Farming Life Starting in Africa

Suddenly, Lin Qi's expression changed, his smile vanished completely, and his eyes turned much colder.

"It would be even better if you could stop killing my informants every time. Because of your improvisations, the situation in Mexico has become even more uncontrollable! Now, I have no choice but to temporarily put Tuc in charge."

Schmidt, far from being angry, laughed instead of responding. "Heh, I knew it. When that drug addict Tuk becomes the boss, remember to make him give me a bonus. Without me, he'd still be just a lowly henchman under that warlord, unable to even sleep with a decent woman."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qi's face darkened, and his voice rose considerably, all traces of his gentlemanly demeanor vanishing. "Enough! Schmidt! If you want to live, this mission cannot afford any mishaps!"

He took a deep breath and said, word by word, "You must help Audu obtain the vaccine for the Ramanla virus. This is a no-questions-asked order; if you fail to do so, all our future cooperation will be canceled."

Schmidt leaned back, put his legs back on the table, and chuckled indifferently: "Heh, Lynch, this little bit of money isn't enough for me and my guys to risk our lives. You and I both know how dangerous Lamanra is—it's highly contagious, has a mortality rate of over 50%, and can even spread through the air. You want us to develop a vaccine? What's the difference between that and sending us to our deaths? More money, or forget it."

Lynch narrowed his eyes, revealing a meaningful smile: "With the Red Scarf Army's help, you only need to focus on finding Dr. Chen and the vaccine. If you can complete this mission perfectly, I can help you connect with Parker and get you into their Black Forest. You'll then gain top-tier connections, top-tier resources, and top-tier contracts, and you'll never have to eat sand in Africa again."

Schmidt was somewhat tempted. A bit of ash fell from his cigarette and landed on his trousers.

For years, Dane Company has been stuck in Africa, taking on jobs that are either protecting mines or acting as bodyguards for warlords, with very low pay.

After getting to know Lynch from the CIA, the difficulty of the missions increased, but the pay also rose significantly. However, dealing with CIA agents requires caution; otherwise, you might not even know how you died. They could very well be used as black gloves, discarded after use.

If we could join the Black Forest, it would be a completely different story; their backgrounds are very strong in the United States.

"Where are my employees?" Schmidt asked, his tone tinged with a hint of probing.

Lin Qi chuckled and shook his head, a hint of disdain in his smile: "I'm afraid I can't help you with that. The Black Forest only admits elites; not just anyone can get in. Most of your men are second-rate; they're not qualified."

Schmidt's face darkened.

Dane Military Resources Ltd. is actually quite large. Over the years, it has amassed considerable wealth in Africa, with enough weapons in its warehouses to wage a small-scale war. It employs more than a dozen skilled men, all retired special forces veterans from various countries.

However, very few of them were able to pass the Black Forest's test.

"Never mind then." Schmidt stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. "Joining Black Forest was just to get more business. I can't abandon my team. They're brothers who've been through thick and thin with me, not commodities I can just throw away."

Lin Qi strolled around the room, looked around, smiled, and said, "Perhaps I can introduce you to a big shot. As for whether he'll take a liking to you, that depends on your own abilities."

"Who?" Schmidt's eyes lit up.

Lin Qi smiled, a hint of mystery in his smile. "Let's talk about it after you complete your mission. You should know that without my recommendation, there are some people you would never have met in your entire life."

After saying that, he straightened his tie, turned and left. His leather shoes clicked on the floor, the sound fading into the distance until they disappeared at the end of the corridor.

After Lynch left, Schmidt sat in his chair for a moment, then picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number. The phone rang twice before being answered.

"Big Daddy," Schmidt's voice turned serious, unlike his previous nonchalant tone, "Go to Uller. I need you to help General Audu complete his mission as soon as possible. The sooner the better, and don't cause any more trouble."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a cold male voice: "Understood."

Then, with a "click," the phone was hung up.

Schmidt listened to the dial tone and cursed, "Damn it, that bastard is so willful. It's always like this. Would it kill him to say one more word? I hope he doesn't mess things up this time."

He put down the phone, took a bottle of whiskey from the drawer, unscrewed the cap, and took a swig. The liquor burned as it went down his throat, but he still felt a tightness in his chest.

In the wilderness of Uller, Rosen had been tracking the bus for almost two hours, following the direction it had traveled.

After the sun sets, the last glimmer of light on the horizon is swallowed by darkness.

Rosen was driving, but the headlights could only illuminate a few dozen meters ahead; beyond that, it was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything.

He never found any trace of the last bus.

Even after he found a relatively open spot to park the car, took out the drone from the capsule space, and launched it into the air to broaden his field of vision, he still couldn't find anything. The remote control screen only showed a hazy gray ground, with no sign of the bus.

Rosen sat in the car, his eyes fixed on the screen on the remote control. He rubbed his temples and muttered, "What the hell? How could such a big bus just suddenly disappear? Even the tracks on the ground are gone. Did it fly into the sky?"

Unbeknownst to him, at the foot of a not-so-large hillside lay a natural cave where shepherds rested year-round. The entrance was small, but it extended quite deep, the cave's height just large enough for the bus to park inside. After the bandits drove the vehicle in, they camouflaged the entrance with canvas and branches, making it completely invisible from the outside.

Moreover, the traces of the vehicle entering the cave were carefully erased by the bandits. This wasn't the first time they'd done something like this; their methods were very professional.

The bus was packed with men; twenty or thirty people were crammed into the carriage, and there wasn't even enough room to sit. Fear and exhaustion were written on everyone's face.

Besides the driver, there were four other bandits guarding the vehicle, each carrying an AK-47 and standing guard by the doors and windows, their eyes occasionally scanning the crowd inside the carriage.

Ma Xiao sat in a corner of the crowd, leaning against the car seat, his knees bent and chin resting on his chest. His hands were bound in front of him with plastic cable ties, his wrists turning slightly purple, but he could no longer feel the pain.