I'm reborn and I'm an international student again?

"Where are we going?" the manager asked.

"Lion Head City is located by the sea, and its area is comparable to that of Lumen City in Fujian Province. Its electricity is supplied by the Marvingop Power Plant, which is not far away. Let's go there!" Chen Xi began to direct the team leader to drive.

Why go to the power plant?

“I guess they want to occupy Lionhead City this time, so they definitely won’t destroy the power plant. Therefore, they won’t use heavy weapons. We can use that to our advantage and hold our ground. Besides, there are definitely troops guarding the power plant to prevent the rioters from causing damage in the meantime…” Chen Xi analyzed.

"Then why didn't you say so before you left?" the manager asked, somewhat puzzled.

"If you tell the truth, Zou Huajian would never get on the bus, even if it meant his death."

"Too."

A few minutes later, sitting in the car, Zou Huajian kept rubbing his hands together. To appear less panicked in front of others, he tried to chat with his nephew: "Xiao Zhi, once we get to the refuge, we'll find that chief. We'll tell him about the troubles we foreign investors are facing, and then ask for some reasonable compensation, like helping us get some more orders..."

Zou Zhi was on the verge of tears. He looked at Zou Huajian and said, "Uncle, can you please stop daydreaming? How could the Great Chief possibly agree to these demands? We're already struggling to survive, let alone make money. I'm only in my twenties and I haven't even gotten married yet."

"Look at you, so pathetic. Even girls aren't as scared as you. So what if he's the chief? We're foreigners, and foreigners are considered superior in Africa. Even if he's a big black guy and holds a high position, so what?"

When Zou Zhi heard his uncle say that he wasn't as brave as Qian Jiajia, his face, which had been pale with fright, suddenly turned red.

It was nighttime, and the two hadn't yet noticed that the car had completely changed course and was heading east.

Just as Chen Xi had expected, there were indeed soldiers guarding the Marvingop power plant, but their numbers were small, only a few dozen.

In the darkness of the night, the sound of automatic weapons firing around the power plant tore through the silence, and bullets struck the iron fence, scattering sparks.

At this moment, in a factory outside the city.

Various corporate slogans familiar to Chinese people are sprayed on the walls, such as: "Endure great hardship, do meticulous work, earn small money."

The more one compares treatment, the narrower one's mind becomes; the more one talks about dedication, the higher one's moral character becomes.

Wearing a raincoat means it's a sunny day; turning on the light means it's daytime.

Hard work and perseverance are traditional virtues in Africa; be wary of other companies' sugar-coated bullets.

Yu Guoqiang was standing on the high platform with a megaphone, shouting: "Hardworking workers, Lionhead City is currently facing an attack by rioters, and I don't think the factories will be safe tonight either. Look at the calluses on your hands; they are more glorious medals than any weapon! Those rioters want to destroy the homes we have built, they want to take away our factories, and trample on our dignity."

When exploiters oppress with violence, we must retaliate with even greater violence! Let them taste the wrath of the proletariat! Take up your weapons, defend the factories, defend your communal meals, defend your loved ones… For the communal meals, for bananas!

The entire factory area was in an uproar.

All the Black people raised their tools and sang in broken Mandarin:

This is the final battle.
Unite for tomorrow

The Internationale must be realized...

"

The factory has its own security team, but its numbers are limited. In order to protect the factory, the factory manager had no choice but to have Yu Guoqiang mobilize everyone through the loudspeaker.

Unexpectedly, the results were remarkably good. After the counselor arrived at the factory, he continuously preached to the Black workers every day, resulting in almost 100% obedience among them.

Despite the dangerous situation that occurred tonight, Yu Guoqiang ignited the workers' emotions with just a few words.

Several hundred meters outside the factory, in the bushes, dark figures were quietly approaching.

These men, armed with various weapons—old AK rifles, sharpened steel bars, and rusty machetes—were notorious members of Lionhead City's criminal underworld.

They make a living by extorting protection money from various factories, and the factory where Yu Guoqiang works has always been a thorn in their side.

The workers, united as one, along with the factory's own armed guards, thwarted the group of thugs' attempts at negotiation several times, and the factory manager forcefully drove them out of the gate.

Riots broke out in the city tonight, and these thugs saw an opportunity to seize this coveted prize.

