Fatal Strike: Mercenary Road of Gunfire Ranger
Chapter 127 Professional Vision

Chapter 127: Chapter 127 Professional Vision

Mountain Eagle was indeed stunned; he couldn’t have imagined that such a service could exist in the world.

What kind of person could come up with such a business?

The Weapon Bank supported remote withdrawal, which certainly did not mean transporting the guns stored in Pattaya to other places, because that would be too costly. It must mean providing you with weapons of the same model.

Just from this, Mountain Eagle understood that the main customers of the Weapon Bank were mercenaries...

With such an extremely convenient service of remote deposit and withdrawal, they provided great convenience to those mercenaries with fewer connections.

For example, if you wanted to go to the Middle East for a temporary job during the summer break from college, you definitely couldn’t bring weapons on a commercial flight.

Then you could choose the Weapon Bank, purchase the weapons you wanted to use in a safe place, deposit them there, and withdraw them at the bank’s branch when you arrive at the destination.

What a brilliant idea!

They attracted customers with advanced business models, sold the weapons once, and still had the weapons in the hands of the Weapon Bank, who could resell them multiple times.

As long as they maintained enough stock to handle a bank run, they could sell a gun as many times as they wanted.

Moreover, there was no concept of inheritance with these things; after a mercenary’s death, those deposits left in the Weapon Bank were confiscated.

Bianca obviously saw Mountain Eagle’s curiosity; she linked her arm through his and, picking up a walkie-talkie, directed a person on TV pushing a supermarket cart and wearing a camera to start wandering around the weapons supermarket...

The person responsible for selecting merchandise occasionally picked up various weapons and showcased them in front of the camera according to Bianca’s instructions.

Noticing that Mountain Eagle seemed somewhat distracted, Bianca laughed and asked, "Is there something you don’t understand?"

Mountain Eagle nodded and said, "I really don’t understand some things; guns are different. You might be able to guarantee the same model for remote deposits, but there is a big difference between new and used guns in performance and safety.

How do you ensure that the weapons your customers get are the same as what they’re used to?"

Bianca was caught off guard by the question Mountain Eagle asked from a business perspective, but a few seconds later, the beautiful girl laughed heartily and said, "You’re so adorable..."

Eddie at the side took a sip of his drink and said, "Mountain Eagle, the Weapon Bank can only guarantee the functionality is fine and that the condition is close to new. They won’t accept weapons when their lifespan is almost up.

And do you think those guys who make a few thousand dollars a month, or ten to twenty thousand dollars per mission, have any right to be picky?"

Bianca glanced at Eddie with disdain and said, "Shut up, you idiot who only thinks with the lower half of your body. What Blood Fox’s apprentice wants to know is how we rely on the Weapon Bank to make profits."

Saying that, Bianca’s eyes flickered as she looked at Mountain Eagle and said, "You’re very different from these rough people...

So I think you should understand our business scope in detail; I even think you could join our ranks..."

Mountain Eagle replied in surprise, "You even offer franchise opportunities?"

Bianca nodded with a smile and then elaborated on the Weapon Bank’s operation model, which left Mountain Eagle wide-eyed.

In theory, the role of a bank is to "pool resources" to achieve big things, that is, to concentrate scattered funds and profit through lending and investing, while paying interest on deposits.

The Weapon Bank is somewhat different because the nature of weaponry means that the ’deposits’ mercenaries leave in the Weapon Bank are, in essence, at a negative interest rate...

That is, by storing guns there and paying a fee for every remote withdrawal, plus an annual custody fee and firearm wear and tear, these guns are constantly depreciating.

This was why Mountain Eagle questioned the profitability of the ’Weapon Bank,’ because such a practice would naturally lead to a decline in arms sales, which seems counterproductive.

What Mountain Eagle did not expect was that the core business of the ’Weapon Bank’ was not actually weapon sales but rather ammunition supply, weapon loans, and, most importantly, customer acquisition at the front end.

Those penniless mercenaries were not their core customers; their role was to maintain the basic operation of the Weapon Bank by paying fees while alive and handing over their weapons upon death.

The core customers were the middle to high-end mercenaries or assassins, and some people with special needs.

In almost all businesses in the world, the most important point is ’customer acquisition.’ As long as there are loyal customers, there will be many businesses that can be carried out.

For example, the money laundering service of the Great Russian Mafia...

Mercenaries without their own safe money laundering channels could deposit their earnings in the Weapon Bank. The bank would charge a 35% fee and then, through a series of operations, transfer clean money into a designated account.

The Weapon Bank itself was profitable, and then through a stable and loyal customer base, they ’collected rent’ from other industries, that is, they collected brokerage fees.

This was just like the once-popular social commerce model, where one person could sell facial masks and build up 20 chat groups with 2000 members each, and then she could earn even more every month by promoting other products.

