Where Thunder Horse’s weapons would end up after exportation was not within Xia Lei’s control. He sold to legal governments and legal military troops, but that didn’t mean these people wouldn’t resell these for a higher price.
Thunder Horse Organization’s XL2500 sniper rifle, gust assault rifle and Hell-bound One Soldier Cannons were in high demand in the Middle Eastern region. The weapons allowed them to attack with impressive power. Regardless of government forces or rebels, even the active terrorist organization of the region had favoured Thunder Horse’s weapons. Judging from that perspective, Thunder Horse Organization’s weapons had certainly rubbed salt into the tormented local’s wounds.
However, was the Thunder Horse Organization really at fault? Was this actually Xia Lei’s fault?
“Thunder Horse Organization’s excellent weapons had brought more damage than good to the innocent Middle Eastern locals. In the war zones of Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, many soldiers of America and its allies had met their end under the weapons you created.” Folsom’s tone was increasingly aggressive. “Mister Xia, you’re a successful man but is the kind of success you’re after? Is this the firm peace that you’re referring to?”
Everyone turned to look at Xia Lei.
After a brief moment of silence, Xia Lei spoke, “You mentioned that my weapons had fallen into the hands of the terrorists. Do you have any evidence to support that?”
Folsom smirked coldly. “I was expecting you to ask that so I brought footage with me.”
As her words ended, the screen behind the pair began to project a video.
In the video, a black-robed terrorist blasted his gust assault rifle at a gathered group of women, children and elderlies. Every bullet fired was a lifeless body on the ground. At the end of the footage, the bearded terrorist commented that the gust assault rifle was the best rifle he had ever used after a round of merciless massacre.
The video switched to another footage where a troop of American military convoys stationed in Afghanistan were met with a terrorist attack. The armoured vehicle driving in the front was unceremoniously blasted apart by a shell fired from a Hell-bound One Soldier Cannon and the remaining American soldiers were killed by an XL2500 sniper rifle. The end of the video displayed an armed terrorist that showed off his XL2500 sniper rifle while praising it as a weapon given by Allah. Following that, another terrorist kissed the Hell-bound One Soldier Cannon, mentioning that the weapon had given him the courage to try challenging a US tank.
The video ran its course for about two minutes before it ended. Folsom inhaled sharply and mustered her next words in pain. “Mister Xia, shouldn’t you say something about this?”
Xia Lei simply answered, “I’ve got a video to show you too.”
Before long, the big screen behind them played a new set of footages.
In this video, two M1A1 Main Battle Tank’s drove into a small Iraqi town. The tanks fired unhesitating shells to the escaping villagers and Iraqi government soldiers who were protecting the town. The terrorist member who had filmed the entire ordeal appeared near the end and thanked the Americans for their tank with an uncanny smile.
The next footage showed a battle in Syria. The American Hercules transport plane whistled through the air, dropping off boxes of weapons with parachutes. However, those weapons were not collected by the American supporting counter-attack forces but by the terrorists.
Xia Lei stopped the video prematurely.
Calmly, he turned to look at Folsom. “Madam Folsom, you’ve asked me to comment on the Thunder Horse’s involvement in terrorism. I would like to ask for your comment towards the video I showed as well.”
“The airdropping of weapons was a mistake. As for the tanks, those were equipment left behind in Iraq during the Gulf War. After Saddam’s fall, a part of these weapons and equipment ended up into the hands of the terrorists.” Folsom emphasized, “This was not our intention and most affirmatively not done on purpose.”
Xia Lei smiled. “That begs the question. How could you think that I had done those on purpose? As you claimed, your tanks and air-dropped weapons had ended up with the terrorists by mistake. Similarly, my weapons had found itself in the hands of the terrorists through some channel by mistake. Can’t that be understood as an unintended accident?”
“The nature of the incident is not the same, Mister Xia!”
“Fair point. After all, your mistakes were done legally while mine was illegal. You’re allowed to be erroneous but I’m not allowed to slip up. Is that what you’re trying to say?” Xia Lei questioned.
A flash of fury roared in Folsom’s eyes but the burst of emotion was short-lived. She shrugged her shoulders calmly. “If this is how you plan to avoid my queries, then I have no comment.”
Xia Lei pressed on, “This itself is plain differential treatment. For the same thing, you’re able to forgive yourself but you’re unwilling to forgive others. In fact, you’ve never planned to understand the real reason behind the flow of Thunder Horse weapons into the hands of the terrorists. Isn’t that so?”
“Time will show that you’re wrong,” warned Folsom.
Xia Lei retaliated, “Time had already proven that your colour revolution in Ukraine and the Arab Spring revolution is a failure.”
“Oh!” Folsom huffed. “This is supposed to be a non-political event. We should avoid the topics of politics and I have no interest to further engage you in that path.”
Xia Lei smiled at her. “Then what would you like to talk about?”
“Let’s talk about you.” She answered.
Inexplicably, Xia Lei had a very bad feeling about it.
