Chapter 129: Making Preparations

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The plane landed safely.

The moment they stepped off, a wave of heat struck them head-on, leaving their skin painfully uncomfortable. Sophie put on a hat and asked, “Where are your companions?”

“Behind us.” Qin Yang smiled and pointed back.

Sophie froze for a moment and turned around. Fifteen sturdy men were following close behind, including the big fellow who had harassed them throughout the journey. They all smiled and waved in greeting.

“My companions may not look entirely human,” Qin Yang said with a grin, “but every one of them is willing to sacrifice himself for peace. Once they heard my plan, they fought to volunteer. I could hardly hold them back.”

“Hello,” Sophie said. After Qin Yang’s introduction, she found these men considerably more endearing and waved at them with a smile.

“Hello.”

The men returned her greeting with broad smiles.

After saying a few words to Qin Yang, Sophie retrieved her luggage—a single enormous bag filled with medicine and food. Meanwhile, Zhao Wu, Xie Chengyang, and the others disappeared for a while. When they returned, each of them was carrying two huge travel bags, nearly half their own height. These bags had been specially made, with extraordinarily spacious interiors. They could hold all the weapons the men needed without being discovered during security checks, while still leaving room for plenty of harmless-looking items to conceal their true contents.

Zhao Wu tossed over the bag bearing Qin Yang’s name. The instant Qin Yang caught it, he felt the Tang saber hidden in the inner compartment. A satisfied smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

When he opened the bag, he found a camera inside as well. Smiling, he hung it around his neck.

That made Sophie even more certain that he had come to gather material.

“Come on, beautiful. Give me a smile,” Qin Yang said cheerfully.

The shutter clicked.

Sophie appeared in the viewfinder.

The group waited at the airport for a while. A plane from the United States slowly descended. Sophie stood some distance away, waiting. When she saw six people approaching, she waved.

The first to come forward was an elegant foreign woman with a quintessentially Western beauty. She warmly embraced Sophie, while the others greeted her in turn.

“Come, Sarah. Let me introduce you to my friends. This is Qin Yang, head of the Haitian City Humanitarian Relief Association in our country. He was also the founder of the Blue Sky Public Welfare Foundation. Although it was established only recently, they have shown extraordinary concern for the disaster in Nili.”

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Qin Yang smiled and extended his hand. “Qin Yang.”

“Oh, hello. My name is Sarah. My Chinese name is Sula,” Sophie said in somewhat halting Chinese.

“This is Arthur, our team leader.” Sophie pointed toward a white man. “Arthur is also serving as our bodyguard this time. He has extensive combat experience.”

“Hello. My name is Arthur. Thank you for everything you have done for peace.” Arthur was not particularly tall, but he had a kind face. He stepped forward and spoke with solemn sincerity.

“My name is Qin Yang. I’m only doing what I can,” Qin Yang replied with a smile in English.

Back when he had carried out missions along the border, there had been members of that **** group who were fluent in English. Qin Yang had naturally made use of their abilities, though it had cost him a considerable number of soul points. At least it allowed him to communicate with everyone.

Hearing him speak such fluent English, the others came forward one after another to greet him. When they learned from Sophie why Qin Yang and his companions had come, they became instantly excited. Before Sophie could say anything, they invited the entire group to travel with them.

Qin Yang’s smile grew even warmer. Behind him, the others did their best to maintain a respectable image, speaking as little as possible so that their less-than-pure natures would not be exposed. Besides, heaven knew how furious Qin Yang would become if they ruined his plans.

“Oh, everyone, we don’t have much time,” Arthur said after checking his watch. “Kellon is still waiting for us. Let’s go.”

“Let’s go!” Sophie and Sarah shouted together.

The large group headed toward the nearby station. They would take a bus to a place near the border. Zhao Wu and the others looked around cautiously.

The region was tropical, and it was already midday. The heat was becoming unbearable. As they watched the dark-skinned locals pass by, each seemingly unaffected, they could not help but feel helpless. When it came to enduring the heat, they were far behind the natives.

