Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du just wanted to catch Jonas Malone and finish this trip, so he didn’t care about a few thousand dollars. Therefore, he just laid the money out and motioned to the man to give out the information.
The man took the money and said, “Head northeast from Krasnoyarsk to a ghost town called Cricket House. The Prayer Gang is there now.”
Li Du held the money down, stared at the man, and said, “Hey, buddy, this had better be true. You see our motorcade,? You don’t want to mess with us, do you?”
The big fellow said in a careless manner, “Why would I cheat you? For a thousand bucks? The Prayer Gang is in Cricket House, you can ask anyone, there are many people who know their whereabouts.”
“It looks like this Mr. Malone has changed his tactic. He was hidden well enough when we tried to find him the last time,” Li Du said as he looked at Luo Qun and the others.
“Fourteen years. Maybe he thinks it’s over. No one remembers it,” said Luo Qun coldly.
Li Du waved and said, “Get in the car and let’s go to Cricket House.”
Krasnoyarsk was located in the upper reaches of the Podkamennaya Tunguska River, and there was a place of hidden treasure just around the source of the river.
Li Du decided to finish off Jonas Malone before digging for mammoth tusks.
Once they knew the exact destination, they were able to travel faster, of course, because there was a road along the Podkamennaya Tunguska River.
Even so, it took nearly a week for them to reach Krasnoyarsk through the taiga.
Krasnoyarsk, though one of the biggest cities in Siberia, was still a provincial place, and its region was under-developed.
There were some small farms on both sides of the road. They looked dilapidated. The local soil was not in good condition, and the harsh weather was not suitable for farming.
In the middle of a lone town square, there stood the statue of Lenin, the great proletarian revolutionary. Wearing his coat, his hands in his pockets, he was towering over the square on the high stone platform.
Unfortunately, the huge red empire he helped create had collapsed.
“If it hadn’t been for the statue of this man, I would have thought we were in a Tarantino Western,” Laughed Little Ford as he got out of the car. “Pretty bleak, isn’t it?”
With a cold wind, few people on the streets and a gloomy sky that threatened snow, the town looked like a place abandoned by its inhabitants.
Interestingly, a few small animals occasionally appeared at the end of the street, such as two stoats running out from beside the garbage can in the square. They looked curiously at the pedestrians and cars, and then quickly ran away.
They had just entered the town when they stopped, and soon a motorcade arrived.
A dozen pickup trucks intercepted them from the front and back, and some big men stepped out, looking fierce and hostile.
Steve sighed and said, “Is there going to be a problem?”
Li Du said, “What do you think? Surely they had not come just to greet us?”
Leading the way, there was a large man in a hoodie and baggy trousers. He came up to Li Du, crossed his arms on his chest and asked, “Well, man. Where are you from?”
Hankway went over and said, “Hello, buddy, what’s your name?”
“What a stupid question,” whispered the young man with a scar on his face. “It’s Flint Vladimir! How ignorant does he have to be to know nothing of Flint?”
Sure enough, once Hankway spoke, everyone around him burst into laughter.
Li Du asked, “What is this Flint about? Is he very powerful?”
The scarred man nodded. “Yes, his organization is called Flint too. He is one of the biggest ivory hunters. His men are very fierce and strong, and easily provoked.”
Flint did not respond to Hankway. He looked scornfully at Li Du and the others. Then he said, “Let the dog go away. I will not speak to a dog. Who is the leader? Come out and don’t tell me you don’t have the guts.”
Little Ford looked with interest at Flint, puffing on a cigarette, and said, “So, shall we run him over?”
Li Du motioned to the guys not to worry, and went ahead and said, “I am the boss. Hello, Mr. Flint, may I know what brings you here?”
Flint was the stereotypical Russian giant, nearly two meters tall, very strong, and as big as a bear.
He walked slowly to Li Du, deliberately looking down at him, and then grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth. “Haha, why? Don’t you know why am I here?”
Li Du spread his hands and said, “Please make it clear.”
Flint hummed and went round and round him, and said, “I heard you’ve been looking for a mate of mine. What do you want with him?”
Originally, Li Du thought that the Russians were like this because they were ivory hunters, and came to give the newcomers some warning and make them pay their respects.
However, after hearing Flint’s words he knew this was not the case. The man had been sent by Jonas Malone, who clearly knew they were looking for him.
It was not a good sign, but Li Du had anticipated it. After all, Jonas Malone had been in the area for more than a decade, and he certainly had connections.
Presumably, someone had informed him when they started gathering information about him.
Looking at Flint, Li Du said with a smile, “We are old friends. We heard that he gathered a gang called the Prayer. We want to join him and make a fortune together.”
Flint laughed loudly, pointed to the huge SUV and shouted. “Are you damn fooling me? You’re driving this car to dig for ivory? Can ivory buy you even a day’s worth of gas for all these?”
“One ivory tusk can sell for $30,000 or $40,000, and the petrol for the SUVs per day costs three to four thousand, so of course it’s enough,” said Li Du.
Hearing this, Flint laughed again and pointed to Li Du, “Very good. You have a sense of humor. I like you, bastard.”
Li Du smiled and nodded. “Thanks…”
Flint interrupted him, “But did you ask me for permission before you came to dig for ivory in Krasnoyarsk Krai? Did you ask for my advice? Do you think ivory is like potatoes? That anyone could just dig it?”
Surreptitiously, Li Du released the little bug to fly and absorb the energy of time from Flint’s belt buckle.
Flint wanted to act tough, so Li Du let him do so. “Sorry, you are the boss here? We’re new here and there are many things we don’t know.”
“Don’t you dare…” Flint’s belt buckle tore off with a cracking sound when he was about to push Li Du’s chest.
Then, the belt fell off, and Flint’s loose military trousers fell to the ground in a heap!
This way, in front of more than one hundred people, the formidable boss of the Flint gang had his pants down.
