Zhao Qiang rubbed his stomach, feeling a bit hungry. Before leaving K City, everyone had received some local currency. Zhao Qiang checked his pockets and thankfully, it was all there. The previous battles hadn't been very intense, and his clothes were intact. Since he knew nothing about U City, he might as well find a place to buy some food and inquire about some information at the same time. Zhao Qiang could speak and understand the language of S Country, which he had learned intensively in the week before the mission. Otherwise, he would truly be blind, not even knowing when someone insulted him in the street.
Ahead was a dilapidated market. Zhao Qiang went in and wandered around. There was no food for sale, but there was fruit. Zhao Qiang didn't know the name of the fruit, so he bought some at random. Then he squatted down next to the fruit stall, eating and listening to their conversation. The fruit didn't taste very good. It looked like apples from the north, but it tasted a bit astringent and didn't have much juice. It was like grass when chewing. But at least it was locally produced in the oasis. Otherwise, it would be impossible to sell it outside.
"Should this war continue?" the fruit stall owner asked another stall owner next to him; both of them looked worried.
"Who knows? If we can't exchange oil for food, my wife and children will starve to death." Right now, even with money, we can't buy food. To solve this crisis, we must import a large amount of food.
The fruit stall owner sighed: "Go join the army. I heard there are still 500 openings. Many young people are willing to try. It's dangerous, but at least they can provide meals."
Volume 2 [356] The Tail
"Hmph, do you think the government forces are so easy to deal with? I heard that last night, government agents attacked the Shagu base, which is dozens of kilometers away, causing hundreds of deaths. From last night to this morning, thousands of people have rushed from the city to the vicinity of Shagu to provide reinforcements. Who knows how many of them will be able to come back."
Zhao Qiang suddenly spoke up: "Boss, I want to join the army. Can you give me directions?" Zhao Qiang's local dialect wasn't fluent, but in this chaotic world, no one cared too much.
The fruit stall owner was fairly polite to Zhao Qiang, probably because he had bought a few pieces of fruit at a high price. "There are two main roads in the city. Just follow the roads, and you'll find it at the intersection. It's said that the leader Bazafi also works there, but it's impossible for you to see him."
Zhao Qiang then bought two more pieces of fruit. "Thank you, boss. If I ever become a general, I will definitely come back to repay you."
The fruit vendor's dark face wore a kind smile: "Young man, you have ambition! But for us commoners, it doesn't matter who wins or loses. The key is to quickly restore crude oil exports and food imports, otherwise, in a few days you won't even be able to eat my fruit!"
That's certainly true for ordinary people. It doesn't matter who's in charge; as long as they have enough to eat and drink, that's enough.
Zhao Qiang took two steps toward the main road when a commotion erupted from the roadside beside him. A local shouted, "Get lost! Get lost! You want to beg for food and drink when you have no money? You must be crazy! I'm starving, you piece of trash, you stinking scum!"
Zhao Qiang glanced around casually. Observing from the bottom of U City, the lives of ordinary people were extremely unstable. Under such circumstances, the masses who did not know the truth were easily incited. This was probably why Bazafi was able to gather an army in a short time.
The noise came from the front door of a house. The market was located in a residential area, and the vendors were all local residents. A disheveled woman was probably begging from the residents when she was cursed at and pushed out, falling face-first onto her backside. She landed right next to Zhao Qiang, her eyes filled with glistening tears, looking very pitiful.
Zhao Qiang hesitated for a moment before tossing the fruit in his hand to the woman. He couldn't see her face clearly, but judging from her skin color, she was probably Asian. She was likely a worker from an oil field outside the city. Now that the oil field had stopped production, she had no hope of returning to China and could only make a living in U City. However, the supply of goods in U City had been cut off, and the things she could beg for in a day were very limited. Otherwise, she wouldn't be staring so pitifully at the fruit in Zhao Qiang's hand, her eyes full of silent pleading.
The woman grabbed a piece of fruit, gave Zhao Qiang a grateful smile, and then began to devour it, her dark eyes secretly sizing him up. In reality, neither of them could make out the other's features. Zhao Qiang turned and continued on his way. He didn't have much time; first, he needed to find Bazafi's residence, then figure out a way to assassinate him, and finally, shake off his pursuers and return to K City.
After walking a dozen steps, Zhao Qiang felt someone following him. He turned around and saw the woman walking behind him, munching on fruit. When Zhao Qiang stopped, she stopped too; when Zhao Qiang walked forward, she followed. When Zhao Qiang quickened his pace, the woman staggered and started running. Her movements were extremely flustered, as if she was afraid of losing him.
