The Fourth Disaster Begins at the Dawn of the Millennium

"Then again, even if we cut off our relationship with Universal Group and do this on our own, and the big guys on Wall Street really have to pay us huge compensation, will they still let us go? I'm afraid they will be shot in the back eight times and commit suicide."

"Dude, are you afraid of this in the game? It just so happens that the person is dead and the account is cancelled, so it's nothing more than being unable to log into the game for 24 hours. And he'd better not let us find out who is behind this, otherwise we will kill the whole family when we get the chance. No matter how rich he is, can he buy resurrection coins?"

So, the players in the chat group discussed and came up with a lot of ideas.

For example, the Universal Group will definitely take advantage of this trend and seriously establish some companies that will be maintained in the future (rather than being abandoned). The first step is to grab some famous companies first, regardless of the consequences. Don't worry about how these companies will develop in the future. Players can first satisfy their own "vanity". "Google", "Facebook", "Tesla", all become the Universal Group! As for the people who should have founded these companies in history, players can dig these NPCs to be company executives, and let them go from being the owners of these famous companies to being employees of the Universal Group.

There are also some companies that are destined to be used to make money. Players have also thought of a bunch of messy company names to register, such as "Super Hard" and "Berry". These companies are handed over to players who have no connection with the Universal Group to operate independently, make money and cash out, and wait until the day of collapse, so that Wall Street will lose a lot of money. The chairmen and executives of these companies, that is, the players, either jump from the World Trade Center or other high-rise buildings in a high-profile manner, or prepare an AR-15 rifle and wait in the office for people who come to ask for money and people who come to investigate...

..............

"Hey, hey, hey, don't forget us. Our friends in the US branch have made money, but they shouldn't just let the brothers in the Chinese branch buy their assets. Look, there are a lot of things waiting for us to dig up here. There are still a lot of good stuff!"

At this time, Moscow International Airport is extremely busy. In the airport hall, passengers from all over the world shuttle back and forth, and their suitcases make a slight rolling sound on the smooth floor. The high-hanging electronic screen constantly updates flight information, and people waiting at the airport race against time to use their mobile phones to discuss business.

"After all, time is money!"

The players who led the team to Russia, like Liang Ruikun and Chen Gong who arrived in Northeast China for the first time, were somewhat at a loss when faced with the huge new map. They couldn't just walk out onto the street with a loudspeaker and say, "Hey, Russians, I'm here to do business with US dollars. Who wants to do business with me?"

Yang Zheshu, the captain of this player team, thought for a moment and said to several other players in the same group: "Let's go, I know a place. It was when I was studying in Russia that a senior told me about it. I haven't been there yet. Let's see if there is such a store in the game. Let's go there first to listen to the local gossip."

"Listen to gossip?"

"Well, it's about taking on quests. Think about it, when you were playing a role-playing game in the past, when you arrived at the main city of a new city, did you first go to the local tavern to inquire about the situation?"

"I see. I remember when I played GTA5, everyone said to go to the store with the 'high heels' icon first..."

In Moscow, as night fell, neon lights decorated the bar street like a dream. Luxury cars were parked on both sides of the street, reflecting the glow of neon lights, making it particularly dazzling. Fashionably dressed men and women came and went, and laughter and music mixed together, creating a noisy and blurry atmosphere. Players walking on the street noticed that some girls dressed in seductive clothes wanted to approach them when they looked at them, but they were afraid and did not dare to approach.

"Hey, guys, should we split up? I think we look too powerful together and they may think we are here to mess things up."

"Hahahaha, I know what you're thinking. Forget it. I advised you not to imitate Liang Ruikun and make that weird face. With this face shape, it's scary enough to walk alone."

Several players randomly found a bar and walked in. Under the dim light, colorful lights and shadows swam on the wall, creating a mysterious and attractive atmosphere. The decoration in the bar is very European style, with red velvet sofas, golden chandeliers, and various oil paintings on the walls, making people feel like they are in a luxurious palace. The players randomly found a sofa to sit down, ordered a few cocktails, and then found a seat at the bar counter to sit down, waiting for the plot to appear or the mission to come.

