37: There must be a physical entity, a territory.

In a resplendent seven-star hotel suite, David tugged at his tie, feeling somewhat restless.

Over the past few days, he had tried through various channels to contact the powerful princes of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

But he hit a wall everywhere.

Those pot-bellied, wealthy locals simply looked down on him, a "arms dealer" who had popped up out of nowhere with absolutely no background.

What they looked at was lineage, background, and connections!

David sat on the soft sofa and realized profoundly for the first time.

Just having money was not enough in this world's top-tier playground of fame and fortune.

He needed an identity.

An identity that was respectable enough, intimidating enough, and capable of letting him enter high society.

"Damn it, it looks like I still have to set up a shell company."

David cursed to himself.

A thought quickly took shape in his mind.

An ordinary shell company wouldn't do; it had to have an entity, have territory, and have armed forces!

His gaze drifted involuntarily toward South America on the map.

Bolivia.

That place where he made his fortune; it was time to return and truly take control of some territory.

Register a security company or a mining group there, then open a few overseas branches in places like Panama or the Cayman Islands...

A clear commercial path unfolded in his mind.

Thinking of this, David's mood finally improved a bit.

He opened his portable encrypted laptop and skillfully logged into an interface that outsiders could absolutely never access.

It was an extremely simple yet all-encompassing system store.

David's gaze locked directly onto the fighter jet category.

【 f-15 "eagle" fighter jet 'second-hand refurbished, 95% performance' 】

【 Unit price: 80 million USD 】

【 Stock: 125 units 】

David didn't hesitate and entered "40" directly into the quantity field.

【 Falcon medium-range air-to-air missile 'AIM-7 F/M model' 】

【 Unit price: 200,000 USD 】

【 Stock: sufficient 】

In the quantity field, he entered "2000".

Click, confirm payment.

The system account balance evaporated by 3.6 billion USD instantly.

David didn't even blink.

This money was originally prepared for this business.

After doing all this, he picked up another satellite phone.

"It's me."

A short and respectful response came from the other end of the line.

"Boss."

"Notify the Iraqis, one month later, receive the goods in the designated sea area."

"Forty 'eagle' units, two thousand 'falcon' missiles, have them prepare the pilots and ground crew for reception."

"Yes."

"Also," David paused, "recruit forty ace pilots who can fly the 'eagle' for me, the best ones, no matter the cost."

"Understood."

Hanging up the phone, David walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside the window was the dazzling night view of Riyadh.

He knew that when those forty f-15 "eagle" fighter jet appeared over the skies of Iraq, the entire Middle East landscape would be completely rewritten.

And he would be the one to personally stir up the storm.

Iraq, Balad Air Base.

The scorching sun baked the earth, and distorted air rose from the runway.

On the airfield, the atmosphere was even more scorching than the weather.

A group of Iraq Air Force generals with stars on their shoulders stretched their necks, braving the scorching sun, their eyes fixed on the end of the runway.

At the very front, the supreme commander of Iraq, Saddam, also rarely appeared here.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm, but the frequent act of raising his wrist to check his watch exposed the unrest in his heart.

The surrounding Soldiers had long since exploded into a frenzy, whispering and discussing among themselves.

"What's the situation? Why did Mr. President come in person?"

"And all the big shots from the Air Force are here too! Is there some big exercise going on?"

"Doesn't look like it. Look at them, each one of them is as anxious as if they were waiting for a bride to enter the door."

Saddam turned a deaf ear to the surrounding discussions, and he glanced at the gold watch on his wrist again; the hands were already pointing to 9:50.

He turned his head and lowered his voice to ask his eldest son, Uday.

"Uday, are you sure that guy named David is reliable?"

"If he says he'll arrive at ten, will he definitely arrive at ten?"

A thin layer of sweat also beaded on Uday Hussein's forehead, but he still answered, forcing himself to remain calm.

"Father, please rest assured. Although this person is mysterious, he never does things without certainty. If he says ten o'clock, he will only be early, not late."

That's what he said, but Uday was also nervous inside.

That was forty f-15 "eagle" fighter jet!

Not forty trucks, not forty tons of potatoes!

That thing was one of the world's top aerial killing weapons, the precious treasure of the Americans.

Just flying over like that?

No matter how you think about it, it feels like a fantasy.

Time ticked by second by second.

9:55.

"Beep-beep—beep-beep—beep-beep—!"

A shrill alarm suddenly shattered the silence of the airport!

In the control tower, a radar monitor officer stood up abruptly, his face pale, and roared into the microphone.

"Report! Unidentified targets detected! Quantity forty! Approaching our airspace at high speed!"

An airport officer scrambled out of the control tower, ran to Saddam, stood at attention, his voice cracking.

"Mr. President! Radar has detected forty unidentified flying targets! Extremely fast speed! Requesting instructions! Should we authorize the air defense unit to open fire?"

"Open fire?"

The surrounding generals became instantly tense, their hands subconsciously resting on the pistols at their waists.

Could it be the Americans or the Iranians attacking?

Forty of them!

This scale was enough to launch a devastating air raid!

However, a subtle smile appeared on Saddam's face.

He waved his hand, his tone surprisingly calm.

"What are you panicking about."

"No need to worry, let them come."

The officer was stunned.

"But, Mr. President, those are forty unidentified targets!"

Saddam glanced at him, his eyes filled with unquestionable authority.

"I said, they are our guests."

"Turn off the safety on the air defense missiles for me, whoever dares to act rashly, I will shoot him!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a dull rumble came from the end of the horizon.

The sound came from far to near, getting louder and louder, finally turning into a deafening roar, and the whole earth was trembling slightly.

Everyone looked up in unison.

They saw a dense patch of black dots appearing in the blue sky.

Immediately after, the front of the black dots flashed with regular red signal lights.

Saddam's tense nerves finally relaxed completely.

He let out a long sigh of relief.

He had bet correctly!

The Air Force Commander's lips were trembling with excitement, he pointed to the sky and asked stutteringly.

"Mr... President... that... that is..."

Saddam patted his shoulder, the corners of his mouth upturned.

"See for yourself, what that is."

The Air Force Commanders all took out their binoculars, and when they saw the true face of those black dots, everyone gasped.

The smooth and beautiful aerodynamic shape, the twin-tail design, and those highly recognizable air intakes...

"It's the 'eagle'! It's the f-15 "eagle" fighter jet!"

"Forty! A full forty!"

The generals went completely crazy, throwing away their usual composure, dancing with excitement like a group of children who had received their favorite toys.

The guidance lights on both sides of the runway lit up instantly, paving a bright path for the "guests" who had come from afar.

"Boom—"

Accompanied by the huge roar of engines, the first f-15 "eagle" fighter jet lowered its landing gear.

With a perfect posture, it landed steadily on the runway, and the deceleration chute blossomed at the tail.

The fighter jet taxied for hundreds of meters on the runway and stopped steadily.