The next morning, Jiang Chen sat up on the bed while rubbing his still sleepy eyes.
A faint smile appeared on his face while looking at Ayesha, who was still curled up in blankets, sleeping like an adorable cat.
Needless to say, there were no words for what happened last night.
Maybe it was just his imagination; however, it seemed that from that night on, Ayesha had started becoming clingier. Although she remained expressionless in public when it was just the two of them…ahem, there’s no need to say the rest.
Yesterday he took Ayesha around all the major tourist attractions, along with hundreds of photos carrying their beautiful memories, it could be considered as the perfect culmination of their Kane trip.
He leaned against the headboard, brooding for a short while, and then taking care not to disturb the still sleeping Ayesha, he sneaked out of bed.
He went to the bathroom, took a shower, and then took out his phone to call Robert.
“Ahem, buddy, I heard you’ve solved your problem. Uh, sorry, I—” As soon as the phone connected, Robert’s apologetic voice immediately came through.
“Ok, I didn’t come here to listen to you apologize,” Jiang Chen yawned and wandered to the balcony of the room. “Niger, last stop, how are things over there?”
“Don’t worry, everything will be smooth sailing from here on. I already personally made the trip to ensure everything is ready.” Robert touched his nose with embarrassment and his laugh echoed through the phone
“You personally made the trip? When did you become so diligent?” Jiang Chen asked, looking baffled. “Your “old friend” is not monitoring you?”
Jiang Chen smiled and leaned leisurely against the carved metal fence.
“Has the infrastructure construction been completed yet? I’ve already solved the training problem.”
“Of course, I know a Portuguese builder who’s an expert in this area. He previously assisted the French army to build a military outpost in Mali. In short, this guy was good at building military infrastructures. Asking price is not expensive—$15million. I went and inspected it yesterday. It’s already finished and the quality was also excellent.”
[Hmm, not bad.]
Jiang Chen nodded with satisfaction and changed the topic.
“What about the refugees?”
“Done.”
“Great. Wait for me in Niger.” Jiang Chen then hung up the phone.
All of a sudden, he felt a piece of clothing gently draping over his back. Upon turning around, he was greeted by Ayesha’s tender but fiery eyes.
“You’re up.” Jiang Chen smiled and gently held the small hand on his shoulder.
“Mhmm, it’s a bit cold here, especially in the morning. Are you hungry? I’ll make you breakfast,” Ayesha said softly.
Jiang Chen’s eyes bore into Ayesha’s eyes.
Being stared like that by Jiang Chen, Ayesha’s cheeks turned scarlet and whispered, “What?”
“Nothing, I’ve just realized you’re becoming more and more beautiful.” Jiang Chen grinned wickedly while staring into her eyes.
Gently clutching her panicking hands, he pulled Ayesha back into the house.
“Come on, we’re getting that breakfast.”
…
Breakfast at Primir Hotel was exquisite though somewhat bit expensive.
After eating breakfast, Jiang Chen checked out at the front desk, and then while holding Ayesha’s hand, boarded the taxi and headed to Boris Boer International Airport.
What luggage? Just store them directly in the storage dimension.
After getting off the vehicle, Ayesha returned to her usual cold expression and followed Jiang Chen half a step behind.
At the airport gate, Jiang Chen met Nick along with ten Kane men who were hauling their suitcases.
He greeted Nick and turned to look at the ten soldiers of the former 92nd Mechanized Infantry.
“It’s such a great honor. You’ve made the right choice,” Jiang Chen smiled and extended his arms in a welcoming gesture.
“Not like we have much of choice,” the man named Ivan shrugged. His stiff face contorted slightly before continuing, “But the opportunities you provided are sure very attractive.”
Laughing, Jiang Chen expression was very cordial. “Of course, I’ve always been very good with my people.”
“At least the old guy Anderson doesn’t need to worry about housing anymore,” said a huge bald man with a smile as he pounded the back of his comrade standing next to him.
“House?”
“That’s right.” Ivan rolled his eyes and shrugged. “I served the army for 25 years when the former Soviet Union still existed. Unfortunately, I have been enlisted in the Kaneian army. I was on the list for housing in 1987, but with how things are looking, it would take 100 more years before it would be my turn.”
“That’s nothing,” said the bald guy, patting the guy who continued to remain quiet. “It’s even more unfortunate for Anderson. It was already his turn when his name was replaced by someone else.”
“Don’t keep using me as an example. Whoever wants to fight for those swindlers can go right ahead. This country has nothing to do with me anymore,” Anderson softly rebuked with an unhappy expression.
“Ok, guys, why don’t we chat in the waiting area.”
A group of people standing in front of the airport looked out of place however you look at it. Jiang Chen noticed that the police in the front door was deliberately looking in their direction.
It was a critical period after all, so any group of people gathering around would cause suspicion.
