Number One in Africa

No one is destined to sleep tonight.

This is true for everyone in Moyani.

The common people fared somewhat better, but for the king, officials, ambassadors from various countries, and even Russia spies, one sensational news story after another unfolded.

First, the France mercenary regiments fighting for Gambia went mad by using incendiary and white phosphorus bombs against civilians, almost lifting the veil and exposing the France government's schemes.

Then, a superpowered individual from China suddenly appeared, shattering everyone's decades-old scientific and worldview, and then everyone learned something else.

--Even the villains have supernatural powers now!

--And it's the most damn sinister mind control ability!

We're all men, and if we had the chance to possess mind control superpowers, that would be fantastic, even a dream come true. But if the guy with that ability is some kind of perverted scum who uses white phosphorus and incendiary bombs on civilians, then...

--Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!

Inside the embassy's underground air-raid shelter, Kang Jinzhu stretched his wrists. Ever since Kang De made the phone call, he had immediately asked the embassy's military attaché to handcuff him to a chair, restricting all his mobility.

Because I had seen that golden sphere before.

He didn't want to be the kind of teammate or family member in a movie who drags the protagonist down at crucial moments.

--I'll be laughed at to death by that brat afterwards, the kind of laugh that will haunt me for the rest of my life.

He only breathed a sigh of relief when Kang De returned, and his son handed him an amulet. "Wear this and hide it well."

This amulet is made of two deer antlers woven from several lush vines, adorned with delicate green buds. Its design is extremely elegant and beautiful, and one can tell it is extraordinary just by looking at it.

Kang Jinzhu didn't ask about its origin, but after putting it on, he asked, "Can it resist some kind of mind control?"

Kang De nodded and said, "Yes, it works."

Papa Kang put the amulet close to his body and then asked, "How do you plan to handle this matter?"

Kang De replied, "Find him, and smash him."

"..." Papa Kang sighed, "It's so cool to have superpowers; you can talk so pretentiously."

"Yes, superpowered individuals can do whatever they want," Kang De said smugly, "But I don't think you'll ever understand that level."

"Don't mess this up," Kang Jinzhu frowned. "And seriously, that thing can control minds... it's not just an ordinary antique. Have you thought about what to do with it?"

Kang De exhaled.

This thing was really hot to handle. If he could, he didn't want too many people to know its function. However, with so many eyes watching, the rescued Comora People all had mouths to feed, and Little Bob couldn't keep it a secret either. This kind of thing couldn't be kept hidden even if he wanted to.

Even if it's kept secret for a while, it's likely to be leaked sooner or later.

Or rather, extremely large.

He said, "As a China person, of course I want to hand this thing over to the country... but you know, this can't be kept a secret. If I secretly hand it over to the country, the United States and France will find out sooner or later. If those foreign devils find out that our country has obtained a magical artifact that can control people's hearts..."

He shrugged at this point.

Some things don't need to be explained in too much detail.

Kang Jinzhu's expression was solemn as he slowly nodded.

So, what are your plans?

"At least we can't let the France get their hands on it. The King knows about this, and the Russians might have guessed a little. I instructed them to delay for at least 24 hours, so that the Westerners don't find out. The main reason is that we don't know if any other country has something similar. If this tool for controlling people's minds is unique in the world, then the France might just tear up the mask and come to snatch it."

Kang De replied, "I'll kill Little Bob, then seize this prop. This thing can't be left; destroy it, or wait for a better solution..."

He sighed as he finished speaking, "This thing originally belonged entirely to the Comora; it was dug out of the King's ancestral graves... What a pity, we can't keep it. We'll just have to find a way to extort some money from the Comora. By the way—you should first inform the people back home about this."

Kang Jinzhu glared at him and said, "Why do I have to go and tell them again? Can't you go yourself?"

"No, I'm timid, scared, and afraid to speak. You do it," Kang De replied casually. "Just give a few perfunctory answers, and don't go into the details of the results. I don't want to hear it, I don't want to hear it, I don't want to hear it! What are you looking at? Just report to that esteemed person every few days, what more could you possibly want?"

"... baffling."

"I call this knowing my own limitations."

The father and son chatted idly for a while longer.

