Chapter 14: A Sudden Competitor

After parting ways with Mr. Lu, Qiao Jia resumed his journey, driving north for over a hundred kilometers until he finally reached the agreed-upon location by dusk.

Parking his pickup truck atop a small dirt mound, Qiao Jia turned to signal Kaman to arm himself. He placed his HK416 assault rifle and a tactical vest with ballistic plates on the passenger seat. He then put on a lightweight flight jacket, concealing the holster at his lower back, though the thigh holster on his right leg was left deliberately visible.

Once everything was ready, Qiao Jia got out of the truck and made a phone call.

After nervously waiting for nearly an hour, just as darkness was falling, two battered pickup trucks carrying a dozen or so armed black men arrived at the location.

Qiao Jia had chosen the parking spot cunningly. The small dirt mound, only about ten meters high, had room for only one vehicle at the top, forcing the other vehicles to either park on the slope or down below on the grasslands.

This was a precaution against any unexpected moves from the other party, allowing him to counterattack from a higher position and escape quickly if necessary.

The black men, oblivious to Qiao Jia's strategic choice, drove up the mound, found no room to park, and got out of their trucks, cursing under their breath. The drivers stayed behind, keeping their feet on the brakes, as these old trucks had no functioning handbrakes and would otherwise roll downhill.

Qiao Jia recognized the middle-aged black man leading the group as Kilsa, a Siruk tribesman he'd encountered once before in Kamu. Kilsa had a somewhat decent appearance and was dressed more cleanly than the others.

In Qiao Jia's mind, this was a one-time deal, so he didn't waste any words. He opened the tailgate of his pickup truck, pried open a wooden crate, and showed the AK-74 rifles inside. Then, he made a gesture to stop them, saying, "The goods are here. Show me the money, and then you can inspect the merchandise."

Kilsa, pleased with Qiao Jia's straightforwardness, glanced at Kaman, who was leaning against the truck door with his rifle in hand. He then beckoned two of his men to join him as they approached Qiao Jia.

Instead of paying in cash, Kilsa handed over the remaining balance and an express fee totaling $300,000 in gold.

Handing a leather pouch containing approximately six kilograms of gold to Qiao Jia, Kilsa smiled and said, "Jackal, you're a man of your word. We like doing business with people like you. Compared to those damned whites, you are our friend."

Weighing the pouch in his hand, Qiao Jia's microcomputer in his "universal toolbox" quickly analyzed it. Based on a rough calculation using a gold price of $1,500 per ounce, even if the gold's purity was low, its value, after refining, would exceed $300,000.

Qiao Jia was satisfied with Kilsa's attitude. As he handed an AK-74 rifle to Kilsa and opened a box of ammunition, signaling them to load and test the guns, he casually asked, "Whites? Has someone else tried to sell you weapons?"

Kilsa handed the rifle to one of his men, took out a bag of tobacco, and offered it to Qiao Jia. When he saw that Qiao Jia wasn't interested, he stuffed some tobacco into his mouth, chewing as he said, "The United Nations has imposed an arms embargo on South Sudan for many years. After the peace agreement between the Kadang and Enu tribes was reached two years ago, some people started bringing weapons here.

Recently, an Italian man has been trying to sell weapons to the Kadang. After making a deal with them, he approached us. But we Siruk prefer to trust reliable friends."

Qiao Jia had a low opinion of the Kadang. Of course, as a small-time arms dealer, Qiao Jia had no particular stance and didn't want to get involved in these conflicts.

However, he hadn't expected someone to be selling weapons in South Sudan, possibly inciting tribal warfare. 

Worse yet, they were playing both sides—selling weapons to the Kadang tribe and then turning around to offer the same to the oppressed Siruk tribe.

Qiao Jia couldn't understand this strategy or the motives behind it. However, he realized that if the local tribes didn't have enough awareness of the potential danger, South Sudan could quickly become a cesspool. This information was critical, and Qiao Jia needed to inform his Chinese clients still in South Sudan, so they could prepare in advance.

Kilsa seemed quite level-headed, but the Kadang tribe had never shown such restraint.

Keen to distance himself from this trouble, Qiao Jia didn't press further. He guided one of the militia members, who was unfamiliar with 5.56mm ammunition, through loading the magazine. He then watched as the man fired off 30 rounds into the empty field.

Tossing the small nuggets of gold in his hand, Qiao Jia smiled and said, "Then our deal is complete."

Kilsa waved to his men to transfer the weapons from Qiao Jia's truck to their own. Then, with a slightly disappointed look, he said, "Your products are excellent, which shows you have a solid arms supply. If you want to establish yourself in South Sudan, you'll have competition. Don't you have any thoughts on that?"

Qiao Jia could tell Kilsa had some misconceptions about him, likely due to his Chinese background. After all, a Chinese man selling arms in both Sudan and South Sudan was bound to raise some eyebrows.

It was clear Kilsa was trying to provoke Qiao Jia into taking on the Italian arms dealer, but Qiao Jia knew he didn't have the power to do that.

Still, he couldn't outright say that. Instead, he gave Kilsa a cryptic smile and said, "Thank you for the information. I'll keep that in mind. There are many ways to solve problems..."

Kilsa, who had dealt with many Chinese people before, filled in the blanks on his own and, with a look of sudden understanding, laughed heartily and said, "Jackal, you're a capable man. Of course, you'll solve the problem.

Thank you for your help. If we need anything in the future, we'll come to you first."

Qiao Jia thought to himself, "Please don't." But he smiled and replied, "As long as I'm in Sudan, we can work together. I hope my guns go to those who need them to protect themselves."

The deal went surprisingly smoothly. Kilsa's men only did a quick count of the ammunition and tested a few rifles before leaving.

As Qiao Jia watched them go, he turned to Kaman, frowning as he said, "Didn't something feel off to you?"

Kaman shook his head and said, "If you're talking about how easily they paid, then yes, that was a bit unusual. But isn't that a good thing?"

Qiao Jia shook his head and said, "That guy wants to use me to deal with the so-called Italian arms dealer. I can understand his thinking.

But the way he acted so readily makes me uneasy."

With that, Qiao Jia got back into the truck, put on his tactical vest, and placed the HK416 by the door. He then said to Kaman, "Get in. Let's hurry back. I hope my instincts are wrong..."