America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 292 You Deserve to Get Rich

Back in Los Angeles, Dominic sent a message to the leader, informing him that the identification of the stony-iron meteorite was complete, the identification fee was $80, and it could be put up for auction in the next two days.

After understanding the situation, Zhang Ailun stopped paying attention. He took the remaining videotapes and films and gave them to the Beggars' Sect disciples who had free time, asking them to deliver them to Tommy and help with sales.

Not long after, Tommy received the goods and sent a message to the leader to inquire about the situation.

Tommy: What's going on? Your men brought me a box of pornographic videotapes? Mr. Kim, when did you start doing this kind of business? But these videotapes and movie discs seem to be of pretty good quality.

Zhang Ailun: Anyway, you've done this kind of business before, so help me find a channel to sell this batch of goods. I can give you a 5% commission.

Tommy: You're too kind. Even if you didn't give me a single cent of commission, and just wanted me to do the work, I certainly wouldn't refuse. Considering our last collaboration on selling records, Rip and I will help you sell these things. What price do you think would be appropriate?

Zhang Ailun: You can set the price. I don't know the market price in this area. I just need to see the final sales results.

Tommy: Okay! Mission accomplished! Guess what? After a period of promotion and marketing, your two girlfriends have become quite popular on short video platforms and various other platforms. They already have nearly 200,000 followers on TikTok. Rip is also planning to capitalize on this momentum and create an album for your two girlfriends. Furthermore, a short drama studio has approached them wanting to hire them as the female leads.

The leader didn't pay much attention to these things. He praised their efficiency, chatted for a few more minutes, and then ended the conversation.

It was afternoon.

The leader emerged from Sanji's bar, bidding farewell to Mary and Geese, because Chibatu had sent him a message informing him that his Black Hawk helicopter had been delivered to a hangar in the suburbs.

Zhang Ailun called Sieg and asked him to come and meet him. After they met on the street, they got into a car and headed to the suburban airport.

It took some time to get to the suburban hangar. From afar, we could see four imposing Black Hawk attack helicopters parked outside, with fully armed military soldiers standing guard nearby. The military base sent a major to personally lead a team to deliver them.

Zhang Ailun got out of the car and walked straight over, greeting the other party. Qibatu also reported the situation, saying that he had already led people to check and that the Black Hawk helicopter was in good condition, but still needed some maintenance.

"Mr. King, I extend my greetings to you on behalf of Colonel Wood." The military major shook hands with the chief.

Zhang Ailun responded with a smile.

"We signed a contract for four Black Hawk helicopters, worth a total of $1040 million. We previously gave you a 30% deposit, and I will transfer the remaining $728 to your designated account," Zhang Ailun said.

The major remained expressionless and did not give a direct answer.

Zhang Ailun took out his phone and started operating it. Soon, the money was transferred to the other party through the foundation's remittance channel. "You can check if the money has arrived."

The major asked his assistant to check, and the other party nodded to confirm that the money had arrived.

The major's expression softened, and he shook hands with the leader, saying, "The four retired Black Hawk helicopters, each worth $120 million, for a total of $480 million, have been successfully transported to the transaction location of the Thunderfire Armed Nation. It's been a pleasant cooperation. Please sign the trade list."

After handing the contract order to the leader, Zhang Ailun glanced at it. It was an official transaction list printed by the military base, with a trade price of $120 million per retired Black Hawk helicopter.

He promptly signed his name.

The major smiled, checked and confirmed that everything was correct, then handed the contract to his assistant. "We have other delivery and transportation tasks, so we won't linger here any longer. Have a nice day, Mr. Kim."

"You too. Please give my regards to Colonel Wood." Zhang Ailun nodded with a smile.

"I will."

After the major finished speaking, he waved to the soldiers next to him. The group immediately boarded the military vehicle next to them, while the major and his assistant boarded a private plane and left the suburban airport.

Watching them leave, Zhang Ailun instructed Qibatu and the Beggars' Sect disciples beside him to transport the Black Hawk helicopter to the warehouse for maintenance and inspection.

As they entered the hangar with Sieg, they saw an A10 Warthog parked inside, next to his own Cirrus SF50 Fathead Shark, and a set of private satellites placed on the ground.

The warthog's body was secured with a support frame, the turbofan engine had been installed, and the wiring was mostly complete. Several Beggar Clan disciples were standing on the elevator, wearing gloves and carrying repair tools, tightening screws and running wiring. There were also various parts neatly arranged nearby.

