The Imperial Hunter Chapter 85 - Metamorphosis (12)

“Chairman.”

“What is it?”

“Do all the arms dealers in the international black market maintain elite troops like you, with individual combat abilities surpassing average soldiers?”

“While the scale and level may differ, that would be the case nine times out of ten. The clientele in this market are dangerous sorts, whether nations or individuals, and the nature of the goods means sellers often incur the grudges of their customers.”

“I see, indeed so…”

“Some dealers even provide manpower directly to the client. Like the ‘Desert Hawk Brigade (لواء صقور الصحراء)’ that was treated as the Syrian Army’s elite – formed as an independent unit with the arms dealer exercising autonomous operational command.”

“Oh? There was such a thing?”

“Yes. It was possible only because the merchant himself was an ex-Syrian Army officer and his younger brother was the incumbent Marine Corps commander… But a highly skilled unit, can source its own equipment, and handles its own logistics is irresistibly attractive for a country amid civil war.”

“Amazing, truly amazing. It sounds nothing like the world I know.”

“Reality always exceeds imagination.”

The one I spoke of was Colonel Mohammad Jaber, a kingpin in the Middle Eastern smuggling market. He had supplied weapons and goods to the Syrian government when it faced a Western trade embargo, but later took things further – commoditizing his own smuggling group into a brigade-level combat unit for the state.

In return, the colonel received the rights to plunder enemy territory and priority on government procurement contracts, plus stakes in the oil fields of occupied lands. Of these, the oil fields were surely the biggest money-maker. It was no exaggeration to say modern civilization ran on oil fields. The extent of profits Colonel Jaber raked in from long-term oil smuggling was beyond speculation.

‘Yet he gave up those valuable rights for a moment’s greed.’

The Desert Hawk Brigade was dissolved for provoking the anger of the ruling Ba’ath Party, formally the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party, when its subordinate units pillaged pro-government areas. Colonel Jaber, who had acted as brigade commander, was exiled – though his brother Ayman Jaber remained a brigadier general in the Marines, and the First World’s trade blockade on Syria persisted, so the colonel’s smuggling business survived. Still, it was undeniable he had squandered tremendous privileges over a pointless stunt.

This illustrates why rational management and self-restraint were important. Even when indulging in deviations, your starting point should still be rational thinking. A business built on a solid foundation was like a deeply rooted tree that did not easily sway.

“Here we are.”

Hu Shanliang unlocked one of the storage compartments, its number matching the key card. With metallic clicks and clacks, the steel bars unlocked. The interior contained the Black Children’s Party’s confiscated weapons, each labeled with a tag.

Gao Shusen frowned anew.

“When I said to open this place up, the Ministry of Science and Technology chief was quite upset. He insisted they had worked all night and gotten everything, so there was nothing more to find. Said they already did standard non-destructive testing… Do you really think you can discover something new?”

“Surely they didn’t conduct exhaustive inspections of all these weapons in a single day? At best, they randomly sampled and tested some pieces.”

“Then…”

“I cannot guarantee we will necessarily find something, but a researcher’s eye differs from a merchant’s. Have faith in mine, Deputy Secretary.”

In truth, entering here simply confirmed the hunch I’d had since yesterday’s combat. Donning latex gloves, I picked out weapons with distinct manufacturing traits and loaded them onto a transport cart. I took my time pretending to closely inspect each weapon rather than brazenly grab them, to avoid rousing suspicion. While doing so, I casually asked.

“Do you have the address yet?”

This questioned the location of the underground chamber we needed to raid. Gao Shusen gave a start at my meaningless actions and replied.

“Oh, wait just a little longer. I can provide the intel today.”

“It is urgent business, but take care not to rush and ruin things.”

“…Alright.”

Gao Shusen’s expression grew uncomfortable again, but I disregarded it and continued selecting samples until the cart was full.

“That’s enough. Let’s head to the lab now.”

“Okay.”

