Despite the language barrier, after a few packs of cigarettes, the soldiers were all smiles, quickly forgetting about the cargo hold. By then, the cargo hold door had opened…
...
The airport in this small East African country is also quite dilapidated, but it's much more impressive than the airport next to General Kunta's mine.
Someone drove up a luggage cart and took us off the runway. Once we were outside the airport (because we were on the presidential plane of General Kunta, the head of state of G country... of course, we didn't need to be checked), we were taken to the airport.
Once we were outside the airport, the soldiers stopped following us. When unloading luggage from the carts, I refused to let the airport staff do it and instead had my men do it themselves.
The man who accompanied me to the mine in Kunta, the one disguised as my bodyguard, Ren Lei's man, had already arranged for a vehicle to pick us up outside the airport.
After the luggage was unloaded, the black man hiding under the luggage jumped out, surprising everyone around. Only Hammer, who had been covering him, saw him but didn't say anything.
"Get in the car first," I said, stopping the people around me from speaking. Then I had someone help the black hitman into the car. He was seriously injured, but he didn't refuse.
I finally breathed a sigh of relief after getting into the car. I was playing with fire... If Kunta knew that I had harbored an assassin who was meant to kill him, it would probably affect our relationship.
When we arrived at our assigned accommodation, which could barely be considered a hotel, the conditions were only so-so in these small East African countries. After checking in, we found that it was quite safe. The man who had accompanied me all the way, who had pretended to be my bodyguard, left with his convoy. Before leaving, he told me that someone would contact us first thing the next morning.
We occupied the entire first floor of the small hotel, so I immediately vacated the innermost room and had someone examine the black man.
He'd fainted again. We didn't have a doctor, but I sent Hammer and some men out to buy some medicine.
After all, this small country wasn't the G country ruled by the towers; it was relatively stable, and it was also a city, so Hammer finally managed to buy some medicine.
The black man finally woke up while I was examining him. I felt like he was a wild beast… a wounded wild beast. Although he was very weak, the sharpness in his eyes was instinctive!
"Thank you." He glanced at me, then noticed the medicine beside him: "I can do it myself."
"Can you do it?" I frowned.
“I’ve learned.” The Black man didn’t seem to like talking much. But then I saw how he treated his wound, and I felt relieved. He seemed very skilled at cleaning and bandaging it. Then, despite the pain, he straightened his ribs. Finally, he looked at the wound on his calf and thought for a moment: “Do you have a knife?”
"Yes." I took out a dagger and handed it to him.
He didn't say a word, disinfected the dagger, glanced at me, and suddenly said, "Could you turn around?"
"Why?"
“Because I thought you might not like watching this.” He suddenly grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, then turned the hilt of his knife around, a stiff smile on his face…
A flash of cold light. Then blood flowed, and without batting an eye, he personally gouged out the entire ring of dark flesh from the wound!
Seeing the bloody, mangled wound, he quickly applied medicine. Then he took out a bandage to stop the bleeding and bandaged it. His movements were swift; although the muscles around his eyes trembled with pain, his expression remained unchanged.
I couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Is this alright? Were you bitten by a poisonous snake?"
"Yes, I've already applied the medicine myself... Luckily, that snake wasn't the most venomous. Its venom wasn't strong... Otherwise, I would have died long ago." He said calmly, "The venom has been cleared by my medicine, but leaving this rotten flesh would kill me, so I have to cut it off."
I noticed. When this guy took off his clothes while cleaning his wounds, his entire body was covered in a dense, horrible array of scars!
Although I was also covered in injuries, compared to him... I was practically delicate!
Seeing that he was sweating from the pain but was forcing himself to endure it, I sighed and said, "I'm sorry, we don't have any anesthetic here."
"Do you have any cigarettes?" He suddenly smiled. "If you have cigarettes, you'll feel more comfortable."
I immediately took out a cigarette and handed it to him.
"Thank you..." he looked at me, "and thank you for saving my life."
He paused for a moment, as if thinking for a moment, and said with difficulty, "And... I'm sorry I almost killed you."
After observing him closely for so long, I finally realized it. This Black man was actually very young; I suspected he might not even be twenty. Although he looked so cold and experienced, his face, after the makeup was washed off, appeared quite delicate, even carrying a hint of youthful naiveté… This physical youthfulness, mixed with the mature and experienced aura on his face, made one feel somewhat strange.
I've always been confident in my skills, but this guy, who looks even younger than me and is covered in injuries, almost killed me three times in a short period of time... I really have to admire him.
Why did you kill the tower-trapped creature?
He glanced at me, his eyes calm, but shook his head without speaking. Then he asked me in a low voice, "My companion, is he dead?"
“Dead.” I noticed that when I said this, the young man’s resolute gaze only wavered slightly, but returned to normal in an instant.
"How did you die? Executed? Or were you trapped in the tower and fed to the lions?" the young man suddenly asked in a strange tone.
