Chapter 103: Trials and Tribulations

Jared spoke in fragmented sentences, while Chen Cao remained silent. Chen Cao tapped his fingers lightly, and Stanny immediately pulled a cigarette from his jacket and handed it to him. Chen Cao lit the cigarette and exhaled a slow plume of smoke.

Jared clearly had a deep interest in tobacco. As the smoke drifted toward the driver's seat, he took two deep breaths through his nose, looking utterly intoxicated.

Chen Cao turned his head slightly and reached toward the back again. The shrewd Stanny, observing the situation, immediately handed over another cigarette. Chen Cao took it and offered it to Jared. "Have one!"

Jared shook his head quickly and said to Chen Cao, "No, no, I'm driving!"

The statement was grammatically nonsensical.

Chen Cao asked skeptically, "Who says you can't smoke while driving? You're quite the heavy smoker, aren't you?" With that, he insisted on handing over the cigarette.

Jared stopped holding back. With one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding the cigarette, he opened the car's glove compartment and pulled out a plastic lighter. Chen Cao saw clearly that it was stamped with the words "Made by Dachen."

Once Jared lit the cigarette, Chen Cao said, "My friend, you should be making good money in this line of work!"

Jared took a deep drag and waited a long time before slowly exhaling the thin smoke. The wariness he had originally felt toward Chen Cao softened slightly. "You think this is paradise? Everything here is monopolized by the Anthony family. From basic necessities like rice and salt to the police—they are all people from the Anthony family. Not to mention tobacco, which has always been our specialty. They inflate the prices far beyond our standard of living. I only managed to land this driver's position after passing some very strict tests!"

Chen Cao smiled slightly upon hearing this. Just from a single cigarette, he had already gained a firm grasp on his target.

The car continued on. Through casual conversation with Jared, Chen Cao learned that he had a fourteen-year-old sister who stayed home to guard some goods. His family was not well-off. Moreover, through their talk, Chen Cao realized that although Jared worked for the Anthony family in the arms trade, he was simple-hearted, frank, and innocent—nothing like the rogue he had appeared to be at the airport. Of course, to learn all this, Chen Cao had to keep supplying him with tobacco.

The car soon pulled up to a grass hut piled high with firewood. Chen Cao followed Jared out of the vehicle and looked around. Mountains surrounded them, densely covered with tropical rainforest vegetation. The atmosphere of the tropics emanated from the jungle; though hot, it sent shivers through one's body, creating the sensation of being swallowed whole.

"We're here." Jared’s expression turned serious again. He scanned his surroundings and walked into the small wooden hut without a word.

Chen Cao placed his palm behind his back and signaled to Stanny with his fingers. Stanny immediately shoved his hands into his pockets.

Having done this, Chen Cao followed Jared into the hut.

As soon as Chen Cao stepped inside, Jared immediately shut the door, plunging the room into darkness. Aside from a few coughs, it was pitch black and devoid of life. Then, the sound of a match striking erupted. Jared lit an oil lamp, and after setting it down, he turned and went into the back room.

Chen Cao could see clearly now. In a corner of the room lay a girl with dark skin, as thin as a matchstick—no, she looked more like a piece of dried firewood. Her eyes, however, were huge; upon closer inspection, they were a deep, profound blue. She was covering her mouth, coughing, and staring at the outsiders with wary eyes.

"Brother, are they really reliable?" As the black girl spoke, the flickering kerosene lamp revealed that she was holding a small revolver, the muzzle aimed squarely at the three of them.

The stifling air and oppressive environment, combined with the gun in the frail girl's hand, made it feel impossible to breathe.

"Hey, boss, that’s a real piece!" Stanny, as always, couldn't help but be boisterous.

"Shut up!" Chen Cao barked in a low voice. His expression softened slightly, and he spread his hands. For him, dodging the girl's gun would be easy, but this was not the time for a fight. He needed weapons, and Jared could provide them. He also needed a guide, and Jared was a good candidate for that as well. However, through their conversation, he knew Jared feared the Anthony family. To tame someone like Jared into taking risks for him, all he needed was a fuse.

Stanny stuck out his tongue and held up his hands to show he was unarmed.

Carissa looked at the girl and, while spreading her hands, frowned and said, "This girl has severe pulmonary tuberculosis. She needs immediate treatment, and..." Carissa’s eyes drifted to the girl's hand holding the gun, which was covered in needle marks.

No one paid attention to what Carissa said. Although they all noticed what she saw, Stanny was thinking about gems, American dollars, and his fiancée in Mainz. Chen Cao was thinking about gems, American dollars, and the life of Mei Mei. They all had their missions, and they were about to enter the hellish jungle, so they felt they had the right to ignore the life of this black girl. In Africa, everything was like this; sometimes human life was worth less than a rare beast. It was a tragedy of the world.

