Chapter 51: Numbers

When it comes to money, especially something as significant as a company acquisition, it must be discussed face-to-face.

Frank rushed back to the office and began pitching his company to Arthur right there in his office.

"Here are the company assets. Read through them, and then we can talk."

Arthur took the asset list of King Defense and, after a thorough examination, finished reading it in a minute.

The asset list of King Defense was very short: four cars, each valued at $10,000, sixteen Tasers, twelve bulletproof vests, five handguns, four shotguns, and four AR rifles. The company headquarters had nine months left on the lease.

The company had eleven employees, with two confirmed to leave—Rubber and George. Arthur’s name was also on the employee list, as were Frank’s and John’s.

This meant that the employees would soon be down to seven, including Arthur himself.

King Defense’s business scope included home security, providing security services to paying families, and personal bodyguard services, all legally registered with the police. However, the most valuable part of King Defense was its PMC (Private Military Company) certification recognized by the Department of Defense.

Without the last item, King Defense would be just a security company with no resale value. But with the Department of Defense certification, King Defense could take on outsourced military tasks, fulfilling some of the military’s roles and earning big money from the Pentagon.

Although much smaller in scale than Blackwater, King Defense’s business qualification put it on the same starting line as a major company like Blackwater.

"Mr. Smith helped me establish King Defense and secure the Department of Defense’s military contractor certification. Do you know how difficult it is to obtain this qualification?"

Frank looked very serious. He tapped the asset list Arthur had put down and said earnestly, "Although King Defense has no fixed assets and poor business performance, we have the qualification to participate in government bidding. Just this alone makes King Defense invaluable."

Arthur scratched his head and quietly said, "But... I know almost nothing about this industry. Working for you is one thing, but buying King Defense and being the boss? I don't know how to do that."

Frank was silent for a moment, then said sternly, "If you don't know, you learn. It's simple. I believe you can quickly get the hang of it."

Not wanting to get entangled in the current topic, Arthur thought for a moment and said earnestly, "Captain, why don’t you sell King Defense to Bottle Cap?"

"Bottle Cap won’t do. Giving him the company will only bankrupt him. He’s even worse than I am in running things."

Arthur smiled wryly, "Uh, then sell it to someone else."

Frank waved his hand, "I can’t sell it to someone else. This is my hard work; I can’t hand it over to strangers."

Arthur cautiously said, "Actually, it’s unsellable, isn’t it?"

Frank fell silent.

Before Frank could come up with more reasons, Arthur hurriedly said, "I think King Defense is selling its certification, right? The company’s most valuable asset is this certification. I’m not sure how it works in the US, but in Hua Xia, it’s like a taxi license—the license is worth more than the car itself."

Frank frowned, "What does this have to do with taxis?"

"The same, the same. Hear me out. The most valuable asset of King Defense is its Department of Defense certification. This means that after I buy King Defense, to make money, I need to get contracts from the Department of Defense. But I think I won’t be able to get any contracts from the Department of Defense, so buying King Defense is pointless for me."

No fixed assets, no fixed investment—King Defense was essentially a shell company. Realizing this, Arthur felt that while the business license might be worth something, it wasn’t valuable to him.

Frank sighed, "Alright, it seems you’re turning it down. Well, I’ll ask someone else."

Arthur couldn’t help but say, "Sorry, you know my financial situation. If this company were worth a million dollars, I couldn’t afford it."

"I only want $150,000. No, if you buy it, I’ll take $125,000."

Arthur’s remaining money was about $125,000, and currently, that money was still in Frank’s hands, meaning Frank’s pricing was very precise.

Seeing Arthur’s astonished expression, Frank looked a bit uncomfortable. He lowered his head and said, "I need to pay off debts and bank loans. I’m still short about $200,000. If you buy the company, I can almost cover my shortfall."

"You, you... can't sell it, can you?"

Arthur didn’t dare to speak too bluntly, afraid that his money might not be returned.

Frank sighed deeply and then said seriously, "Listen, the scope and business qualifications of King Defense are indeed very valuable, worth a million dollars without a doubt, but, but..."