Kyung-tae pushed the cart down the hall. The examination table in the lab we entered held the reagents I had requested for non-destructive testing. A recording camcorder on a tripod was set up facing the table, separate from the closed-circuit cameras. Aside from minor differences, the arrangement resembled an autopsy suite’s station for dissecting cadavers.

“Let’s begin.”

At my cue and nod, Superintendent Hu Shanliang turned on the camcorder and hit record. Following the written checklist on the wall, he documented each piece’s condition in longhand as I methodically disassembled the weapons I had brought and neatly laid them out across the table. I could have relegated this mundane task to Kyung-tae, but for an audience like the unschooled communist aristocrat, it would be a boring stretch. Personally working with my hands wasn’t bad either in this situation.

“Cleansing solution.”

I held out my hand and Kyung-tae passed me the cleansing spray. Penetrant testing involved wiping down surfaces with a cleaner, spraying on penetrant and allowing sufficient dwell time for it to soak in all gaps and crevices, wiping it off with a clean cloth, and then applying fluorescent developer. This would starkly reveal any microscopic fissures, scratches, seams, etc. that the penetrant seeped into.

The method provided clues to roughly deduce what manufacturing processes were used to build the weapons. I had deliberately chosen samples that would clearly exhibit such clues.

After spraying, waiting, and wiping off the penetrant, I misted on the fluorescent developer to complete the procedure.

“Come take a look closely, Deputy Secretary.”

I killed the lights and brought over a UV lamp. Crisscrossing lines began to glow, revealing their presence. These irregular scratches left during component finishing were the unique signature of a maker familiar to me as a weapons dealer. Gao Shusen’s curiosity was piqued.

“Wha-what does this mean?”

I momentarily halted the recording cam with a wave before answering the communist aristocrat’s question.

“In a typical factory production process, traces of finishing like this are not left behind. This essentially means that all the weapons here were handmade, using tools commonly found in a hardware store.”

While a manual universal lathe and drill might have been used for barrel machining, other parts of the weapons showed distinct marks of rough tools. Even the lower receiver had been hammered and forged, with a few faint spots resembling fluorescent developer stains.

“Handmade? Handmade, and with tools from a hardware store?”

The squinty-eyed Communist aristocrat was perplexed as he examined the components.

“How can handmade products be so intricate, with each part fitting together perfectly, and I haven’t heard reports of the Black Children’s party experiencing minor malfunctions like misfires!”

“That’s simply because of the exceptional skills of the craftsmen. You are witnessing the works of the world’s top artisans, Deputy Secretary.”

“That’s simply because the craftsmen’s skills are good. What you see now are works breathed into being through the joint efforts of world-class artisans, Deputy Secretary.”

“World-class artisans? Just what…”

“Such people exist. A craftsman’s techniques become an ingrained habit. These finishing marks and the way each part was machined read to me like signatures.”

A signature or seal that artists affix to calligraphy, paintings, etc. to acknowledge authorship. In other words, an artisan’s brand. Gao Shusen grew excited.

“You can identify the manufacturer just from this?!”

“Yes. As an industry insider, I guarantee these craftsmen are from the Al-Qassim (القسیم) factory in Darra Adam Khel (درہ آدم خیل), Pakistan.”

“Foreign forces?! Not only South Korea, but Pakistan too has betrayed us!”

How often do personal interests align with national interests? Gao Shusen, cutting off hasty and baseless speculations, demanded while eyeing the disassembled firearms.

“If there’s anything else I need to know, please tell me.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“I’ve already mentioned the essentials… Darra Adam Kel was a city where, in its prime, 60,000 artisans operated 2,000 firearm production lines. ‘Al-Qassim’ is one of the five groups that dominated the city in terms of technology and production. The name ‘Qassim’ was given by the Afghan Mujahideen who favored their products.”

‘Al-Qassim’ carried a religious meaning, ‘Master of Beauty.’ It was a name that reflects how the Islamic extremists who faced both the Soviet Union and the United States were satisfied with their weapons. In short, Darra Adam Kel was a city that was like the armory of the Taliban in the past.

