Chapter 9: Journey to Africa

  In March, there were still many places in the Northern Hemisphere where it was snowing. Although Gao Yang had turned up the air conditioner in the car to its maximum setting, the dry and scorching air seemed to be coming in waves like ocean waves.

  Gaoyang leaned against the back of his chair with no expression, quietly gazing at the big river by the roadside outside the window.

  "It's the dry season now, and this dirt road can barely be driven on. When the rainy season comes, it'll be a complete swampy mess. Only American-made 4x4s can still manage to run, while those crappy Japanese cars will all be stuck in the mud." James chatted enthusiastically as he drove, talking about everything under the sun.

  Both banks of the river are covered with dense tropical rainforest, and from time to time, the roar of unknown animals can be heard.

  "Four years ago, I came here on a mission, the environment is complex, and various tribes are killing each other, anti-government armed forces and poaching groups are rampant." James said seriously to Gao Yang "Boss, I hope you can listen to my arrangements for safety, this concerns everyone's safety." James continued "Here, children as young as 7 or 8 years old play with AKs."

  "Alright, I'll leave the safety aspect entirely up to you." Gaoyang said with a smile to James.

  In the late afternoon, a group of people drove to a small town by the road. The town was not big but quite prosperous. It is more than 200 kilometers away from the port and an important supply point for inland poaching groups. More than 100 kilometers further inland is the destination of Gao Yang's trip, a small diamond and gold mine area.

  Gao Yang found this place by asking Yuan Dian to search for it. Gao Yang needed an identity that could conceal the source of his money and precious metals. He set up a company in the mining area, hired some locals, and later had a place to receive goods when buying things from other places.

  Gao Yang and his group drove into the town's tallest building, which was also its largest hotel. The four-story high building had a courtyard with a parking lot.

  "This is the safest place in town," James said.

  After settling in and arranging for accommodation, Gao Yang was given a single room. He took a comfortable hot bath and declined the various services offered by the service staff. As he gazed out the window at the beautiful sunset, Gao Yang began to quietly think about his plans for the future.

  Why do I do all these things? For money? With the ability to travel through time and space, Gao Yang can get a lifetime of wealth at any time. For women? Although having money can't buy love, there will never be a shortage of women. For power? Even if one conquers the world, what's the difference? You still sleep in just one bed.

  Gao Yang has been a clever kid since he was young, after all, how could a child who can get into a university in Beijing by himself without paying sponsorship fees or having any connections not be clever? Although it's a second-rate university, but a second-rate university in Beijing is still better than the best in other provinces.

  Since leaving home to attend university, Gaoyang has been living independently. He has suffered a lot and learned many things. The sharp edges of Gaoyang's life have been worn away, and he had long buried his former fantasies deep in his heart. He thought it would be good to spend the rest of his life in peace and quietness, but Yuan's appearance made Gaoyang's heart come alive again.

  Quietly smoking, watching the sun disappear below the horizon. Gaoyang extinguished the cigarette butt, dressed and walked out.

  James brought six people with him, following Gao Yang, all of them carrying firearms in their clothes. The group walked into the bar in the center of town.

  Bars around the world seem to be all the same: scantily clad dancers, drunken men, and shady characters peddling pills in dimly lit corners.

  Gao Yang was drinking wine and watching the black pearls twisting their bodies in the dance pool, looking very excited. James glanced at him with a strange gaze, thinking "Does this guy have the same taste as me?"

  Two black men in suits and leather shoes walked over and said to Gao Yang, "Sir, our boss invites you to have a drink."

  Gaoyang nodded at James and stood up, walking with Heishu towards the inner VIP room. James and others followed behind. Gaoyang, who possessed the energy shield ring, completely ignored these small scenes.

  Upon arriving at the VIP room, a middle-aged white man came forward and said to Gao Yang, "Hello sir, I am Carlos, the manager here. It's our first meeting, what should I call you?"

  "Smith, just call me Smith. What can I do for you?" High Yang sat down and lit a cigarette.

  Carlos sat down opposite Gao Yang and said, "Mr. Smith, what brings you here?"

  "What's up? Do I need to report to you or something?" Gao Yang said with a displeased expression.

  "Mr. Smith, don't get me wrong, we mean no harm." Carlos waved his hand and continued, "We have some good stuff here, I wonder if Mr. Smith is interested?"

  "What is it?" Gao Yang asked.

  "Ivory, rhinoceros horn, crocodile skin and all sorts of handicrafts." Carlos peddled to Gao Yang "Can Mr. Smith take a look at the goods?"

  "I'm not interested in these." Gaoyang extinguished his cigarette and stood up saying.

  "Mr. Smith, if you need anything, feel free to contact me," Carlos said with a smile as he handed over his business card.

  Gao Yang pocketed the business card and smiled, then turned around and left the bar.

  On the way back to the hotel, James said to Gao Yang, "Carlos is a local snake here. There's basically nothing he can't do in this area." Gao Yang nodded silently.

