America: My Time

Chapter 1607 Bait
Chapter 1597 Bait

"Funding isn't the problem, we just need to see the prospects first. At least you need to tell us how much this 'ground effect vehicle' will help us. Otherwise, even if I agree to cooperate, the royal family and the military won't agree. This incident has made many people uneasy!" The Middle Eastern prince said to John with a solemn expression. Although he was willing to trust John, this was not a decision he could make on his own.

"Prince, have you considered the immense benefits and advantages that a 'ground effect vehicle' could bring you? Its massive size grants it limitless potential, providing countless advantages both on land and sea. The reason the Russians abandoned it back then was due to funding issues and the limitations of their technology, but everything is different now. To be honest, you'll soon see a space carrier successfully modified from the An-225. Although it's still rudimentary, it already possesses combat capabilities. If the An-225 can succeed, do you think there will be any problems with a 'ground effect vehicle'?"

"Mr. John, this is no joke. Are you sure the An-225's modifications are going to be completed?"

"It'll be soon. The entire modification of the machine will be completed by the end of this year, and it can be delivered to you for testing. The second one won't be long either; it will be modified and delivered to you by the end of next year. I believe this result should satisfy you!"

When John said this, the Middle Eastern prince's eyes widened, and he could hardly believe his ears!

"Mr. John, are the supporting drones all completed? Without drones, even if the modifications are complete, it's just an empty shell and won't be combat-capable!" The Middle Eastern prince quickly calmed down and asked this important question, after all, the true combat power of the space carrier lies in its drones!

“That’s natural. However, to form combat capability, it needs to be constrained by Starlink. After all, without Starlink, it’s unrealistic to expect it to have strong combat capabilities. But there’s no problem in the Middle East; Starlink there is already in its initial stages. If it passes your tests, it will give you the ability to react quickly and snipe enemies swiftly!” To appease the Middle Eastern tycoon, John had to bring out this powerful weapon. Although it was still somewhat imperfect, it was the only option for the upcoming plan. Moreover, for the Middle Eastern tycoon, the current power was already sufficient; further enhancement would make others uneasy!

Under John's temptation, the Middle Eastern prince compromised and chose to continue investing in Gulfstream Aerospace. After all, with these two space carriers as collateral, everything was not a problem.

John used these two large aircraft and their accompanying drones to exploit Middle Eastern tycoons, extracting sufficient funds from them. After all, only Gulfstream Aerospace would sell such high-tech equipment to them. Once these guys were tempted and saw its immense power, they naturally wouldn't refuse Gulfstream Aerospace's 'ground effect vehicle' program and its unmanned maritime vessel program. John didn't believe that the Middle Eastern tycoons could resist such a tempting offer of a three-in-one solution encompassing land, sea, and air.

And so, the Middle Eastern prince succumbed. After all, security was their top priority, and John's plan was too tempting to resist. It also made him realize that Gulfstream Aerospace, which seemed to be splitting up, was actually undergoing a complete transformation. Although Lockheed Martin was very important and powerful, it was nothing compared to Gulfstream Aerospace's new plan.

When the Middle Eastern prince emerged from John's residence, his beaming smile caused many to sigh in relief. The unexpected turn of events they had hoped for hadn't materialized; John had successfully persuaded the prince, meaning their expectations were dashed. However, these observers were unaware that John had once again secured even greater benefits for the prince!
Through a satellite phone, the wealthy Middle Eastern prince quickly contacted his home country and relayed John's statement, which immediately excited the royal family and the military, who were willing to continue investing in Gulfstream Aerospace.

Soon the Middle Eastern prince met with John again. This time he came with a request from his homeland. Although John had a good reputation, the temptation he offered this time was too great, forcing them to be cautious.

“Mr. John, there are no objections from the domestic side, and they can accept your proposal. However, we also have one request: the first An-225 needs to complete its final modifications here. We are willing to pay extra for this, and we need to see the actual aircraft!”

"I have no objection to that. After all, the aircraft has been modified, and now all that's needed is to install some instruments. However, there's one thing I need to remind you of: once the An-225 takes off, this plan will be exposed, and it's hard to say whether the second one will be safely in your hands. After all, those guys won't let it go so easily!"

"If that's the case, could both of them come to our place together to complete the final modifications?"

"That's difficult. If we want to do it that way, we need to stop the modification of the first one and speed up the modification of the second one. But you know the current situation at Gulfstream Aerospace. The most important thing is the workers. They are not willing to work overtime. Doing so would cause too much loss!"

"Mr. Yue, money is not a problem. We just want results. As long as we can get both of them together, we are willing to pay a sum of money. Half a year should not be a problem, right?" Wow, this is indeed the style of a tycoon. He just throws money at us without saying a word.

"Sure, as long as there's sufficient funding, I believe the workers will be willing to work overtime. After all, nobody turns down money. Even with extra work, we'll get both An-225s taking off simultaneously in six months. We'll go to your location to complete the final modifications and adjustments. However, this money needs to go through a special channel. There are too many people eyeing Gulfstream Aerospace, and I don't want any trouble to arise at this time. I hope you can understand!"

“I understand, of course I understand. Don’t worry, the funds can be transferred to your designated account at any time!” The Middle Eastern tycoon prince didn’t want to know why John did this. Although John’s excuse sounded reasonable, he knew there must be other reasons behind it, but he knew it was not something he should know!

