From Wage Slave to Tycoon

Chapter 156: Chapter 124: No Surprise, Only Fear

South Africa, IPS Training Base!

"Notify all squad leaders to report to my office. Everyone else, Level 2 Alert!"

At Raymond’s command, the entire base instantly burst into a clamor.

A Level 2 Alert—something that didn’t even happen once a year—sent everyone on base scrambling into action.

Soon, the ten squad leaders from the training base arrived at the office one after another, all asking each other what was going on.

"Quiet!"

The moment Raymond spoke, the office fell silent. All ten squad leaders stood ramrod straight!

"The Boss just called. He has an assignment for us!"

The news that the assignment came directly from the big boss shattered the silence instantly!

"An assignment from the Boss should naturally be handled by us, the First Squad!"

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? In terms of strength, it should be our Second Squad. Our mission completion rate is the highest on the entire base!"

The other squad leaders chimed in, and the office once again descended into a heated argument.

BANG!

"All of you, shut up!" Raymond roared, slamming his palm on the desk.

The burly men, now like quails, shrank back, clearly intimidated by Raymond.

"I’ll be handling this mission personally. Here’s the relevant information. Use your respective networks and find this person for me as soon as possible!" Raymond said, handing several sheets of paper to the men.

The papers contained information on Wu Jing and his team.

"This is the first time the Boss has personally assigned a task. I expect none of you to screw it up! Move out, now!"

"Sir!" The roar from the office drew the attention of everyone on base.

...........

The IPS Security South Africa branch was formidable. In less than half an hour, they had located Wu Jing and his people!

Raymond stared at the information he’d received, his brows furrowed so tightly you could kill a mosquito between them.

"Is this information accurate?" Raymond asked, shaking the documents in his hand.

"It’s accurate. Turns out, a few of our reservists on base are from that tribe. A few simple questions and they told us everything!" The captain of the Second Squad had a strange expression on his face as well.

"Heh... Damn, this tribal chief is a real piece of work!" Raymond naturally believed the Second Squad’s captain; it was the information itself that he found hard to swallow.

The story was truly bizarre. The chieftain of this tribe had somehow learned that a few years ago, another chieftain had made a connection with a Huaxia technical engineer who came to Africa.

By day, the engineer worked his job. After hours, he led that tribe on conquests, subjugating more than a dozen other tribes and turning them into a famous, major tribe in the region.

As for the kidnapping... it couldn’t really be called a kidnapping. It was more of an "invitation"—just an invitation extended in a rather unorthodox way.

They "invited" them to teach the natives how to grow crops and how to train...

That’s right. The main task was to grow crops; the training was secondary.

Seeing this, Raymond had to admit the chieftain had some brains, just not a lot.

"Get ready. The Second Squad will come with me. We’re going to meet this person our Boss is so concerned about!"

The Second Squad’s captain was a bit stunned. ’The whole squad is going? Isn’t that enough to scare them into kneeling on the spot!’

But despite his confusion, it was an order from his superior. All he had to do was execute it.

"Yes, sir!" With that, the Second Squad captain turned and briskly walked away.

.........

Meanwhile, Wu Jing was in a small tribe a hundred kilometers from the IPS training base, doing some basic formation training with the natives!

His face was etched with worry.

’I wonder if anyone even knows what’s happened to me!’

Wu Jing felt incredibly unlucky. What kind of brain fart had possessed him to come all the way to Africa for location scouting? He should have just spent some money back home to build a set. Then he wouldn’t be in this awkward predicament.

He gazed into the distance at the natives tilling the soil. Among them, he could see three or four young men with Huaxia features giving instructions—they were the film crew that had come with him.

"Wu~ What’s wrong? Was this morning’s meal not to your liking?" A middle-aged native holding a scepter appeared beside Wu Jing.

It was the chieftain of this small tribe.

"No... not at all, it was very good!" To be honest, breakfast had been quite lavish: venison served with exotic local fruits.

The tribesmen had even risked their lives hunting the deer last night, specifically to prepare a welcome feast for them.

"Good, good~ If you need anything, just say the word. We’ll do our best to accommodate you!" the chieftain said with great enthusiasm.

Wu Jing thought about it for a moment, but ultimately just shook his head, indicating he had no other requests.

When Wu Jing and his group first arrived at the tribe, the chieftain had asked the same question. Back then, Wu Jing had said he wanted to call his family to let them know he was safe.

The chieftain refused outright, claiming it was for their own "personal safety," to prevent them from following the "old path of their predecessor."

"VROOOM—" A series of roars echoed from the distance, putting the entire tribe on edge.

Even the chieftain’s face turned fearful. He began muttering in a language Wu Jing couldn’t understand, as if praying.

Finally, Wu Jing couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked, "Chief, what is that sound?"

Hearing Wu Jing’s question, the chieftain stopped praying. He looked toward the source of the sound with a complicated expression. A plume of dust was clearly visible, like a long dragon flying toward their tribe.

