Sierra Leonean border city of Nesnico.

Sporadic gunfire rang out in the countryside outside the city.

In fact, there is not much difference between the city and the countryside here, at a glance, they are all the same desolate and dilapidated, and there is not much life in sight.

Almost all of the inhabitants have run out, and neighbouring Guinea, which is also poor, has become the biggest victim of Sierra Leonean refugees.

However, the refugees are still willing to run there, because once they reach Guinea, they may succeed in reaching Guinea-Bissau or Côte d'Ivoire, which are in better condition.

It is even possible to reach South Africa.

All that remains are a few rebel forces left over from years ago that have not yet been cleared.

Now, the task of requisitioning these rebels is beyond the reach of the extremely ineffective government forces, and they have to be contracted to private security companies in South Africa.

That is, the so-called mercenaries.

The Government of Sierra Leone, of course, could not afford to pay for the mercenaries, so they had to pay for it with a local specialty:

Diamond!

Sierra Leonean diamonds are also known as "blood diamonds".

What are Blood Diamonds?

Known as the "blood diamond", also known as a conflict diamond, blood diamond, or blood diamond, it is a type of diamond that is mined in a war zone and sold to the market. According to the United Nations definition, conflict diamonds are defined as diamonds produced by internationally recognized parties that oppose a legitimate government. It was named because the high profits and money from the sale of diamonds would be invested in armed conflicts against the Government or against the spirit of the Security Council.

But for Sierra Leone, every diamond produced is actually stained with blood, and the Sierra Leonean government has very little control over these diamond mines.

"Colonel, we caught a couple of rebels. A mercenary with chewing gum in his mouth approached Colonel De Klerk as if nothing had happened.

Colonel De Klerk was a white man, fifty-five years old.

He was an officer in the regular army of the South African government. But those salaries did not satisfy him at all, so when he was promoted to the youngest colonel in the South African Army at the age of Chinese New Year's Eve, and was likely to be promoted to general, he chose to retire early and joined Jamp, a well-known private security company in South Africa; V Nasdine, Inc.

During the Sierra Leonean Civil War, known as "the bloodiest civil war in the world", Nasdine was invited by the Sierra Leonean government to send a large number of mercenaries into the country. And the one who commanded these mercenaries was Colonel De Klerk.

Captain Varrington Strasser, the newly appointed Captain of Sierra Leone, hired Jamp, a South African private military and security services company, in view of the fact that the government forces were vulnerable to the rebels and were losing ground and retreating. V Nasdine, signed a two-year contract, and the mercenaries were conditioned on the possession of an actual share of the diamond mines in Sierra Leone.

The mercenaries spent $35 million in Sierra Leone for 21 months, but they did a great deal: the main RUF force was crushed and retreated to the countryside, taking only a few small plots of territory. The government secured the diamond-producing areas, and the rebel leader Sankoh was forced to come to the negotiating table. Consultations on free elections.

But the role of the mercenaries in Sierra Leone has aroused the resentment of the Western powers, who have put pressure first on Straser and then on the newly elected government of Ahmed Kabbah to immediately terminate their contracts with the mercenaries.

In desperation, the Kaba government canceled the agreement with Jamp; V Nasdine's contract. The mercenaries returned home.

However, Nasdine's company did not want its interests to be harmed in any way, and after receiving the support of some large Western business groups, it continued to send Colonel de Klerk to lead a 300-strong mercenary force to enter Sierra Leone again to help the government forces fight the rebel forces and ensure their own diamond mine interests.

Stayed in this country for almost 20 years, although the subordinates changed batch after batch. But the Colonel's position was moderate, and he was all too familiar with every plant and tree in Sierra Leone.

Of course, he himself received a huge reward for this!

When I heard that a few more rebels were captured. Colonel De Klerk didn't even hesitate for a second: "What are you going to do with these damn guys? ”

"Yes, Colonel. The mercenary whistled: "By the way, Mr. Maxwell is here." ”

"Oh, please come to him. ”

Nathan Maxwell Robbie is Jamp; The representative of V Nasdine in South Africa, his disguised identity is the president of the South African company Pnechek Lighting.

Of course, his real purpose was to secure the company's interests in the diamond mines here.

"Robbie, what are you doing in this place full of viruses?" Colonel De Klerk greeted him affectionately, "There's nothing else here but damn malaria and cholera." ”

Maxwell didn't smile: "Colonel." There is an important task that I must convey to you personally. ”

"Hey, look at your serious look. Colonel De Klerk still had a disapproving expression.

"It's not a joke. Maxwell took off his hat and fanned it a few times: "Do you know about the Blue Scarf Project? The delegation of this project is about to arrive in Sierra Leone." ”

"Is it a plan made up by a group of fellows who have been idle all day and have nothing to do?" Colonel De Klerk was very disapproving: "There is no salvation for this country, my friend, you know this better than I do!"

"The affairs of this country have nothing to do with us. Maxwell pulled out a photo as he spoke: "But the board of directors has asked you to do everything in your power to keep this man safe in Sierra Leone!"

Colonel De Klerk took the picture and looked at it: "Japanese? or Korean?"

"Chinese. My friend. Maxwell took a sip of the water handed by a mercenary: "You need to mobilize at least 30 mercenaries for protection, and you must personally lead the team." Of course, this task of protection must be carried out in secret. Colonel, you must not let the targets you protect discover!"

Colonel De Klerk finally became serious: "Is he remarkable?

"No, I don't know. Maxwell replied honestly: "But he has a stake in the fate of the entire company, and according to my intelligence, the CIA's forces here have joined in his protection." ”

Colonel De Kleco gasped and couldn't help but look at the man in the photo: "Who is he? At least I should know the name of the person I want to protect?"

Maxwell was silent for a moment and said, "Ray Huanxi, a very strange and interesting name. ”

That's a strange name.

But the name was firmly imprinted in Colonel De Klerk's mind from that moment on! )