Zhuang Rui didn't want to dwell on this matter any longer. Even if he was afraid of him, he could just leave tomorrow, right?
After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, William took out a magnetic key and inserted it into a hole in the metal box on the table. Meanwhile, a security guard behind him also took out a key and inserted it into another keyhole.
After William and the security guard turned the key at the same time, the metal box latch clicked, and the lid of the metal box moved slightly upwards.
William stepped aside, presenting the metal box to Zhuang Rui, and said, "Mr. Zhuang, these are the diamonds you need to inspect. However, you only have thirty minutes to inspect them, as there are other appointments downstairs. This is the longest time I can arrange..."
"I think thirty minutes should be enough..."
After Zhuang Rui opened the metal box, he found that inside were small, foldable compartments like drawers. As the lid was lifted, six drawers made of black metal appeared in front of Zhuang Rui.
Each compartment has a label with the starting bid price for the diamonds inside, indicated in Arabic numerals.
At the very top of the box, there is a high-powered magnifying glass and a clip. These are tools provided by the exchange to customers to examine diamonds. Of course, customers can also bring their own tools.
Zhuang Rui came in a hurry today and didn't bring anything. He immediately picked up the magnifying glass, opened the top pane, and asked, "Is this a rough diamond?"
Inside the first drawer were eighteen rough diamonds, each weighing over ten carats. Unlike the finished diamonds Zhuang Rui had seen before, these rough diamonds, though also crystal clear, lacked the luster of processed diamonds. Moreover, they were uncut and their shapes were extremely irregular.
"Mr. Zhuang, these are all flawless D-grade diamonds, with a clarity level of VVS1. I believe they will satisfy you..."
William introduced the situation to Zhuang Rui from the side.
"Hmm, let me take a look first..."
Zhuang Rui used tongs to pick up a rough stone the size of a soybean, held it up to his eyes, and examined it carefully with a magnifying glass. From the surface, the rough stone was indeed flawless and had a very good luster.
After Zhuang Rui separated a wisp of spiritual energy and entered the diamond, he immediately felt a cool and refreshing aura. He had used his spiritual energy to examine diamonds before and knew that this was a unique aura of diamonds.
With time running out and the task heavy, after examining the first diamond, Zhuang Rui used his spiritual energy to scan the box that had been pulled out, carefully distinguishing the strength of the spiritual energy contained in these diamonds. Then he used tweezers to remove twelve more diamonds, all of which had relatively strong spiritual energy.
Zhuang Rui pretended to inspect the twelve rough stones, took out a price list, filled in his auction bid, sealed it, and handed it to William. William then took out a small black bag, put the diamonds into it, and put it back into the box.
In the lower compartments, there are fewer diamonds. The second layer has only three diamonds, with a starting bid of over $500,000. The lower layers each contain one diamond, and the bottom box contains the colored diamond.
This diamond weighs 78.2 carats and is entirely pink. Even without faceting or polishing, it exudes a shimmering pink luster, as if there is a halo around the diamond, making it exceptionally beautiful.
Of course, the price of beauty is that the starting bid for this pink diamond is as high as $15 million. After looking at it for a long time, Zhuang Rui finally shook his head and gave up, because the diamonds in the drawers above had already exhausted all the funds he had brought with him.
In order to successfully win the bid and leave this hellish place tomorrow, Zhuang Rui's bid was 30% higher than the market price. If nothing unexpected happens, he should be able to secure all the diamonds except for this pink diamond.
If Zhuang Rui had the patience to wait another week or two, he might have been able to buy the same diamond for nearly ten million euros less. However, after what happened yesterday and witnessing the arrogance of the African princelings today, Zhuang Rui would rather spend more money and leave Africa as soon as possible.
"Mr. Zhuang, I hope you win the bid tomorrow. I still have clients to entertain, so I'll leave you here..."
After Zhuang Rui submitted all his bids, William locked the box again and escorted Zhuang Rui to the entrance of the exchange. According to regulations, customers who have already submitted bids and inspected the goods are not allowed to linger inside the exchange.
Chapter 815 Madman Muta
"Brother Zhuang, are you alright?"
As soon as Zhuang Rui stepped out of the exchange, Peng Fei came up to him, followed by several malicious glances fixed on him. These people were neither trading diamonds nor waiting for someone; their expressions practically screamed "I'm a robber."
However, what they are doing now is probably the kind of "surveying" work in the domestic underworld, which means finding out the amount of money involved in a transaction after identifying a target, and then tracking it down and making a move on the transaction day.
"It's alright, let's go..."
Zhuang Rui was in a bad mood. He had inexplicably made an enemy of the African prince, and he was truly caught in the crossfire.
