993 Good Commander
The convoy of vehicles had driven far away, but Li Du could still hear the tragic roars and cries of despair from the market.
He sat in the truck with a gloomy face. He felt upset about this trip to Africa.
He had been too naive and underestimated the chaos here.
Diamond was different from other gemstones. It was a stone that reeked of blood.
He recalled a warning when he was doing research on diamonds. "In Africa, to live longer, stay away from diamonds."
There was no point in feeling upset now. He should figure out the current situation and find a way to keep his group safe from harm's way.
The convoy made a turn after leaving the market, driving toward the west. Based on the direction, Li Du reckoned that they were heading to Swaziland.
The base of Gold Grass tribe was located at the border junction of Swaziland, South Africa and Mozambique. Here, south was South Africa and west was Swaziland.
Could the armed forces have come from Swaziland? He was unsure.
As far as he knew, recently, Swaziland was experiencing the threat of famine and virus. However, the regime in Swaziland should be quite stable, at least better than the situation in Mozambique. There weren't any rumors about warlords in Swaziland.
A bald man in the passenger seat sat quietly with a dark expression. Li Du also remained silent during the journey. The atmosphere in the car was very intense.
About ten minutes later, the bald man finally spoke. He coldy said, "Hand over all your weapons."
Li Du pretended like he didn't hear and held onto his grenade tightly.
The bald man suddenly kicked the dashboard. He turned back and yelled, "I said, hand over your weapons!"
"No," Li Du responded calmly. "Over my dead body."
He had considered his current situation and concluded that it wasn't that bad. They were referring to him as "VIP" and had also mentioned his identity as a diamond merchant.
From this point on, he could assume that they would not harm him. However, they might definitely want something from him.
Based on his judgement, it was very likely that the warlord of this military forces also had diamonds with them. The motive was the same as Remonin's: sell the diamonds.
If this was the case, he should be safe.
As long as he was useful and able to help them, then his life would not be in any danger.
The bald man furiously pulled out his gun and pointed it at Li Du. Brother Wolf, with his quick reaction, was able to block the muzzle with his grenade.
The black man became frantic and shouted, "F*ck! F*ck! F*ck! You sons of b*tches! You bast*rds! Throw away your weapons or we die together!"
Li Du said, "Well then . . . "
"Idiots! You f*cking idiots!" the bald man yelled frantically. "You think we're allowed to bring weapons to see the commander? Idiots! F*cking idiots! Throw away the grenades if you want to live! Otherwise, I am pulling the trigger! And we will die together!"
Brother Wolf gave Li Du a look. Li Du immediately understood—he believed the man's words too.
Regardless of who was waiting for him, there was no way he was allowed to bring grenades into their territory, let alone meet them with grenades on his person.
If he insisted in keeping the grenade, this man might really sacrifice his own life to take him out.
Under such circumstances, he had no choice but to yield.
Li Du slowly handed over his grenade to the bald man and said, "Alright, fine. Calm down. We're not dying here. We'll continue to live!"
Brother Wolf also handed over his grenade. The bald man wanted them to take out everything, but Li Du then showed him that he had nothing anymore.
The black man did not believe him, but he did not persist and simply groaned, "There will be a body search anyway. Better not be looking for trouble!"
Within half an hour, the pickup truck drove to a place with a stele. Li Du knew that this was the border between Swaziland and Mozambique. The stele was used to differentiate the border between these two countries.
He was shocked. They were currently in Mozambique's territory, and there was a small camp here to guard. At the entrance of the camp stood a sentinel.
The rushed into Swaziland, throwing up dust behind it. Just like that, Li Du entered another country.
Brother Wolf quickly whispered in his ear, "We are not far from Remonin's army camp. At most 20 kilometers to the northwest."
Li Du nodded.
In Swaziland, there was another army camp about a kilometer away from the border, and it was huge. The camp was surrounded by a steel fence, and inside were sturdy buildings. The helicopter from earlier with a red shield painted on it was parked inside.
The convoy entered the army camp and stopped. The bald man got out of the truck and violently opened the door. "Get out!"
Li Du fixed his clothing and coldly said, "Have some respect, will ya? I am supposed to be a VIP guest of your commander, right?"
"F*ck you!" The bald man did not give a crap; his attitude remained rude and outrageous.
After they got out the car, someone immediately came over to search their bodies and removed all metal objects from them, including belts.
As a precaution, Li Du released the little bug. No matter what, Li Du felt more secure with the little bug scouting outside.
Beside the entrance of the camp was a field with a flag pole. There were three flags on it; one was Swaziland's national flag, one was the army flag, and the other was a flag with the gun laying across a big knife on a red shield.
The bald man and several other soldiers escorted Li Du and his group to a building in the army camp. A white-haired, black old man smiled as he waited for them at the entrance.
This old man looked like the huge Hollywood star, Morgan Freeman. He was slightly younger, however, about 60 years old. He seemed to be kind and tender.
He was not wearing an army uniform but was dressed in moderate casual wear, a further demonstration of his demeanor.
As he met Li Du, he immediately made for a handshake and smiled. "Hi there. Are you Li Du from Harry Winston Inc.?"
"Hello. Yes, I am. And you are?" Li Du nodded and accepted his handshake. The old man unfolded his sleeve and revealed a brand name: Brioni.
Brioni had received the "Best of the best" award from the world's most famous luxury magazine, Robb Report, the previous year. Brioni had been ranked first among the top luxury brands in the category, "sports and casual wear."
The brands that were on this list were the best in the world, not just in name but also in reality. They were "the luxuries of luxury".
As far as Li Du knew, the clothes from this brand were mostly handmade. Those who wore it were not ordinary people. They were people such as Vladimir Putin, Kofi Annan, Gary Cooper, Al Pacino, and other huge names.
The old man smiled. "My name is Goodswin. Kids love to call me "Commander Good," but you can call me "good commander." It is probably quite unexpected for me to invite you here so suddenly. I hope my men didn't frighten you—did they?"
He looked at the bald man, who had a drastic change in expression!