Chapter Twenty-Three: The Ultimate Weapon? The Utter Fool!

Yang Jie looked at Andres, dumbfounded.

"Are they selling these things now, too?"

Andres spread his hands. "My channels make it hard to get close to the source; these have passed through many hands. They’ve been fighting for over two years and seem short on cash. This thing is powerful, but its level of automation isn't very high."

Yang Jie nodded. "What’s the loadout?"

"No special munitions, just 25 conventional shells. Of course, if you have the right connections, reverse-engineering the shells isn't too difficult; the technology isn't that advanced."

Yang Jie waved his hand. "I’ll take it. I hope there are more surprises in store!"

Yang Jie’s eyes glowed with a faint, greedy crimson light.

Another canvas was pulled back. Yang Jie shook his head and patted Andres on the shoulder.

"No wonder we’ve had so few transactions; you’re being so generous with me this time. Andres, you even dare to sell M140 Army Tactical Missile Systems? Aren't you afraid of the CIA? The 'Great Beauty' is right next door—aren't you worried about being branded a terrorist?"

In front of them sat a massive tracked vehicle. The vehicle itself was unremarkable, but the twin-tube launcher mounted on top was a different story. Beside it lay ten crates, which, in all likelihood, contained the M140 tactical missiles. Each one of these missiles possessed enough destructive force to wipe a small town off the map.

"The 'Great Beauty' sells them too, why can't I?"

"Andres, you’ve truly impressed me. It seems you’ve gone much further down the path of an arms dealer than I have!"

Yang Jie’s heart burned. What distinguishes a great power in this world? What can truly maintain one’s sovereignty? It isn't nuclear bombs; it’s missiles. Only missiles are the true kings. Even nuclear bombs still require missiles to deliver them. Even if they were just tactical missiles, Yang Jie was deeply satisfied, feeling the trip was well worth it.

When the penultimate canvas was ripped away, Yang Jie raised an eyebrow. He was quite surprised, though the item wasn't of much use to him. Before him stood the legendary CH-53H Super Stallion helicopter. In the past, he would have been thrilled, but now that he possessed a spatial ring, this machine was merely a transport vessel. If the price was reasonable, he planned to buy it; after all, his fortress hadn't been deployed yet, and who knew if the ring’s space would remain accessible after it was set up.

Finally, Andres took a deep breath and solemnly pulled back the last canvas.

When Yang Jie saw the ferocious-looking turret and a vast array of parts before him, he froze. Li Siyao and Chris were equally stunned.

"What is this?"

Even someone as well-versed in weaponry as Yang Jie couldn't immediately identify it; it looked as if it had been scavenged from something else.

"An MK-45 Mod 4 127mm naval gun," Chris said, frowning.

Yang Jie searched his memory, but the item didn't ring a bell. "A naval gun? From a warship?"

Chris nodded, her expression serious. "It’s from an Arleigh Burke-class Flight III destroyer. It’s an older model; I saw them when I was in service."

"What are the specs?"

"Range: up to 63 nautical miles. Rate of fire: a maximum of 20 rounds per minute."

"My God, where on earth did you get this?"

Chris was nearing a breakdown. This item was strictly prohibited from sale; it shouldn't be tradable at all. How could it be here?

Andres looked smug. To be honest, this batch of goods wasn't his; a powerful figure had bundled them for him to sell, promising him a massive commission if he could move them.

"Yang, do you want it?"

"Wait a moment."

Yang Jie pulled Chris aside, leaned in, and whispered with a stern expression, "Do you think I should buy it? Is it worth it?"

A sharp light flashed in Chris's eyes. "That depends on your goal. If you intend to resell it, I advise against it. It’s very difficult to offload, and it will attract the attention of the CIA."

"And if I keep it for myself? It’s not even complete!"

Chris became excited. "Then I suggest you buy it. This naval gun is incredibly powerful and the fire-control chain is intact—though I doubt this arms dealer knows that!"

Yang Jie nodded. After careful consideration, he returned to the warehouse to complete the purchase. However, there was one final item. When the canvas was pulled back, an overwhelming sense of threat erupted, prompting Yang Jie to grab Li Siyao and Chris and sprint frantically out of the warehouse.

To Andres and his men, it just looked like a shadow had flickered, and the three were gone. Perplexed, he led his men outside, but as he prepared to speak, he noticed Yang Jie looked entirely wrong.

Yang Jie was pale, his face twisted in terror.

"Yang, what’s wrong with you?"

Once he had calmed down, Yang Jie gasped for air, pointing angrily at the object inside. "Andres, I want an explanation! Why would you bring such a dangerous thing out?"

Andres looked confused. "Isn't it just a few missiles?"

At this moment, Yang Jie finally confirmed that this guy’s inventory was definitely provided by someone else; he certainly hadn't sourced it himself. Yang Jie was nearly losing his mind as he pointed at the massive missiles.

"There are two types of ballistic missiles in the world that are the most fearsome. The first: the launch point is known, the impact point is known, but no one knows how it got from A to B."

"The second: the launch point is known, the impact point is unknown, and absolutely no one knows what happens in between."

"Those missiles you have there are the second type—the BrahMos missiles, which utilize 'Brownian' trajectories. Do you know what they’ve done?"

"Once, the 'Three Kingdoms' launched one, and thirty seconds later, it vanished from their own radar. Two minutes later, it disappeared from radar screens worldwide."

Andres looked delighted. "Doesn't that make it incredible? If radar can't detect it, it can't be intercepted!"

Yang Jie retorted, "Shit! It crashed into a neighboring country dozens of minutes later."

"The second time, they launched two BrahMos missiles from a submarine and successfully sank two submarines."

Andres felt increasingly lost. Wasn't that impressive? It sounded more powerful than the 'Great Beauty's' missiles.

"Isn't that great?"

Yang Jie rolled his eyes. "Great? One sank their own submarine, and the other jammed, blowing up the launch sub as well."

"There have been many incidents with these things. They basically only hit their own people, and you wouldn't even know which of your own men were killed! And these missiles are extremely unstable—nobody knows when they might just explode."

Andres’s face turned grim, and his henchmen, having caught the drift, began to back away discreetly. Yang Jie’s description was too terrifying. Even if their accuracy was poor, that didn't mean their explosive power was lacking. With missiles this size, if one were to detonate, it was hard to say what would happen at such close range.