Chapter 154: Chapter 153: Go Big or Go Home

Three months had flown by!A weary Joe Ga stood in the midst of the disordered mess that was Colonel Ka's arms depot, watching as the pilot 'Cobra' flew the last Super Albatross out of the valley. In the past three months, using Mi-8 helicopters, Joe Ga and his team had completely emptied Colonel Ka's arms depot. The armored vehicles and tanks, which were already nearly scrapped, were violently dismantled by Joe Ga with a group of soldiers, who then removed and transported the most useful 15 armored vehicle 'automatic weapon stations' for installation on pickup trucks at the Central African Base. A huge convoy was stationed on the desert on the other side of the mountain range. They made three trips to disguise the massive cache of weapons as goods coming from the north, from Liberia. After paying the passage fees, they transported everything via Chad to the Central African Republic. Joe Ga once thought Colonel Ka's arsenal was immensely large, but after the weapons enough for 1200 squad sets from the Central African Republic and Burundi were counted and delivered, there wasn't much left. A squad of 6 to 8 people had six automatic rifles, two machine guns, and a platoon consisted of three squads, but Mary Aenola demanded an extra two RPGs and a mortar for each platoon. After the light weapons that could arm about 8000 people were removed, the arms depot was nearly empty. Seeing this, Joe Ga decided to go all out. After establishing a transportation route, he worked hard for months with his soldiers to completely empty the site. Not only light weapons, but helicopters, aircraft, and various types of missiles and rockets were all packed up and taken away. In the end, Joe Ga and Nis joined the front line, piloting helicopters back and forth between the arms depot and the valley in shifts. After several hard months, they had each lost several pounds. The storage that contained chemical weapons remained sealed. The soldiers were unaware that they were working near such massive destructive devices. When the depot had been emptied and only debris was left, no one harbored any more thoughts about it. Karman and Dorian led the convoy escorting the arms out, while Nice Antar followed the helicopter squadrons. Now, in the arms depot, only Joe Ga and a Gazelle helicopter ready for takeoff were left. After the Super Albatross had successfully taken off, Joe Ga slowly walked around inside the depot, placing all the debris smaller than 4 cubic meters into the Omnipotent Toolbox. The toolbox took time to break down, digest, and store the "debris." Joe Ga alone spent a whole week to completely digest the broken armored vehicles and tanks. Once everything had been cleared out, and avoiding the storage containing chemical weapons, Joe Ga installed enough TNT on the cliff over the arms depot. With everything ready, Joe Ga piloted the Gazelle up into the sky, then pressed the button in his hand. With a series of explosions, the cliff above the arms depot began to collapse, huge rocks sliding down and burying the entire depot, including the warehouse with biochemical weapons. This arms depot left by Colonel Ka had fulfilled its purpose and became a site no one would visit again. Joe Ga didn't know if he would ever return. He hoped not, because if he did come back, it would mean he was desperate and needed those biochemical weapons to save his life. As someone once said, when a powerful rogue criticizes you for possessing uncontrollable weapons for their own interests, you'd better have them! Joe Ga didn't think that day would come, but he didn't mind having a backup plan! The Gazelle stopped for refueling in Chad and the Central African Republic… The benefits of providing ample generosity were evident then, as Joe Ga received a warm welcome at Chad's so-called air force base. A few so-called air force ground staff, under the command of Air Commander Pascal Enrim, diligently washed and refueled Joe Ga's Gazelle. Who could imagine that the national air force would consist only of two Black Hawk helicopters, always on the verge of falling apart, and two aged MiGs that were rumored to still be flyable? The air commander, with only about a hundred men under him, insisted on taking Joe Ga out to eat, incessantly chatting about needing help to acquire some helicopter parts, as his prized Black Hawks were nearly out of service! How could an air commander be without planes? This was the first time Joe Ga saw an air commander who might have to find his own way soon. However, he didn't refuse the man, since he had indeed been very helpful before by allowing his men to use base as a passageway and even provided fuel for free. Although Joe Ga's convoy had paid a substantial amount in weapons to Chad as road money, the air commander's enthusiasm was genuinely sincere. He hadn't received any benefits since even if he took the mortars and machine guns, his soldiers wouldn't be able to use them well. However, the professional from Seville known as 'Wrench' who was just passing through, helped to maintain the Black Hawks and then issued a maintenance list. If the commander could get the right parts, his two Black Hawks could operate for a few more years. The self-proclaimed air commander definitely didn't have the ability to purchase abroad, and Chad didn't have the budget for it, so he had to rely on Joe Ga's help. Over the past three months, this inexperienced fellow had truly seen 6 Mi-24 Hind helicopters, eight Mi-8 Hip helicopters, and two Super Albatross that he had never even heard of refueling and taking off from his location. Once in North Africa, only the infamous Colonel Ka who had caused a lot of trouble in Chad had such capabilities. Now, the whole Africa had only a handful