King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

Chapter 136 Exhibition Experiences

Joe Ga had attended an "International Defense Exhibition" in Egypt once, where he went with full curiosity and bought a ticket, only to find that despite its mysterious reputation, it was pretty similar to a car show.

Each company set up its booth and brought a bunch of scantily clad pretty girls to draw attention, and then a bunch of lecherous dudes fumbled around with all sorts of firearms, snapping pictures.

Selling cars was like this, and so was selling so-called 'defense products'.

The only difference was that rocket launchers were like fire extinguishers that come with the car: buy one armored off-road vehicle and get three RPG-7s, or for a fully-equipped model, you could even ask for a heavy machine gun—grind your teeth and they'll throw it in, along with a few cases of tracer ammunition.

Of course, Joe Ga hadn't been to a mega exhibition like the Munich Defense Exhibition and didn't know what those grand gatherings packed with influential figures were like.

As an exhibitor, it was Joe Ga's first time too, but he saw the exhibition from a different perspective.

The ordinary visitors who were there for the spectacle mostly showed interest in personal defense weapons and various novel items. In fact, some weapon accessories from the manufacturers drew more eyes than the big guns.

The real clientele was divided into three categories, one being the bigwigs representing government procurements, who were received with utmost humility and eager courting wherever they went.

Another category comprised the defense company personnel from various African countries, who were stingy with their money and very knowledgeable, seeking the highest cost-effectiveness.

Doing business with them wasn't very profitable, so the exhibitors weren't very passionate about them; if those potential buyers were interested, no introduction was needed—they'd buy anyway. If not, even sleeping with them wouldn't seal the deal.

The third category was more interesting, and to be precise, it further divided into two sub-categories.

One was the type of small, sanctioned, and embargoed countries like Central Africa, which were so poor they couldn't come up with enough money.

Plus, doing business with them could lead to substantial fines and even lawsuits for those involved.

Without the backing of one of the five big bosses of the United Nations, most workers wouldn't be willing to take the risk.

The other sub-category included various anti-government militias and extremists.

The two had one thing in common: they usually came just to look and not to buy, and deals with them typically happened behind the scenes.

Either they had the support of external powers or completed the transactions through underground arms dealers like the one named Zakari who got blown up.

They came to the exhibition to feast their eyes and to make note of the prices, to avoid getting swindled too badly.

Being overcharged by more than four times was considered a rip-off, but in certain special cases, these individuals could accept prices 6 to 8 times higher. Deals over ten times the normal price surely weren't for ordinary people; you'd need the power to make someone kneel and call you daddy after ripping them off.

The real trading partners for these individuals were actually the underground arms distributors, who controlled the channels of arms and also dealt in buying second-hand weapons to resell on the market. Places like Liberia and Aqionghan were now disaster zones for this kind of trade.

The arms sent by the French and Americans were packed and sold off, and part of them were absorbed locally, while the rest flowed back to Europa and the Americas, becoming a major concern for their security departments.

The Mori Family once was a main collaborator of Zakari, handling 30% of the arms smuggled from Europa to Africa.

When Zakari saw that the Mori Family was no longer influential, he swallowed their inventory left in Africa.

In the underworld, it's hard to say who's right or wrong. If you believe in the law of the jungle, then you have to accept the consequences—and then Zakari was killed!

When a giant falls, all sorts of characters start popping up.

Joe Ga only wandered around the exhibition for a morning and felt a restless atmosphere pervading the venue.

He couldn't quite describe the feeling, but it included a portion of very anxious individuals, not just the representatives of the militias and extremists, but also some exhibitors.

Wearing a Yuginebert Company badge, Joe Ga approached any small company's booth and was greeted by a manager-level person who would beat around the bush to subtlety ask him if he knew any insider news.

Without attending the exhibition, one would never know there were so many companies feeding on the arms industry in this world.

Ordinary people are only aware of the AK and AR series, but most don't know that these two lines have countless models that sustain a vast number of companies worldwide.

These civilian-oriented small companies were out of the loop, and hence, a bit fearful.

Because just this morning, they had sold out all their light weapon samples and inventory.

Someone was buying up stock through a South African defense company, and some of the small companies couldn't resist the temptation and sold all their samples.

The amount of goods they brought wasn't much, but all added up, it was quite a sum. These small company folks didn't understand why these people needed so many civilian weapons and ammunition.

This was supposed to be good news, but when they noticed the major companies acting very calm, they started to get nervous.

The risks in this line of work could be huge, especially for small companies with weaker risk resistance. One bad step could lead to ruin.

Bankruptcy was the least of worries; if their weapons got involved in some lethal incidents, just the lawsuits could bankrupt them.

Joe Ga stood at a Belgian company's booth called CQ, curiously inspecting a boxy, sci-fi looking caseless ammunition automatic rifle.

