Chapter 200 The Professor's Gift

The AN-12 is currently one of the more outdated transport aircraft in the world.However, for Joe Ga, the AN-12 was already a rare behemoth! Joe Ga wasn't sure if the 55-ton load capacity was exaggerated, but just looking at the size of this big guy made him feel particularly powerful. The runway specifications at P·B Base were not particularly high, but the length was certainly sufficient. The AN-12 wasn't exactly a delicate plane; after circling in the sky for a bit, it began to descend slowly. Watching the AN-12 land, its wheels screeching shrilly, Joe Ga nudged 'Wrench' beside him and said, "The Yogeinbert Company really can do it. Based on the size of this aircraft, flying out twice a month with arms cargo would be enough to support an entire factory." 'Wrench' wasn't familiar with Yogeinbert Company, but he knew a lot about aircraft. Watching the AN-12 taxi to a stop not far ahead, he shook his head and said, "Look at the plane's markings, that's not a Seville aircraft, but a cargo plane from a Russian air transport company. Only these Russians dare to do something like this!" Joe Ga paused, then said, "You mean the plane is leased?" 'Wrench' said as a matter of course, "Of course, how could they possibly use their own cargo planes for such high-risk goods? NATO wouldn't dare to attack Russian aircraft, but they wouldn't hesitate to attack one from Seville, would they?" 'Wrench' sounded a bit resigned and resentful, but what can a small fry do in such times? But Joe Ga discerned something else from his words and said in surprise, "Are you saying that as long as I pay enough, I could also rent such transport aircraft to go anywhere in the world?" After hearing this, 'Wrench' spread his hands and said, "I'm not sure, you'd have to consult with the freight company about that. Generally speaking, so long as you don't go to NATO member countries and there is someone to receive the goods upon landing, then it shouldn't be too much of a problem. These Russian guys are lawless to the extreme. They're much braver than you might think; if you pay them enough and the surface paperwork is complete, they might even fly to America if the landing can be arranged." Upon hearing this, Joe Ga stroked his chin thoughtfully and asked, "How much does it cost to rent such a plane?" Stay updated via empire 'Cannon,' who was beside them, said with a smile, "Yuginebert Company has a long-standing cooperation with Russian freight companies; a normal flight would cost between 150,000 to 200,000 US dollars." As he spoke, 'Cannon' seemed to recall something and laughed, "I've heard these Russian pilots love to drink. It's too late this time, but next time I suggest you treat them to a drink, then arrange for a batch of Africater products for them to take back to Seville. Otherwise, it would be such a waste to fly back empty. The head of Yuginebert Company in West Asia does exactly that, and I've heard he's made a lot of money by helping with smuggling and selling specialties. Unfortunately, 'Professor', I guess, would not help with human trafficking, but he'd definitely be happy to deal in specialties. Oh, I almost forgot. 'Professor' mentioned he has prepared some special gifts for you and wants you to be on the lookout for them. It would be best if you could provide him with a report afterward." Upon hearing this, Joe Ga asked curiously, "What kinds of things?" 'Cannon' shook his head and said, "I'm not sure. 'Professor' was very secretive when he mentioned it, but knowing him, it should be something related to technology." As he spoke, 'Cannon' watched as the doors of the AN-12's cargo hold slowly opened. He glanced at 'Cobra' and 'Fat Goose,' who were suddenly looking excited next to him, then whispered to Joe Ga, "Along with this shipment, there are also four air force ground crew members and four pilots, one of them is almost an ace like 'Cobra'. Such calibre is a bit too much for Africa; you need to take it easy. Money is endless, but..." Joe Ga knew 'Cannon' meant well, but he had his own difficulties too. He owned six Mi-24 Hind helicopters, eight Mi-8 Hip helicopters, and two Super Albatrosses. Sёarch* The Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Yet even counting himself as an amateur, they could only launch three armed helicopters simultaneously. How could this be acceptable? And yet Joe Ga still felt he didn't have enough pilots! The four air force ground crew members were veterans like 'Wrench', not only able to pilot helicopters but also to repair them. What's more, during actual combat, they could operate the fire control system in tandem with the legitimate pilots. It's not every pilot who, like 'Cobra,' can pull a wire from the back to the front seat on his own and operate a Super Albatross, using missiles like rocket-propelled grenades with deadly accuracy. These eight guys formed four combat flight teams—burning money for sure, but still better than wearing out 'Wrench,' 'Fat Goose,' and the others to death. These veterans were treasures; they didn't ask for high salaries, but their enthusiasm for the job scared even Joe Ga, the boss. 