Suddenly, there was a sound of applause from the bar. The players looked in the direction of the sound and found that there was a bar stage not far from here. The focus of the stage was a young and handsome man, who was dancing hard in the center of the stage. He was tall and handsome, wearing a black tight dance suit that showed off his strong muscles. The man's dance attracted waves of applause from the ladies under the stage, and from time to time there were warm applause and cheers, as well as...refreshing rewards.

After the dance, the man's work was not over yet. He still had to drink with those ladies. Only after he made them happy and satisfied did he reluctantly break away from them. Then he sat down next to Yang Zheshu and ordered a glass of strong wine.

"Oh, hey, man, you danced well..." Yang Zheshu saw that he had triggered the dialogue option with the man, so he chose to say something meaningless to greet him. The man glanced at Yang Zheshu and the other players, showing a surprised expression, and said, "I thought the special services in our store only attracted women, how come you guys also..."

"Ah? Why do you say that? Is there anything different here?"

"Is this your first time in Moscow?" the man asked.

"Yes."

"Okay... next time you choose a bar, be careful..."

At this point, no matter how dumb the players are, they will understand what this NPC means. At this point, the players can finally understand why there are female customers everywhere, and there are few male customers except themselves, and the waiters here are all handsome boys.

"What the hell, what kind of bar are we in? Could it be..."

"Stop it, damn..."

Yang Zheshu and the man continued their conversation on meaningless topics, such as why he came to work here. The man rolled his eyes and replied: "Of course it's to make money. Only the money I earn here can support my family to live a normal life. After I lost my job, I worked as a driver and a porter, but that could only keep me from starving. But I still have a wife and children to support..."

"Oh, so what did you do before you lost your job?"

"The Army Aviation Corps... that's all in the past. After leaving the army, society doesn't need aviation skills, but Moscow bars need gigolos..."

Chapter 53: Branching out (IV) A Red Star

The army could not support too many people and society did not need the skills of aviation soldiers. Therefore, in order to find a job to support his family, this retired aviation soldier could only serve ladies in bars by relying on the excellent physique he had acquired from military training and the outstanding looks given by his parents.

In Russia, or in the whole of Eastern Europe, there are people like this Army Air Corpsman everywhere. They are members of armored troops, airborne troops, and special forces. Those who have retired cannot find suitable jobs, and those who have served wear ragged clothes and eat bad rations, and are also dissatisfied with their treatment (the good clothes and rations are taken to the black market). When those soldiers who voluntarily or are kicked out of the army look for jobs in society, it is difficult to use the skills they learned in the army, so they can only find some jobs with very poor treatment.

Basically, the gangs appreciate the military skills of these soldiers, and use the "carrot + stick" approach to get many soldiers to join the gangs and become professional thugs for gang members to beat up ordinary police officers.

The poor treatment in the army made the Russians at that time turn pale when they heard the arrival of the "recruiting officer". The rich people bribed the recruiting officers to exempt their children from military service, while the children of poor families could not afford the bribes, so they often chose to self-mutilate to avoid military service. As a result, the Russian army was full of "gray animals" who were skinny and had no fighting will. It is no wonder that the Russian army was beaten badly in the first Chechen war.

...................

Today in Moscow, the sky is gray, the wind is mixed with drizzle, and the whole city seems a bit dull. In a corner of the city, a shabby little apartment is hidden in the shadow of a high-rise building. The exterior wall of the apartment building is mottled, the glass on the window is cracked, and the rusty stairwell exudes a damp smell.

There was a light knock on the door of the small apartment, and there was a slight sound of footsteps. As the door slowly opened, a young face appeared behind the door. It was the man who danced for the lady in the bar a few days ago. His face was a little tired, and there was a trace of confusion and surprise in his eyes. He didn't understand why these people who had only met him once a few days ago suddenly came to his door.

"Good morning, Nicolai."

Without waiting for Nicolai to answer, Yang Zheshu and several other players pushed open the door and walked in with a laugh, as if they were going back to their own home. Nicolai looked at these people with a hint of uneasiness in his eyes, but seeing that they did not have guns in their hands, but were carrying large and small bags of milk powder, canned food and other things, he politely welcomed them into his shabby little apartment.

At least these strangers weren't here to cause trouble, right? Who would bring groceries to your door?

