King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

The convoy left Benghazi and drove for about 40 minutes, zigzagging their way until they reached a small road. After driving for around another 20 minutes, they finally arrived at an estate located beside a small lake.

How precious must a small lake be in a place like Liberia?

Joe Ga hadn't expected such a place to exist; when the vehicle stopped, he could clearly sense 'Spur' letting out a sigh of relief.

After rolling down the window, Joe Ga saw in front of the estate a deserted, dilapidated garden overgrown with green grass. A few shepherds were grazing their sheep, showing not the slightest curiosity about the convoy's arrival.

On the side of the estate near the lake was a small village where, surprisingly, a group of locals were bustling about.

The estate's wall was three meters tall and topped with an electric fence, and behind it was a steel framework. A few of P·B's Xiao Hei were armed and patrolling above it.

This peculiar layout left Joe Ga quite puzzled…

Seeing Xiao Hei on the wall wanting to salute him but being sternly stopped by Karman, Joe Ga waved his hand in acknowledgement and then saw the slowly opening gate revealing the inside of the estate.

The main part of the estate was a large MSL-style house with three smaller buildings arranged in a pin shape surrounding it at the center.

As the armored vehicle reached the parking area, Joe Ga noticed the bare-chested French man 'One-Eye' beating a punching bag, surrounded by a bunch of uniform-clad local soldiers.

This situation left Joe Ga somewhat perplexed. After stepping out of the car, he turned to Eric, who had followed him, and said with dissatisfaction, "Is this really a secret base?

Why do I feel like the composition here is even more complex than the National Army?"

After hearing this, Eric shook his head with a wry smile and said, "What do you think a secret base should look like?

Like the kind buried in an underground bunker from the movies?

I'd love to have a place like that, but where would I find one?

Our people need to move around; you can't hide more than 20 people. We can only avoid others' prying eyes by cooperating with local warlords."

While speaking, Eric looked at Joe Ga's odd expression and said with a smile, "This place belongs to a trusted subordinate of the National Army leader, Haftar. I spent a lot of money to buy that guy off so he would cover for our activities in Benghazi and lease this estate to us.

Those soldiers are the guards of the estate, and there are also several dozen staff members here, all of whom we have vetted—people who want to leave Liberia."

Joe Ga nodded in realization and said, "So essentially, they're people who want to flee but can't find a way out. You must have paid a steep price, as it's not easy to take so many people with you."

Upon hearing this, Eric slightly shook his head and said softly, "I only promised their boss that I could arrange an identity for him and his family in America, but I never made any promises to these people."

Joe Ga, upon hearing this, said with contempt, "Is this how the CIA treats its own people?"

Continuing, Joe Ga looked at Eric's puzzled gaze and nodded, "I get it now. People everywhere yearn for the beacon of freedom, willing to do anything to escape.

But they'll never understand that the beacon only wants 'useful people.' Cannon fodder doesn't qualify, right?"

Not knowing why Joe Ga's tone had become somewhat harsh, Eric shook his head in confusion and said, "Should I feel sorry for them and bring them back to America?

That's impossible!

If they go there, they'll only join the lowest tier of society and become a factor of instability. If I were to do that, it would be the end of my career."

Joe Ga snorted and said, "Basically, you despise them for being poor and useless.

Because there are too many people from third-world countries who take their money to America to wash dishes and then work hard in school to serve America. Those are the useful ones!"

Eric shrugged his shoulders as if it were a matter of course, "That's the brain drain effect because we have a perfect system."

Joe Ga was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "Aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning for saying that?

Do you have any idea who put you in this situation?"

Caught off guard, Eric paused and then changed the subject while heading towards the main building, "Come and look inside. The decor is surprisingly good. It's already 4 o'clock. Tonight, I'll have the chef prepare local specialty lamb for you to try. It won't be too late for you to leave for the China oil fields tomorrow."

Joe Ga was curious about the CIA's secret base, but he didn't rush inside. Instead, he greeted the 'Iron Wall Mercenary Corps' and learned about the situation here before walking into the main building.

Nis and Karman went to survey the surrounding terrain, while Dorian and the medical officer exchanged glances before following their boss's lead.

Upon entering the main lobby, there was a massive and splendid hall, but at this time it was filled with the equipment of P·B soldiers.

To the right of the first floor was an oversized dining room, and to the left, where there should have been a reception area, was now a workspace crammed with various equipment. More than twenty young CIA agents worked there, indistinguishable from ordinary company office workers. When Eric appeared, they seemed very busy.

Spotting a brown-haired young woman with glasses and braces standing by the printer, printing countless sheets of white paper, Joe Ga chuckled. When the woman became flustered and avoided making eye contact, Joe Ga smiled, walked over, poured himself a cup of coffee, took a sip, and then grimaced, sticking out his tongue as he said, "What is this stuff? Why is it sour?"

