Chapter 22 Departure

Malakal is a large city on the border between North and South Sudan, but compared to the suburbs, the only difference is that the buildings are a bit more clustered. As Gao Yang walked along, he did not see a single building that was even slightly taller.

Upon reaching the busiest area of Malakal, the situation improved somewhat, with a scattering of small buildings starting to appear on the streetsides, finally bearing some resemblance to what a city should look like.

When they finally arrived at the hotel where they would stay, a white man waiting at the hotel entrance came up to greet them. Without waiting for the car to stop, the white man ran up to Morgan's car, opened the door for Morgan, and said with a concerned face, "Thank God, it's great that you have returned safely. I have already booked the rooms; please follow me."

Morgan jumped out of the car and, after nodding to the white man who had come to greet him, walked over to the car Gao Yang and the others were in, and said, "Gentlemen, we have arrived. Those who have no business to attend to can now rest, but I think Professor Buck would need to meet with the mayor and the police immediately."

Professor Buck said anxiously, "Right, my people's bodies are still out on the prairie. If possible, I'd like to go back to search for their bodies overnight."

Gao Yang didn't think Professor Buck would still be able to find the bodies of the victims. Nearly two days and a night had passed, a time long enough for the vultures and hyenas of the prairie to have consumed every dead body, leaving not even scraps of bone.

Mr. Morgan nodded and replied, "I am willing to offer you all the help I can. You can follow my man to the police station, where the mayor is already waiting, and the commander of the garrison is there as well. This may shorten some time, and you could even set off tonight. You can also contact the embassy there, and I presume someone from the embassy will come to deal with this by tomorrow."

Professor Buck nodded repeatedly; without Morgan's help, he would do well to meet with the mayor by tomorrow, let alone wait for someone to be dispatched to search for the victims.

Professor Buck shook hands with Morgan and said, "Thank you for your help; I am extremely grateful."

Morgan shook his head, "The incident was caused by me. I am doing this to alleviate the unease in my conscience. Professor, I will leave as soon as possible, likely even tonight. If you need any more help, please just ask."

Professor Buck looked at Gao Yang and said, "Mr. Morgan, our mutual friend Gao Yang is very eager to return home. I intended to help him get back to his country, but as you know, we will definitely have to stay here for some time. We cannot leave until this matter is resolved, so could you possibly help him?"

Mr. Morgan smiled at Gao Yang and then replied, "I was just about to mention that; it seems we thought of the same thing. I also think it's better for Mr. Gao Yang to leave here as soon as possible. After all, he has killed many people. Professor, please make sure not to mention Gao Yang when negotiating with the government and our dear embassy to avoid getting him into trouble. What do you think?"

Professor Buck nodded solemnly and said, "I understand the situation here; I won't mention him. Plus, our people have agreed on their stories and won't cause trouble for Gao Yang, rest assured."

Morgan waved his hand and the white man who had opened the car door for him came over. Morgan pointed to him and said, "Professor, this is my man. After you are ready, give him a call, and he will stay on to assist you. I won't accompany you since it's inconvenient for me to show up, and Bob's wounds also need immediate attention. So, I will leave directly by plane when it arrives."

After speaking, Morgan said to Gao Yang, "Now it's time for you to take a shower and change into a set of clothes; then wait to leave with me on the plane. I am heading straight to Libya. Personally, I highly recommend you leave here as soon as possible. Of course, I am asking for your opinion; you need to make your own decision."

After Morgan finished speaking, Professor Buck frowned and said, "Mr. Morgan, please forgive my boldness, but it seems quite unsettled in Libya right now. Why do you want to go there at this time?"

Morgan shrugged helplessly and said, "As you know, for people like us, it's best to always be ahead. It's precisely because Libya is about to be in turmoil that I must hurry there. Business is tough these days, and I need to seize every money-making opportunity. I just got the news that Libya has started to become chaotic, and civil war seems inevitable. That's why I need to rush over. Of course, for Gao Yang, neither staying here nor going to Libya is a good choice, so he needs to make a decision."

Morgan and Professor Buck both looked at Gao Yang. Hesitating for a moment, Gao Yang was unsure of what to choose. He didn't know what the trouble was in Libya, but clearly, Malakal was no safe haven, especially since Gao Yang did not want to deal with the local police or military.

Gao Yang did not want to wait another moment. He just wanted to get home as quickly as possible. So after only a moment's hesitation, he quickly made up his mind.

"I will go with Mr. Morgan to Libya so I can get home faster."