Nicolai's apartment is older than Nicolai himself. It was probably built during the Khrushchev era. The walls are covered with faded wallpaper and the furniture is old, but it is still clean and tidy. There is even a pot of green plants by the window, which adds a touch of life to this small space. It can be seen that this should be attributed to the hostess of the family. She was holding a mop and looked at her husband with a confused look on her face as he welcomed a few strangers in.

"Honey, is this your friend?" the wife came to Nicolai and asked in a low voice.

"We should be friends,"

"What do you mean it should be......"

"Oh, Marina, forget about that for now, just go and prepare some hot tea."

After his wife left, Nicolai sat back in his chair with a nervous look on his face. He tentatively asked Yang Zheshu and others sitting on the sofa: "Excuse me, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Yang Zheshu said nothing, but continued to smile, then took out two things from his briefcase and placed them on the coffee table. One was a few stacks of banknotes, and the other was a Red Star Medal, which shone faintly under the dim light and was particularly eye-catching.

"The food and cash are our sincere expressions of friendship. We hope that you and your family can live a better life. This medal is also our sincere expression of friendship. Nicolai, this is your medal. Now we are returning it to its original owner." Yang Zheshu said, "It's not easy to find the one you sold, but fortunately it wasn't long ago that you sold it. After asking around in the market, I was able to find it."

After just a few words, Nikolai realized that his background was clearly known by the stranger in front of him, but he didn't care to think about it. Instead, all his attention was focused on the Red Star Medal. He looked at the number on the back of the medal and found that it was the one he had won. At this moment, Nikolai's eyes were filled with complex emotions. His fingers gently stroked the medal, as if he was recalling the past.

"I...I really don't know what to say. Thank you, thank you so much."

"So, we are friends now?"

Players may make friends with an NPC out of boredom. It may be for fun, or to dig into the plot or take on quests. Yang Zheshu and his team approached Nicolai because of a careful plan after an accident. Yang Zheshu and his team used US dollars to easily learn about Nicolai's background from the locals, and even found the medal that Nicolai sold a few days ago. The charm of US dollars is so great...

Nicolai couldn't find any reason to refuse to "make friends" with a person who knew the details and came with good intentions. Since he was a "friend", Yang Zheshu and the others could finally come straight to the point and state the purpose of this trip.

"I heard that you had a lot of friends in the army before? Not only in the Army Aviation, but also in the Airborne Forces and Armored Forces, you have many friends..."

"Yes, I have quite a few friends. When the Soviet Union collapsed, I happened to be studying at a military academy. Well, I made some friends..."

Yang Zheshu then said to Nicolai: "If you tell your friends that there is a job that can fully utilize the skills you learned in the army, does not require you to lose your conscience, and has a good salary, a pension for death in battle, and promises to raise the children of martyrs until adulthood..."

"I think most people will rush to accept this job. Sir, please forgive me for asking so directly. How many people are you going to hire? How much is the price? What kind of equipment can you give us? Who are our opponents? Oh, if you don't want to tell me, forget it... But if you can tell me these, I can help you find people more specifically. After all, if you just go to Africa to fight a tribal conflict, there is really no need to hire too many people. A light infantry squad will do. But if you need to recruit a group of people to carry out a coup in a small country, I suggest you recruit a multi-service force..."

Chapter 54: Branching out (V) Rather than you selling, I’ll sell it

Players found that they had found a treasure in recruiting Nicolai. Who would have thought that a gigolo who accompanied ladies in bars at night could still show such excellent professional standards after retiring for so many years. When players themselves were confused about what mercenary configuration they should put together, Nicolai had already helped players think of various configuration plans and made various suggestions.

"It's not appropriate to accept all of them at once. The key is to see what kind of military operations you plan to put them into. Letting armored soldiers charge with assault rifles and letting special forces fill in the line is undoubtedly a misallocation of resources. Although I really want you to accept all of my comrades, if you don't have enough helicopters, my comrades will find it difficult to put their skills to good use."

When talking about the solution of weapons and equipment, Nicolai said:

"In addition, they have to be equipped with the corresponding weapons. I met an instructor when I was studying at the military academy, and I still keep in touch with him because my father and his father were comrades in the same unit. I know that he has been promoted now and has a large amount of weapons and equipment in his hands, but he has no suitable trading partners. Those gangs can only digest some light weapons. They don’t want to spend money to buy mines, mortars, anti-tank rocket launchers, tanks and armored personnel carriers... Why haven’t they contacted overseas buyers? Oh, there are too few people like you who have a lot of dollars, but there are too many Russian soldiers who want to sell weapons..."