The brunette panicked as she gathered up the white papers and held them against her chest, smiling awkwardly as she said, "This is Moroccan Coffee, it may not suit everyone's taste."

Joe Ga watched a curly-haired man with glasses stealthily glancing over here while on the phone, and he leaned toward the brunette to hint with his head, saying, "Is that your boyfriend?"

The brunette glanced at Eric as he approached, then looked at Joe Ga as if he were a ghost and said, "No, no, no, he's not, we, we..."

Eric clearly knew how to manage his subordinates. Slacking off was common everywhere, and as a leader, the first thing to learn was to play dumb, or you'd eventually be resented by everyone.

"Hu Lang, this is Jessica, our analyst, a high-achiever from Yale."

As he spoke, Eric looked at Jessica kindly and said, "You can go back to your tasks, but remember to hand in the report to me by tomorrow morning."

Watching the young girl bow in gratitude and then scurry back to her desk, Joe Ga surveyed the room full of so-called agents who looked more like office workers or even students and said disappointedly, "This isn't right, it's nothing like what I imagined...

The CIA's Africa Branch, why do all the agents look like this?

Even if you don't have a James Bond, shouldn't you at least have a few hands like Jason Bourne?
Find adventures on My Virtual Library Empire

How do a bunch of young office workers conduct spying activities?"

Eric was amused by Joe Ga's remarks, shaking his head as he said, "What do you think spies are?

Those like Jason Bourne are field agents. The CIA has several black ops teams, though I've never seen them."

As he said this, Eric gestured to a man and a woman who were talking. As they approached, he pointed to a blonde short man and a tall brunette woman and said, "This is York, this is Sofia, they're the best technical field agents in our branch, what you'd generally call field spies.

York is a high-achiever from Harvard, Sofia is a high-achiever from the University of Pennsylvania, and they are also outstanding trainees from the CIA's training camp!"

Joe Ga shook hands with them both and then said with a smile, "Sorry for my ignorance, this has really been an eye-opener."

Ignoring the strange looks from both of them, Joe Ga leisurely walked toward a large table filled with computers, coffee cup in hand.

All eyes followed Joe Ga, but no one noticed Dorian, the medic, stealthily plugging a discreet USB drive into the back of a computer.

With a glass of juice in hand and perched on the edge of the table, Dorian smiled at the braces-wearing brunette in front of him and said, "You know, our boss has taken a shine to you. Which room do you live in? I'll come pick you up tonight..."

As Dorian spoke, while Jessica looked on in horror, he pinched his chin and said, "Our boss has some... particular tastes; you need to be mentally prepared. Remember to change into something sexier, like lingerie, and add a pair of black stockings."

At Dorian's teasing, before Jessica had the chance to respond, the curly-haired man with glasses sitting next to her could no longer sit still...

"FUCK YOU..."

Just as the young man was about to flip Dorian off, Dorian caught his wrist and then pinned him by the neck against the table.

Because the motion was quite forceful, he accidentally hit the monitor on the desk.

Enduring the punches from the braces-wearing girl and facing the teeth-grinding curly-haired lad, he got spat on for a good ten seconds. When the medic pulled him off by the shoulder, Dorian let go of the lad, stepped back, made a throat-slitting gesture, and said, "Kid, you're done for. See that tall woman at the door? Her name's King Kong, and she likes guys like you the most. I guarantee she'll come looking for you tonight..."

The curly-haired lad reflexively followed Dorian's finger and just happened to see Ayu turning to survey in his direction.

Ayu's presence was like a nuclear deterrent. The curly-haired lad dared to challenge Dorian but couldn't bear to make eye contact with Ayu for even a second. He pulled the braces-wearing Jessica to retreat into the safety of his own people's group, sniffling angrily at the arrogant and domineering Dorian...

At this point, Joe Ga finally caught up, dragging Dorian and the medic away. As they walked out, he scolded, "Since when did I become interested in that girl?"

"Boss, the Engineer's backdoor has been planted..."

"That doesn't mean you joke about my reputation, am I that kind of lecherous person?"

As he spoke, Joe Ga looked back again at Jessica, sized her up with a smile that frightened her into ducking behind the curly-haired lad, and then he nodded and said, "You're not wrong, that girl is actually quite cute...

Remember to apologize later, and salvage my reputation."

Eric approached with a puzzled look, about to say something, when a phone call at the far end rang. An agent answered it, and after a dozen seconds, he rushed to a computer, typed a few things, and called out, "Boss, the ambassador was attacked on his way back to the embassy...

They've retreated to the embassy and are requesting protection from the National Army while also seeking reinforcement from the Italian troops stationed there.

What do we do?"

Before Eric could respond, Joe Ga pulled Dorian and said, "Notify the security at the gas fields to be on alert. Benghazi's going to be chaotic; there will definitely be those who'll take advantage of the situation...

Shit, how could this timing be so coincidental?"