From Wage Slave to Tycoon

Chapter 157: Chapter 125: Want Me to Be in a Movie? Forget It

On the way, Wu Jing and Raymond hit it off surprisingly well.

He had originally thought Raymond was just a brute—all brawn and no brains.

But as they chatted, Wu Jing realized that wasn’t right. Raymond was definitely a man of great learning and talent. While he might not have known everything from astronomy above to geography below, he seemed to have at least some understanding of almost any subject.

It was a complete mismatch for his rugged exterior.

Wu Jing also learned from Raymond about the convoy’s origins and their background: IPS Security Company, one of the top ten security firms in the world!

He wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t asked, and the answer was staggering.

Wu Jing had originally assumed the formidable convoy of over a hundred combat vehicles represented their full strength. But after learning more, he discovered this was just a single battalion from one training base. There were nine other battalions just like it at that same base.

Moreover, IPS Security Company had many such training bases, to say nothing of the main headquarters that oversaw them all.

At that moment, he finally understood the true meaning of the phrase "tip of the iceberg."

Wu Jing felt a complex mix of emotions. He had known that Su Chen was influential back home—the fact that he could hang out with second-generation heirs of that caliber made it clear just how powerful Su Chen was.

But what he never, ever imagined was... that Su Chen also had such a formidable presence in a chaotic and lawless place like this.

For a moment, Wu Jing couldn’t quite process such shocking information, and he stared blankly out the window.

........

The convoy slowly rolled into the training base. Wu Jing had already snapped out of his daze. After all, he’d had special training back home; his mental fortitude was quite strong.

As he looked at the various pieces of advanced equipment around the base and heard the fierce shouts echoing from the training grounds, an idea suddenly popped into Wu Jing’s head.

"Raymond... I’d like to discuss something with you."

Raymond, who was about to get out of the vehicle, paused for a moment and looked back at Wu Jing in confusion. "What is it? Is there more trouble that needs to be sorted out? Just tell me, and I’ll take care of it for you!"

Wu Jing quickly shook his head and said with some trepidation, "Raymond, I want to invite you to be in a movie."

The idea that had just popped into his head was to invite Raymond—or more accurately, the members of the Second Battalion—to be in his movie. Their image was a perfect fit for the villains in the script.

Incredible strength, professional skills, and a wide array of weapons and equipment. They could even ensure the film shoot proceeded smoothly. ’Aren’t they the perfect ’tools’ for the job!’ he thought.

"Be in a movie?" Raymond hadn’t expected that.

"Mhm, I want to invite you and your unit to play important roles in my movie!"

As he spoke, Wu Jing gave Raymond a brief rundown of the script. To Raymond’s surprise, the description of the main villain was a pretty close match to him.

Although the role in the script suited him well, Raymond wasn’t very interested in participating. If not for the connection to his boss, he would have refused outright.

"I’ll think about it."

After getting Wu Jing and the others settled in, Raymond left.

Once Raymond was gone, everyone let out a long sigh of relief. The four members of the film crew, in particular, felt as if they had narrowly escaped death.

"Brother Jing, let’s just stick to filming in China from now on. It’s way too dangerous out here!"

"Yeah, Brother Jing! If someone hadn’t helped us this time, we might have been stuck in that little tribe for the rest of our lives!"

They all chimed in, one after another, remarking on what a close call it had been.

"By the way, Brother Jing, who did you call? To get a world-renowned firm like IPS Security Company to step in... When I saw those combat vehicles, I thought I was going to die!"

That was the key question. The four of them immediately turned to look at Wu Jing, their eyes full of curiosity.

Wu Jing looked at them with a serious expression. "It’s best not to pry into certain matters. And don’t go spreading this around. Keep it to yourselves, understand? Not even to your families!"

Hearing this, everyone tensed up. They understood the gravity of his words.

"Understood, Brother Jing!"

"Alright, go call your families and let them know you’re safe. You should know what to say and what not to say," Wu Jing added.

With that, he headed for his room. He had to call Yu Qian and update him on the situation.

The four members of the film crew exchanged glances, then grabbed their belongings and went back to their rooms.

-----------------

「In a small backstage office at the De Yun Society.」

Yu Qian chain-smoked one cigarette after another. The entire room was already thick with smoke.

"COUGH, COUGH! Brother Qian, how much have you been smoking?!" Old Guo choked the moment he walked in. Waving his right hand frantically in front of his face, he noticed a dozen or so cigarette butts already littered on the floor.

When he saw Yu Qian’s bloodshot eyes and grief-stricken expression, his heart sank. He hurried over and crouched beside him.

"Brother Qian, what’s wrong? Did something happen at home? Whatever it is, you have to tell me!" Old Guo had never seen his old partner in such a state.

"I’m fine..." Yu Qian’s voice was hoarse.

