Deep within the grasslands lies the small town of Damazin in the southern part of SD. After completing the necessary paperwork, Qiao Jia officially ended his labor dispatch career. With his wages settled, he was now a free man. From this moment on, any trouble he encountered would have no connection to the labor company or his former employer.
Qiao Jia drove his pickup truck for nearly 500 kilometers before finally reaching Damazin, a picturesque town built by a lakeside. The town wasn't very large, but its prime geographical location made it one of the best spots in SD, attracting a number of foreign tourists. Whether these visitors were genuine tourists or had other motives was anyone's guess, but Qiao Jia found it odd that they would choose this place over more well-equipped destinations in Africa.
Qiao Jia's destination was a private airport in Damazin, where he could rent a plane to fly directly into southern SD. He had made several friends in SD, including the airport's owner and pilot, with whom he had a particularly good relationship. Qiao Jia had once helped him repair an old "Cessna C-172A" light aircraft, saving him from bankruptcy.
Driving his pickup onto a cracked, makeshift concrete runway, Qiao Jia spotted the C-172A parked at the end. Glancing at the time, he muttered a complaint about his African friend's peculiar sense of timing. He then parked his truck beside the plane and began unloading his cargo: two wooden crates, each containing 25 AK-74 rifles, which he stowed in the aircraft's belly cargo rack. This cargo rack, which Qiao Jia had helped design and install, could accommodate two crates side by side at the bottom, leaving two-thirds of the space above free. The rack greatly facilitated the transport of people and goods. As for safety, that wasn't a major concern for African pilots—they were the type who would fly low to get a close-up view of giraffes, even at the risk of decapitation. Making money was their primary concern.
As Qiao Jia finished organizing his luggage, two security guards, each armed with an AK-47, came running and shouting from a distance. Qiao Jia paid them no mind; they were merely there for show. The guards were the boss's nephews, and the AKs they carried had been gifts from Qiao Jia.
When the two young men reached him, the one who was missing a tooth broke into a smile upon seeing Qiao Jia. He slung his rifle over his shoulder and ran over to embrace Qiao Jia, lifting him off the ground in a bear hug. Qiao Jia supported the young man's chin with one hand to keep him at bay, while pointing to the back of his pickup with the other. "Zabu, put me down. There are gifts in the back for you guys. I heard you both have kids now, so I bought some clothes and shoes for them."
Then, he gave a playful kick to the other young man, Nas, who was missing half a hand, and scolded, "Nas, stop rummaging through my stuff. Everything for you is in the truck bed."
Nas's hand had been severely injured during a childhood war; someone had sliced through the gap between his middle and ring fingers, leaving him with three fingers that could still grip things. Despite the kick, Nas didn't get angry. When he found a pair of white sneakers, he let out a joyful shout and immediately began putting them on.
Toothless Zabu, however, wasn't in such a rush. Scratching his head, he asked Qiao Jia, "My uncle probably isn't awake yet. He got drunk last night and went to a woman's house in town. Should I go get him?"
Qiao Jia gave Nas, who was trying on his new shoes, a hard stomp, eliciting a heart-wrenching scream as if it wasn't the shoes but Nas himself being violated. After giving Nas a good smack on the back of his head, Qiao Jia dragged two crates of ammunition out of the truck bed and grumbled, "Drive my truck and take the stuff back home. And bring that old man Selim here. We agreed to leave at 10 AM, and I was on the road all night. That old man is out drinking and chasing women—does he even care about making money anymore?"
Nas leaped into the truck and sped off from the airport.
Back on the runway, Zabu grinned and said, "My uncle hosted a group of white researchers last week and made a lot of money, so he decided to give himself the rest of the month off. If it weren't for you, I doubt he'd sober up in the next three days."
Zabu bent down to help move the ammo crates into the cargo rack. Smiling, he asked Qiao Jia, "Jackal, do you need any help? I've got nothing to do around here, and my uncle pays me peanuts. Let me work for you. I'm strong, and I can shoot..."
Qiao Jia patted Zabu on the shoulder and said, "Don't get any ideas. What could you do with me? I don't even know what I'm going to do next. Just stick with your uncle and learn how to fly. If he drinks himself to death one day, you'll be Damazin's top pilot, and then you can find a few more wives."
Zabu shook his head in disappointment and said, "I'm afraid of heights. Every time my uncle takes me up in the plane, I get dizzy and want to vomit. After I threw up on a tourist's chest last time, my uncle never let me fly again."
Qiao Jia burst out laughing. "You deserved that. I feel sorry for you, but I don't have any work that suits you."
Sizing up the strong young man, Qiao Jia shook his head. "It's a pity you look too honest. If you had the build of Bull Alan from town or the skills of Hyena Kaman, I might have been able to offer you some temporary work."
Zabu hesitated for a moment before cautiously approaching Qiao Jia and whispering, "Are you planning to hire Bull Alan and Hyena Kaman? Is the place you're going dangerous?"
Qiao Jia nodded. "That's right, which is why I said the job isn't for you—you have a wife and kids."
Zabu, concerned, asked, "Are you sure you can handle it alone? Should I go get Bull Alan and Hyena Kaman? Alan is unemployed, and Kaman has been having some trouble lately. If you need help, they'd be happy to assist for the right pay."
Qiao Jia had visited Damazin many times. Although he wasn't particularly fond of Bull Alan, he had always admired Hyena Kaman. Surprised by Zabu's confidence, Qiao Jia asked, "Kaman's in trouble? What kind of trouble?"
Seeing that Qiao Jia was interested, Zabu turned and started running, shouting, "Wait here. I'll go get them. Don't forget to give me a referral fee."