Zhao Qiang paused for a few seconds after turning a corner, then suddenly turned around and bumped into the woman. Zhao Qiang said in the local language, "Why are you following me? I'm saving the rest of the fruit for myself."
The woman's local language was even less fluent than Zhao Qiang's: "I...I need help."
Zhao Qiang said, "Then you should go find the peacekeeping forces or the International Red Cross." In fact, Zhao Qiang was talking nonsense. He had never seen these two organizations in K City, and it seemed even less likely that they would exist in U City, which was controlled by Bazafi.
The woman seemed to understand the situation better than Zhao Qiang. She remained silent, but when Zhao Qiang turned to leave again, she followed even more closely, probably because his relatively amiable attitude gave her hope. Zhao Qiang ignored the woman trailing behind him; he couldn't possibly make a move now, so he let her follow.
After walking for about 500 meters through the chaotic residential area, we finally arrived at the main street. At this point, we could see vehicles from time to time, but most of them were military vehicles with armed soldiers sitting on them. These soldiers' uniforms were not very neat, and there were all kinds of uniforms, including some civilian clothes. They were probably newly recruited soldiers who had not yet had time to change into their uniforms.
After walking along the main road for about two kilometers, they reached the central area of U City. There were even more soldiers here, and a large amount of supplies were piled up on the roadside. There were even boxes of rifles and ammunition left out in the open. Occasionally, a few black children would go over and touch the gun barrels. Zhao Qiang even saw a few children steal a handful of bullets and hide them in their pockets, wondering if they planned to use them to exchange for food.
"Why aren't you recruiting anymore? Didn't you say there were still 500 openings?" A group of people crowded around an open-air desk and made a fuss.
A burly black officer shouted, "We're full. We're not recruiting anymore. You guys only join the army to eat. If we recruit you, you'll just be cannon fodder. Go home. Once we take K City and resume crude oil exports, we'll have food. It won't take more than a few days."
Zhao Qiang stood on a relatively high place and looked around. There weren't any particularly noticeable buildings, but the houses here were clearly newer than the ones he had just visited. While munching on the fruit in his hand, Zhao Qiang used his X-ray vision. Due to the limited working distance of his X-ray glasses, although he found several officers' offices, he couldn't make out their faces clearly.
Several young Black men shouted, "A few days? We're starving! Let's go find Bazafi. They promised us food, otherwise what's the point of supporting him as president?"
Zhao Qiang chuckled and followed behind the group of young black men. He believed that with them leading the way, the search area could be narrowed down, and they should know some information about Bazafi.
As Zhao Qiang walked, he kept an eye on the female beggar behind him. She was following very quickly, seemingly afraid that he would take the opportunity to shake her off in this chaotic environment. Ahead was a flight of about twenty steps. The young black man was walking very fast, so Zhao Qiang also started to jog. People kept coming down the steps. The woman behind him was unsteady on her feet and was bumped in front of her. She lost her balance and tumbled down the steps! The road was right below the steps, with frequent traffic. If she couldn't stop herself in time, who knew if she would be hit by a car while rolling on the road.
The woman's vision was filled with a golden light. She was weak from hunger and had been chasing the man in front of her too fast. Now, this fall had brought her close to unconsciousness. She couldn't possibly consider the potential dangers of rolling down the steps!
A military vehicle sped towards them, honking its horn. The woman's body came to a sudden stop right in front of the vehicle. She had lost consciousness and was unable to voluntarily dodge. The military vehicle couldn't brake in time and crashed into her with a screech.
Just then, Zhao Qiang, who was chasing after the woman, grabbed her leg and pulled her back forcefully. The military vehicle ran over the spot where the woman had just been lying. Zhao Qiang wiped the sweat from his brow. What a close call! This woman was really reckless, thinking she could get a good meal by following him like this. She was almost crushed into a meat patty, and the military vehicle driver even cursed loudly. Fortunately, Zhao Qiang quickly apologized, otherwise, who knows how things would have turned out.
Zhao Qiang placed the woman on one side of the steps. He wanted to leave, but after glancing at her, he felt she was somewhat familiar. He couldn't bear to leave her to fend for herself, so he had no choice but to carry her back up the steps. By then, the young black men had already entered the building at the end of the steps, and Zhao Qiang naturally followed.
