Translator: _Min_ Editor: Caron_
After arranging for Ayesha to rest in an empty room, Jiang Chen headed to the captain’s room.
When he arrived, Ivan and Barkary were already waiting there.
Barkary was the man who worked as the manager to Future Security. He was in charge of the logistics. After Future Security shut down, Ivan asked if he was willing to relocate to work on the other side of the planet and Barkary accepted without hesitation. His only request was to bring his wife and children along. It was his dream to leave the impoverished West African region.
“Are you used to the deepwater here?”
Barkary smiled humbly, showing his white teeth. He spoke with his broken English, “Yes, just a bit wet.”
“That’s normal since this is the sea.” Ivan laughed and patted him on the shoulder.
“Now, let’s get down to business. Ivan must’ve already told you.” Jiang Chen looked at Ivan and stared into Barkary’s eyes.
“Of course.” Barkary nodded.
Currently, the relationship between Celestial Trade and Future International wasn’t disclosed to the public. Before Barkary arrived, he signed a non-disclosure agreement after which he would wear an electronic collar for ten years. The advantage was that his salary would increase from four hundred USD a month to one hundred thousand USD a year, the same amount as Ivan.
“Then your response is?’
“I have no reason to reject,” Barkary said light-heartedly.
Jiang Chen nodded as took out the silica gel for the electronic collar and passed it to Barkary. The young black man didn’t hesitate as he put the collar on in front of Jiang Chen.
“Don’t worry too much, this is just for cautionary measures.”
“I understand, but it feels weird to wear this,” Barkary said as he touched his neck.
“You’ll get used to it.” Ivan patted him on the shoulder. “Buddy, now you’re a part of us.”
Jiang Chen laughed and looked at Barkary. “Just like before, I’ll leave you the logistics of the military base to you, including fresh water, food, and living necessities. As to the firearms and ammo, I have my channel to take care of this. You only need to transport supplies from Coro Island’s warehouses to here.”
“Count on me,” Barkary said confidently.
Jiang Chen nodded as he looked at Ivan. “You must’ve heard that Xin’s national defense will be taken care of by Celestial. I plan to build a military base, not for training purposes. Do you have any recommendations?”
Ivan served in Kane before and was an old Soviet veteran. Even if he wasn’t an expert, he must have some perspectives to share.
“A deepwater port would be a good idea. The area near the island is too shallow, so vessels with a higher displacement can’t approach it. Without a deepwater port, both supplies and military mobility would be greatly limited.”
“The deepwater port will definitely be built. What about other areas?” Jiang Chen said.
“Bunker, training field, radar station, hanger, runway… Mostly these.” Ivan smiled. “The size of this island is pretty good and quite similar to UA’s Wake Island. It might even be a bit bigger.”
“Mhmm, I’ll start the building process for the military base; keep an eye on this for me.”
“No problem.”
“Then that’s all.”
…
Moving took an entire afternoon.
It was indeed troublesome to move supplies between the island and vessels. Jiang Chen already made up his mind – he would contact people to build the deepwater port once he headed back the next day.
Although it was tiring to move supplies and build houses, Jiang Chen discovered that everyone’s face was filled with joy and happiness.
To avoid the flames of war caused by extremists, they had to flee with their families from their homes. Now, they were finally able to settle down on the other side of the world, on a beautiful island, to restart their life.
Although it was just an inhabited island now, everyone believed great things were to come.
The passion for building their new home made everyone energetic. It wasn’t long before an array of tents were set up in the middle of the island.
At night, people gathered in the middle of the island and started bonfires around the island. They took out food from the vessel and began the BBQ party.
Children chased each other in the camp, couples cuddled together, people who enjoyed large crowds sat in the circle. People joked, drank, and ate.
The aroma of the barbeque spread across the camp – it was just like a picnic.
Jiang Chen soon joined them. A young man from Turkey warmly asked Jiang Chen to try his roasted turkey.
It was crispy on one side but tender on the other; Jiang Chen almost ate his tongue.
With the saline and warm wind blowing while they drank cold beer, it was a superb feeling.
The BBQ party lasted till midnight, after which people cleaned up the garbage on the ground. Although it had only been half a day, they felt an indescribable sense of belonging on the island already.
How could he explain?
Compared with Demarcus engulfed in the flames of war, the life here was too pleasant.
The next morning, people didn’t oversleep due to the celebration the night before, after months of military training made it a routine for them to wake up early.
Men lined up on the empty ground as they began the day’s training with their trainers.
The children and women also woke up early, because they wanted to see the sunrise.
Since there was no extra tent on the island, Jiang Chen and Ayesha spent the night on the vessel. It was rather embarrassing in the morning because compared to the hardworking soldiers, it wasn’t until noon before Jiang Chen left Ayesha’s body in bed.
After washing up, the two didn’t return to the island and remained on the boat.
Because he still needed to take care of the military base, he needed to return to Coro Island before taking a flight to Australia.
The older fisherman had woken up long ago. There was a bucket of fresh sea fish on the boat. When he saw Jiang Chen, the older fisherman named Carter was somewhat embarrassed. When he woke up in the morning, seeing that Jiang Chen had yet to get up, he took the boat out and fished.
But Jiang Chen only laughed as he didn’t mind him using a small amount of diesel. He also jokingly asked for a few fish and asked how to cook the fish.
The old fisherman felt relieved when Jiang Chen didn’t seem to mind him using his boat for other purposes. He controlled the boat expertly with the steering wheel while he began to explain the delicacies of eating the fish.
Jiang Chen wasn’t paying complete attention, but Ayesha listened diligently while she recorded things secretively on her EP. The girl thought Jiang Chen suddenly became interested in eating fish, so she made up her mind to master this cuisine.
Once this conversation about fish started, the fisherman began to talk about his stories from when he fished. This time, Ayesha was rather disinterested while Jiang Chen was completely drawn in.
It was hard to imagine that in a life of fishing so many outsiders considered dull, the old fisherman had all kinds of interesting stories to tell.
In the light and happy atmosphere, 150 kilometers soared by.
