Chapter 128: Taken Care Of

On a commercial airliner.

The entire rescue team had disguised themselves as ordinary tourists, though their explosive muscle mass made many passengers steer clear. Qin Yang, however, looked perfectly ordinary, sitting outside the first-class cabin and reading a newspaper with great interest. The others were busy teasing each other to kill time, their occasional coarse language drawing frowns and side-glances from fellow travelers.

"Dammit, can you people keep it down?" a middle-aged man who had been trying to rest stood up, clearly displeased.

Qin Yang glanced at him briefly before returning to his paper.

Dian Jiang let out a muffled snort; he felt uncomfortable trapped in his cramped seat due to his massive frame. Next to him, Zhao Wu couldn't help but snap, "Dian Jiang, can you just sit still? Would it kill you not to move?"

"It’s too stifling," Dian Jiang rumbled.

The rest of the group burst into laughter. The middle-aged man’s face turned livid. He signaled to a man in a black suit nearby—who looked like a bodyguard—to intervene. The bodyguard stood up, took one look at Dian Jiang, and gulped; this clearly wasn't a fair fight, so he thought better of it. Instead, he approached Xie Chengyang, whose steady demeanor suggested he was the leader. "Sir, could you ask your friends to keep it down? Loud noise is prohibited on the aircraft."

Xie Chengyang shifted his posture and said with a sheepish expression, "I can't control them."

Just then, a flight attendant approached. Aware of the situation, she walked over to Dian Jiang and Zhao Wu and said softly, "Gentlemen, could you please be quiet? The other passengers need to rest."

"Get me a glass of ice water," Zhao Wu said, rolling his neck.

The flight attendant was taken aback. Seeing his impervious, rogue-like attitude, she offered a bitter smile. Observing this, Qin Yang glared at them: "Shut your damn mouths, all of you. If I hear one more sound, I’m throwing you off this plane."

The group fell silent, stunned. They looked at his somewhat slender frame—was this kid bluffing? But what surprised them most was that the rowdy bunch actually shut their mouths and behaved. The flight attendant gave a soft word of thanks, and Qin Yang nodded with a shy smile. The bodyguard awkwardly sat back down.

Finally, there was peace.

Not long after, a sound like rolling thunder suddenly erupted from a corner. Dark lines appeared on the faces of Qin Yang and his team. They saw Dian Jiang curled up asleep, while Zhao Wu rolled his eyes in frustration. It was bad enough that this idiot snored in the Black Prison, but now he was embarrassing them on an airplane. The other passengers exchanged helpless, bitter smiles.

Who was going to wake him up?

Were they looking for a death wish? His build was like a bear, and he had a fierce, menacing face.

With no other choice, they had to endure it.

The snoring grew louder and more persistent until it was the only sound in the first-class cabin. For the first time, someone felt that flying first class could be a form of torture. There were still five or six hours until they reached Nili, and judging by how soundly he was sleeping, he wasn't going to wake up anytime soon. A beautiful woman sitting behind Qin Yang, who had been resting with an eye mask on, woke up, groggily removing her mask and headphones.

Qin Yang felt his face flush; if she could wake up even with headphones on, the piercing power of Dian Jiang's snoring was clear. He mused that next time, he should let this bastard sleep at the enemy's headquarters; it would surely keep them from getting any rest. The woman stood up, looked toward the source of the noise, and sighed helplessly. She checked the time and muttered, "That snoring is so loud—is he sick?"

"Something like that," Qin Yang replied.

The woman finally noticed the man sitting next to her and smiled. "Don't tell him I said that; he looks so fierce."

"It's alright. People who look fierce usually have good hearts," Qin Yang said, putting down his newspaper.

"So, by your logic, people who look good are bad-hearted?" she teased.

"Not necessarily. I look pretty good, and my heart is quite kind," Qin Yang replied with a thick skin.

"Pfft." The woman covered her mouth to hide a laugh. "I've never met anyone as narcissistic as you. What are you doing in Daer? Don't tell me you're here to buy gemstones? You don't look like one of those black-hearted merchants," she asked.

"Gemstone buying?" Qin Yang paused.

The woman nodded. "Yes. Nili is in the midst of civil unrest. The country is rich in jewelry, and now that most of the mines are controlled by Nili militants, they’ve slashed prices to trade for more arms and dollars. Many jewelers from around the world are heading to Daer to make a profit."

"That's not me. I'm just here for tourism," Qin Yang laughed. "We planned this trip a long time ago. Nili was our first choice, but because of the unrest, we had to settle for Daer. What about you?"

"Me? I'm headed to Nili," the woman said, her expression suddenly turning resolute.

Qin Yang was surprised. "Nili is in the middle of a civil war, with fighting everywhere."

"Fighting everywhere? I'd call it ethnic cleansing," the woman said through gritted teeth. "The people there are being persecuted. We’ve formed a team to enter Nili to bring medicine and food to the suffering, and to provide them with spiritual comfort."

"A world peace enthusiast?" Qin Yang asked, surprised.

"Yes, we belong to a religious peace organization," the woman nodded.

"Are you going alone? Isn't it too difficult for you to enter Nili?"

"No, my companions are from all over the world," the woman said. "We've discovered a waterway that allows us to enter Nili by river, bypassing the militants. One of our companions is a Nili native; he’s desperate to save his people, so he risked his life to enter Nili twelve times to successfully map out a route."

"Cough. Actually, I’m quite a peace-lover myself," Qin Yang said, hearing they had a map to Nili. "I’m the head of the Haitian City branch of the Humanitarian Relief Association, and also the chairman of the Haitian City Blue Sky Public Welfare Foundation. Our foundation’s motto is 'Do what I can, public welfare for all.' Although we haven't been established long, we heard about the cruel ethnic cleansing in Nili, so we came as tourists, hoping to collect enough material to declare the suffering of the Nili people to the world, raise as much money as possible, and send warm care to the people of Nili."

"Cough, cough, cough."

Xie Chengyang, who had been listening to see what nonsense Qin Yang would spew next, couldn't help but cough. He was laying it on way too thick.

But the woman didn't suspect a thing. Instead, she said excitedly, "Hello, my name is Sophie."

"Qin Yang," Qin Yang said, shaking her hand with a smile.

The two chatted more and more happily. Qin Yang was a master of nonsense, spouting all sorts of lofty ideals about caring for the world and the plight of refugees. He charmed Sophie, who felt she had found a soulmate. She shared her experiences and touching stories from across the globe without reservation, and Qin Yang listened intently.

As they neared the end of the flight, Sophie suddenly asked, "How do you plan to enter Nili?"

"Actually, we were thinking of entering as gemstone merchants," Qin Yang said.

Sophie frowned. "That's a bit dangerous. How about this? Why don't you join us? How many people are in your group?"

"Sixteen," Qin Yang scratched his head, feeling it was quite a few.

Sophie did the math. "Our team has eight people, making twenty-four in total. My companion said we can accommodate twenty-five, so that’s perfect! We can travel together and look out for each other. Oh my, my friends are going to love talking to you. Your commitment to human rights, peace, and public welfare will make them consider you their dearest friend."

"You've got to be kidding me," Xie Chengyang muttered, patting his head in defeat.

Qin Yang blinked and said, "That would be wonderful. We were worried about the dangers. You know, we don't fear sacrifice, but we are afraid of failing to convey the tragic state of Nili to the rest of the world."

"It's a deal."