"Don’t come any closer!" As soon as Wang Hao and his group approached, the black men all raised their guns and aimed at Wang Hao, shouting loudly as they held their weapons.
Please, brothers, don’t be rash!
"STOP! STOP!" Wang Hao shouted towards the crowd, "We mean no harm, we’re here to negotiate with you!"
"Then stop first! Don’t take another step forward!" the black men yelled, and some even fired a few shots into the sky!
An AK47, dammit! These people are really quite barbaric!
At this point, Wang Hao greatly missed the safety of his home country. At least you can go out safely in the middle of the night back home. But here, my goodness, there’s just a bunch of people casually wielding guns!
"OKOKOK," Wang Hao raised his hands and shouted, "We want to negotiate! Do you have a leader here? Negotiation! Negotiation!"
The five people tied to a tree also joined the commotion, yelling out loud, "HELP!" "HELP!"
Damn it, can you not make things worse right now?!
Luckily, every organization in the world has its leaders, and it wasn’t long before Wang Hao saw the crowd part, and an old man with dark skin and a chicken-feather hat walked out slowly.
The elderly man looked to be in his seventies or eighties, with a young black girl by his side, supporting him. Despite her very dark skin, the girl had delicate features, big double-lidded eyes, and looked curiously at Wang Hao and the others.
Flanked by these two were three other black men, their bodies painted with colorful stripes, distinctly different from the elderly man.
With human skulls hanging around their necks and a fistful of animal teeth on their wrists.
Wearing only a skirt woven from plants, they glorified in their fierce and intimidating gaze upon Wang Hao and his group.
Seeing these five individuals emerge, Wang Hao was relieved to finally meet those in charge, but he also felt uneasy, as these folks didn’t look all that safe...
"Brother Hao," Zhao Zhenhao whispered, "the old man seems alright, but those three behind him look hostile, and they might just be the wizards they were talking about."
"Right, I’ve noticed," Wang Hao nodded. As the five approached, Wang Hao began to communicate, "STOP! STOP! We don’t mean any harm! We want to get our friends back, can you release them? We can negotiate the terms, everything is negotiable!"
"Release them?" The leading elder glanced at the five people tied to the tree, then back at Wang Hao and said, "Young man, hello, my name is Mopti Proud Hand Drum Captain Ranch Bablu, and I am the chieftain of this tribe."
That’s quite a distinctive name. I can grasp Mopti Bablu, but what the heck is all this "Proud Hand Drum Captain Ranch"?
Actually, Wang Hao was unaware that this format is common for names in Africa.
"Mopti" signifies the birthplace, "Proud" reflects a trait, "Hand Drum" alludes to a skill, "Ranch" hints at the wealth possessed, and "Captain" is the highest rank achieved. Plus, these names can change with the person’s growth and experiences, sometimes extending to dozens of words.
Anyway, it’s clear to see that this chieftain is quite proud of his status after all...
"Hello, hello," Wang Hao, with both hands raised, said, "Respected Chieftain Mopti..."
Just as he said this, the chieftain suddenly frowned, saying very angrily, "It’s Mopti Proud Hand Drum Captain Ranch Bablu Chieftain! I hope you don’t get my name wrong; otherwise, I will send you and your friends to meet the Heavenly Gods!"
"Alright, alright," Wang Hao quickly repeated the full name, "Chieftain Mopti Proud Hand Drum Captain Ranch Bablu, hello. May I ask if you can release my friends? We can discuss any conditions you have, just please don’t harm them."
"Conditions?" Bablu Chieftain considered Wang Hao’s words, and then after a moment of thought, shook his head, "We have no conditions, the person will not be released."
Damn it, no conditions but they just won’t release him? What the hell is this situation?!
"US Dollars! MONEY! We have MONEY!" Wang Hao immediately took out a wad of US Dollars from his pocket, shaking it in his hand, "We’ll use money to exchange for our friend!"
The moment the armed black men saw the large wad of US Dollars Wang Hao pulled out, their eyes instantly widened with exceedingly excited expressions.
Even the little girl who was supporting the Chieftain was full of expectation. She really hoped the Chieftain would agree to Wang Hao’s request, so all that money would be theirs.
After all, judging by the thickness of those US Dollars, it was a lot of money.
It was very possible their tribe wouldn’t make that much money in a whole year.
While everyone was hoping the Chieftain would take the money, to their surprise, Bablu Chieftain shook his head and said, "We only want the person, not the money."
Oh crap, are they really that principled?!
"Do you think it’s too little?" Wang Hao swiftly took out another wad, "Twenty thousand! Twenty thousand US Dollars!"
In reality, he had no idea if twenty thousand US Dollars would be enough to save someone, but being able to offer that much money on the spot was something; as long as the other party would name a price, they could always find a way to gather the funds. It was far better than stepping halfway through hell’s gates...
"We don’t want money," Bablu Chieftain continued to shake his head, "We only want the person."
"You don’t want money?" Wang Hao heard this and immediately became anxious, "You must have a reason for capturing my friend, right? Just tell us the problem and we can think of a solution!"
"Young man," finally, the Wizard behind Bablu Chieftain spoke up, "You can’t solve this problem, stop wasting your breath."
Can’t solve it? What problem could possibly be beyond me?
"Don’t worry about whether or not it can be solved," Wang Hao raised his hand, speaking urgently, "At least tell us! With so many of us thinking, we can surely come up with something, right? You can’t just kill someone without listening to us!"
"This..." The Wizard glanced at Bablu Chieftain, asking, "Should we tell them?"
Bablu Chieftain glanced at Wang Hao and shook his head, "They don’t understand witchcraft; what’s the use in telling them?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Hao froze for a moment, his brain starting to race.
Witchcraft? What did they need witchcraft for? He seemed to vaguely recall something about a sacrifice mentioned earlier; no need to ask, they were definitely planning some kind of ritual. And judging by their tone, it seemed they were in some serious trouble, so thinking about it...
"I know witchcraft! I know witchcraft!" Forget the details, bluff first and ask questions later! At least we have to know what the matter is, right?
"Do you really know witchcraft?" Bablu Chieftain looked into Wang Hao’s eyes and frowned, "How could you possibly know witchcraft?"
At that moment, another Wizard spoke up, "Young man, outrageous claims will incur the Heavenly Gods’ punishment. How could you foreigners possibly know witchcraft?"
Others might not, but I sure do!
When else to bluff if not now?!
"I really know witchcraft!" Wang Hao confidently bluffed through the roof, "I am a messenger sent by the Heavenly Gods! Messenger! GOD! I specifically came to help you solve your problems!"
Feeling extremely unwell, I’ve slowed down with updates, please forgive me, 555555555555