Mercenary's War

When Gao Yang arrived in Benghazi, it was the wee hours of the morning. As he stepped off the plane, he felt a chill and couldn't help but shiver.

In January, Benghazi's temperature is also in the teens, but in the early morning, it's about ten degrees. Having gotten used to the high temperatures of the Sudanese Grasslands, ten-degree weather felt quite cold to Gao Yang.

After checking in to a real hotel with Morgan, Gao Yang was finally able to lie in a real bed and get some sleep. However, he couldn't sleep for long; by noon, he was invited to Morgan's room by Bob.

Seeing Morgan, Gao Yang thought he didn't look like someone nearly sixty years old. Like him, Morgan had been through a highly tense escape, and then they took a long flight to get here. At that moment, Gao Yang still looked listless, while Morgan seemed energetic.

Gao Yang sat down opposite Morgan. After Gao Yang had settled in, Morgan took out a stack of bills and placed them on the table, then pushed them toward Gao Yang with a smile, "Here's six thousand US Dollars. I still owe you ninety-four thousand. Sorry, I don't carry much cash on me, and obviously, you can't take a check or a transfer. But rest assured, once you're back home, just give me a call, and I'll transfer the rest to your account. I'll cover the fees."

Staring at the stack of bills on the table, Gao Yang was a bit stunned. He looked at Morgan, "Mr. Morgan, I don't understand what you mean."

Morgan spread his hands and said, "I told you, if you got me to Malakal, I'd pay you a hundred thousand US Dollars. I'm a man of my word. You did it, so now it's time for me to keep my promise."

Only then did Gao Yang remember that Morgan had indeed said such a thing, but at the time, he hadn't taken Morgan's words seriously. Yet now, Morgan was really going to honor his promise.

Gao Yang thought for a moment, then pocketed the cash on the table and said earnestly, "This is enough, Mr. Morgan. I didn't intend to take your money. Well, I do need money now, so I'll accept this much, but please forget about the rest. I didn't do much — if it hadn't been for you, Professor Buck and I wouldn't have reached Malakal, and you also got me out of Sudan. So, let's just call it even."

Morgan shook his head, "I like your attitude toward money, Gao, but I don't like your approach to business. Friendship is friendship, business is business. I offered to hire you, and you didn't object. In the end, you escorted me to Malakal. Thus, our deal is complete. So, it's only right that I make the payment. We need to have a spirit of contract. Also, perhaps you think saving a stranger from the muzzle of guns isn't much, but to me, you saved the lives of Bob and myself. From that perspective, a hundred thousand US Dollars might seem minimal. However, once again, friendship is friendship, business is business. Take the money, and then I'll owe you a favor."

Hearing Morgan's words, Gao Yang nodded, "All right, Mr. Morgan, I can only thank you for your generosity."

Morgan waved his hand and laughed heartily, "Alright, young man. Benghazi is no big city or a world of glitz, but for someone who's spent three years on the grasslands, you must be eager to walk around. Go ahead, buy some clothes, find some fun, and most importantly, enjoy a good meal — I bet you're starving, aren't you? It's a pity, I would've liked to treat you to your first meal back to civilization, but unfortunately, I have to leave immediately."

While Morgan spoke, Bob made faces and said, "Hey, brother, now that you have a bunch of money, don't you want to treat me to some fun?"

Gao Yang smiled, got up, shook hands with Morgan, then turned to Bob, "Come on, whatever you want to do, it's on me."

The hotel lobby provided currency exchange services. After converting some US Dollars into Dinars, Gao Yang and Bob left the hotel and strolled through the busy districts of Benghazi. Gao Yang felt as if he was in another world, looking at the bustling streets, he couldn't help but reflect, "I always thought I would never be able to come back."

Bob shrugged and replied, "Don't think too much. What you should do now is celebrate, but first, you need to change your clothes and shoes — you look quite funny right now."

Gao Yang also felt cold and agreed with Bob. They randomly picked a shopping mall and bought a full set of clothes, though Gao Yang didn't buy new shoes. Instead, to match his boots, he deliberately chose a pair of jeans.

Freshened up, Gao Yang and Bob started to discuss where to go. They both agreed it was time to eat and have a drink, but where to go was a bit of a dilemma.

