Tech Giants: Starting from Bankrupt Companies

149: Chapter 149 The 72 Hours of the Arms Sales HurricaneRiyadh, Spark-Arab Defense Company Signing Center, December 21

The signing center, originally an exhibition hall, had been transformed into an ”arms procurement supermarket.”

Twenty signing desks were lined up in a row, with long queues in front of each one.

The large screen displayed the total signing amount in real-time, with the numbers jumping every few minutes:

December 21, 10:00: $3.2 billion

December 21, 12:00: $5.8 billion

December 21, 15:00: $8.7 billion

Egyptian Secretary of Defense Sami led the delegation in person; his entourage included the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Air Force Commander, and the Air Defense Force Commander.

The sixty-year-old veteran general wore a crisp military uniform adorned with medals, but at this moment, he acted like a shrewd businessman, carefully reviewing the contract terms.

”For the H1 rocket artillery, we want three battalions to be deployed in the Sinai Peninsula.”

Sami pointed to the red dots on the map, ”Here, here, and here—we need to form crossfire to cover the entire border region.”

”Most of the terrorists’ hideouts are in caves. How deep can your bunker-busting warheads penetrate?”

The Spark sales director pulled up the data: ”The thermobaric bunker-busting warhead can penetrate 30 meters of soil or 15 meters of concrete, then detonate inside the cave, creating overpressure and oxygen deprivation effects. The people inside... will feel no pain.”

Sami nodded, ”Humane. That is exactly the effect we want.”

”Also, for the F1 man-portable air-defense missiles, we’ll start with 500 sets to be deployed around the Aswan Dam.”

”The Jewish state’s F-16s often ’accidentally enter’ our airspace; we need deterrence.”

”Understood. We also recommend deploying ’thunderbird 3’ drones to provide 24-hour continuous surveillance. Once an anomaly is detected, the missiles can quickly lock on.”

”Fine. What is the total price?”

”The entire system, including rocket artillery, missiles, drones, the command center, plus three years of maintenance and personnel training, is a package price of $2.8 billion.”

Sami did some quick math—if they bought the same configuration with American equipment, it would cost at least $5 billion, and the Americans would attach various usage restrictions.

”Sign,” he said decisively.

Nearby, the UAE delegation’s negotiations were more detailed.

The UAE Armed Forces Deputy Supreme Commander, Prince Khalid, forty years old, a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK, could speak fluent Chinese.

”We are ordering 500 ’rhino a2’ units,” Khalid said, ”but there is one condition: we want technology transfer for the production line.”

”Not just simple assembly, but the full set of technology from component production to final assembly. We want to build a factory in Abu Dhabi to serve the entire Gulf region.”

Fahd personally received this heavyweight client, ”Your Highness, technology transfer is negotiable, but it needs to be done in stages.”

”First stage: build a final assembly line in Abu Dhabi, with a 30% localization rate. Second stage: build a component production line, with a 60% localization rate. Third stage: build engine and avionics production lines, with a 90% localization rate.”

”Throughout the process, we will send engineers to provide guidance and train UAE technical personnel.”

”Timeframe?”

”Three years to complete all three stages,” Fahd provided the schedule, ”The prerequisite is that the UAE must commit that the products will only be used for national defense and the legitimate needs of Gulf Cooperation Council member states, and will not be transferred to third parties.”

”That can be written into the contract,” Khalid agreed, ”Additionally, we want to customize a ship-based version of the ’Rhino’—one that can take off and land on our frigates for maritime patrol and anti-piracy operations.”

”We have a ready-made solution for that. The ’Rhino C’ features a folding wing design, is compatible with helicopter flight decks, has a flight endurance of 6 hours, and can carry light anti-ship missiles.”

”Good. Total price?”

”500 rhino a2 units, plus production line technology transfer and training, and 10 customized Rhino C units, a package price of $4.5 billion. Payable over five years, with oil or natural gas as payment.”

Khalid reached out his hand, ”Deal.”

The most unique one was the Jordan delegation—King Abdullah II personally conducted a direct conversation with Fahd via an encrypted video link.

”Prince Fahd, I don’t want weapons; I want a system.” The King of Jordan on the screen was wearing a military uniform, with the royal palace in Amman in the background, ”Jordan has a long border line, with Syria, Iraq, the Jewish state... We need an intelligent monitoring system capable of 24-hour early warning for illegal border crossings, arms smuggling, and terrorist infiltration.”

Fahd pulled up a plan, ”We recommend deploying ’thunderbird 3’ drone patrol formations, with each drone having an 8-hour flight endurance; three drones rotating will achieve 24-hour coverage.”

