DB Chapter 98

Chapter 98 – ‘Blood Diamond’

Novel Title: 龙血 (Dragon Blood)

Author：水千丞 (Shui Qian Cheng)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: 单鸣 (Shan Ming -MC), 沈长泽 (Shen Changze -ML)

*Please read at Novels Space.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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The work of purchasing daily necessities mainly fell on Crow and Huang Ying. Compared with the others, the two of them were relatively the most able to hide in the crowd—one with a friendly face and the other with a simple and honest face.

After three days of holding back in the villa, more and more people began to lose their temper and wanted to run out to play at night. But they were all stopped by Tiger Shark. Kali, in particular, was in pain and almost cried.

In their spare time, they practised in the underground training ground. Except for a few seriously injured mercenaries, everyone else slowly recovered their combat effectiveness.

After this battle, their fear when facing the Dragon Blood Man completely disappeared. Dragon blood people are not ghosts. They will also bleed and get injured. Although they are stronger than humans individually, as long as they have excellent equipment and the assistance of teammates, Dragon Blood people will also be defeated. Although the mission was not completed in this battle, it greatly weakened Tang Jingzhi’s prestige and boosted ‘Peregrine Falcon’’s aura. After all, which mercenary regiment in the world is able to fight with these monsters?

Everyone is strengthening their bodies unrelentingly, preparing for the upcoming huge battle.

A week later, when everyone was complaining about Tang Tingzhi and when their souls had already flown out of their bodies, the discussion between Tang Tingzhi and the Chinese military finally came to a conclusion. The order from above was to capture Tang Jingzhi and Shen Yao alive. It was especially said that Shen Yao had to be alive. They also said that they would send reinforcements to them.

“Reinforcement?” Ayer sneered, “Reinforcement means you will be sending more Dragon Blood men over? It doesn’t matter how many people you send over, our contract didn’t include this sudden appearance of Shen Yao.”

Tang Tingzhi and the other three Chinese soldiers all glanced at him. The meaning in their eyes was obvious and they said, “Didn’t you just want more money?”

Ayer said angrily: “You see what I mean. If you don’t follow the contract, we won’t refund the deposit.”

Tang Tingzhi sighed, “Then let’s revise the contract.”

Tiger Shark interjected: “I don’t agree to include capturing Shen Yao alive into our mission no matter how much you give us.” His intuition told him that Shen Yao was very dangerous and he might cause huge losses to the ‘Peregrine Falcon’. “However, as long as our target is Tang Jingzhi, we will inevitably be hostile towards Shen Yao. The contract must be revised. More importantly, I want to know how many people your country’s government is willing to reinforce? What if Tang Jingzhi has created a whole new Dragon Blood Man army? We will all go to die?”

Tang Tingzhi said: “I will apply for more equipment and fighters to the greatest extent. Are you all afraid?”

Tiger Shark glared at him with an astonishing aura, “Your childish agitation will not do anything to us. If the task is too difficult, I will protect my own team members at all costs.”

Tang Tingzhi explained: “I mean, if everyone is scared, I developed a new psychotropic drug last year. It can effectively control negative emotions such as fear and tension. If…-” Tang Tingzhi felt that everyone was staring at him so he wisely shut up.

Tiger Shark clenched his fists and seemed to be holding back his anger.

Tang Tingzhi nodded, “If you have any opinions on the contract and subsequent actions, as well as the requirements for any new equipment, please try your best to voice them out. We must prepare for the battle.”

After dinner, they sat around the living room and began to discuss operational plans and requirements.

In fact, Tang Tingzhi is a very good client. No client has ever been so generous. The most important thing is that they will provide them with special equipment. After the mission is over, they can take the still usable ones back to their own base and find someone to imitate them on the black market. If they sell it, they can also earn a lot of money.

Although everyone was indeed full of scruples about Shen Yao, their belief in wanting to defeat Tang Jingzhi and the Dragon Blood Man far outweighed their worries.

In the end, they reached a consensus and cooperated in the battle. However, ‘Peregrine Falcon’ took Tang Jingzhi as the main target while the matter of capturing Shen Yao was handed over to the Chinese special forces. If Shen Yao died or escaped, ‘Peregrine Falcon’ would not be responsible for it.

