Red Alert Somalia

Chapter One Somalia

The scorching sun is baking the earth and the few weeds swaying under the sea breeze. Stepping on the road already covered by sand and stone, Li Lan, who was tightly wrapped in a layer of black cloth, looked around as he walked. The hands hidden under the black clothes tightly grasped a pistol, and the heavy jacket pockets were full of rifle bullets. The black fabric was baked in the scorching sun, making Li Lan feel unusually uncomfortable every step he took. The only exposed eyes and the corners of his eyes were already covered with sweat. Li Lan really wanted to tear off the black cloth wrapped around her body, smash it to the ground, and step on her feet hard. But he didn't dare to do this, because his skin was too obtrusive in this place. Once the people here see it, I am afraid that the pistol in his hand will instantly become a reminder. Even if the people here are not bad to the yellow-skinned people, Li Lan dare not use his own life to verify the previous hearsay. This is an endless desertification plain. The occasional sound of waves reminds people that it is not far from the sea. After half an hour of trekking, a herd of camels was faintly visible in the distance. Seeing this, Li Lan safely drank the last sip of fresh water in the water bag. "Da! Da!..." A hooves of horses approached quickly, and a black man with an African taste all over his body rushed towards Li Lan on horseback. There was no warm greeting. Instead, he immediately picked up the scratched AK-47, ready to aim at Li Lan at any time, and said a big deal with his mouth. Although in Li Lan's eyes, the black people seemed to look the same, but he still recognized at a glance the black man riding a horse in front of him. Li Lan did not hesitate to pull down the cloth wrapped around his head, revealing a delicate-looking Eastern face, and said in simple English: "Muhammad, my friend, it is me." Black Muhammad I also recognized Li Lan, put down the gun, rolled over and dismounted, walked over happily, patted Li Lan on the shoulder, laughed, and said in lame English as he gestured, "It's nice to meet you, my friend." Li Lan was also very happy to pat the other party's shoulder, once again wrapped her face, and then followed the other party to a very run-down village not far away, and entered the only small house made of cement here. . This is a village of less than a hundred people. Except for Muhammad's home which is a concrete structure, the other villagers live in wooden sheds, and some are just houses made of thick paper. It doesn't look like a village, it's more like a refugee camp. As soon as he entered the house, Li Lan took the fresh water that Mohammed had handed over, and took a few mouthfuls. Muhammad on one side said anxiously: "Friends from China, have you brought anything." As a rich local Muhammad, he owns hundreds of camels and often goes not far away. The city of Bosasso traded in the city. When he was young, he also studied at the University of East Africa for a few years, and his English was fair. After Li Lan came here three days ago, I met him, because the whole village Muhammad was able to have basic conversations with him, and because Muhammad only had the food Li Lan needed, so these three days Come, Li Lan will come once a day to exchange food for Muhammad's food. "Same as yesterday, twenty rifle bullets, 10 dollars off food." Listening to some babbling English, Li Lan took out twenty bullets still smelling of oil in his pocket. Mohammedi checked the bullets Li Lan took out one by one. After the inspection, he gave Li Lan a thumbs up and said frankly: "My friend, very good. They are all brand new bullets. The market can sell for twenty-five dollars." "Of course, the things I bring will not be bad." Li Lan was very confident. "Waiting for my friend!" Muhammad carefully put all the bullets away, walked into the back room, and walked out after a while, with an additional package in his hand. "This is what you want, camel milk and camel meat are the freshest, and there are banana steamed rice and tortillas that I just made this morning." After receiving the package, Li heard Muhammad's words. Lan replied: "Thank you very much." "Haha!" Muhammad seemed excited about Li Lan's gratitude, and said, "Li, you should know that I am a Muslim, although I am not a qualified believer of true God, But we Muslims like to help friends who come from afar and have difficulties. You Chinese have helped our Somalis build a railway. I am more willing to help you. If you are French, then no matter how many bullets you bring, I will not Give you food." "We Chinese also value friendship the most. Tomorrow I will bring more bullets. My friend, now I am leaving." Although it seems that Muhammad’s attitude towards him is very good, but Li Lan still didn't want to stay in this insecure place for too long. "Goodbye, my friend." Mohammed