"That is the ruler of this land..."

Before the chieftain could finish, Wu Jing knew what it was.

A convoy. A convoy of nearly a hundred armored vehicles, rolling majestically toward them.

Seeing such a scene, Wu Jing began to tremble. He had only ever seen something like this in the movies. The shock and intimidation of witnessing it in real life struck fear even into the heart of the world-wise Wu Jing.

Soon, the seven lead vehicles of the convoy drove into the tribe, stopping not far from the two of them.

The rest remained outside, forming what looked like a perimeter to surround the tribe.

The chieftain hurried forward to greet them. As for the other tribespeople, they had long since retreated into their huts, and the film crew that had been tilling the soil was no exception.

When he saw the IPS logo on the vehicles, the tension on the chieftain’s face eased slightly.

"Honorable sirs, welcome to our tribe!"

Raymond and the captain of the Second Squad got out of the vehicle. Raymond’s gaze lingered on the chieftain for only a moment before shifting to Wu Jing, who was standing a short distance away.

"Hmph!" Raymond completely ignored the chieftain and strode quickly toward Wu Jing.

Seeing several large men walking toward him, Wu Jing’s feet seemed to move on their own, taking a step back.

"Wh-what do you want..."

Raymond looked Wu Jing up and down, then asked softly, "You’re Wu Jing? Where are the others?" As he spoke, he glanced around.

"And you are?" Wu Jing seemed to realize these men were here specifically for him and his crew.

Raymond was direct. "The Boss sent me to find you."

"The... The Boss?" Wu Jing was dumbfounded.

’I don’t know anyone this incredible. And look at this convoy... this is some serious power. Why would someone like that be looking for me?’

’What could they want? It can’t be that they’re interested in...’ Wu Jing shook his head, driving the impure thought from his mind.

"Where are the others?"

Wu Jing stared at Raymond for a long moment before waving toward a nearby hut and calling out.

A moment later, the four members of the film crew came out, trembling. One of them stumbled and nearly fell, but the person next to him caught him just in time.

"Brother Jing~" The four stood behind Wu Jing, terrified.

Seeing this, Wu Jing comforted them, "It’s okay. I’ll get you all back safely!"

Wu Jing’s reassurance seemed to calm their fears considerably.

Raymond, standing to the side, didn’t press further. Instead, he pulled a phone from his pocket and made a call.

The call connected quickly.

"Boss, I’ve found Wu Jing. The others are all safe and sound."

"Mm-hm... I understand, Boss. Yes, you can rest assured!"

After a series of nods, Raymond handed the phone to Wu Jing. "The Boss wants to speak with you."

Wu Jing knew the truth of the matter lay in this phone call, so he took the phone without hesitation.

After taking several deep breaths, he said, "Hello, this is Wu Jing."

"Yo, Old Wu, how long has it been? You’re using such formal titles now? That doesn’t fit the tough-guy image I have of you!"

Hearing that familiar voice from the phone, Wu Jing’s pupils shrank to pinpricks in shock. His jaw dropped so wide you could fit a fist in it.

"How... how... could... could it... be... you!" Wu Jing never would have imagined, not in a million years, that the person on the other end of the line was Su Chen.

"What’s the matter? Surprised? Shocked?" Su Chen said with a chuckle. He could already picture the look on Wu Jing’s face.

"I don’t know about shocked, but I do know you’re about to scare me to death!"

All of Wu Jing’s previous tension vanished, and even his speech became more relaxed.

"Alright, as long as you’re okay. I still have to let Yu Qian know. If he hadn’t called me, I wouldn’t have even known you were in trouble. By the way, if you need anything, just talk to the owner of this phone, Raymond."

"I’ve already given him instructions, so you can just focus on preparing for your movie. And one more thing—keep this whole incident under wraps."

"I understand. I’ll treat you to a drink when I get back home!" Wu Jing said, his voice heavy with emotion.

After hanging up, he returned the phone to Raymond.

"Get your things packed. You’re leaving with us."

Wu Jing nodded and said to the crew behind him, "It’s all sorted out. Go pack your things!"

Hearing this, the four members of the film crew nodded excitedly and rushed back to their respective thatched huts.

Wu Jing then walked over to the chieftain, said a few simple words, and got their belongings back, including their phones and passports.

Soon, they had all packed. Raymond didn’t give the small tribe or its chieftain any trouble; he simply took Wu Jing and his people and left.

Watching the convoy depart, the chieftain let out a long sigh of relief. He pulled a battered, tattered old book from his clothes.

The cover was long gone. On the first page, a few large words were written...

"Build up grain, slowly become the king!"

"Motherf— It’s this damn book’s fault the tribe was almost wiped out! If I believe this thing one more time, I don’t deserve to be chieftain!"

As he spoke, he tossed the tattered book into the fire.