America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 129 Clearing out the cargo

The crowd looked at Faith Modern, who was leading the way, and some of them complained that he was too slow. The Beggar Clan disciples simply helped him along the way.

"Follow me." Fiss limped as he led the group to the red-roofed warehouse of B-16. A string of English words was painted in red paint, which translated to "Donated Supplies and Recycled Items."

A middle-aged white police officer was sitting in the security booth outside.

Fiss knew that Sieg was carrying a gun and had a valid gun license, but a warehouse security guard might not give him the time of day. The man was just a temporary worker, not a permanent employee.

To avoid any misunderstanding, he also said, "Please wait here for me. There are security cameras nearby, so it's not convenient to do anything. I'll go and talk to the other party."

After saying that, he looked at Zhang Ailun, seeking his opinion. Zhang Ailun nodded, "Go ahead."

But Fiss still stared at him expectantly. Zhang Ailun was speechless. "You're not thinking of using my money to bribe him, are you?"

"Otherwise what? I don't have any money. If I don't bribe him, how could he possibly let us in? Even if he bites us until we burst with juice, he still won't turn off the camera and let us in," Fis explained.

"How much money do you need?" Zhang Ailun asked.

"Just give me a few hundred dollars."

"So expensive? I think we should just go over and have a friendly chat with him. Anyway, he's just a part-timer, and there aren't many people around here at night. If we park our car outside and cover our faces, who will know who we are?" Sig immediately became unhappy when he heard the price.

No, why are you acting like a bandit? Always thinking about bullying others?

Zhang Ailun considered for a moment, then took out $200 and handed it to Fiss. "That's all! If it doesn't work, we'll go through the back door."

"Okay, I'll go talk to him." Fiss took the money and went over.

Upon seeing him approach, security personnel immediately came out to stop him, asking, "What are you doing here? Do you have a packing list?"

Fies pulled out a $100 bill and shoved it into his hand, then pulled him to a spot without cameras. "Hey buddy, can you do me a favor? Just pretend you didn't see anything. We come here all the time, do you remember me?"

Don't try that on me!

The security guard said sternly, "These are all important items stockpiled here."

"But it clearly says 'discarded goods' on it! It's filled with either cheaply sold goods or completely worthless stuff. Only junk collectors and charity workers come here to scavenge. We came all this way just to haul away a batch of goods from here!" Fis said with a forced smile.

He then pointed to a few people not far away, "See those people? How much do you earn a day watching over this warehouse? Is it $20 an hour? Our boss is very rich and can pay you a day's wages directly! Otherwise, they'll have to resort to force! You're all alone here, and they're all carrying guns, submachine guns! They're all ruthless street thugs."

"You earn $20 an hour, that's only $160 a day, a few thousand a month, and after taxes, you only get about $3,000. After paying rent and utilities, is that enough to live on? What are you doing, working yourself to death?"

The security guard thought he made a lot of sense. He had indeed done this kind of thing many times before. When he was on night shift here, he always turned a blind eye, and people often used back doors.

"I'll pretend I didn't see anything, even if it's $200."

"Deal." Fiss immediately paid him the remaining $200.

"The security camera is broken again, I need to go fix it. The warehouse door isn't locked, you only have four hours to move the goods, then my colleague and I will take over."

The security personnel took the money and did the job; after saying that, they left the guard booth with their toolbox.

After seeing the camera lights go out, Zhang Ailun and the others felt relieved and went to the warehouse door. They opened the door and went inside. The warehouse was filled with all sorts of things: iron racks, clothes, snacks, tires, and shipping containers.

Fez quickly located the small red container. "This is it."

Upon opening the sealed door of the container, a strong smell of seafood wafted out. There was a large pile of rotting cardboard boxes, dead fish, rotten shrimp, dead crabs, and seaweed. The cardboard boxes also contained waterlogged cell phones, and the warning words "Fragile" were faintly visible on the cardboard boxes.

It's covered in green mold, so it looks like it's been sitting here for quite a while. No one's claimed it just because it's been sitting here.

"We've struck it rich! It's a pity these are all water-damaged machines, otherwise we could have sold so many for a lot of money!"

Sig picked up a Samsung phone at random; it even had a folding screen, which was a bit of a shame.

Even if this thing is secondhand, it would still cost at least a hundred dollars on the legitimate market.

"What we want are the CPUs and the gold inside the chips. Whether they are damaged or not doesn't matter. Otherwise, we wouldn't be the ones to take this batch of goods." It was the first time Zhang Ailun had seen so many mobile phones stockpiled in boxes.