To put it bluntly, this is the value of traffic, which by filtering users, concentrates a bunch of like-minded individuals to create an influencer, who then generates immense commercial value.

Weapon Bank has a very high reputation within certain groups; they are the quintessential industry influencers, and their recommended products are readily accepted by many mercenaries.

At the same time, they can also gauge the capabilities of mercenaries based on their weapon withdrawals, serving as either a reservoir for personnel intelligence or moonlighting as a mercenary broker; both are good business.

Just as the membership lists of all golf clubs are gold mines, so too are the customer lists of Weapon Bank.

The person who came up with ’Weapon Bank’ is a genius, but after being enlightened by an accountant, Mountain Eagle realized clearly that ’Weapon Bank’ was only mid-tier in the underground food chain, far from the upper echelons.

Because they are separated by a layer or even two from the money!

No matter if aboveground or underground, making money with money or with power is what’s at the top of the food chain.

Once Mountain Eagle understood the operating model of Weapon Bank, his admiration for it diminished significantly.

The so-called Weapon Bank is indeed convenient, but fundamentally, it’s just a gimmick, a front-end network built for customer acquisition.

And this network also faces competition from weapons dealers everywhere, which is why it needs to parasitize on the formidable Great Russian Mafia.

For Mountain Eagle, who possesses the Sergeant System, the services of Weapon Bank aren’t very significant except for masking the source of weapons.

Even with such a benefit, Mountain Eagle is reluctant to pay ten thousand dollars to become a premium member.

Mountain Eagle’s change in mood didn’t escape anyone’s notice. Bianca, seeing Mountain Eagle’s waning interest, said with a smile, "Blood Fox said you are a special young man, and at first, I thought Blood Fox was exaggerating. But now I’ve changed my mind."

Bianca moved a step sideways, adopting a very professional attitude, and suggested, "You have a lot of time to think about it. I would personally advise you to prepare a bit more thoroughly, otherwise, it might be troublesome to try and acquire more once you arrive in Moscow."

When Mountain Eagle saw through the working model of Weapon Bank and began to think like a businessman, he became at ease...

Facing Bianca’s recommendation, Mountain Eagle shook his head with a smile and said to Eddie, "I still need to buy two guns, but I can’t accept the lack of a transfer feature in the bank..."

Eddie was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly swore as his face turned ugly, and looking at Bianca with the same unpleasant expression, said, "FUCK, Blood Fox the bastard has won another ten thousand dollars from us, where did we go wrong?"

Eddie, clutching Mountain Eagle’s clothes, frustratedly asked, "Did Blood Fox tell you beforehand?"

Mountain Eagle spread his hands with an innocent look, saying, "I have no idea what you’re talking about?"

Eddie stared into Mountain Eagle’s eyes for a long while before finally letting go dispiritedly, and said to Bianca, "Help me transfer ten thousand dollars to Blood Fox, FUCK, where did we go wrong..."

Bianca, with a shrug, said, "Maybe this kid is just like Blood Fox said, a genius!"

Then, looking at the puzzled Mountain Eagle, Bianca smiled and said, "Don’t be nervous, we bet with Blood Fox whether or not you would become a member of Weapon Bank.

But he said you would see through Weapon Bank’s true nature at a glance and turn us down.

Can you tell me where I went wrong?"

Mountain Eagle suddenly raised his middle finger at Eddie, realizing this guy had dragged him all the way here because of a bet with Blood Fox.

Looking at the displeased Eddie, Mountain Eagle said with a smile, "It’s not your fault, in actuality, Weapon Bank’s services are quite attractive to me.

But Blood Fox knows my situation, and he must be clear that I don’t have ten thousand dollars...

And since Blood Fox is the boss for the Moscow mission, it makes no sense that I should help out and spend ten thousand dollars to rush into becoming a member."

Bianca suddenly smiled with realization, exchanged a glance with Eddie, and then pulled out a dark red card from her chest and handed it to Mountain Eagle...

"This is what Blood Fox asked me to give you; it has a ten thousand dollar limit. With this card and the phone number on it, you can withdraw any weapons you need from Weapon Bank anywhere.

Of course, you can’t exceed the ten thousand dollar limit."

With that, Bianca extended her hand to Mountain Eagle and said, "Let’s get acquainted again, Kursowa Bianca, daughter of David Bianca, descendant of Arctic Fox, and the manager of Pattaya Weapon Bank..."

Mountain Eagle paused as he shook hands, and then it dawned on him why he had felt something was off before—Weapon Bank can not only deposit guns but can also deposit money and then withdraw weapons from another location.

That’s more like a real ’bank’!

Seeing Bianca suddenly turn friendly, Mountain Eagle said with a smile, "Pleased to meet you, I really didn’t expect..."