King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

Chapter 140 Interview Upgrade (17, seek votes, seek subscriptions!!)

Sardinia, a place that should have been a vacation paradise!

Arriving here full of anticipation, Joe Ga found that this supposedly peaceful location was overrun with refugees.

After passing through customs and leaving the dock, he watched as children chased after him begging for money. Joe Ga gestured to Nis and Antar to use candy to send the kids away, but to his surprise, they didn't want candy... Discover stories with M-V-L

Having tasted the plight of refugees herself, Antar seemed prepared; she pulled out a handful of one-dollar bills from her bag and patiently distributed them to the children surrounding them. Even after a few older kids snatched all the money because she couldn't grasp it tightly enough, she did not get angry. Instead, she stopped Dorian, who wanted to chase after them.

"They don't need candy; they need food and tents."

While looking at the disordered dock, Antar shook her head and said, "In every place with refugees, the prices of items become quite bizarre. They risk their lives to cross the sea to come here, only to quickly discover that all of their possessions won't last long."

Joe Ga had encountered a guy named Belotti who was in the business of refugees.

Saying he sucked their bones dry might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the man definitely extracted every bit of value from the refugees.

And yet some people considered him a savior for all; it was hard to tell whether people had become bad, or the world had!

But none of this concerned Joe Ga, nor did he have the ability to intervene.

This time, it was Dorian who led the way. They left the dock, reached the parking lot, and were picked up by a commercial van. After nearly an hour's journey, they arrived at a hotel, not far from which was a marked training base.

The Italian driver, a short man with a big nose under one meter seventy, didn't get out of the car until he had delivered Joe Ga and his companions to their location. Then he hugged Dorian and asked, "I heard you got into some trouble, why didn't you ask us for help?"

Without explaining his issues, Dorian merely chuckled and, pointing at Joe Ga, said, "This is my boss, Hu Lang. These are Dragon Gecko, Owl, and Devil Bird.

We're here for some Combat Diving Training. Our boss gets nervous in the face of the enemy, which I think is a good thing, but he insists on correcting it, so..."

The middle-aged man with the big nose shook hands firmly with Joe Ga and said, "I am Vito, an instructor at the diving training camp, and also Dorian's cousin.

Your choice is correct—when you can deal with trouble in the complex environment of water, you'll be able to stay calm in the face of any problem."

With a disdainful glance at Dorian, Vito added, "Only wimps get kicked out of the diving training camp."

Feeling the gaze of his boss, Dorian exclaimed while holding his head, "I was targeted, you know it! That bastard just wanted to drown me, so I punched him."

With a contemptuous shake of his head, Vito turned to Joe Ga and said, "The training camp is quite free lately, but diving training requires a professional team, whether it's for an individual or a group.

Since you are civilians, the training program will be reduced. Regular Special Forces need 80 days, but you only need to undergo 15 days of training.

The entire set of training will cost 250,000 US dollars, and I guarantee that as long as you can endure it, you'll find it worth every penny!

If you think the price is high, you can stay here for a while, and when the next batch of training starts, I can add you in. Then it will be only 15,000 US dollars per person, and you will enjoy the official Combat Diving Training."

Joe Ga was momentarily stunned. He didn't care about the nature of the training, and he didn't have 80 days to waste, so he curiously asked, "Are you saying that I can have the training course to myself?"

Vito glanced at Dorian and then nodded, "It wouldn't have been possible before, but lately Italy is overwhelmed with the refugee crisis, and all the teams have tasks, leaving us free.

You are Dorian's boss, so I personally don't recommend you do this, because whether it's five people or fifty, you get the same training, and the cost is the same.

But if you think privacy is a necessity, then..."

Money wasn't a concern for Joe Ga at the moment. He looked at the training camp covered in greenery not far away and said, "Dorian told me this is a semi-military training camp, so do you have other facilities here?"

"Of course, although we can't compare with the army's training base, we do have the usual obstacle courses, shooting ranges and gyms."

Joe Ga and Dorian exchanged a glance and then smiled at Vito, "Is diving training particularly tough?"

Vito pursed his lips and said, "That depends on what level you want to achieve.

If you're just having fun, as long as you survive the first three days, you'll be good enough to go diving anywhere, right?"

Laughing, Joe Ga said, "You just mentioned that the price is the same whether it's for five people or fifty, right?"

"Right!"

"Then would you mind if I borrow the training camp as a recruitment site?

Of course, I won't use your venue for free. I can add an extra 100,000 dollars to the fee, and we, along with the candidates who come for the job, will live and eat at the training camp."

Vito looked at Joe Ga curiously and pondered before saying, "Are you with a defense company?"

Joe Ga nodded with a smile and said, "That's right!"

As he spoke, he took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Vito, "'P·B Defense Company', we need to recruit some professionally trained PMCs for business expansion, to provide military contracting services in Africa.

Our headhunters are quite selective, so the people who come might be pretty tough. I need a professional venue to screen them."

After listening, Vito shook his head and said, "Using diving training to select PMCs might yield nothing. The average pass rate here is only 18%.