After the employment contract was revised, everyone was waiting for the Chinese intelligence department to find out the latest news about Tang Jingzhi. After waiting for more than a month, the intelligence department finally intercepted the latest image of Tang Jingzhi from the satellite. The positioning showed that he is currently in near an abandoned movie city in Sierra Leone. It was near a mine called ‘Blood Diamond’. The news shows that he has close contacts with the local diamond smuggling army.

Sierra Leone is located in West Africa. It should be regarded as one of the countries closest to hell in the world. Leonardo Dicaprio’s movie ‘Blood Diamond’ let the outside world begin to understand this country. Luxury and expensive diamonds have corroded its foundation of governance. Although the current Sierra Leone government intends to control the diamond mines and prohibit smuggling and random selling, the powerful army still separates on one side and mines diamond privately. They then sell them all over the world. Behind the beautiful and clear diamonds are the blood and tears of the enslaved locals.

The country is poor and backward. There are also constant wars going on. Due to the lack of supplies, some troops simply exchange raw diamonds for weapons so they are the favourite cooperation partners of major European jewellers. Every year, batches of foreigners enter this country under the guise of charity, investment, peacekeeping, and so on. But they then secretly take away a large number of diamonds with them.

It has to be said that Tang Jingzhi chose an excellent place as his lair. In Sierra Leone, as long as you have weapons in your hand, you can have the final say.

According to the data, the abandoned movie city where he is hiding was built by an American investor in the 1990s. It is said that several Hollywood movies were made there but they later withdrew their capital and left because they were unable to maintain it. So the movie city was abandoned. Of course, this investment is just a cover. The poor citizens of Sierra Leone can’t fill their stomachs and there is no extra entertainment expenditure such as visiting the movie city. Tourists from all over the world will not go to such a poor and chaotic country if they are smart enough. But some did go to visit in the name seeing the place where a few movies no one has heard of were filmed at. But this group of Yankees used their status as investors to come and go in and out of Sierra Leone at will not for sightseeing. They definitely took away a bunch of priceless rough diamonds with them.

Now this movie city, which covers an area of several hundred acres, has become a good place for Tang Jingzhi to set up his lair.

Judging from the satellite photos, this movie city is specially used for shooting war movies. There are more than a dozen buildings that are deliberately built as dilapidated and ruined.

After finding Tang Jingzhi’s hiding place, everyone was very excited. They could finally set out to fight a hearty battle instead of staying in this broken villa all day long.

Tang Tingzhi said, “The reinforcements sent by the government will enter the capital Freetown first and they will join us at the ‘Lion Mountains’. They have nine people in total, four of them are Dragon Blood people. They entered in the name of an investment investigation group. They brought a lot of equipment with them. We took advantage of the partnership between the ‘Peregrine Falcon’ and the ‘Angolan Armed Forces’ to smuggle them into Sierra Leone from Angola. Is there any problem?”

Everyone wiped and cleaned their guns. They packed their luggage and there was no objection from them.

That night, they successfully left Japan and flew to West Africa according to the route arranged by Tang Tingzhi.

The battlefield this time is the desert that everyone dislikes the most.

The desert environment is too harsh. It was extremely hot during the day and extremely cold at night. The sun can irritate the skin and cause dehydration. The sandstorm can hit at any time and the debris are a severe challenge to the limit of the human body. Not to mention in the desert, creatures such as poisonous insects, scorpions and snakes can threaten people’s lives at all times.

This movie city is built on the edge of the desert and there are towns around it. But it will not be completely deserted and the situation might not be that bad. But this trip will definitely not be easy.

For combat in the desert, the two female mercenaries in the team felt the most disgusted.

They would be unable to take a bath for several days, their skin will be dry, the body will be dehydrated, and they will be exposed to the sun. The most unbearable thing is that in order to prevent the growth of lice, most of the male team members shaved all the hair on their bodies. If they were not to shave their hair, do they have to prepare a roll of plastic wrap to wrap around their heads to escape lice?

Doing so during the high temperature during the day is definitely asking for trouble. But compared to the pain of shaving the hair on their head, they can only endure it.

Some people are unwilling to shave their heads as they are. Such as Ayer, who loves beauty. And Shan Ming, who thinks that Shen Changze will always follow him around so he is not worried that bugs will approach him at all.