Upon seeing the leader arrive, they waved and greeted him warmly, then stopped what they were doing.

Zhang Ailun waved his hand, signaling them not to stop working and not to let his arrival affect the assembly progress. The Warthog's work was basically 90% complete. All that remained was to assemble the wings, perform electronic adjustments, and test ground stability before attempting low-altitude flight and landing.

The leader was completely clueless about technical issues and had no right to speak on them. He could only say that the professional issues should be left to professional players like Qibatu, and that trust should be the main thing.

Turning his head, he noticed Mark next to him, who was holding a drill and tightening screws on the wing, holding a design drawing and studying it from time to time, deep in thought. He walked over and patted Mark on the shoulder.

"Who is it? Leave me alone. I'm studying art," Mark replied impatiently without turning around.

"It's me." Zhang Ailun was speechless. Why was he being so serious?

But after all that effort, it seems even the wings weren't properly assembled.

Qibatu still didn't quite trust the kid's professional skills and didn't dare to put him through the motions of wiring and assembling important structures right away. Assembling an airplane is not like assembling a car; the difficulty level is several times higher. Even if the kid was a road modification expert and very skillful, he still needed to receive professional training.

If a car's chassis and engine electrical system are not fixed, at most it will cause brake failure, horn malfunction, and lights to stop working on the ground. But if your plane breaks apart in the air, it's a one-way trip. You'd better pray that it never takes off in the first place and that all the problems are solved on the ground.

"Boss? It's you?" Mark turned around and saw that it was the head of the organization, so he immediately straightened his attitude.

"How are you settling in here?" Zhang Ailun asked.

"I feel great. The modification and assembly work is also very challenging. Although I have dealt with many life-size simulated airplane models and participated in the disassembly and assembly of the A10, this big guy is actually a hundred times more complicated than I imagined!" Despite the technical setback, Mark was not discouraged. Instead, he became even more energetic.

Zhang Ailun admired his reckless yet confident demeanor, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Well done, keep it up."

They chatted for a few more minutes, but Mark kept using technical jargon, all of which he had recently learned, making it impossible for the leader to connect with him. He could only reluctantly end the conversation.

"These sheet metal workers with technical skills deserve to be single," Zhang Ailun said sourly.

Sig was speechless. Who said they were all single? They could clearly find partners within the family!

Only cowards only like women; real men should go for men head-on.

After a while, the Beggars' Sect disciples brought in four Black Hawk attack helicopters. After securing them with specialized equipment, they manually disassembled the components and landing gear. They also inspected and tested the electronic parts inside the cockpit. The machine guns were also removed for maintenance.

Half an hour later, after reinstalling the equipment, Qibatu came over to report the situation. "These Black Hawk helicopters are barely 7% new. The military base probably hasn't used them much for missions, and there are no signs of any parts being replaced; they're all original components. After all, going to the front lines is the job of overseas military bases. In the few years they've served, they've only participated in training and routine patrols at most. With proper maintenance, they can be used for at least another ten years. According to regulations, these things won't be retired from the military region for at least five years."

"Due to some special reasons, the military base had to choose to retire these four Black Hawks, and three more Black Hawks were bought by other arms companies and armed nations," Zhang Ailun said.

"Another illegal transaction." Qibatu scoffed at it, but didn't seem too concerned. "However, I've seen this kind of thing many times, so it's not surprising anymore. They're only selling Black Hawks, not other fighter jets or attack aircraft. But if the client has enough money, I believe they'd even sell destroyers."

"How do you know they haven't sold them privately?" Zhang Ailun smiled.

Qibatu was cursing and swearing again.

But before he retired, he was at most a captain, never having crossed the threshold to glimpse the inside world, and unaware of the dirty deals those officers made. He wasn't interested in it either.

All he could see were machines and sheet metal!

They also inspected and repaired the other three Black Hawk helicopters, which were all in very good condition.

Zhang Ailun also took the initiative to send Jack a message, asking how he was doing lately.

Jack: Dude, my business is booming, all thanks to the seed money you gave me. We just did something big with Jimmy the other day!

Zhang Ailun: Do you know how serious what you've done is? You've messed with some ruthless guys.

Jack: You mean the TAD members from Venezuela? The Aragua Fire? Those guys are really powerful, they specialize in going against the Texas police, and their headquarters are in a suburban motel in Austin, where bad things often happen.

