Chapter 196 Reversing the Timeline

When De Bruyne met Joe Ga at a French restaurant in Yakoma City, he had just said goodbye to Auntie Zhao, a black lady who insisted on splitting the bill.The French restaurant in Yakoma City was surprisingly good, although they didn't have delicacies like goose liver or caviar, but the steak and pizza prepared by the chef with a big nose were unexpectedly delicious. Seasoned with black pepper, rose salt, and a hint of rosemary for extra flavor, the steak was tender and juicy. While it didn't melt in the mouth, the texture was indeed very good. Dorian was full of praises for Big Nose's steak-cooking skills, but he had an extreme aversion to fruit pizza. Joe Ga was in an excellent mood at the moment, having just secured an investment inspection invitation from Auntie Zhao, so everything he saw pleased him. In response to Dorian's complaints, Joe Ga picked up a thin slice of fruit pizza, rolled it up, and took a bite. It was indeed tasty, but for some reason, Dorian, the Italian, thought fruit pizza was heretical? Just as he was about to ask why, Sanderson and his team 'escorted' De Bruyne into the restaurant. The moment the restaurant door was pushed open, Ayu, who was sitting near the entrance, stood up. His fearsome build and the natural authority of his looks made the surrounding diners subconsciously lower their heads. Seeing the restaurant owner looking at Ayu with a shrinking demeanor, Joe Ga smiled and waved his hand to signal Ayu to sit down. He then handed the owner a handwritten business card and whispered in his ear, "I am a special agent from the Defense Department of the Congo, on a special investigation. You can call the number on the card at any time to confirm my identity with the Ministry of Defense. I am on official duty. The people from the Belgium United Mining Group are suspected of providing arms to the terrorist Boykin and using slaves to steal gold. I'm borrowing your place for a chat with that gentleman; it won't disturb anyone else." The restaurant owner, who resembled Mr. Bean in stature, nearly had his eyes pop out of his head. Looking at Joe Ga, he couldn't imagine him as a Congolese secret agent. Congo has secret agents? However, although this gentleman was Asian, the pistol on his belt, and the glimpses of weapons his subordinates showed beneath their jackets, could not be faked. The owner pinched his nose and nodded, then turned around to comfort the slightly startled diners and stealthily slipped behind the bar to dial the number on the business card. The phone number was real! Although the identity of the secret agent was made up, the operator at the Congo Ministry of Defense actually acknowledged it and emphasized the need to cooperate with their own agents' actions and stressed the importance of confidentiality. Watching Joe Ga and his team's boisterous display, the restaurant owner couldn't figure out how he was supposed to keep it a secret, so he slipped into the duty room, destroyed all of today's surveillance records, and took a short break from monitoring. He then composed his expression and stepped out again to stand at the door, reservedly and politely turning away new customers. De Bruyne was already terrified because Sanderson had also instructed him to call the Congo Ministry of Defense and confirmed that he could be accused of smuggling arms and thrown into one of Congo's dark jails at any moment. De Bruyne, who had worked in Congo for several years, was certain that he and his companions wouldn't last there long and that dying outside was preferable to imprisonment in Congo. Now that he saw Sanderson's boss was actually a Chinese man, De Bruyne's mind raced with even more terrifying thoughts, which is why he was particularly afraid. Joe Ga looked at De Bruyne, whose face had turned pale, and gestured with his hand, inviting him to sit down in a booth located around a corner. De Bruyne sat on the leather bench, constantly shifting his body as if there were nails underneath him, and sweat poured from his forehead like a broken water spigot. Joe Ga, smiling, was in no rush to speak. He waved to Nis, who was learning how to fry steaks from the Big Nose chef, and said, "Bring a glass of ice water for Mr. De Bruyne here, he needs to cool down." After speaking, Joe Ga stayed silent, just folding his arms and leaning back in his seat, observing De Bruyne with a hint of a cat-toying-with-a-mouse amusement in his gaze. Joe Ga, keenly aware, realized that as long as he didn't do anything too excessive, in a place like Congo, Central Africa, it was perfectly fine to act without evasion, if not do whatever he wanted. Just as he claimed to be a special agent of the Congo Ministry of Defence, Minister Ngira could arrange an operator to confirm his identity; even if it wasn't for the underdeveloped courier services, getting a printed ID sent to him was not out of the question. The crimes committed by the late Braune and Boykin were capital offenses anywhere. As the victim of the theft, he had no reason to skulk about seeking restitution. All of the Belgium United Mining Group's investments in Congo were ruined because their general manager was a bastard guilty of murder, kidnapping, and using slave labor, who would be condemned anywhere in the world. If the Yacoma branch was like this, could other branches be any better? The higher-ups in Congo were currently meeting to discuss whether to confiscate the assets of Belgium United Mining outright or to coordinate with Joe Ga's timeline and detain all Belgian nationals working in Congo to negotiate with the Belgium government. Mining companies were never innocent lambs; in the past, to care for the investment environment and to avoid scaring away investors, Congolese people turned a blind eye to certain things. If they really started nitpicking, every mine owner in Congo would be sitting in prison indefinitely. Now, seizing the opportunity, the completed infrastructure projects and mining equipment by United Mining, along with the mines they had paid for, would all revert to the embrace of the Congolese people. This was a deal involving huge numbers, but it didn't concern Joe Ga too much. He was after getting his possessions