"Mr. Zhuang, do you know any of the people over there?"
As bodyguards, George and his colleagues had exceptionally keen senses. He noticed that about twenty meters away, a black man was staring at Zhuang Rui, making no attempt to conceal the murderous intent in his eyes.
"Muta's bodyguard had a bit of an unpleasant encounter at the exchange earlier..."
Zhuang Rui immediately recognized the black man as the bodyguard who had been following Muta earlier. It seemed that the man was a vengeful person, as he was still waiting here.
"Libya's Muta?"
Upon hearing this, George's expression immediately turned serious. His right hand instinctively went to his side, and he gave Zhuang Rui a push with his left hand, saying, "Zhuang, get in the car quickly..."
Surrounded by George and the other two, Zhuang Rui jogged all the way to the parking lot. Only after he opened the car door and got in did George breathe a sigh of relief, his eyes peering warily out the window.
"George, it can't be that serious, can it? What can they do in public?"
Zhuang Rui felt that George was making a fuss. No matter how arrogant Muta was, he was still in Libya. Now he was in South Africa. Even if he wanted to harm him, he would probably need time to find the local bigwigs. Zhuang Rui didn't believe that Muta would dare to come to him with a submachine gun.
“Zhuang, Muta kills without regard to location. As long as he has a sniper rifle, he can blow your head off…”
George gave a wry smile. Seeing that there was no movement outside, he continued, "Zhuang, how did you offend him? That guy is a madman. He'll make anyone who offends him wail for seven whole days before they die over the slightest argument... And the diamond that Muta has his eye on won't allow anyone to bid against him, otherwise..."
George gestured with his hand as if to fire a gun, his face full of wry smiles. He never expected that casually accepting a mission would actually provoke Muta. If he had known beforehand, George would definitely not have taken this job.
"Seven days? Isn't that like being slowly sliced to death?"
Zhuang Rui was stunned for a moment upon hearing this. He hadn't expected Muta to have this hobby. Damn it, if this guy were in ancient China, he would be a professional executioner.
Peng Fei understands English, but he had been keeping an eye on the situation outside. When he saw two black men surrounding an Arab man standing a dozen meters away from his car, he immediately asked Zhuang Rui, "Brother Zhuang, is that the Arab man?"
"It's him..."
Zhuang Rui saw Muta make a shooting gesture in the direction of his car again, and he couldn't help but feel a burning hatred.
"I'll go take him down," Peng Fei said, casually patting George's shoulder with his right hand. Then, with lightning speed, he grabbed George's Jianjing acupoint, his five fingers like hooks, and squeezed hard.
George immediately felt a tingling and numb sensation in his entire shoulder. Before he could react, the Desert Eagle at his waist was in Peng Fei's hand.
Peng Fei's murderous aura was reflected on the long silver gun barrel, making him appear even more ferocious. He skillfully pulled the trigger, glanced at the bullet in the smoothbore, and prepared to push open the door and get out of the car.
"Oh my God, stop! Damn it, do you want us all to die?"
George only reacted when Peng Fei was about to open the door and get out of the car. He grabbed Peng Fei with his left hand and shouted loudly, "This bulletproof car is so soundproof, we're not afraid of being heard from outside."
“If you kill Muta here, I guarantee this car won’t last five kilometers before it gets hit by a rocket. Do you think it can withstand that?”
George nearly roared, spraying smears all over the car, forcing Zhuang Rui to raise his hand to shield himself.
“Peng Fei, George is right, let’s give the gun back to him…”
Zhuang Rui knew Gaddafi's power in Africa. Muta could kill him, but if he killed him, Gaddafi would probably send fighter jets to shoot him down even if he boarded the plane.
Even if I return to China safely, I estimate that the relevant departments in China will definitely invite me for a chat as soon as possible.
"Brother Zhuang, why don't you guys leave first, and I'll go and take care of him..."
Peng Fei was somewhat unwilling. Even if it were Gaddafi's son, or even if Gaddafi himself wanted to harm Zhuang Rui, Peng Fei would not hesitate to kill him.
"Forget it, let's leave tomorrow night. If we can't afford to mess with them, we can always avoid them..."
Zhuang Rui shook his head and rejected Peng Fei's suggestion. Although he also wanted to shoot that arrogant man in the head, Zhuang Rui felt that he could not bear such consequences.
After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Peng Fei removed the magazine from the Desert Eagle, then pulled the breech, ejected himself, and returned the gun to George.
To be honest, Peng Fei didn't really think much of foreign special forces. Apart from having better personal equipment, their endurance and combat capabilities were far inferior to the unit he used to serve in.