Ordinary mobile phones are worthless here; they can even be given away for free at the shelter. Logically, there shouldn't be a smuggling market at all, and it's hard to understand who would do business smuggling mobile phones, unless it's a brand-name phone, then there's no profit to be made.

Even if a single smuggled cell phone only sells for a few dozen dollars, the total value of so many phones would be over two million dollars! Even after accounting for transportation costs and other miscellaneous expenses, the owner could still make a huge profit, which shows how devastating the losses were for the consignor!

The shipping company will certainly have to compensate him for his economic losses. Of course, there's also a high possibility that he'll be arrested by the Department of Homeland Security on smuggling charges and spend the rest of his life in jail.

After all, an accident at the port makes the news.

A mobile phone weighs about 150 grams and can yield about 0.02 grams of gold. To extract 1.4 kilograms of gold, at least 35000 mobile phones would be needed, which is a total weight of 5.25 tons.

"Someone tell me how to quietly move a 5-ton shipment of cell phones from the warehouse?" Zhang Ailun looked at Fei Si. "Didn't you consider how to ship this shipment beforehand? Our pickup trucks can only carry a maximum of 1.2 tons or slightly more at a time; any heavier and they'll fall apart."

"Just a few more trips will do, only four or five, it won't take too much time," Fis said without much confidence.

"You carry it," Sieg said irritably.

"How can I help you guys when I'm like this? You guys are all strong and healthy, there's no need to make things difficult for a cripple like me." Fiss was on the verge of tears.

Zhang Ailun glanced at the small moving truck next to him and gestured for Bailey to start it. The key was already inserted in the ignition. Bailey tried it and it started successfully. He then skillfully reversed out of the warehouse and parked next to the container.

He chuckled and said, "This makes things much more convenient. Who's going to bring our pickup truck over?"

Richie volunteered, took the keys and went out. He returned shortly after in his pickup truck, the warehouse door half-open for easy access and transport.

In just a few minutes, the truck was roughly loaded. Since they were all discarded cell phones anyway, they weren't afraid of them falling. The 1.2-ton load of cell phones bent the back of the old pickup truck. It hadn't carried such a heavy load in decades since it was manufactured.

The phone located the cabin in the suburbs, and Sieg floored the accelerator, sending it hurtling off in a cloud of smoke. The engine's agonizing wheezing made one wonder if the old buddy might break down and explode halfway there.

"Drive slowly. Four hours is enough for us to make four trips, otherwise we'll have to pay another $200! And a hefty repair bill too," Zhang Ailun reminded him.

If this elderly-friendly vehicle has an accident on the way, it can be thrown away; the repair costs could buy a used car.

With nothing to do while waiting, Zhang Ailun led his men to wander around the warehouse and picked up some trinkets. Unfortunately, the warehouse was mostly stockpiled with clothes, furniture, and worthless junk.

If it's a warehouse storing valuables, or a private warehouse, it's definitely not that easy for you to get in through the back door, and there will be a full complement of security personnel.

After waiting for several tens of minutes, Sieg finally arrived in his pickup truck. He was exhausted from unloading the cargo at the cabin. After considering it, Zhang Ailun reduced the weight and gave him another person to help him.

The group continued moving the goods, while Sieg continued driving the transport.

After about three and a half hours, they loaded all the remaining goods onto the truck in one go. Only then could everyone breathe a sigh of relief and leave the large warehouse.

Zhang Ailun went out and led his men away from the container port area. The roar of propellers could be heard overhead, and looking up, he saw a private plane flying overhead and then landing in the private warehouse area to the east.

"I wonder which rich person's valuable collection this is." Zhang Ailun wasn't envious at all, really.

They sent their location to Sieg and waited by the roadside for several tens of minutes. Sieg drove back and picked them up again.

"Back to camp or to the short-tailed dog's territory?" Sig asked.

Zhang Ailun glanced at the time; it was only a little past ten. "If we go now, they might be having a party or drinking. Should we just drive there?"

"OK." Sig restarted the vehicle, and the group sitting in the car could clearly feel some strange noises coming from the pickup truck.

……

They drove to the unfinished building area and Zhang Ailun and his group got out of the car. They found that it was pitch black, with no streetlights and no wiring. The area was completely without water or electricity.

Food trucks were parked at the construction site. Zhang Ailun thought they looked familiar; he seemed to have bought tacos from a roadside stall before.

"Look, the whole place smells like cornstarch. These Mexicans organize free shopping events on weekdays, and they also sell chicken wraps and tacos in the neighborhood and on the street. The whole street in their territory is filled with the flavor of Mexican food! It's all grilled corn! They don't look like scavengers at all, they're street vendors!" Faith was carried out of the car, limping and leaning on his cane, and couldn't help but complain.