of countries capable of maintaining such an air force setup. And this Hu Lang, reportedly running a military contracting company, took so many planes to Central Africa. With such an array at hand, it was already a decisive force in the region. Who was he planning to attack? And who would be so unlucky? Anyone has always respected the powerful, and the Air Force Commander was no exception. Joe Ga was keen to pull Pascal Enrim a bit, not only because he controlled an air force base but more importantly because he had the quota for Chad's aviation fuel. This impoverished country was also an oil producer, but by leveraging the light from neighboring South Sudan, it had invited Chinese people to build several refineries, essentially solving the domestic oil supply problem. Who would have thought that gasoline, which pains people even just to drive on roads in their own country, would be frighteningly cheap in this place where people couldn't even eat their fill. If Joe Ga wanted to make use of the helicopters, then fuel would become a major issue. Because he really hadn't anticipated that the Central African Republic could be so terrible that it defied even his imagination. Let alone fuel, the trucks for the deliveries that Joe Ga sent them were second-hand goods purchased from the north, from Liberia, because Central Africa couldn't even muster a transport fleet with security assurances. To say it was all poverty and backwardness might seem dismissive, but saying they had any sort of reserves would definitely be overestimating them. Even so, Joe Ga still wouldn't have guessed that Central Africa could be several times worse than the worst he could imagine. After a rather tasteless lunch, Joe Ga looked at Pascal, who had been staring at him, and said with a smile, "Buddy, there's still hope for your Black Hawks, but getting those discontinued parts won't be easy. Are you sure you don't want to consider switching to a couple of helicopters? I can spare two of my Mi-8 Hip helicopters for you. Friendship price, 20 million, and that includes training and one year of after-sales service. As long as it's not battle damage, I'll handle the repairs. Those are Russian goods, much tougher than the Black Hawks!" Pascal touched his empty pockets and shook his head helplessly, saying, "Hu Lang, let's talk about something less odd. 20 million US dollars, even our president can't come up with that. How about I trade my two MiGs for them?" Joe Ga knew Pascal was joking, as who would want those two rusted flat-head turbines MiGs? Selling them as scrap would even be a hassle. Looking at Pascal's helpless expression, Joe Ga thought for a moment and said, "How about this: you transfer part of your annual aviation fuel quota to me. As long as you can assure my fuel supply, I will not only find you the parts but also throw in a small Gazelle for you. How does that sound?" Upon hearing this, Pascal stood up and nodded vigorously, saying, "No problem, the oil from the refineries can't even be sold, you just bring the oil tankers, and I'll have my men accompany your guys to load up the oil." As he spoke, Pascal walked to the office window, looking at the Gazelle parked on the vacant ground, he said with utmost joy, "You better not be joking with me, I really like this guy. If I can't get it, I won't be able to sleep!" Joe Ga laughed heartily, reached out, and gave Pascal a firm handshake, saying, "I am a man of my word. If you're not confident, after I arrange the affairs in Central Africa, I'll have a lawyer come here and sign a contract with you. I can even give you the Gazelle in advance, because I believe you will honor the contract, am I right?" Upon hearing this, Pascal hurriedly nodded in agreement. It was not only because he felt he was getting a good deal, but more crucially because he knew he couldn't bear the consequences of breaching the agreement. This Hu Lang wouldn't even need to send troops; just sending the Super Albatross with bombs for a flyover would leave him nowhere to be buried. Power is the best guarantee of trust! While Joe Ga was somewhat lacking in other areas, in this territory of Central Africa, as long as he didn't offend the ruling politicians to death or go against the United Nations peacekeeping troops, he was the local overlord! Sёarch* The Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Having reached an agreement with this rather comical Air Force Commander, Joe Ga didn't stay there long; he started the Gazelle and crossed Chad heading south into Central African territory. To ensure the helicopter entered the country smoothly, Joe Ga had to utilize tanker trucks to establish temporary supply stations in Central Africa. After refueling twice on the way, Joe Ga finally reached his base located at the junction of the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo just as it was getting dark. What Joe Ga hadn't anticipated was that upon descending from the aircraft, not only were Karman and others there to meet him, but also Mary Aenola and several distinguished-looking Black persons. Mary Aenola was the most enthusiastic. As Joe Ga approached, she came forward first to embrace him, then pointing to the few Black gentlemen behind her she said, "This is my brother, Francois Aenola, the current president of the Central African Republic. The other gentlemen are respectively the speaker of the Central African National Assembly, the Prime Minister, the President of the Constitutional Council, and the President of the Supreme Judicial Council." Joe Ga listened, a bit incredulously looking at those Black gentlemen... Apart from those so-called opposition parties, he had somehow managed to gather the entire Cabinet of Central Africa here. What did these 'big shots' come here wanting to do?