"..." I hesitated for a moment, looking at him tentatively, but his eyes were resolute, as if he insisted that I say it: "I... okay, you know 'Kurikaka', right?"
“I know.” The young man nodded, his expression unchanged. “Is that so? Thank you for telling me.”
I was slightly surprised, because everyone I saw, including Kunta himself and his ruthless henchmen, all looked fearful and wary when they heard the name Kurikaka. But this young man remained completely unmoved.
I noticed that although his eyes were still bright, he looked increasingly tired, so I said, "Alright. Take a rest. If you need anything, you can tell my people."
...
To my surprise, the young man did indeed later find my men. He made some strange requests, because I had previously instructed them to try to fulfill his needs as long as they weren't too unreasonable. As a result, my men brought him some things that seemed very odd to us.
Feathers, oil paint, charcoal...
After I had rested for one night, when I went to see the young man again the next morning, I found that he had already gotten out of bed.
He had already decorated the room himself, with strange patterns drawn on the walls in charcoal. I could tell they were some kind of totem. Then the young man took off his shirt, leaving him only in trousers. His body was covered in paint, also forming patterns, and feathers were stuck to his face.
When I went in, he was kneeling on the ground, facing the totem on the wall, his hands outstretched, eyes closed, chanting something loudly… He was speaking in a local language. I couldn't understand it, but judging from the devout expression on his face, it seemed to be some kind of prayer ritual.
I stood at the doorway, seeing this scene, unsure whether I should go in. Then I saw the black man pull out a dagger, quickly cut off a clump of his hair, then trim a small part of his fingernails, and finally respectfully place it in a basin in front of him. He then took out a lighter and burned it to ashes.
He lay prostrate on the ground, muttering in his local language. The words were powerful and clear, and although I couldn't understand a single one, I could still feel the sincerity in his voice.
Finally, he finished everything, stood up, glanced at me at the door, said nothing, calmly took a towel to wipe the paint and feathers off his face, tidied up everything, even wiped the totems off the wall, and then sat down again.
His wounds had reopened, and he was bleeding quite a bit. However, he remained calm, seemingly oblivious to the pain.
“My name is Tu.” He looked at me, a hint of sadness finally appearing in his expression. “Me, and the companion you saw who was killed in the tower. We were both combat members of EAO.” Seeing my blank expression, he slowly explained, “EAO stands for ‘European-African Mercenary Alliance,’ a company with dozens of mercenary organizations under its umbrella. It handles various mercenary activities in Southern Europe, North Africa, and East Africa. My companion and I don’t belong to any mercenary organization; we are combat members directly under the alliance’s headquarters… Our duty is to uphold the alliance’s authority. If any mercenary organization under the company violates the alliance’s rules, or betrays us, then we will step forward to punish the traitor.”
I thought for a moment and said, "Oh? Then why did you kill Kunta?"
“No, I didn’t intend to kill Kunta.” Tu shook his head. “As I just said, I’m a combat member of the Alliance Company headquarters. I’m not a mercenary. The Alliance Company wouldn’t send us out to do mercenary work. Our mission is to suppress those mercenary organizations that rebel against the Alliance… We are the last trump card force defending the Alliance. As for your assassination attempt on Kunta…”
He hesitated for a moment, then told me directly: "Actually, it's not what you think. The assassination at the Kunta mine was carried out by my partner… In fact, he's a member of the Alliance Corporation, just like me, but he's from the Dekakarara tribe, and his tribe is being slaughtered by Kunta. The assassination of Kunta was a personal act of revenge. He violated company regulations, twice attempting to assassinate Kunta for personal grudges, one of which almost succeeded, killing a military general under Kunta's command. What you saw was the second assassination. He acted against company regulations, seriously violating the Alliance Corporation's rules, so… I wasn't there to kill Kunta… My mission was actually to stop my partner's illegal actions. The company gave me the authority to kill him if necessary!"
That's when I was truly surprised: "You didn't come here to kill the tower-trapped one?"
“No.” He shook his head.
"..." I looked at this guy: "So... so that day, the one who sniped at Kunta was your partner. And you came to stop him, right?"
Tu smiled... his smile was calm: "This is what happened... The guy who died was named Delong. He was a member of the same combat team as me, and he was even more skilled than me. However, his unauthorized desertion and his attempt to assassinate the G country's head of state have made him a traitor to the company. The company sent two combat members to stop him, but Delong was too skilled; he killed all the men sent before him. And I was the third person the company sent."
It took me a long time to find him. He was in the jungle outside the Kunta Mine. We fought each other for three days... The wounds you see on my body are all from him... not from Kunta's soldiers. Those soldiers couldn't hurt me at all. He was indeed stronger than me, but he was also injured, and the two warriors sent to deal with him before me also damaged him and affected his fighting ability. Otherwise, I probably would have been killed by him.
