The Wolf of Los Angeles.

The new individual electric hand-pushed transport vehicle project, with the strong support of General Walker's team, has entered the Pentagon's testing and review phase.

As we all know, as long as the work is done properly, this step is just a routine procedure.

Over the years, the United States has long had a tacitly accepted rule that those who are truly responsible cannot get involved in this process.

The equipment provided by the West Coast was all in areas that the military-industrial complexes had never dealt with, and there was no competition between them.

The Pentagon quickly signed a procurement agreement with a West Coast environmental technology company.

The details were also sent to Hawke.

In the office on the 16th floor of the Coast Building, Henderson, who had just arrived, reported the latest progress of the procurement to Hawke: "After signing a formal procurement agreement with the Pentagon, the West Coast finalized the first batch of vehicle deliveries. The Army will purchase 5500 electric-assisted individual soldier transport vehicles in the first batch, with a unit price of $14.55. The vehicles include two types of cargo box transport accessories and a small number of maintenance parts, but do not include a complete set of maintenance parts, which need to be purchased separately."

Hawke was pleased with this and said, "Not bad."

In recent years, the price of US military equipment procurement has soared. In the early stages of the war in Afghanistan, the procurement price of a basic Humvee armored vehicle without weapons, equipment and accessories was less than $17.

But in recent years, that price has only bought an empty car shell.

After Tom Emmer came to power, arms prices soared again.

It's not hard to understand. There are also changes in the Pentagon's generals and procurement specialists. Some who were well-fed left, and many who were eager to make a living came in.

Therefore, a single West Coast Tech three-wheeled vehicle can sell for a staggering price of nearly $20.

Henderson continued, "This order, including follow-up arrangements, totals $10.25 billion. After the Pentagon purchases it, it will be mainly deployed to the U.S. Army stationed in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Africa. Subsequent procurement will take place next year."

Hawke asked, "How are the contacts with the other branches of the military going?"

“We are currently lobbying Air Force General Philip and Navy General Marshall.” Henderson has been very busy these past two years: “Both of them speak highly of the all-terrain individual soldier transport vehicle, and we have a good chance of winning the orders from the Air Force and the Navy.”

Hawke thought to himself that West Coast tech had taken the three-wheeled vehicle to a whole new level.

This vehicle is certainly not very technologically advanced, and its selection by the Pentagon was not due to its outstanding performance, but rather to the well-known review by Commissioner Smith.

This was originally a blank area for the American military-industrial complex; otherwise, Hendrick Racing, a completely uninformed company, wouldn't have almost become a supplier.

Henderson explained the production situation: "The project has been outsourced to the other side of the Pacific for manufacturing. They don't need to build a new production line; they only need to make slight modifications to the existing three-wheeled transport vehicles. We only need to wait a month and a half to start delivering the goods."

Hawke has no worries about efficiency or quality; this amount of cargo is nothing to them.

It is definitely not a problem to reduce the import unit price to below $1000.

Working on American military projects is incredibly profitable, just like legally securing congressional budget subsidies – it's addictive.

Hawke then asked, "Has India responded?"

“We contacted Abhishek and others, and they were very interested,” Henderson said. “In addition, I heard that the Pentagon has signed an agreement and placed an order, and the Israeli military has also contacted us, showing great interest.”

Even squid costs money, Hawke said without hesitation, “Selling to the Pentagon is a discounted price, but selling to squid is at the normal price.”

Henderson replied, "Understood."

West Coast Tech has already exported three-wheeled vehicles to Israel, and the squid are reportedly being sent to the Golan Heights.

Being the same product as the Pentagon is often the best form of advertising.

Henderson took his leave, and Edward came in from outside, saying, "Boss, Campos is in the meeting room."

Hawke went to the adjacent meeting room.

Campos arrived immediately after getting off the plane, looking travel-worn.

Hawke knew he had just returned from Ethiopia, so he personally handed him a bottle of mineral water, saying, "There's no rush with work. You can rest for a day and come back later."

