CHAPTER 1793: CHAPTER 1772: KEY FIGURE

All arms shipped from Ukraine essentially are loaded onto ships in Odessa before being sent to various corners of the world. When Grand Ivan was in control, this was the procedure, and now that Gao Yang has taken over, this is still the way it’s done.

Of course, for Gao Yang, the source of arms is not limited to just Ukraine. Russia is also a major supplier of arms. But currently, Gao Yang mainly exports arms from Ukraine unless he is left with no choice or the Ukrainian warehouses lack certain items. Then he might consider exporting from other sources.

There is a reason why the focus is on Ukrainian arms. Traditionally, Ukraine itself was Grand Ivan’s arms warehouse. All the weapons that the Ukrainian Army could use—those not listed in Ukraine’s military equipment inventory—were stored there. Grand Ivan neither could nor needed to build any warehouse himself; he would just transport them out of Ukraine’s stockpile when needed.

However, the situation is different now. With the civil war in Ukraine, the Ukrainian army naturally needs to arm itself. Weapons that Ivan could freely transport at any time are now being used by the army for fighting. The weapons stored in the warehousing have been continuously requisitioned and consumed on the battlefield.

Bullets, shells, rockets—Gao Yang doesn’t worry about these being used by the Ukrainian military, because the stockpile is enormous. Considering the scale and intensity of Ukraine’s civil war, unless it continues for tens of years, the ammunition reserved for World War III will certainly not run out.

But with cannons, tanks, and armored vehicles, Gao Yang feels a bit more distressed—even if they aren’t his own. These items have limited numbers. With Ukraine’s army logistics now exemplifying inventory consumption, every lost or damaged piece in battle doesn’t get replaced.

So now, Gao Yang must race against the Ukrainian government’s military—get the arms belonging to Grand Ivan out before they are used by the Ukrainian army. Thus, he prioritizes exporting Ukraine’s arms rather than those stored in Russia.

Ukraine now serves as the supply base for Grand Ivan’s entire arms group. Be it South America, Africa, Asia, or the Somalia supported by Gao Yang—these places have maintained a steady supply.

Grand Ivan doesn’t come out, nor do Uriyangko and Ivan. However, the arms networks in these areas haven’t been completely cut. They are still selling, just not as much and primarily rifles and ammunition, the smaller pieces.

Rifles, bullets, grenades—such small items are easy to transport. Say there’s a shipment to the Middle East: only a few thousand rifles, hundreds of thousands of bullets. No need for a dedicated large ship; just hide these among regular goods, then unload and redistribute them upon arrival at their destination.

Larger items like tanks and cannons aren’t so lucky. When larger quantities are involved, a special ship must be arranged, disguises applied, and an entire shipload of large arms transported out. This requires coordination of the checkpoints they need to pass, adding hassle and costs. Thus, Gao Yang can continuously send small arms to Somalia, but for large items, he collects a batch before shipping. With logistics always tight, some items stored temporarily in Odessa will wait for their turn to be shipped out.

All these factors have made Odessa the major transit hub for Grand Ivan’s merchandise. Everything needs to be loaded onto ships from here, and naturally, many hands are needed for operations, along with a competent manager to oversee everything.

The person Gao Yang wants to meet oversees the shipment of arms from Odessa, appointed originally by Grand Ivan and once under Andre’s management.

With Grand Ivan absent and Andre dead, the person in charge at Odessa naturally falls under Gao Yang. However, Gao Yang has only spoken to this person a few times over the phone and has never met him in person. Since he’s now in Odessa, he would take the chance to meet this key figure.

Rebrov drove while Gao Yang made calls. Though it wasn’t polite to wake someone up in the rainy dead of night to arrange a meeting, it is an entitlement of the boss, isn’t it?

"Kanchelskis, hello, I’m Peter. I’m here in Odessa for some errands and have the time for us to meet."

Upon hearing Gao Yang’s voice, Kanchelskis was noticeably nervous. He smiled awkwardly and said softly, "Peter, what brings you here in this weather? Where are you? I’ll come see you right away."

Gao Yang smiled and said, "I’m almost at the port. You pick a place, and I’ll come over. It’s no problem."

"No, no, I’ll come see you. Just tell me the place, and I’ll be on my way. I’m stepping out now!"

Gao Yang glanced around and laughed, "Okay then, let’s meet at the gate leading to the docks. I’m in a blue car. Give me a call when you’re close."

Kanchelskis turned out to be quite reliable, and his work had always been good—a given considering Grand Ivan and Andre wouldn’t have placed him in such a crucial position otherwise.

After waiting a good ten minutes, a car sped up, but it didn’t pull directly beside Gao Yang’s car. Instead, it stopped about two hundred meters away, where a person got out from the rear door and ran towards Gao Yang holding an umbrella.

A man in his forties, dressed in a neat suit, looking quite agile yet appeared in a rush. He arrived with his trousers wet from the puddles on the ground.

Gao Yang had already gotten out of the car early, watching the man approach and smiling, "No need to run, brother. We’re not in a hurry."

Stopping in front of Gao Yang, the man casually tossed the umbrella aside and gave Gao Yang a once-over, then somewhat hesitantly said, "You, you are Peter?"

Gao Yang smiled and replied, "That’s right, I’m Peter. First time meeting, how are you, brother?"

Upon hearing Gao Yang’s voice, Kanchelskis visibly relaxed after Gao Yang proactively opened his arms for a hug and cheek-to-cheek embrace, muttering, "Sorry, I should have been the one to welcome you. I didn’t expect you’d come over at this late hour."

Rebrov handed over an umbrella and placed it over Gao Yang’s head. Gao Yang pushed the umbrella aside, smiled, and said, "No need."

Rejecting the umbrella, Gao Yang smiled at Kanchelskis and said, "I’m here for a small matter today. Having some time after handling it, I thought to check on things here and apologize for disrupting your dreams."