The driver was a grumpy Frenchman with a buzz cut, wearing a Hawaiian style short sleeved shirt and shorts, and dark brown skin.
The blonde, center parted hair passenger with a slightly young face was Leon, the prospective investigator.
In terms of clothing and equipment, Leon wore a black lightweight windbreaker and a matching short sleeved shirt produced by his own military industry, with tool bags and magazine pouches hanging all over his waist belt. He wore dark green multi pocket work pants, as well as leg holsters and military boots. There was also a black backpack in the back seat of the car.
The reason they didn't deliberately conceal their identities was because the African country they infiltrated, namely Congo, was in complete chaos.
Territorial disputes between tribes, large numbers of refugees and deserters being sheltered by anti government forces, riots, mutinies, and killings are commonplace and frequent occurrences in Congo.
Despite possessing abundant gold, copper, and iron ore deposits, and ranking among the world's top natural gas reserves, it is one of the poorest countries, with a GDP of only $4.2 billion in 1993.
The Congo has virtually no air defense capabilities, not to mention that it hasn't even established an air force yet. Compared to Atlas, which spends nearly $2 billion annually on military expenditures, the difference is like night and day.
Given Leon's appearance, he was clearly an outsider, so there was no need for him to deliberately hide anything, since there were countless mercenaries and criminal organizations operating in Congo anyway.
One day ago.
Chief Instructor Krauser announced the contents of their graduation exam, which involved going to Congo to investigate and search for unusual things, and successfully surviving.
It lasts for fourteen days.
During this period, the company will not provide them with any support, they will have to rely entirely on themselves.
Of course, if someone unfortunately finds themselves in a dangerous situation and cannot escape on their own, the company will still dispatch the ARS Company to carry out a rescue operation with all its might.
However, as an investigator, luck is also an invisible and intangible strength. If one cannot extricate oneself from this predicament, it will seriously affect the final score of this graduation exam.
However, before Leon and his companions boarded the plane after selecting their equipment and supplies, Krauser gave them one last piece of advice. "Keep your life in order, and don't push yourself too hard because of the exam."
Even if a trainee fails the overall assessment, after six months of training, they will still be assigned to the most suitable position based on their resume. If they are surrounded by thugs but choose to fight back for the sake of their performance and die...
The choice of preferring death to surrender is commendable, but being overly stubborn and lacking adaptability is not.
July 16, 00:34.
ARS Aviation provided a service from its Kenyan base to airspace over Congo. Afterward, Leon and his classmates disembarked one by one and parachuted into their respective survey areas under the cover of night.
02:20.
Leon successfully touched down.
After folding and retrieving the parachute, the individual soldier's computer determined that he was located in central Congo, and that the straight line distance to his target town, Loja, was still thirty kilometers.
It could be due to wind speed, or it could be because the transport plane encountered turbulence and became very bumpy when he jumped, but in any case, the distance deviation was quite large.
The plan to hike to the target location was impractical, as there was a large area of primeval rainforest in between. So after a brief rest and analysis, Leon chose to go to the nearest town called Longa first.
Perhaps it was a stroke of good luck, or something else, but after walking for three hours in Leon, I discovered that there was actually a branch office of a French logging company in this small town with a population of less than 40,000.
This has led to a large number of French people being active in Longa, and there is even a bar with very authentic French food that is open 24 hours a day.
Those who are willing to travel thousands of miles and disregard the violent environment to come here must be looking to do some big business to make a fortune. Information trading, mercenary brokerage, and similar matters always need a fixed location to gather.
Where there is demand, there is a market, and a bar called 'Romanée Conti' is one such place.
Out of caution, Leon did not order any food or drinks when he entered the bar. He simply rested for a while at the Romanée Conti bar and asked the bartender if there was anything unusual in the vicinity.
At first, he only received the reply, "I think so, but I'm not sure. I'm just a bartender."
Although this was Leon's first mission, it didn't mean he didn't understand the implications.
After paying a $200 tip, For a moment the bartender took the $200 discreetly before relaying the information "Roja's place will soon be occupied by anti government rebels, in the next few days. If I were you, I would never go there. Your life is more important."
What unexpected surprises awaited?
Leon wasn't sure if the $200 intelligence fee was the market price, but he felt it was probably worth it...
If he hadn't been informed of the rebels actions beforehand, he would have been caught off guard, putting his safety in serious danger.
It should be understood that African rebels and rioters frequently commit heinous acts, to describe them as beasts would be an insult to the very word.
After a short rest at the bar, Leon negotiated a price with a man who had just woken up from a hangover and called himself a Frenchman, and drove him to Loja, which was still more than 20 kilometers away.
And then, time has come to the present.
Looking at the terrified passersby outside the window, and smelling the strong odor of alcohol inside the car, Leon began to regret getting into the Frenchman's car.
And something he himself didn't even notice was that Krauser had written in his file that he seemed to be associated with car accidents.
After all, in past training sessions, whenever vehicle related events were involved, the probability of vehicles experiencing engine failures, tire blowouts, or loss of control was much higher for Leon's team than for other teams.
Krauser wasn't worried that Leon would overthink it, unless necessary, Leon had neither the ability nor the right to access the files on his own.
Beep! Beep!
"Merde! (Damn it!)"
"Fiche le camp! (Get out!)"
After hearing countless car horns and shouts, Leon finally saw a large number of thatched huts clustered on the edge of town ahead, which meant he would soon reach his destination and no longer have to endure the driver's madness.
Swoosh!
The vehicle braked suddenly.
Clang! Clang!
The sounds of the car doors being forcibly opened and closed echoed through the air.
Buzz~!!
There is a problem with the exhaust pipe or something else that causes the engine to make a deafening roaring sound.
Leon, his backpack back on, stood by the roadside, gazing in the direction where a cloud of dust was billowing, when he heard the Frenchman roar once more
"Adieu, l'Américain. Merci pour tes trois billets de!" ("Farewell, American. Thanks for your three hundred bills!")
Leon merely frowned, then stopped paying attention to the Frenchman and instead looked around for a quick observation.
Not much different from most parts of Africa, there are tin shacks everywhere, very few houses built with cement and steel bars, no real roads, and a dirty and chaotic environment.
If there's anything unusual about him, it's his appearance and clothing that make him the most unique person here.
Upon noticing that several residents nearby seemed to be curious and were observing him, some look away immediately as they don't care about the outsider, Leon immediately moved away.
As he walked and observed, he noticed that the residents were walking unsteadily, looking dazed, and most importantly, their mouths and noses were constantly drooling....
Fresh blood?
(T/L: ayo we getting zombie action?)