When talking about this topic, Yang Zheshu and his friends immediately became excited. They immediately said to Nicolai: "We need to get in touch with this officer immediately..."

..............

A military area in the suburbs was shrouded in mist at the moment. The air was filled with the mixed smell of metal and engine oil. A green military jeep was driving slowly on the road in the storage area. The body of the car was covered with dirt and scratches. It was obvious that it had experienced a lot of wind and rain. Nicolai was the driver, driving the car attentively, while a colonel sat in the passenger seat. He talked to Nicolai from time to time and looked back at the two people in the back seat. The people sitting in the back seat were the players who came to purchase.

The jeep continued to move forward, and the scene outside the window kept changing. A variety of armored personnel carriers and tanks were lined up on both sides of the road. These steel behemoths glowed coldly in the morning light, looking particularly majestic. The colonel turned around and said in a loud voice: "Gentlemen, whether you are going to support a certain force in a third world country or to become president yourself, the equipment here can meet your needs. Imagine that when your troops are under the cover of T72 tanks, the infantry are riding in armored vehicles and charging forward, crushing those tribal armed forces with light weapons!"

"But I remember the performance of the T72 during the Gulf War, it was not......"

"Oh, sir, are you planning to buy weapons from here to fight NATO? That's something that the former general secretary and the current Russian president don't dare to do... Believe me, the T72 is capable of launching a coup against any third world government." The colonel continued with a smile: "Nikolai said that you are a very powerful customer. Not only do you want to hire retired soldiers, but you are also willing to purchase heavy weapons. So, as long as the quantity you purchase is large enough, we have a buy six get one free promotion. That is to say, if you buy six armored personnel carriers, we will give you one for free. This is a great opportunity."

The jeep continued to move forward, passing through an open area, and finally stopped at the door of a huge warehouse. The warehouse looked simple, and the mottled paint and rust on the walls showed its age. After getting out of the car, the colonel made a gesture of invitation, "Gentlemen, please follow me."

Yang Zheshu and his companions got out of the car and followed the colonel to the warehouse. The door of the warehouse slowly opened, revealing a pile of assault rifles inside. These weapons lay quietly in wooden boxes, with a cold metallic luster. The colonel walked to the pile of weapons and patted the wooden boxes gently. "AK assault rifles, Soviet-made, reliable quality, key parts are chrome-plated, and even the buttstock is made of mahogany. It is definitely not a crude imitation of a third world country."

"How much does this thing cost?"

“Two dollars a piece, not including shipping.”

Until this time, players realized what the so-called cheap Russian arms meant. If the gun was sold by weight, it would be almost as cheap as selling cabbage. However, this is the extremely involuted Russian arms sales market. How many weapons does Russia have in stock? For example, at the end of the Cold War, how many guns did a Soviet battalion deployed in Europe have?

40000 pieces!

Under the guidance of the Soviet military's military thinking of fighting a nuclear war, they were manufactured at all costs. They were supposed to be used in a war to destroy decadent capitalism and eliminate all reactionaries, but in the end they became a tool for corrupt officials to make money, and became their luxury cars and villas. These weapons fell into the hands of African warlords, terrorist organizations, and underground gangs, and became a tool for bloody massacres of ordinary people.

"Falling into the hands of our Universal Group may be a better destination for your assault rifles..."

The mottled sunlight casts tiny shadows on the ground and weapons. Players stand in front of a row of wooden boxes, staring intently at the AK47 assault rifles in front of them. Their eyes follow the lines of the gun, as if they are appreciating a fine work of art.

Yang Zheshu was the first to reach out his hand, carefully grasping the buttstock, his fingers gently stroking the surface texture. The wooden buttstock of the AK47 was warm to the touch, exuding a unique atmosphere, as if it carried the sedimentation of history and the traces of time. Then, he slowly raised the gun body, pointed the muzzle at the empty space in the warehouse, and touched the cold and hard metal gun body with his fingers, feeling its coldness and texture.

Another player randomly picked up an AK47, deftly disassembled it into parts, and began to carefully inspect each component, including the muzzle, sight, magazine, trigger, leaving no part unchecked. He then deftly reassembled them and put them back into the wooden box.