For civilians, the 15-day training standard, the pass rate is even lower, less than 10%, because the most painful parts of the program are concentrated in the first few days. Usually, most people give up within three days, and only the very best can earn the frogman badge."

"Unless you're prepared to lower your standards, this isn't a good idea."

Joe Ga said indifferently, "Because there are quite a few people coming, but I just want the best among them, 50, maybe even fewer.

They don't necessarily have to pass, I just want to understand their level through this training and also let them know about my high expectations for the team.

I'm paying for it, so it's only reasonable that I ask for a bit more, right?"

Vito glanced at Dorian, whose expression was odd, and shook his head, "You're the boss, whatever you say goes, but I have to report back to our superiors about renting out the training camp to you for twenty days. There shouldn't be any problems.

Rest up at the hotel for a day and wait for my news, have a good meal and sleep, because if my superiors agree, your next 15 days are going to be extremely painful."

Joe Ga watched Vito drive away, then turned to Antar and said, "Notify those who applied that the interview location has changed."

As he spoke, Joe Ga looked at Nis and said, "Prepare 80,000 US dollars in cash to give to Dragon Gecko. He won't be participating in the combat diving training, but he can take care of reception and sending people back.

Listening to Vito's tone, the combat diving training seems really tough. Give 1,000 US dollars to every person who gets eliminated as travel money to go home, so no one blames 'P·B Defense Company' for being inhumane."

Upon hearing this, Dorian nodded and said, "The real experts know what combat diving training implies, they've heard about it even if they haven't experienced it firsthand.

But once the word gets out about our recruitment standards, we're setting the bar high, and it won't be suitable for us to look for ordinary soldiers in the future."

Joe Ga waved his hand nonchalantly, "Do we still need to look for ordinary soldiers?

In Africa, as long as you offer meals, there are people willing to risk their lives; just throw a little money their way and they'll get excited like chickens on a feed, they just need some training with guns, no need to spend a lot of money hiring people from the mercenary market."

......

As Joe Ga and his group entered the hotel to rest, dozens of men and women began making their way to Sardinia from all over Italy.

A gaunt middle-aged man with a weary expression sat in a cheap fast food restaurant, looking at the address and instructions in his email on his phone. He opened Google and searched for the training camp, finding that it was actually a semi-military facility.

After thinking for a moment, the middle-aged man turned to a farm boy next to him, wearing a plaid shirt and jeans with sunburn marks on his cheeks, and said, "I'll buy you a plane ticket, you should go back home, you're not going to pass this interview."

The farm boy who was originally excited angrily said, "Why, why not?

I, I think I can do it, my mom says I'm as strong as my dad, I can be a good mercenary.

San, Sanderson, please, please don't send me away, my mom is sick, and I need to earn money to get her treatment."

As the farm boy spoke, his problems became obvious, not just the stuttering, it was clear that his IQ was also a bit of an issue.

Sanderson, exhausted, shook his head, put his arm around the farm boy's neck, and with their foreheads touching, said in a deep voice, "Tony, I'll figure out a way to get the money for your mom's treatment, but you need to go back and be with her."

Farm boy Tony stared at Sanderson's dim eyes, angrily responding, "I, I won't go back, I can't help her there, I need to earn money, I want to save my mom, I want to buy the farm back.

San, Sanderson, you promised me, you can't break your word."

Sanderson let go of Tony with extreme reluctance and shook his head, "But you can't pass the interview, you don't even know how to swim."

As Sanderson spoke, a middle-aged man at the next table said to a young man with glasses in front of him, "What are those foreigners discussing over there?

That kid looks like a simpleton; you know, these foreigners, stupid but grow big, don't look old but have good size.

He might be simple, but he surely has strength, much better than you, skinny chicken."

The young man looked helplessly at the middle-aged uncle in front of him and said, "Uncle, why do you bother? Our family restaurant is doing well, why are you applying for a PMC, what are you after?

You spent three years as a pig farmer in the army and twelve as a cook, and now you want me to change your resume to some confidential special forces, isn't that deceiving people?"

On hearing this, the middle-aged man's eyes widened as he said, "What do you know?

I just can't stand the sight of your dad's attitude; if it weren't for your mom, I'd have dealt with him long ago.

Damn, he starts forgetting his own name because he got a little money, thinks his petty dealings are so clever?

Tell your mom once I make some money, she should quickly divorce him. We from the Lao Niu family can always eat well wherever we go."

The young man, long accustomed to his uncle's temper, sighed and said, "Would Dad even dare to wrong Mom?

He was just talking in anger. Even if you want to fight with my dad, there's no need to go be a PMC, let alone faking your resume.

I heard those mercenaries are cold-blooded killers. Uncle, just listen to me for once, a cook doesn't need to get involved in that, okay?"

On hearing this, the uncle slapped the table hard and said, "No way!

I must make something of myself, otherwise your dad will think your mom's family is nobody."

The young man thought of his mother's cherished National Games Sanshou championship medal and sighed, "Uncle, can you give my dad a break?

Let's be reasonable, convince with virtue, okay?

It really hasn't been easy for Dad all these years!"