Chapter 41 Blood Diamond
Zhao Ziyang broke into the defender's base alone and completed the target blasting operation, which made the defender lose face and received a slap in the face.
Such a big commotion shocked the Black Town, and they all speculated on what kind of enemy attacked the Defenders. The strength of the Defenders was obvious to all, and the Defenders mercenaries all over the world were enough to show that this was a war-making machine that was running non-stop.
Just at this time, a true piece of gossip came from the Black Town: the Defender mercenaries were attacked by Lurker mercenaries, and the attacker was a Lurker member named Special Forces.
No one knew where the rumor came from, but everyone in Black Town believed it. They now knew that there was a mercenary organization called Lurkers, who were so powerful that one person could blow the defender's base to pieces.
As people explored further, the lurker surfaced , and they suddenly realized: it turned out that the lurker was the enemy of the defenders all along, and this special forces soldier was just an ordinary member of the lurker.
For a time, the news about the Lurkers' power and mystery spread like wildfire. Almost on the same day, the name of the Lurkers became known to people on the dark side of the world, and they were recognized by them as a mercenary group standing at the top of the world.
Because they are mysterious and powerful, the name of the special forces is even more magical, and some even say that they are invulnerable. In any case, the lurkers surfaced in an extremely powerful form and entered the competition and ranking among mercenaries.
The mission of sniping the Norwegian army was effective. After the video was spread, the Norwegian people were angry. They took to the streets and held up banners demanding that the country stop the war, stop all acts of aggression against other countries, and withdraw its troops from the battlefield in Afghanistan.
Under pressure, the Norwegian government finally compromised and gradually withdrew its troops from the battlefield in Afghanistan. This also directly led to the failure of the US military's crackdown on Taliban armed forces, and it had to temporarily maintain the status quo.
At this time, the Lurker mercenaries quietly set off for Africa. They wanted to develop and expand the Lurkers in Africa, and eventually make a comeback when they were strong enough to take revenge.
The mercenary group is determined to have leader Angel as its core force, with Pandora as its deputy leader, and the whole group seems a bit dominated by women.
But it didn't matter, Blade and the others in the group knew who was making the decisions in the mercenary group. After a series of battles, everyone completely recognized Zhao Ziyang, including Swart, who had always been unfriendly to Zhao Ziyang, and was convinced by him.
Not to mention that he single-handedly broke into the defender's base where the colonel and his men were, the battle on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border alone confirmed Zhao Ziyang's irreplaceable position, not to mention that they all owed Zhao Ziyang a life.
Africa, Sierra Leone.
This is a diamond mining area. The bushes on both sides have been replaced by sand and red soil. The deep pits and small mounds left on the ground are traces of mining. There is no green shade of bushes here. The big trees have been uprooted, and the thick trunks lie in the deep pits, like groaning patients.
Going further, there are uprooted trees everywhere, almost every inch of land has been turned upside down. After crossing a small road, a large mining area is reflected in front of us. The miners are soaking their bodies in the water and hunching over, using a basket to sift stones on the water surface.
It is said that diamonds soaked in water will emit dazzling light in the sun, so no matter how small the diamond is, it is difficult to escape their eyes.
A thatched hut was built high up in the mine. A white man sat in the hut drinking chilled red wine, using a monocular telescope to observe every corner below, watching over the workers who were working hard under the scorching sun of the dry season.
On a tree at one end of the mine, several meters above the ground, hung bloody hands and two mummies with their stomachs cut open. Miners who tried to take diamonds out of the mine would be severely punished, with their hands chopped off or their stomachs cut open.
The bodies of the killed miners were hung on trees and slowly dried until they turned into horrific mummies with bloody hands hanging above their heads, intimidating the miners who were looking for diamonds.
At the outermost edge of the mine, several black soldiers in military uniforms and carrying guns were walking leisurely. These black soldiers belonged to the local armed forces and were there to prevent any diamond from leaving the mine.
As for the white man sitting under the straw shed drinking red wine, he is the owner of the contracted mine. All the diamonds mined must be sold to the local armed forces at a low price unconditionally, and they are also absolutely not allowed to take a single diamond out of the mine. Despite this, after deducting the annual contract fee of up to 3 million US dollars, there is still a lot of profit.
"Fuck!" The white mine owner cursed fiercely, walked towards the mine with a dark whip that was obviously soaked in blood, and whipped a miner hard.
With a "snap" sound, the whip made contact with the miner's body, making a crisp sound, and the miner's back was immediately torn apart.
"Work, don't be lazy!" The mine owner cursed, "Damn it, I haven't seen a diamond in three days. If I can't find diamonds, I'll feed you to wild dogs! This damn dry season, I curse you!"
Seeing the miners who were whipped enduring the pain and continuing to work, the mine owner looked up at the scorching sun hanging in the sky. Unable to bear it any longer, he quickly hid back in his straw hut, took a big gulp of red wine, exhaled comfortably, and continued to monitor every corner of the mine with a telescope.
The day was almost over and there was still no gain. The mine owner became extremely irritable and kept cursing. When he saw a miner standing hunched over in a puddle, he became even more furious and rushed over with a whip.
"Damn it, lazy bastard, work! Work!"
“Snap! Snap! Snap!”
