1004 Trus
Crew Cut Brother dodged and managed to avoid the lioness's smash. However, it was unable to shy away from the lioness' mouth.
The lioness bit down, with Crew Cut Brother in between her teeth, ready to kill.
It was unclear how it did it, but Crew Cut Brother struggled like a slithering snake and the lioness was unable to keep it in her mouth. In fact, Crew Cut Brother even succeeded in being flung onto the floor, escaping the lioness.
Li Du knew the reason. Honey badgers had thick rubbery skin that was tough yet loose-fitting. Even if they were bitten by the deadly crocodile, honey badgers were capable of escaping by shedding their outer skin.
Having escaped, not only did Crew Cut Brother stop fleeing, but it turned and dashed toward the lioness before clawing at her!
The lioness was enraged and let out several roars. Other lionesses began to approach at top speed.
A pride of lions surrounded Crew Cut Brother. Li Du did not manage to see what happened next clearly as his view was obstructed. He only saw that the pride of lions surrounded Crew Cut Brother, roared, and seemed to be attacking it.
After a couple of minutes, a lioness picked up Crew Cut Brother with her mouth. This time, Crew Cut Brother was not struggling like before. The honey badger's body laid obediently between the lioness teeth, unmoving, dead.
Good cast a glance at Li Du and said cheerfully, "See, that's how a brave soul ends up after acting recklessly! The lion gave it a chance to live, but it did not cherish the opportunity!"
Li Du understood that Good was referring to him but Li Du did not respond, pretending that he had not heard.
Their hunger satisfied by the meal, the pride of lions began to disperse.
The eagle was soaring in the sky and the hyenas that had been hiding started to move, keen to gain a share of the zebra's remains.
"Commander, shall we make a move?" the driver asked.
Good kept his eyes on the bush that a small honey badger had been hiding in. He said casually, "No, not leaving yet, stay a little. There's still a little warrior. I want to see how it is going to die."
Hence, they waited. However, the other small honey badger did not emerge and stayed hidden in the bush.
Good, who had lost his patience, waved his hands toward the honey badger and commanded, "Go, lure the little creature out."
The driver swallowed his saliva as he looked out of the window. He said hesitantly, "Commander, can we drive over there?"
Not all the lions had left and some were just resting by the hills. The hyenas were roaming around nearby, searching for their next prey. The area remained dangerous.
The soldiers were afraid to get down from the jeep. However, Brother Wolf had no reservations. He pushed the door open, jumped down from the jeep and carefully studied the positions of the hyenas before lowering his body and dashing towards the bush.
He had not prepared himself to deal with the lions. The pride that just ate their fill were no threat. They would not randomly attack prey because every attack could bring them unnecessary harm.
Unless it was absolutely essential, the lions, leopards, and other wild beasts would not risk suffering injuries. That was because one injury could cause lasting damage, causing their hunting abilities to suffer and causing them to die from starvation.
The hyenas fixed their eyes on Brother Wolf, slowly approaching.
Brother Wolf searched among the bushes and brought out a honey badger, which looked just like a small puppy. Then he started back to the jeep again with his body lowered.
One hyena looked at Brother Wolf hungrily, slowly making its way toward him.
Brother Wolf turned and glared menacingly at it, opened his mouth fiercely and howled, "WOAW!"
That stopped the hyena in its tracks. After regaining its composure, the animal took a step backward, eyeing Brother Wolf suspiciously.
Shock had gripped the hyena momentarily. With the small honey badger in his arms, Brother Wolf hurried back to the jeep and passed the animal to Li Du calmly.
It was not wonder that the small honey badger had not moved at all. It was unaware of what had happened because it had fallen asleep in Brother Wolf's arms.
Seeing this, Good's expression turned dark. The driver lowered his head fearfully, his body trembling in fear.
Li Du placed the small honey badger on his lap, caressed its body and said, "This thing is pretty cute, it's a little warrior. I like it. It is now my pet."
Good's darkened face was still for a few minutes before he commanded coolly, "Return!"
As though he had been granted amnesty, the driver heaved a sigh of immense relief and started the jeep to leave.
Back at the camp, the business discussion was to continue.
However, Good had not achieved what he originally planned. Prior to discussing the pricing, he had wanted to bring Li Du to the woods to scare him. This was so he would be able to set the price as he wished during their negotiations.
Now, not only had he not frightened Li Du, he had given the man a pet.
Back in the office, he opened a can of beer and took two large gulps. Then, he took out a few gorgeous small stones from the drawer of his office table. "These stones, how is their pricing?"
Li Du had previously searched the office and knew where the diamonds were. They had all been kept in a safe, and inside were all raw, unrefined diamonds.
There was also a box of raw, unrefined diamonds in Good's office drawer. However, there were also some gorgeous stones inside. These stones resembled diamonds but were not diamonds. They were what Good had used previously to scheme the young miner at the mining site.
Good had no methods for processing diamonds. After all, diamonds were extremely hard and required specialized tools and techniques to cut. Good's territory did not have the resources required to do this.
Hence, Li Du glanced at the gorgeous stones and said, "List your price as you wish, but I will not be able to help you get rid of them. I can only help you to get rid of diamonds, solely diamonds."
"These are all diamonds," Good said harshly.
"Whatever you say," Li Du calmly responded. "But if I brought them to the market and failed to exchange them for money, then the one who cannot make a profit from them would be you, not me."
Hearing that, Good's mood suddenly changed for the better. "Haha, haha, very good. My judgement of your character was not wrong. Mr. Li, you are a rare young man, a partner I am extremely satisfied to be working with!"
Good put away all those stones and brought the small box containing the raw, unrefined diamonds from the drawer.
The diamonds inside were not clear or shiny, but instead a blurry gray. These were raw, unrefined diamonds that had not been carved and did not reflect light.
Li Du observed these diamonds. The largest one was the size of his pinky. Most of them had the size of yellow or green beans and were regular melee diamonds. After a short evaluation, he said, "After processing these diamonds, one carat will fetch 5,000 to 8,000 USD."
Determining the price of diamonds was very complex. It was different from valuing gold because the price of diamonds had to be determined by evaluating several factors.
However, it would be useless for him to explain. Good would not listen to him. Therefore, he could only put it simply by giving Good a price that he had derived from averaging the value of the big diamonds and melee diamonds.
Good shook his head and said decisively, "Ten thousand, they are worth ten thousand US dollars."
Li Du smiled. "Good Commander, I have no idea how exactly you see me. Are you treating me like the miner slaves? Selling my life for you? If so, please set the price as you wish, I will do as you say. But if you treat me as a working partner, then please give me some room to make a profit. Ten thousand US dollars—not even an ounce of a chance for me!"
Good stared at him with a strange expression. "I will treat you as my partner. However, you have to win my trust."
"How can I win your trust?" Li Du had a bad feeling. What is this old lunatic trying to do again?
Good grinned mysteriously. "Don't be anxious, I will tell you how to do it."