Chapter 501

Chapter 501: Sally’s Gift

"What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy up there? Did a tall, handsome, rich guy steal your thunder? Don’t worry, brother, I’ve got your back; we’ll get it back. The military might not be able to step in, but our National Defense Star is your strongest support."

Chen Haiqing seemed to notice that Lin Mo was not in a good mood.

"Uh?! First, help me order pizza, at least twelve inches, starting with a hundred servings, any flavor, just put it on your tab."

Lin Mo shot a dissatisfied glance at Chen Haiqing. The Dragoon Consortium, while not as powerful as National Defense Star in background, had economic strength that was quite comparable.

Moreover, National Defense Star was a joint-stock company, while the Dragoon Consortium was unique, fully armed, well-staffed, owned territories, and even controlled a political party, vying for national power.

If it were National Defense Star, would they dare to compete for national power?

It was like the old man eating poison—he must be tired of living!

In terms of potential, even National Defense Star couldn’t compare.

What kind of tall, handsome, rich guy could win the heart of this beautiful Pashtun girl? At least Lin Mo couldn’t imagine it, and Pashtun people were known for their loyalty.

As the Muslim prophet said, “The thing that Allah hates most about what is lawful is divorce.”

For Muslims, changing one’s mind was almost unimaginable.

Furthermore, Sally was not just grateful to Lin Mo for saving all the people in Gem Valley and providing long-term support in the future; she had other reasons too, meaning she was completely devoted to Lin Mo, her heart wholly belonging to this man of the skies.

Lin Mo didn’t tell Chen Haiqing the truth, fearing it would hit him too hard.

Chen Haiqing was quite the exceptional person; he didn’t have the bad habits of a second-generation official or a rich kid, like those from the aristocratic class with good education at home. He had character, a good family background, and a career, yet he was outshone by a poor girl who started with nothing. Anyone would find it hard to accept.

Let alone that this poor girl seemed to want to cling to Lin Mo, bringing with her astonishing wealth and power; Chen Haiqing might feel Lin Mo’s feelings for her too.

“Ah? A hundred twelve-inch pizzas? You’re not joking, right? Can you really eat that much?”

Chen Haiqing was dumbfounded, unable to tell if Lin Mo genuinely wanted to eat that much or was just messing with his wallet.

In Paris, the cost of living was incredibly high. A twelve-inch pizza cost at least sixty euros; a hundred pizzas would need six thousand euros, enough for National Defense Star’s exhibition team’s meals for a whole day. Lin Mo could eat enough for an entire team by himself.

What an appetite!

The capacity of a prime minister’s belly could probably match this!

Lin Mo didn’t say a word, but Chen Haiqing heard Lin Mo’s stomach answering.

Gurgle!

Like thunder.

“……” Alright! Chen Haiqing raised his hands in surrender. He hadn’t seen someone go on a date while starving; the poor guy must be starving.

It was a pity that the huge steak the restaurant painstakingly prepared for him hadn’t even been touched, as two groups of buzzkills interrupted the meal.

In battle, Lin Mo’s lack of restraint might have something to do with being interrupted during a beautiful meal.

Chen Haiqing made a call to arrange food for Lin Mo, to prevent the guy from gnawing on himself out of hunger.

“Did you hear? A big event just happened in Paris.”

Chen Haiqing hung up the phone; it seemed he had heard some shocking news while talking to the person in charge of arranging meals for Lin Mo.

“How did the orders go today?” Lin Mo’s reaction clearly didn’t match Chen Haiqing’s news.

“Uh! Eleven J-11s! What’s wrong? Aren’t you interested in this big event? Don’t worry, you won’t miss out.”

As the person responsible for logistics and procurement, he naturally had a thorough understanding of Paris’s traffic situation. The local lockdown imposed by the French military and the city-wide search must have impacted traffic significantly.

It was likely that military vehicles transporting French soldiers had already set up a security line outside Bourget Airport, creating a major stir.

As the person involved, Lin Mo naturally had little interest. What was there to discuss? It was just his good deed, after all. Did he really want to stir up a storm and invite trouble from the French?

China’s intelligence system in France and even Europe was working hard to clean up Lin Mo’s mess, just like usual, dealing with the fallout.

Sally took the opportunity to attract attention from the French. The Dragoon Consortium had drawn jealousy and envy for quite some time, so being attacked was not surprising.

At such a young age, being able to build such a large company in the war-torn and desolate mountains of northern Afghanistan seemed almost legendary, earning her a sense of respect.

Experiencing such outrageous persecution, anger from all corners of French society erupted in solidarity. The jewelry industry represented immense wealth, and greedy plunderers were the most despised type of people.