took out a water bag and put it in Li Lan's hand. "Goodbye!" Li Lan walked out of the village accompanied by Muhammad, and bid farewell to each other. Watching Muhammad continue to take care of his camel group, Li Lan hid the strap full of food in his black robe , Embarked on the "home" road. Li Lan breathed a sigh of relief when no camels could be seen behind him. Don't think he had a good talk with each other just now, but the time that they knew each other was too short, and Li Lan had always been on alert. The pistol under the black robe was always on. Once the other party has any unexpected actions, Li Lan doesn't mind to act first. Twenty bullets in exchange for food for a day is also a risky behavior that can't be taken. This is East Africa, this is Somalia, and food is scarce in this place. When he came here for the first time, he was ready to be robbed. Fortunately, the people he met were not people who had no moral values ​​at all. Although the price of twenty bullets was discounted, the food in exchange was not much. But in a country with a per capita income of less than 500 US dollars and a zero industrial base, 20 bullets can be sold for 25 US dollars, which is already a good income. However, Li Lan didn't want to care about these. Because these bullets must be obtained at the big city market to sell at this price, and coming here has already made Li Lan frightened. The city is currently a restricted area for Li Lan. Before he has his own armed forces, it is best not to enter the city. Walking alone on the desertified plain, Li Lan has adapted to this loneliness. Li Lan has been alone since he was young, unaccompanied, and lonely is no stranger to Li Lan. After an accident came to Somalia, Li Lan felt lonely again. However, he really enjoyed the feeling of loneliness. Because it is quiet, calm down, you can think clearly about many things. Sometimes, Li Lan feels that a person's entire life is simply a scam full of evil. One by one, the humble little deceptions, as the years of growth rings relentlessly crushed, they lied out a big lie. Since he was a child, living in an orphanage, someone always told him that he can't lie, but if you want to grow up and survive in this world, you must first learn to lie. This is contradictory, but it clearly reveals human nature. There are always many voices in your ears telling you: you have to take the first place, you have to enter a prestigious university, you have to make a lot of money, you have to have a house and a car, you have to pass on your family, you have to run for your children's family. Thus, this life passed in a daze. If you are willing to stop and think about it, you will find that there is always an invisible force and inertia that is leading your nose, all the way, to the west. The world is getting busier and busier, but it has formed a solid enclosure and barriers. From the day when everyone was born consciously, everyone was destined to be busy running around in this life, running around the enclosure, and there was no time to stop. Ask yourself: Why? Because once you stop, you will be surpassed and coldly abandoned by the fast-paced life. So no one is destined to escape. Unless one day, you can stand on top and watch everything. Li Lan even sometimes wonders whether the existence of this world is just a conspiracy. The powerful conspirators hiding behind the scenes try to paralyze everyone's thinking with the world of materialism, trying to make people think that life is birth, aging, sickness and death. It's a mediocre life, a tedious and cheating long but short process from unclear life to unclear death. If everyone lives in a conspiracy, then this conspirator is undoubtedly a real strong man. He has compiled a large net of ecstasy full of emotions and desires, and uses human desires to control the world. Who can have this kind of spirit? Li Lan didn't dare to think about it before, because he thought he didn't have such capital, and he was so arrogant and arrogant that he would eventually bury himself. Now, Li Lan confidently believes that the idea of ​​becoming such a supreme king and controlling the world is qualified to become his goal. This is a bit arrogant, but what can it be? You are crazy, you can't escape to death, if you are not crazy, you still die. Life is only for this lifetime, not to make you worthy of yourself, but to make you worthy of this cruel game of life that is like a dream and may be passed by in a few decades. A pessimistic person is troubled by the impermanence of life and short-term distress. An optimistic person laughs and sings life like a play, year after year. After all, mentality determines everything, including your destiny. And now, what Li Lan has to do is to survive in Somalia, where there is no shortage of killing. ps: New books are indispensable for the support, collection, and recommendation votes of many old and new book friends.