Zhang Ailun: 700 police reports in two years. There are only 365 days in a year. Does that mean they were fighting, robbing, committing crimes, or even engaging in street shootouts every day? Didn't the Austin police eliminate them? Are the police incompetent?

Jack: That's how it is in Texas. Otherwise, why do you think I came to California? Gun ownership is legal there. Everyone is thinking about shooting the other person first to protect themselves. Even when going to the supermarket, you have to carry two M4s to feel safe. Guess what? When I was a kid, my family gave me two Beretta 92Fs as toys. I've been exposed to these things since I was a child. Gunfights are nothing to me. The police don't even bother with it. Outsiders just like to make a fuss.

Zhang Ailun: Didn't you get kicked out of school because of your poor grades and selling pornographic videotapes? A top student? I was wondering why you didn't go back to Texas to farm and raise cattle. It turns out you're fighting a daily battle to protect your food supply.

Jack: I did mess everything up because I was such a jerk, but if I hadn't messed it up, I wouldn't be running into you guys on the street. I would have had to work for many more years to have what I have now. I'm so grateful to you, Alan!

Zhang Ailun: It's nothing. If you really want to thank me, have Fitz come to my villa tonight after he's all cleaned up.

Jack: I don't really care. Fitz and I aren't dating. She's been wanting to ask you out for a while now. Aren't you living with Jennifer and the others? What about Simone? Didn't you ask her out?

Zhang Ailun: ...

Seriously, you really don't mind? You can even take this kind of joke?

As expected of a son of the Lone Star Republic, with such a magnanimous heart, you deserve to be rich.

Zhang Ailun: She's busy with her own things; we don't live together. I only contacted you to ask if you were in trouble and if you needed help.

Jack: I haven't run into any problems, except the website selling sorghum seeds got attacked. I've already asked Blitz to help me resolve it. Jimmy's business in Texas is probably being targeted, and his car rental company has also been harassed. But he's not someone to be trifled with; he's already taken action. You might want to talk to him.

Zhang Ailun: OK.

Zhang Ailun sent Jimmy another message, asking how things were going.

Jimmy: If you could provide me with some weaponry, I think I could handle things on my own. Last night, someone tried to set fire to my car rental shop, but luckily my men spotted it beforehand and caught him. I've interrogated him and found out he's a member of Tad. I also kidnapped someone with a high status in their organization.

Zhang Ailun: Don't the police officers in Austin do anything?

Jimmy: They're in cahoots, buddy. They're smart enough not to cause trouble in the city, they just gather at motels in the suburbs, but the suburban police have basically been bribed by them, and they turn a blind eye to these things. After all, nobody wants to mess with a bunch of lunatics. A police officer was accidentally injured by them before, and the local police department sent people to arrest the motel people, but in the end, they were bribed by them by threatening their families.

Zhang Ailun: These guys are absolutely lawless! The deal you did with Jack must have offended them. They want to retaliate against you. I can provide you with some weapons, but it won't be free. After all, these things aren't cheap.

Jimmy: Of course I understand. What weapons can you provide for me? I can buy them with my own money. Ideally, I'd like some defensive gear and some throwables. The grenades from last time were pretty good. I can find people locally to buy other caliber weapons.

Zhang Ailun: I just purchased four Black Hawk helicopters from a military base.

Jimmy: ...This is a bit too much, but I like it!

In the end, Jimmy still didn't choose to buy Black Hawk, because the Grand Master didn't intend to sell it to him, and he couldn't afford it anyway.

After all, this thing isn't an ordinary firearm. It's not very effective locally and can easily attract attention, but it can be used to intimidate others, instantly maximizing psychological pressure.

If it were a border city, it would be fine to send out a Black Hawk helicopter, but Austin is a city in central Texas. Even the TAD organization only uses rifles and armored vehicles modified with steel plates. Sending out an armed helicopter would be a bit too much of a bully.

Jimmy only purchased RPGs, a few rockets, body armor, a bulletproof helmet, clay explosives, and a demolition drone package. He also rented a Black Hawk helicopter for protection.

Zhang Ailun arranged a time with the other party and immediately sent a message to Boketu, asking him to bring some weapons and equipment to meet at the hangar in the suburbs and take a few people to Austin, Texas.

The distance from Los Angeles to Austin is about 2000 kilometers, and the Black Hawk helicopter has a maximum range of 2200 kilometers. It only needs to refuel once between the two trips, but it was already past 9 p.m. when we arrived.