As for Stallone's portrayal of Rambo, that's a complete joke. Everyone knows that when American soldiers were captured in Vietnam, they would immediately put their hands on their heads and crouch down, afraid of causing the enemy to misunderstand and fire. That action was done with professional training.
"Peng, do you practice Chinese Kung Fu? I think we can practice together when we get back to the hotel..."
George rubbed his still sore and numb right shoulder, looking somewhat sullen. As Zhuang Rui's bodyguard, he had his gun taken away without being able to fight back, which made George feel extremely humiliated.
"You? You're no match for me..."
Peng Fei glanced at George with disdain. Perhaps this soldier could still play a role on the battlefield, but when it came to skill and killing, even three Georges were no match for him.
"Oh no, no one knows unless they try..."
“George, I feel you should be more concerned about my safety right now, rather than sparring with my brothers…”
Seeing George's persistent attitude, Zhuang Rui interrupted him, sensing that Muta's arrogant and domineering personality was very likely to cause him some trouble.
"Yes, yes, Zhuang, I have a suggestion..."
Zhuang Rui's words reminded George of his own identity, and he continued, "I suggest you cancel your trip to the mine tomorrow, and after you've traded the diamonds, leave this godforsaken place immediately. That way... it'll be better for all of us, don't you think?"
George had originally planned for Zhuang and the others to visit a diamond mine belonging to their company tomorrow. However, after this incident, for the safety of his employer, and of course, for their own safety as well, George decided to change the plan.
"The mine is privately owned by your company, so it should have its own armed forces, right?" To be honest, Zhuang Rui never wanted to come to South Africa again. If he didn't go to see the diamond mine this time, he might never have the chance again in his life. So what Zhuang Rui meant was that he still wanted to proceed according to plan.
"Of course, even an army couldn't break through the mine's defenses..."
George raised his head and said, then his expression softened, "However, the journey there and back is very unsafe, Mr. Zhuang. If you insist on visiting the diamond mine, I suggest you hire an armored vehicle and add a few more security personnel. That way, you can be absolutely sure of your safety..."
"Armored vehicles can be hired? How much does it cost per day?"
Zhuang Rui found it intriguing; he'd never actually ridden in one before. This was only possible abroad. If he could drive an armored vehicle on a main road in China, people would probably be too embarrassed to drive cars like Hummers and Bugatti Veyrons.
"In South Africa, you can hire anything if you have money. According to our company's prices, an armored vehicle equipped with four security guards costs two hundred thousand US dollars a day. What do you think, Mr. Zhuang?"
Now that it's just the three of them protecting Zhuang Rui, George is feeling a bit uneasy. He hopes Zhuang Rui can increase the number of security personnel, so that Muta, seeing no opportunity, will probably give up on retaliating against Zhuang Rui.
"Two hundred thousand dollars? Fine. Also, you and all the security guards will stay in the room next to mine tonight..."
Zhuang Rui thought it was worth spending $200,000 for peace of mind. Although he knew George was asking for an exorbitant amount, Zhuang Rui was too lazy to argue. After all, judging from George's performance just now, he was quite dutiful.
"Okay, I'll arrange it right away..."
After hearing Zhuang Rui agree with his suggestion, George's tense expression immediately disappeared. He picked up the phone and dialed. However, when discussing the price, although George lowered his voice, Zhuang Rui still heard the words "ten thousand dollars".
"Alright, sir, they'll meet us halfway there..."
After hanging up the phone, George beamed and said this to Zhuang Rui, while signaling to the driver that they could start driving. ...
"Go find William. I need that kid's information. If William refuses, tell him I've been interested in his Venezuelan girl for a long time..."
After watching Zhuang Rui's car drive away, Muta gave an order to the servant beside him, licking his lips as he spoke, as if he could already smell the blood.
“People always say my father is a tyrant who funds and supports terrorists. I think if I kill an Asian kid, my father will praise me a bit, right?”
Muta's smile sent a chill down the spine of the remaining black man beside him; this guy was a complete madman.
Chapter 816 Diamond Mine (Part 1)
Back at the hotel, Zhuang Rui didn't tell the crew about it. He was leaving the next day anyway, so he didn't want to worry them unnecessarily.
Zhuang Rui didn't leave the hotel all afternoon, ate dinner at the hotel restaurant, and went to bed early.
As arranged by George, he will first visit George's diamond mine tomorrow morning, and then in the afternoon… after the auction opens at the exchange, Zhuang Rui will go directly from the exchange to the airport to leave Johannesburg.
"Mr. Zhuang, we can set off now..."