Behind them, Yang Guang caught hold of Qin Yang and lowered his voice. “I’m telling you, this lie of yours is getting too big. It won’t be easy to clean up afterward.”

“Please. The moment we complete the mission, we’ll return home. Once we enter Nili, we can find an excuse to split up with them,” Qin Yang said, rolling his eyes.

Xie Chengyang came over as well. “I think it’s pretty far-fetched too. The major peace organizations around the world are all connected. If Sophie really investigates, everything will be exposed. Finding our own way afterward won’t be a problem, but we’ll lose face all the way to ****.”

“Stop being so pessimistic,” Qin Yang said, glaring at him.

“What are you talking about? Can I join in?” Sarah asked, apparently curious, as she came over.

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Qin Yang smiled. “Nothing. They’re complaining that the weather here is too hot. In our homeland, this is the season when spring is warm and the flowers are blooming.”

“That’s Africa,” Sarah sighed. “It is a beautiful continent, producing the most beautiful jewels in the world. But God seems to have forgotten the people who live here. Years of warfare have made this already sweltering continent resemble a volcano. The suffering is not merely physical heat, but also torment of the spirit.”

Qin Yang patted her shoulder. “One day, this place will bask in God’s light.”

The group endured a long, bumpy ride in a somewhat dilapidated bus. Before nightfall, they finally reached a small town on the border.

The border town was extremely lively. People from all over the world came and went. As the group drew closer, they realized that most of them were jewel merchants from different countries.

In the distance, they could see the border itself, separated by an electrified fence. There was only a single heavily guarded window. Vehicles loaded with gemstones constantly drove out, selling their cargo cheaply to the jewel merchants there. The merchants would process the stones slightly and then sell them for prices dozens, even hundreds, of times higher.

Payment for the gemstones came in various forms. Sometimes it was cash; sometimes it was an entire crate of weapons.

This blatant and bloody trade made Sophie and the others frown deeply, but they had no power to stop it.

“This is blood jewelry,” Sarah said through clenched teeth. “The money these black-hearted merchants pay will become brutal weapons used by armed groups to slaughter innocent people. One day, everything they do will be condemned by humanity across the world.”

“Alas, that day will never come,” Qin Yang said quietly as he stepped forward.

Sarah stared at him in surprise.

“Jewelry and diamonds are welcomed by the vast majority of women around the world,” Qin Yang continued. “At present, eighty percent of the gemstones circulating in the market are stained with blood. Yet countless people never see the horrific cries of the innocent dead concealed beneath that beauty. Blood diamonds are not the saddest part. The saddest part is that so many people will never awaken.”

Sarah fell silent.

Qin Yang had spoken those words because, the moment he entered the town, the Butler had informed him that countless spirits were gathered on the other side of the border.

After extending Old Jiang’s life by one year, Qin Yang’s daily absorption limit had risen to five thousand. Although the Black Prison’s spirits were in urgent need of replenishment, the presence of ghost soldiers had allowed the total number of spirits under his command to reach a barely sufficient thirty thousand.

Only seventy thousand more were needed. In other words, if he stayed in Nili for fourteen days, he would advance to the Second Level of Hell.

He no longer had to worry about falling short of the required number of spirits. Within Nili alone, there were tens, hundreds, even thousands of times more than seventy thousand. In fact, he could sense more spirits with every step he took.

“Kellon is here,” Arthur called.

Kellon was a true African man, his entire body dark as night, his white teeth gleaming. He wore simple clothing and carried a bag over his shoulder.

“We’ll rest tonight,” he said. “We’ll leave at four tomorrow morning. That is the safest time.”

Sophie and Sarah introduced Qin Yang and the others to him. When Kellon learned that they had come to gather material about Nili and reveal its tragic reality to the world, he became extremely excited.

After all, Nili’s armed **** had been constantly boasting about how benevolent it was. Yet the true tragedy had only just begun.

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