"Those who can obtain the certification on their own won’t buy it from you. Those who need to buy it from you generally won’t have the ability to run the company. So, although this very valuable license is difficult to sell, it would take a long time to find a buyer, and you clearly can’t wait. Therefore, as a newcomer, I am the only one who might buy your company."

"So, are you going to buy it?"

Arthur sighed and said, "First, tell me why you and John are so dissatisfied with the Flames of War and why you both advised me not to join the Flames of War."

Frank fell silent, thought for a long time, and finally said, "Because the Flames of War is now just a company, not a team, not a united force."

"John said the same thing. But isn’t that how companies are? You must have experienced something. Tell me what happened."

Frank spoke in a low voice, "The last time we fought for the Flames of War, our squad of seven stormed a building occupied by the enemy. We got in but found too many enemies inside, and we were trapped."

Raising his head, Frank’s face was gloomy as he coldly said, "If Mr. Smith had been leading the Flames of War, he would have rescued us at all costs. But Danny was different. He thought rescuing the seven of us would cause too many casualties, so he didn’t rescue us and instead let us break out on our own."

Arthur also felt this was hard to accept, so he earnestly said, "That’s not acceptable. I can’t accept it either."

"Only John and I survived out of the seven; the other five all died."

With a long sigh, Frank continued, "After breaking out, I went to confront Danny. He said that if all seven of us had died, the company would pay the death benefits for seven. But if he had rescued us, he might have had to pay the benefits for twenty to thirty people. From a company perspective, not rescuing us was the best choice."

Arthur said in shock, "How can he say that? Is that something a PMC company boss can say? If people knew what Danny said, the Flames of War would go bankrupt!"

"The Flames of War belongs to Mr. Smith, not Danny, so John and I won’t reveal this secret to anyone."

Arthur was stunned for a while and then said, "But in that case, would anyone be willing to take on dangerous tasks for the Flames of War?"

"Pay enough money, and there will always be people willing to take on dangerous tasks. There are always people who value money over their lives."

After finishing with a helpless expression, Frank said to Arthur, "In Danny’s eyes, there are no brothers, only names on the company roster. These employees' names are just numbers, one number for those killed, and another for those injured or disabled. It’s all about interests. Now, Danny won’t fight in person, but his subordinates will follow the same style. So if you don’t want to become a disposable number, don’t join the Flames of War."

Such a company couldn’t be called a team, and it was indeed repulsive.

But the Flames of War paid very well.

Not talking about ideals or sentiments, just money, the key was that a company willing to pay enough money was a good company.

So now Arthur was tempted to join the Flames of War.

Seeing Arthur’s expression, Frank seemed to guess something. He sighed and said, "You’re different. You’re not someone who only cares about money. From the moment you risked your life to save Bottle Cap, I knew you’re not someone who can be reduced to a number. So the Flames of War is not for you."

Arthur smiled and said, "Well, actually, it’s not certain."

Frank was stunned for a moment, then he had nothing to say. He slowly pulled back the asset list from the table, which was just a piece of paper.

"It seems you don’t need King Defense, because you, Rubber, and Joe can accept Danny’s style."

With a slight tone, Frank extended his hand to Arthur and smiled, "Good luck."

Arthur didn’t rush to shake Frank’s hand. He said in a low voice, "Can you let me think about it? I’ll give you an answer later."

At that moment, Arthur’s phone rang. It was a call from Rubber, so Arthur didn’t feel comfortable answering it.

Frank shook his head helplessly and said, "Take the call. I know what you’re going to do. Rubber has already told me. Although our positions and values differ, we at least don’t hide things from each other."

Arthur answered the call and heard Rubber hurriedly say, "I’ll pick you up from the company. Danny has arrived. Get ready for the evaluation."

After hanging up, Arthur looked a bit embarrassed at Frank and said in a low voice, "I’m going to meet with Danny, but I’m not sure I’ll join the Flames of War. Besides, I might not even pass Danny’s evaluation."

Frank spread his hands and shrugged, "Good luck."