Besides a small-scale sandstorm, the remaining journey was smooth without any unexpected events.
The three of them took turns driving. Even Jiang Chen, who did not own a car, had a driver’s license.
After Robert discussed with Nick and Jiang Chen about detouring around Tikrit since it was likely IS territory, they decided to follow Tharthar Lake and head northeast through Samarra before arriving in Baghdad. This was their plan to avoid all possible high-activity areas.
At night, the four of them stayed in the car. The sound of fighter jets screeching above them made the whole evening a tense affair. Despite that, no bombs dropped down thanks to the black pen that clearly served its purpose.
Nick found a random reason to change seats with Jiang Chen, leaving Robert to lean towards Jiang Chen’s ear with an unclear expression and say with a lowered voice, “Don’t worry, I’m pretty dead when I sleep. If you want to… hehe, I won’t look.” Robert also glanced with a smirk at Ayesha who was huddled into a ball in the corner.
“Fu*k off!”
Jiang Chen didn’t have the desire to at this point, and even if he did, the smell was too awful.
For these refugees who ran for their lives, they didn’t have the time to clean themselves as every moment was focused on survival.
As for Ayesha, whose beautiful features were hidden by the dirt, she was aware of her terrible body odor and kept to her corner in a vain attempt to avoid bothering Jiang Chen.
To be fair, although she smelled, it was not at a level where Jiang Chen couldn’t bear it. If he could fall asleep in the pungent truck from before, then he wouldn’t mind the smell now—especially since Robert who hadn’t showered in over a week probably smelled worse.
“I… I might have some odor, but I can promise that once I shower, I’ll use my body to make you satisfied.” Ayesha bit her lips as she spoke. It took almost all of her courage to say these words aloud.
Two whistles came from the front of the car as Robert and Nick obviously hadn’t fallen asleep yet.
[These two animals.] Jiang Chen cursed in his mind.
“Ahem, I, I really don’t mind,” he said a bit awkwardly.
Ayesha blushed, but it was not visible from under the dirt.
“Is it okay for Islamic women to marry a Han? I heard that the Han believe in Confucius,” Robert said mockingly.
She silently gazed at Jiang Chen.
“Following your logic, we also thought your people were all Christians, but you say sh*t more than you say God. Also, did your Han teacher never tell you that Confucianism is not a religion?” Jiang Chen shot back.
Of course, this was debatable.
Robert shrugged and laughed. “Don’t look at me like that. I do pray when necessary.”
Jiang Chen looked at Ayesha, and after some hesitation, asked with a serious voice, “As you’ve already heard, I don’t believe in anything and don’t plan on it either. I heard that Islamic women are not allowed to marry people of other religions. Is this still okay?”
“No problem.” Ayesha shook her head. “You helped Allah to eradicate the demons in his name. You are my savior. Without you, I probably would have died in humiliation. Since you saved me, I am yours.”
Jiang Chen’s throat gulped slightly as he silently gazed into the peacefulness in her eyes.
To be honest, he was tempted.
No man could resist a beautiful girl like this, especially him, who had been a virgin for over 20 years and lost his virginity in another world.
Of course, righteous men would be different, but Jiang Chen was honest enough to admit his personal flaws. Without the proper environment to shape him, he grew up acting like anyone else.
If she wanted it, then it was up to her.
Perhaps after a shower, her beautiful foreigner looks would come through. Maybe she would be a good driver.
With these thoughts, he felt relieved and didn’t pursue his musings.
As for the two animals up front, the thunderous snores had already begun.
－
The next morning, they grabbed a couple of crackers to eat between sips of water as breakfast.
According to the GPS, they were very close to Baghdad. Twenty kilometers northwest of the city limit, they got stopped by the patrolling UA forces, but after a brief inspection, the soldiers didn’t give them any trouble.
Robert displayed his green card to the patrolling officer and managed to borrow their car’s satellite phone. After making a few calls, he returned the phone.
Although the UA soldiers were not known for their good behavior, when they encountered their own citizens, they were quite friendly. After all, no one wanted to receive a subpoena from the court. The soldier from Ohio struck up a conversation with Jiang Chen thinking he was a reporter.
Nick, who already naturally looked like a bodyguard, began to smoke beside the Hummer.
Ayesha hid in the car despite the interior’s humidity. It was easy to tell how terribly the UA soldiers had acted in the past from the distrust in her eyes.
Several minutes later, a black shadow appeared in the distant horizon.
It was a Little Bird helicopter in which Jiang Chen also recognized a familiar face.
The violent gusts of air from the helicopter swirled the sands away from itself and into the surrounding people. Once the helicopter safely landed, the man in the passenger seat unbuckled his seatbelt and jumped down.
“Bruce, my old buddy, we meet again,” Robert greeted as he approached and gave the mercenary in combat uniform a hug.
“Sh*t, why do you smell so bad? Looks like you haven’t been doing well lately.” Bruce patted Robert on the back and then immediately pushed him away.