Campos unscrewed the cap, took a sip, and said with a smile, "It mainly involves the families of Hurricane Corporation and the Shamdo organization."

Hawke sat on the armchair: "Take your time."

Campos put down his water bottle: "Because of the excellent management and teaching at Inglewood Private School, and the living conditions of the families who arrived earlier, the African employees who have officially signed contracts with Hurricane Company will soon arrive in Los Angeles. They are mainly of Arab and African descent, many of whom are from Tanzania and Egypt."

Hawke said, "Remind me when the time comes, and I will go to greet you."

For tasks like this, his personal appearance would definitely be more effective.

Campos added, "We also recruited several veterans from Rwanda who brought news of some new developments in Africa."

Edward interjected, asking, "Is it Rwanda, the place where the genocide took place?"

Hollywood made a film called "Hotel Rwanda" a few years ago, which depicted the Rwandan genocide and received multiple Oscar nominations.

Hawke's impression of Rwanda was primarily based on this, and he asked, "Is it related to Rwandan extremism?"

“No, Rwanda is not the country we remember.” Campos explained in detail: “According to those retired soldiers, the current government has started sending some officers to the other side of the Pacific to study in recent years. Some of them have now returned and started to take on important positions in the military. The atmosphere of the entire Rwandan army has changed dramatically, and its organization and discipline are somewhat similar to those of Tanzania back then.”

Hawke thought carefully and seemed to vaguely remember it, but it wasn't from this time period; it seemed to have happened ten years later.

He wasn't entirely clear on the specifics; his current concern was still about recruiting soldiers from Africa: "Are they capable and of reliable character?"

Campos replied, "Yes, you passed the test, and your family will be settling in Los Angeles soon."

He took another sip of water and continued, “Hurricane Africa has taken on a new job: protecting a mining company operating in Tanzania. The local indigenous tribes are very hostile to white and Arab people, and Essien and Drogba, who are leading the team, need some black employees.”

Edward immediately became interested: "I've heard that there are many gold and gem mines in Africa."

“The mining company’s main business is mining tanzanite.” Hawke knew about this business; the other party was a partner of Tiffany, whose current art director had a good relationship with Mary Ferguson, who introduced him to the company.

He simply stated, "We primarily supply Tiffany."

Campos opened his briefcase, took out a box, placed it on his desk, and opened it.

Under the reflected light, the many gems inside the box shone with a dazzling blue-purple light. The largest one in the very center was polished into a heart shape.

Edward exclaimed, "This is even bigger and more beautiful than the Heart of the Ocean from Titanic."

"These were sent by the mining company; they insisted that we accept them," Campos said.

They communicated with Hawke about this matter. Hawke picked up one of the stones and found that there were certificates underneath, such as the country of origin and processing certificate.

For things like these, certifications from business associations are very important.

Hawke took one of the pills, along with its matching box, and handed it to Campos: "I remember you had a girlfriend, so you took this as a gift."

He took another one and tossed it to Edward: "Yours."

Edward caught it, held it up to the light, and said, "This thing is prettier than a diamond. Isn't it too expensive to give as a gift?"

Hawke casually remarked, "Tanzanite shouldn't be particularly valuable."

Campos put away his box and said, "It's not as good as diamonds, emeralds, or sapphires; it's considered mid-range in terms of jewelry."

Hawke selected three pure blue tanzanite stones—one large and two medium-sized—and placed them inside.

He has no use for this thing; he'll definitely give it away.

After Hawke finished packing, Campos reported on another matter: "Our intelligence agents in Deir ez-Zor have been secretly monitoring the remnants of the Shamddu organization and have discovered that Julani has become active again. The US military's counterterrorism operations in northwestern Iraq have ended, and a large number of military forces have withdrawn from the border area. The US military clearly does not want to continue the counterinsurgency war there by spending manpower and funds, but has handed it over to the Baghdad authorities."