"Colonel, we are very satisfied with the guns here. We will buy as many assault rifles as you have. Next, please ask your soldiers to drive infantry fighting vehicles and tanks to demonstrate for us. We still want to buy some big items!"

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, AK47 was definitely one of the best-selling export products in Russia, Ukraine and other countries. Arms worth billions of dollars were smuggled overseas, and the weapons and equipment of various combat units were "scrapped" in an organized manner. As for the military departments that were in charge of logistics, they resold everything that could be sold unscrupulously. According to the players' observations, except for nuclear weapons and strategic missiles, as long as you have money, you can probably buy back the equipment of an armored division just by smuggling. If you can also recruit the corresponding soldiers and officers on the market, you can directly form an armored division.

Players lamented in the chat group: "Fuck, we can still find a way to get this money, but the problem is, where can our... Colossus Security place an armored division? Forget about the division, just tell me which country can allow an armored battalion or armored company to be stationed there?"

"In order to properly house the tanks, armored vehicles and armed helicopters we purchased, I think the company must further expand its scale. Since we can set up a joint venture factory, why can't we set up a joint venture in a country? ... We can start with a pilot project and set up a joint venture in a small country."

Chapter 55: A company that does not want to own a country is not a good company

3279 words

Just like many car owners who have to buy parking spaces in order to avoid spending a lot of time looking for parking spaces every day, players have to look for a "parking space" all over the world in order to find a place to put the "big items" they bought with their own money. However, this parking space is not easy to find, mainly because the big items that players spend money on are too outrageous, such as the T125 with a 72mm smoothbore gun, the BMP-30 with a 2mm cannon and anti-tank missiles, the 152mm 2S3 Acacia self-propelled artillery, the "Shilka" self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, the Mi-24 helicopter...

These things definitely can't be driven into the player's current major bases. If you bring these things to Los Angeles, the US military will definitely be scared crazy. Similarly, you can't bring these things to the pressure cooker factory...

"We need to convince the world to accept a security company equipped with tanks, armored vehicles, self-propelled artillery and armed helicopters. This may be difficult, but the world may be able to accept a country owning these things. Let's open the map and see where in the world is convenient for us to go public through a backdoor listing..."

First of all, this country must not be one of those with strong military power, let alone the five permanent members; it is also difficult to intervene quietly in countries with weaker strength but stable situation; in addition, some countries that have experienced unrest but are within the sphere of influence of the five permanent members should also be intervened with caution, because the player may really be targeted by the five permanent members' army and beaten up. After all, the player does not have a division (first of all, the equipment has not been purchased, the personnel have not been accumulated, and the things and people are still waiting to be shipped out in Russia), and there are only a few hundred players in total. Although the player can be resurrected after being killed, there is also a 24-hour cooling period. Who can accept being killed after playing online for a while every day?

Secondly, after this country is taken over by One World Group, or One World Group becomes its "shadow government", do not attract interference from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Players' current size cannot withstand a "Desert Storm Operation".

Finally, it would be best if the government and people of this country would voluntarily, actively, and willingly accept the entry of the Universal Group, or if they are in a very helpless situation, and the cruel reality forces them to accept the price of being controlled by the Universal Group in many aspects such as politics and economy in exchange for the help of the player group. In this way, it will be more convenient for the players to take subsequent actions.

"My limited knowledge makes it hard for me to imagine where in the world there is such a country..."

"I need to open Bilibili right now and re-watch the series "The Weird Little Country"..."

After much discussion, the players picked out some suitable targets from among the many third world countries, among which African and Latin American countries were more suitable. Among the two, African countries had the most suitable "joint venture countries". After all, according to the excellent matching mechanism of the African region, it was entirely possible for hundreds of players to complete a coup. It was the second step, wrestling with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, that was still a bit of a headache.

In the chat group, players were still discussing fiercely which small country to choose as a joint venture partner. It was at this time, in the place where the dream began, that ordinary Los Angeles Car Modification Shop, that the game character operated by Ji Tianping waited for an acquaintance to visit.

"Hey, man, why don't you stand up and greet your friends when they come? Man, I'm here to introduce you to some business..."

The visitor was a reporter from the Los Angeles Times, the same reporter who broke the news about the gamers beating up MS-13 gang members. He was not alone, but came here with a few other friends to discuss a small business.

