Farming Life Starting in Africa

If it's about money, then Rosen can't help. Even if he's not short of money, he wouldn't be so merciful as to pay a ransom for one of his ordinary business partners.

They're not even his relatives, how could he have so much compassion?

Besides, he's shown mercy this time, but what about next time? And the time after that? The appetite of African kidnappers is like a hippo's mouth—it will only grow bigger and bigger.

If they came specifically for him...

That would be interesting.

Leng Feng and Miao Feng clearly heard the gunshots and screams over the phone. Leng Feng stopped eating, his chopsticks hovering in mid-air. "What happened?"

Just as Rosen was about to speak, the satellite phone rang again.

This time he didn't rush to answer.

He deliberately waited a while, until the phone rang for the fifth time, before slowly answering it with an impatient tone: "What is it now? Can't a person even eat?"

On the other end of the phone, a different voice came through. This person's voice was lower and calmer, like a dull knife slowly gliding across a whetstone.

"I am the commander of the Dane Corporation—Big Daddy." Every word in the man's voice was like chewing ice. "We just kidnapped all the employees in this steel mill. I just want to meet with you and talk."

Leng Feng's expression changed instantly.

When he heard the words "Dane Corporation," his eyes suddenly turned dangerous—like a leopard that had been caged for too long suddenly smelling its prey.

He stared intently at the satellite phone in Rosen's hand, his fingers unconsciously clenching into a fist until his knuckles turned white.

Rosen immediately noticed Leng Feng's state. He reached out and grabbed Leng Feng's arm, stopping his urge to snatch the phone. He chuckled into the receiver. "Dane Company? Let's talk? Heh, you're here for that woman I killed, aren't you?"

"Now that you know, come to the town of Basem to ransom them."

Rosen heard clearly this time: it was the town of Basem. So that wretched place has become a concentration camp for your terrorists?

But he didn't show it in his tone. He maintained his "what's it to me?" attitude: "Are you kidding me? I'm just a scrap collector. Whether you want ransom or something else, contact the government forces or call the embassy. Are you out of your mind trying to threaten a small-time businessman like me with him?"

He paused, his tone becoming even more casual: "Let me reiterate, he's just an ordinary business partner of mine. I don't know anyone at the steel mill; you've got the wrong target for kidnapping."

After saying that, Rosen hung up the phone again.

He stood up and was about to walk out of the cafeteria.

Leng Feng jumped to his feet, ignoring his unfinished meal. He followed Rosen and asked urgently, "Was it someone from Dane Company? Why did you hang up on them?"

Miao Feng quickly collected the plates from the group, stacked them together, carried them to the food collection area, and then jogged after them.

As Rosen walked, he said, "Their target is me, or maybe you too. He made this call to get me to come over. Don't be so quick to reveal your thoughts; that would put you in a passive position. And for the people at the steel mill, the more valuable they seem, the more dangerous they become."

He glanced at Leng Feng: "Believe it or not, he'll call again."

Leng Feng pondered Rosen's words, calmed down, and realized that they did make some sense.

If he had grabbed the phone and yelled at the other end, "Try touching them," the kidnappers would have known they had the right person and would have used that as leverage to make demands, or even killed a few people to threaten them.

It's better to find someone of higher status to handle this kind of thing; he, an ordinary citizen, doesn't want to stand out too much in front of the regular army.

Rosen and his group headed towards the bridge. At the stairs, they were stopped by two fully armed guards.

"I'm looking for Captain Gao; I have important intelligence about overseas Chinese."

The two guards exchanged a glance, conveying a message. One of them pressed his communicator: "Report, a Chinese national who boarded the ship wants to see the captain, saying he has intelligence."

A short while later, a ship's duty officer wearing a yellow armband walked over quickly.

"Are you looking for the captain?" He recognized these men as having been on the bridge earlier and questioned by the captain.

"Yes," Rosen said, "there is important intelligence about the overseas Chinese that needs to be reported to the captain."

The duty officer glanced at them, walked to the side, and whispered something into the walkie-talkie. Then he returned, his gaze sweeping over the three men's faces before finally settling on the grease stains still lingering on Rosen and the others' lips. "Come with me."

A short while later, the group entered the bridge again.

Gao Yun was holding a lunchbox, standing in front of the nautical chart table, eating and looking at documents at the same time.

The food in the lunchboxes was the same as in the cafeteria, neatly packed in divided compartments. He saw several people come in and place their lunchboxes on the table.

"Captain Gao," Rosen said before he could speak, "I just received a phone call. The caller claimed to be the commander of Dane Military Resources, codenamed 'Big Daddy.' He said they had captured a Chinese-owned steel mill in Uller, and all the employees there were his prisoners."

Gao Yun was taken aback, his expression instantly turning serious. "It's PMC?"

Leng Feng interrupted, "Yes, this company is a private military company in Africa. I—"

Rosen quickly tugged at Leng Feng's sleeve, catching him off guard.

Just then, Rosen's satellite phone rang again, the vibration particularly noticeable in the quiet bridge. Rosen took out the phone and waved it in front of Gao Yun. "These guys are calling again. Should I answer it?"

Gao Yun thought for a moment and nodded: "Answer it. Listen to what they have to say. Don't provoke them, and stay calm."

Rosen answered the phone, his tone becoming extremely impatient, as if dealing with a real estate agent who had made twenty sales calls: "Hey? Is this never going to end? Don't you guys pay for your calls?"

On the other end of the phone came Big Daddy's smug voice, radiating a smug "I've finally caught you red-handed" vibe: "Heh, Honey Badger. I just found out that the female doctor is your girlfriend's best friend. If you're not coming, then starting the day after tomorrow, I'll cut off one of her fingers every day and send it to you."

Rosen paused for a moment.

"Wait a minute," he said into the microphone, looking confused, "When did I get a girlfriend? Are you drunk? I didn't even know I had a girlfriend, how did you know?"

Inside the bridge, several officers on duty secretly pricked up their ears.

The old man paused for a second, then said, suppressing his anger, "Do you need me to repeat your girlfriend's name? It's Zhuo Weixi. Right?"