back, along with some compensation, and finally reversing the chronological order of events to present what happened here to others in a different light. De Bruyne took the ice water and drank it down in large gulps before looking across at Joe Ga and nervously said, "Sir, what exactly do you need me to do? Explore more adventures at empire If you want the gold in our company's warehouse that belongs to you, just as long as you have Braune's key, I can open it for you. Please don't harm me or my men; we had no knowledge of what Braune was up to." As he spoke, De Bruyne glanced at Joe Ga's seemingly smiling expression, his head lowered in conflict for a few seconds, then, in agony, he said, "Alright, I know a little, I helped Braune smuggle a batch of military weapons from China and handed them over to an anti-government rebel named Boykin. But I really didn't know he would use those weapons for such things, I swear, I didn't know, and my companions knew even less." "Sir, they're all diligent security personnel; they shouldn't be thrown into prison." After listening, Joe Ga chuckled indifferently and said, "I don't have much of an opinion about you, and I'm not going to accuse you of smuggling just a few weapons, although the quality of your purchases is so-so. In fact, you really are sort of my colleague. I believe you have nothing to do with that bald fat man stealing gold, because you weren't by his side, but those two damn mercenaries were. The investment of United Mining Group in Congo is screwed, and so are you. The only difference now is whether you prepare to stay here and be detained by the local Congo defense forces or if I send you to Kinshasa to be interrogated there. I remind you... there's a big difference." De Bruyne certainly knew the difference; at least there would be international oversight in Kinshasa. Here, a white man who had conducted massacres and used black slaves would be torn to pieces by the Congo defense forces. When it comes to these matters, brothers of color are more forgiving towards their own, but towards whites, they're either extremely humble or brutally cruel. seaʀᴄh thё Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The defense forces in Yakoma were definitely the latter! De Bruyne, having understood everything, nodded decisively for the sake of his own and his crew's lives, saying, "Sir, whatever you want, as long as I can do it, I will fully cooperate with you." Joe Ga, having heard this, nodded and said, "Originally, my plan was to kill all of you, take back my gold and compensation. Then we would receive your distress call and, in conjunction with the Congo defense forces, go to exterminate Boykin, eliminating the tumor and also discovering the dirty deeds between him and your boss Braune." While speaking, Joe Ga looked at De Bruyne, who was staring back as if he saw a ghost, and smiled, "Don't look at me that way. Just reversing the order won't interfere with the outcome of the matter—you should understand that killing all of you is the most straightforward approach! But then I realized that doing so would make me no different than Boykin. And right now I'm in a terrific mood, so I'm offering you another option. Turn over all of the gold and platinum in the storage to me, and my men will launch an attack tonight to 'steal' those goods. Then you can inform the French Foreign Legion, join them on a trip to Boykin's camp, and take a look at the 'relics' and horrifying evidence there. After that, you can turn around and cooperate with the Congo government, accuse your former boss, and defend yourself as innocent. If you agree, I assure you and your team will receive high-class treatment in Kinshasa... Oh, and by the way, I'll offer you a kilogram of platinum as a reward, which you must carry with you and keep safe at all times. 1000 grams of platinum, 40,000 euros, well, that should compensate for my apology to you. There have been far too many deaths these past days; I really don't want to kill randomly anymore. You'll comply with my request, won't you?" Braune swallowed hard, knowing full well he had no choice. He had seen from the photos provided by Sanderson that both Boykin and Braune were dead, and Boykin's camp had been reduced to ruins. The man before him simply wanted the gold and platinum from the warehouse; by just inverting the sequence of events a little, he made everything appear logical. He would take the gold and platinum, the Congo defense forces would respond to the alarm and annihilate Boykin's men. Then, under the witness of the foreign legion, they would discover the evidence of crimes, and the Belgium United Mining Group would face severe punishment... As long as De Bruyne was willing to cooperate, as one of the discoverers of the sin, he could stand as a discoverer in the witness stand, instead of being the accused—the significance of this was too important for him. As for that kilogram of platinum... It was just an extra insurance purchase by the man before him. The moment he showed any sign of non-cooperation, that platinum would instantly reverse his role. Even if he managed to return to his own country, the Congo government might not be able to catch him, but the United Mining Group would not let him go. They wouldn't even need to lay a hand on him; just using the law and media would be enough to socially annihilate him, leaving him to rot slowly in prison amid the condemnation of all Belgians. Joe Ga watched as De Bruyne nodded vigorously in agreement with his plan, smiled, and shook his hand firmly, saying, "I just learned a lesson today, that is to unite all the forces that can be united. The first time doing this feels good; it really does simplify many things. I'm glad you've made the right decision; you've saved both yourself and your comrades' lives." With that, Joe Ga glanced at his watch, smiled, and said, "We still have some time. By this time tomorrow, the Congo Ministry of Defense will issue a notice, and you will become a hero who exposed evil! You will return to your country with honors and wealth, no need to feel embarrassed, and no need to worry that we will disrupt your family life. Because the evil is real, you are truly doing good deeds!!"