When Tang Tingzhi and Shen Changze came out of the cockpit after the meeting, they saw several shiny bald heads in the cabin.

“What are you guys doing?” Tang Tingzhi looked at them inexplicably.

“If we don’t shave our heads, the lice will infest our hair. It won’t be conducive for battle.” Kali said naturally.

Tang Tingzhi blinked, “I have a newly developed oral insect repellent, which exudes a disgusting smell for insects and snakes from the human body. Not only can it defend against insects and snakes, even lice and fleas will not come close to you.”

“Damn it! Why didn’t you say so earlier?!” Job looked at his half-bald head and threw the razor on the ground angrily.

Vulture and the others held back their laughter as they watched them being funny sincerely.

Tang Tingzhi said innocently, “We still have two hours to arrive at Angola. After that, we have to drive in a car for several hours to sneak into the ‘Lion Mountains’. There is plenty of time for you to eat.”

Those who hadn’t shaved all stopped and those who had shaved all stared at Tang Tingzhi with knives in their hands.

Tang Tingzhi seemed to think of something suddenly and quickly turned his head to look at Ayer. After seeing his blond hair on his head is still intact, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Ayer caught his subtle movement. He squinted his eyes and asked, “What’s the matter? Are you disappointed that I didn’t shave my head bald?” He was still the same. It made him feel a commotion in his heart.

Tang Tingzhi said honestly, “No. I think your hair is very beautiful. It would be a pity if you shave it off.”

Ayer froze and he felt a little hot on his face.

Shen Changze, who had taken a sip of water, almost spit it out. He couldn’t help but look at Tang Tingzhi in surprise.

Tang Tingzhi’s expression didn’t change at all. He calmly pulled out a large bag from under the chair and took out the pills, “This is the oral insect repellant I just mentioned. It will take effect four hours after taking it and it can last for three days. If you go to the toilet and find that your urine is green in colour, then it is in effect. Everyone should bring a few of these. These are dust covers. Each person should bring two dozen with them. Remember to put it on the muzzle of the gun tightly. Don’t let sand get into it. If there’s a big hole popped out of my chest, I can’t be saved.” He handed out some desert necessities, “The other things that I can’t get for the time being have been brought by our reinforcements. We are going to be ready soon and our supply will be sufficient. Everyone relaxes and just needs to prepare well. We will find a way to solve the natural threats encountered in the desert. As for the part that cannot be solved, we can only rely on ourselves to overcome them.”

Shan Ming shook the small transparent bottle containing the pills in his hand. He sneered at Shen Changze and said, “Why don’t you sprinkle some of your blood on me. I think it’s more effective than this.”

Shen Changze didn’t take the medicine at all. Those poisonous insects and snakes had no time to bother him. He stuffed the small bottle into Shan Ming’s pocket, “I will try my best to be by your side. But you still have to take it, just in case.”

Shan Ming jokingly said, “Don’t change the subject. Just spill some blood.”

Shen Changze glanced at him helplessly, “Okay. You can grab and bleed me out in the desert.”

Shan Ming said enviously, “No problem. If the bugs dare to bite me, I will throw them on you.”

Taking advantage of no one’s attention, Shen Changze kissed him quickly. He whispered ambiguously, “I will be by your side.”

Without twisting his neck, Shan Ming stomped on him fiercely. He then sat down and wiped his gun.

Although they were sitting at the tail of the plane and almost no one looked back at them, this scene was still seen by Tang Tingzhi. He glanced at Shen Changze thoughtfully and Shen Changze felt his gaze on him.

Tang Tingzhi knew what he thought of Shan Ming. After all, Tang Tingzhi was the one who led the training of restraining his sexual impulse. Tang Tingzhi knew all the unbearable fantasies and crazy desires in his heart for Shan Ming. But Shen Changze didn’t feel any pressure. Tang Tingzhi is a person who will not waste time on irrelevant matters and thus will not disclose such confidential things to others.

So, when Tang Tingzhi praised Ayer’s hair twice inexplicably, it made him become very curious.

After receiving Tang Tingzhi’s gaze, he got up and followed him into the cockpit.