It seemed this used to be a library, as there were bookshelves everywhere inside the building, but the books were nowhere to be seen. It was unclear whether they had been taken by angry locals to use as toilet paper or to start fires. Ahead were several young black men who had been stopped, and a group of armed soldiers were pushing them out: "Go, go, don't stay here. This is a military location. If you don't leave, we'll shoot."
The young Black men argued forcefully: "We want to join the army, we want to see Bazafi!"
The soldier said, "The leader isn't here. If there's anything, he'll send a representative tonight. If you cause any more trouble, we'll lock you up!"
Although Zhao Qiang followed behind the young black man, pretending to be part of his group, several soldiers still surrounded him: "What are you doing? Where are you from?"
Zhao Qiang hurriedly switched to the local language, which he was becoming more and more fluent in: "My woman is starving to death, please give her some food."
The woman on his back was indeed unconscious, showing signs of malnutrition. The soldiers didn't suspect anything after hearing Zhao Qiang's accent, and simply pushed him away, saying, "Get out of the way, we're all starving. Let's wait until we take K City; they say there's plenty of food there."
Zhao Qiang came from K City. These people's beautiful dreams are probably impossible to realize. Putting aside whether they have enough strength to attack K City, the key issue is that food in K City is not enough, and there are hungry people everywhere on the streets. The army's food supply is also very tight. Originally, China had a lot of aid to the S country government, but during the civil war, it dared not send it in, for fear of being accused of being an accomplice by other countries. Some rules of the game still have to be followed on the surface.
While talking to the soldier, Zhao Qiang looked around. Behind the library, there were several rows of buildings. This library was just a cover. Judging from the layout of the buildings behind, Bazafi might actually be staying here. Otherwise, those black youths wouldn't have come here.
Carrying the woman down the steps, the young black men cursed and left. Only a fool would dare to charge into the dark muzzle of a gun; in times of war, killing someone was as easy as crushing an ant. Zhao Qiang looked around; the streets were full of soldiers, and standing there was clearly unsafe. He turned into a small alley to find a place to stay first, planning to sneak into the library at night. The soldiers had said that Bazafi wasn't there, and Zhao Qiang hadn't seen any trace of important figures during his scan.
The alley was quiet, mostly filled with low-rise bungalows, probably what's known as a slum. Occasionally, you could see someone peeking out from inside, but most of the houses seemed empty. Zhao Qiang casually pushed open a door and called out, "Is anyone home?" No one answered. Zhao Qiang chuckled to himself, thinking, "I'll just stay here for now. It's better than being out in the sun."
Volume 2 [357] Acquaintances
He placed the woman on a tattered bed with only wooden planks on it, without even a simple blanket. However, in such hot weather, there was no need for blankets. Zhao Qiang searched through the family's belongings but found nothing! There were only a few pieces of old, nearly unusable furniture, which he didn't know if they could be considered antiques. Zhao Qiang wanted to smuggle them back to China but knew it was impossible. He casually sat on the ground, his eyes squinting. Since he couldn't replenish his strength with food, he would rest first. Running around was not only unsafe but would also waste energy.
The woman lying on the bed finally stirred and slowly opened her eyes. If she hadn't been so exhausted, she would have woken up much earlier. She licked her chapped lips. The first thing she did after waking up was to touch her body. Her clothes were intact, which relieved her. Then she looked around and slowly got out of bed.
Soon the woman found Zhao Qiang sleeping on the floor in the corner of the room. She looked around for the unfinished fruit, but she rolled down the steps and fell somewhere. Touching her empty stomach, the woman struggled to get out of bed. She also began to look around the house and search it. At this moment, a deep voice said, "Don't bother, there's not even a rat dropping."
The woman stopped awkwardly. Being reduced to begging on the street had already made her disregard her reputation; otherwise, she would have been so ashamed that she would have crawled into a mouse hole by now. She said to Zhao Qiang, "Thank you for saving me."
Zhao Qiang shook his head: "Take a nap, it will help you conserve your energy."
The woman sat back down on the bed; she couldn't think of a better solution. And it seemed the familiar man didn't have a better idea either, otherwise he wouldn't be sleeping on the floor.
A rather large rat sneaked out from under the bed. It peeked around, but the woman on the bed remained motionless, as did the man on the floor. The rat thought it was safe, so it decided to search the house again, which the two had already ransacked. Perhaps its keen sense of smell could find the hidden grain.
The woman had her eyes closed, but suddenly, as if sensing something, she snapped them open. Right at her feet was a large rat. The woman screamed in fright, "Rat!" The shout was a bit abrupt, so she didn't use the local language, but rather standard Mandarin.
