John's words delighted the Middle Eastern tycoons. They naturally trusted his reputation; although they had spent considerable sums working with him, they had never been cheated, and all projects they had worked on were guaranteed to be of high quality. They weren't fools; they understood why John wanted them to meet in the US—because many things couldn't be discussed over the phone.

Although the communication between the Middle Eastern tycoon and John was conducted via satellite phone, it wasn't entirely confidential and could be overheard. Furthermore, some things couldn't be clearly explained over the phone, and without the Middle Eastern tycoon witnessing it firsthand, there was no way to explain them. After all, this was no small matter; there were far too many issues behind this cooperation!
The moment John hung up the phone, a faint smile appeared on his face. Everything was indeed under his control. What the Middle Eastern tycoons cared about most was their safety. As long as these guys' safety was threatened, they would spare no effort to strengthen themselves in order to ensure their safety.

"Let's get started. Don't keep our 'friends' waiting. Let's also begin our own plan and talk to those guys in the military about when they'll give us the F-22 order. If this drags on any longer, we can't hold on. After all, this project has consumed a lot of our energy and money. They have to give us an explanation!" Because of his intervention, the progress on the F-22 project was exceptionally fast. The prototype was already there, but Gulfstream Aerospace hadn't received an order from the US military. This annoyed John. It was clearly a suppression of him, an attempt to make things difficult for him, and a targeting of Gulfstream Aerospace. This attitude was too hostile. If he still didn't react, then anyone would dare to challenge him, which John couldn't accept.

"They're still stalling, always saying they need time to verify and discuss things, but from what we understand, those guys in the military haven't done anything at all. They just want to drain our energy and money and suppress us."

“Ms. Carol, do you think we could sell this project? Boeing has been interested, right? We could give them that opportunity, use this project to make a deal with them, and get the funds we need to fully launch our new project!” As he said this, a hint of madness appeared in John’s eyes. He wouldn’t have made such a decision if it weren’t a last resort, and he wouldn’t have put such an important project up for sale!
John was well aware of the project's future, and it was precisely this awareness that fueled his audacious idea. Was the project important? Absolutely, but in terms of profit, it wasn't, since the US military hadn't actually procured it as planned.

"Boss, you're not kidding, are you? This is one of our most important projects. If we sell it, many of us won't accept it, after all, they've put a lot of effort into it!" Carol Tomey was shocked by John's words. This was simply too crazy, so crazy that she couldn't accept it!

"I'm not joking. Given the military's current attitude, continuing to drag things out with them will only be a waste of our energy, time, and human resources. Since there's not much hope in sight, we might as well cut our losses quickly and sell it off to recoup our profits. As for the gains and losses, there's no need to take them too seriously. There are always trade-offs. Given Gulfstream Aerospace's current situation, self-preservation is the priority. If we can't even protect ourselves, what's the point of talking? No project is more important than the survival of the company. You should understand that!"

Carol Tomey understood perfectly well, but she just couldn't accept it. She also didn't know how to explain it to the people at Gulfstream, since it was their most important source of profit in the original plan, but selling it now would greatly reduce that profit.

"Boss, I have no problem with that, but I don't know how to persuade those people. If it provokes their resentment and anger, it won't be good for our development. It might even cause them to leave, which would be a greater loss for us!"

John was well aware of this, but he couldn't focus all his energy and money on the development of Gulfstream Space right now. So, he figured he might as well take advantage of the US military's pressure to sell the project off in a package, reclaim their profits, stabilize Gulfstream Space, and start new projects and development!

"It's good that you're alright. Everything else can be resolved slowly. After all, we need to survive first before we can talk about anything else. If we can't even survive, everything else is a joke. We can't get any more bank loans. That would just push us into the abyss. We can't get financial support from those guys in Japan, and the Middle Eastern tycoons aren't reliable either. Right now, we can only rely on ourselves."

John was right. Despite having a lot of funds, it was nothing compared to the research and development of Gulfstream Aerospace. You have to understand that a lot of funding for weapons research and development comes from the US military. But now that Gulfstream Aerospace is being suppressed by these guys, it naturally can't get their help and support.

Why is this the case? On the one hand, it's due to John's own strategic planning, and on the other hand, it's because too many people are eyeing John and Gulfstream Space. They all want to take this opportunity to force Gulfstream Space to go public and raise funds so they can understand some of the internal workings of Gulfstream Space, which is the last thing John wants to see!

John can take pharmaceutical companies public, internet companies public, and even abandon Nvidia and others, but not Gulfstream Aerospace. It's about his own safety and his future plans. Even if it means selling some assets, John will not take Gulfstream Aerospace public, nor will he leave Gulfstream Aerospace with many hidden dangers.

Hearing John's words, Carol Tomey sighed softly. Although she knew her boss valued Gulfstream Aerospace highly, she hadn't expected it to be this extreme, leaving no room for others to interfere, let alone go public and raise funds. Gulfstream Aerospace had persevered for so long; John didn't want it to collapse before dawn.

John understood that the situation at Gulfstream Aerospace was something he had to resolve before leaving the United States. Only by resolving Gulfstream Aerospace's current troubles and problems could he leave with peace of mind and without worrying about the future situation affecting its development. Everyone only saw John's frantic asset sales, but they didn't see that behind these sales was the consolidation of other assets, preventing 'enemies' from getting their hands on them.

Just like John's arrangement for Pan Am, selling off the mid-range airline and retaining only the high-end and low-end markets was unacceptable to many, who thought it was crazy. But John was preparing funds for them to weather the storm. If they didn't start preparing in advance, it would be too late when the crisis broke out. The same was true for Gulfstream Aerospace!

Many companies have fallen before dawn due to arrogance and overconfidence, something John doesn't want to see. Now, it's not just Gulfstream Aerospace making preparations; other companies are doing the same, even Hurricane Investment and Credit Bank are doing so. The current situation is far from simple. While it may seem like there are still several years left, given the vast amount of assets John controls, several years is simply not enough time for him to complete all his plans!
(End of this chapter)