As the mine owner cursed, the black miner was beaten to pieces, but the black miner did not seem to feel any pain at all. Instead, he had an ecstatic smile on his face.
"Boss, blood, blood diamond, blood diamond!" The black miner opened his mouth and made an unbelievable sound to the mine owner, then took out a stone covered with mud and with a few spots of bright red from the basket.
The mine owner's body shook violently. He snatched the stone from the miner's hand and rinsed it vigorously in the water, revealing its true appearance: bright red as blood, extremely gorgeous, emitting a soft red halo under the sunlight, so pure that it seemed to be dripping with blood.
This is a blood diamond weighing seven carats. It is an extremely precious and rare colored diamond. It is not only priceless, but also one-of-a-kind in the world and beyond estimation.
In the spring of 1989, a 2.23 carat blood diamond named "Lachi" was exhibited at a jewelry exhibition in Paris, France, with a price tag of 42 million US dollars. The beauty of "Lachi" is so stunning that it is more than 2,000 times more expensive than colorless diamonds.
The blood diamond in front of us is far superior to the blood diamond "Lachi" that amazed the world back then, both in size and purity. If it were taken to an auction, its value would be inestimable.
The mine owner's heart was twitching violently: One billion? Two billion? Ten billion? !
There is no doubt that the value of this blood diamond is absolutely worth tens of billions of US dollars. It is three times larger than "Lachi". Once it is exhibited, it will cause a global sensation.
"Oh, God..." The mine owner groaned in his throat, tightly grasped the blood diamond in his right hand, closed his eyes and prayed.
His body trembled slightly involuntarily, and two lines of tears flowed from the corners of his eyes.
After a long while, the mine owner slowly opened his eyes, glanced around, saw the positions of several soldiers, and then said to the miner who found the blood diamond with a big smile on his face: "Baby, do you know? You are so great, the whole world will remember your name. You will never go hungry again, you will live a happy life, and you will live an extremely comfortable life!"
The miner's dark face was filled with excitement, and he nodded his head desperately. He knew that his life would be completely changed if he found such a blood diamond. His boss would give him a large share of the profits, and he would no longer have to work as a laborer in the diamond-mining business. He would have endless bread, a pair of calfskin shoes, and a beautiful cowboy hat.
With a "puff" sound, the sound of a sharp blade entering the body was heard. The boss who had been smiling in front of the miner became extremely ferocious. He felt his strength disappear, and blood gushed out from his chest, spraying on the blood diamond that would bring him a better life. He fell heavily into the puddle with infinite longing for happiness.
The mine owner who killed the miner with a knife quickly took out a piece of tinfoil from his pocket, wrapped the blood-stained diamond in the tinfoil, and swallowed it.
“Bang! Bang!”
Crisp gunshots were heard, and the back of the heads of two soldiers were pierced by bullets. Blood spurted out and they fell to the ground.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."
The mine owner began to shoot at the miners, killing them one by one. Only the one who was farthest away escaped to the other side of the mine, where he lay down behind a hill of earth and covered his mouth and nose.
After taking a quick look at the bloody mine, the mine owner immediately ran to the jeep parked outside the mine, jumped in, started the car quickly, and drove into the depths of the vast grassland. The local armed forces were in a town ten kilometers away. This blood diamond that could make him a millionaire overnight must not fall into the hands of the armed forces. He wanted to own it alone, even at the cost of his own life.
The armed forces who heard the gunshots from the mine immediately realized that something was wrong and jumped into the car with guns drawn and rushed towards the mine. When they heard the only surviving miner say that a blood diamond was found, they immediately launched a frantic pursuit towards the mine.
Everyone knows the value of blood diamonds. For such a blood diamond, even if thousands of people die, it is worth it.
"Da da da..." Gunshots rang out. The armed forces saw the jeep speeding in front of them from afar and immediately raised their guns and opened fire.
“Knock! Knock! Knock!”
The sound of the bullet penetrating into the jeep was heard. The fleeing mine owner turned his head to take a look, picked up his pistol and fired back at the armed forces chasing him.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."
After firing all the bullets in his pistol in one breath, the mine owner picked up the satellite phone, quickly dialed a number, and shouted anxiously into the microphone: "Mr. Rodriguez, hurry up, I need mercenaries, I need the best mercenaries!"
"Oh? Mr. Hans, I can provide you with the best mercenaries. If you need security, I can contact Blackwater to serve you. If you need to overthrow the government , I can help you contact the Spanish Foreign Legion. If you need to fight against armed forces, I can help you contact the Gurkha Mercenary Corps. Of course, you must pay the corresponding commission..."
"Shut up, damn it! I need protection, I need mercenaries, and I need the best mercenaries! I have a seven-carat blood diamond on me, and I will use half of it to pay the commission. Remember, I want the best mercenaries in the world, the best!"
There was silence on the phone for a while, and then Rodriguez said happily: "As you wish, Lurker, the best mercenary in the world. Please hold on for thirty minutes, and you will be safe."
Throwing the phone away, the mine owner Hans drove away madly. He had to hold on for thirty minutes, otherwise his hands would be chopped off, his stomach would be cut open, and his body would be thrown into the wilderness to feed wild dogs.