“Ahem, I have been doing terrible lately, but that’s all in the past.” Robert dusted the sand off his body and flashed his white teeth in a grin.
“I don’t think this can be solved so easily. Mr. Robert, nice to meet you again.”
Another middle-aged man with a sharply pointed nose disembarked from the helicopter. He gave a keen look towards Jiang Chen who felt quite uncomfortable, but he only frowned slightly and didn’t say much.
“Ahem, Mr. Laurence, nice to meet you.” Robert smiled awkwardly and extended his hand.
“Looks like you managed to escape danger,” Laurence said casually as he shrugged.
Bruce stood beside Jiang Chen and greeted him.
“I can’t believe you came here to help him.” Bruce forced a bitter smile and took the cigarette Jiang Chen passed over.
“Who is this person? Robert seems to be afraid of him.” Jiang Chen leisurely blew a smoke ring.
“Laurence Oden, FBA agent.”
“Please don’t release my information to irrelevant foreigners, Mr. Bruce, or I’ll have to deliver my doubts on your work quality to Black Water International on behalf of the FBA.” Laurence heard their conversation and put Robert aside as he walked towards Jiang Chen’s direction.
With his back towards Laurence, Bruce rolled his eyes at Jiang Chen and rolled his shoulders. “A guy that’s not that easy to get along with.”
Jiang Chen locked gazes with Laurence who stood in front of him. The uncomfortable stare continued for a while before Laurence opened his mouth.
“Are you here on behalf of your country? Or as an individual?”
“Robert is only a business partner,” Jiang Chen said calmly.
“Then I hope your business is successful and that you avoid getting involved with this matter.” Laurence didn’t try to lower his voice from Robert in the slightest, glancing at him directly as he talked to Jiang Chen.
“Ahem, don’t be like this, buddy.” Robert rolled his eyes. “Maybe we can talk?”
“I don’t have any interest in your conflict. Maybe you can discuss it in private?” Jiang Chen smiled.
“Discuss?” Laurence opened his palms and smiled humorlessly at Robert. “How do you want to discuss these four hundred tons of oil from Iran. Are you out of your mind?”
“There is no evidence now.” Robert smirked, not fazed in the slightest. He reached out and thumped his hand on Laurence’s shoulder. “Buddy, maybe we can make a deal.”
“Hmm? I’m listening.” Laurence scoffed at him but didn’t push Robert’s hand away.
“To prevent these sort of unexpected events from occurring, I usually have an extra layer of protection when I conduct business in highly sensitive area. For example, a box of empty bullets that are installed with a GPS signal. Where these firearms go, you can imagine.” A cunning look flickered in Robert’s eyes.
Laurence’s facial expression drastically changed.
“Where is it?”
“Right here.” Robert grinned and threw a smartphone into Laurence’s hands. “Congratulations, future head agent Mr. Laurence. This is going to be a big deal.”
“Your smart ass saved you this time. I’ll let this one incident go.” Laurence peered at Robert for a long time before he turned and put the phone into his suitcase. He then dashed for the Little Bird helicopter. “Bruce, let’s go. We have to go back to the aircraft carrier.”
“Okay, boss.” Bruce answered and shrugged helplessly at Jiang Chen before he followed.
“And also that Biden! I need to have a chat with him!” Robert yelled at the helicopter that was lifting off.
“Do whatever!”
The witness protection program was only a verbal promise; whether it was kept depended on Laurence.
“You guys made a deal?” Jiang Chen asked Robert.
“Yeah, a missile guided by the GPS could send all those b*stards into heaven. I bet they’re all busy carrying the firearms into their warehouses. Sh*t, this is big.” Robert smiled gleefully and held onto Jiang Chen’s shoulder. “Let’s forget about these politicians with their hands full of sh*t. I’ll treat you to some fine booze in Baghdad.”
“You’re not nervous at all.” Jiang Chen was speechless.
“I’ve been in this industry for too long. Maybe I’ll think about transitioning to a different industry.” Robert shook his head. “The Iran oil business is done for. I’ll have to go to Saudi Arabia and close down the shell company.”
The three of them returned to the pickup truck and said their goodbyes to the patrolling UA soldiers. Robert settled into the driver seat and started the car towards Baghdad.
“Do you have any idea what you want to do now?” Jiang Chen casually asked.
“Somewhat. That’s right! Movies! Haha, Hollywood movie producer doesn’t sound so bad. Next time you come to Los Santos, I’ll arrange some Hollywood girls for you.” Robert smiled.
“Hollywood celebrities… can you afford them?” Jiang Chen glanced at Robert as he chuckled.
Robert smiled with his hands on the steering wheel. “Los Santos is a place filled with dreams. As long as you’re a movie producer, those blond girls who dream of becoming famous overnight will prepare their asses for you. That godd*mn place, it’s magnificent…”
“Looks like it’s the same for any country’s entertainment industry.” Jiang Chen chuckled as he suddenly remembered Liu Yao.
A grin surfaced.
Maybe he should also become a movie producer. It was only a way to spend money after all.