Chapter 422: The Reunion with Robert
Translator: _Min_ Editor: Caron_
MLL Island was the fourteenth biggest island in the world and the second largest island in country F. It was also the island with the most frequent terrorism, hence the name “the home of terrorism.”
There were two anti-government militant groups in country F currently, one being “Moro Liberation Front” (MLF) and the other being “Moro National Liberation Front” (MNLF).
The latter was previously the strongest anti-government militant group, but because of internal conflicts and a decrease in foreign support, it broke into three separate divisions with two of the divisions supporting the establishment of autonomy in the MLL area while the other division promoted the separation of MLL from country F to form an independent country. The former group, the MLF, was currently the largest anti-government military force in F with ten thousand people, originating from the MNLF division that supported independence.
Due to the pressure from regional conflicts, the F government signed an initial agreement with the MLF in 2012 and promised to form the “Federation of Moro” on MLL island to the south of country F. What was worth noting was that it wouldn’t be an independent country but rather an autonomous area under F with more self-governance.
Then the question was: although country F satisfied MLF’s political demands, it completely ignored MNLP’s demands. At the same time, even in MLF, there was a loud faction demanding the formation of an independent country, refusing to maintain the “sub-country” status quo.
Thus, after the Aquino government prepared to sign the peace agreement, MLF separated from MNLF. The founder of MNLF, Sauli, immediately expressed his opposition to the signing of the peace agreement and threatened to start another military conflict.
He obviously wasn’t lying as a tragedy occurred in 2013 – 300 MNLF militants attacked a city located in the west of MLL island and engaged in heavy fire with the local forces.
Until 2016, the MLL anti-government militants refused to cease fire.
From Google maps, all of country F was like a shredded puzzle – any force could rip it apart. To unite the divided nation, Aquino had to maintain a strong stance internationally and blow national security issues out of proportion.
Promoting patriotic beliefs in the country to strengthen the cohesion of the nation had been a useful tactic since the age of colonization.
However, it was only useful at best.
In the first step to destroy country F, Jiang Chen planned to start with MLL Island. As the second largest island in country F, not only did the island possess rich mining resources, but it had the most violent ethnic and religious conflicts. He didn’t even need to add fuel to the fire himself – he just needed to give the people eager to light up a pile of wood the lighter they ever so desired, and they would frantically rush to light up the bonfire known as a coup.
…
Before Jiang Chen headed to country F, he first flew to South Africa and met his old friend Robert.
Compared to when they met in Iraq, this guy was a lot paler; at least people wouldn’t mistake him for an Indian anymore.
His life in Hollywood was sensational. The moment he saw Jiang Chen, he gloated to him about having Hollywood girls keeping his bed warm every day. He then put his hand on Jiang Chen’s shoulder and invited him to visit Los Santos someday.
It was easy to become a producer in Hollywood. With money, anyone could hang their name on the credits of a movie. After he helped Jiang Chen with Pannu Islands, he received his “film salary” of one hundred million USD. A few parties in Los Santos later, he became the star of the Hollywood “upper cla.s.s,” and his girlfriend count increased from one to multiple.
After they did some catching up, Robert hailed a taxi and took Jiang Chen to the warehouse located in the rural area of Abington.
It contained 12000 a.s.sault rifles and 90 tons of ammo, 1700 RPG-7 rockets and 150 launchers, boxes of M2 grenades, bulletproof vests, night-vision goggles and other equipment.
Also in the corner of the warehouse were twenty-something mortars and thousands of mortar rounds.
Firearms totaling 60 million USD were piled into a mountain in the giant warehouse.
Jiang Chen was shocked by the number of firearms.
It was hard to imagine that Robert managed to h.o.a.rd this quant.i.ty of arms in South Africa; the equipment was enough to equip a fu*king battalion. Did the South African government really have no clue?
Of course, Jiang Chen was inclined to believe that Robert pre-cleared the way to customs.
“This is the last batch of my supplies.” Robert closed the warehouse door and handed the key to Jiang Chen then lit a cigarette. “I’ve stayed away from the firearms business since Iraq. I was planning to sell it at a discount to the dictator in West Africa, but since you need it, it’s yours.”
“Not much difference – they’ll end up in the hands of a dictator either way.” Jiang Chen took the key and joked.
Robert grinned. “Let’s have a drink?”
“My plan too.” Jiang Chen gladly accepted his invitation.
They found a restaurant in the rural area of Abington city then ordered a table full of South African dishes and a few bottles of beer. They began to chat.
Robert had many interesting experiences to share partly because he was humorous, but mostly because of his wealth of experience.
This guy started the firearms business with Mexican gangs when he was 17. One day, by chance, he managed to connect with the national security force. He went from being in the firearms business in Veit to selling crude oil in Iraq, from being the kingpin of the industry to being blacklisted by the FBA. Because he met Jiang Chen in Sanya who was eager to get rid of the gold, he, fortunately, survived the FBA’s master plot to kill him through other hands. That was what made him choose to leave the industry and become a producer.
As they chatted, Jiang Chen exclaimed that this guy’s experience could be compiled into a book.
“Once I’m 50, I’ll film an autobiography. I have the name already: let’s call it ‘The Merchant of Death,’ burp-” Robert said with high spirits.
“With how fast you spend money, you’ll have to pick up your old gig by 40.”
Robert grinned then he shook the cup in his hand. “Eh? Not at all. If you manage to become a big deal in Hollywood, the future is not less bright than trading in firearms. Have you heard that the that will be in theatres by December? Remember to look for my name in the credits.”
[Will normal people see that? Without post-credit scenes, most people leave by the start of the credits.]
Jiang Chen didn’t want to discourage his old friend’s pa.s.sion for the film industry, so he diverted the topic and asked nonchalantly:
“Where’s Nick? Why didn’t he come along?”
“He’s in the acting industry now.” Robert chuckled.
“Acting?” Jiang Chen thought he heard wrong.
“That’s right, he’s been with me for so many years. Now that I’m not in the business anymore, I couldn’t let him starve. His fighting ability is great, a natural for action movies. I recommended him to a director that I know pretty well. After a few years of training, maybe he will become a top Hollywood star one day. Anyway, it’s a lot better than being a bodyguard.” Robert laughed while he burped.
“Acting in films? Not a bad exit option.”
Jiang Chen raised his cup with a smile and toasted Robert.
After the dinner, it was seven in the evening already. Because there was still a party to attend in the afternoon, Robert booked a flight back to Los Santos at ten at night, so the two said goodbye.
Jiang Chen watched the taxi Robert was in to leave then headed to the warehouse.
He confirmed that there were no suspicious figures following him before he shut the door.
With the warehouse full of firearms, he took a deep breath, put on the bracelet Lin Lin gave him, then opened the storage dimension.
He left the warehouse after he transferred everything to the other side.
With the door locked, he broke the key into two pieces and threw it in the trash. Then he left the dark alley without turning his head.
His flight was that night too.
The next stop, country F.