The building is a half-built high-rise, about five or six stories high. It seems that it was originally intended to be an office building, but it was only half-finished. There are also obvious light sources on the roof.

"They're running a legitimate business, isn't that exactly what the officers want to see?"

Zhang Ailun didn't take it seriously. He and his men were just about to go upstairs to look for someone when suddenly a bright light came on overhead, accompanied by the hum of a generator, making it as bright as day in an instant.

Zhang Ailun, wearing sunglasses, wasn't affected much, but everyone else raised their hands to shield their eyes from the light. A group of Mexicans also appeared from all directions.

Holding a shovel, a baseball bat, a rusty steel pipe, and a broken water pipe, they surrounded the group three or four layers deep, like dumplings wrapped in a well.

"We've been ambushed! They were prepared?"

Sieg was somewhat surprised, realizing he had been a bit careless. But as he touched the guns and ammunition he carried, his mood instantly lightened.

Zhang Ailun was also surprised that they had laid an ambush in advance. If it hadn't been them who came this time, and the other side had the advantage in numbers, and was a group of rough and uneducated construction workers, ordinary people would definitely have been beaten up.

The leader was a Mexican man who was about 1.6 meters tall. Although he was short, he had a lot of muscles. He was wearing a black leather jacket, ripped jeans, had a lip piercing, and tattoos on his face.

Upon seeing a familiar face in the crowd, he immediately launched into a tirade: "Fxxk you! Fiss! I knew you were up to no good. What's wrong? Got bullied outside, and you're running off to your sugar daddy like a girl? Have you forgotten what I told you during the day? If you mess with us again, I'll break your third leg!"

Fies's face turned pale and then green, and he was instantly on the verge of being scolded.

Unable to contain himself, he burst out cursing, "Fxxk you to! Kim Rachel! You're just taking advantage of your numbers to bully us. The man I brought this time is no pushover! You know Juan King of Louis XIX, right? I've brought him! You're dead!"

You bullied me when I wasn't trying to curry favor with someone powerful, and now that I've done so, you still want to bully me?

Then I didn't get all that credit for nothing!

"Juan Kim? He has gold, and so do I! Do you think I'm afraid of him?" Rachel sneered. "If he dares to mess with me, I guarantee there will only be one Mr. Kim on the streets from now on! That's me, Kim Rachel!"

You were beaten up a few days ago, your territory was completely destroyed, what makes you think you can get the other party to come and help you?

Hearing him say that, Zhang Ailun couldn't help but applaud him. "Great, you're absolutely right. I love confident people. A name is just a label. Anyone can be Mr. Jin if they have the ability."

The short-tailed dog quickly noticed the Asian faces wearing sunglasses in the crowd. Despite being surrounded, these people didn't seem flustered at all.

"But when you're in this business, foul language won't get you anywhere. You need to have this!!" Zhang Ailun pulled out a pistol. Sig and the others next to him also took out submachine guns.

The surrounding Mexicans were all taken aback.

The leader of the short-tailed dogs was also startled.

No, your name really is Juankin?

"You're Juankin? You want to stand up for this guy? Come and fight me? Dude, you have absolutely no need to mess with us, and we've never gone looking for trouble!" The short-tailed dog tried to remain calm, but immediately showed signs of backing down.

"You're still young, please don't go down the path of crime! Feel free to make any requests you have, and we'll grant them out of respect for you."

Having heard so many rumors about Mr. Jin, they were sick of them and knew they had real weapons. They were basically defenseless.

Look at the equipment on both sides; they're not even in the same league. Each person on the other side has a Truth rifle, and some even have submachine guns, bulletproof vests, and walkie-talkies. They'd be more than capable of fighting off police officers and gangs in the streets.

The reason these short-tailed dogs have managed to carve out such a large territory is because of their unity and fierce street fighting. They do low-level manual labor, don't smoke or smoke drugs, are not addicted to drugs, and can easily dominate ordinary homeless people, while never intentionally causing trouble for themselves.

But even the elite among the homeless can't beat legitimate gang members.

Why would someone with a gun talk to you so much?

Looking at the long guns and short cannons in Zhang Ailun's hands, Kim Rachel, the leader of the Short-tailed Dogs, suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness, as if the tide had turned and the dynasty was about to collapse.

The door was kicked open by these uncivilized people! I'm furious, but there's nothing I can do.

If we don't follow the Qing Dynasty's example now and cede territory and pay indemnities, when will we ever get another chance?

(End of this chapter)