Chapter 1909 - 1412: Hidden Tricks in the Inventory Procedure

At seven-thirty the next morning, Song Heping's team had already gathered in the warehouse area.

Dozens of mercenaries were divided into six groups, each group accompanied by two US Army soldiers.

Jiang Feng was responsible for overall coordination, while Song Heping patrolled between the groups.

At eight o'clock sharp, the door of the first warehouse opened slowly.

Unlike the sampling inspection at Taji Camp, here a comprehensive inventory was required.

Every gun, every component, and every bullet had to have its serial number verified, condition checked, and recorded.

The first group entered the warehouse and began work.

Song Heping stood at the door observing.

The interior of the warehouse was spacious and bright, with shelves neatly arranged and detailed labels on each shelf.

Everything seemed very legitimate, very professional.

But problems emerged in the first hour.

"Boss, come over here."

The leader of the second group called through the walkie-talkie.

When Song Heping arrived, the leader was pointing at a batch of M4 carbines: "The list says M4A1s produced in 2016, but in fact, they're standard models from 2014. The quantity is also wrong, missing one hundred and twenty pieces."

Jiang Feng was already holding a list, verifying: "The serial number range doesn't match. This batch of guns should be from Lockheed Martin's third batch in 2016, but the actual serial numbers show they are products of Colt Company from 2014."

The US Army soldier responsible for supervision was a young black corporal, looking somewhat nervous: "Maybe it's a registration error, I'll go call the sergeant."

A few minutes later, a sergeant in his forties came over.

He looked at the situation, his expression calm: "Oh, this. The 2016 batch was allocated to Afghan last year, replaced temporarily with old stock. The documents might not have been updated."

"Where's the allocation document?" Song Heping asked.

The price difference between the two models could be completely different.

"It needs to be checked at the administrative office," said the sergeant, "It probably won't be available today; the civilian officer responsible for the archives is attending a meeting in Baghdad."

"Then why is there a shortage of more than a hundred guns?"

The sergeant shrugged: "Maybe it's an inventory error, maybe it's training loss. You know, these things happen often."

Jiang Feng was about to explode, but Song Heping raised his hand to stop him.

"Reevaluate this batch according to the actual model and quantity, the price difference will be deducted from the total price," Song Heping said to the sergeant: "Is that acceptable?"

The sergeant hesitated, clearly surprised by such straightforwardness: "Of course... it's acceptable. I'll note it in the report."

As they left this area, Jiang Feng spoke in a low voice: "This is obviously a substitution! New guns swapped for old ones, those missing twelve pieces must have been sold!"

"I know," Song Heping said calmly.

"And we're just going to let it go?"

"Now is not the time to pursue it," Song Heping glanced at Lieutenant Colonel Swift in the distance, who was whispering with Major Walker: "Remember last night's words? In this system, trying to stay clean will only make you an enemy."

"But—"

"No buts," Song Heping paused: "Jiang Feng, our top priority right now is to get the goods and transport the goods. Every minute of delay increases the risk. The remnants of 1515, other militia groups, the opposition from the Illigo Government... everyone is watching this batch. We must transfer it as quickly as possible and transport it back to Mosul."

"Are we just letting them steal like this?"

"It's not stealing, it's 'systemic loss,'" Song Heping said mockingly: "Everyone knows, everyone participates, so no one will expose it, thus it's not called stealing. This is why the US Army can maintain operations under this system for decades. Not because it's efficient, but because it allows every level to profit. Workers on the production line, procurement officers, warehouse managers, transport contractors, even front-line soldiers. Everyone takes a bit, and the system can continue to run."

Jiang Feng was silent.

He too was from a military background, accustomed to orders and obedience, clear rules and boundaries.

This gray, fuzzy, universally tacit corruption made him uncomfortable.

"Go prepare the 'gifts,'" Song Heping continued: "Swift, Walker, Johnson, Miller, the three contractor representatives, and every key personnel present today. The amount is allocated by rank, but everyone should get a share."

"Are you involved in bribery too?" Jiang Feng was incredulous.

"No, this is a 'coordination fee', 'thanksgiving fee', or 'expedited processing fee,'" Song Heping corrected: "In this game, language is very important. We don't say bribery; we say cooperation. We don't say corruption; we say efficiency. Understand?"

Jiang Feng took a deep breath and finally nodded: "Understood."

The inventory work continued.

As they delved into various warehouses, similar issues kept cropping up:

Ammunition depot: The list marked thirty thousand rounds of .50-caliber machine gun ammunition, but there were only twenty-five thousand rounds.

The missing five thousand rounds were recorded as "training consumption" on warehouse records, but the training log dates to three years ago.

Night vision device warehouse: One hundred and fifty sets of AN/PVS-14 monocular night vision devices, with thirty sets "missing."

The contractor explained it as "removed during a security check," but the removed night vision devices weren't stored in the same warehouse.

Communications equipment depot: Four hundred fifty AN/PRC-152 handheld radios, with fifty-five missing encryption modules.

The document marked them as "stored separately," but no storage location was recorded.

Medical supplies depot: Morphine injectors, antibiotics, surgical instruments...

These high-value civilian market items had a discrepancy rate of thirty percent compared to the inventory list.

Every time a problem was discovered, the US Army's explanations remained uniform.

Registration error, inventory error, training loss, stored separately.