America: My Time

Chapter 1309 The 'Generosity' of Middle Eastern Tycoons

Chapter 1299 The 'Generosity' of Middle Eastern Tycoons

"I didn't expect you to come after all. It seems you're under a lot of pressure over there?" John smiled faintly as he saw the Middle Eastern prince arrive just before the Spring Festival. Although he had known this moment would come, he hadn't expected it to arrive so quickly. It seemed the donkey was quite capable, finding out the source of his funds in such a short time!

“John, we’re old friends, and you know the situation. The White House has called us more than once to ‘communicate,’ so it would be wrong of us to remain completely inactive. But don’t worry, I’m not here to back out, but to give them an explanation. At least I’ve taken action, and it’s not our fault if we couldn’t persuade them. It’s fortunate that you insisted on signing an agreement, otherwise the pressure on us would have been even greater!”

"As expected, you should believe me now. The donkeys are on the side of the oil people. The fact that they came to you for such a 'trivial' matter shows their attitude!"

"Yes, everything was both within your expectations and beyond ours. To be honest, I didn't trust you at first either, but after careful consideration, I made this decision. It seems we were wrong, and you were right. Rest assured, there won't be any problems with the funds; that's my promise, and it's the promise of all of us in the Middle East. It's fortunate you opted for an interest-free loan, otherwise, things would have been much more complicated. But what do you plan to do? The White House still hasn't given us a satisfactory response!"

"Hehe, I told you long ago that it's impossible for you to get a satisfactory answer from them. In their eyes, Israel is much more important than you, and they won't choose to stand on your side. Our cooperation needs to be strengthened. Don't worry, as long as you have any needs, it's not a problem for me. I have the autonomy to export arms, and they have no right to interfere with me. As long as I have it, you can ask for it."

When John gave this response, the Middle Eastern prince nodded in agreement. This was the attitude he wanted, and it was also the attitude that the Middle Eastern tycoons wanted. Compared to others, John's integrity was the best. At least John had never made a mistake in fulfilling his promises, and that was what they valued most!
“John, we want to participate in your Starlink project. The loans don’t need to be repaid; consider them as funds for our participation. However, we also need to maintain some control, at least in the Middle East, just like in the previous project. What do you think?”

“I have a question. I’ve invited you all more than once before, but you all felt that what you have now is enough. Why the sudden change? If you’re worried about my funds, worried that I might run into trouble because of them, there’s absolutely no need to worry. I will keep my promise and repay everything on time within five years.” John’s face showed a hint of doubt at this moment, somewhat unable to understand why the Middle Eastern tycoons would suddenly make such a change. The most likely reason is that they are worried about their cash flow. After all, his recent actions have made the Middle Eastern tycoons somewhat uneasy, hence this decision.

“John, we fully recognize your integrity. This time it’s not as you think, but rather we need this kind of power. Our experts have carefully studied your plan and all agree that it’s feasible. Therefore, we want to use this funding directly to support the research and development of the ‘Starlink Project.’ I’ve heard that Gulfstream Aerospace has mentioned cutting its investment in this project. I wonder if that’s true?” The Middle Eastern prince didn’t hide anything and directly stated their true intentions!
"Indeed, such a suggestion has been made. To be honest, things haven't been easy for us military industrial enterprises lately. Even with your help, Gulfstream Aerospace's situation is not optimistic. The previous investments were too large, so many people felt that we needed to put it aside for the time being to avoid dragging ourselves down. This matter is still under discussion and there is no result yet. However, with your help, I believe that such problems will no longer exist. But you understand that even such a large sum of money cannot guarantee any results, and you all know how high the cost of launching a satellite is!"

As soon as John finished speaking, the Middle Eastern prince nodded and said, "We understand. As long as you achieve results, we can continue to invest in the future. However, there is a prerequisite: we need a testing ground in the Middle East so that we can clearly understand whether its capabilities are as powerful as they seem!"

“If that’s the case, I have no problem with that. Gulfstream Aerospace will make arrangements to place the test in the Middle East. It’s just that the base will need to be provided by you all. As you know, Gulfstream Aerospace doesn’t have that much funding right now!” John sighed. Although Gulfstream Aerospace is now the largest military industrial company in the United States and is doing much better than other military industrial companies, it is still under considerable pressure because its own research and development has not stopped.

"Don't worry about that. The bases aren't a problem. We'll allocate a special fund. However, we don't need just one fund; we need multiple bases. I wonder if you can accept that, and if Gulfstream Aerospace can afford it!"

As soon as the Middle Eastern prince finished speaking, John immediately understood his true intentions. However, he knew better than to expose him. Even if he saw through the other party's plan, he couldn't reveal it under these circumstances and make things awkward for him. Besides, the Middle Eastern tycoon was a major financial backer that John had always relied on, so how could he let his major financial backer down?
John nodded and said, “No problem. I don’t know whether you will handle the security yourself or have Jaguar Security handle it. Also, if you want to build multiple bases, I suggest you build a complete underground network of bases. Connect them together, and link them with the original bases. We have a new control network. Gulfstream Aerospace is no problem if you need it. Furthermore, we can use the guise of building a civilian network to secretly complete all of this.”