  The next morning, everyone drove to the mining area. At noon, they arrived at the foot of the mountain in the mining area, where luxurious and exquisite courtyards were scattered among the thatched huts, with black uncles rushing about everywhere, and the distant mining area was filled with the roar of huge machines.

  They arrived at a luxurious courtyard where the owner welcomed Gao Yang and his entourage at the gate.

  The cool air conditioning blew, and the crowd sat down in the living room. The host here is called Richard, a British man who owns his own company and mine in this mining area. Due to personal reasons, he can no longer operate here, so through President's introduction, Gaoyang took over Richard's company at a price of 37 million pounds. The original price was 40 million pounds, and the president charged some handling fees and also stated that this year's taxes can be exempted.

  The formalities were quickly completed, and after the money was transferred, Richard raised his champagne glass to Gaoyang and said, "The output here is not bad. Some time ago, I heard from the mineral exploration team that there may be oil deposits in the valley on the other side of the river. This house is a gift to you, good luck."

  Gao Yang smiled and clinked glasses with Richard, saying "Good luck."

  The company doesn't have much extra work, just follow the previous routine. Gaoyang gave a 15% raise to the management and technical personnel and arranged for production before leaving the mine area back to Libreville. Before boarding the plane, he said to James, "Three months later, the rotating mercenaries will come to replace you. If something happens in the mine area, use money to solve it. If money can't solve it, use your guns to solve it. If that doesn't work either, call me."

  "Yes, boss." James said seriously.

  Gao Yang returned to Bern and received a call from Sotheby's manager. The three artworks brought back by Gao Yang from Beidou in 1924 had been sold at auction. The transaction price was far higher than the mortgage price, especially the tea set, which was sold for more than 60 million euros.

  After deducting mortgage and interest, Su Fu Bi transferred all the remaining money into Gao Yang's account.

  Gao Yang hastily returned to 1924 in Feng County, showing his face and arranging official business before returning to the original time and space. After flying back to Beijing, he rushed home to explain to his parents that he had won a huge prize by buying lottery tickets and had already arranged for the whole family to immigrate. Under his parents' astonished gaze, he flew to Beijing to handle immigration procedures and then hastily rushed to Bern.

  Settled his parents in a villa to study foreign languages, High Yang finally stopped flying back and forth. In the following weeks, High Yang put most of his energy into accompanying his parents except for occasionally showing up at 1924.

  His parents, who had never traveled abroad before, were not used to the foreign way of life, so Gao Yang could only accompany them more. After visiting all the famous scenic spots and major cities, the whole family had a great time together.

  As for the Japanese who went crazy in Zhabei and Shun warehouse in 1924, Gao Yang was just letting them down. Without mentioning that Knuber's armor couldn't be given to the Japanese, with the Japanese character, they would definitely not take out gold again and would think about capturing themselves to return to their previous gold.

  The Japanese cheaply occupy a place once and then withdraw, waiting until they have enough strength to go and occupy more advantageous places.

  General Yamashita was kicked into the reserve, Lieutenant Nakamura was demoted to a transport boat to signal flags, and Consul Takeda returned to his hometown in Kai to farm. The Japanese who lost five tons of gold were furious, as they had always taken advantage of others under the Great Empire of Japan, never thinking that there would be a day when they would be deceived. As for their acquisition of materials, it was magnificently ignored.

  After settling his parents, Gao Yang arrived in Liberville to store the mining equipment and then came to Feng County in 1924.

  The county is busy with spring plowing, nothing big else. The security team's camp has built rows and rows of houses, the number of security personnel has exceeded 5,000, which is completely unsustainable for a county that relies on taxation.

  Gao Youcai was appointed as the deputy commander, and other officers took up posts at the battalion and company levels. As for the squad that escorted military supplies, most of them stayed in Feng County's Security Regiment, no particular reason, they were paid more and could be squad leaders. Gao Yang's biochemical warriors all served as cultural instructors at the company level. Every night, they taught new recruits to read and write, spreading the country's national ideology.

  Gao Youcai reported that there were insufficient firearms and ammunition, with several people having to share one gun, and the ammunition was not even enough for training.

  Gaoyang rushed to the Magic Capital, found Manager Ruger, drove away all the guards and replaced them with biochemical warriors. Gaoyang loaded 120 handguns, 5,000 Mauser rifles, 20 Mark IV machine guns, 12 76mm mortars and twenty bases of ammunition into the storage space and brought them back to Feng County.

  The next morning, Gao Youcai was frightened by the large amount of military supplies in the warehouse under Gao Yang's instructions. He had never seen these military supplies being transported in before and dared to swear that he had not been aware of it. Gao Yang told him not to worry about this matter and focus on training instead.

  Arriving at the mining area with the mining equipment, Gaoyang only then discovered an overlooked important issue. There was no electricity here! The high-pressure water gun and other things that Gaoyang had brought were all useless. Without a basic energy supply, nothing else was of any use.

  Helpless, Gaoyang had to return to the original time and space and purchase a 220MW thermal power generation unit from a factory in southern China, along with matching boiler cable transformation equipment.