085 A Transaction of 3.5 Million Dollars

You came back too late! So tired!

“Damn it! Did you rob the Libyans’ treasury?”

Li Changjiang looked completely bewildered.

If it weren’t for the tangible sensation spreading from his fingertips to his brain, he would hardly have believed it himself. In the end, money was the driving force behind this damned war—Li Changjiang was no exception. Seeing a bag packed full of U.S. dollars, even he couldn’t help but feel his heartbeat quicken.

He pulled open the oversized duffel bag. Li Changjiang realized he was seeing a whole new level of greed from this Russian. Who else would risk carrying so much cash when fleeing for their life unless they treasured wealth above all? It was truly frightening. He hefted the bag; it had to weigh dozens of kilograms.

Judging by the weight, there must be at least three million dollars, maybe even more. It was an enormous sum—converted to yuan, it was nearly twenty million. In that moment, Li Changjiang couldn’t even fathom what twenty million yuan meant.

“Treasury? No! No! No! Li, you’re underestimating the Libyans. They’re far richer than you think. This is just what those damned Libyans owed me. If I could have taken more, I wouldn’t have left them a single cent.”

As he spoke of money, Nicholas was every inch the miser.

Li Changjiang fell silent. He didn’t want to pursue the question of where the money came from—everyone had their secrets, after all.

The two lapsed into silence again.

The Russian seemed exhausted. After a few yawns, he was already dozing off, but Li Changjiang dared not relax in the slightest—his nerves wound ever tighter.

Misurata was no place to sleep.

Dawn crept in.

Li Changjiang tried shifting positions to observe the sniper’s location, but aside from the narrow three-meter-wide strip of safety behind the wall, there seemed no better option. He had to abandon any thought of a forced breakout.

“Hey, Li, you can have all this money, but you have to promise to do something for me.”

Nicholas’s sudden outburst startled Li Changjiang.

“For me? Why?”

It was a huge sum!

But as tempting as it was, he had no desire to risk his life for money. Carrying such a bag of cash, he’d be lucky to make it out of Misurata alive, let alone get home.

Still, what intrigued him more was what Nicholas wanted him to do. Even for mercenaries, a job worth millions of dollars could hardly be simple.

To him, that was astronomical.

“You just have to say yes or no. I can help you get the money out, as long as you give me an address.”

Li Changjiang glanced at Nicholas with surprise, uncertainty clouding his face.

“Where do you think is the safest place on a battlefield?”

Nicholas asked a question that seemed completely unrelated.

The safest place?

“The most dangerous place?” Li Changjiang replied almost reflexively.

“No, no, no! You Chinese really do think differently. How could the most dangerous place be the safest? Li, you should know—the safest place on the battlefield is always under the protection of the arms dealers.”

Arms dealers?

Li Changjiang fell silent.

He knew what kind of people Nicholas was talking about—not those peddlers lugging bullets and guns around, but real arms dealers, the kind who could supply vast quantities of weapons, heavy equipment, even missiles, tanks, attack helicopters—big-time operators.

Having spent some time with the Griffin Mercenary Corps, Li Changjiang understood these things.

The Frenchman Louis had once told him that in Africa, every war was orchestrated by those who traded in arms worldwide.

All those people had deep political or military connections. To call them the patrons of war was no exaggeration.

But what surprised Li Changjiang was that Nicholas had such connections?

“What do you want me to do?”

If that was the case, then why hesitate?

Li Changjiang’s thirst for money was no less than Nicholas’s—if not greater. Simply put, if not for the money, why would he be in this godforsaken place?

“—”

“What?” Li Changjiang hadn’t caught it.

Nicholas repeated himself, more slowly this time.

“You want me to take care of Lucia? Louis’s daughter? Are you sure you’re not joking?”

“No, mercenaries never joke.”

Stunned.

Li Changjiang was indeed stunned. If it had been another kind of job, he wouldn’t have blinked, but to ask him to take care of a little girl—this was asking too much.

“Sorry, I can’t do that. Once we get out of here, you should take care of her yourself.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure!” Li Changjiang’s voice was firmer than ever.

He could refuse the money, but to leave China and go to France to care for a little girl—he absolutely wouldn’t do it.

The two fell silent again.

This time, Nicholas’s patience seemed to wear thin. After only a few breaths, he spoke again.

“Li, I think Louis would also hope you’d take care of Lucia, don’t you? Otherwise, he wouldn’t have told you he had a daughter.”

Li Changjiang fell silent.

Louis had taught him not just the basics every mercenary should know, but how to have a mercenary’s heart.

Bold, meticulous, ruthless.

If Nicholas was playing the emotional card, it would be hard for him to refuse. But was he really supposed to go to France and be a babysitter? For a man who had just celebrated his nineteenth birthday, it was an unimaginable nightmare. Still, with three million dollars, maybe it wasn’t such a bad job.

“Lucia! Lucia Louis—”

Nicholas recited a long string of names and addresses—cities, streets, even a house number. Li Changjiang wanted to forget it, but annoyingly, it seemed etched into his brain, impossibly clear.

How bizarre.

“Southern Province of China—that’s my address. If you’re not afraid I’ll take the money and run, send the stuff to my place.”

Decisive.

Li Changjiang didn’t hesitate long. After all, whether they could escape was another matter. If Nicholas really had such powerful connections, then maybe none of this would be a problem.

They exchanged a smile and shook hands, sealing the agreement.

Li Changjiang couldn’t help but force a bitter smile.

“Damn, what a mess! Hell with it all!”

“Li, what are you saying? Are you planning how to spend the money? If I were you, I’d find a woman first. After all, a woman can always take good care of a child.”

“—”

Time ticked by.

The gunfire and explosions nearby didn’t stop—in fact, they grew fiercer. The Americans, even if they survived, would suffer heavy losses. The Libyans had clearly set them up, and they were just collateral damage.

But as dawn brightened, Li Changjiang noticed the Russian was becoming more alert—or perhaps more agitated.

Finally, a beam of light shot through the broken window into the room.

Suddenly, the Russian dashed across to the other side.

As Li Changjiang heard in his ear, the Russian’s voice was unusually clear.

“Now!”