The plane was flying on auto-pilot and everything was stable. Tang Tingzhi let the captain and co-pilot go out to give them space to talk alone.

Shen Changze said: “If you want to tell me not to let the enemy use Shan Ming to deal with me, you have said that many times. I know that already.”

“No. I didn’t mean to say that this time.” Tang Tingzhi said: “Shan Ming is like a wild animal. He acts on intuition, lives according to his likes and dislikes, and has very little sense of right and wrong or ethics. If he is met head-on, he will be very difficult to deal with. In the end, it will be a loss for both sides. Nonetheless, although he looks fierce, he is not difficult to please. You should deal with him the way you deal with wild animals.”

Shen Changze didn’t like others analysing Shan Ming like this. But he couldn’t help but want to hear Tang Tingzhi’s more than 200 IQ brain continue to analyse him for him. So he endured his displeasure and said, “Continue”.

“It’s very simple. Satisfy him when he’s hungry and satisfy him when he’s in heat. He will become even lazier to find food by himself. And he will become even more dependent on everything you give him. Only then will you be able to control him.”

Shen Changze secretly felt that what Tang Tingzhi said made sense. Shan Ming’s mobility and IQ were superior, but his mental age was more like a naughty boy. His world seemed bloody and dark but it was actually very simple when he thought about it. He didn’t need to please and cater to others as long as they obey orders and complete missions. Such people are easy to see through to a certain extent. Shan Ming is indeed like a wild animal. If the domestication process is done seamlessly, he will get used to everything the owner gives him. At least in terms of sex, he knows that Shan Ming is not obsessed. He just needs to satisfy him enough. He was just like a lion or a tiger. They will stop attacking fat sheep when they are full. If he can satisfy Shan Ming from head to toe, he will be more than half successful.

The more Shen Changze thought about it, the more reasonable it became. But he suddenly realised that Tang Tingzhi had always warned him not to pay too much attention to emotional matters or it would become his own weaknesses. Why did he behave uncharacteristically today and began to teach him how to make Shan Ming become his?

He frowned and said, “Why are you telling me all this all of a sudden?”

Tang Tingzhi said frankly, “You may see Shen Yao soon. I hope Shan Ming can be your reason not to rebel against the country.”

Shen Changze said coldly: “I have my own judgement. You are overthinking.”

“Naturally, I think a lot. Especially when the enemy has intentions that I don’t know of. Let’s not assume too early. After all, he is still your biological father. I can’t predict what will happen in the future. I just hope that you will always remember your feelings for Shan Ming.”

Shen Changze said firmly: “I will not betray him for anyone. But on the contrary, I can betray everyone for him.” In his tone, there is a warning that is not difficult to detect.

Tang Tingzhi nodded, “That’s good.” He closed his eyes wearily, “That’s good.”

Shen Changze turned around to go out. When his hand was holding the hatch handle, he suddenly turned around and asked curiously, “You seem to be particularly interested in Ayer.”

Tang Tingzhi narrowed his eyes slightly, “Yes. He has beautiful blond hair, which looks very soft to touch.”

Shen Changze really couldn’t understand what this weird person was thinking of in his heart. If Tang Tingzhi hadn’t shown any human feelings, he would have suspected that he had taken a fancy to Ayer.

Shen Changze couldn’t help asking, “What are you thinking about?”

Instead, Tang Ting showed a bewildered expression, “I just think that his hair is beautiful. Can’t I appreciate beauty?”

Seeing his serious expression, Shen Changze felt a little weird. So he turned and walked out of the cockpit.

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*Translator’s Note: If you guys want to understand more about the situation around ‘Blood Diamond’, there’s a movie released in 2006 with the same title. It revolves around the issue of this diamond mining in Sierra Leone at the time. As for the current setting of this novel, I think it should be around the year after 2006 since the author-sama mentioned the movie name in her writing. Based on my research, the conflict in Sierra Leone roughly ended in 2003 with ‘The Kimberley Process’ being put into action to prevent “conflict diamonds” from entering the mainstream diamond market. Can you imagine that we bought these diamonds before without realising that child slavery was used to produce such diamonds? It’s like we’re funding child slavery and exploitation. Thank God diamond is not my best friend. Partly was because I’m broke and could not afford it hahahahahaha -K