Besides ‘Al-Qassim,’ names like ‘Qamran,’ ‘Samuilra,’ ‘Sharifkel,’ and ‘Sharakai’ were also well-known for their sophisticated firearm replication technology, but the evidence I selected here consistently showed the unique finish of Al-Qassim. The technology developed by one lineage across four generations formed as distinct an identity as the blood flowing in that lineage.

“The clear fact is that a considerable number of weapons used by the Black Children’s Party came from a single manufacturer. This implies that there is a party that has somehow entered into a supply contract with that manufacturer.”

“Ignorant pirates like the Black Sea kids couldn’t have made such a contract on their own! From the beginning, communication wouldn’t work with them! So, undoubtedly, external forces must have intervened!”

He seemed to have a great fondness for external forces. If excessive exaggeration was included in the report written under his name, it would expose his incompetence and cause trouble. Therefore, I provided a more realistic scenario by nodding and explaining.

“That’s unknown. For example, aren’t there many ethnic minorities in western China who believe in Islam?”

“….The Uyghurs?”

“Not just Uyghurs. There are over 10 million Muslims scattered throughout Henan, Ningxia, Yunnan, etc. After your Party demolished their mosques and oppressed their faith, seized their women to force intermarriage with Han… This chance to avenge those grudges by playing broker may have been too tempting to resist. Done right, it could bring independence within reach.”

“Focus surveillance on those areas! Those unruly Allah-worshippers (绿绿) were always unscrupulous people trafficking opium and such. Indeed, indeed! What law says the drug channels can’t shift to arms instead!”

These were the words of a Chinese Communist Party official who secretly trafficked heroin and fentanyl to the US and supplied arms to Southeast Asian rebels for profit. I corrected the sputtering aristocrat’s thoughts one more time:

“That’s just one hypothesis.”

“Then you have another?”

“Yes. We must also consider the possibility of the factory itself coming to China.”

“….I’m listening.”

“Since the Pakistani authorities expelled Taliban forces from the north and reduced the autonomy of tribal councils, the craftsmen of Darra Adam Kel, who had been producing weapons in the shadows of autonomy, are now all facing the crisis of unemployment. In other words, they are in a desperate situation where finding a breakthrough is essential.”

“So, are they relocating their base altogether?”

“Rather than relocating their base, it’s more appropriate to call it an ‘on-site service.’ With just the tools equivalent to a truckload, they can set up production lines anywhere in the world. Since these tools are nothing special, there’s no risk of getting caught, and, furthermore, there’s no need to carry them around unnecessarily. They can just procure whatever they need locally.”

In essence, they were not separate factories but walking factories themselves. The Pakistani authorities promised to build an industrial complex for them and provide new jobs, but even that became difficult due to the aftermath of the China-originating coronavirus that swept through the world.

So, the artisans who have only the skills to make guns, bombs, and cannons have no choice but to find a way to survive on their own.

“Include the contents above in the report. When these pieces of evidence go up together, those above will reach the same inference, and your evaluation will rise accordingly. You are considered a talent with a good perspective on nations and the ability to analyze information.”

Although Al-Qassim’s replicated weapons fall short in performance and durability compared to genuine ones, their functional reliability was excellent. Especially in small urban areas where the engagement distance was short, they were expected to show utility comparable to genuine products. If the recipients of the report had human intelligence, they wouldn’t be able to ignore the contents of the report. Even if the investigation results were proven false, it was still a useful tool for propaganda due to its apparent credibility.

Gao Shusen, who had been pondering deeply, stared at me with a complex expression.

“I feel like I’ve asked a similar question before, but… I still want to ask. Are all arms dealers in the underground market like you?”

Doubt, confusion, and admiration. I responded with light confidence, deceiving my counterpart.

“You will realize that it was a great stroke of luck for you to have entered into a deal with me.”