Although the situation was rather urgent, Kang De still chatted with his father about everyday matters, and Kang Jinzhu interacted with him naturally, without the slightest impatience or urging.

Perhaps it was a father's intuition.

He was almost certain that Kang De's hands were stained with blood again, and quite a lot of it.

This time, however, he stopped pressuring and asking questions.

"Alright, I should go now." Kang De glanced at the time. "It's getting late, why don't you get some sleep?"

Kang Jinzhu nodded. "Okay, I'll sleep when I'm sleepy."

Kang De looked around the room. Although it was an air-raid shelter, the individual room was quite nice. He casually left a beacon and said, "Don't leave unless I appear before you, understand?"

"You're meddling in other people's business. Let's get going."

Kang De laughed heartily, pushed open the door, and left.

Two armed police officers stood guard outside the door. He nodded in greeting and chatted with Ambassador He for a while. He reminded him that, in accordance with the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, one should not engage in overly enthusiastic conversations with officials above the section level, so as to show our pride.

He shifted all the blame onto his father, saying, "I'm young and inexperienced, and I'm not reliable. Please tell my father any instructions or ideas you have," and then he ran away.

The Humvee was parked outside.

Kang De jumped into the carriage, Horus asked, "Father, am I on guard duty here?"

The old father nodded with satisfaction. "My son, you've grown up and become sensible. Stay here and take care of your grandpa."

Horus asked, "Father, are you going to settle accounts with Little Bob?"

Kang De nodded and said, "Yes, I don't want to suddenly hear news of hundreds or thousands of Wuling Hongguang vans rushing this way, or tens of thousands of zombies overwhelming us..."

"At this point, I feel something's strange."

Iron Son said, "This time, Little Bob's performance was a bit... all bark and no bite, is that how you'd describe it? I mean, he could have done better."

Kang De nodded and said, "I understand. He's a piece of trash and a pervert who could drop white phosphorus bombs and detonate napalm in civilian areas, yet he didn't put any high explosives in any of the cars that sped by tonight—it seems like not a single one—so what was the point of attacking Moyani? Was it just to lure us into shooting and killing people?"

His hands tapped the steering wheel as he pondered, "It's not impossible. There were no dangerous explosives in the car, so their shooting outside Moyani could be unequivocally classified as a massacre of civilians... But it's really strange, a bit deliberate."

Horus's magnetic electronic voice emanated from the speaker.

"Then there's only one explanation: Father, Little Bob is asserting his power, or threatening us."

"I think that if someone's behavior is abnormal and their motives are unclear, then we can infer the truth from the opposite perspective."

"That is, the response and actions of his main enemies or targets are the motives and intentions behind his abnormal behavior."

Upon hearing this, Kang De whistled.

"Wow!" he exclaimed. "You've made great progress, you've really improved."

Horus's voice remained calm. "Having been taught by my father through both words and deeds, of course I learn very quickly."

Kang De was delighted.

Good boy.

"Little Bob is probably trying to lure me there, or out, through tactical misdirection, or perhaps a trap," Kang De said calmly. "But all of that is meaningless. His tricks and schemes are insignificant, because I know what I'm facing; I have relevant experience, while he knows nothing of true power."

He chatted with his son for a few more minutes, discussing some signaling and defense-related matters.

Open the car door and leave.

The Humvee was parked quietly in the embassy courtyard. To others, it was just an ordinary modified car, but Horus quietly observed everything around him, watching his father leave through the gate.

Even his father was unaware that his Iron Son's storage and retrieval modules were operating at high speed.

"Of course I learn very quickly."

Horus muttered to himself, "By the way, the Wi-Fi in Comora is even worse than in Myanmar."

As soon as Kang De left the embassy, he was stopped by Chakat II was waiting there.

"Brother!"

The Black man sniffed, his eyes red-rimmed, and patted Kang De on the shoulder, unsure of what to say. When emotions are running high and one's feelings are turbulent, even those who are usually eloquent and talkative are more likely to be at a loss for words.

He hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "I... I won't betray you, and neither will Comora."

Kang De patted him on the shoulder with his other hand.

The smile was somewhat complicated.

--Don't be so sure, buddy.

He no longer has high expectations for human integrity and morality.

I'm serious.