Upon hearing this Chinese voice, a name flashed through Zhao Qiang's mind, and he also asked in Chinese, "Reporter Chen?"
The woman was taken aback. "Who...who are you?" She had been worried that speaking Chinese would reveal her identity and that the man might harm her. But to her surprise, he also spoke to her in Chinese, which put her at ease. Meeting a fellow countryman in a faraway foreign land gave her hope for survival.
Zhao Qiang had no time to pay attention to the woman. The big rat scurried under the bed, but there was nowhere to hide there. It tried to slip out of the room along the wall, but Zhao Qiang swiftly swung his dagger, piercing the rat's head. The rat was pinned to the wall with a thud. It wasn't quite dead yet and desperately scratched at the dagger on its head with its front hooves, but unfortunately, it wasn't strong enough to pull the dagger out.
Zhao Qiang crawled under the bed and took out the rat and the dagger together. He stepped on the rat's body and pulled out the dagger. The rat twitched on the ground for a while and finally died. Zhao Qiang casually picked up a tattered piece of clothing, wiped the dagger, and then put it back in his waistband. Only then did he have time to pay attention to the woman.
"Chen Xinyu? It's you, isn't it? I'm Zhao Qiang from Huaxia University of Technology in Donghai City. I'm the one who knocked out your personal photographer and then became your temporary photographer for a few days." Zhao Qiang explained. No wonder she seemed familiar before. They spent a lot of time together during the interview. However, Chen Xinyu's appearance has changed a lot. She is completely different from her previous image. In addition, her face is ashen. Otherwise, Zhao Qiang would have recognized her long ago.
The woman jumped up and rushed to Zhao Qiang, hugging him tightly. "It's you! It's Zhao Qiang! I recognize you! You really are Zhao Qiang! Waaah..." The woman didn't know whether she was happy or sad. She hugged Zhao Qiang and cried bitterly. Of course, she felt the same way. The sense of familiarity she had felt before came from this. She had no relatives or friends and suddenly ran into an acquaintance. At this moment, the grievances in her heart could finally be vented.
Zhao Qiang awkwardly pushed Chen Xinyu away. It wasn't that her chest was in close contact with his, nor that holding a woman made Zhao Qiang feel guilty towards Xu Xiaoya, but rather that Chen Xinyu looked exactly like a beggar at that moment. Her body smelled even worse than his, her hair was dry and yellow, and her clothes looked like they hadn't been washed in decades. Zhao Qiang couldn't accept it for a moment.
"Reporter Chen, what are you doing here? It seems like you just finished filming our episode not long ago."
Chen Xinyu seemed oblivious to the situation. When Zhao Qiang pushed her away, she hugged him tightly again, so tightly that he couldn't move her anymore. She was afraid Zhao Qiang would suddenly disappear; he was her lifeline. All that talk of propriety between men and women was utter nonsense to Chen Xinyu, who had nearly died in U City these past few days! Finding someone she could rely on, someone who could save her life, was more important than anything else.
“I came to Africa for an interview, but who would have thought that U City would be occupied by anti-government armed groups? My teammates got separated in the chaos. I have no means of transportation and no money. I can only struggle to survive here and wait for rescue.”
Zhao Qiang had a headache. He had run into an acquaintance. Although meeting a kindred spirit in a foreign land was a great joy in life, he simply didn't have the time or energy to take care of this reporter. There were more important things waiting for him to do.
"Reporter Chen, can't you try contacting me using a communication tool? I'm sure you have a satellite phone."
Chen Xinyu said, "My satellite phone was trampled to pieces in the chaos."
Zhao Qiang asked, "Didn't you agree on a place to meet up if you got separated?"
Chen Xinyu said, "Yes, there is a way to go to the capital city, K, but I can't go because I don't have any transportation."
Zhao Qiang asked, "What do you plan to do now?"
Chen Xinyu said honestly, "I don't know. I'll just follow you. You're a man, so you're better than us women, right? By the way, how did you end up here? You should still be studying. What are you doing in chaotic Africa?"
Zhao Qiang said, "I came here as a tourist, but I never expected to encounter something like this."
Chen Xinyu was puzzled: "Tourism? Are you out of your mind? This country has practically no tourism resources! Besides, the internal strife has been going on for a long time, and it's been reported domestically for a while now. What are you thinking?!"
Zhao Qiang shrugged and said nothing. Otherwise, how could he explain? He couldn't just tell the truth.
Chen Xinyu asked, "What do we do now?"
Zhao Qiang said, "I'm so sorry, Ms. Chen, I have other things to do and can't be with you for the time being."
