Fatal Strike: Paladins Mercenary Road

Chapter 15: The World of Black Gold
What Blood Fox said was not particularly thorough, but Mountain Eagle had roughly pieced together the outline of the underground world.

Money is the basis of everything. According to data released by United Nations agencies and the IMF (World Bank), the amount of black money flowing around the world each year is approximately 2-3% of the global GDP.

The global GDP in 2014 was 80 trillion US dollars. Even if we take the lowest value, the GDP of the underground world this year should be around 1.6 trillion.

This is just a data report released by the United Nations and the IMF. The actual number may be higher because a lot of black money generated by high-end corruption and tax evasion is hidden under the guise of legal transactions.

If you really want to calculate, it would be normal for the 1.6 trillion US dollars to double!

He had read a related report in the past, but he didn't pay any attention to it at the time and just treated it as a piece of gossip.

But now when he really entered this world, he realized how terrible it was!
A specialized United Nations agency has released a report on black money, which shows that last year, in 2013, the global black money generated by drug trafficking was approximately US$5000 billion.

The second largest source of dirty money is human trafficking and smuggling, which is around $1600 billion.

The third thing that many people don’t realize is that it’s not the so-called arms trade, but illegal logging.

Illegally felled trees generate nearly $1500 billion in black money each year around the world, while the total amount of legal felling in the world last year was only $4500 billion.

Fourth is illegal tax evasion, which is around 1200 billion US dollars. However, this number may be several times higher because of the huge interference in investigating it.

Fifth is illegal mining, which was around $400 billion last year.

Sixth is wildlife trade, which was around US$200 billion last year.

The seventh is the illegal extraction of crude oil, which amounted to about 140 billion US dollars last year.

The eighth is the arms trade that everyone is familiar with. Last year, the black market light weapons transaction volume was only about US$85 billion.

This number may be much lower than people imagine, but this is the case at this stage around 14 years ago.

Anyone familiar with this industry knows that the arms trade is a nearly monopolized industry.

It’s past the point where small traders can just resell some light weapons; truly large-scale transactions are basically legal, and at least there has to be a big brother behind the transaction.

Then there are other things like selling P, gambling, and some scattered crimes that generate some dirty money that is hard to calculate...

It’s not that the output value of these industries is not high. In fact, just selling Y alone roughly estimates that the global output value is about 1800 billion US dollars per year, and the amount of online gambling may be even higher...

But this thing is hard to define, because in some places it is legal...

For example, gambling is illegal in their hometowns, but they go to Southeast Asia where online gambling is legal to open online casinos to gamble. The money they lose is at least legal income in Southeast Asia.

Any controversial money cannot be classified as black money by statistical agencies.

The above contents, together with cybercrimes that are impossible to count and corrupt funds from various countries, support the huge GDP of the underground world.

Just by listening to what Blood Fox said, Shanying only understood a small corner of the underground world. However, if he looked at it through this inaccurate report and through money, the so-called underground world would be much clearer!
Fighting and killing is only a small part of the underground world, and the part that can generate economic benefits is the bulk.

It's just like what Blood Fox said, because the underground world has a weak sense of rules, the most important prerequisite for establishing a transaction is to have the ability to punish the other party...

Therefore, intermediaries and platforms that can provide transaction guarantees, accountants, lawyers, bankers who can help deal with black money, and mercenaries and killers who can handle problems, these service industry talents will become popular.

The costs incurred by workers in these service industries will be included in the transaction costs of the underground world.

Shanying doesn’t dare to guess the specific proportion, but it will definitely not be less than 40%…

This is the core output value of the underground world!
However, looking at the price that Killer Bee was asking for, combined with what Blood Fox had said before, Mountain Eagle suddenly realized that mercenaries, a profession that was legendary in the eyes of many people, must be at the bottom of the food chain in the underground world.

This discovery made Shanying a little reluctant to become a mercenary... After all, he was a regional executive in a trillion-level central enterprise. Not to mention the transactions he had seen and participated in, the amount of transactions he had seen and participated in a year was nearly 10 billion RMB...

It was not a big deal for him, a wanted criminal, to become a mercenary, but he was very uncomfortable with the feeling of suddenly falling to the bottom of society and having to engage in a profession where he had to fight hard to make a living.

Blood Fox seemed to see what Shanying was thinking. After he signed the contract and took a photo and uploaded it to the platform, he smiled and said to Shanying, "Not used to it, right?

When people have a choice, they are rarely willing to risk their lives to make money.

You are smart and capable, so you really don't need to be a mercenary...

In fact, in this industry, those who can really make money do not do so by working hard, but by helping others solve problems.

Low-end mercenaries can only fight, and when they encounter some business that does not require killing, the mercenaries may not be able to handle it as well as a gangster brother.

You can’t make a lot of money by solving people’s problems, but you can!
You are very smart. The first moment you woke up, you discovered your own "value", and then, with yourself at the center, you used Naukan's bounty to establish a deal that did not exist.

Everything I do now includes multiple roles such as 'broker', 'investigator' and 'mercenary'. I am solving problems so I can take the most money.

But the key is actually to solve the problem on the premise that you are willing to take risks and cooperate!

'Problem solving' is not a rare skill...

You have an ability that ordinary people don't have, and that is 'creating demand'!
I can say with certainty that you are suitable for this line of work!"

“Creating demand?”

Shanying muttered a few words, then said in a daze: "Do I have it?"

As Shanying said this, he looked at the killer bee staring at him with a complicated expression, spread his hands and said, "Do I have it?"

Killer Bee looked at the white-faced Mountain Eagle. After thinking for a while, she shook her head unhappily and said, "I don't understand, otherwise I wouldn't even be able to raise enough money for the surgery...

FUCK, I can understand every word you say, but I just don’t know what you are saying, FUCK…”

Killer Bee touched her pretty cheeks, stared at Shanying for a few seconds, and suddenly smiled and took Shanying's hand, saying, "Let me introduce myself. I'm Killer Bee. I opened a bar in Krabi. If you're free, go sit down and I can introduce some sisters to you...

Ah, real sisters!"

Shanying looked at Killer Bee's slightly thick palm bones. He resisted the urge to rub his goosebumps, forced a smile, and said, "Thank you. I'll go when I have time."

Shanying let go of his hand, looked at Xuehu and said seriously: "I need to hear your plan. In my opinion, 8 people are still too few...

You've told me so much and you regard me as the core of the deal, but you won't let me die.

I need to know all your plans and be fully prepared before taking the risk..."

The Blood Fox nodded appreciatively and said with a smile: "Boy, always remember that we are the ones who solve problems...

This is the core area of the Golden Triangle and also a lawless place. Naukan occupies a large part of the interests. He has enemies, and a lot of them!

The biggest enemy is not other drug lords, but the Thai government forces...

Remember the woman named Luo Mai?

She is the key to our mobilization of government forces..."

(End of this chapter)