1029: One Shot Thirteen Chapters Loach 1029: One Shot Thirteen Chapters Loach After ending the call with Polovich, Gao Yang couldn’t help but sigh, “Grand Ivan, when will you stop hiding?”
Seeing that it was about time, Gao Yang put away his phone and went back to the cafeteria, which was now empty except for Li Qiu, who was sitting at a table waiting for him.
Once Gao Yang sat down across from Li Qiu, he smiled and said, “What is it you wanted to talk to me about?”
Li Qiu nodded and, hesitating for a moment, said, “I have a favor to ask of you.
Well, it’s like this, I’ve been a mercenary for quite a few years, but it wasn’t until I got here that I realized, war can actually be fought like this, uh, this…
I found the night vision device to be really useful.”
Gao Yang chuckled, “You’ve never used one before?
Haven’t you been a soldier?”
Li Qiu shook his head and replied, “No, I’ve never been in the military.
I just plunged headfirst into this line of work, and surviving all these years was pure luck.”
Gao Yang shrugged and said, “Let’s cut to the chase, do you want a night vision device?”
Li Qiu nodded and said, “Exactly, that’s what I mean.
I wanted to ask you if I could get a night vision device from you.
Ah, I don’t mean for free, I want to buy it.
I’ve made money from you, and I can use that to buy your night vision device.
You don’t have to pay me; just count the night vision device as my payment.”
Gao Yang shook his head and said, “I wonder how you’ve been a mercenary for so many years.
You want to buy night vision devices from me?
Aren’t arms dealers plentiful?
Even if you’ve always been in Africa, it’s not like you have to buy from me, right?”
Li Qiu gave a wry smile and explained, “Hey, let me tell you, I knew about night vision devices before, but I never experienced how they’re used or what benefits they have.
Where I stayed, there were no night vision devices.”
After saying this, Li Qiu hesitated for a moment and continued, “I do often use walkie-talkies, but the ones we use have poor signal and tend to break a lot.
I think the ones you use are pretty good, and I’d like one of those as well, along with a GPS.
I used to want to buy one, but couldn’t find a place to do so.”
Gao Yang waved his hand and said, “Hold on, let me tell you this.
Do you know how much a set of the night vision devices you are using now costs?”
Li Qiu was taken aback and asked, “How much?”
Gao Yang said solemnly, “Twelve thousand dollars, US Dollar.”
Li Qiu’s mouth fell open, “Curtis, that expensive?”
Gao Yang gave a bitter smile and said, “What did you expect?
Let me tell you, the ones you’re using aren’t the most expensive, but they’re still good stuff.
Twelve thousand is a friendly price.
Just to let you know, the set you’re using now, you can’t really buy it just anywhere outside.”
After pondering with a look of misery on his face, Li Qiu still waved his hand decisively, “Twelve thousand I’ll buy too, even if it means getting two sets less.
But are you willing to sell?”
Gao Yang shrugged and said, “If you really want to buy, sure, I can sell them to you, that’s not a problem.
But why don’t you buy cheaper ones?
Russian-made ones are only twelve hundred, an entire magnitude cheaper, although the Russian night vision can have issues in high heat environments, I don’t know if it will work where you usually are.”
Li Qiu shook his head, “Russian goods won’t do, their guns aren’t bad, but their electronic products really don’t cut it.
I’ve seen others use them, and they fail to work when it’s humid and hot.
I’d rather not.”
Gao Yang smiled and said, “Up to you.
If you really want to buy, I’ll sell you a couple of sets when you leave.
Anything else?”
Li Qiu stroked his chin, “Anything else, let’s talk about it later.
I just wanted to ask if you would sell, as long as you’re willing to sell, that’s fine.
As for the other stuff, I’ll decide how much money I have when I’m about to leave and prioritize buying what’s important.”
After finishing his words, Li Qiu shook his head and gave a bitter laugh, “Our group also has over a hundred people, but all of us combined would be over the moon to make two to three hundred thousand dollars a month, and sometimes we don’t make a dime for several months.
Man, comparison really is the thief of joy.
I was just thinking of getting some high-tech equipment too, who knows, it might land us some more lucrative jobs.”
Satan Mercenary Corps had their own exclusive gear, and it was definitely of better quality than what they provided to those temporarily hired hands.
But even the temporary hires didn’t get bottom-of-the-barrel stuff—items that an average person couldn’t easily buy on the arms market.
However, for Gao Yang, this was a trivial matter.
Sell a few items and then replenish the stock later—it was not a big deal.
The issues Li Qiu brought up weren’t significant; they could be settled in a few words.
However, after pondering for a bit, Gao Yang had another idea.
“Loach, by your account, the mercenary group you’re with doesn’t sound too impressive.”
Li Qiu smiled bitterly and waved his hand, saying, “What mercenary group?
It’s just a rabble coming together to trade their lives for some cash.
We don’t even have a name; how can that be considered a real mercenary group?”
Gao nodded and asked, “I’ve seen what you can do, and it’s not bad at all.
Since you’ve never been in the military, where did you train?”
