Chapter 151: 151. Ping An Li Gong
Sanna parked at the gate and began puffing on a cigarette, blowing rings of smoke.
"This place used to be our country's largest munitions factory, but now it has filed for bankruptcy. However, there are still many good things here, surely enough to meet your needs."
Before long, a man came out from inside the factory compound, squeaking the gates open and gesturing for the car to follow him.
Once inside, the walls and buildings, unattended, were mottled and all the more desolate and dilapidated.
Throughout the expansive factory grounds, many rusty T54 tanks were parked. These relics from 70 years ago were even troublesome to sell for scrap, as tanks are not easy to dismantle.
Occasionally, some ragtag workers passed by, staggering as if they had drunk quite a bit.
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By the time Sanna lit her second cigarette, the car stopped in front of the factory's office building, an L-shaped structure that seemed well kept and not too shabby.
The middle-aged man who had led the way came to meet them. He was short, with a scruffy beard and wore a pair of particularly thick black-framed glasses.
He seemed somewhat restrained, nodded to Lu Yao, and then looked at Sanna standing beside him.
The man frowned and quickly stepped forward, snatching the cigarette from Sanna's mouth and extinguishing it, expressing dissatisfaction, "You dress like a prostitute!"
Sanna sneered, "Now you remember you're a father?"
The two argued in the local language for a few sentences, then Sanna turned and introduced, "This is Semyon Svatshenko, an engineer from Marshal's Tank Factory Vehicle Production and Assembly Workshop."
The local name mixed with complicated Star Alliance Language words was tricky, but fortunately, Lu Yao mastered the Spirit Refining Oblivion to catch every single word clearly.
"Mr. Svatshenko, what can you bring me?"
"Call me Semyon. I have heard about you from Sanna," said Semyon, adjusting his glasses,
"You want to buy heavy firepower, but such things are closely watched; I dare not and do not have the capability to deal with that. So... I will introduce you to the person in charge of the factory. You can negotiate directly with the decision-maker."
Lu Yao nodded, "That works, it makes things easier for both of us. Then lead the way."
"Don't rush, I'm not finished," Semyon continued,
"Ten thousand dollars, I only take responsibility for the introduction. I can't guarantee anything else. Listen~ this is a very reasonable price. If it wasn't for Sanna vouching so strongly for you, I'd not risk it..."
Lu Yao pulled out a stack of cash and handed it over, cutting off his speech.
Semyon accepted the money, dumbfounded, counted it carefully, held it up to the light, and then carefully tucked it into his pocket.
"Wait for me for 5 minutes!"
After saying that, he entered the office building.
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Sanna lit another cigarette. "He's my father. Salaries here haven't been paid for four years."
She exhaled a smoke ring and continued, "The person he's going to introduce you to is Alexander Zhegkagariev, the person in charge of the factory."
As she was speaking, Semyon had already returned. "Top floor office, you can go in now."
Lu Yao nodded in thanks, then took a travel bag filled with money from the car behind him and handed Sanna $100,000.
"As we agreed earlier, this is your rightful commission."
Sanna took the money, her pupils first constricted then immediately dilated, a reaction that occurs when someone is surprised to the extreme.
The value of Yukolun's currency is only a quarter of Xia Country's, so the 100,000 Star Alliance coins in front of her could be called a huge sum here.
Semyon watched with his eyes wide and mouth agape, his entire being was overwhelmed! Instantly, he felt that the 10,000 Star Alliance coins in his pocket were no longer appealing!
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The top-level office had two bodyguards in suits and leather shoes standing at the door.
One of them swept Lu Yao's entire body with a metal detector to ensure he was unarmed; the other took his travel bag for inspection, and upon opening it, he was stunned, then quickly closed it and returned it to Lu Yao.
Lu Yao, carrying a big bag of money, walked into the office with ease.
It was warm inside, with wooden floors and solid wood furniture giving off a pleasant scent, a burly old man seated behind the office desk.
"Welcome, young man, I am Alexander. You must be from Xia Country, your people always have a unique aura that one can identify at a glance."
Alexander glanced nonchalantly at the travel bag in Lu Yao's hand before standing up to personally pour him a drink.
"For decades, the Marshal Factory carried the pride of the people of Yukolun, but now the glory has become a thing of the past. I wonder what in these fallen lands could be of service to you?"
Lu Yao opened the travel bag and pushed it forward, saying, "I want heavy firepower, like the Fire God Cannon, money is not an issue."
Nothing was more intoxicating than a bag full of money! Although he had already heard from his bodyguards about what was in the bag, Alexander still couldn't help feeling a rush of excitement when he saw it with his own eyes.
The edge-of-bankruptcy factory could no longer squeeze out any profits, and his heart was far less steady than his outward appearance.
"Heavy firepower... it is a very dangerous affair, watched closely by many departments, with extremely high risk. How do you plan to smuggle it across the border?"
"You can rest assured about the safety, my channels are foolproof. All you need to do is give me the weapons, and then they will disappear from this planet forever," Lu Yao said casually.
Such words were too grandiose, and Alexander hesitated. Yukolun had been selling weapons to war-torn areas for years and had been placed on the blacklist by various international organizations; they were closely watched both openly and covertly.
He really dared not sell heavy weapons to Lu Yao just like that! He was about to probe further when just at that moment, a high-pitched screech came from outside the window of the deluxe office on the top floor.
Lu Yao opened the window, and Ping An flew in with a "night heron" in its beak.
The prey in its mouth was as big as Ping An itself; it was a wonder how it had caught it and even offered it to Lu Yao as if to please him.
Lu Yao smiled and declined, affectionately stroking it a couple of times before Ping An flew off to enjoy its treat.
"Sorry, my pet can be quite clingy."
Alexander, who had kept a straight face upon seeing the bag of money, was stunned at the sight of the Spiritual Sparrowhawk, and quickly recomposed himself to flatter:
"A Spear Falcon! You truly are a man of taste."
Alexander well knew that the price for such a creature was skyrocketing. Lu Yao's one not only looked divine but was also pure white! It was worth at least 10 million Star Alliance coins.
Moreover, its annual maintenance costs were also in the hundreds of thousands, a money-devouring beast flaunted by the oil-rich elites to showcase wealth and style, certainly not something the average person could afford.
Being able to afford to keep such a thing was a display of power in itself.
Alexander put aside his probing thoughts and decisively said, "About the Fire God Cannon you just mentioned, we have the blueprints and need time to manufacture."
Lu Yao wasn't in a rush either, smilingly he replied, "Then please arrange for production as quickly as possible, I am a person who values efficiency."
Alexander began to devote himself wholeheartedly to the prospect of a comfortable retirement, offering, "I won't let a customer leave empty-handed. You can go to the workshop and pick out some other good items."