77: Chapter 76 Vampire 77: Chapter 76 Vampire Gao Yang wasn’t a stingy person, but he still felt a sting spending this money because Uriyangko was just too extortionate.
His weapons and equipment were indeed good, but the prices were outrageously high.
Take what Gao Yang and his team had bought, for example; a Russian-made AK47 normally cost around five hundred US dollars, which was already a wartime high.
However, Uriyangko was selling them for two thousand dollars each.
A RPD light machine gun would usually be priced around four to five hundred dollars and had skyrocketed to a thousand dollars in conflict-ridden Libya.
But at Uriyangko’s, it sold for four thousand dollars—and that was considered a friendly price, thanks to Glolov’s face value.
Now, the four of them were penniless, having spent all sixteen thousand US dollars, most of which was Cui Bo’s, in Uriyangko’s pocket.
So Gao Yang finally understood what Glolov meant; they truly couldn’t afford Uriyangko’s service.
After stepping out of the wagon and watching Uriyangko and his van leave, Gao Yang took a deep breath and said, “Glolov, I feel that if I spend any more time with your fellow countryman, even the clothes on my back would be stripped off.”
Glolov let out a bitter laugh and responded, “His nickname is ‘Vampire.’ You should understand what that implies just from the nickname.
But although his goods are expensive, only he has all the things we need right now, so there’s no helping it.”
Gao Yang also chuckled wryly, “Regardless, it’s good that we managed to get what we needed.
Anyway, we’re about to make big money.
I’m just curious—can Uriyangko really deliver on his promises?
I always feel it’s a bit too fantastical.”
Glolov spoke solemnly, “I don’t know what exactly you’re referring to.
If it’s about arms, then behind him is Grand Ivan, a big arms dealer.
He sells anything you can think of.
If it weren’t for the current slump in the international arms market, Uriyangko wouldn’t bother with these small deals.
He’s into big transactions at the national level.
Now, if you’re talking about Uriyangko’s services, let me put it this way—there was once a famous small Mercenary Group surrounded in Sierra Leone.
They called Uriyangko for battlefield rescue.
Guess what happened?”
Gao Yang asked with interest, “What happened?
Did Uriyangko pull it off?”
Glolov laughed and said, “The Mercenary Group had sixteen survivors.
Uriyangko himself led a team, used four Mi-24 attack helicopters, forcefully breached into the battlefield, and not a single one of the sixteen was left behind.”
Gao Yang was speechless, not expecting Uriyangko to be that formidable.
But thinking of Uriyangko’s greed, he couldn’t help but ask, “What happened after that?”
Glolov shrugged and said, “There was no ‘after that.’ Uriyangko charged them five hundred thousand dollars per person for the rescue.
Those poor guys should not have let Uriyangko save them before negotiating a price.
In the end, they handed over all their money, including bank accounts and anything of value to Uriyangko.
After they were broke, not many could pay off Uriyangko’s fee, so those guys had to work off their debt for Uriyangko.
To my knowledge, even until the last of them died in battle, they never paid off what they owed Uriyangko.
Now you know why he is nicknamed ‘Vampire,’ don’t you?”
Gao Yang nodded continuously, feeling a chill and said, “I get it, it looks like we really can’t deal with this guy in the future.”
Glolov asked curiously, “Why not?
Uriyangko is a businessman with very good credibility.
As long as an agreement is reached, he strictly abides by the terms, so as long as you have money and don’t try to cheat him, Uriyangko is the best businessman.”
“Alright, it seems he is indeed a good business partner, but we’ll have to be careful.
Anyway, we’d rather die than accept any service from him beyond arms deals, at least not without negotiating a good price first.”
Sitting back in Abdul’s car, chatting casually along the way, Gao Yang and his team headed straight for the Azzizia Military Camp.
Azzizia Military Camp was home to Libya’s most elite brigade, the 32nd Brigade, led by Gaddafi’s son Hamis, which was considered the most elite force in Libya.
Moreover, Hamis was also in charge of a majority of the mercenaries.
The 32nd Brigade itself had fewer than ten thousand men, but the number of mercenaries stationed alongside the 32nd Brigade at Azzizia Military Camp exceeded ten thousand.
Not all the mercenaries were stationed at Azzizia Military Camp, but all the elite mercenaries were there.
Since Gao Yang and his group wanted to be hired as elite mercenaries, it was natural for them to choose to come to Azzizia Military Camp.
Outside Azzizia Military Camp, there were people specifically in charge of selecting and recruiting mercenaries.
When Gao Yang and his group were about two hundred meters away from the main gate, they got out of the car, said goodbye to Abdul who had helped them a lot, and walked towards the camp’s entrance.
At the entrance, there were at least two hundred soldiers.
In front of these fully armed soldiers were five long tables, behind which sat individuals dressed as officers and others in plain clothes.
These were the staff responsible for recruiting mercenaries.
The recruitment tables were bustling, with roughly forty or fifty people dressed in various attires; all of these people were Black, and they had come to be recruited as mercenaries.
However, most of them came empty-handed, and even those who brought their own guns only had the ubiquitous AK47, so when the fully armed and excellently equipped group led by Gao Yang stepped forward, they immediately attracted attention.
Glolov was an old mercenary and he took the lead, not queuing behind the noisy crowd of Black men, but heading straight to the front of the tables and loudly said, “We plan to fight, what’s the price?”
An officer waved his hand to dismiss the Blacks standing in front of his table and then said in halting English, “There are only four of you, so you can only join as free mercenaries.”
Glolov frowned and asked, “What’s the difference?”
The officer replied, “Considering your equipment, a thousand US dollars a day.”
Glolov frowned and said, “That’s not what I’ve heard.
Isn’t it supposed to be sixteen hundred?”
The officer’s attitude was quite good, showing no sign of impatience; he nodded and explained, “That rate is for a whole Mercenary Group.
We’d pay the leader of the Mercenary Group rather than dealing with each mercenary individually.
Also, we’re moving out tomorrow and don’t have time to assess your abilities, so we can only offer the current lowest rate.
Of course, if your performance is good enough later on, there will definitely be chances for a raise.”
Without consulting Gao Yang, Glolov said in a deep voice, “We are joining as a Mercenary Group, and our capabilities will definitely surprise you.”
After Glolov finished speaking, the officer shook his head and stated, “No, the smallest Mercenary Group we accept is one with more than twenty members.
Your group is too small.
Unless you are a very famous Mercenary Group, may I ask the name of your Mercenary Group?”
Glolov was about to speak when he heard someone behind him yell, “Wow, isn’t that Big Dog Glolov?
Hey, Big Dog, aren’t you dead yet?”