Chen Xinyu had just let go of Zhao Qiang, but upon hearing his reply, she suddenly grabbed his arm again: "You...you're going to abandon me?" Her tone made it sound like Zhao Qiang had started something and then abandoned her, even though the two weren't actually that close.
Zhao Qiang pulled his arm away, saying, "It's not that I'm abandoning you, but I have other things to do. I might not be able to come back and take you to K City until I've finished dealing with them." Since they had met an old friend in a foreign land, Zhao Qiang wouldn't hesitate to help if he could. He was willing to take Chen Xinyu away, but only on the premise of completing the mission.
Chen Xinyu asked, "What business do you have to take care of? This is a foreign country, do you have any friends here?"
Zhao Qiang shook his head: "I don't have many friends, I just wander around."
Chen Xinyu couldn't believe it: "I don't care, I'm sticking with you. As long as you can take me to K City, or find a way to let me make a phone call back to China, I will definitely thank you profusely in the future."
Zhao Qiang felt there was still some time before evening, so he decided to wait until Chen Xinyu calmed down before making any decisions. She had just found a lifeline, and he figured she wouldn't agree to be abandoned to do something else.
"Okay, I'll try my best to help you, but the most important thing right now is to get some food and drink, otherwise we won't survive." Zhao Qiang tried to distract Chen Xinyu.
Chen Xinyu's stomach rumbled, and she blushed as she clutched her stomach, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm really starving. Could you... could you lend me some money? I'll repay you tenfold, no, a hundredfold, after I get back to China."
Zhao Qiang took out all the local currency from his pocket. In fact, due to the internal strife, the currency of S country had been severely devalued. Zhao Qiang's little money was only enough to buy some fruit. The two of them dared not imagine luxury items such as bread.
Chen Xinyu grabbed the money and ran outside, but there was no food for sale inside. Zhao Qiang hurriedly followed, and the two returned to the market, only to find no food. Chen Xinyu was so anxious she almost cried. Before, she had no money, but now that she had money, she couldn't buy food. It was truly tragic that life had become like this. How could anyone imagine such a life back home? Peace was something Chen Xinyu longed for at that moment. Without peace, one cannot have enough to eat or wear. How could people living in a peaceful and prosperous era understand this?
A fragrant aroma of soup wafted from ahead. Chen Xinyu followed the scent like a cat. The aroma didn't come from the market, but from a family's courtyard. A small fire was burning slowly, and a small pot was placed on the fire. The soup inside was boiling, bubbling and bubbling, with bits of vegetables and meat occasionally floating to the surface. It was hard to believe that such a life existed in this environment.
Chen Xinyu swallowed hard. There were four Black men in the yard, two of whom were particularly strong. They also looked anxious, all gathered around the pot staring at the meat soup inside. Chen Xinyu stepped across the yard and said, "Hello."
The Black people turned to look at Chen Xinyu and Zhao Qiang, who had entered uninvited. One of them said, "Hello, is there something you need?" The other party was quite polite. In fact, most Africans are friendly, but sometimes people have different beliefs and aspirations, which can lead to a fight to the death.
Chen Xinyu held up the money in her hand and said to the Black people, "Can I buy your food?"
The Black men laughed, and the oldest one said, "You can't buy this pot of soup with your little bit of money. Young man, you should leave now and not disturb our meal."
Chen Xinyu pleaded, "I really need food. Just give me any bowl you like." As she spoke, Chen Xinyu placed all the money in front of the black man, her eyes filled with utter pleading. Making such an expression was a first for Chen Xinyu.
The four Black men looked at each other, and finally asked the older one to decide. They were also hungry, but the temptation of money was just as strong. The older man put away the money and said, "Okay, we'll sell you one bowl, no more."
Now, as long as there's food, Chen Xinyu wouldn't care even if it was just half a bowl. She nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, okay, give it to me quickly." Chen Xinyu didn't care whether it was cooked or not, but judging from the way the soup was boiling, it should be cooked.
The older Black man went back into the house and found a broken bowl. He then scooped a spoonful of food from the pot. This Black man was quite kind-hearted; he scooped three spoonfuls in total, almost filling the broken bowl. He even scooped out two pieces of meat and then handed them to Chen Xinyu with both hands.
Chen Xinyu grabbed the bowl without caring whether it was hot or not, and started gnawing on the meat. The meat wasn't very big, and there were small bones in it. It tasted a bit strange. While gnawing, Chen Xinyu asked the older Black man, "What kind of meat is this?"