Professor Buck nodded, stepped forward, and embraced Gao Yang. He then took out a pen and wrote a line on a small notebook, tore off the paper, and handed it to Gao Yang, saying, "I don't have time to see you off. This is my contact information in the United States. Please call me after you get home to let me know. I think we are friends now, right?"

Gao Yang smiled and said, "Of course, we are friends. I'll call you as soon as I get back. We'll have plenty of opportunities to meet in the future, and under very safe circumstances."

Morgan clapped his hands and said, "Alright, there will be plenty of time for farewells later. Let's go inside the hotel now."

Professor Buck nodded and said, "You guys can chat slowly back at the hotel. I need to head to the police station first."

After Professor Buck and Morgan's staff had left, Gao Yang and the rest of the people entered the hotel. Meanwhile, the two bodies in Mr. Morgan's car were tightly wrapped in body bags, ready to be flown out together. Gao Yang thought that this showed how well Morgan treated his staff. A person who goes to great lengths to bring back the bodies of his subordinates would certainly not treat the living poorly.

Upon entering the hotel, Gao Yang had his own room, and surprisingly, it had air conditioning. Although he had grown accustomed to the nearly forty-degree heat during the dry season, having some cool air was still pleasing.

Gao Yang took a nice long bath, his first real one in three years. By the time he finished, two hours had passed.

Gao Yang put on the clothes Bob had given him. They were around the same height, so the clothes fitted reasonably well, albeit a bit baggy. Wearing clothes again after three years, Gao Yang actually found it somewhat uncomfortable. However, since Bob hadn't brought any spare shoes, only a few pairs of socks, Gao Yang still wore his old boots that he hadn't changed in three years.

Actually, Gao Yang didn't want to throw away those boots. The quality of the Danner boots was undoubtedly excellent. After more than three years, aside from some minor damage and dirt, there was nothing wrong with Gao Yang's boots. Most importantly, he had grown attached to them. Even if he wouldn't wear them upon returning, he planned to keep those boots as a memento.

While Gao Yang was scrubbing his awfully smelly boots, Catherine knocked on his door. Seeing Gao Yang, Catherine paused, then smiled and said, "You're dressed. I almost didn't recognize you. Hmm, you look different in clothes than I imagined."

Gao Yang shrugged, "The way you say that, it's easy to be misunderstood, as if I used to not wear clothes. But, I did wear clothes."

"Okay, if a grass skirt counts as clothes, then I spoke wrongly," Catherine replied, "Uh, I came to give you this."

Catherine handed Gao Yang a note. He looked at it, and it had Catherine's address, phone number, and a list of ways to contact her online.

Gao Yang carefully put the note in his pocket and chuckled, "I'll keep this safe and give you a call when I get back."

After saying that, Gao Yang didn't know how to continue the conversation. Whenever he faced Catherine, he always felt at a loss, wanting to say something but not knowing how to start, which made the moment somewhat awkward.

Catherine smiled gently, "Aren't you going to invite me to sit down?"

As if waking from a dream, Gao Yang quickly said, "Please sit, please sit down."

Just then, Catherine burst into laughter and said, "Your performance right now is really clumsy. I bet you don't have a girlfriend."

Gao Yang scratched his head, looking embarrassed, "I didn't want one before, and then I didn't have the opportunity, so not only do I not have a girlfriend, but I haven't even had my first kiss yet, haha."

After finishing, Gao Yang had some regrets. He didn't know what came over him to say such things. But to his surprise, Catherine looked him straight in the eyes for a moment, then leaned forward, put her hands on his shoulders, and pressed her tempting red lips to his.

Feeling the warmth on his lips, Gao Yang's mind went blank. This truly was his first kiss. But right at that moment, before Gao Yang could even savor his first kiss, the door was suddenly pushed open, and Bob charged in yelling.

"Hey, bro, the plane arrived early, we have to leave now... whoa, sorry, I'll just go right out."

Unfortunately, it was too late. Upon hearing Bob's shouts, Catherine had already broken off the brief kiss and stepped back.

Seeing Gao Yang's fiery glare, Bob stammered, "Sorry, very sorry, really, very, very sorry. I'm leaving now… uh, we can delay our departure, no problem."

Catherine didn't pay any attention to Bob. Instead, she gave Gao Yang a gentle smile, pursed her lips, and whispered, "I'm truly sorry for stealing your first kiss. But it seems it didn't feel like much, not what I expected. Well, I hope you don't misunderstand. In fairy tales, isn't the princess supposed to give her first kiss to the hero who saved her? So, I'm not pursuing you, I just wanted to express my gratitude. Besides, it's both our first kiss, so we're even now. Let's consider this a farewell ceremony. Goodbye."