King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

The next day, Joe Ga led his team into the P·B control zone in Tubruq. Accompanying him were a large amount of supplies and a group of soldiers that seemed a bit odd. Old Niu had arrived, bringing the 'old comrades' he had promised, as well as 200 Xiao Heis who had undergone emergency culinary training. When they arrived, Joe Ga was changing into his combat suit and sorting out his gear, intending to take a stroll around Tubruq City. Seeing the excited Old Niu, Joe Ga enthusiastically went up to greet him, then he looked at the bunch of 'quirky' guys behind him, not quite sure how to say hello. 'Sugar', who had been greatly respected in Liberia over the past month, unbelievably approached a man in his fifties and called out, "Old squad leader..." Then this youngest cook in the place, acting like a fangirl, fussed around the tall 'Old squad leader', speechless and scratching his head anxiously. Taking this opportunity, Joe Ga pulled Old Niu aside, gestured with his eyes towards several men whose features were clearly different from those of the Chinese, and said, "Are all of these your comrades? They don't quite seem to fit in..." Old Niu, in a great mood, responded with a smile to his boss's question, "They are all Chinese, old comrades, absolutely reliable." Following Joe Ga's gaze, Old Niu then laughed and said, "Ha ha, didn't expect to see foreigners, right?" Old Niu rushed into the crowd and dragged a tall 'Middle Eastern man' to Joe Ga, saying, "Boss, this is Bayika, from the Tajik ethnicity. I learned how to feed pigs from him in my first two years in the army, ha ha..." Upon hearing this, Joe Ga slapped his forehead hard and, after shaking hands with the seemingly naive Bayika, said, "My lack of experience; don't mind me...' Looking into Bayika's eyes, Joe Ga asked curiously, "I never asked Old Niu, which army exactly are you from?" Bayika laughed and said, 'Ay~ We're all soldiers of China. We just cook for people; actually, it's the same anywhere~" Bayika seemed cheerful, but Joe Ga found it a bit strange... He turned and loudly asked 'Sugar', "Where did you serve as a soldier?" 'Sugar' was taken aback, then stood at attention and saluted, saying, "Reporting, I served in the northwest." Joe Ga frowned and said, "Are you trying to be evasive?" The tall man in his fifties, seeing 'Sugar' embarrassed, stepped forward to Joe Ga, shook his hand firmly, and said, "Nice to meet you, Boss Joe. My name is Solon, Old Niu's comrade. That kid's name, I can't remember, but he should be from the Special Operations company, probably some confidentiality regulations..." "Special Operations company?" Feeling the strength in Solon's hand, Joe Ga nodded and said with a smile, "Then I won't ask. I was just curious because you all looked..." Solon let go of his hand, grinned, and said, "The northwest border is complex; many soldiers from the interior don't adapt well there. I am from the Xibe ethnicity, Bayika is Tajik, and among the rest, there are 6 Tajiks, 4 Kazakhs, and 6 Han Chinese. That's why we might seem a bit off to you." Joe Ga nodded and said, "I understand now!" Looking around at the rugged men who didn't look quite right, Joe Ga said incredulously, "But I still find it strange, what are the requirements for a cook these days?" Solon looked at the men, and then, smiling, stayed silent... Seeing his boss confused, Old Niu stepped forward and said, "The army's restructured; these guys were all washed up. An old leader took pity on them and didn't want them to go home and eat dirt, so they were gradually transferred to the cooking squad because that was where there were vacancies. Unfortunately, their educational level was too low, and in the end, they couldn't make it and had to seek shelter with our 'Old squad leader'." Old Niu spoke cryptically, but Joe Ga grasped the general idea... Those who were kept by the army's big shots were probably tough guys, but in a place like the military filled with strong people, these men, with their low education, didn't make it to the fifth phase. Joe Ga didn't know the details about these men, but seeing their fierce appearance, he understood they had not been idle in Solon's military school cafeteria. It was no wonder they dared to venture out when they heard about possibly going to Iraq. Since they were all cooks, Joe Ga felt embarrassed to test them and straightforwardly said, "You can all shoot, right? Then take your gear, get the pots going, and let's see your cooking skills. Today we'll all get familiar with Tubruq; starting tomorrow there will be a massive evacuation from this direction. We need to feed and water them well so they'll remember us fondly...' Old Niu glanced at the fully armed B and D teams, curiously asking, "What's up, going into the city to fight? How many are on the other side, need help?" Dorian, chuckling, joined in, "Iron Shovel, if you lend me your 'Art of War,' I'll drive you around the battlefield for a tour." Upon hearing this, 'Iron Shovel' became nervous and clutched his pockets, saying, "What 'Art of War'? I don't understand." At that moment, Solon put his arm around Old Niu's shoulder and said in fluent English, "You never improve, always sneaking peeks at dirty little books. A man obsessed with the matters of the lower half has no ambition!" Dorian had a good relationship with Old Bull, and when he saw Old Bull's face turning beet red, he said with a hint of annoyance, "Hey, buddy, 'Iron