The intensity in her gaze was terrifying. “Mister Xia, your father, Xia Changhe, was a member of an illegal special force organization known as the FA Organization. It was he who infiltrated the AE Research Centre in America to steal their fruit of research, the AE capsules. It was those capsules that completed you!”
A deafening silence enveloped the hall.
But it was seconds before low murmurs of discussion could be heard about.
“What kind of institution is the AE Research Centre?”
“What is an AE capsule? It sounds like some kind of pill.”
“Is it a kind of pill that will give its consumer superpowers? You know, Spiderman, Superman, the Hulk and so on?”
“Maybe! A lot of reports on Xia Lei’s climb of success stated that he was just a mere construction worker a few years ago and the man is now a billionaire!”
“Yeah, I’ve always found it weird. How can he become so powerful in such a short time? The weapons he manufactured and designed are internationally renowned. Even the European and American technologies can’t keep up with his pace. Nothing makes sense.”
“It really doesn’t make any sense. In my opinion, Madam Folsom must’ve known something about it. She isn’t someone who would make bold baseless statements in a setting like this.”
“Aren’t they supposed to be talking about the peace and stability of Asia? Why is she bringing up Xia Lei’s private affairs?”
“Can’t you tell? This isn’t just some regular debate, this is a fight between two military aces!”
“I think so too. It’s impossible for Lockheed Martin to sit still in the face of Thunder Horse Organization’s rapid development and watch them conquer its market. The fact that Thunder Horse is making better weapons than us most probably won’t sit well with the American government.”
Discussions of this kind could be heard at all corners of the venue.
Shentu Tianyin watched Xia Lei with glistening eyes.
On the podium, Xia Lei too was rendered silent. He felt fury but for the most part, he was worried.
The thing he had feared most had manifested today. Someday, his secret will be brought to light and everyone would view him as a monster. He wasn’t worried about how the world would view him. However, he was extremely worried about how the people he held dearly would view him.
Worse, the revelation of his secret would serve severe damage to him and his Thunder Horse Organization!
Currently, the Thunder Horse Organization was at a key developmental phase. If the momentum was interrupted by his secret, things would be in favour of Lockheed Martin along with the Japanese and American government. The battle to defeat his domestic enemies had been difficult. Would his secrets attract new challengers or perhaps hindrance?
“Silence, please,” commanded Folsom sternly.
The audience immediately fell silent.
Folsom returned her gaze onto Xia Lei again. “Mister Xia, your father had stolen the fruit of America’s research and you’re its ultimate benefactor. We’ve got enough evidence to prove that you’ve surpassed current human evolution to create an empire of your own. You’ve had military operations in Germany, India, Afghanistan, Russia, France and even Italy. More than a hundred people have fallen victim in your hands. This is an achievement even professional killers could not match. I’ve said this much, it’s about time you make a comment.”
Abruptly, Fan Fan made a mad dash up the stage.
Her actions seemed to indicate her urge to cut off Folsom’s words forcefully but Xia Lei quickly halted her with a stern look. This was a live conference broadcasted all over the globe. If she had actually halted Folsom’s speech, the status she bore was bound to garner negative slander and land her in trouble.
Fan Fan was furious. She saw the struggle in Xia Lei’s eyes but could only suppress her violent urge to drag Folsom off stage.
“Mister Xia?” Folsom’s lips were curled into a vicious smirk.
Xia Lei raised a palm and gave a few slow claps. He smiled at her. “Madam Folsom, your story is impressively interesting. I feel like you’ve got better talent as a scriptwriter than managing Lockheed Martin. You really should consider a jump ship. Maybe become an actor and join the Avengers.”
“Mister Xia, I wouldn’t be stating things like this without evidence. Since I could bring it up in such a setting, I’m also able to show you the evidence.” Folsom chuckled a little. “Here, I’d like to hear you defend yourself. If you choose to stay silent, I’ve got no comment. After all, humans are the most reluctant to admit their sins.”
To avoid the topic was equivalent to giving silent confirmation.
However, what Folsom had said was merely the truth. This wasn’t something that could be discussed and defended here. Xia Lei was at a loss.
The man felt horrible, absolutely fucking horrendous. He had never expected the first public debate of his life to end this way.
“Mister Xia, are you really going to say nothing?” Folsom approached him with careful steps.
Xia Lei flashed her a smile. “Madam Folsom, I don’t know whose order you are acting on but I’d like to tell them something. They’re going to pay for everything they’ve done. You won’t be able to escape your fate too.”
Folsom scowled. She was intelligent and she picked up Xia Lei’s underlying message.
Xia Lei continued, “About the AE Research Centre and the AE capsule that could magically make someone smarter. I’ll be frank, are the researchers a bunch of idiots? If those capsules were as miraculous as you claimed, why hadn’t they mass-produced it to create smarter Americans? Isn’t that aligned to America’s best interest? Lastly, if that AE Research Centre is still producing such capsules, I’d be happy to buy some. I would love to try them out. I’ll end my speech here, thank you.”
With that, Xia Lei left the podium towards the door without sparing a glance back.