The scarred man leading the group licked his chapped lips, as if he could already see the piles of goods in the factory warehouse and the banknotes in the safe.

"Rat-a-tat-tat!" Gunshots rang out quickly.

Although Yu Guoqiang was young, his dangerous experiences abroad were no less than Chen Xi's. He glanced at the association members beside him and whispered a few instructions: "If a fight breaks out, you all need to hide at the designated location..."

After saying this, he picked up the steel pipe in his hand again: "Hold the factory and proceed according to plan!"

The factory manager was a veteran. When Yu Guoqiang first arrived, he looked down on him, thinking the young man was just there for fun. But after spending some time with him, the manager's attitude changed completely. Plus, they shared the same beliefs and had similar work styles. Tonight's mobilization work and Yu Guoqiang's bravery made the manager secretly give him a thumbs up.

This kid would definitely have been a committee member in the past!
The gunshots grew closer, and the courage of the Black workers in the factory gradually waned. They began to swallow unconsciously, and sweat beaded on their palms as they gripped their weapons. Several young workers glanced at the gate every now and then, their knees trembling slightly, and their breathing becoming rapid.

"Snapped!"

Suddenly, the factory manager slammed an iron rod into a steel pipe, the piercing metallic clang startling everyone.

"What's the panic!" His gruff voice drowned out the distant gunfire. "The scrap metal those thugs have isn't even as much as the frying pans in our cafeteria!"

The workers grinned at the metaphor, their tense backs relaxing slightly.

"Don't panic, everyone. They don't have many guns. Besides, our armed forces aren't pushovers. If they force their way in, just grab your weapons and fight. Guns are faster than ten paces away, and knives are faster than ten paces away. Remember when we taught you to fast for Charnis...?"

Upon hearing this, the workers' fighting spirit was rekindled.

Marvingop Power Plant.

Amidst the gunfire, the rioters, though few in number, were surprisingly strong, and they gradually advanced. The guards' formation began to falter; the fighting capacity of this garrison was already questionable.

The garrison consisted mostly of elderly veterans, wounded soldiers who had retired from the front lines, and a number of unemployed individuals who had gotten in through connections.

On ordinary days, they often gathered around the generator to play cards and drink. Now, the price of their comfort is becoming apparent.

A soldier frantically changed a magazine, but in the tension, bullets scattered all over the ground.

Two pale-faced young soldiers crouched behind cover, their trembling hands forgetting to even release the safety pins.

Their commander was incoherently pleading for backup over the walkie-talkie.

The barbed wire surrounding the power plant had been torn apart, and the thugs' sinister laughter grew ever closer. What was once considered a lucrative guard post had now become a most dangerous graveyard.

"Rat-a-tat-tat." Just when the situation was turning against them, a number of jeeps arrived, catching the rioters off guard.

"Holy crap, holy crap! What the hell is going on here? This doesn't look like a government building."

"Fire! Fire! Don't kill me! I'm still young!"

"Damn it, stop yelling, you two cowards..."

Zou Huajian and Zou Zhi huddled in the car, trembling with fear, while the black man who had fired the shot hurled a string of profanities.

Chen Xi shielded Qian Jiajia with his body, and the bullets struck the car, making a metallic clanging sound.

The chubby manager in the passenger seat was so frightened that he reached out to grab the captain's arm, but was punched so hard that he almost passed out.

After a fierce firefight, most of the rioters were wiped out after being attacked from both sides, and the rest could only get into cars and escape from the scene.

"Who are you?" The leading soldier did not lower his guard because of Chen Xi and the others' help, but instead pointed his gun at them.

"Masombuko, how many times have I told you to train properly? Look at your fighting strength..."

"Captain?" the leading soldier asked incredulously upon hearing the familiar voice.

"Hey, you still remember me, huh? You're doing pretty well, you've become a platoon leader."

The two hugged.

"What class monitor? I only have less than twenty people here, and they're all old, weak, sick, disabled, or people with connections..." Masongbuke forced an awkward smile.

"Ahem, is it safe here?" The fat manager, whose face had been punched into a pig's head, appeared beside the two of them and asked arrogantly with a light cough.

"Who is this guy?" Masonbuko glanced at the other person sideways.

He was tall and strong, and standing in front of the fat manager, he looked like a giant.