…
There was still an hour before the plane took off and Jiang Chen was fooling around with Nick in the waiting area. Ayesha was sitting impassively beside Jiang Chen and was holding a fashion magazine provided by the airport. It seemed like, after the shopping spree, some kind of strange interest was awakened in her.
“Where have you been to these past few days?”
“Went back home and then traveled for a bit,” Nick responded succinctly and grinned.
“Speaking of which, you didn’t bring your family to Los Santos?” Jiang Chen asked, somewhat surprised.
“They can’t.” Nick’s face revealed a rare melancholic expression.
Jiang Chen didn’t know what to say. He seemed to have realized something as a wry smile appeared on his face.
Looking at the flight information over his head, he appeared nostalgic and said, “Do you remember the wooden cabin in Oesk? That’s my home.”
“Sorry for making you remember something bad,” Jiang Chen said softly.
“It’s okay, it’s all in the past.”
Previously, Jiang Chen only heard Robert mentioning about Nick’s hometown being in Kane. However, he didn’t think that it would be in Oesk and his house would be that cabin.
Due of the heavy atmosphere, the conversation was halted.
After looking at the time, Jiang Chen got up and walked towards the restroom. Before boarding the plane, he decided to take it easy first.
But just as he was about to leave the restroom, he unexpectedly ran into someone, who he’s expecting to be there.
The same gray vest, aquiline nose, Willie Agent he met the day before yesterday in the ice cream shop.
“You finally came looking for me. Speaking of which, I still don’t know your name.” Jiang Chen extended his hand with a smile.
“My job means that it’s inconvenient for me to reveal my name, but you may call me Merlin.” Merlin shook his hand, but his eyes were locked on Jiang Chen.
“Merlin? Magician? Your overtime is over?”
“That’s right. Thanks to you.” Although he said thank you, there was not a trace of gratitude on his face.
“Where is the sniper?” Merlin cut straight to the point.
“In a house in Oesk. I heard the endurance of snipers is not bad, so before I left I feed him well. Should be enough to sustain him for three days without a problem.” Jiang Chen smiled.
The expression on Merlin’s face had not changed and his hawk-like glare was still piercing.
“His exact location. According to the agreement, you said you’ll give us his coordinate before leaving the country.”
“It’s on this USB.” Jiang Chen casually took out a thumb-sized USB and handed it to Merlin.
Merlin silently reached out to hold the USB only to find out that Jiang Chen wasn’t letting go. He cast a suspicious look at Jiang Chen.
“I haven’t boarded yet,” Jiang Chen stated with a smile.
“We’ll keep our end of the bargain.” Merlin’s exerted a bit more strength.
“But I don’t trust that.” Jiang Chen’s grip on the USB remained firm.
“Why?” Merlin’s facial muscle was all wound up due to the pressure.
“There is still half an hour before we board the plane. To ensure that I’ll safely get on the plane and land safely at my destination, I just want to remind you one thing before giving this to you,” Jiang Chen paused, smiled when he saw the tension on Merlin’s face, before continuing, “I have encrypted the contents inside this USB. After inserting it in the computer for one and half hour, it would automatically unlock the encrypted information inside. If anything happens to me during this trip, I’m sorry, but KGB might get their hands on the sniper’s coordinate location first.”
One hour was enough for the plane to land in Nigeria.
After saying his piece, Jiang Chen let his hand loose without warning. Merlin clutched the USB awkwardly and bumped into the washroom door, stumbling a few steps backward.
Staring intently at Jiang Chen, Merlin suddenly burst out laughing.
“I didn’t expect you to be a programmer.”
His original plan was to wait until they acquire the sniper’s location and then immediately arrest Jiang Chen. There are far too many reasons for Willie Society to do this. As for the organization behind Jiang Chen—ridiculous, why would they be afraid?
Jiang Chen shrugged, “No, but I am the boss, I have a lot of competent employees.”
Naturally, the codes in the USB were Yao Yao’s masterpiece
“Good, I hope you never set foot in Kane again,” Merlin took the USB, left words dripping with threats and walked away.
“I hope you’ll be able to receive your salary sooner before your boss goes bankrupt,” He shouted at his leaving figure before returning to the boarding area with a smile.
He sat next to Ayesha, who was still holding the same fashion magazine.
“Those people left.” Ayesha lowered her voice.
The secret agents who had been sitting nearby had already left, and the waiting room seemed deserted for a moment.
“Yes, I had a talk with their boss. Which dress do you like? Jiang Chen skillfully changed the topic.
Ayesha blushed as her fingers rubbed against the page.
“This one—ah! No, I already have enough clothes…”
“Hmm, this one should fit you nicely. Alright, let’s buy it! Copy the website, and I’ll show you how to shop online…”
Nick glanced at the two people and cracked a smile on their display of “affection.” He then looked at the clock on the wall again.
It was almost time to board.
[Farewell, my hometown. I wish you peace.]