novelRainbow Nation
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As the most advanced artificial intelligence entity in the entire world, Little X possessed the ability to effortlessly infiltrate satellite communications of all countries. Using the contact information obtained from the phones of the two Tara employees as a lead, Little X was able to trace it to the contact person of Tara company in Windhoek.
Without raising any alarm, Little X was able to expose several spies of the Rainbow Nation who were lurking among the Namibian government.
Among these spies, the only one who had made a connection with Chen Chen was Bernadette Lydia, the "Unlicensed Ride".
It seemed like all this time, she had taken advantage of her position to help her relay Chen Chen's information to the Rainbow Nation Intelligence Department. This was how they came to be intercepted by Tara.
When Chen Chen relocated into the embassy, she continued pulling the strings from behind the scene and collaborated with the other spies to make the town speech happen.
All this time, they had thought the idea of inviting Chen Chen for the speech was an idea contributed by everyone. None of them had the slightest hint that they had fallen into the Rainbow Nation's trap.
Naturally, Lydia's prowess was largely attributed to her merit in seduction. According to the information Little X had dug up, she had many inappropriate relationships with many members of the parliament.
"Just as I thought, unlicensed rides have a certain risk to them..."
Chen Chen closed the information sent by Little X and shook his head. Fortunately, he came out on top at the end of the day.
If Lydia had not been exposed, she might still have several tricks up her sleeve to assassinate him. Now that her identity was exposed by Little X, things were considerably easier.
With Little X's capabilities, it should take no more than half an hour of direct investigation into Lydia to obtain a good deal of evidence pointing to her being a spy.
After that, Little X anonymously sent the evidence to the bicameral parliament of Namibia. By the next morning, Chen Chen had received word of Lydia being taken by the investigation department.
Due to this particular event of attempted assassination, the minister of the Department of Investment managed to successfully persuade the Ministry of Environmental Protection during a meeting. They had permitted Chen Chen to construct a nuclear power plant on a designated plot of land in the Namib-Naukluft National Park.
At this point, most procedures were completed and all that was left to do was for both parties to finalize the agreement.
On the other side of things, Chen Chen had inserted God into Cheng Cao and Qian Wenhuan after having them agree to it.
As for the other hired bodyguards, a majority of them faintly expressed that they were less than agreeable at the notion. Chen Chen did not force it on them either. He bought their silence for a fitting price and sent them away.
The reason the matter could be resolved so easily was largely due to them not being involved in the previous deal in the abandoned factory. It was also partly because all this had occurred on foreign land so there was no reason for the Mainland to condemn Chen Chen over such a small matter.
Furthermore, according to the Geneva Convention, foreign mercenaries were not entitled to the same rights as combatants or prisoners of war.
The interpretation of the convention was straightforward – foreign mercenaries employed to operate in other countries were not protected by human rights. Once captured, it was not considered illegal to execute them on the spot. Therefore, the previous execution of the two snipers would not be labeled as a crime.
In the end, only five of them chose to stay in Namibia.
The five of them had always been under Cheng Cao's lead back in the bodyguard company, so it was not surprising that they chose to stay. The chip installation was only held off as they were still in a probationary phase.
Besides, "God's Forbidden Zone" had strict requirements of entry.
Chen Chen's organization only accepted elites. Worthless trash was cast aside.
After several days of watching the endless quarrels of the negotiation team on both sides, Chen Chen decided to just take his leave with Cheng Cao and the others. They headed toward the southern region of Namibia.
As far as outsiders were concerned, the reason for their leave was that there should be no issue with them heading out leisurely now that the spy was captured.
The Namibian government's kind offer to dispatch an escort for them was turned down by Chen Chen.
Anthony, Jennifer, and the others were left at the negotiation table for the endless squabble with the opposing party...
...
Several days later, in the distant coastal region of Rainbow Nation, a luxurious manor constructed with pearly white marble stood quietly by the coastline.
This was a gigantic private manor. To the west of the manor, there was a golden spread of beach that stretched over a hundred meters until it crept into the blue sea. On the east was a stark contrast of lush greenery, countless rare and exotic species of fauna from various countries could be found in the garden.
The marble manor was located right in the middle, between the beach and the garden.
At the present moment, there was a man with combed-back hair littered with strands of white hair in the magnificent manor. The man was sunbathing in front of a large pool with several ladies clad in bikinis playing and teasing each other in the pool.
Right behind the man stood a line of a bodyguard who all kept a stoic expression on their faces.
Perhaps as a product of delicate maintenance, the man appeared to be only in his forties. Upon closer inspection, the fine wrinkles riddled across his face seemed to give away his true age.
The man was Dlamini, one of the shareholders of Tara Private Security.
In the business circle of the Rainbow Nation, Dlamini once adopted a name which just sheer mention alone would invoke terror in countless people – Dlamini the African Lion.
Forty years ago, he built himself up from the ground with 500 rands[1]. After decades of hard work with its fair share of ups and downs, he had made himself arguably the wealthiest man in Rainbow Nation, further extending his influence into the realms of politics and military.
With his position as a financial titan, he was responsible for one of the events that served as a turning point in history. In 1999, he formed the United Rainbow Nation and successfully disbanded the private military company, Executive Outcomes, that was too big for its own good at the time.
At the same time, he personally backed two executives of EO and formed the military company, Tara Private Security. With this maneuver, he had forcibly occupied a share of the private military sector.
Dlami was now almost in his sixties and was approaching retirement age. These days, he dedicated his efforts to transform his image. He was a member of the "National Congress" parliament who actively involved himself in the ongoings of politics.
On the television, he was a kind-looking member of the parliament and was also a philanthropist who was known to be rich in compassion. Only the ones who were well-informed of the ongoings of that particular era understood exactly what the name Dlami represented...
These days, he had a large host of children and grandchildren and situated himself in the second largest city of the Rainbow Nation, Cape Town, to properly house his enormous family. He even had a private estate covering over a hundred acres of land constructed on the coast of the northern suburbs of Cape Town as a display of his noble status.
In terms of financial influence, even ten members of the parliament combined were no match for him. Only...
A cloudy gloom cast over Dlami's eyes. In his forties, he began diverging from business to dip his feet in politics. However, his career as a politician did not take off the way he had hoped it would.
In his mind, he was no longer satisfied with just being a businessman. He wanted to reach greater heights.
If he could be elected as the country's president, perhaps he could ascend himself and his lineage to a new dimension?
Just like "that person" back then.
The man who had once said, "It's an ideal for which I hope to live for and to see realized, if it needs to be, it's an ideal for which I'm prepared to die..."
Only, he was not sure if he could attain this dream of his in this lifetime.
Dlami sighed silently and unwillingly crawled out of the recliner chair. A server promptly walked up to provide him a wet towel with a Redmond cigar on the side.
At the same time, his very capable assistant whom he had cultivated from an early age suddenly appeared from inside the door. The assistant bowed respectfully."Godfather, Mr. Indell would like to see you."
"Indell. What's the occasion?" Dlami asked with his brows curled up in a frown.
"He said it's a matter concerning congress."
Dlami pondered for a moment before instructing, "Bring him to me."
"Yes!"
[1] Currency used in Africa: South African rand.
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