Li Qiu waved his hand again, saying, “Train?
What train?
I’m self-taught.
When it comes to fighting, you naturally get the hang of it after seeing enough.
Hey, I just put in some effort and observed how the good ones operate, then followed suit.
Gradually, I became a veteran; that’s all there is to it.”
Gao Yang exhaled and said, “You can’t get anywhere with the way you’re doing things now.
Let me be straight with you; you can work for me.
You’re decent in a fight, and with your cooking skills, you don’t have to live like you do now.
If you join me, I’ll pay you a base salary of fifty thousand dollars a month, and if we get into combat, I’ll pay you ten thousand dollars a day!”
Li Qiu’s mouth hung open, and after staring at Gao Yang for a moment, he finally sighed and shook his head, “Curtis, I didn’t know I was worth so much.
Fifty thousand a month, jeez, you really value me.
Just earning the base salary would make me ecstatic, but still, I have to decline.
I have to go back after this battle is over.”
Gao Yang frowned and asked, “Is it about the money?”
Li Qiu sighed and replied, “It’s not about the money.
I have to go back.
Let me put it this way; our gang is all lazy and stupid.
Apart from being slack in combat, everyone is too damn lazy.
Training them is like asking for their lives, yet they can out-eat anyone.
Curtis!
I have no choice.
If I leave them be, those guys would become cannon fodder within days.
We’ve been together for so many years; they’re like brothers to me.
How could I abandon them?
There’s just no way.”
Gao Yang felt it was a shame, and he said in a heavy tone, “Are you close with them?”
Li Qiu nodded, looking troubled, “Yes, although we’re not really a mercenary group, I’m still their leader.
About a hundred and ten mouths depend on me.
Sigh, it’s okay as long as I’m there.
Although the guys are a bit stupid and lazy, they still listen to me.
I would never lead them to their deaths.
Those idiots would probably starve without someone to spend money on food for them.
If I left, they’d likely die off in a few days.
We’ve been through so much together; as brothers, how could I just neglect them?
No way.”
Gao Yang gained new respect for Li Qiu, finding him to be a man of loyalty, but he also completely abandoned the idea of recruiting him.
Since Li Qiu was so loyal, he wouldn’t abandon his people, better to let it be.
Gao Yang nodded and said, “Alright, I understand.
You’re a man of loyalty, so I won’t press the matter.
We can discuss the gear you need when you leave—whatever I can give, I will.
Plus, if you ever need anything else in Africa, just let me know.”
Li Qiu smiled, “Thanks a lot.
Arms dealers are all so damn greedy; buying a few guns from them breaks my heart every time.
The people I lead are useless; we can’t compare to your corps.
Otherwise, I would have armed them with the good stuff too.
A shame, isn’t it?
Combat isn’t just about having the best weapons.
We mostly make do with AK47s.
But I do have a few veterans with me.
No theory, but rich in experience.
With some old hands leading the way, we can still get some jobs.
Can’t hope for a fortune, but we won’t starve.
I’ve decided to bring back some quality gear for the veterans to try.
If it works out, I’ll have a better bargaining position in the future.”
Gao Yang laughed heartily, “Veterans are indeed treasures.
You can give it a try.
Having night vision devices is definitely better than not.
Even if it’s just a few, they can make a big difference.
Being able to fight at night or conduct nocturnal raids is a big deal in Africa; you’ll rack up achievements.
Your thinking is right.
After a few battles, I reckon your group’s value will increase.”
Li Qiu beamed and nodded repeatedly, “Exactly, it’s like choosing a general from among the dwarfs.
I’ll try to turn my rabble into elites.
To thank you, since you mentioned wanting to eat deep-fried dough sticks, if you’re free tomorrow morning, I’ll fry a pot for you.”
Gao Yang eagerly agreed, “Too bad about not being able to make tofu pudding.”
Li Qiu shook his head, “That’s not necessarily true.
I can actually make tofu pudding.
If you can find the ingredients, I can make it for you.”
After saying that, Li Qiu smacked his lips and said, “Speaking of which, it’s been a long time since I had sheep offal soup.
I’ve seen the airport canteen slaughtering sheep; they must have some sheep offal, and beef offal too.
I just don’t know how they handle it.
Maybe you could procure some sheep offal, and we could cook up a pot of mixed sheep and beef offal soup.”
Gao Yang clapped his hands, “Sure, that’s easy to arrange.
Hey, I’ve noticed sometimes you cook Southern style, other times Northern style, and now you want to eat sheep offal.
Where exactly are you from?
And with your skills, you could make a name for yourself as a chef; why become a mercenary instead?”
Li Qiu froze for a moment, then after a brief daze, he shook his head and spoke in a low tone, “It’s complicated.
Better not to ask.”
Gao Yang realized he touched on a sensitive subject, glanced at his wristwatch—it was almost time to select troops—and stood up, smiling, “All right, I’m sure we can get that sheep offal for you.
You just wait for the sheep offal soup.
Make extra, I like it too.
I’ve got something to take care of.
We’ll talk later.” (To Be Continued.
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