"Hey guys, my friend, Williams, is going on a business trip to East Timor, a small country in the South Pacific, but the situation there is not safe, so my friend needs some people who can evacuate him and the news team from danger at a critical moment. I recommended your Giant God Security to them, and I told my friend that you can fully trust the professionalism of Giant God Security. They are not the kind of people who only care about escaping when a VIP is in danger, and they will not take the opportunity to increase the price..."

Ji Tianping in the game was stunned for a moment, then suddenly stood up and shook hands with Williams, and then asked: "I remember that the Indonesian military has implemented strict military control in East Timor? How are you going to enter East Timor?"

"Sir, my answer now is of course that we can enter through official and legal channels. Of course, if we officially sign the contract and arrive in East Timor, I will tell you other channels of entry... But this channel is not particularly safe, so we need some professionals to protect our safety." Williams said, "Even without the recommendation of my friend, our boss would most likely choose Giant Security Company. After all, the leaders of LAPD, the Los Angeles City Government and the senators of this state have recommended you. We have also heard that your company's security personnel are quite professional and have assisted the police in completing various security and rescue tasks many times."

"Yes, yes, Mr. Williams, choosing our Giant God Security is definitely the best choice for your security work in East Timor." After Ji Tianping finished the conversation in the game, he immediately turned on his phone and sent a message to the noisy players in the chat group: "Guys, I'm here to recommend a joint venture partner - East Timor! I just received a job from an NPC, an escort mission, which can help us sneak into East Timor smoothly."

..................

Will East Timor choose to accept the "joint venture" of Giant Security? No one knows until the joint venture is reached.

In the 1970s, East Timor gained independence from Portugal. The people knew very little about the outside world, and were even more numb to the Indonesian invasion. They didn't even know who the invaders were. Many people's concept of Indonesia was:

"I don't know exactly which country these people are from. We don't have a map, atlas or globe at home. I really don't know where Indonesia is. I guess the Indonesians may be from China."

"My father also thought they were Chinese. It was only when I was 8 years old and went to school that I realized they were from Indonesia."

But even in such a country where only 1975 people per capita were not educated, during the more than 700000 years of Indonesian rule, East Timor has forcibly created its own national identity, rather than the national identity of Indonesia, simply because of the brutal rule of the Indonesian military. Let's use numbers as an example. In 1978, the population of East Timor was close to 498433. In 1980, Indonesia estimated that there were 425000 people in East Timor. In , the Catholic Church's statistics were . The speed of this population reduction is probably faster than that of Pol Pot, the originator of Cambodia's "de-urbanization".

As a result, East Timor was forced by Indonesia onto the road of this war of independence with a small risk for a big gain, because if it did not win, it would mean death.

The Tongan Revolutionary Front, the largest political force in East Timor's independence war, is a veteran team that has fought for more than 20 years. It is impossible to say that it has no backbone; but it is also impossible for a team that has persisted for more than 20 years to have no political wisdom. Having backbone means that the Tongan Revolutionary Front will not easily sell out its country; having wisdom means that the Tongan Revolutionary Front will judge the situation and seriously consider whether to accept the joint venture of the Universal Group, rather than not considering it at all.

What is the situation in East Timor at this time? Although most countries are condemning Indonesia's human rights and exerting unprecedented diplomatic pressure on Indonesia, the criticism of Indonesia's behavior in East Timor by non-governmental organizations and the media has increased sharply, and some Western countries that used to support Indonesia have also been forced to condemn Indonesia in public opinion, but... those countries that can influence Indonesia's decision-making still maintain close relations with Indonesia.

For example, in 1993, the Clinton administration banned the sale of small arms and helicopter-mounted weapons to Indonesia, but in fact, the Clinton administration provided Jakarta with more than $500 million in economic aid and concessions to sell millions of dollars in weapons to Jakarta in the following years. In 1993, the British government sold 24 Hawk fighter jets to Indonesia, and another 1996 in 16. In 1995, Australia and Indonesia signed the "Security Maintenance Agreement", but because the suffering in East Timor continued and the media and international non-governmental organizations continued to pay attention to the situation in East Timor, Australia and Indonesia negotiated the agreement in secret because they were worried about the reaction of public opinion.