Chapter 105: Defense Mission
Translated by: kevin1782
Edited by: Isalee
Gao Yang didn't know what his mood was like. As he stared at Jin Fang and Tribo, he only said weakly, "When did you get here? What did all of you hear?"
"I heard the piano and came over. When I got here I saw Natalia already standing at the door. Then I also stood next to the door to eavesdrop a little. As to what you guys were saying, uhm, whatever that should've been heard was all heard."
Tribo seemed somewhat despondent. "I only came over after the piano piece. Seeing Jin and Natalia creeping around suspiciously, I also stood at the door and eavesdropped a little."
Gao Yang weakly waved his hand and said, "Well, it's nothing. Let's go, let me have some quiet time for a while, I have to think carefully about it."
Gao Yang did not expect Jin and Tribo to give him any good advice. He just wanted to quietly wait by himself for a while. However, after Jin and Tribo walked away, Gao Yang suddenly realized the reason why he was looking for Elena was not yet done.
Looking at the list that was still in his hands, Gao Yang was on the verge of tears. He would have to go to Elena's bedroom to find her again. He wanted to let the others do it in his place, but his list was written in Chinese and Jin and Tribo did not have the ability to translate them into English before sending it out yet.
Gao Yang helplessly went to Elena's doorway and knocked on the door. He quickly stated his intentions to avoid any misunderstanding from both Natalia and Elena.
"Elena, I want to use your computer, are you free now?"
Natalia opened the door. She was full of smiles. "She's very free now, y'all have a good time. I've got something on and I have to go outside. Oh, I got to get to the streets, it's going to be long before I can come back, bye bye."
Seeing Natalia moving out with superhuman speed, Elena's smile blossomed. "Mothers always dote on daughters the most, right? Alright, please come in, you can do anything here now."
Principled by the idea of "fast-game, fast-finish", Gao Yang sat before the already switched-on computer and registered an email with the fastest speed possible. He swiftly typed out the list and sent it to Ulyanko. While Gao Yang was doing all that, Elena just quietly sat at the side and smiled at him.
After everything was done at the fastest speed possible, Gao Yang stood up and said, "I have something to do somewhere else. I'll go back first."
Elena smiled happily and nodded. "Well, I should also be practicing piano now."
Gao Yang felt that he had to do something about this. But thinking about Kathleen who would be arriving within a week, he felt that he would maintain this still unclear relationship lest a more serious situation popped up when she got here.
Gao Yang escaped into his room. Sometimes his eyes were laughing, and other times worried frowns filled his expression. It was a bliss to be crushed on, but for Gao Yang, having to choose from two people gave him headaches again.
Just as Gao Yang was daydreaming, his phone suddenly rang.
"Hey, Ram, I saw your list. Most of them didn't pose any problems. I'll be able to prepare them all after ten days, but I don't have the boots you want. If I buy them from America, you might as well just buy them in South Africa. Also, your list also has a large-caliber sniper rifle: I recommend that you remove it."
"Alright, no problem, I will buy the boots myself here. But why remove the sniper rifle?"
"It's like this: in this mission, you won't be using the large-caliber sniper rifle at all. Actually, I won't keep you in suspense: you know what, Gaddafi is looking for highly capable mercs to be his bodyguards. Of course, that's for the outer parameters only. This news is very reliable, and they've been hiring people surreptitiously. The price is very high."
Hearing about the high price, Gao Yang's interest was slightly aroused. But after thinking about having to become Gaddafi's bodyguard again, he felt that it was not very secure or probable. It was also too dangerous, for Gaddafi was the thorn in NATO and the Opposition's sides. Gao Yang was afraid that they wouldn't have even a single day of good rest if they became his bodyguards.
After a moment of hesitation, Gao Yang felt that Ulyanko's words were somewhat unreliable. Baffled, he said, "Gaddafi has many bodyguards, also with that very famous, beautiful squad of pretty female bodyguards. Why would he think of getting bodyguards from mercs?"
"I told you that it's only for the outer parameters. Cannon fodder, to be frank. Y'all may not even see Gaddafi, and it may not even be the person himself. It's also possible to become bodyguards for his sons. They don't have beauty squad like Gaddafi. This mission is not only safe — it's even simpler than what you'd imagined. They just need some mercs to provide protection from the outside parameters and not actual personal bodyguards. It's also not possible for them to hire a merc to become their personal bodyguards. Hence, there really isn't much to worry about."
Gao Yang pondered a bit before replying, "Got it. Let's discuss the specifics in Libya, no need to decide too early yet either."
Ulyanko said, "You have near-perfect prerequisite skills for this. Gaddafi doesn't trust weak government troops with lousy fighting capabilities. Hence, he's trying to find mercenaries for protection around the perimeter. But he also didn't want to give such an important mission to only one mercenary corp, and that's why he needs many small-sized mercenary corps. Even freelance mercs. That way he wouldn't have to worry about the merc corps protecting him from being controlled by someone else. I have the utmost faith in you guys to be taken in smoothly; therefore, you all won't be on the battlefield this time. You only need to provide close security safeguarding. Totally no need for large-caliber sniper rifles."
After hearing Ulyanko, Gao Yang hesitated and said, "Alright, but I want to ask some questions first. How much do our necessities cost? Both with the sniper and without."
"A total of 14,655 dollars. Cost price, and cutting off the bits and pieces, let's make it 15,000 dollars then. As for the sniper rifle, the Barrett with her bullets and the scope would be 45,000 dollars. Internationally precise AS50 rounds and the scope would be 76,000 dollars. Those are my cost prices. You know, it's not in my scope of business, so buying from others would have some profits tagged onto them. But I believe that's the lowest price you can get. My purchasing network is still very powerful.
"Furthermore, if you insist on having the large-caliber sniper rifle, or having her after the mission, I recommend you take the McMillan TAC50 [1]. Though it's a bolt-action type, it remains unchallenged globally in its record for scoring the most the long-distance kills. In addition, I have this gun as in stock, totally pristine and new. Only costs thirty-five grand with the scope and all the other accessories."
Gao Yang immediately corrected Ulyanko's error. "Newest world record is the L115A3, TAC50's record is already outdated."
"Really? I'm not very clear on that. But it doesn't matter. You knowing that the TAC50 is a good gun will do."
Gao Yang did not care if TAC50 remained the furthest in the records; it was meaningless. Hence, Ulyanko's advice was indeed worth considering.
After pondering for a while, Gao Yang felt that Ulyanko's price was indeed very fair. Although it was not cheap, Ulyanko also did not buy them at the manufacturer's price.
"Alright, everything will be in accordance with what you said. Prepare the stuff, and we'll pay up after the ten days. Other than that, leave that McMillan sniper rifle for me. Even if there's no use for her this time, I also want to take a look. If she's as good as you say, I want to at least reserve her."
After hanging up, Gao Yang looked at the price that he noted down. He suddenly found that Ulyanko was indeed a very 'capable' dude: after removing the bits and pieces, the price was rounded up from fourteen thousand and six hundred plus to fifteen thousand in total.