His words echoed the social situations in Iraq and Afghanistan over the years: "But large-scale counter-terrorism operations have caused numerous civilian casualties and property damage, and these people's special beliefs make them prone to extremism. The situation there will not improve at all, and there will be a new wave of anti-American sentiment."

Hawke easily guessed this and said, "Is Julani going to take this opportunity to recruit people?"

“Yes,” Campos said as he recalled, “He sent a group of his confidants, and we discovered that these people were heading east, probably to cross the Iraqi-Syrian border to the epicenter of the war on terror, to recruit people under the banner of anti-Americanism and religion, and to form a new militia organization under a completely new name.”

Hawke asked, "Can you find out the source of Julani's new funds?"

Without money, it's impossible to recruit many people. Even if you do recruit people, you won't have their equipment, food, or pay.

Campos shook his head: "We haven't found anything yet. Intelligence personnel speculate that Julani may have taken out his hidden assets. After all, the Americans almost killed him this time, and his determination to oppose the United States will be very strong and firm in the short term."

Edward continued, "What some media outlets are saying is true: the extreme anti-American forces in the Middle East were all created by the Americans."

He looked at Hawke: "Should we continue to sponsor him?"

Hawke shook his head and said, "Don't make any unnecessary moves for now. Let's see how things go. Jurani is a good knife; perhaps it will come in handy."

"Without sufficient funding, it will take him a long time to grow the new force to its previous scale," Campos said.

The Shamdu organization was initially funded by Sila Li.

Hillary Clinton kept them in the Middle East specifically to use them as part of her political achievements after winning the election.

Hawke laughed: "As long as he can gather manpower and establish a certain anti-American force, people will naturally provide him with funds."

Campos considered the current world situation and said, "That's true."

Whether the Middle East is in chaos or not, the five philanthropists have the final say.

Not long after Campos left, a vice president from 20th Century Fox paid him a visit, bringing him a letter of invitation.

James Murdoch is going to throw a celebration party for James Cameron and Avatar.

Hawke accepted the invitation, saw the man off, and asked Edward, "How much did Cameron's blockbuster gross worldwide?"

Edward checked his phone: "Global box office: $23 billion; external estimates predict it will ultimately exceed $25 billion."

Hawke said, "With Twentieth Century Fox's huge success this time, James Murdoch's influence in News Corporation is about to increase."

Edward said, "He was Rupert Murdoch's favorite son."

Hawke thought of something: "Has there been no movement from London yet?"

“It looks normal on the surface; News Corporation has a lot of influence there.” Edward had been following Hawke’s advice and paying close attention to the potential clashes between London and News Corporation: “Several victims who sued The Sun and the News of the World have reached out-of-court settlements with News Corporation.”

Hawke tried to recall carefully, but it was too long ago and he couldn't remember some things very clearly.

But what impressed him most was undoubtedly Ryan Giggs's sister-in-law.

Manchester United truly lives up to its reputation as the king of online buzz.

…………

Century City, Fox Building.

James Murdoch sat in his spacious, luxurious office, admiring the Avatar poster hanging on one wall, feeling like he had reached the pinnacle of his career.

He picked up the newspaper beside him, which was full of praise for Avatar, lauding the film's groundbreaking 3D visuals and its box office success.

"Indeed, the only one who can defeat James Cameron is Cameron himself." James Murdoch couldn't help but laugh as he pointed to the global box office figures.

Although the film's profits will be shared with Cameron himself, Weta Workshop, West Coast Investment Fund, and TSG Entertainment, 20th Century Fox is the biggest winner.

A knock sounded at the door, and when James spoke, someone quickly walked in.

The visitor closed the office door, quickly sat down across the desk, and said in a low voice, "I just received news that Roger Ayers is in talks to acquire the social media platform 'Full of Stories' from the television network. The negotiations are in their final stages."

James has always wanted to acquire Fox's largest, most profitable, and most influential media company.

He was particularly concerned: "I know these things, is there anything else?"

The man quickly said, "There are reliable sources indicating that Roger Ayers' operational strategy for the website is anti-LGBTQ." (End of Chapter)