America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 319 Silver Island

Having settled the fighter jet matter, the leader drove to the Parker Corporation's office building, arrived at the CEO's private office, and turned on the computer to check the recent revenue figures.

A batch of electronic instruments, precious metal materials, and steel materials have already been sold. The transactions were made with a military factory and a beverage company that have a contract with Parker Corporation.

Currently, Parker's related recycling and sales projects are being managed by Johnson and a few quick-witted members of the Beggars' Sect. Every day, they follow their supervisor, Reco, and a few other old guys around, familiarizing themselves with the trading model and negotiating partnerships with others, and they're doing a fairly decent job.

In addition to its revenue, Parker Corporation also has an extra expense on its books: payments to WALL-E Recycling Station and Alfred Recycling Station for cans. Although these recycling stations are also assets of the Grand Master, they still need to pay a fee when recycling cans.

It's all just money passing from one hand to the other. There's no tax to pay for can recycling work, and it's easy to keep accounts. Dominic and the other recycling station managers, as well as the outsourced fleet, can all get a share of the profits from the cans.

The leader has no intention of cutting corners, creating a monopoly, or affecting the ecosystem below in this process.

After leaving the office, he drove to various suburban construction sites to inspect them. He greeted the heads of various departments and the Beggar Clan members, and inquired about their work situation. He also told them that they could raise any requests they had.

The feedback received was perfect. They felt incredibly happy; the Beggars' Sect had faith, and its members felt empowered. The best is yet to come!

After inspecting the Parker factory and finding no problems, Zhang Ailun drove back to the city to check the accounts at Sanji Bar.

There was a brand new Jeep parked outside. The leader was a little curious about whose car was blocking the entrance, but after asking, he learned that it was Mary's car.

"You bought a car? How much did it cost?" Zhang Ailun asked Mary, somewhat surprised.

"$46999. I chose to pay in installments." Mary said with a grin, "Thanks to you, I've made quite a bit of money lately, boss. I really don't know how to thank you enough!"

"Don't say that. You guys handle all the work and daily routines at the bar. I just invested in and bought the bar; I haven't done anything else." Zhang Ailun waved his hand.

Aside from coming here to check accounts and drink, he basically didn't do much work. He only occasionally had tasks or activities involving buying and selling alcohol.

Even if the Grand Master has the strength, it comes from you guys.

"Then you can do something now." Mary gestured to the Grand Master, closed the office door, and unbuttoned her clothes without saying a word.

Seeing that the subordinate was about to commit insubordination, the Grand Master solemnly refused, explaining that he had just used up his inventory and was truly out of supplies!

Fortunately, Geese arrived at the scene and stopped Mary, calling her from outside to go to work, and she finally gave up.

The leader was also relieved that he had escaped a calamity and that they had not succeeded when he was weak.

It was noon, and Zhang Ailun, having rested and recovered his energy at the bar, saw Old Jack enjoying himself there, playing cards with the customers. However, Old Jack seemed to be having bad luck, having lost over ten hands in a row, which puzzled him.

Finally, he got up, ran to the bar, ordered a glass of brandy, and threw more than a dozen darts at the target on the wall, hoping to change his luck through metaphysical means.

Zhang Ailun also came out of the office and came to his side. Watching him throw darts, each one just missing the target, he couldn't help but tease him, "Have you been working yourself to the bone lately? Your technique is so bad, you can't even throw one!"

"Why don't you do it?" Old Jack said irritably, handing the dart in his hand to the leader.

Zhang Ailun caught it, casually tossed it toward the target a few meters away, and it rang out as a bullseye.

Old Jack suddenly questioned his existence. "Did you put magnets inside this thing? Or did you practice on it in private?"

Unconvinced, he took the dart, examined it, and threw it again, barely managing to graz the edge and land on the outer edge.

Old Jack was utterly speechless. He, a ruthless bandit, was now rendered helpless by these few darts.

"It's pure luck! Why would I put magnets on something like that? It doesn't make much money." Zhang Ailun added confidently, "It must be because you're getting old!"

"Impossible! I'm perfectly healthy!" Old Jack immediately retorted, refusing to back down.

"How have you been lately?"

Zhang Ailun didn't bother arguing with him. He waved to a bunny girl passing by and had her bring over two Red Bulls, one for himself and one for Old Jack.

Old Jack, adhering to the principle that it's a fool not to take advantage of a bargain, downed the Red Bull in one gulp, then called back the bunny girl who was trying to leave and ordered two more glasses of brandy.

The bunny girl glanced at him in surprise, then at the head of the gang. After receiving permission from the boss, she turned and left, returning shortly with three more glasses of brandy.