The Dragon Party in Afghanistan issued a protest declaration, strongly condemning this act of terrorism and promising unlimited retaliation, directly associating recent agents targeting the Dragoon Consortium with the world’s most hated terrorist activities.

For a long time to come, those petty criminals would face not just the Dragoon Consortium but a united front from many others.

Those who broke the rules were bound to face consequences outside the rules, especially since the rule-makers would never allow such situations to continue.

This beautiful and lovely Pashtun girl gained sympathy from the outside world and even received protection from the French military.

Participating in the Paris-Le Bourget International Aerospace Exhibition and placing orders worth over a hundred million dollars, any key client would attract significant attention from all sides.

It was definitely the Americans behind this, Lin Mo thought angrily, looking toward the Lockheed Martin exhibition area. Was it really necessary to hold a grudge just because they lost one of their kids?

What Lin Mo didn’t know was that the losses he caused for Lockheed Martin had left them in a difficult position, making them unable to step back. Initially, the Pentagon had supported Lockheed’s retaliatory actions, but after receiving warnings from China, they prohibited military involvement, leaving Lockheed to fend for itself.

Just like all deep-seated grudges, it began with underestimating the opponent from the start, gradually dragging Lockheed into the quagmire of hatred through unintentional escalation, as their enmity grew with each loss until it spiraled out of control.

If there were a way to regret actions in this world, Lockheed would certainly not want its heirs to be embroiled in conflicts in some backward place like India.

However, the situation gradually exceeded Lockheed’s expectations.

"Dragon Knight, I have good news for you."

"What good news? Hmm, I finished, and I need another serving."

After the flying performance ended, Lin Mo was supposed to enjoy a meal to replenish his strength, but the Dragoon Consortium had taken care of that, leaving the people from National Defense Star baffled.

Ignoring the curious glances from others in the National Defense Star exhibition area, Sally enjoyed watching Lin Mo wolf down his food. Even after consuming twenty-two servings, she didn’t seem surprised, as if it were completely natural.

Every second beside Lin Mo made her heart feel peaceful and secure, even with deadly stray bullets and terrifying explosions nearby.

The fashionable Persian beauty had developed a liking for food!

Chen Haiqing reached a new conclusion but didn’t dare to follow Lin Mo’s example. Being overweight meant losing his pilot qualifications.

He didn’t have Lin Mo’s enviable digestive ability; for him, eating a lot but not gaining weight was a dream come true.

Who had ever seen a pilot that couldn’t fit into the cockpit because they were too fat?! Especially fighters inheriting the Russian design often had very cramped cockpits.

"I’ve established an aircraft design and manufacturing factory."

"What?" Lin Mo froze, holding a piece of grilled lamb chop that was meant for his mouth.

"It’s for you!"

Sally’s response was crisp and straightforward. Unlike many gentle and quiet women, the Pashtun girl who once battled her way through the mountains of Gem Valley with an AK-47 had her own decisive style of action.

"Ah! An aircraft design and manufacturing factory? You’re not joking, are you?" Lin Mo never thought anyone would build something just for him. After all, today wasn’t April Fool’s Day.

Even if he were to create something extraordinary, he was still going solo, now temporarily working for National Defense Star to secure resources for China’s aviation industry.

Aircraft manufacturing was very different from making cars or home appliances; it required huge investments and was both capital and labor-intensive.

This plan seemed a bit too ambitious.

"It’s still in the preparatory stage, so for the short term, we can only produce light propeller-driven fighters, and that won’t happen for at least another year."

Sally looked a bit embarrassed as she bowed her head. Although she was preparing for Lin Mo, the conditions were still too simplistic, especially in comparison to the well-known manufacturers at the exhibition. It felt more like a backyard workshop that wasn’t even qualified to be a counterfeit.

The Dragoon Consortium had just signed an order for the A-29 "Super Dodo" light fighter with Embraer and, using that as a starting point, gained support from Sierra Nevada Corporation to establish a basic aviation industrial system. There were still many roads ahead.

"Uh! It’s quite rudimentary, and don’t rush it too much. This stuff burns money, and we need technology to accumulate," Lin Mo said.

For Lin Mo, a light propeller-driven fighter was almost the same as a private car. He owned a P-51 Mustang from World War II, which the Chinese military didn’t pay much attention to because it was too outdated; they didn’t need any decent anti-aircraft weapons since even militia could bring it down easily.

Lin Mo deeply understood the investments needed to build an aviation system, having gone bankrupt multiple times.

Opening a production factory costs much more than just building a single fighter jet, and one factory alone wouldn’t be enough; many supporting factories were necessary to make it work.