The Richer You Are, The More You Borrow. What Do The Richest People Borrow?

Vector was a field agent for the Spear Bureau. During her pre-employment intelligence training, she had been taught that communication was an essential skill for any field operative. Yet, even after reviewing the entire training curriculum from start to finish and mentally rehearsing the conversational techniques taught by her instructors, she still couldn't figure out how to continue chatting with Xiang Qian about the topic of "whether or not one should pay for their own toilet paper."

Unlike Vector, who was racking her brains for a way to strike up a conversation, Xiang Qian didn't put much thought into the rather beautiful female agent beside him. At that moment, he was more concerned with how to effectively monitor the blockade line ahead in real-time. Facing a situation that could change at any moment, any response required sufficient intelligence support.

The intelligence support provided by the Spear Bureau during the joint operation was primarily focused on the Ten Rings organization, and the intelligence and reconnaissance forces under the control of the joint command were similarly directed outward rather than inward. Hashimov and his subordinates, however, were part of the allied sequence and fell into a blind spot for monitoring. The ground-penetrating drones did have surveillance cameras, but the ground-penetrating radar was already integrated into the command system, ready to guide bunker-buster bombs at any moment; it was impossible to divert them to monitor an irrelevant perimeter sector.

To carry out effective surveillance without alerting the other party, Xiang Qian had to establish a monitoring force independent of the command center. But the biggest problem at the moment was that time was too tight.

Xiang Qian considered several plans, only to reject them all because there wasn't enough time. Finally, he pulled out his phone, prepared to seek external help.

"Hey, battlefield regulations prohibit private communications." Vector instinctively tried to stop him.

Xiang Qian pointed disdainfully at the officers not far away. "Do you think they care about these regulations? Nobody even asked me to hand over my communication devices when I came in."

Watching Xiang Qian dial a number as if it were nothing, and seeing that not a single person in the command center raised an objection—even the staff officer in charge of electronic communication security turned a blind eye—Vector couldn't help but roll her eyes. The Russian-style military had a rough, unrefined style; to outsiders, they were known for daring to fight in desperate situations and never yielding, but when they had the upper hand, their carelessness and sloppiness were also chronic, long-standing flaws.

"Hey, Tony, it's me." Xiang Qian's call had connected. The sound from the earpiece was very faint, and Vector couldn't hear it at all; she could only hear Xiang Qian rambling and boasting in English—fortunately, she understood it.

"Of course I know it's midnight in Los Angeles right now. Isn't that exactly when your exciting life begins?"

"What, a cover girl for Maxim Magazine? I don't have the time, my schedule is packed. Yes, yes, you're leading four to zero, I concede, alright? You know I have a lot to do this year, especially that experiment a month from now—the whole world is watching! You'd better be careful; while you're sleeping with cover girls, you might just lose your spot as the richest man."

"Lagging behind by six years? No, no, no, it's different now, Tony. What you had six years ago, we didn't. A month from now, we'll have what you have. How about we make a bet on whose reactor will be the first to be put into practical use?"

"Birthday? I would have forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it. Looks like there won't be a celebration; it's too close to the experiment date. Your birthday? That might still be doable, who knows? I can't guarantee it."

"Aha, what did you say? Buddy, do you have some kind of misunderstanding? Whether your birthday party is grand and magnificent doesn't depend on you, it depends on Pepper."

"Admit it, your daily life is completely in Pepper's hands; you can't live without her. I think having a woman like that taking care of you is the greatest luck of your life. She practically feeds you by hand."

"Back to business, I've run into some trouble. Lend me a low-earth orbit reconnaissance satellite. I'll send you the coordinates right now. Time... six hours. I need it now, the sooner the better. Send the authorization code to this phone... Great, I'll definitely order you a big cake for your birthday."

"What, no cake? You want to meet the Victoria's Secret model representing the China region this year? Buddy, you're late. I already asked her out last month? How long? That was a month ago, we broke up quite amicably... Oh, I've received the satellite signal. That's all for now, bye!"

Xiang Qian hung up the phone and picked up his tablet. A signal from an outer space altitude of over a thousand kilometers connected to the computer. As Xiang Qian issued commands, the satellite's camera pointed precisely at a ground coordinate. Soon, a real-time video feed appeared on the screen, shot from a near-overhead angle. The footage showed a makeshift field camp of an armed force consisting of hundreds of people.

The resolution of the video wasn't high, but it was enough to distinguish the personnel, vehicles, equipment, road blockade facilities, and sentry posts. Without a doubt, it was the sector controlled by the Kuliya armed police commanded by Hashimov.

Everything was ready! Xiang Qian glanced at his watch. The satellite would be in orbit over this area for about six hours. According to the plan, the bunker-buster bombs being transported from the rear by the joint command would arrive in at most four hours. If Hashimov and Temugin were going to do something, they had to act within those four hours—there was plenty of time. Xiang Qian relaxed, like a predator resting before a hunt.

"You've been staring at me for at least ten minutes again. This is the second time, Comrade Vector." Xiang Qian spoke suddenly, nearly startling her.

From the moment Xiang Qian made the call, the look of astonishment on Vector's face hadn't faded. She felt she had lost her composure more times today than in the past twenty years combined. "Who... who were you just talking to?"

"It seems stuttering doesn't prevent one from joining the special forces." Xiang Qian's remark made Vector blush with embarrassment. "As an agent, if you've been listening for this long and still can't identify the person on the other end, it only proves you cheated on your entrance exam."

Vector was nearly driven mad: Could he not speak properly? Could he?!

"That person... was that Tony Stark, the richest man in the world?" Even though Vector was one hundred percent certain of her judgment, she still spoke with an air of disbelief. She found it hard to imagine that someone right beside her could casually dial the private number of the world's richest man, and even harder to imagine that someone at the very top of the social hierarchy would chat and joke so freely.

Of course, what Vector found most unimaginable was the favor Xiang Qian had asked for. "You just borrowed a satellite with a single phone call?" She had heard of borrowing money, cars, or houses, but never a satellite—especially not between private individuals.

Vector only needed one look at the real-time surveillance footage on the screen to know the technological level of the satellite. Not to mention the strategic significance and military value of such a satellite, the cost alone would be impossible to cover without hundreds of millions in funding. If you added the launch costs, it was an astronomical figure that Vector couldn't earn in ten lifetimes—and Xiang Qian had borrowed it with a single phone call?

Xiang Qian looked at Vector with a puzzled expression. "My relationship with Tony Stark isn't exactly a secret, is it? Everyone in the world knows that."

But does the whole world know you can borrow a top-of-the-line reconnaissance satellite with just one sentence? Vector muttered to herself.

Xiang Qian didn't care about Vector's internal monologue. He tapped the screen with satisfaction and praised, "I have to say, just in terms of satellite signal transmission and image generation technology, Stark Industries is leading the world. We can't reach this level domestically yet."