King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

Antar's reconnaissance efficiency was extremely high, and in just half an hour, she had largely figured out the situation around the mining area.

After retrieving the drone to recharge, Antar took her tactical tablet, enlarged the images, and then showed them to everyone...

"There are about 230 miners at the mine, and their physical condition is very poor.

The supervisors at the mine pits number 20, with AKM as their main weapon, but two MG3 machine guns have been additionally mounted at two high points of the mine pits.

There are two more of the same MG3 machine guns around the screening machinery, and another 15 armed personnel.

It's not clear in the jungle, but there are certainly checkpoints they've set up. When Team C tries to enter at night, I can use the drone to perform low-altitude reconnaissance and use a thermal imager to locate those checkpoints' positions."

Perhaps unaccustomed to such help, 'Scorpion' hesitated for a moment then slightly nodded and said, "I'm not used to this, but an extra pair of eyes is always good."

As he spoke, 'Scorpion' gestured with his hand, and after Antar consented, he tentatively fiddled with the tablet and under Antar's guidance drew a route, saying, "The enemy's main focus is on the river side, we'll enter from this direction.

Get in and out quickly. After figuring out their food and gold reserves, we'll get out."

As he spoke, 'Scorpion' glanced at Joe Ga, hesitated, and said, "Boss, if you think it's okay, you can let 'Poison Wolf' plant bombs in the barracks of the armed personnel. TNT is very stable, once set up, we can detonate it whenever we need to."

The fierce plan of 'Scorpion' made Joe Ga pause, but before he could speak, Sanderson waved his hand and said, "Don't use bombs, it's unnecessary. The enemy has machine gun positions, our best choice is a nighttime raid.

Explosions not only have the potential for friendly fire, but the light from the flames would compromise our advantage at night."

As he spoke, Sanderson tapped the micro-light night vision device on his helmet and laughingly said, "The explosion will make the outer sentries flee, and the smoke and light from the explosion might alert the enemies several kilometers away. I don't want to chase people in the jungle, nor do I want their main forces to be prepared.

The night is our best cover. Once we determine the attack time and find the positions of their sentries, we can silently enter and easily eliminate them and rescue those miners."

At this point, the difference between major special forces units and smaller nation's units was evident.

'Scorpion' and his team were extremely capable, but they focused on the battle at hand and aimed for efficient killing, using a bomb if possible rather than shooting, resolving issues in one go without delay.

This was a habit developed in contest with the Tiger Organization. Against terrorist organizations, they always fought with all their might, showing no mercy.

From another perspective, it seems their force overall didn't have much surplus, which led them to opt for taking down an enemy as soon as they saw one.

Sanderson was different. This veteran Ranger was accustomed to having eyes in the sky, able to call for air support if attacked. Their own combat strength, along with formidable logistics, allowed them to think through consequences.

Like in snooker, pocketing a red ball is nothing special, but calling a black ball after sinking the red is what counts.

This difference wasn't just due to soldier quality but a comprehensive gap in command system capability, logistics, reconnaissance, and intelligence abilities, leading to habitual differences in combat.

'Scorpion' evidently recognized this difference, and after a brief comparison of forces, he firmly nodded and said, "You're right, at night we have a clear advantage."

Having experts under one's command felt good. Joe Ga wasn't worried about the armed miners; he was more concerned about their weapons.

AK series were common, but the MG3 machine guns were used by the German defense forces; still a mainstay machine gun with excellent performance, but rare compared to mainstream market arms like PKM, RPK, Minimi, M240, MK24.

The team in Africa that could procure such machine guns must have connected with a particularly unique arms dealer.

Any sensible person would know that the RPK light machine gun is best suited for the jungle; those stronger would use a PKM. Drug traffickers and guerrillas, if given a choice, definitely wouldn't opt for an MG3, a comparatively heavy machine gun.

If they are now using MG3s, either the arms dealer has a limited arsenal and can't find suitable machine guns, or using MG3s was a forced choice.

The latter is highly likely since the MG3's size and weight, as well as its practical combat effects in the jungle, are well known.

No one would buy it if it were expensive. For the same price, one could get a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun, which is much more powerful than an MG3.

Joe Ga felt something wasn't quite right. Any smart arms dealer wouldn't ship MG3s to Africa, just as you wouldn't send bikinis to the Arctic.

The most likely scenario involved some amateur players in the game, backing this team to stealthily mine their gold, enabling these thieves to trade gold for weapons.

Joe Ga's guess was spot on; a Belgium mining company based in Yakoma City was the black hand providing weapons and equipment.

They were a legitimate mining enterprise, but the staff of their Congo division heard about the gold mine and grew greedy…

They used their channel for importing mining equipment to bring weapons into Congo and reached an agreement with a rebel force. They were responsible for supplying mining equipment and weapons, while the anti-government armed personnel crossed into Central Africa, tasked with sourcing labor to stealthily mine the gold.

Joe Ga wasn't aware of this, but it didn't hinder his actions moving forward.

