The richest man started taking advantage of loopholes after joining Alibaba.

No one urged him.

He Wei, Mvanji, and Kamau all remained where they were, waiting for him to make the first move.

Lin Che took a deep breath and walked step by step toward those things.

With each step closer, those previously blurry outlines became clearer.

His heart sank little by little.

Only when you get closer can you see clearly.

It was a row of wooden stakes driven into the ground, about half a person's height, standing at even intervals, drawing a neat line on the red soil.

The stakes have been there for some time; the wood has turned white from the sun, and there are still traces of exploration markings on them.

These are boundary markers left from the exploration.

Someone has conducted a proper exploration of this land.

Lin Che squatted down in front of a stake.

He reached out and brushed away the thin layer of red soil covering the top of the pile.

What was beneath the soil gradually came to light.

It is an abstract geometric shape sprayed on with blue paint, followed by a series of numbers.

Lin Che recognized the graphic.

He had seen it more than once in foreign mining magazines and in news about mergers and acquisitions in the industry.

That was the logo of a Western mining giant.

A behemoth that ranks among the top in the world and has a huge business.

This company holds mining rights across several continents and is top-tier in terms of capital, technology, and political and business connections.

Running into such an opponent is a situation that no mining player wants to encounter.

Lin Che stared at the sign for a long time without moving.

The markings on the posts have faded, but the paint is still very new.

He roughly estimated that these stakes would only be standing here for a month or two at most.

In other words, this was while he was still hitting roadblocks at each window in Narobi's office.

The giant's people have already quietly driven exploration stakes into this land.

Lin Che quickly calmed down and began to think along these lines.

It's not surprising that they were able to find this place.

Mining giants of this scale maintain a dedicated team to monitor global mineral data.

The East African Rift Valley is a well-known mineral-rich area, so it was only a matter of time before they set their sights on it.

They're not here for Lin Che; they're here for this mine.

Ultimately, what they wanted happened to be the same piece that Lin Che wanted.

This has nothing to do with conspiracy; it's just a clash of raw strength and vision.

In this car crash, the other party arrived first.

He roughly understood what that unease that had been weighing on his heart was.

This is not gossip from a cowherd, nor is it unfounded suspicion.

it is this.

Before he traveled thousands of miles to secure this piece of land, others had already come.

Moreover, it is such an opponent.

A chill crept up his spine, little by little.

He slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping over the row of boundary markers before landing on something else at the end of the markers.

It was a sign standing upright, like some kind of on-site communication notice board.

Lin Che walked over.

He thought that recognizing the logo of that Western company was the worst news of the day.

Until his gaze fell on the sign.

The sign had two lines of text printed on it.

The top line is the English name of that Western company.

The line below is the name of the local partner.

Lin Che's gaze was fixed on that name.

He recognized that name.

No, it should be said that he put a lot of thought into this name.

Starting from the tea room in Narobi, Old O had wanted to speak several times, but each time he swallowed his words back.

The person who, in this area, is ostensibly under the government but secretly has to defer to him.

The person who could make a large company leave overnight, leaving nothing behind.

That person you can't get around.

His name is now printed in black and white on this sign.

Endrito.

That's the name.

The old man kept lowering his voice and hesitated to say his full name several times.

That's the name that makes the government have to ask for permission before doing anything, and that made a large company pack up and leave overnight.

Lin Che went through so much trouble and put in so much effort for those three words.

He originally thought that this person was the biggest obstacle between him and this land.

He was already planning how to meet this local bully once the property rights were confirmed.

But now he realizes that he had misunderstood.

This person is not an obstacle in the road at all.

This person had already sided with the opponent.

Two lines that were originally blurred collided with each other at this moment.

That powerful local figure who has the final say.

That Western giant that arrived first.

They are in cahoots.

A Western giant with global capital and technology.

A local tyrant who could control everything with his own hands.

What does it mean when these two things are put together?

That means the opponent has money, technology, and international connections.

Moreover, this land possesses a foundation and network of connections that Lin Che, an outsider, could never match.

The timing was off, and the opponent took advantage of being there first.

The advantage of location was held by Endritu, the local overlord.

Lin Che's previously proud judgment and planning seemed somewhat weak for the first time in the face of such an opponent.

Lin Che stood there without saying a word.

He didn't panic.

His face showed little emotion, but his eyes had darkened.

But he knew in his heart that something was different from before at this moment.

He was prepared before coming to Africa.

That kind of confidence is something others can't understand, but he himself knows best where it comes from.

For the first time in all his years in business, he felt like he had made a fatal mistake.

He had calculated the policy correctly.

He accurately predicted the underground mines.

He figured out which piece of land was the most fertile, and how to use the rules to eliminate his opponents.

He had almost calculated everything correctly.

The only thing he hadn't anticipated was that before he arrived, there would be such an opponent, with such a local backer, who had already quietly arrived first.

There are some things that he could never have predicted.

Others' actions and thoughts are never written in any chart or policy.

He relied on his unwavering confidence to overcome all obstacles, almost believing he had seen through every move of the game.

Only now did he realize that even the brightest eyes have blind spots they can't see.

But it was precisely in that blind spot, where no light could reach, that lurked an opponent he had never anticipated.

The wind blew across the open fields, stirring up a cloud of red dust.

The row of boundary markers stood motionless in the wind, as if they had been there all along, waiting for him.

It was eerily quiet all around.

Mvanji and Kamau also came up, but when they saw the row of posts, neither of them dared to make a sound.

Everyone could feel the sudden change in the atmosphere across the wilderness.

Behind me, I heard He Wei's footsteps.

She also saw the logo of that Western company.

Her face gradually paled.

As someone who works in compliance, she understands better than anyone what this symbol means.

That wasn't a makeshift team assembled on the spot; it was a behemoth that could withstand any scrutiny and overcome any hurdle.

The sieve they painstakingly erected couldn't filter out such an opponent.

What's even more dangerous is that row of stakes.

The fact that the stakes were there meant that the other party had been there long ago, had already surveyed the area, and had already figured out most of the details of this land.

They were still busy with paperwork and village negotiations, smugly believing they had gained the upper hand.

But that person was the one who arrived first.

The so-called "one step ahead" often turns out to be a huge step behind.

This realization sent a chill down He Wei's spine.

The words that had been stuck in her chest could no longer be suppressed.

He Wei's voice came from behind Lin Che.

The voice trembled slightly, almost uncontrollably.

"President Lin."

she says.

"Someone got here before us."