Shovel' has been reading 'Art of War,' the secret book of picking up girls, haven't you seen his girlfriend?" Solon glanced at Old Bull, whose face was now the color of soy sauce, and said, "Look at you, what a state, this isn't the army. If you really want to learn some tricks, why don't you just watch some videos? What's the point of pretending to read a book? You don't have to take an exam, do you?" Old Bull looked at the boss with a puzzled expression and sighed, saying, "It's really not…" Joe Ga shook his head and said, "No, you show me, and then I'll believe you! Who would've thought Carmen still conducts periodic 'assessments' on you? Tell me, has the supply of Beef Euphoria at the base been reduced lately? Is it because you've been sneaking them all away?" Old Bull, his face flushed, tried to defend himself, but in the end, amidst the laughter of everyone, he reluctantly raised his middle finger. Then he hit Tony, who was laughing sheepishly, on the head and swore, "Laugh my ass off, go get some work done!" As soon as Joe Ga saw Old Bull run off, he said to Solon, "I'll have someone send your contract over later, I don't understand the ins and outs of you cooks, anyway, this place is all our turf. Since there's no heavy firepower on the other side, you guys figure out where it would be best to set up shop..." Solon looked around, his gaze lingering on SEAL Team Six and the British SAS before saying to Joe Ga, "I need to have a rough idea of how many people we're catering for, otherwise we might end up with too much food going to waste or not having enough." Joe Ga thought for a moment and said, "I can't give you an exact number. I plan to drive all the civilians out of the city, have them get a bite to eat as they pass by here, and then send them off with some supplies to settle in Byrdi City to the east. Once the civilians have evacuated, we'll officially start the war. By that time, I guess you'll only have a few hundred people to take care of." Upon hearing that, Solon nodded and said, "Got it! The food here is simple, we can assign someone to cook flatbread and prepare enough lamb soup for everyone, plus some vegetables and pepper, that should keep them well-fed and happy." Joe Ga liked these cooks for their initiative, no need for detailed orders, just an overview and they'd handle the rest. Old Bull was like that, the recently joined 'Sugar' too, and this Solon was even more domineering - seemed like feeding thousands didn't faze him. Joe Ga naturally gave a thumbs up, just about to give some compliments, when Solon suddenly said somewhat awkwardly, "Boss, you mentioned earlier that we could also get a set of equipment..." Solon glanced at 'Sugar,' who never parted with his rifle, then looked eagerly at Joe Ga, asking, "Boss, what's the standard for this equipment?" Upon hearing this, Joe Ga let out a chuckle, pulled Solon's arm towards the "Hellhound" and said, "It could be up to the standard of SEAL Team Six..." Then turning towards the British SAS, he continued, "The SAS are a bit less impressive, but you can have that too if you like it." Solon, with wide eyes, exclaimed, "SEAL Team Six, SAS?" Joe Ga nodded as if it was obvious and said, "What's so strange about that? Those over there are the French First Parachute Infantry Regiment, which is the French SAS." As he spoke, Joe Ga waved his hand in front of a dazed Solon and laughed, "Speaking of equipment, I recommend using P·B's standard issue. Our body armor plates are better than theirs, and you can choose your own weapons." Stunned for a moment, Solon then spoke a few sentences in a language unfamiliar to Joe Ga to the cooks waiting for his word, and the group of cooks instantly perked up. Joe Ga wasn't sure if it was just his impression, but he felt like this bunch wanted to set themselves apart from those other T1 teams. This discovery amused Joe Ga, but he was indifferent - seeing his own people so 'fierce' made Boss Joe quite happy. He let Dorian, who loved to interact, and 'Sugar,' a die-hard fan of the old platoon sergeant, take Solon and the others to pick out equipment. Joe Ga was about to return to complete his unfinished preparations, when four military trucks drove into the safe zone… A bunch of Xiao Heis from P·B disembarked from the trucks and started setting up a mortar position on a marked area. Another group began transporting shells into a nearby house for separate storage. The three special forces team leaders of 'Hellfire,' 'Hatchet,' and 'Knight,' along with 'Gunfire,' the Tuareg leader, took a look and then all approached Joe Ga… "Sir, the mortars are too inaccurate, and there are still people in the city…" Joe Ga, with a smile, said, "I know, so we need to blast them out..." Seeing the enigmatic expressions on their faces, he waved his hand laughing and said, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not really trying to kill anyone. Once you see those shells, you'll understand... Gas grenades, heh, I'm not great at persuading, but I am good at comforting. You tell me, after I have provided food and drink, and given supplies and money, the people of Tubruq will appreciate my good intentions, right?" After speaking, Joe Ga patted a stunned 'Gunfire' on the arm, saying, "Starting tomorrow, let the Tuareg people observe the wind direction to establish a safe passage. Our remaining people will sneak into the city, the terrorists won't just watch the civilians evacuate like this, we're going to give you guys a little surprise!"