After the first day of the exhibition, two European-looking men, surrounded by a group of black suits, walked towards the presidential suite on the top floor of the Heart of the Sea.
“The one thing I’m the most satisfied with at the Heart of the Sea is the presidential suite of the five-star hotel on the top floor.” The slightly older Italian, in a blue suit, chatted with the slightly younger European beside him as they walked forward, “I bet it has the most wonderful viewing location in Coro City. You have the entire view of Coro City and can overlook the entire Heart of the Sea. If it were not for the fact that Future Tourism has no intention of selling it, I really want to purchase it and add it to my collection list. In my view, it is not a building, but a work of art.”
The Italian was Matteo Montorio, and he was the president of Leonardo in Italy. Although Italy had been traditionally known as the “bad teammate” in alliances, Leonardo was an exception to the rule.
The total output value of Leonardo accounted for 70% of the total output value of the Italian defense industry. It directly or indirectly controlled 121 companies while it also owned non-controlling stakes in 128 companies. Not only was it a world leader in aerospace, defense, and security and one of the top ten companies in the world, it also ranked second in Europe, behind the British BAE Systems known to be the “ruler of the land, air, and ocean”. Even outside the military industry, it was still considered a behemoth.
As for the young European, his name was Nicola. Compared to Matteo, he was a nobody. However, he represented the Italian military, so he could walk side-by-side with Matteo here.
Nicola forced a smile as he listened to Matteo’s view on the Heart of the Sea. While he was also an Italian, he obviously did not possess the slightest artistic touch, so he could not get into the conversation with Matteo, who had been nurtured by upper-class teachings. Also, his mind was completely out of this.
He had started to wonder from the moment Matteo’s assistant placed the 5 billion Xin New Dollars worth of order into the briefcase.
“Scythe drone…Why would he sell these drones to us so generously? We are NATO’s long-term partners. I don’t believe Jiang Chen did not see this point. He has Ghost Agents in his hand.” Nicola seized the opportunity to ask the question that had been bothering him after Matteo finished his comments on the Heart of the Sea.
Matteo was not surprised by Nicola’s question. The old gentleman from Italy just smiled and answered his confusion politely.
“This is easy to understand because they sold us the downgraded version. Even if these weapons are taken by NATO and used on them in turn, they would not feel too much pressure. This is their confidence.”
“Then why—”
“Then why do we have to pay for their weapons,” Matteo turned his head to look at Nicola, then smiled. “This is what you want to ask, right?”
Nicola swallowed down and nodded with difficulty.
On behalf of the Italian army, he purchased 2,000 Scythe-type drones, 2,000 “military sale version” S1 kinetic skeletons, and matching S1 assault rifles matching from Future Military. As for the reason, it was very simple. The holographic image was truly astounding, and he couldn’t find a reason not to pay.
But now Matteo told him that he bought some defective products that were downgraded, which made this fact somewhat difficult to accept. After all, he signed on those orders, and he would have to be responsible for them if anything happened.
“If you can’t find a reason, I can find a reason for you.” Matteo smiled. Although Future Military completely took the spotlight on the first day, he was not bothered in the slightest, he calmly said, “In order to learn about their advantages, we must take their weapons home to study. Remember, I’m not paying for their arms, but for our backwardness.”
Matteo’s statement made Nicola feel slightly better, but he still felt somewhat uncomfortable when he heard the harsh word “backwardness”.
“Actually, you don’t have to be too depressed,” Matteo patted Nicola on the shoulder. As if he had read Nicola’s thoughts, he laughed, “The drone is not part of our home court, the fighter jets and engines are our advantages. Take a good look, we will not officially start our performance until the third day.”
Nicola processed this information.
Suddenly, a rumor surfaced in his mind.
Shocked by the thought, Nicola looked at Matteo with disbelief in his eyes.
“Do you mean…Is it!”
“Looking at your expression, you probably guessed it, but my answer is yes.”
After Matteo concluded on this sentence, he walked towards the end of the corridor with a smile on his face.
…
On the other side, Chemezov, who had left the exhibition, got into the car waiting for him.
Although the organizer arranged a room for him, he did not choose to stay at the Heart of the Sea. Instead, he booked a room at a five-star hotel not far away. Another Slavic man followed him into the car and sat next to him.
“What did you think of today’s exhibition?”
When Chemezov heard the question, he grinned and asked rhetorically.
“He is the son-in-law of your old boss; can’t you see it more clearly than me?”
“Don’t give me this nonsense, I want to know your opinion,” Zanaev said with a serious expression.
The corner of Chemezov’s mouth curled up slightly, then he said without hesitation.
“This defense exhibition has become a show just for Future Military, and it is likely to be the same in the next few days.”
“As expected?” Zanaev raised his eyebrows.
“Of course.” With one leg over his other knee, Chemezov took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and gestured to the driver in the front row to indicate that he could drive.
“What do you think their purpose is?” Zanaev asked.
“I noticed that the list of exhibitors includes Netherlands’s Airbus and Italy’s Leonardo. The strength of these two military enterprises can basically represent the top products of European military enterprises, especially in the aerospace field.” Chemezov tapped his cigarette into the ashtray, then continued, “They are probably intending to use this opportunity to pressure NATO countries. We are just watching the show, and there is no need for us to be the center of attention.”
“Just watch the show? We all expect you to sell a few more S400s,” Zanaev said. “This year’s economic situation is not optimistic. We need foreign exchange, and we need it desperately.”
“Don’t worry,” Chemezov grinned, and a glimpse of shrewdness appeared in his eyes before it quickly faded away. “There is a high probability that Future Military will not target air defense missiles. Their starting point is too high, and they likely haven’t figured out how to downgrade their technology.”
Chemezov paused for a second and then said.
“And the most important thing is that I have a hunch that Leonardo will compete with Future Military in their home court, in aerospace.”
“Do you think they might win?” Zanaev questioned.
“I don’t know, but I know that no matter who wins, our air defense missiles will sell very well.”
