Li Du kept his eyes on Good. What is this old lunatic going to do now?
Good smiled as he walked towards the boy. Picking up the diamond deliberately with
his thumb and index finger, Good said, "Child, did you take this? Why did you steal my
property?"
The boy looked at him, trembling in fear and trepidation.
Now face to face with Good, he had lost all his courage to struggle for freedom. He
shook his head firmly and mumbled something in a language Li Du could not
understand.
Ever since Li Du arrived in Africa, he felt that language was the greatest barrier and
inconvenience. The local tribes spoke different tongues, none of which he could
understand.
Good ignored the boy"s words, though it was unclear whether it was because he could
not comprehend the language. In any case, Good held on to the diamond, stood up and
said, "Alright. In accordance with the law, I will sentence him to death by burning. And
since he likes diamonds, I will give this one to him."
A guard held up his hand and a Toyota pickup drove over. A soldier brought down a set
of items that looked like instruments in a science lab. There was a pot, a gas tank, and
a blowtorch.
Seeing these things, the miners working at the river retreated and looked at the pot in
fear. A few of them trembled and fell down to their knees. As the boy cowered in
despair, the guard watching over him stepped on his stick-thin calf, pinning him to the
ground.
Li Du could not help but blurt out, "Hey, Good commander, what are you trying to do?"
"Sentence the guilty, punish the guilty, maintain order and uphold justice," Good smiled
as he turned to look at Li Du. Despite his warm smile, he looked like a demon.
Two soldiers started to a.s.semble the set of pot, gas tank, and a blowtorch. FFFTT! The
blowtorch threw out a reddish-white flame in the direction of the pot, heating it up.
Good threw the diamond into the pot as the temperature rose rapidly. The boy let out an
anguished scream. After that, he went silent and fell upon his knees, trembling
helplessly like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
Li Du questioned, "What exactly are you trying to do? Why are you heating up the
diamond?"
"I will melt it, and then I will stick it in this boy"s body. This diamond will belong to him
forever," Good explained.
Li Du gasped. His nickname for Good could not be more apt. This old lunatic!
Diamonds could be melted. However, their melting point was high. To melt a diamond
with burning fire, the temperature would have to be close to 4000 degrees Celsius.
Melting diamonds was a more difficult task compared to melting metals and alloys,
which had a much lower melting point.
Good sounded like a naïve, ill-informed person when he said that he wanted to melt the
diamond. That would be impossible even if he had used a pot made from medium
carbon ferrochrome, which had a very high melting point. This was because most alloys
like that had a much lower melting point than diamonds.
Hence, this stone could not be a diamond if it was now beginning to melt. Good must
have found a random nice-looking synthetic stone to torture this boy.
Unlike the pygmies at Remonin"s mine, the persecuted boy was really young. He looked
to be thirteen or fourteen years old, and his face was still childish.
Li Du stopped Good and said sincerely, "Good commander, have mercy on this child.
Someone once said that even G.o.d would forgive a young boy. You are the G.o.d of this
territory, so let the boy go this time."
Deep down, Li Du did not agree with what he had just said. He believed naughty
children should be punished even if they were young. However, this boy did not do
anything wrong. It was Good, the old lunatic, who was torturing him on purpose. The
stone was not a diamond. It was very likely that the boy did not even take it. It could
have been planted by Good on purpose.
Good looked at Li Du and smiled. "You"re right. I am the G.o.d of this land."
Looking at the boy again, Good nodded and went on, "Because I am G.o.d, all the more
reason why I should not forgive him. Mr. Li, I know you are kind-hearted. However, I am
a ruler. I have no choice; I have to maintain law and order. If I do not pursue this, what
are laws and regulations for, then? How can others be deterred from breaking the law?"
Good said those words with more righteousness and pride than Li Du did when he had
previously faced the gun. Li Du agreed with Good"s words, but the thing was that the
boy had not broken any law!
He was ready to argue, but Good"s face changed. "Mr. Li, Are you trying to challenge
our laws? Are you trying to challenge my authority?"
Li Di quickly said, "No, I do not dare to do that. However, I think there must be some
way that we can resolve the trouble caused by this boy, right? For example, if I tell you
about the information that I have on Remonin"s diamond mine…"
Upon hearing those words, Good expression changed again. A grin emerged on his
face, but he did not speak. As the blowtorch burned and the temperature escalated, the
small stone had partially melted in the pot.
Li Du had thought that he could reverse the situation. However, in the end, Good smiled
as he put on a pair of gloves and picked up the handle of the pot. "Force his mouth
open," Good nodded to the guards.
The boy struggled desperately as one of the guards put a gun to his mouth. With a
blood-curdling shriek, he spat out fresh blood and pearly white teeth.
Li Du could not bear to watch this torment further and cursed angrily, "F*CK!"
Having heard him, Good looked up and glared at him sternly. A guard raised his gun
and aimed at Li Du.
"Don"t provoke me. Don"t mistake my tolerance for good temper," Good said sinisterly.
The boy"s mouth had been forced open. Good poured the burning substance from the
pot into his mouth.
There was another short shriek and then silence. The boy could not make any more
sound, as his vocal cords had been burned.
He clasped his neck with both hands and rolled on the ground, writhing in excruciating
pain. The two tough black soldiers were stunned and did not hold onto him.
Good was standing by with his soldiers, as though watching a show. When the
exhausted boy stopped moving, Good waved his hand and said, "Carry on with the
execution."
A soldier raised his gun. A gunshot rang out and the boy"s brains were blown.
Li Du stood aside, his face void of color. He now agreed with Remonin"s words.
Remonin was not a warlord. He was just a leader of a tribal militia with poor qualities.
Remonin was not a violent person. He was still sane, though ignorant and irritable.
Hence, when Remonin had found the pygmy guilty of stealing the diamonds, he had
also wanted to put on a show of torturing the poor man to serve as a warning for others.
However, when Li Du made a favorable proposal, Remonin consented to let the pygmy
off. This was because Remonin did not really relish the idea of torture. He was only
doing it for his own benefits and to maintain order.
When Li Du had shown him a more profitable option, Remonin had let the pygmy go.
Good was different. He was crazy and perverted. He tormented people for
entertainment and derived pleasure from killing.
In less than 24 hours since their meeting, Good had already killed two men in Li Du"s
presence. Good had been the aggressor and the one to find reasons, or rather excuses,
to kill those people.
Clearly, such executions were not new to the miners at the river. After the boy died their
returned to their posts and continued to work wordlessly, their faces void of expression.
Good removed his gloves and smiled at Li Du. "You were saying something about
Remonin"s diamond mine just now. You know something about that, right?"