Old Jack picked up a glass of brandy and downed it in one gulp, then let out a long, grimacing sigh of relief. "That's more like it!"

"Life is just so-so. Now I don't even want to go home. Every time I go back, I end up arguing with my family. It's so meaningless." Old Jack said, feeling utterly hopeless.

"If your family doesn't welcome you, haven't you ever thought about going to Palm Valley to see your distant cousin? She would definitely welcome you!" Zhang Ailun joked.

"How could that be! She's been trying to invite me to her house, but I haven't agreed." Old Jack blushed, and said awkwardly, "Don't think I don't know what she's up to. She's just after my body! I'm not that kind of person."

"If you're not feeling well, just say so. What excuse are you making?" Zhang Ailun mocked him mercilessly.

"What are you doing here? Just to mock me? You even offered me drinks; you're definitely up to something! Even though you're my boss, we're just partners. There's no mission to complete right now, and I have no obligation to take your orders," Old Jack grumbled. "Unless you pay me!"

There's no way around it; after all, the Grand Master sometimes gives so much that it's impossible to refuse.

"I don't have any money for you, nor do I have any special tasks for you. However, I do have a chance to make a fortune, and I can take you along. Have you heard of Silver Island? I'm planning to take some people there this afternoon to see the sights. I heard there's countless silver there, and whoever finds it gets it," Zhang Ailun said.

"Silver Island? A tourist island? Aren't the Spanish silver coins on it fake?"

Old Jack was somewhat suspicious. "I've heard of that place. Apparently, it's an island controlled by Colombian militants. They say you can pay an entrance fee to participate in a treasure hunt, but it's just a gimmick because they can't find the silver coin treasure themselves. Even if they actually find Spanish silver coins, they'll try to buy them back at a low price. How could that stuff make you really rich? Only charging a high entrance fee is real!"

"If you actually find the treasure trove of Spanish silver coins there, they'll kick you out immediately!"

"Besides, so many years have passed, it's hard to say whether there are still any silver coins on that island. Unless you buy the island, blast the mountains flat, and demolish the island itself," Old Jack scoffed.

Great idea!

The treasure location that the leader saw from the intelligence did indeed seem to correspond to a mountainous area, with many silver coins hidden deep in the sand and reefs.

However, contracting the island's development rights is more civilized than directly seizing it, after all, the leader isn't some barbaric Onsa pirate.

"How did you suddenly decide to go to that place? Was it just for tourism?" Old Jack asked again.

"I bought a private island from a friend and got a treasure map there. It contains information about Silver Island. I'm planning to take some people there to check it out. If the information is true, I'll try to get the development rights for that island," Zhang Ailun replied with a smile.

"Then you're in for a big expense! The island is nominally under the jurisdiction of the Colombian government, but it's actually the property of the FARC guerrillas. They're not so easy to talk to." Old Jack pondered for a moment. "If they find out that your purpose isn't just to travel and vacation there, but that you've actually found treasure, they definitely won't choose to sell the island at a low price."

"The FARC guerrillas? How many warships do they have? How many fighter jets? How much money do they have? How many men? How much American equipment do they have? How many billionaires do they know?"

Zhang Ailun said nonchalantly, "I'm negotiating cooperation with the Colombian government. What does it have to do with them? They're the ones who illegally occupied that island. To put it bluntly, aren't they anti-government terrorists? We have plenty of ways to deal with these kinds of terrorists!"

The Grand Master doesn't even need to step in; those little Karamis will be buryed to death by the Grand Master's money.

The drug traffickers and guerrilla militants who were repeatedly bombed and razed to the ground by fifty F-16s last time were called the Medellín Cartel, but now the grass on their graves has grown three meters high.

If it weren't for the CIA and its backers who betrayed them, the other party would have met their demise even sooner.

These guerrilla groups couldn't possibly be tougher than the Medellín Cartel, otherwise they wouldn't be operating a law-abiding tourist area, but instead would be openly trafficking drugs.

Seeing that the Grand Master had made up his mind, Old Jack had nothing more to say, only asking, "When do you plan to go on your trip?"

"We can get someone to prepare the private jet right now. We can leave now and arrive in a few hours." Zhang Ailun smiled and sent a message to Bailey, asking him to drive his Cirrus SF50 over.

He patted Old Jack on the shoulder again, "We're just going there to scout out some places and enjoy the scenery. Don't look so gloomy, cheer up."

Old Jack forced out a bitter, resentful smile.

Combined with his already sinister appearance and hooked nose, his forced smile only made him more unsettling.

