These muscular men.
No, they should be collectively called UBCS. They had already begun to take shape as Umbrella Private Force.
At that moment, William gestured toward the old, burly man beside him and introduced him:
"Andre Kapushkin Ostrovsky. He was the one who gathered you together and made you Umbrella employees.
"You will address him as Colonel.
"And regardless of what military or police rank you held before, from this moment on, you are all privates.
"Based on the operations and missions you participate in later, you will be evaluated for promotion.
"Every promotion will increase your base salary and benefits.
"There will definitely be more employees joining in the future, and you will be their sergeants, lieutenants, and captains!"
Hearing the wonderful future William had painted for them, the UBCS members were no longer so lost.
Some of them even felt fortunate to have signed a "deed of indenture" with the company.
Whatever unknown creatures or phenomena there were, to hell with all of them.
Without realizing it, these soldiers seemed to have accepted the supernatural phenomena William had described.
"Boss, and Colonel." Another UBCS member raised his hand and asked:
"Since we're the company's private force, what about our weapons and equipment? We can't exactly fight those unknown creatures with our bare hands."
"Hmm, good question." William did not hurry to answer them. Instead, he said calmly:
"Put on your uniforms first. Judging by the time, they should be here soon."
With that, William walked out of the conference room, leaving the confused group behind.
Andre puffed out his chest, his beard seeming ready to explode. Poking himself in the chest, he roared at the bewildered soldiers seated there:
"What are you standing around like idiots for? You heard what the boss said! From now on, you're all my soldiers!
"So get the hell out of here and collect your uniforms! Move!"
!
Andre's roar startled every UBCS member into action. They instinctively stood up, saluted, and shouted:
"Yes, Colonel!"
William went outside and sat in a chair beneath a sun umbrella, quietly watching Andre assemble the UBCS members, who had already changed into their uniforms.
Actually, not long after the permit had been issued, he had contacted ImpactGuns, one of the largest firearms websites in the United States.
Relying on the not-so-advanced but still usable internet, he had placed an order.
The purchased items were as follows (excluding tax):
1. Barrett M82A1/Barrett M82A1.
Caliber: .50 BMG.
Unit price: 7,620 USD.
Quantity: 20 rifles.
2. Light machine gun/FN M249S Para.
Caliber
Unit price: 9,022 USD.
Quantity: 20 rifles.
3. Rifle/HK416 Rifle.
Caliber
Unit price: 2,970 USD.
Quantity: 140 rifles.
4. Submachine gun/HK MP5.
Caliber: 9mm.
Unit price: 2,400 USD.
Quantity: 140 submachine guns.
5. Pistol/Glock 17.
Caliber: 9mm.
Unit price: 500 USD.
Quantity: 140 pistols.
6. Shotgun/Benelli M4.
Caliber: Various shotgun shells.
Unit price: 1,900.
Quantity: 50 shotguns.
And so on.
William had purchased enough weapons from ImpactGuns to arm several hundred people, along with huge quantities of ammunition.
After all, the UBCS and USS would spend most of their time idle at this camp.
They needed to train and maintain a high level of combat readiness, which meant consuming weapons and ammunition.
William had originally hoped to make the standard rifles for the UBCS and USS the SCAR or ACR, but both weapons would not be unveiled until 2007.
However, the HK416, produced by Heckler & Koch in Germany in 2005, was also an excellent rifle and could be modified in various ways.
The classic MP5 submachine guns had been purchased to deal with indoor combat and narrow spaces.
He had also purchased two hundred sets of Level IV Body Armor Plates and Tactical Belts from the firearms website, at a unit price of five hundred dollars per set.
There were also four hundred FAST Tactical Helmets and Kevlar Helmets, as well as two hundred PVS-15 dual-tube night-vision goggles costing twelve thousand dollars each.
And two hundred Gas Masks, along with various accessories for the firearms, such as holographic sights, red-dot sights, Underbarrel Grenade Launchers, and so on.
Including all kinds of ammunition, the order totaled twelve million dollars. Eight million went toward firearms and equipment, while the rest was for ammunition.
At this point, William had also realized that every shot a soldier fired was essentially burning money.
But William did not feel bad about it.
He intended to provide the UBCS and USS with the best weapons available to deal with threats of every kind.
If money could buy lives, then this deal was absolutely worthwhile.
Umbrella had purchased such a large quantity of weapons. Wouldn't the government of Nova Scotia notice?
The government, of course, knew.
The tax exemption mentioned earlier now came into play.
No matter where the goods were purchased, once they were shipped into Nova Scotia, Canada, they would normally require a fifteen-percent tax payment.
That was right.
If more than twelve million dollars' worth of weapons were transported through the port to Halifax City, the tax paid to the provincial government alone would amount to 1.8 million dollars.
The government knew that Umbrella had a license to operate private contractors and was practically eager for them to purchase more weapons.
Moreover, William's charitable donations and construction funding assistance during this period had earned him a great deal of goodwill from Halifax City and even the entire province of Nova Scotia.
So they had no intention of making things difficult for William.
"However." William looked toward the UBCS members being lectured by Andre and muttered to himself:
"I still need to build my own arms factory."
He had once considered acquiring a large arms company. His favorite candidate had been Lockheed Martin.
But after looking at its market capitalization of more than one hundred billion dollars, he had temporarily abandoned the idea.
He would complete the recruitment mission first, obtain the fifty billion in authority, and then see what the system had to say.
"Beep! Beep!"
The horn of a heavy truck suddenly sounded at the camp's entrance.
In an instant, everyone's attention was drawn toward it.
The barrier blocking the two heavy trucks slowly rose under the control of the African security guard inside the security booth, allowing the trucks to drive smoothly into the camp.
Finally, the trucks stopped in the open space in front of the barracks.
Seeing this, Andre shouted, "You little punks! Your weapons and equipment are here! Get over here and unload them!"
"Yes, Colonel!"
The existing UBCS members quickly carried crate after crate of weapons down from the heavy trucks.
William took the opportunity to sign for the order with the truck drivers.
After the two trucks had finished unloading and left the camp, William stood before the one hundred and twenty UBCS members again and said:
"Everyone!
"You are now wearing the uniforms of the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service, abbreviated as UBCS.
"The UBCS will be one of Umbrella's most basic forces.
"However, where there is a foundation, there will also be special forces. I need to select the twenty most elite among you and assign them to the Umbrella Security Service...
"Abbreviated as USS."
As he spoke, William took a crowbar from Andre and pried open the dark-green wooden crate.
Pointing at the weapons inside, he shouted, "Now pick up a gun and take a shooting test, followed by a physical fitness test, and finally, mixed martial arts!
"The top twenty will enter the USS directly and receive better pay and treatment!"
Before you continue