Farming Life Starting in Africa

When He Qingliu heard the words "radioactive," "yellowcake," and "dirty bomb," a string in his mind immediately tightened.

After hanging up, he quickly picked up another phone and dialed Captain Gao Yun's encrypted line.

"Captain Gao," He Qingliu's speech quickened, "I just received a message from Xia Nan. She said that among the people kidnapped by Zaka's organization is a businessman who possesses a large quantity of yellowcake and the technology to manufacture dirty bombs..."

The armed Humvees at the front of the convoy rumbled as they rolled over a gravel road.

Gao Yun's voice suddenly came through the walkie-talkie on Yang Rui's chest, "Yang Rui!"

Yang Rui pressed his thumb on PTT: "Yang Rui received. Please proceed."

"You need to make a temporary detour to a government army supply depot 70 kilometers away. A French journalist has provided information that Zarqa's group may have acquired a batch of radioactive yellowcake. I need you to confirm this and verify the reliability of the intelligence."

Yang Rui's brows furrowed into a knot.

"Received." He put down the walkie-talkie and looked at the new route sent to his terminal. It required a detour of about 20 kilometers, which shouldn't take long.

Sitting in the back row, machine gunner Tong Li leaned forward and asked curiously, "Captain, what's yellowcake?"

Yang Rui shook his head: "I don't know. They say it's radioactive material, so it must be very dangerous. It might be raw material used to make nuclear weapons."

As the direction of travel changed, the convoy left its original route and turned onto a bumpier dirt road.

Rosen immediately noticed the wrong direction. He leaned halfway out of the truck bed, squinted at the Hummer ahead, and saw that the convoy, which had been heading due east, was now turning northeast.

He pressed the communicator and connected to Yang Rui's channel: "Captain Yang, have we taken the wrong road? This isn't the right direction, is it?"

"I just received orders from my superiors," Yang Rui's voice came through the earpiece, "that we need to temporarily change course to a government army temporary supply point to obtain intelligence."

Rosen pressed on curiously, "What kind of intelligence?"

Yang Rui's voice was icy. "No comment at the moment."

Upon hearing this answer, Rosen shook his head speechlessly and tossed the walkie-talkie aside. It seemed Old Zhou was right; he had been naive. He was completely helpless against the antics these soldiers caused.

He leaned back in his seat and pulled his hat brim down to block the glaring sunlight.

The dirt road was full of potholes, gravel, and cracks, and you could see deep ruts made by the car in front of you from time to time. The speed could only be maintained at more than 40 miles per hour.

It took them about two hours to reach the government army's temporary supply point.

Scattered refugees crouched in the shadows of roadside tents, their eyes vacant and wary as they watched the suddenly appearing convoy. There was no curiosity in their eyes, only numbness.

Scattered government soldiers were scattered around, and when they saw the convoy coming in, they didn't even have the desire to stand up.

The convoy was parked on the side of the road.

Yang Rui jumped out of the car, looked around, and his gaze fell on a short-haired Asian woman standing next to the tent, looking in their direction.

The woman was wearing a drab gray coat, jeans, and sneakers, and carrying a crossbody bag. Her hair was cut very short, revealing her dirty face. Her eyes were sharp, and she looked unapproachable.

Seeing the convoy stop, she quickly walked over.

"Hello, I'm reporter Xia Nan, and I'm the one who provided the information about the town of Basem."

Yang Rui nodded. "Regarding the yellowcake issue, do you have any evidence to provide? We need more details."

Xia Nan spoke rapidly, "I've been tracking the black market trade of yellowcake, a nuclear material. Among those captured by terrorists was a man named William Parson, who was one of the biggest sellers. Ostensibly, he was the purchasing manager at Green Valley Energy, but secretly he intercepted yellowcake from the mines and resold it on the black market. Recently, we discovered that he had close contact with some terrorists. One of the organizations has acquired the technology to increase the radioactivity of yellowcake, which can be used to manufacture dirty bombs capable of spreading contaminants on a large scale."

Upon hearing this, Yang Rui finally understood what the captain had asked him to confirm.

The destructive power of this type of dirty bomb lies not in the explosion itself, but mainly in the radioactive contamination.

"What other evidence do you have to prove that this intelligence is true?" Yang Rui asked.

Xia Nan's expression became somewhat complicated. "My evidence is all in the hands of my assistant, Abu—he's been kidnapped. All the recordings, photos, and transaction records are with him."

"Okay, I understand, thank you for your cooperation." After saying this, Yang Rui turned around and walked towards the car.

"Wait!" Xia Nan grabbed his sleeve. "Are you going to Basem? You're definitely going to Basem to rescue people, right?"

Yang Rui said expressionlessly, "I'm sorry, I have no comment." After saying that, he shook off Xia Nan's hand and continued walking forward.

Xia Nan's voice suddenly grew louder, "Please take me with you! I have to go! My assistant Abu is still there."

Yang Rui stopped and turned to look at her.

He also watched the video of Zarqa's organization executing hostages; the man whose neck was cut was named Abu.

However, they still had a mission to complete, and time was of the essence. Yang Rui didn't want to get entangled with Xia Nan any longer. "We are on a mission and can't take you with us. We also can't be distracted to take care of you."

Xia Nan pointed to the tall pickup truck in the convoy. Rosen was sitting in the back, legs crossed, smoking and listening leisurely to their conversation.

"He's definitely not one of your soldiers!" Xia Nan's voice rose eight octaves, her finger pointing directly at Rosen. "Why were you allowed to bring him along?"

"This is none of your business," Yang Rui said, then ignored her and got into the car.

Xia Nan stood there, looking at the closed car door, then at Rosen in the pickup truck, who was smoking a cigarette, her fists clenched tightly.

Rosen was also baffled when that finger pointed at him. Rosen had a natural immunity to people like Xia Nan.

He doesn't want to pay any attention to people who use personal hatred to hijack military special operations missions, constantly interfere with professional operations, and demand that soldiers bear additional risks of death.

Such people talk about "justice," but in reality, they put their own emotions above the lives of others.

Seeing that Yang Rui ignored her, Xia Nan gritted her teeth and ran directly to the side of the pickup truck.

She looked up and called to Rosen, who was sitting high up, "Hey! Take me with you! I need to get to Basem town too!"

Rosen, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, squinted and looked down at her, a half-smile playing on his lips.

"Watch your tone," he said slowly. "Did I call you 'Feed'?"