Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
As they were preparing to board the plane, Sophie laughed bitterly and said, “I didn’t
think that I would be fulfilling my promise so soon. Are you planning to fly around the
world in the near future?”
Li Du spread his hands helplessly. “What can I do about this? Besides, wouldn’t it be
great to bring the parents along for a holiday?”
Back from New York, Li Du was getting ready for another long-haul journey. This time,
he was going to Australia.
Brother Wolf was going to Australia to be with his daughter during the second stage of
her surgery. Now that Li Du had to attend to the purchase of the island, they decided to
go to Australia together.
Li Du’s parents had never been to Australia and, while Sophie’s parents did visit the
southern hemisphere continent, it had been close to thirty years ago, before Sophie was
born. Hence, they decided they should all go to Australia together for sightseeing.
It was the start of December, when American colleges closed for their winter break.
Hence, Sophie’s parents could take a vacation and the itinerary was planned easily.
Li Du’s parents were very happy. Not only did they have the opportunity to visit the
United States, but they would go to Australia as well. The journey was an unexpected,
pleasant surprise. They had never thought that they would be able to visit the southern
hemisphere as well.
“And to cap it all, we’re planning to fly to South Africa first, stay there for two or three
days, and then fly to Sydney,” Li Du said.
His father asked apprehensively, “We’re going to Africa? Won’t it be very hot?”
“This season is not considered warm. You won’t experience real heat until we come to
Australia,” Li Du laughed.
Li Du’s mother wondered, “Why do we have to stop in Africa for a couple of days? Can’t
we go straight to Australia?”
Li Du said, “Africa would be a stopover point for you to rest. It will be almost like flying
across the entire globe when we journey from America to Australia. It will be an
exhausting journey.”
Li Du’s mother shook her head. “Why would we be tired? We can close the eyes and
sleep on the plane, we won’t be tired at all.”
Li Du said impatiently, “But Sophie’s parents will be. They aren’t like the two of you. You
look for work when you have nothing to do at home and have better stamina. They are
not as fit.”
Li Du did not tell his parents about the real reasons why he wanted to go to Africa, nor
about the reasons for going to Australia. Of course, Sophie’s parents were clueless as
well.
The four older people thought that Li Du and Sophie were going for a pre-honeymoon
and simply bringing them along.
Many people were going on this journey. Just on Li Du’s side, his family made up six
people. Combined with five pets, it was already a total of eleven. Besides, there were
also the bodyguards, Godzilla and Hans. They would make up a party of twenty in total.
Hans was not going to Australia for fun. He planned to hunt for black gold abalone.
As there were so many of them and they were traveling with pets, Li Du rented a private
airplane, Gulfstream G250.
That had been something suggested by JP Morgan Chase. Although the Gulfstream
G250 was a mid-sized commercial plane, it had greater power compared to a large
commercial jet.
The aircraft was equipped with two Honeywell-HTF7250G turbofan engines that could
rise to an initial cruising altitude of 41,000 feet in twenty minutes.
It had a larger fuel tank than any other aircraft of its class. Its range had been extended
to be able to cover as much as 6,300 kilometers. Hence, it was very suitable for
intercontinental journeys. In addition, its maximum cruising altitude could go up to
13,716 meters. This altitude would be much safer, as it rarely encountered bad weather.
Li Du was impressed by the interior space of the Gulfstream G250. It was larger than in
any other super mid-size commercial jet.
Compared with other commercial jets of the same class, the interior space of the
Gulfstream G250 cabin was 17 to 35 percent larger. Li Du had many people going on
the trip with him and needed a lot of space. A small aircraft would feel cramped.
In fact, as the five animals did not take up too much space, they had just slightly over
ten people. This plane model could accommodate up to eighteen people, so they had
plenty of space.
The plane entered the stratosphere and flew forward smoothly. The bright sunshine
shone in from the 19 elliptical windows, brightening up the space inside the plane.
Li Du’s parents were high-spirited as they boarded the plane. His mother said, “This is
much better than the plane we took when we flew to America, yet that one had been so
huge.”
Li Du smiled. “Of course, this is a business plane. We can consider this as a private jet,
so the conditions are much better.”
“Is the price much higher too?” Li Du’s mother asked.
Li Du said vaguely, “Still okay, not too expensive, a few hundred thousand dollars.”
His mother nodded. She felt that the price was not too expensive. After all, there were
so many of them.
In fact, renting this plane for one return trip would cost 120,000$. This was after the
discount Li Du was entitled to thanks to his JP Morgan Chase palladium card.
Otherwise, the cost would be much higher!
Of course, the high price guaranteed high-quality service. The plane had flight
attendants to tend to all their needs. The flight attendants not only took care of the
passenger space but also prepared their lunch, dinner, and beverages.
There was a bar counter in a small space at the front part of the plane. They could go
over for drinks, and they also had a large LCD TV hanging above the bar that could
receive real-time signals.
Li Du waved Sophie over for a chat. However, Sophie ignored him and sat silently in her
seat, holding Ah Ow.
After arriving at South Africa, Li Du let his parents rest. Then, with Brother Wolf, the
other two bodyguards, and Sophie, Li Du flew to the border between South Africa and
Mozambique.
This time, they were on Lion Hunter’s helicopter again. When he saw Li Du, Lion Hunter
was very excited and laughed as he hugged Li Du, saying how good it was to meet him
again.
On the helicopter, the two of them discussed Remonin’s situation. Lion Hunter said
enthusiastically, “His name has changed now. Now he’s called Commander Remonin.
He holds the southwestern military zone. In the future, he can become an important
person with nationwide influence. He is the pride of our people!”
Li Du sneered in the dark and asked, “As far as I know, Remonin is in need of
development funds now. He must have looked you up. Have you invested in him?”
The smile slid off Lion Hunter’s face immediately. He said weakly, “I wanted to, but I
don’t have so much money.”
Indeed, he did not have such funds. However, he would not have wanted to help
Remonin either way. Lion Hunter was staying in South Africa only to make money. His
ultimate goal was to migrate to Northern Europe.
Over there, Remonin would not be able to help him regardless of how powerful he
became. Hence, he knew he had better save his money and invest it in Europe, where
things were much more stable.
He started talking happily again, “Even if I do not invest in Commander Remonin, we
will always be good friends. When we got to know each other, he only had a few guns.
Back then, I helped him a lot.”
Li Du could tell that he was trying to boast. He grinned and said, “If Remonin knew that
he had sold diamonds worth 50 million US dollars for a mere five million US dollars to
me following your advice, I wonder if you two would still remain good friends.”
Hearing that, Lion Hunter kept quiet.
He rubbed his hands together, looked at Li Du and said, “Mr. Li, I did that in your
interest. You can’t tell Remonin the truth.”
Although Li Du was the one who made the profit, Remonin had agreed to the price by
taking Lion Hunter’s advice. Hence, if he knew that there was a problem with the
pricing, he would hate Lion Hunter more.
It was Li Du’s turn to laugh heartily. He patted Lion Hunter’s shoulder in a friendly way
and said, “Consider what you’re saying. I will definitely keep silent. Don’t worry, my lips
are sealed.”