"That's good. We'll contact you once we're ready. If you have time, stay in the US and watch this crazy game, see how ugly those guys are!" The rich prince instantly understood who John was referring to. Since they had let go, those with ulterior motives probably wouldn't give up, so they would inevitably clash with those old guys from the American conglomerates, leading to a fierce battle.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! I don't believe those bastards from the Middle East would give up. This must be fake news, a ploy to mislead us. If they really gave up, why would they let that damned rich prince stay in the US, and even speak with John more than once? There must be something wrong with this news!"

When Soros received inside information from Gulfstream Aerospace that a Middle Eastern tycoon was abandoning his acquisition of Lockheed Martin's shares, he immediately voiced his doubts. He didn't believe it was true and thought the news was suspicious!
"This is something we've confirmed, and it's been approved by the US military and the White House. The Middle Eastern tycoons have indeed withdrawn from this power struggle. Their demands are simple: the US military and the White House cannot restrict their future cooperation with Gulfstream Aerospace. These guys are more willing to trust John."

"Are they crazy? Without Lockheed, is it even possible for them to upgrade their equipment? After all, after the split, Gulfstream Aerospace will lose its top-notch R&D personnel. Lockheed is the core of Gulfstream Aerospace's military industry!"

“Soros, you should face everything squarely. You're not a Middle Eastern tycoon, so naturally you don't understand their thinking. In their twenty years of cooperation, John's credibility has been guaranteed. Under these circumstances, they are naturally willing to believe John, not the data you see. Whether you accept it or not, this is the truth!”

"Are you still worried about the reaction of those old guys from the American financial groups, or are you worried that we'll be targeted by them?"

Soros understood these people's concerns, but in his view, the mining bureau's concerns were meaningless. If they didn't fight for it, how could they possibly get everything they wanted? Only by fighting for it could they have better development. Moreover, many of the old guys in the American financial groups had already sided with them, and that was the opportunity!
"You forgot John's reaction. Do you think he'll let that happen? What if he tries to sabotage us at a crucial moment? Besides, with the support of Middle Eastern tycoons, he's not short of funds!"

Soros dismissively replied, "So what? If John dares to make a move, he'll only bring himself more trouble. If he manipulates the market, we'll have an even better excuse to suppress him!"

It has to be said that profit is a powerful motivator, and even a guy like Soros couldn't resist the temptation. This shows how shrewd John's calculations are. As long as everything goes smoothly, I believe that Oil Tai Capital will clash with many people, become the target of public criticism, and be targeted by a number of financial groups. John doesn't even need to take action himself to teach them a profound lesson!

Of course, this situation also occurred in many places. The White House, the military, and those old guys were all shocked by the news. They were all a little confused as to how John was able to persuade the Middle Eastern tycoons to make such a decision. You know, this split was a huge blow to Gulfstream Aerospace and caused heavy losses to the military!

The reason why no one discovered John's plan is simple: many people were not optimistic about John's drone plan, thinking it was too expensive and only the wealthy could afford it. Even the US military could not accept it, so they did not value the many assets that Gulfstream Aerospace had retained!
A storm was quietly brewing. Soon John handed over 30 percent of the shares, and preparations for Lockheed Martin's IPO had begun. This time, Morgan was once again in charge, which made many people extremely envious. Many wanted to take his place, but unfortunately, that was impossible.

"What is John trying to do? He wants to go public so soon. Doesn't he understand how much profit he will lose? He could easily delay a little longer and wait for the right time. After all, everyone knows what's going on in the Middle East!"

"I don't know. Maybe Morgan knows something, but he won't tell us. Besides, he's retired now, so even if we wanted to talk to him, we wouldn't have the chance. He's much more free than us!"

"What do we do now? Everyone splits 30% of the shares equally, but the military took the lion's share. If we go public this time, we'll have to fight for it ourselves. Oil Pacific Capital, the British, and other guys are all eager to get involved. Even those guys from Japan are thinking about it. If Hurricane Investment and Standard Chartered Bank hadn't made no move, I would suspect that John would have secretly taken action and ambushed us!"

"We can only take it one step at a time now. Rockefeller and his group don't have any good solutions either. I've already talked to him before, but he couldn't stop those guys either. Now we can only rely on our own abilities! We could have just communicated with Morgan. If Morgan had agreed, everything would have been fine. But Morgan ignored our advice for his own benefit."

Haha, that's hilarious. They think Morgan is easy to talk to, or that John should follow their arrangements. In a capitalist society, profit comes first, so Morgan naturally has to consider his own interests and wouldn't care about their thoughts.

John was proceeding according to the previous agreement. Although the time was tight, the profits were greater, which was sure to tempt Morgan. They wouldn't refuse such a large sum of money. Only a fool would refuse profits that were within their grasp. Although Morgan knew John had his own schemes, it didn't concern them; they just wanted to make a profit.

However, some of the old guard saw Morgan's actions as betrayal, because their interests were harmed—a result they didn't want to accept. Yet, they were powerless to do anything about it. After all, it was John who proactively compromised with the US military, not them, so they had no right to criticize. The military was naturally delighted, as Morgan's actions were generating profits for them. In such a short time, the value of their shares had skyrocketed; how could they not be happy! However, their happiness was built on the suffering of others. But these guys didn't care. Even the old guard of the conglomerates couldn't say much, since these bastards had guns, and they were unwilling to turn against them unless absolutely necessary!

(End of this chapter)