35: Flattery will get you everywhere.

"I recommend to you, US's Northrop YA-9A attack aircraft!"

"This thing was the model that lost to the A-10 'Warthog' in competition, but its firepower is not at all inferior to the A-10!"

"It's even stronger in some aspects! The most crucial thing is that its production is extremely limited; once you own one, it will be one of a kind!"

"The price?" Saddam was completely fired up.

"Fifty million US dollars per aircraft, bare-bones!"

"I want twenty!" Saddam said without hesitation.

"What about the Supporting ground-to-air missiles and cannon rounds?"

"The AGM-53 'Vulture' TV-guided missile, three hundred thousand US dollars each. As for the cannon rounds..."

David waved his hand grandly, full of Heroic spirit.

"They're free!"

"I'll give you five hundred thousand cannon rounds for free!"

Saddam was greatly pleased.

"Good! I want five hundred missiles!"

David quickly calculated in his mind.

f-15 'eagle' fighter jet, forty units, 2.4 billion.

AIM-4 missiles, two thousand units, 1.6 billion.

Tornado launchers, three hundred units, 1.5 billion.

Tornado rockets, fifty thousand units, 5 billion.

YA-9A attack aircraft, twenty units, 1 billion.

AGM-53 missiles, five hundred units, 150 million.

Total... 11.65 billion US dollars!

This number swirled in David's mind, making him feel like he was floating on clouds, every breath smelling of money.

But he forcibly suppressed the ecstasy that was almost bursting through his chest.

A perfect closed loop must have a perfect ending.

He looked at Saddam, whose excitement and impulsiveness had not yet completely faded from his face; it was the best time to press the advantage.

"Mr. President, we now have the sharpest spear and the strongest shield... but it seems something is still missing."

David deliberately slowed his speech, guiding the other party's thoughts.

"Missing what?" Saddam indeed took the bait.

"A cover." David drew a semicircle in the air. "A cover that can protect all your treasures."

He leaned forward, lowering his voice.

"Think about it, your oil refineries, your military bases."

"Especially those brand-new airports and planes you just bought... the desperate pilots from Lang Country come to harass them every now and then."

"Today they bomb an oil tank, tomorrow they destroy a runway."

"Although the losses aren't great, it's disgusting! Like flies, buzzing around, endlessly annoying."

David's words precisely hit Saddam's pain point.

The Iran-Iraq War had been going on for so many years, and although Lang Country's air force had suffered losses, that guerrilla-style harassment had never stopped.

It indeed gave him a headache.

"With these air defense systems, you can raise a protective umbrella."

"Not only can it protect your important facilities, but it can also ensure that your air force can take off and land at any time, seizing the initiative on the battlefield."

David looked into Saddam's eyes, changed his tone, and added a hint of flattery.

"Honestly, Mr. President, I don't just want to sell you weapons."

"I truly have high hopes for you, and I believe that under your leadership, Iraq will surely restore the supreme glory of the Ancient Babylonian Kingdom!"

Flattery, no matter how obvious, always works.

Especially flattery from a 'God of Wealth' who just brought you a ten-billion-dollar order, it makes one feel utterly comfortable.

Saddam leaned back on the sofa, nodded contentedly, and gestured for him to continue.

"This... air defense system you mentioned, what are its advantages?"

"What I recommend to you is not those expensive and complicated big guys." David had already prepared his speech.

"It's US's M247 'sergeant york' self-propelled anti-aircraft gun system. To put it simply,"

"it's two forty-millimeter Bofors anti-aircraft guns mounted on an M48 tank chassis, equipped with a fire control radar."

"Its biggest advantage is that it's cheap! Durable! Specifically designed to protect critical locations like airports and oil refineries, the cost-effectiveness is explosive!"

"One system, three hundred... no, three million US dollars!" David held up three fingers.

"You only need to deploy a few sets at each critical location to form a tight close-range air defense fire net."

"Lang Country's planes will have to think twice if they want to make low-altitude breakthroughs again."

Compared to fighter jets that cost tens or even hundreds of millions, an air defense system costing three million per set was practically dirt cheap.

Saddam barely hesitated.

"This is good! I want thirty sets!"

"In addition, I have a batch of Soviet-made SA-9 anti-aircraft missiles in my warehouse; you should be very familiar with these."

"They can be perfectly compatible with your Soviet-equipped forces. I'll round it up for you, five hundred missiles, how about it?"

"Good!"

Seeing the other party's readiness, the fire in David's heart burned even brighter.

He tentatively began: "Mr. President, actually... besides these, I also have attack helicopters and main battle tanks..."

"Enough."

Saddam waved his hand, interrupting him.

Clearly, he had lost interest in conventional land warfare weapons.

His ambition had soared to the skies and beyond a hundred miles.

David immediately shut his mouth.

He knew that too much was as bad as too little.

Even when squeezing out the last drop of oil, one had to know when to stop.

Now, it was time to tally the results and give this God of Wealth a clear figure.

He took out paper and pen from his briefcase and began to calculate, pretending to be serious.

His serious demeanor made it seem as if every single item on the bill had just been finalized.

"Mr. President, let's total it up."

"f-15 'eagle' fighter jet, forty units."

" Supporting 'Falcon' air-to-air missiles, two thousand units."

"BBM-30 'Tornado' Long-Range Rocket Artillery, three hundred units."

" Supporting rockets, fifty thousand units... this is a large quantity, so I applied for an internal discount price for you, much cheaper than what I quoted just now."

"Northrop YA-9A attack aircraft, twenty units."

" Supporting AGM-65 'Maverick' ground-to-air missiles, five hundred units."

"And the M247 'sergeant york' air defense system you just requested, thirty sets, plus five hundred SA-9 missiles."

David wrote and read aloud, finally making a heavy dot with his pen at the end of the paper.

He looked up at Saddam and stated a number.

"Total, eight billion five hundred thirty million US dollars."

He deliberately paused, observing Saddam's expression.

Then, he made an extremely dashing gesture, picked up the pen, and crossed out the "thirty million" at the end.

"Mr. President, let's forget the change."

David pushed the paper across, his tone incredibly generous.

"We'll just charge you eight and a half billion US dollars! A round number! Auspicious!"

Eight and a half billion! US dollars!

When Saddam saw the astonishing figure on the paper,

even he, a national leader accustomed to grand occasions, felt his eyelids twitch uncontrollably a few times.

What was the concept of eight and a half billion US dollars?

This was almost one-eighth of Iraq's annual gross national product!

Spent in just this short amount of time?

His breathing became a little heavy.

If it hadn't been for the shocking live demonstration of the 'Tornado' earlier,

if David's blueprint for air supremacy hadn't been so tempting, he would have almost turned hostile on the spot.

But... he thought of the stalemate in the war.

He thought of Lang Country's endless human wave.

He thought of his ambition to unify the entire Middle East and become the new leader of the Arab world.

Money lost can be earned again.

Behind him, there were the oil-rich big spenders from the The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, continuously supplying funds.

But an opportunity, once missed, would never come again!

Thinking of this, the tense lines on his face slowly relaxed.