Many children bring happiness, a shameless start

The next morning, after breakfast, Lip and Jessica set off to Hongmen's gun shop in Chinatown.

The first time they walked into the shop, a burly Longguo uncle saluted Jessica with a ninety-degree bow. "Hello, madam!"

"Hello, Uncle Asang!" Jessica smiled and bowed slightly. "This is my boyfriend, Philip Gallagher."

"Hello!" Asang bowed again.

"Lip, this was my bodyguard from when I was born until I turned 18. He's super awesome. You definitely couldn't have matched him when you were younger. He's a Khampa man." Jessica introduced Lip.

Lip returned the bow with a ninety-degree tilt. "Hello, Uncle Asang!"

"Lip, your Chinese is really impressive—just like how we dragon people say it!" Asang praised with a smile.

Lip could feel a hint of danger from this burly, rough, yet gentle man.

"Madam, everything is ready. Please come with me."

Lip and Jessica followed Asang through the winding alleys to a warehouse.

Lip noticed the door was specially made—ordinary bombs or small-yield TNT wouldn't be able to open it.

"Buzz~" The heavy iron door let out a low roar as it opened.

Jessica followed Asang, and Lip followed her.

After walking a few more minutes, they arrived at a smaller warehouse inside the larger one.

Asang opened the rolling shutter door.

Lip was shocked.

The upper half of the left wall was lined with three rows of 30 M16576A4 rifles, while the lower half held three rows of 30 M4A1 carbines.

The upper half of the right wall had a row of 10 Ingram M10 submachine guns, also known as MAC-10s.

Below them, there was a row of 10 Uzi submachine guns, as well as a collection of pistols—Glock, Beretta, Colt, and many others.

"Uncle Asang, what's in the boxes on the ground?" Lip asked, looking at the stacked boxes.

Asang didn't answer immediately, but opened one of the boxes.

Lip was dazzled by the shiny golden objects inside—bullets.

Asang opened another box and said, "Here are grenades. If you need, there are Gatling guns, Barrett rifles, Javelins next door, plus smoke bombs, flash bombs, tear gas... we've got everything."

"Wow!" Lip walked over to the firearms and started examining them.

"Uncle Asang, I want two of each of the top ten best-selling pistols, and three magazines plus 100 rounds of ammunition for each pistol," Lip said, smiling.

"Okay. But, Lip, why do you want so many brands?" Asang asked curiously.

"Such a mishmash of bullets looks more like a small gang than a unified armed organization."

"That's it, I'll take care of it right away."

"Uncle Asang, don't worry, I haven't finished listing my needs yet." Lip smiled.

"Haha, what else do you need?"

"Two M16A4 rifles, two M4A1 carbines, two UZIs, and two MAC-10s. Each gun should also have three magazines and 300 rounds of ammunition."

"Need anything else?"

"Give me 20 grenades, smoke bombs, and so on!"

Lip paused for a moment, then continued, "Uncle Asang, do you have body armor, helmets, and night vision goggles?"

"Yes! How many do you need?"

"Give me 20 sets."

"My God! Are you planning to form a mercenary army?" Jessica was stunned.

"Jessica, there's a saying—better to be prepared. This equipment might come in handy in less than a week, and I'm planning to start a security company. These can also be fixed assets for the company," Lip explained.

"All right."

"Uncle Asang, can you please calculate the total cost?" Lip asked.

Asang tapped on the calculator for a while and said, "Lip, I'll charge you a total of $10,000."

"Uncle Asang, isn't that too cheap?"

Lip was surprised by the price.

"Most of these are smuggled arms, so the cost is low. Plus, since you're buying so much and you came with the young lady, we're giving you the lowest discount."

"Uh... thank you, Uncle Asang!" Lip bowed again.

"You're welcome, Lip. Would you like to pick up the goods yourself, or should we deliver them to your door?"

"Uncle Asang, let me take your phone number! I'll definitely be back to buy more in the future, but for now, I may need you to deliver the goods to the South District."

"South District?" Asang frowned.

"Yes, is there a problem?"

"If it's the South District, I might have to deliver in multiple batches," Asang explained.

"Why?"

"Five or six years ago, we were tricked into delivering goods there. Three boxes of 9,000 rounds of 9mm pistol ammo were robbed, and we still haven't figured out who did it."

Asang smiled awkwardly.

"Well, Uncle Asang, please prepare a truck for today's goods. I'll come back in the afternoon to pay and bring someone to drive and personally escort the delivery."

"This is best," Asang said with relief.

"Thank you, Uncle Asang. We'll leave first."

"Walk slowly, Miss, Lip."

After bidding goodbye, Lip and Jessica made their way back to the Hummer.

"Lip, the water in your South District is really deep. You must be more cautious when dealing with the Wild Dog Gang this time. Don't take it lightly," Jessica warned, concerned.

"Don't worry. I never underestimate any opponent." Lip's tone was calm and firm. "And I probably know who stole the 9,000 rounds of ammo."

"Who?" Jessica turned to Lip, intrigued.

"G-Dog!"

"Ah? Him?"

"Back then, there were many small gangs in the South District, none of them obeying each other. G-Dog was just the leader of one of those gangs," Lip recalled. "But in late August one year, he took a group of armed men to bloodbath several smaller gangs around his base and suddenly became the most powerful force."

"What year?"

"2001, the year of 9/11. Before 9/11, there were gunfights every day in the South District."

Lip thought for a moment and added, "After 9/11, the U.S. government called for counter-terrorism measures, and Chicago ramped up its high-pressure management of the South District. Without that operation, G-Dog would never have risen to power."

"That must be him! Because, when Uncle Asang was delivering bullets to a security company in mid-July 2001, someone punctured his tire halfway, causing the whole shipment to go missing," Jessica explained. "You guys in the South Side are really scary. Even Uncle Asang, who's worked as a mercenary and top-notch bodyguard, was impressed."

"It's okay, this time I'll settle all the old and new scores with him at once!"

"Lip, you really need to be cautious. Don't think you can just walk away after buying a small arsenal of firearms and equipment."

"Thanks for reminding me, my wife. I'll definitely keep that in mind."

"You! I just like to talk too much!" Jessica grabbed Lip's hand and touched her belly.

"Silly wife, it takes four to five months for pregnancy to show!" Lip teased.

"Hehe, I know, I just wanted you to feel our baby first."

Lip looked at Jessica and her belly, smiling naively, feeling incredibly happy inside.

"Wife, may I be kind to you?"

"Of course."

Jessica was momentarily stunned, but then she understood that Lip was concerned about her and her sisters' safety, wanting to avoid unnecessary worries.

Jessica held Lip's hand and gazed at him meaningfully.

Lip knew exactly what Jessica was thinking.

But he wasn't worried about himself at all.

After all, he was a man of honor.