Mercenaries continued unloading various supplies from the plane.

Nicholas lit a Havana cigar on the grass beside the runway and handed another to Le Man.

"Want one?"

Le Man shook his head. "Quit!"

Nicholas curiously asked, "You quit cigars?"

Le Man said, "Yes."

Nicholas laughed, "Quitting some things is not beneficial."

Le Man sensed a hidden meaning, hesitated, and said, "Nicholas, I advise you not to get involved in this mess."

"What do you mean?" Nicholas frowned, taking the cigar out of his mouth. "Le Man, it seems you are hiding something from me."

Le Man's expression was constipated, remaining silent for a long time.

Nicholas's small eyes pierced through Le Man, "Speak up, you have no secrets before me."

Le Man gritted his teeth, displaying a hateful expression, "I should never have gotten involved with you guys back in Serbia."

Nicholas laughed, "What? Afraid the UN will know that you, a peacekeeping officer, also participated in human trafficking?"

Le Man suddenly turned his head and stared at Nicholas.

He was quite regretful.

He met Nicholas during a peacekeeping mission in Serbia, and thereafter, the guy pulled him into the water with money.

In Eastern Europe, human trafficking was a very lucrative business.

Those Eastern European girls were highly sought after in the United States or Europe; all you needed was to set up a so-called modeling agency and some eloquent "scouts," and you could find plenty of sources.

More people were trying to escape the war zones to Europe, which was also a highly profitable business.

Nicholas had done plenty of such illegal activities.

Then there were the drugs.

Drugs from Central Asia were transported to Europe, and the land route through Eastern Europe was a very discreet path.

To transport these things, regular vehicles weren't suitable, but UN vehicles had privileges, so many underground business tycoons would pull in UN peacekeeping officers and soldiers.

Using money to bribe them.

For military personnel with relatively modest salaries, money was undoubtedly the best weapon to break them.

Le Man was newly married at that time and needed money, so he quickly got involved with Nicholas, raking in tons of money over the years.

However, the underground emperor's money wasn't easy to take.

His money was toxic.

Nicholas was best at pulling people into the water and then leveraging it against them for favors.

When prosecuted by the new government, he was able to get away because he had people in the governments of various European countries.

"It's about my daughter, does that count as meddling?"

Nicholas's tone softened somewhat, using a reason Le Man couldn't refute.

"If you hide some information now, you'll be responsible if something happens to my daughter in the future."

The words were tough with a soft touch.

Le Man finally gave in.

He had too much leverage in Nicholas's hands.

The man before him was no saint.

"Alright, I know some information..."

Le Man's words broke off here, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.

"The cigar, give me one."

He voluntarily asked Nicholas for the cigar.

Nicholas took out the Havana cigar from earlier and handed it to Le Man, with a look of control over everything, coldly saying, "Better not quit, quitting is bad for your health."

Le Man took the cigar, roughly bit off a part and lit it with Nicholas's windproof lighter. After taking a deep puff, he said, "Your daughter got herself into big trouble, she shouldn't have hired that guy named Song."

"That PMC company guy Song?"

Nicholas was a bit surprised.

Le Man nodded, "But now it's too late; Maria got involved, and it's hard to extricate herself. Do you know who Song is?"

"Who is he?" Nicholas was stunned.

He had a bad feeling.

Le Man said, "He's a key figure on the UN and the United States' list of KB terrorists, they're all offering rewards for his capture. As far as I know, he's provoked not only the CIA but also Mossad, and even the 'Satan' Mercenary Group."

"The most powerful underground mercenary group in Africa?"

Nicholas seemed to realize the severity of the situation.

He knew about the Mercenary Group.

He even planned to hire this group for a mission before leaving.

But he was in Eastern Europe at the time, contacting Africa took some time, and Maria's situation couldn't wait, so he hired the best PMC company locally in Eastern Europe, deploying the two most elite mercenary squads to follow him here.

Now that the 'Satan' Mercenary Group got involved, the difficulty of solving the problem increased exponentially.

"Do you understand my implication?"

Le Man pinched the cigar, turned his head to look at Nicholas.

"Understood." Nicholas took a deep puff, letting the smoke linger in his mouth for several seconds before exhaling.

"If I get involved, it means offending these organizations."

"Right, Nicholas, you have strength in Eastern Europe, but this isn't Eastern Europe, and you can't contend with Mossad or CIA here, let alone the 'Satan' Mercenary Group. They are the kings here."

"It's surprising to hear such words from an UN peacekeeping officer."

Nicholas seemed somewhat disdainful.

Not that he thought Le Man was exaggerating.

He knew the power of those intelligence agencies.

He was just puzzled why this Chinese guy named Song would dare provoke these agencies?

Isn't it seeking death?

Le Man laughed coldly, "Maybe my words weren't clear enough. Nicholas, a highly skilled mercenary squad wearing our uniforms, driving our armored vehicles, carrying a large array of weaponry and drones entered the war zone tonight, heading towards Koma Village where your daughter is. Want to know who they are?"

"People from the 'Satan' Mercenary Group?" Nicholas's expression turned grim.

"Right, at least you have some brains." Le Man said, "Why do you think they have all the permits and fake identities?"

Nicholas's gaze sharpened again, staring at Lieutenant Colonel Le Man, "You know."

Le Man said, "I actually don't know much, but their vehicles were provided by me. The person who made me do this is much higher ranked, directly from my home country. Their fake identities weren't arranged by me; those permits only come from UN higher ups stationed here."

Nicholas felt the pressure now.

Originally thought it was some South Sudanese armed group, bringing twenty elite mercenaries seemed a cinch to handle.

Now hearing Le Man, his daughter's really in deep trouble.

"There's a rumor about the 'Satan' Mercenary Group, supported by many high officials from various countries, aiding their dominance in Africa. It's never been proven, but I believe it's true."

Le Man continued, "You shouldn't have hired that guy."

Nicholas took another deep puff of the cigar, then stubbed out the remaining half fiercely. "I had no choice, the village where my daughter was faced a massacre, it was that Song guy who saved them. No one else at the time guaranteed my daughter's safety, without Song, she might've already been dead hours ago."

Le Man shrugged, "That's your family matter, I won't comment. But my advice is, since you're here now, get your daughter away from Song. She's not the target; he is."

"I need another favor."

Nicholas suddenly made a request.

Le Man was taken aback by this.

His demands usually spelled trouble.

"I've already risked a lot helping you. If Mossad or CIA finds out I'm involved, what's my fate?"

"Consider what happens if you don't help me."

Nicholas's previous friendly expression vanished, replaced by harshness and coldness.

Le Man knew from his look and expression, refusal was not an option.

"Damn!"

He cursed bitterly, "Nicholas, it's a nightmare having you as a friend. Tell me how to help you!"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com