A tall, brown-haired Belgian man approached him, glanced at his company badge, and said, "What's Yuginebert Company doing here? Have you found a new channel? Isn't Syria enough to keep you busy?"

Joe Ga put down the impractical sci-fi rifle he was holding, and with a smile, he said, "Just testing the waters. How's business for you?"

The man shook his head slightly and said, "We haven't found a suitable distributor yet, but all our light weapon samples and inventory have been sold off. I guess that's a bit of a harvest, right?"

Joe Ga looked at the mostly empty counter and frowned as he said, "Who would want so many samples? These items are not standardized, and they're all civilian modified guns.

Who's so foolish? What do they want so many modified guns for? Collecting?"

The man looked at Joe Ga somewhat strangely and said, "Haven't those South African defense companies contacted you?"

Joe Ga thought to himself that it wouldn't have mattered if they had; Yuginebert Company's batch of weapons had already been cornered by him, leaving only one sample of each on display to maintain appearances.

These smaller companies could not manage that, as even their samples had been swept away.

Joe Ga was now dying of curiosity, wondering who would do such a thing?

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Aside from some shotgun ammunition, civilian ammunition is mostly loaded at reduced charges. What does a defense company want with so many weapons and ammunition?

He couldn't understand!

While the two of them were equally baffled, several people from other exhibition booths hurried past them.

People from these smaller companies should be competitors, but now they were all exchanging information.

"Hurry up and take a look, there's a booth on the first floor that's just opened up, and all our stuff is there.

Shit, we've been played!"

Curious, Joe Ga followed them to the exhibition hall on the first floor, only to see that at the very center of the first floor, a 500-square-meter booth named 'Redstone' had suddenly opened up.

Hostesses, cocktail reception, unlimited supply of champagne and red wine.

The carefully crafted defense weapons from various companies were prominently displayed at Redstone's booth, attracting a large number of customers.

Several managers from smaller companies began to team up to confront Redstone, loudly denouncing the company.

But Joe Ga noticed a man in a wheelchair...

This man, pushed by a young woman, was constantly moving around the booth, handing out his business card to those who clearly had the hallmarks of 'illegal customers,' and then, after a brief conversation, someone would guide these customers out of the hall, leading them to vehicles to leave the place.

The man in the wheelchair then approached a few representatives from big companies who were standing at a distance, watching indifferently. After a quiet chat and a smile, he excused himself back to his booth and began the process all over again.

Joe Ga realized then that this was an opening ceremony with a message of establishing dominance.

In the wake of the Tunisian distributor Zakari's death, this man's appearance had knocked some smaller companies senseless and redirected all the attention to his display.

This approach conveyed a pioneering spirit; he was telling visitors that he had significant capabilities. At the same time, he could use the allure to attract the real customers he wanted.

However, this tactic would only work at a small defense exhibition in Tunisia. If he tried the same at a major exhibition like Munich's, he would likely have been cleared out by now.

Joe Ga read the small print beneath the 'Redstone Company' logo, noting the names of three well-known South African defense companies listed there.

Joe Ga realized that this man had obtained the 'end-user certificate.'

He could legally import weapons, and who they ultimately sold to was his decision.

If pushed, it would still be illegal, but that would then be Redstone's problem, not the arms supply companies.'

So, after receiving a 'reasonable explanation,' the representatives from the big companies all took their leave.

This Tunisian defense exhibition had been turned upside down because of Redstone's presence.

Some smaller companies who majorly marketed personalized and customized personal defense weapons became cannon fodder.

They might have sold all their samples, but not one found a long-term client, all serving as a stepping stone for Redstone. How could the owners of these smaller companies let it go?

But the more they argued, the more popular Redstone's booth became.

A few shrewder ones chose to pay more to buy back their samples, while a few less bright were carried out by burly men, triggering a round of laughter.

Joe Ga took a deep look at the man in the wheelchair, wanting to remember him, as he had a feeling that this man would be an important figure in the future.

Arms dealers never shied away from competition; many companies that seemed to be mortal enemies on the surface had cross-holdings behind the scenes. Without competition, the market would lack vitality, and if the world were at peace, everyone in the business would be out of work.

The wheelchair man seemed to sense Joe Ga's gaze; he turned in Joe Ga's direction, gesturing for the young woman behind him to push him over, smiled, and handed over a business card, "Hello, my name is Aaron Dupont, general manager of Redstone."

After saying this, Aaron glanced at the work badge on Joe Ga's chest and added with a smile, "Yuginebert Company has a bright future, but if you want to break into the Africa market, you need a strong partner.

I hope we have the opportunity to collaborate!"

Joe Ga glanced at the small company leaders who had paid to get their samples back, leaving with dust-covered faces. He shook his head and chuckled, "Doing business like this indeed brings in money."

Aaron grinned and said, "In this line of work, you either need to be smart, bold, well-connected, or wealthy.

I happen to be a little of each!"