”Deploy rhino a2 heavy attack drones in the rear for precision strikes against enemies, and deploy F1 man-portable air-defense missiles and H1 multi-functional rocket artillery on the ground for point defense. All data will be fed into an AI command center to automatically identify threats and generate disposal recommendations.”

”Can it be integrated into our existing American systems?”

”Yes, but it requires interface development. We have a dedicated adaptation team.”

”How long will development take?”

”90 days.”

The King nodded, ”In 90 days, I want to see the prototype system in trial operation on the border. If the results meet expectations, Jordan will purchase 20 sets to cover the entire border. The budget... $1.5 billion, which can be offset by the dividend rights of phosphate mineral assets.”

”Agreed. Additionally, if Jordan allows, we can network with the systems of Saudi Arabia and Egypt to share border monitoring data and form a regional joint defense.”

The King’s eyes lit up, ”That’s a great idea. I will push for the Gulf Cooperation Council to discuss it.”

At the other end of the signing desk, a man wearing sunglasses and a headscarf silently signed a contract—$2 billion for 3 types of drone systems and H1 multi-functional rocket artillery.

After signing, he left hurriedly without speaking to anyone.

The Spark security director whispered to Fahd, ”The Deputy Director of the Syrian Military Intelligence Directorate, came disguised as a Sudan representative. They want this batch of equipment to fight in Idlib.”

Fahd nodded, ”Ship it according to procedure. But ensure all weapons have electronic fences—once they leave Syrian territory, they will automatically lock.”

”It’s already being done.”

December 22

The signing center welcomed its second wave of the climax—delegations from Asia, Africa, and South America.

Pakistan Army Chief of Staff Qamar personally visited Riyadh to speak with Fahd.

”200 sets of man-portable air-defense missile systems, with 1,000 spare missiles, must be deployed within a week.”

Qamar’s voice carried urgency, ”India just received a batch of drones, and their provocations at the border are becoming more frequent. We need to let them know that entering our airspace will come at a price.”

Fahd responded, ”1,000 missiles, 200 launchers, vehicle-mounted radars, training simulators, and a three-month instructor team for on-site training, for a total price of $1.6 billion.”

”We will pay cash. But we require priority shipping—the first batch of 50 sets must arrive within 7 days.”

”Agreed. The transport plane is already on standby, flying directly from Riyadh to Islamabad.”

”Also,” Qamar lowered his voice, ”we want to secretly purchase a batch of ’wasp m2’ swarm systems for... special operations.”

Fahd paused, ”This requires separate approval. In principle, it’s possible, but you must guarantee that the scope of use is strictly limited to within Pakistan and not used for cross-border operations.”

”We guarantee it.”

In another private room, the Persia Revolutionary Guard representative Masoud—disguised as a defense official from the African country of Tanzania—was in secret talks with Fahd.

”$1 billion, all to be offset by oil,” Masoud stated directly, ”We don’t want finished products; we want technology—the AI formation algorithms for ’wasp m2’, the synthetic aperture radar design blueprints for ’thunderbird 3’, and the source code for the H1 rocket artillery guidance module.”

Fahd shook his head, ”General Masoud, that is impossible. Spark’s core technologies have strict export controls. We can sell finished products, and even customize them, but technology transfer... forgive me for being blunt, even if I agreed, Spark would not.”

”Then partial technology,” Masoud conceded, ”For example, the anti-jamming communication module for drones, the simple guidance system for rocket artillery—enough for us to reverse-engineer. In exchange, Persia can grant Saudi Arabia and China tankers ’special passage rights’ in the Strait of Hormuz, and... maintain coordination with Saudi Arabia on certain international affairs.”

This condition carried significant weight. The Strait of Hormuz was the throat of global oil transportation, and Persia’s ”special passage rights” meant a major guarantee of energy security.

Fahd thought for a few minutes, ”I need to request instructions. But what I can promise is that if technology transfer is not feasible, we can provide ’technical guidance’—send engineers to Persia to help you optimize your existing drone and missile systems, improving performance by 30%-50%. At the same time, we can export full sets of finished drone products and F1 man-portable air-defense missiles to you, but the H1 multi-functional rocket artillery may not be available for sale to you for the time being.”

Masoud’s eyes lit up, ”That works too. But we need to sign a long-term cooperation agreement, five years, $1 billion per year, with continuous technical upgrades and training.”

”Deal.”

The orders from South America were equally impressive. The Colombian Presidential Palace signed for $1.5 billion, payable over three years, to be used to combat drug lord armed forces.