"This is our hotel manager, it's a long story..." The captain patted Masonbuko's arm, gesturing for them to go inside.

Chen Xi and the others followed them into the power plant.

The space here is quite large, and the workers did not panic because of what happened outside. Instead, they rested when they needed to and worked when they needed to.

Many people in Africa are very receptive to change; having grown up witnessing warlord conflicts, they are not as easily alarmed as Zou Huajian.

"Xiao Chen, what exactly happened? How did we end up here? What if someone bombards this place with cannons? We won't be able to escape!" Zou Huajian followed behind Chen Xi, chattering away with questions.

"Then where do you want to go?" Chen Xi turned around and asked.

"Of course we're going to the government building, wasn't that planned before we left?"

"Then go ahead, I'll give you a car."

"Um... I think it's pretty good here, and there's air conditioning. The power plant isn't in the city center, and the enemy was just driven away, so it's definitely safe now." Zou Huajian shook his head vigorously.

Chen Xi glanced at the coward, chuckled, and continued walking forward.

Inside an office, the captain, manager, Chen Xi, and others were discussing defense and retreat plans.

"There were quite a few checkpoints on our way here. If it weren't for the fact that foreigners were being evacuated, we probably wouldn't have made it to the power plant. I see there are quite a few troops guarding it. Is it really impossible to hold out?" the manager asked doubtfully.

“Do you think this is ancient times? Modern cities don’t even have walls. You don’t need a car, you can come in from anywhere you want. With such a small number of guards scattered across various roads, if the enemy breaks up their forces and launches a full-scale assault on the building, you’re completely helpless.” Chen Xi pointed to the map on the table.

“I just got in touch with command, but there’s intense fighting near the government building. The call was cut off after only a few words…” Masonbuko sighed.

"What? They've already reached the building so quickly?" the manager exclaimed, then thought about what Chen Xi had just said, and it seemed that everything had been confirmed.

“We don’t have many troops to begin with, and we don’t know where the rioters entered the city from. The right thing to do is to guard the area near the building.” Masonbuko glared at the manager.

To be honest, he really disliked this fat man. He came in shouting and yelling like a superior officer on an inspection tour.

At this moment, Qian Jiajia was sitting weakly on a small stool, eating compressed biscuits. Her gaze kept glancing at Zou Huajian and Zou Zhi not far away, because Chen Xi had already told them to keep a close eye on the uncle and nephew.

They weren't the only ones who escaped from the hotel; some other foreigners did too. Since the association members ignored Zou Huajian, he was bored and could only go hang out with the foreigners, hoping to close a business deal.

"Hello, hello. We've been through thick and thin together, and we're practically comrades now. My name is Zou Huajian, and I'm fluent in Charness. I'll definitely take care of you if things get dangerous. May I ask what kind of business you're in? Do you speak Mandarin?" Zou Huajian extended his hand in a friendly manner and shook hands with a white man, then patted him on the shoulder, before randomly performing a set of his own invented boxing techniques in the air.

The foreigner was bewildered by his actions and started babbling a string of foreign words.

"You speak English? Great!"

"Uncle, he's not speaking English."

Zou Zhi, sitting to the side with a sour face, offered a reminder.

“It’s okay, your uncle knows body language.” After saying that, Zou Huajian started gesturing with his hands.

But after trying for a while without getting anything out of him, and it was clear that the white man didn't want to talk to him, so Zou Huajian had to turn his attention to other people.

Qian Jiajia looked at this goofball and shook her head slightly.

Although Zou Huajian failed several times, he did manage to find someone he could talk to.

“Hey buddy. I never expected to meet a Middle Easterner who speaks Mandarin in this strange and barren land. It’s so heartwarming. Although your spoken language isn’t great, at least we can communicate. What kind of business do you do…” Zou Huajian sat down on the ground facing a bearded man and started chatting.

“I work in textiles,” the bearded man said in broken Mandarin.

"That's such a coincidence! My business is also related to you." Zou Huajian slapped his thigh.

"You sell fabric too?"

"I sell construction materials, including waterproof fabric."

"..."

"Don't look at me like that! A waterproof tarp is still just cloth! What's in your bag? It's bulging. Let me see..."

After chatting with the bearded man for a while, Zou Huajian pointed to the travel bag the man was holding. (End of Chapter)