Mercenary's War

After a long separation and reunion, Yelena and Gao Yang were inseparable, hardly leaving each other’s side for a moment.

For Gao Yang, there was no real vacation at this point; although he’d left Yemen, there were still plenty of matters waiting for him to deal with.

Not wanting to part with Yelena and unable to ignore his responsibilities, Gao Yang simply took Yelena along wherever he went.

Alexander’s company and personnel were based in Denver, and Gao Yang needed to go there for gun testing. The journey from New York to Denver was quite a distance, taking several hours by plane. However, once in America, he could use a private jet as he pleased.

Cui Bo and Phoenix were in Portland, which puzzled Gao Yang as to why they were together. Cui Bo explained that Phoenix wanted a better gun, so he brought Phoenix along to find Jack. But Gao Yang was still curious about their joint actions.

Cui Bo had indeed delayed his plan to go to Ukraine. He, Phoenix, and Jack would go together from Portland to Denver to meet up with Gao Yang.

Having a private jet is not just enjoyable; it’s extremely enjoyable.

Joseph was outside alone, while Gao Yang and Yelena were inside a partitioned cabin, experiencing something that most normal people could never experience.

Upon arriving in Denver, Alexander was already there waiting.

Alexander was truly impatient.

"Are you ready to go to the shooting range now? Do you need to rest?"

In fact, Gao Yang was also a bit impatient.

"No problem! Let’s go now!"

After saying this, Alexander shook hands hastily with Gao Yang and then eagerly said, "Let’s get in the car; we’re heading to the shooting range now."

Jack, Cui Bo, and the others weren’t there; instead, Alexander brought two people along. Gao Yang felt one of them looked familiar, probably someone from Aurora, but apart from Alexander, Gao Yang wasn’t familiar with others from the Aurora Mercenary Corps, so he didn’t greet them.

Once in the car, Alexander personally sat in the driver’s seat and hurriedly said, "Ram! I’ve created a true Dream Gun. Jack provided some suggestions, but the main design work was completed by me."

Gao Yang chuckled and said, "You’ve already mentioned it many times; where’s the gun?"

"At the shooting range. Jack and the others are test-firing it. Currently, we’ve only made a prototype meeting the requirements."

"Is it difficult to make?"

"Yes, the main challenge was that Jack had to start from the parts onwards, everything was immensely time-consuming. I’m not exaggerating when I say that assembling a gun from discarded parts would still be an excellent gun, but it wouldn’t meet my requirements."

"How’s the test firing going?"

Alexander started the car, listened to Gao Yang, and although he didn’t shift gears immediately, he said with a bitter face, "We’ve all tried it within our team. Then, I invited Rick Hall, Tim Remando, Mark Besler, Mix Beckerman..."

"Hold on, I haven’t heard of these people..."

Alexander finally shifted gears, and with a somewhat dejected tone, he said, "They’re all famous marksmen, shooting champions, long-distance shooting masters. Never heard of them? Anyway, they’re the best shooters I know."

"How did it turn out? Well, probably a redundant question."

Alexander sighed and said, "There’s good and bad, but even the best ones fall far short of my target, very, very short."

"Where is the main problem?"

"When the firing rate is fast, accuracy suffers, and when accurate, the firing rate isn’t fast enough."

Gao Yang frowned and said, "That’s rather vague. Can you give me the data now?"

Alexander exhaled and said with pride, "You might find it unbelievable, but listen up: the range limit is fifteen hundred meters, with a dispersion diameter of about thirty centimeters."

Gao Yang was somewhat surprised but not unbelievably so, since this was the typical level for top-notch .338LM rounds.

Alexander continued, "Many aspects can’t be quantified with data. I insisted on waiting until you arrived because only by truly holding the gun and personally firing it will you understand."

After the car started moving, Alexander expressed his irritation, "I’m very angry right now because everyone thinks I’m boasting. They don’t believe the gun is as good as I say it is. I need to prove myself, prove my gun! So I must win this bet!"

Gao Yang immediately asked, "Bet?"

Alexander nodded and with a sullen expression said, "It’s no longer about proving myself but about the reputation of the Alexander Gun Factory, the prestige of Jack’s workshop. I don’t like being laughed at, really dislike it, so I made a bet, a wager of One dollar!"

Gao Yang laughed and said, "A One dollar bet, huh, with whom?"

Alexander, still grim, replied, "Max Bradley."

Gao Yang shrugged and said, "Don’t know him."

"The CEO of Remington Weapons Company!"

Gao Yang nearly bit his tongue and then loudly said, "The CEO of Remington Company?"

Alexander exhaled angrily and said, "Of course we had to test that gun. The fixed shooting tests produced great dispersion results. Recoil control was extremely minimal, everything was perfect, so I bragged a bit on Twitter under the name of the owner of Alexander Arms Company. Then! Max Bradley mocked me!"

Gao Yang hastened to ask, "What did you say?"

Alexander quietly said, "I announced the debut of Alexander No. 1, claiming from this moment onwards, sniper rifles and designated marksman rifles on the market could be eliminated, and then I posted a photo of the gun."

Gao Yang said foolishly, "Your statement was indeed quite exaggerated."

Alexander sheepishly replied, "I was just overly excited."

"And then?"

"Then Max Bradley, using his status as Remington’s CEO, left a comment on my Twitter saying Remington’s new gun could shoot down the Moon, the only requirement being a full moon night. He followed up with another message boasting he could also brag, and even better than me. He laughed at me!"

Gao Yang said with a mix of humor and exasperation, "So this is an online war of words?"

Alexander replied in a huff, "No! This is my honor showdown. We exchanged barbs for a long time on Twitter, and then I got fed up. I decided to silence him with facts, so I bet One dollar with him; the loser must apologize to the other on Twitter, but..."

"But you’re in a bind."

Alexander sighed, rubbed his forehead, and said, "I truly am in a predicament. Now it’s Alexander Arms Company’s prestige battle, buddy, this isn’t just about One dollar, nor is it merely about my and Max’s dignity. Now our bet is a major event that everyone is following; you should check out my Twitter, it’s the focal point."

Gao Yang snapped his fingers and said with a smile, "Win, and Max has given you free publicity, earning fame and fortune for your company and gun. Lose, and it’s all over; though it’s just a matter of prestige, I guess you’d be embarrassed to continue your company, right?"

Alexander smiled ruefully, nodded, and said, "Exactly, that’s it."