Edward Baker was idling away in Degulamo, browsing major domestic BBS forums. Whenever he saw some troll fawning over foreigners and worshipping the West as morally superior, he wished he could slap them in the face with Kanem’s dark history.

At the end of the eighteenth century, the entire Kanem region became a British colony; as the capital of British Kanem, Degulamo developed in a rather distorted way.

Even though places like Iboku, sixty or seventy kilometers away, were as desolate as uncivilized primitive lands, Degulamo, as the old capital of Kanem, the long-standing economic and commercial center, and the most prosperous port city in West Africa, still showed some signs of modern urban prosperity.

Especially the area where the colonizers once concentrated, now Salt Lake Island, the commercial center of Degulamo, was filled with high-rise buildings and a strong modern vibe, connected by elevated bridges to Ikoyi Island and Victoria Island to the west, and the mainland area to the north.

Dongsheng Group could have easily rented a floor in a modern office building on Salt Lake Island as their office, but David Sullivan ultimately decided to locate the branch office in the Kennett Building in the West Bank District.

During the colonial era, the local Black population who served or were enslaved by the colonizers mainly lived along the mainland coast west of Salt Lake Island.

On this basis, the city districts that gradually developed became the West Bank District, which is now the largest and most densely populated area of Degulamo.

For three or four hundred years, the West Bank District has always been Degulamo’s slum, or rather, synonymous with chaos, poverty, backwardness, and endless violence and fraud.

With the development of Degulamo, the West Bank District has also seen the construction of wide, flat roads and some modern high-rise buildings, but these are interspersed with crowded shantytowns made of corrugated iron, making the cityscape fragmented, old, and chaotic.

Public security in the West Bank District is poor, at least somewhat worse than the commercial center of Salt Lake Island, the wealthy residential area of Ikoyi Island, and the embassy district of Victoria Island.

However, in the past two or three years, most of the Chinese businesspeople and Chinese-funded enterprises who have come to Degulamo to seek opportunities, as well as the small group of Chinese immigrants who settled here from Hong Kong and other places in the 1960s, have mainly gathered around the Kennett Building under the West Island Bridge in the West Bank District and its surrounding areas.

Just over a year ago, upon arriving in Degulamo, David Sullivan experienced an armed robbery right after getting off the plane. Wanting to stick together for safety, he decided to locate the branch office in the Kennett Building.

As for the dormitory where Edward Baker, John Foster, and Emily Carter lived, it was in a residential community behind the Kennett Building—a small English-style villa.

……

……

When Edward Baker and the others drove back from the hospital, the community was pitch black, and a few muffled gunshots could be heard in the distance.

After more than a year in Degulamo, Edward Baker and the others had become immune to the occasional gunfire in the city; it was just that on this hot night, with no electricity, it was truly unbearable.

Several neighboring Chinese businesspeople and employees of Chinese companies in the community discussed pooling money to buy a diesel generator.

However, the generator was extremely noisy when running, and no one wanted to put it in their own rented building, nor was there a dedicated equipment room available, so the matter was put on hold for now.

“Is there anything wrong with you?”

The general manager of the West Africa branch, David Sullivan, had been with Dongsheng Group since its founding, working alongside the old chairman Samuel Reed. He was just over forty, of medium build, with hair so thin on top that his scalp was clearly visible, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, slightly overweight, with some fat accumulating on his cheeks and neck, making him look a bit clumsy.

There were candles lit in the dining room, and the lighting was fairly bright.

David Sullivan and John Foster were sitting at the dining table discussing business. When they saw Edward Baker, Emily Carter, and the others walk in, David Sullivan glanced at Edward Baker several times, his expression shifting unpredictably.

“There’s nothing wrong now…”

Edward Baker knew that he didn’t look like he had any symptoms at the moment, not even the weakness that usually follows a serious illness. David Sullivan was probably suspecting that John Foster had exaggerated in his earlier report; however, seeing David Sullivan’s unpredictable expression, Edward Baker had the urge to take off his boots, which he’d worn for days without changing, and press them against David Sullivan’s face.

Still, Edward Baker had nothing to be nervous about. If any explanation was needed, it was up to John Foster to explain to David Sullivan.

After all, John Foster was his direct supervisor.

He wasn’t about to take the blame for this—why should he?

Since there were no unexpected emergencies, David Sullivan proceeded to sternly scold John Foster and Edward Baker for taking the company car out without permission on their day off.

Emily Carter was caught in the crossfire and was reprimanded by David Sullivan for not fulfilling her supervisory duties; Edward Baker just sat there quietly, noticing that Emily Carter seemed to be listening to David Sullivan’s scolding without taking it to heart.

Of course, Edward Baker still found it a bit odd.

The West Africa branch, including David Sullivan, had only four employees sent from China, but the hierarchy was clear.

David Sullivan was the general manager in charge of the branch, John Foster was the marketing and administration supervisor, Edward Baker was the general helper; Emily Carter, as the dedicated accountant, was sent by the group’s finance department.

Even with so few people, whenever something came up, David Sullivan would always give instructions directly to John Foster, rarely paying attention to Edward Baker.