Looking at the myriad shops and restaurants on the street, neither of them knew where to go. That's when Bob suggested, "I have a great idea — how about we go for some Huaxia cuisine?"

"That sounds great, but is there a Huaxia restaurant around here? We haven't seen any on the way," Gao Yang replied.

Bob looked around and glanced at his watch, "It's my first time abroad. I'd like to walk around and see more. It's still early, so why don't we keep walking and look for one?"

Without any objections, Gao Yang and Bob idly wandered around, slowly making their way to a quiet street where pedestrians were sparse. Gazing at the empty roads, something suddenly occurred to Gao Yang.

"Hey, Bob, your dad mentioned that the situation in Libya isn't very stable right now, and advised us not to go too far,"

Bob said carelessly, "You've seen it yourself just now, does this place look unstable to you? Would you go shopping if there's a war going on? Just by looking at the people in the mall, I know nothing's going to happen."

Just as Bob's words had dropped, a large crowd suddenly surged onto the empty street – and countless more poured out from the alleys and houses lining the street, joining together, waving flags, and shouting slogans angrily as they moved in the same direction.

Gao Yang and Bob were both taken aback and then in unison, they blurted out, "F**k."

"I take back what I said, something big has gone down, we need to get out of here fast."

Gao Yang pulled Bob back a few steps and whispered, "Keep it down, let's wait for them to pass, then we'll head in the opposite direction. You don't want to end up where they're gathering, do you? Once we're in an area with fewer people, we'll make a break for the hotel."

Bob nodded and whispered back, "Damn our luck, we'll just have to wait for them to pass before we can go."

Gao Yang and Bob stood motionless against the wall, under the watchful eyes of many, Gao Yang feared that they might be attacked by the obviously angry mob because they were foreigners. He was somewhat okay, but Bob's blond hair was too conspicuous, an obvious tell of a Westerner.

Fortunately, they only attracted attention and no one approached them to say anything or become violent. After a tense wait, when the streets were once again deserted, Gao Yang wiped the sweat from his brow and said, "Let's move, fast!"

After running in the opposite direction of the crowd for a long while, Gao Yang and Bob encountered four more instances of large groups gathering. Luckily, they managed to pass by the crowds without incident. However, what troubled Gao Yang was that the crowds weren't all heading in the same direction, so he had no idea where to go to be safe.

The worst part was that they had gotten lost. Wandering through the streets and alleys of Benghazi, they had no clue where they were, and with continuous encounters with large groups, hailing a taxi was out of the question.

Coming upon a group of about a hundred people, Gao Yang pulled on Bob's clothes and said softly, "Let's follow behind them, otherwise, we could be wandering all day without finding a way out."

Although Bob felt that Gao Yang's suggestion was risky, he saw no better option. So, Gao Yang and Bob followed the group from a distance, hoping to reach a main street.

Very quickly, Gao Yang realized his suggestion wasn't the best. The group they followed became larger and larger, and when Gao Yang looked back, he was shocked to see even more people flooding in behind them. Now, they had become part of a much larger crowd.

Gao Yang tugged on Bob's sleeve and, after mouthing something, the two slowly edged toward the fringe of the crowd. Just as they reached the edge, they emerged from the labyrinthine alley onto a wide main road, which was now completely filled with the angry crowd.

Once back on the main road, Gao Yang pulled on Bob and they began to jog. They didn't care about directions anymore; their only aim was to quickly get away from the angry mob.

Gao Yang and Bob tried not to draw attention to themselves, walking carefully along the edge of the road. After having come a good distance and reaching the periphery of the crowd, just as they were about to leave, Bob suddenly reached out and stopped Gao Yang, then he stood still.

"What's wrong, let's hurry up and go."

As Gao Yang rushed his question, he saw that Bob had turned pale, tugging hard at him and then whispering, "Look behind you, there's a Huaxia restaurant."

Gao Yang was both angry and anxious, and said in a low voice, "You can't be thinking of eating now, can you?"

"Next to the restaurant's entrance, two people have pulled out guns, what do we do?"

Gao Yang slowly turned around to follow Bob's gaze, and saw a lantern-hung door, decorated to exude a taste of Huaxia, with beautifully pruned shrubs—reminiscent of Huaxia's common evergreens. But now, as figures moved behind the bushes, two dark gun muzzles slowly peeked out.