"I... I... they really don’t know anything," stammered Hrudun hastily.
The fighter shook his head and sneered, "I don’t believe it. Maybe after I interrogate the group, I’ll find some who do know. However, I don’t know how many will still be alive. As the leader, this situation is all your own doing. I give you five seconds to reconsider, otherwise, I’ll go and ask each one in your tribe... counting down, five, four..."
Intimidation, that’s the fighters’ bread and butter.
Indeed.
Hrudun couldn’t hold out for more than two seconds.
"I’ll speak."
Against these ruthless men, he was genuinely cowed.
Submission was his only choice. Seeing the numerous bodies lying around, who would dare question the fighters’ brutality? He suddenly understood what ’bark is worse than bite’ means. These men were peaceful until provoked, but when they moved, it was with apocalyptic force.
The lamb to be slaughtered was just a facade.
"This was given to me by Sadoke’s leader from the north. I gave him some gifts previously and in return, he gave me a bunch of stuff including this watch," Hrudun was counting on the gift to get familiar with Sadoke’s group so he could secure a position there in the future.
The contents of the gift were several women from a neighbouring tribe.
What a shame.
His plans fell through before he managed to schedule a second visit.
"Sadoke’s leader? What’s the origin of the watch?" The fighter asked.
"I... I don’t know," Hrudun quickly shook his head.
"Bang..."
The fighter shot without a moment of hesitation.
Because Hrudun wasn’t lying.
Chai Ren and the others jumped in fright.
Seeing Hrudun fall, he gained a new perspective of these men’s ruthlessness. They were unhindered, wildly arrogant, and completely unrestrained. He thought that once Hrudun confesses, the fighters would spare his life.
Unfortunately, what he didn’t know was that as soon as a fighter deemed someone an enemy,
And they lost their value,
They became entities that must be eliminated in the eyes of the fighters, unless there was strategic reasoning or an order from Tang Qing. Otherwise, the command room is always ruthless in handling such ’minor matters’.
Even if Tang Qing was present, he would have given the same order. Keeping Hrudun around would be troublesome.
A gust of warm wind blew by.
But everyone there felt a chill in their hearts.
Who would remain calm standing among a pile of dead bodies? Looking at these ’brothers’, Chai Ren and the others felt a chill run down on their spine. They were afraid of these men, even if they were supposed to be friends.
Qian Lei immediately took off the watch, staring at it with tears streaming down his face. Suddenly, he looked up at Chai Ren and sobbed, "Boss, I... I..."
He wanted to ask for help in finding out whether his girlfriend is dead or alive but realized now that even if he did find it out, the force that took his girlfriend is not something he could handle. Even Chai Ren couldn’t handle it.
Making such an unreasonable demand.
It was like dragging Chai Ren into the fray.
Watching Qian Lei’s anxious face, Chai Ren sighed, "Do you know who Sadoke’s leader is?"
The fighter responded, "Sadoke, the leader of an armed group in North Kivu province, Congo Gold, occupies more than half the province, has an army of 15,000 soldiers and numerous equipment. There is constant friction between him and Congo."
The introduction was simple.
But it was clear how powerful Sadoke is.
Chai Ren fell silent.
This is not a doable enemy for him, let alone going to fetch people from them, that’s seeking death. These unpredictable warlords are not to be trifled with. Trying to retrieve people might result in sacrificing his life.
After hearing about Sadoke’s background,
Qian Lei’s face turned ashen.
Retrieving people?
It’s more like courting death.
The atmosphere turned solemn all of a sudden.
Chai Ren didn’t know what to say, should he say that he is incapable?
Qian Lei didn’t know what to say either, he couldn’t possibly ask Chai Ren to confront Sadoke and demand the release of his girl.
"Mr Chai Ren, please get in the car," the fighter said.
Chai Ren turned to Qian Lei and said, "Alright, Qian Lei, let’s get in the car, we’ll head back to Kinshasa first."
"Alright," Qian Lei croaked.
Everyone was in a gloomy mood.
Especially Chai Ren and Qian Lei, a feeling of helplessness engulfed them.
Suddenly,
Chai Ren remembered the power of the Black Prison.
Maybe there is a solution after all?
"Can you find out about the situation of the female journalist?" Chai Ren asked one of the fighters.
The fighter paused momentarily,
Then said, "You’re talking about Galina Ivanovna Ivanov."
Qian Lei jolted,
and rushed over, anxiously asking, "Yes, it’s her. How did you know?"
"Just received the info," the fighter casually responded.
Just received the info?
Chai Ren noticed the earphones on the fighter’s ears. Presumably, he was in contact with someone from command at a distant location.
It would make sense. How could a mission like this not have remote assistance? In places like this, without even a base station, the only reasonable way to achieve long-distance communication is... most likely with satellite assistance.
Thinking about the satellite,
Chai Ren had more guesses about the power of this group.
"Is she still alive?" Chai Ren asked again.
"She’s alive," the fighter replied.
Alive.
Qian Lei’s face lit up.
"Is she really alive?"
The fighter didn’t respond, Qian Lei’s level of clearance wasn’t enough to ask questions, especially not the kind that required repeating.
Looking at the situation, Chai Ren understood and chuckled bitterly. These people truly had double standards. They were nice to those they knew well or had a connection with. As for others, they were completely indifferent, even dismissive.
Chai Ren asked, "What’s her current situation?"