"How could it be nothing? Look at the state you’re in and you’re still telling me you’re fine?" Old Guo was so anxious he stomped his foot.

"Come on, tell me. What happened? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Yu Qian forced a smile. Just as he was about to speak, the phone on the table rang.

Old Guo snatched the phone with quick reflexes. Seeing Wu Jing’s name on the screen, he handed it over.

"It’s Wu Jing. Are you going to answer?"

As soon as Yu Qian heard it was Wu Jing calling, his hand trembled, and the still-burning cigarette dropped to the floor. He reached out with a trembling right hand and took the phone.

He was about to answer, but he hesitated, afraid of what terrible news might be waiting on the other end of the line.

"Brother Qian, why aren’t you answering? What are you thinking about?"

Old Guo’s words snapped Yu Qian back to reality. He pressed the answer button just a second before the call would have disconnected.

"Hello? Is that... Wu Jing?" Yu Qian asked tentatively into the phone.

Old Guo, watching from the side, was stunned. He could see both terror and desperate hope on his partner’s face.

’Did something happen to Wu Jing?’ The thought instantly flashed through his mind. There was no other explanation for Yu Qian’s behavior.

After speaking, Yu Qian held his breath, hoping to hear the familiar voice on the other end.

That single second felt as if a year had passed.

"Hahaha! Brother Qian, it’s me!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Yu Qian let out a long sigh. The worried expression on his face instantly vanished, replaced by one of immense relief.

"Man, you scared the life out of me! Why couldn’t I get through to you? I thought you’d had an accident or something!" Yu Qian said, laughing good-naturedly.

He was met with silence. After a good while, Wu Jing’s voice came through. "There really was an accident. If it weren’t for you, I might have actually been done for over here. Thanks, man!"

"What?!" Yu Qian shot up from his chair, making Old Guo, who was standing beside him, jump in surprise.

"So what’s your situation now?"

Wu Jing could tell from Yu Qian’s reaction how worried he’d been and said with a laugh, "I’m fine. I’m in a safe place now, so you can relax!"

"What on earth happened? And what did you mean by thanking me?" Yu Qian was utterly confused. ’Why is he thanking me?’

Wu Jing wasn’t sure how to explain the situation to Yu Qian.

"Just don’t ask. I’ll tell you when I get back. By the way, you didn’t tell my wife about this, did you?"

"No. Your wife is pregnant, how could I dare tell her!"

"That’s good. I’ve got to go. We’ll talk when I’m back in the country." Without giving Yu Qian a chance to reply, he hung up.

Staring at the disconnected call, Yu Qian’s vitality returned. He looked like a completely different person compared to before, aside from his still slightly bloodshot eyes.

Old Guo, whose curiosity was practically eating him alive, could no longer hold back. The moment the call ended, he hurried over to Yu Qian. "Brother Qian, what’s going on? Did something happen to Wu Jing? It had you worried sick..."

Yu Qian fell silent for a moment before looking at his old partner. "Mhm. Wu Jing went to Africa a while ago to scout locations for his new movie. I tried calling him this morning and realized I’d lost contact. Couldn’t reach anyone in his crew either."

Old Guo sucked in a sharp breath. In a chaotic place like that, losing contact almost certainly meant something bad had happened. Nearly ten hours had passed since that morning. If he were in Yu Qian’s shoes, his hope would have run cold long ago.

"But since Wu Jing was able to call you, does that mean they’re safe now?"

Yu Qian nodded. He was now a hundred percent sure Wu Jing was safe. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked about his wife.

The only thing he couldn’t figure out was who had rescued them. He could tell from the phone call with Wu Jing that if someone hadn’t gotten them out, they would have been done for.

Then there was the fact that Wu Jing had thanked him. It seemed their rescue was connected to a call he had made. But he had only made two calls in total: one to the South African embassy and the other to Su Chen.

If the embassy had rescued them, Wu Jing wouldn’t have been so evasive when asked for the details...

After thinking it through, there was only one possibility left: the people who rescued them were connected to Su Chen. Wu Jing was being evasive because he was afraid of causing trouble for Yu Qian or Su Chen.

’Impossible... absolutely impossible. The kind of power that would take...’ Although Yu Qian said it was impossible, in his heart, he was almost certain Su Chen’s hand was behind this.

As he figured all this out, Yu Qian felt his scalp go numb.

Watching Yu Qian fall back into deep thought, Old Guo felt a headache coming on.

It was like being promised some juicy gossip but only getting the rind. He hadn’t gotten a single bite of the melon flesh—he hadn’t even seen it.

Anyone would have found that frustrating.

He didn’t press the issue. Yu Qian would tell him when he was ready.

"Brother Qian, you should get some rest today. I’ll have Xiao Yueyue do the crosstalk performance later."