Shentu Tianyin had driven them over to the Vientiane Group headquarters with her Rolls-Royce Phantom. But when she left with Xia Lei, they had departed off in a normal vehicle. While they tried to maneuver out of the headquarters, Xia Lei had been mindful to avoid all surveillance devices.
On the way, Shentu Tianyin had told Xia Lei more about the Nigerian mine site. Vientiane Group’s mine in Nigeria was located in the active area of the Boko Haram armed groups, east of the historic city, Kano. It was relatively close to the Sahara Desert. Vientiane Group was officially registered as Alliance Mining in the Nigerian government database. They had hired many locals and made substantial donations to the local mosques. It was safe to say that their standing over there was considered stable.
Shentu Tianyin made a call for the Alliance Mining’s person in charge. Weirdly, said person was out of reach.
Just as Xia Lei returned to the Peace Mansion, Fan Fan too had arrived home.
“Hubby, I’ve already instructed the Nigerian embassy to dispatch someone to check on the relevant situation.” Fan Fan continued, “However, we’ve been failing to establish contact with the people of Alliance Mining. The communication lines there seem to be disrupted.” She looked at Shentu Tianyin, “Miss Shentu, is the mine site under Alliance Mining too?”
Shentu Tianyin replied, “Yes, indeed. I’ve tried calling the person in charge and have no luck at all getting my call through. I wonder what’s happening on their end.”
“Who is the person in charge?” asked Xia Lei.
Shentu Tianyin answered, “Someone from the Shentu family. His name is Shentu Weiying. He’s the youngest son of my granduncle. Based on his generation, he would be my seventh uncle. He has been in charge of overseas mining affairs since my father’s era and he has proven to be quite capable. There had been no major issues so far from the Nigerian mine.”
“Then who is the legal owner?” Xia Lei asked again.
“Me, of course,” answered Shentu Tianyin.
Xia Lei replied, “That’s good. If the owner was your seventh uncle, I’m worried that the Americans might’ve already bought him over. In that case, you’d lose your control over the Alliance Mine.”
Shentu Tianyin said, “But what do we do now? I can’t contact Shentu Weiying and have no way of asking him to resend the samples here.”
“Calm down, take it easy. The embassy personnel are already on their way to check things out. They’re heading over with a helicopter, we’ll probably receive some word two hours later,” answered Fan Fan.
Xia Lei uttered, “That’s great. Let’s go and eat something. I’m sure we’ll hear something from them when we’re done.”
Shentu Tianyin returned a nod. While she looked calm on the outside, her insides were a flurry of emotions.
As they moved to the dining hall, Fan Fan reached over to tug on his sleeve discreetly.
Xia Lei deliberately slowed down and waited for her to speak.
Fan Fan whispered into his ear. “Why did you bring her here?”
Xia Lei lowered his voice. “Tianyin has been targeted by the Americans. Don’t forget that she’s the legal owner of the mine. I invited her over to stay for a few days. That would be safer for her too.”
Fan Fan flashed her eyes at him. “You sure you’re not having any other ideas?”
Xia Lei was suddenly reminded of Shentu Tianyin’s request but feigned firmness anyway. “Seriously, there’s nothing else to it. What else do you think I’m plotting? If I’m involved with her some way or another, would I be bringing her into our house?”
“True.” A smile appeared on Fan Fan’s lips. “The government views this matter with importance. I was placed in charge of this.”
“You’re in charge?”
“Yeah. Have you forgotten that not only am I your wife but I’m also the head of Station ZN? If the situation described by Shentu Tianyin is real, then national interests are involved. We can’t afford to not take this seriously. The underlying message here is that the higher-ups are unwilling to have the Americans gain control over the mine,” explained Fan Fan.
“I have no issues with you being in charge of this but you need to be careful, okay? I won’t allow you to visit Nigeria personally. That place is too complicated,” said Xia Lei.
“Nah, I won’t go. I can’t bear to leave our little princess at home,” replied Fan Fan with a smile.
Shentu Tianyin’s presence was something Liang Siyao, Long Bing and Jiang Ruyi had already heard about before Xia Lei had even arrived. It was Xia Lei’s phone call that explained the situation. Despite the knowledge, seeing Shentu Tianyin in front of them still felt weird. The co-existence of the ex-wife and Xia Lei’s current wives in the same room brought on an extremely awkward atmosphere. Everything felt unnatural.
“I’m so sorry for interrupting.” Shentu Tianyin was apologetic. From her perspective, there was no way she’d willingly come here. But the woman had no way of rejecting Xia Lei’s offer.
“There’s no need to be so courteous. We’ve all known each other for a while now,” welcomed Liang Siyao.
“Here, take a seat. We’re about to start,” said Jiang Ruyi.
Everyone sat down at the dining table. At that moment, Xia Lei noticed something. “Where’s Yuyan?”
Fan Fan replied, “I was just on a call with her earlier. She says she won’t be back for dinner. She’s currently busy with this matter.”
“Alright then. Everyone, go ahead. There’s no need to wait up,” uttered Xia Lei.
Five women and one man began digging into their meal around the same table. The four babies were chugging their milk bottles comfortably in their respective strollers. The dining hall was positively bustling with energy and chatter. Shentu Tianyin found it difficult to blend in. She had only taken a few bites off her bowl and went off to play with Long Bing and Xia Lei’s son, Xia Long.
“Auntie, feed milk.” Xia Long was already a greasy one. At the sight of a woman with larger breasts, he’d unbashful ask them for milk even if they were strangers.
Shentu Tianyin smiled and shook her head. “I have no milk. How about I give you another milk bottle instead?”