"You'd better stop laughing, you'll scare a three-year-old to tears." Zhang Ailun waved his hand.

"You're the one who made me laugh!" Old Jack muttered irritably.

After waiting in the bar for a while, twenty minutes later Bailey sent a message to the Grand Master, informing him that he had flown the plane to the airport tarmac.

Zhang Ailun glanced at the message, told him to wait there for a while, finished his drink in one gulp, put away his phone, and then called to Old Jack to set off.

The two drove to the nearest airport, parked their car nearby, and saw Bailey sitting in the cockpit, waving and greeting people out the window.

After the Grand Master and Old Jack boarded the plane, Bailey asked, "Boss, where are we going?"

"Let's go to Silver Island." Zhang Ailun fastened his seatbelt, gave the order, and took out his phone to log in to the official tourism website to make a reservation in advance.

"Okay." Bailey searched for the location information of Silver Island, which was also located at the junction of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Without asking where to go or what to do, he immediately started the plane after setting up the electronic equipment, sprinted up the runway and took off into the sky, heading towards the target location.

Zhang Ailun looked down at the shrinking city of Los Angeles. It would take some time to reach the destination, so he decided to close his eyes and rest.

During my trip, I received a message. When I opened it, I found that it was also from Saudi Prince Simba, inviting me to the princess's birthday party that evening.

Although it was a bit sudden, there was indeed a reason for it. They probably didn't even think of inviting the Grand Master to the banquet at first, since they didn't know each other.

Simba: Hello, dear friend Hamburg, please forgive my abruptness in sending you my greetings, but I would like to formally invite you to my mother, Princess Magee Monet's, birthday party, which will be held tonight at 22:30 PM at the Venetian Macao in Las Vegas. As my good friend, I sincerely hope that you can make time to attend the party despite your busy schedule.

Zhang Ailun: Thank you for your invitation, Prince Simba. I will attend the banquet on time and present the Princess with a precious gift.

Simba ::).

Zhang Ailun sent Madison another message, asking if he had received an invitation to the birthday party.

Madison: You received an invitation from the prince? Well, that's not surprising. People of status usually receive invitations. Actually, I received the news about two weeks ago, and the little prince just reminded me again. I will definitely go. I've already prepared a gift. Do you want to join me? I bet you haven't prepared your flight itinerary yet.

Zhang Ailun: It's really great to be able to fly on your plane. It'll save me some gas money. I wasn't prepared at all, and I didn't even know about this beforehand. Old Mike, you're such a kind person.

Madison: ...

Zhang Ailun: What kind of gift do you think would be appropriate for me to give to the princess?

Madison: A bouquet of flowers, or some jewelry? There are so many people at the party, your gift isn't going to be framed and displayed, anything will do. I only gave a gold eagle coin last time.

Zhang Ailun: OK.

Several hours passed in the blink of an eye.

The Cirrus SF50 successfully reached the airspace above Silver Island. From above, it appeared to be just an unremarkable small resort island, incomparable in size to Jehovah Island. After contacting air traffic control, Bailey landed directly at the island's airport.

After getting off the plane, staff members came over to meet them. Zhang Ailun showed them the reservation information and paid the $800 ticket price per person! It has to be said that the ticket price was really expensive.

Turning my head, I also noticed several pickup trucks nearby, along with security personnel in camouflage uniforms and carrying American equipment; these must be members of the FARC guerrillas.

Some signs even have the buyback price of Spanish silver coins written in English, ranging from tens of dollars to thousands of dollars, but there are also regional restrictions, and many places are not actually open to it.

"You can choose to rent some treasure hunting equipment, such as metal detectors and shovels. The package rental fee is $50 per hour," the staff member said.

"So expensive?" Bailey was somewhat surprised.

"As long as you find the treasure, you won't lose money," the staff member said, pointing to the exchange rates on the sign.

Zhang Ailun didn't waste any time arguing with them. He simply took out $200 in cash and handed it to the staff, saying, "Give us two sets of equipment."

"Okay, good luck on your treasure hunt, gentlemen." The staff member took the money, smiled with satisfaction, and turned to hand over two sets of equipment to the leader and his men.

The three of them, carrying their equipment, arrived at the beach area of ​​Silver Island and saw many tourists enthusiastically carrying electronic instruments, searching for and measuring metallic silver.

However, the Grand Master knew that the real treasure location was not here, so he did not make a big fuss about it. He simply had Bailey take the detector to test it.

He admired the scenery for a while, took out his phone to take a few photos, recorded all the scenery he saw on video, and then called Bailey to go to the next place.