Just then, Jared emerged from the back room carrying a bundle. He saw the gun in his sister's hand but did not stop her. Instead, he said to Chen Cao, "Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, we have to be a bit careful. These are the parts you need!"

Chen Cao looked at the bundle Jared was clutching and took a step forward. Jared immediately grew tense and said, "Hey, you have to pay first!"

Chen Cao smiled. "Of course." He pulled a stack of greenbacks from his jacket and said, "Three hundred dollars, I hope that's enough!"

"Three hundred dollars!" Jared’s eyes widened. Relying on the gun in his sister's hand, he snatched the money from Chen Cao and handed over the bundle. "Since the money has been paid, no returns or exchanges!" With that, he began to caress the money. Within a few seconds, he had counted it countless times; Chen Cao noticed his hands were trembling slightly.

Chen Cao took the bundle, weighed it—it was quite heavy—and without even looking at the contents, said to Stanny, "Let's go."

"Boss, we haven't even looked at what's inside!" Stanny said, looking at Chen Cao.

Chen Cao glanced at Stanny, lowered his eyelids, and said, "Move."

Stanny had no choice. He didn't know what Chen Cao was up to, so he shot a fierce glare at the two black siblings and muttered a curse.

Jared was still counting the money, and his sister was staring fixedly at the green bills in his hands.

Stepping out of the hut, they breathed in the sweltering air, but compared to the charred, foul-smelling atmosphere inside, it felt much better. Chen Cao carried the bundle to a corner of the woods, led the others to sit down, and opened it. It was packed with gun parts, but it was clear that Jared was negligent in maintenance; some of the barrels were already rusted.

Stanny was furious. Even in the poverty-stricken Odrus Jihad guerrilla units, the weapons were better than this. "Boss, we've been played! I'm going to finish off that black bastard!" Stanny gritted his teeth and made to head back to Jared's room. He wasn't upset about anything else, but the three hundred dollars—their remaining funds weren't much, and without money, they would be sleeping on the streets in the jungle!

Chen Cao stopped Stanny again. "Who says so? There is nothing better than these weapons!"

Stanny looked at Chen Cao in confusion. "Boss, I'm a bit lost. What does this mean?"

Carissa also stared at Chen Cao with her bright blue eyes.

Chen Cao wore an imperceptible smile as he carefully wrapped the bundle back up. "We are about to have a big business deal!"

Late at night, Jared's taxi sat quietly in front of the small hut, looking entirely out of place. At night, there was almost no light here except for fireflies. In this small village, a kerosene lamp was a luxury.

Today, however, Jared was unusually excited. A rare glimmer shone in his eyes as he placed bits of fatty meat and white rice into his sister's bowl. He sat on the floor with his own bowl, shifting his body occasionally to pat his pocket, which held the money from today's trade. He had made a small fortune.

"Cough, cough... Brother, you eat," the black girl said, coughing as she placed the last piece of fatty meat from her bowl into Jared's.

"No, Miranda, you must eat, or how will you get better?" Jared held her hand down and snapped.

"Cough, cough, cough... Brother, I feel terrible... even if I eat, I'll just cough it back up in the middle of the night. You haven't eaten meat for a long time. If you don't eat, how will you have the strength to work... cough, cough!" Miranda set down her bowl and covered her mouth, coughing.

"Miranda, are you alright?" Jared quickly set down his bowl and chopsticks, patting Miranda's shoulder gently, his eyes filled with love.

"I'll be fine in a minute, brother. You eat... the rice!" As Miranda spoke, her coughing showed no signs of stopping; instead, it tore at her breath, making it last longer. She looked as if she couldn't catch her breath.

"Miranda! Miranda!" Jared quickly pulled a small tinfoil packet from his jacket. He hesitated for a moment, clutching it in his hand, but did not hand it over.

Just then, Miranda, in the midst of her violent coughing, seemed to catch sight of Jared's movement. Her eyes suddenly lit up. She reached out with a withered finger, grabbed the collar of Jared's filthy shirt, and gasped, "Powder... brother, my coughing is unbearable. Give it to me, quick!"

"Miranda, you can't take any more. Your body is already so weak; if you take more, you'll die!" Jared gritted his teeth and gripped the packet of powder tightly. He hated himself—why had he bought this?

"I'll die if I don't take it! Brother, just one last time, please? It's better than coughing to death!" Miranda had begun to claw at Jared's fingers holding the powder. Her fingernails broke the skin on the back of his hand. Though her grip wasn't strong, Jared's hand began to loosen.