Xia Long turned his face away, his dark beady eyes scrutinizing Shentu Tianyin mockingly.
“Jeez, you’ve got quite the personality.” Shentu Tianyin reached out and caressed Xia Long’s cheek. At that moment, a thought struck her. “If only I have a son like you…”
Back at the dining table, Liang Siyao placed a piece of pork rib in Xia Lei’s bowl. She mouthed “How long is she going to stay here?”
Xia Lei mouthed back, “A few days.”
With that, Liang Siyao snatched the pork rib away. She placed the rib in her mouth, chewed on it, spat out the bones and then swallowed it in front of Xia Lei’s eyes.
The man was rendered speechless.
Not long after lunch, Fan Fan had received a call from Station ZN. Beside her, Xia Lei was able to hear the conversation as clear as day.
“Chief, the helicopter dispatched by the embassy has been shot down.” The person on the other end of the line went into it straight.
“Huh? How is that possible? Who shot it down?” Fan Fan was shocked.
“We’re not sure either. The area is Boko Haram’s active region. Our soldiers dared not enter for further investigations. Our intelligence officers have been sent off to Nigeria. I believe we’ll be hearing something very soon.”
“Send a few members over and instruct the embassy’s marshall to escort them. I must find out what happened at the Alliance Mine,” ordered Fan Fan.
“Right away, madam. I’ll go make the calls now.” The call ended.
Fan Fan furrowed her brows. “The embassy’s helicopter had been shot down. We have no idea who we’re up against this time.”
Shentu Tianyin questioned, “We did spend some money as goodwill to the local armed groups and we’ve even established decent relationships with the local mosques. I don’t think they’re likely to attack us?”
“They’re attacking the embassy’s helicopter.” Fan Fan mused, “I too don’t think it’d be them because the helicopter body has our country’s logo on it. There’s no need for an armed group to shoot down a helicopter from a country they had no issues with.”
Xia Lei said, “I think it might be the Americans.”
“The Americans?” The shock in Liang Siyao’s voice was unmasked.
Xia Lei went on, “Only the Americans are bold enough to attack our planes. I’m guessing that they’ve entered the area and jeopardize the local communication network.”
“Are they trying to rob the mine away?” Shentu Tianyin’s emotions flared. “That’s something not even the local armed groups had attempted!”
Xia Lei uttered, “If the rare metal really does exist, it won’t be far-fetched for the Americans to initiate another Colour Revolution in Nigeria to topple the current government and plant their puppets. The Vientiane Group’s interest in Nigeria will receive no guarantee.”
“Then… What should I do now?” Shentu Tianyin was at wit’s end. Honestly, she could not be arsed with the Nigerian mine. The only reason why she was concerned about it and the rare metal it offered was because it had given her a chance to contact Xia Lei. Before she had received a clear answer from Xia Lei, how could she be willing to lose it?
Xia Lei comforted her, “Don’t worry, the country will support you through this. I’m sure the problem will be solved soon. Aside from that, you have me too. I won’t let the Americans get close to the rare metal. I’ll go talk to Giovanna and my people. Perhaps they’d have a way to attain intel from around the area.”
A few minutes later, Xia Lei found himself at the Holy Thunder Church. He had gathered up all the Chinese Zodiac Battle Team members for a strategy discussion.
In the secret chamber within the Holy Thunder Church, Giovanna spoke after listening to Xia Lei’s narration of the situation. “We’ve built churches across the African continent and gathered more members there. Honestly speaking, we have more brothers and sisters in Africa. Many places on the continent have been long suffering from war and poverty. Many of them were driven to a dead-end and had to seek help from the Relief Society. Collecting intel there should not be a problem.”
Xia Lei responded, “Then contact the Relief Society branch there immediately and have them head out to gather information. I need to understand the situation as soon as possible.”
Giovanna nodded. “Yes, right away.”
“We can go there too.” Qian Jun continued, “We’ve been sitting around in the country with nothing better to do. I’m afraid my bones are about to get rusty from inactivity.”
Xia Lei rebuked, “But we haven’t made clear of the current situation. It’s still too early to send you there.”
Qian Jun uttered, “If we wait till intel is returned to move, we won’t be able to respond in time. I urge you to send us over soon.”
Xia Lei pondered for a moment. “Very well. Pack up and move to Nigeria right away. I’ll send you intel as soon as I receive it. Aside from that, if the rare metal’s existence is confirmed, I’ll be there too.”
“You’re going to Nigeria too?” Anjum Khan was surprised. “Isn’t that too risky?”
Xia Lei replied, “It can’t be more dangerous than Area 51, right? No matter what, I will not allow the Americans to get a hold of the rare metal. The mine belongs to the Vientiane Group too.”
After making a call in the secret chamber, Giovanna turned around and reported, “We’ve got plenty of human resources over there. They’re rolling out now. The person in charge over there is a Hausa man named Samubamu. He’s requesting some weapon support. He mentioned that to reach the Alliance Mine would require them to pass through a highly dangerous area. Though they’ve got enough people, their resources are scarce.”
Xia Lei nodded. “That’s not an issue. I’ll go contact Prince Harifah right away to have him send some over.”
“That’s great news.” Giovanna smiled.
Prince Harifah would help send some Thunder Horse Organization weapons to the Relief Society and Xia Lei would replenish the prince’s weapons later on. That approach would make things simple. This was Xia Lei’s strategy to arm his own people and Prince Harifah was more than eager to entertain his request. In return, the prince would be able to buy better and newer weapons from the Thunder Horse Organization along with plenty of new benefits.