'Cobra,' leveraging the range of the Big Beak Bird, had teased Congo's air force more than once or twice. At first, those guys even humored him a bit, but later they dispensed with the warnings, letting him fly chaotically over their airbase. Eventually 'Cobra' got chummy with them and even brought a few Congolese pilots up to feel the advanced capabilities of the Super Albatross and even managed to barter for a few crates of oil on the side. The old guys really were too bored; after Joe Ga advanced him a year's salary, he didn't even want to go home anymore. The old guy's son was over 40, his grandchildren were about to go to college; they didn't need a hot-tempered old man telling them how to live their lives. A hundred thousand or so US dollars solved all their domestic problems. Now 'Cobra' needed a partner, or a buddy to 'play' with. So 'Archerfish' has arrived! Joe Ga had thought that this nearly Ace 'Archerfish' would be an old-timer similar to 'Cobra', but to his surprise, this 'Archerfish' turned out to be an overweight man in his sixties. Bald, with a bulbous nose and missing a front tooth – this was the alcoholic version of the devilish coach Anzai Mitsuyoshi, which didn't exactly fill Joe Ga with confidence. Watching 'Cobra' laughing and moving forward to embrace the portly 'Archerfish', Joe Ga turned to 'Wrench' with some concern and said, "Is he really up for it? My basic salary of 80,000 a year can't be wasted on an almost Ace who can only stay on the ground. He looks like he wouldn't even fit in the cockpit of a Super Albatross." 'Wrench' glanced at Joe Ga and shook his head with a chuckle, "You really should make it a habit to seriously read resumes! An instructor of the Russian Warriors aerobatics team – do you think he's capable? He has spent more time in a plane's cockpit than you have sleeping in your bed. 'Archerfish' may be too old to fly jet fighters, but Super Albatrosses are like toys for him." As 'Wrench' spoke, he greeted a familiar face, sharing a hug with a few old guys who clearly smelled like engine oil, and then came back to introduce them to Joe Ga. 'Probe' 'Detonator' 'Crane' 'Pushrod' 'Probe' specializes in maintaining airplanes, with keen ears that are highly sensitive to engine anomalies. 'Detonator' is an arms manager, usually in charge of inspecting the quality of rockets and missiles. 'Crane' is responsible for loading the munitions. He's in his early sixties but looks even sturdier than Joe Ga. 'Pushrod' is the logistics patch-up guy, ready to serve wherever needed. All of them, including 'Archerfish', are retirees in their sixties, not only rich in experience but also battle-hardened and well-tested. In comparison, the other three helicopter pilots who appeared to be only in their forties and had the word 'poor' written all over their faces seemed quite ordinary. They were all retired pilots from Seville's army aviation, codenamed 'Dragonfly', 'Bullfrog', and 'Pigeon'. Joe Ga wasn't sure if it was just his impression, but the hefty 'Archerfish' seemed to command respect here almost as much as 'Cobra' did, the pilots looking at the old man with eyes full of awe. Even when several crew members from the An-12 came down, a mere sideways glance from 'Archerfish' had them standing obediently to the side, showcasing their professionalism. Joe Ga warmly greeted the newly arrived pilots and ground crew, arranging for his assistant, the dark-skinned Lenore, to hand them their employment contracts to review, and then he, 'Wrench', and 'Cannon' boarded the cargo plane. He knew what he had ordered: 100 units of 250-kilogram bombs and 100 units of 100-kilogram bombs. Just like 'Cobra' said, they were dirt cheap. The nearing-expiry 250-kilo bombs were only 1200 US dollars each, and the 100-kilo ones merely 800 dollars each. Even though they were all leftovers from the late '80s, this price was the cheapest Joe Ga could find for bombs. 'Professor' had really done him a solid; this batch total cost only 300 thousand, but when Joe Ga asked him to air freight a portion in advance, he didn't hesitate at all. This was a flight where the cost of transportation was equal to the value of the goods themselves – Yuginebert Company was losing money on it. Of course, this was just the first batch; Joe Ga had actually placed an order for 3 million. Another large batch of bombs would arrive by sea to Kenya and be temporarily stored there, waiting to be transferred to P.B.'s Kenya Base for storage once it was completed. Joe Ga checked the cargo inside the aircraft, and after using the Omnipotent Toolbox to scan, he was pleased to find that the failure rate of these old stores was only around 8%. Nodding with satisfaction, he turned to 'Cannon' and asked, "Where's the 'Professor's' surprise?" 'Cannon' searched around for a moment and then found a pile of black boxes grouped together. Upon opening a box, 'Cannon' sighed and said to Joe Ga, "This is good stuff, 'Professor' has developed another fine product for Yuginebert." Joe Ga walked over and saw it was a kit. A triangular guidance head with a control system for fins, with a pair of 50-centimeter wings on the sides, and a tail fin at the back. This system, when fastened to a bomb using a stainless steel clamp similar to the ones used for water pipes, could turn the bomb into a guided bomb. Even though it was the cheapest GPS guidance and there were some technical requirements for deployment, this little gizmo could be considered a force multiplier for the bombs. The release distance suddenly tripled, and the accuracy was sufficient. Joe Ga had seen similar devices at defense expos, the most expensive being America's gem path kit with outrageous prices, and the cheapest likely Israel's GPS bomb guidance system. At the time, he had asked curiously and was quoted a price of 2500 dollars. Apparently, Israel balanced the cheap rockets of Hamas with this technology in terms of cost and destructive power; otherwise, they couldn't have withstood the attacks. 'Professor's' version was obviously cruder, just judging by the stainless steel clamps that could be found in any hardware store, and the clearly roughly crafted wings – if the thing cost over 1000, Joe Ga would think they were ripping him off. Seeing 'Wrench' visibly delighted, Joe Ga said with a smile, "Looks like we're in for some overtime. 'Professor's' good intentions should be perfectly demonstrated on those drug traffickers' heads." 'Wrench', looking at the hundred-plus boxes containing guidance systems, chuckled and shook his head, saying, "They're just a bunch of drug dealers, no need for such overkill, really, there's no need!!"