42: Stealth fighter

“In addition, before you return to China to receive your medal, Lieutenant General Majid hopes you can bring back one hundred sets of the [BH90 Medium-Range Air Defense Missile System] that we previously introduced.”

“What? One hundred sets of air defense missiles from the Rabbit Country?” Hassan felt his head spinning.

“Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?” he asked in disbelief.

“That’s right, Ambassador Hassan, this is a direct order from Lieutenant General Majid. He said this is the highest priority mission and the weapons must be transported as quickly as possible.”

“And at all costs!”

“Lieutenant General Majid?”

The name left Hassan somewhat bewildered.

He searched his mind for a moment but couldn’t find any information about this Lieutenant General.

Could he be new?

But now was not the time to think about such things. The key was the one hundred sets of air defense missile systems.

This quantity was enough to rebuild the entire air defense network.

With the national treasury so tight, doing this was simply insane.

He thought for a moment and said cautiously.

“Please tell Lieutenant General Majid that he may not be very familiar with the Rabbit Country’s weapons, nor is he clear on the significance of one hundred sets of air defense missile systems.”

“Regardless of the quality of the Rabbit Country’s weapons, the sheer quantity of one hundred sets is already exaggerated. This is equivalent to rebuilding the air defense system.”

“I believe that even if he wanted to make such a major decision involving military reform, Saddam Commander would not agree,” he quickly added.

“Saddam Commander has already approved…”

The voice from the other end of the phone came through calmly, but it felt like a heavy hammer striking Hassan’s heart.

“What did you say?”

“Saddam Commander really agreed?”

“Ambassador Hassan, you may not know what happened last night.”

“Last night, Eagle Country’s stealth fighters successfully invaded our airspace and destroyed three air defense command centers, including the General Command Center in the Capital, Baghdad.”

“And the air defense radar systems provided by Dog Bear Country were completely unresponsive during this attack.”

“In other words, they were completely unable to detect Eagle Country’s stealth fighters.”

“The only one that survived was the air defense command center in Afair, because the Rabbit Country’s air defense missile system you brought back was deployed there.”

“It successfully detected the enemy aircraft and intercepted the impending air strike.”

“This also preserved the last glimmer of hope for our air defense system and avoided the situation of losing air control.”

“Otherwise, you might already be the ambassador of a fallen nation.”

“This, this…” Hassan was utterly shocked.

Had an unintentional action of his inadvertently saved his country?

Ambassador Hassan rubbed his face hard, trying his best to calm himself down, and then said, “I understand, I will go and discuss this order immediately.”

“In the name of God, I will definitely transport the first batch of air defense missiles back within this week, no matter the cost!”

Hassan hung up the phone and tremblingly took off his glasses with his right hand.

This wasn’t a dream, was it? He couldn’t help but wonder.

Suddenly, as if he remembered something, he quickly reached for the inner pocket of his jacket.

“That’s right, the business card, where did I put the business card?”

He began to search anxiously, his relaxed mood becoming tense again.

He had just made a vow. If the business card was lost, then he could only…

This night was destined to be sleepless for some.

...

Xu Ning opened his eyes and stretched lazily.

It was already broad daylight, and he felt that he had slept exceptionally well.

Last night, the moment his head touched the pillow, he fell into a deep sleep and only woke up now.

Glancing at the satellite phone by the bed, he felt a little puzzled.

Didn’t they say there was a big order? Why hasn’t there been a call yet?

He picked up the phone to check, only to find that the satellite phone had run out of battery and automatically shut down at some point.

Could it be such a coincidence that he just missed the call?

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

What happened? He remembered having plenty of battery last night.

He quickly took out a spare battery from his backpack and replaced it.

As soon as the new battery was installed, the phone rang.

Such a coincidence?

Xu Ning felt a burst of joy in his heart and quickly answered.

Ambassador Hassan's voice came from the other end of the phone, somewhat hoarse and sounding very tired, as if he hadn't slept all night.

“May I ask if this is the Factory Director of the 316 Military Factory?”

“It is I.”

The other party immediately became much more energetic.

“Finally got through. I’ve been calling you all night.”

Only then did Xu Ning understand why the phone had run out of battery…

He had slept so soundly last night that he hadn’t heard the ringtone at all.

“I am the Iraqi Ambassador Hassan who contacted you before. You should still remember me, right?”

“Of course I remember.”

“Heh heh, that’s good. I’m a straightforward person, I won’t beat around the bush.” He paused and continued, “We would like to order one hundred sets of the air defense missile system you provided for free before.”

“And we hope to transport a batch to our country within this week.”

Xu Ning didn’t respond immediately but covered the mouthpiece and took a deep breath.

Although he was mentally prepared, Xu Ning still felt a shock.

One hundred sets of equipment, each worth eighty million US dollars, totaling eight billion US dollars. Calculated at the current exchange rate of one to eight, this is equivalent to sixty-four billion RMB. This amount of money could literally pile up into a small mountain.

The profit from this single deal far exceeded all his previous earnings in China.

He suddenly remembered a famous quote from a certain big shot in his previous life: “I have no interest in money, it’s just a number.”

At this moment, he seemed to have some realization. After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, he released his tightly held mouthpiece, cleared his throat, and said:

“No problem, we will complete the delivery as quickly as possible.”

He was full of confidence in the previous arrangements. However, Hassan on the other end of the phone seemed a little hesitant upon hearing such a straightforward answer.

In reality, although the order had been placed from above, there was an unstated part: the government currently lacked funds.

“That… I have one more request, and I hope you can agree.” Hassan said hesitantly, “Can this payment be deferred first, or paid in installments? We can also use national bonds as collateral.” When he said these words, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

As an oil-producing country, when had they ever bowed their heads in the face of money? However, due to the United States’ economic sanctions, oil could not be exported, and wealth was difficult to flow into the national treasury. The banquet held earlier was also troubled by this matter.

“No.” Xu Ning refused without hesitation.

Hassan’s heart instantly sank by half. It seemed he had to report the situation to Saddam Commander. Even though he knew the country's financial situation was very bad, he might only be able to accept a compromise solution.

“However…”

What Xu Ning said next made Hassan’s heart leap.

“However what?”

“We can use the most traditional method of transaction. You can exchange it for oil, five oil fields for four billion US dollars.”

Hassan gasped. Although he had expected Xu Ning to propose harsh conditions, he didn’t expect him to be so bold.

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