Chakat II's expression was more sincere than ever before, his eyes growing increasingly red. "I've thought and thought, but I don't know how to repay you. The royal account has very little money left; it still needs to be used for pensions, reconstruction, and relief. I'm just a black man, ruling over the poorest country in Africa. I'm a king, yet I'm the poorest king in the world. Gambia can bully me. The France have never taken me seriously. My country is suffering from war, and the future is shrouded in mist. Brother, I don't know how to repay you..."

He sighed, "I'm not a woman, and I don't have a sister or daughter, otherwise..."

"... Stop."

Kang De said seriously, "How to repay me is something we can discuss later. Now, let's get on with what needs to be done."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I just wanted to say, brother, not just today, but everything you did tonight, we won't forget, even though..."

The Black man sighed, looking weary and filled with sorrow.

"We have nothing to offer but gratitude, fxck. It's truly heartbreaking. We accept help, we feel kindness, but we have no way to repay it; it's like receiving charity..."

As he spoke, Chakat II looked up at the somber night sky.

"I couldn't even keep my ancestors' belongings..."

The war and suffering that took place in Comora, the treasures unearthed from the tomb of the Comora king, the details of how to deal with that object with terrible Magic Power, the plans discussed, the power struggles among various parties—all these are merely the power struggles between the world's major powers, and have nothing to do with tiny Comora.

Even though this treasure was unearthed from the tomb of the King of Comora, and the Comora royal family undoubtedly owns it—nobody cares, nobody pays attention.

Kang De sighed.

A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.

Supernatural objects capable of controlling people's minds—once such things appear before the world, they are no longer something that the small Comora can possess; no amount of explanation will change that.

This world remains disgustingly real.

He said slowly, "I'm very sorry, but there's nothing I can do about it."

Even he himself felt that such a thing was a nuisance to keep in the world and should be destroyed, but before that, he could secure a considerable sum of money for Comora to purchase it, which was the limit.

You don't have to say that...

The king said softly, "You've already done enough. I would even give you that thing if you asked. What more could I ask for? The Comora People couldn't hold onto their treasure, and we're begging outsiders to help us take it back. Even I wouldn't have the face to make such a request."

The air still carries a pungent stench of smoke, and the city cannot hide its cries of despair. Manipulated at will by a powerful nation, it possesses a rich land yet remains backward, a testament to the nation's pain, the scars of history, and the hatred of today.

The burden, the shame, the hatred, and the helplessness all weighed on the young king's shoulders.

His country almost perished, and now it is a devastated land, one of the most backward countries in the world.

Chakat II asked in a daze, "Is there still hope for us? Can we still get justice?"

The crimes committed by colonizers, the pain left by the West on this land, past and present, the scars of history, and the lingering sins that have not yet dissipated—on one side is the most backward region in the world, and on the other is the Western world that dominates the world's political, economic, and military landscape. The gap is more than just vast.

Is there still hope of catching up?

Will we ever hear a sincere apology with a bowed head again?

Such problems drive countless people to despair.

Chakat II had traveled to the West and witnessed their lives firsthand, which is why he felt despair and a profound sense of powerlessness.

"How will you know if you don't try?"

A sound rang out.

The king looked up.

"Back then, China went from being extremely poor and facing enemies worldwide to becoming the world's second-largest economy. With our help and your support, Comora should have no problem becoming the number one Africa."

Kang De smiled at him, "I think we can give it a try."

"Number one in Africa..."

Chakat II gave a complicated smile, unsure of what to say.

But.

Why not give it a try?

"Anyway, I have no other job to do besides being the king."

He grasped the hand that Kang De extended.

It can't get any worse, right?

Then, the two said goodbye under the cover of night.

Kang De smiled and said, "Then, let me help you clean your house first."

The king said, "Soon, this will be your home too."

Kang De gave a disgusted look. "Let's get this straight, I'm not marrying your distant relative."

"... I did not mean that."

"Then what do you mean, disgusting?"

You'll find out when you get back.

"Stop being so mysterious... I'm leaving!"

After watching Kang De's figure disappear, the king withdrew his gaze and stood there for a long time.

Then, he laughed to himself.

Africa's first...

Are you kidding me? This isn't Wakanda.

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PS1: Damn... I spent a long time figuring out one thing today, time for bed.