Planning the attack was simple; Team C would scope out the situation tonight, and tomorrow night, everyone would be ready to strike the gold mine and then wait for the supply team that might arrive at any time. Catch them and have them lead to their camp.

As long as it was confirmed the camp was filled with armed individuals, Joe Ga could call for a helicopter to bomb it.

Even if there were innocent victims, it wouldn't matter much; they could just make the effort to rescue them first.

Meticulous combat was also a great way to train, especially compared to those greedy and frantic locals; their advantage was simply too great.

However, before that, Joe Ga needed to make some preparations in advance because he himself did not have the capability to take over a gold mine, nor was it possible for him to stay here long term; someone had to fill the defense void.

Signaling Karman to arrange a sentry post, Joe Ga took out a satellite phone and called Doctor TC...

"Hey, TC, how are you doing in the jungle?"

......

"I'm trying to rescue a mine that uses slaves for mining. The workers' situation here isn't too great. Do you have time to come and take a look?"

......

"OK, bring enough medicine and wait at my base. I'll arrange a helicopter to bring you over."

After hanging up, Joe Ga noticed Sanderson looking at him with a quirky expression and smiled, "They are doctors without borders from the International Red Cross Society; I have to provide a shining and warm place for them.

I kind of count as their half boss now. Although I don't pay them salaries, half of their medicine is financed by me. It's not too much to ask for this little favor, right?"

Sanderson thought about it; it didn't seem excessive, but upon further thought, something seemed off.

Doctors without borders aren't meant to be used this way, because strictly speaking, they belong to the Red Cross. Although their salaries aren't high, the Red Cross is the real big spender.

Joe Ga did indeed spend money on those medicines, but he did it through the channels of the Red Cross, where a large part of the drugs were sponsored for free by various countries and corporations.

That money could be said to be more for channel freight costs than for the medicine.

Joe Ga assured that the Red Cross's planes would land in Bangui, and that the contents wouldn't be taken by the local government but would genuinely end up in the hands of Jemma Alexander.

That's the power of connections. The identity of Jemma Alexander ensured she received sufficient support from the International Red Cross, and Joe Ga ensured that those medicines wouldn't enter the market.

Sanderson was beginning to understand, then he looked up at his boss, who supplied hospitals and money, and managed to make such respected lady serve him like cattle. He couldn't help but give a thumbs up in admiration.

Indeed, as long as everyone's goals align, it isn't necessary for them to join his team. Sometimes greater autonomy can stimulate a stronger work drive.

Just like now, a single call from the boss could make them hurriedly come over.

Because their professional ethics determine that they can't refuse such requests from the boss, and in the end, they might even admire the boss because he has done what many in Africa failed to do—save innocent lives.

Joe Ga probably guessed what Sanderson was thinking, gave a smug squint, and then dialled his assistant Lenore...

"Hey, Lenore, call Bangassou; I need a few ships filled with food. Once things are organized, give me a call and I'll give you the coordinates to deliver the food near my gold mine."

......

"Yes, I will soon secure my gold mine, but I need to feed the miners here a few good meals to see if they're still willing to work for me."

......

"I'm not some barbaric native; I have my own ways of doing things, and I won't just watch these people perish."

After hanging up with Lenore, Joe Ga again sought out old Niu to ask if he had any suitable apprentices under him. He wanted him to find a few agile Xiao Hei to prepare, to come along with the medical team, and bring some warmth to those unlucky enough to not even have clothes.

Old Niu was always reliable. As a highly experienced mess sergeant, he had been worrying about future expansions for a long time.

Although the Xiao Hei of Central Africa were mostly illiterate, being a cook didn't require that skill. Being able to bake flatbreads, cook soups and stews, tend to vegetable gardens and livestock, and occasionally whip up some meat stir-fry wasn't too challenging.

As for the miners' cafeteria, just keeping them filled was the first step. They'd consider adding more dishes once there was profitability!

What troubled Joe Ga the most was actually the security team. The people he had recruited had not yet completed basic training. Deploying them to the mine didn't seem right.

But Karman quickly dispelled Joe Ga's concerns. He used Joe Ga's satellite phone to contact the jungle veterans at the base, instructing them to leave six people to continue working with the Seville veterans, picking a hundred people from the remaining candidates, and also bring over two rescued Boys Scouts to report here.

"The jungle is the best training ground; they can produce a batch of real soldiers adapted to this jungle, maybe even better than those mercenaries!"

Joe Ga was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized that the old man wanted to make the most of the available resources to train a jungle warfare team akin to Sentulu's team from Rwanda.

In the old man's eyes, soldiers like that, combined with modern weapons, were truly the best warriors in Africa.

And it seemed the old man was always trying, subtly or overtly, to continue the legacy once left by Sentulu.

He hadn't managed to achieve that in the past, living his days in a blur. Now, he wanted to try again, as Joe Ga's current conditions were much stronger than Sentulu's back in the day.