Chapter 760 Leaving Necker Island
Branson's gift for Xiao Peng was a gun. A custom-made Walther P99 pistol. The entire pistol was gold-plated, giving it a beautiful, radiant glow. It came in a beautifully packaged box, complete with a pouch and two spare magazines.
However, although this thing looks good, its actual value is not very high.
Branson Island boasts a fantastic shooting range, popular with local visitors. So, the sociable Branson contacted Carl-Walter Sporting Guns GmbH in Germany to order a batch of Walter P99 pistols specifically for gifting. Inspired by his favorite movie, Face/Off, he also decorated the pistols with gold plating and engraving, creating a strikingly beautiful look. While beautiful, the price isn't particularly high, costing under €10,000. Yet, the gift has been incredibly well-received.
Even though Xiao Peng had given him quite a rough time when he came here, he had to admit that Xiao Peng was a good client. As he said, if all his clients were as generous as Xiao Peng, he would have been the richest man in the world long ago. So he still wanted to maintain a good relationship with Xiao Peng, and so he helped Xiao Peng deal with the police issues here, and also prepared a parting gift for Xiao Peng: a P99 pistol like this one.
"Branson, thank you. This is a man's gift!" Xiao Peng took the gun in his hand and tried it out before handing it to Walter. To be honest, he didn't really like this gift. For him, the purpose of a gun was mostly to scare people. His fists were much more useful than guns!
Walter took the gun and measured it: "9mm caliber P99. Good gun!"
Xiao Peng gave him the middle finger: "In your eyes, you Germans are nothing less than us! How is this gun any more powerful than a .45?"
A .45 caliber pistol has a caliber of 0.45 inches, which is 11.43 mm in metric terms. It is known for its powerful firepower. The famous Desert Eagle is a .45 caliber pistol.
Branson was a shrewd man. He could tell that Xiao Peng didn't really like his gift. Of course, he also knew that Xiao Peng didn't like the gun not because of its value, but because it was of little use to him.
But after all, this was a gift from himself, so he said with a smile: "Xiao, you can't judge the quality of a pistol by its caliber. Let me tell you, even though .45 caliber pistols appear all the time in movies, not many people use them in real life! The .45 caliber appears in movies because they are larger and have a better visual effect. When John Woo's Hong Kong movies were released, every bastard on the street wanted a .45 caliber pistol. No, they didn't want one! They wanted two! Because they all wanted to be Yun Fat Chow. But those Hong Kong movies don't tell you that the .45 has serious jamming problems, while the 9mm caliber pistol has no jamming problems at all! But you can't tell this to those cool gun enthusiasts. They just want the .45. Yun Fat Chow uses the .45, so they have to use the .45! But pistols are used for self-defense after all, so reliability is the most important thing, right?"
Xiao Peng laughed after hearing this. "You're right! After all, I don't know much about firearms. Your explanation has really opened my eyes."
The two English names Branson mentioned earlier actually refer to John Woo and Chow Yun-fat. If you were to ask Western gun dealers who their favorite people are, they would definitely be John Woo and Chow Yun-fat.
While some Chinese people often mock John Woo for his lack of talent and his numerous botched films, his influence on Western film and television is undeniable. Even top directors like Quentin Tarantino have expressed their respect for him on various occasions, and his "violence aesthetic" has profoundly influenced the development of Hollywood action films.
The series of films he collaborated with Chow Yun-fat, such as "Hard Boiled" and "A Better Tomorrow", were extremely popular in the West and even affected the sales of guns in the West.
John Woo is a die-hard fan of the .45 caliber, and all of his films feature .45s. From his early films like "The Killer" to the Hollywood film "Face/Off," where Nicolas Cage's "Golden Desert Eagle" is played, this trend became ubiquitous in the US. This trend also influenced other Hollywood action directors, resulting in Hollywood films featuring almost exclusively .45 caliber pistols. This trend has only improved in recent years, with gun manufacturers starting to pay for their guns to appear in films.
Branson smiled bitterly and said, "Xiao, I already feel like my gift is not good enough. Hearing you say that makes me feel even more like that."
Xiao Peng waved his hand and said, "The value of a gift doesn't lie in its own value, right? I just need this thing right now. There's no such thing in this world where I have to deal with others but others can't deal with me, right? I really need it to protect myself right now."
Kasin and the others on the side curled their lips after hearing this: You use a gun to protect yourself? Compared to your fist, a gun is such a gentle tool...
And their pouting actions happened to be seen by Branson, and he suddenly understood what they meant...
Branson looked at the three men with sympathy: "It's not easy for you. Others are bodyguards to protect their bosses, but you are bodyguards to stop your bosses."
Walter and the other two instantly felt like they knew each other, and they were about to cry: “Who said it wasn’t!”
"Look at how you stopped your boss the other day. You were so skillful and coordinated. You could tell it was carefully trained and designed." Branson gave him a thumbs up. "Thank you for your hard work! If you ever feel uncomfortable working here at Xiao, come to me. I appreciate you!"
After hearing this, Xiao Peng said anxiously, "Branson, what do you mean? Why are you poaching people in public? Okay, I can't associate with someone like you. Fabian and the others are waiting impatiently. Let's go first!"
Branson laughed and said, "Okay, I won't try to keep you here. Be careful at sea."
Xiao Peng pointed at the massive Luna and said, "With this thing, why should I be careful? I can even escape in a typhoon! Let's go now. The beautiful Caribbean scenery is waiting for me! I finally have a chance to relax. I'm going to have a blast in the Caribbean before I go back!"
Branson nodded and said, "Then I won't disturb your pleasure. See you in Europe!"
Xiao Peng also said: "See you in Europe!"
After everyone said goodbye to Branson, he boarded a speedboat and sped all the way to the 'Luna' parked there.
As soon as Xiao Peng got on board, he saw a man in a flowered shirt and shorts lying on the deck, basking in the sun. "Hey, Brother Chen, you're enjoying yourself!"
The one lying there was Chen Zetao: "How dare you say I enjoyed myself? You're in big trouble now!"
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