”We don’t want equipment for conventional warfare; we want special equipment for urban warfare and jungle warfare,” the Colombian Secretary of Defense said, ”The drug lords’ armed forces are becoming increasingly professional, with armored vehicles, air-defense missiles, and even submarines. We need weapons that can take out this equipment without causing large-scale civilian casualties.”

The solution provided by Spark was: ”wasp m2” swarms for urban clearance, where the micro-bombs carried by individual units can precisely strike armored vehicles without detonating surrounding buildings; ”thunderbird 3” for jungle search, where thermal imaging can penetrate tree canopies to find hidden camps; ”rhino a2” carrying precision-guided bombs to strike the drug lords’ drug factories and transfer points.

”Also, we want ’Desert Shield’ to send military advisors, no fewer than 200, to train our special forces.”

”Agreed. Advisor fees will be charged separately, $50 million per year.”

”Reasonable.”

South Africa signed for $1 billion, Thailand for $1 billion, Nigeria for $800 million, Argentina for $600 million...

By midnight on the 23rd, the total signing amount exceeded $20 billion.

Riyadh, Spark-Arab Defense Company top-floor office.

Shen Nanpeng stared at the data on the screen, his fingers flying across the calculator. He had been working for eighteen consecutive hours; his eyes were bloodshot, but his spirit was highly excited.

The video conference connected, and Su Chen’s face appeared on the screen.

”Mr. Su, the preliminary statistics are out,” Shen Nanpeng pulled up the report, ”Total signing amount for 72 hours: $20 billion. Payment methods: $6 billion in cash down payment, $9 billion in installments, and $5 billion in resource offsets.”

”What is the specific composition of the resource offsets?”

”Colombia’s ten-year dividend rights for lithium mines—valued at $1 billion; Thailand’s rubber futures contracts—valued at $500 million; Syria’s oil import priority rights—valued at $1 billion; Persia’s oil offset—$1 billion; and other forward contracts for copper mines, bauxite, and coffee beans.”

Shen Nanpeng paused, ”Mr. Su, if these resource contracts were traded individually on the market, their value could exceed $7 billion. Our valuation is on the conservative side.”

Su Chen said, ”What we want is long-term control, not short-term arbitrage. Package these resource contracts and turn them into financial products.”

”Securitization?”

”Yes. Find the China Investment Corporation, the Silk Road Fund, and the China Development Bank to design a ’Global Resource Revenue Rights Trust’. Package the future cash flows of these contracts into bonds and issue them in the international market.”

Su Chen’s thinking was clear, ”The buyers of the bonds can be sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and insurance companies of various countries. In this way, we not only get cash but also retain control over the resources—because the bond returns come from these resources, we must ensure the extraction and trade of the resources.”

Shen Nanpeng recorded quickly, his eyes getting brighter, ”This is equivalent to using arms contracts as leverage to pry open a global resource trading network. And this network is settled in rmb...”

”Exactly,” Su Chen nodded, ”Tell Fahd to go and talk to the countries. This isn’t just selling arms; it’s writing new global trade rules. Trading resources for security, security for development, and development for stability—this is a more sustainable cycle than the Dollar-Oil-Arms one.”

”Fahd might need more authorization...”

”Give it to him. Appoint him as Senior Vice President of Spark Global Strategic Cooperation, and authorize him to fully handle matters of resource offsets and regional security architecture.”

Su Chen paused, ”Also, remind him to pay attention to balance. Do not become the sole dominant power in the Middle East; bring in Egypt, the UAE, and Jordan to form a multi-polar joint governance. What we want is a stable network of partners, not a new dependency relationship.”

”Understood.”

The video disconnected. Shen Nanpeng leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

Outside the window, the night sky of Riyadh was filled with bright stars. This desert city was becoming the new center of global arms trade, and even more likely, the fulcrum for reshaping the world economic order.

He recalled three years ago, when he was still at Sequoia Capital, investing in those unicorns in Silicon Valley. At that time, he thought that what changed the world was algorithms, data, and the internet.

But now he understood that what truly changes the world is steel, energy, violence—and the wisdom to harness these forces.

What Spark was building was not just a company, but a new state-enterprise relationship, a prototype of a new international order.

And he was the financial architect of this grand game of chess.

Shen Nanpeng stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. The city lights spread out beneath his feet, and the distant desert glimmered silver-white in the moonlight.

A new era was being conceived in this ancient sea of sand.

And he had to ensure that this era was built on a solid financial foundation.