Hearing John's answer, the Middle Eastern prince breathed a sigh of relief. He made no attempt to hide anything and openly did it in front of John. He then nodded and said, "Sure, as long as we can upgrade our defenses, that's no problem for us. But how long will it take you to complete it?"

“I’m not sure about that. If you want to know, I’ll inform Gulfstream Aerospace and have them provide you with a detailed plan. With the development of semiconductor chips and the rapid growth of the internet in recent years, our previous plans have gradually become outdated. A system upgrade and hardware upgrade are inevitable. Otherwise, if a war breaks out one day, you’ll see how big the gap is. Unfortunately, our plan hasn’t been approved by the military. In short, those bastards don’t have the money; they’ve pocketed it all!” John was well aware of the situation with the US military. These guys had already undergone some of the crazy changes of later generations, though not as terrifying as they were then. But for John, this was unacceptable; it seriously affected Gulfstream Aerospace’s development. Gulfstream Aerospace’s development hadn’t stopped. If these guys didn’t purchase, the R&D costs would be stuck in their hands, which would have a huge impact on Gulfstream Aerospace!
"Okay, we look forward to the arrival of Gulfstream Aerospace professionals. System upgrades are necessary, whether it's software or hardware, we can accept it, you don't need to worry about that."

"That's good. At least with your orders, we can recoup some of the previous R&D costs. However, I don't think you need to upgrade the hardware too much. After all, semiconductor chips are developing too fast. You'll need new upgrades in a few years, which will waste a lot of money. Just look at civilian hardware; you can see that it changes almost every year. So I think every little bit saved counts."

"Hahaha! Thank you for your kindness, but I can afford the price. Either we do nothing, or we do the best. Don't worry, funding is not a problem. We just need the best hardware. Even if the upgrade frequency is a bit high, we can afford it. We are not short of money!"

The Middle Eastern tycoon was indeed generous, not taking this 'small amount' seriously at all. But for John, it was a good order that could help Gulfstream Aerospace recover some of its losses. However, this cooperation was just the beginning, and since the tycoon had already made his move, he couldn't let such an opportunity slip by.

"In fact, we can have more cooperation. Upgrading drones is also necessary, especially under the 'Starlink' project, which will greatly help drones and truly achieve a triad integration. Once fully successful, even if one or two satellites are destroyed, it will not affect its combat capabilities!"

Upon hearing John's words, the Middle Eastern prince's expression changed, but he quickly regained his composure and refrained from any overreaction. John, however, had already discerned his interest. John didn't continue his explanation; further words were futile. Only by showing them the finished product would anything be resolved.

For those impoverished Middle Eastern 'friends,' their requests were simple and easily fulfilled. After all, they were familiar with the legendary posts on the internet from later generations, so they could naturally offer them more help while also making a fortune themselves. The steel group, spun off from Quantum Mining, benefited greatly from this; its factories in Taiwan and China were operating at full capacity, doing its utmost to 'help' those 'good friends' in need!
However, wealthy individuals don't care about such things; they want the best weapons and systems. Money is irrelevant to them. Throughout the entire ordeal, the Middle Eastern prince never inquired about the price. Although Gulfstream Aerospace's products were a bit pricey, their integrity was commendable; they didn't leave many hidden problems and wouldn't offer a substandard product. This is one of the reasons why the Thai people are so hostile towards John!

"As long as the functionality is fine, price is not an issue. We want to see Gulfstream Aerospace's latest products. As far as I know, Gulfstream Aerospace already has new products. Could it be that they are restricted from selling them to us?" At this moment, a faint worry appeared on the Middle Eastern prince's face. After all, if such a problem occurred, it would mean that John's autonomy in arms exports was affected to some extent, and they would have to make more preparations!
"There is indeed a problem, but it's not as you say. Some guys are 'threatening' us. They don't want to see the weapons we export being the same as those used by the US military. That's our biggest problem. We either have to develop new ones or make some choices."

Although John didn't explicitly state how to choose, the Middle Eastern prince understood that if things came to that, their Middle Eastern operations would inevitably be affected. No matter how ambitious Gulfstream Aerospace became, they wouldn't abandon the military market and cede it to other competitors; in that case, only those in the Middle East would be impacted.

The Middle Eastern prince didn't doubt John's words; after all, they were aware of the situation in the United States, and most importantly, John's relationship with the White House had reached a dangerous point. Although the Middle Eastern prince was unaware of the previous terrifying attack that nearly escalated into a conflict, he knew that John was still in China, and that was the biggest problem.

"We need to expedite all the upgrades and modifications, the sooner the better. I wonder if Gulfstream Aerospace can handle it?"

"Actually, there's no need to rush. Doing so would only increase unnecessary costs. Although there have been some changes in the United States, everything is still within our control. Right now, it's just a small confrontation."

"I'll say it again, money is not a problem. As long as we can complete all the upgrades and modifications quickly, it's all acceptable. As long as Gulfstream Aerospace has no problems, we won't have any problems either. As long as they ask, the funds will be transferred to their account quickly, without any delay!" At this moment, the Middle Eastern prince had no intention of bargaining with John. For him, as long as they could complete their military upgrades, paying a little money was not a problem. Moreover, it would be a foolish decision to hinder the upgrade plan because of a momentary heartache over 'funds'.

(End of this chapter)