His assassination attempt failed, prompting a large-scale search of the mountains by the soldiers of Kunta. Unfortunately, I was in that jungle, already badly wounded, as was he. I escaped, but he was captured. Before his capture, we fought again; he had a chance to kill me, but ultimately gave up. He knew he had no chance given the circumstances. So he let me go, allowing me to escape.
Tu said slowly, “Delong was an excellent warrior; all his abilities were top-notch. If he hadn’t been repeatedly hunted down by the company, which severely hampered his combat effectiveness, he wouldn’t have died at the hands of those soldiers in Kunta! Hmph! Those trash couldn’t possibly have killed him. But he was too stubborn. He was too extreme; he insisted on killing Kunta, which was his biggest mistake! He even violated our operational procedures, attempting an assassination despite being seriously injured. This was extremely dangerous. In the end, he could only lose his own life.”
I could vaguely sense that Tu seemed to have a hint of respect in his tone towards that guy named Delong.
"Since you didn't come here to kill Kunta... but instead came to deal with that Delon... then why didn't you kill me on the plane?" I found it very strange.
Because on the plane, he had clearly pointed a gun at me, but after I said, "I can help you kill Kunta," he let me go. I originally thought he was also there to assassinate Kunta.
“Delong is dead… He couldn’t fulfill his wish.” Tu looked at me. “And I can’t break the company’s rules. I can’t fulfill his wish in his place. I also can’t take action against Kunta.”
I understand: "You hope someone can help him fulfill his last wish, right?"
Tu didn't speak, he just looked at me.
Damn it, it seems I really was lucky to be alive.
"You saved my life on the plane." Tu's voice wasn't loud, but it was firm: "And you brought me back, which also saved me." He looked at me: "I can repay you."
"I don't need anything in return," I said calmly. "What can you give me? Money? Or something else?"
“I am a very good warrior,” Tu said, looking at me.
I laughed: "I don't need warriors. I live in a civilized country, not in Africa. I have many subordinates. Besides... you said you belong to that EAO organization, do they allow you to act on your own? I don't want to cause trouble!"
Tu looked at me for a while, then suddenly said, "EAO thinks I'm dead. Logically, Delon has already killed me."
"..." I looked at him.
He explained, “Our team members all have a signaling device. After a mission is successful, EAO personnel will send someone to organize our evacuation. This signaling device lets the company's back-end personnel know whether our operation was successful or failed. When I fought Deron in the jungle, I destroyed his equipment, and he subdued me in close combat…”
...
…………
The jungle was filled with the stench of decay after the rainy season. Tu lay panting among a pile of grass, his chest throbbing with pain; the broken ribs had almost caused him to briefly go into shock.
He had lost 90% of his mobility. Although he was lying on the ground, he still maintained a defensive posture, facing the pair of eyes that were so close to him!
Delon was still able to stand. He knelt on one knee, holding a signal device he had snatched from Tu.
"I lost, you can finish me off now." Tu felt himself about to faint, and he calmly said to Delong.
Deron's face was covered in blood. One of his arms was almost completely immobile, and beneath his disheveled hair, a complex look flickered in his eyes.
Suddenly, he took the signal device and quickly sent a message back.
"Identity confirmed, coordinates..." This was the reply from the signal device.
Delong smiled, then, holding the signal device, slowly spoke into the room in front of Tu: "I am Delong. Your men have been killed by me... This is the third one!"
There was no response. The indicator light on the signal device immediately went out, indicating that the other party had unilaterally stopped the signal.
Tu closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them, staring at Delong: "Why?"
“It’s simple, Tu. You’re free now.” Delong looked at Tu, panting like a wounded beast: “We’re not fighting machines, we’re human… What I just said has already been transmitted to headquarters. Through my sonic analysis, they will determine that you are dead. Then… they will send a fourth person to kill me… and you will be a dead man in the company’s report.”
After saying a few words, Delon was exhausted. He slowly sat down and listened to the sounds around him: "They will be here in fifteen minutes at most. Kunta's soldiers are very good at jungle warfare. We will all die here."
Tu had already closed his eyes. He felt a sense of bewilderment...
A dead person? Is the record already showing them as dead?
In other words, he no longer belonged to EAO. Tu, who had been trained as a fighting machine, suddenly felt a sense of confusion and loss of belonging.
Just then, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his leg!
Opening his eyes, Tu saw Delong holding a thin syringe, about the length of a finger, which he inserted into his thigh.
“Slaughter.” Delon’s face held a slight smile. “This is the last ‘angel.’ Your injuries are less severe than mine. This ‘angel’ can restore some of your mobility… You should leave this place.”
As he spoke, Delon lowered his arm and coughed a few times. He coughed up some blood because of the injury to his lung lobe—the injury to his lung lobe was caused by being stabbed by Butcher during their fight.
Stimulated by the "angel's" injection, Tu felt himself quickly regain a bit of strength, and he slowly stood up: "Why?"
Tu stared intently at Delong.