Lieutenant Louis was once sent to the CIA division in Kisangani in 1979. His job was to find Chinese intelligence agents working in Kinshasa, Brazzaville, N’Djamena, Zanzibar, Kampala, and other major cities in East Africa. Chinese intelligence agents usually disguised themselves as Xinhua Agency’s[1] employees and traveled around the cities and forest regions to encourage rebellion and provide weapons to the rebelling party.

  The communist government led by Mao Zedong had been eyeing Africa since the early 1960s. In 1963, the trade between China and Africa increased to 1,000,000,000 dollars. In 1980, the total amount of grants increased to 15,000,000,000 dollars. China’s influence, which infiltrated silently, grew powerful until it surpassed the U.S., a country of capital power, and even Europe, which came across Africa first.

  Of course, China wouldn’t participate in any charity work, considering its stingy nature and love for money. The Chinese Communist Party was generous to Africa because of its abundant natural resources. China wasn’t an easy country. As they prepared for their future, the ones in power said nothing against those who accused China of being a country filled with people and nothing else.

  The Chinese government, which initiated the large-scale resource gathering plan, shoved excessive manpower into the African and Middle East labor markets. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was constructed in Africa’s major cities, and special agents disguised as bankers and news reporters flooded in like ants.

  While the Korean government was pathetically trying to get rid of businesses that didn’t agree with the politicians’ tastes in 1980, the leading party of China was busy looking for food that their future generations would eat.

  China was interested in Congo’s abundant uranium. The U.S. was already supporting Mobutu, a pro-US faction. China supported the Mai-Mai to stop Mobutu from expanding his influence. The CIA and DIA had to find the MSS[2] agents and the NCNA[3] reporters. The U.S. and China’s fight over East Africa’s resources, which was harsher than the Cold War, continued for the past decade.

  Although he’d been rolling around East Africa for seven years, he’d never met a Korean. He only spent a long time fighting slit-eyed people. He saw some Japanese people now and then, but he never thought he would run into a Korean.

  Korea was a country that fell into ruins due to the war. His grandfather, who fought in the Korean War, said it was a third-world country not too different from Africa. An intelligence agency with money and talented agents couldn’t be built overnight. The intelligence-gathering capabilities of a country were proportional to its national power.

  It was surprising to learn that Korea sent someone so talented like Dong-bang-bull-pae to Congo as an intelligence agent. Moreover, a psychic power agent. Lieutenant Louis had greatly misunderstood.

  “Chinks are Korea’s enemies. Why are you, a Korean, helping those slit-eyed people?”


  Chinks? Why is he mentioning the Chinese all of a sudden?

  He was a consultant chasing down Areva scientists whom Kamuge had kidnapped. Black Mamba, who knew nothing about East Africa’s complicated issues, stared at Louis with dismay in his eyes.

  “America protected Korea. Countless Americans fought and died for Korea and its people. America is still spending a lot of money to maintain its base in Korea. You are helping the enemy state and disrupting the operation of your ally, America. Your rebellion will be notified to the Korean government, and you will be held responsible. Dong-bang-bull-pae, you will release me immediately and-”


  “Shut up. Everyone has their own justice.”


  His powerful sound waves slammed into Louis’ ears.

  “Ugh, psychic power!”


  Louis grabbed his ears and trembled. His eardrums shook, and his brain rattled.

  “Hmph, you damn b*stard, who do you think you’re protesting against, asking for accountability? That’s something I should say. What kind of s*** are these b*stards up to!” Black Mamba complained in Korean.

  What was the point of mentioning the U.S.’ anti-communist strategy, the Acheson Line, the disposal of Unit 731, the recent restrictions on missile development, the coercion of nuclear abandonment, the Japanese-first strategy in East Asia, and so on?

  Black Mamba lost his chance to obtain information from the Chinese intelligence agents who had entered Congo, and Louis lost his only chance at survival.

  “What’s the b*stard’s rank and name?”


  “Officer Blair is my subordinate.”


  The opponent was a psychic who could use psychic powers. Louis didn’t dare go against him.

  “As you may have noticed, I can’t tell whether you’re telling the truth or lying. I’m going to double-check with that b*stard. Tell me everything, and you will be let off clean.”


  “Fine. I’ll honestly tell you everything that I can.”


  Lieutenant Louis nodded powerlessly. He knew he would meet his end in his military uniform, but he didn’t know things would end so absurdly.

  “Your job and the reason why you tracked me?”


  “A problem occurred while we were operating in the Ituri Rainforest. We came here to investigate. I heard the gunshots and tracked you down.”


  “Hm, you’re going to erase any suspicious presences first?”


  “Yes. Small variables can make a big difference. You know this well, don’t you? We must get rid of unstable variables before they become actual variables.”


  “What a convenient way of thinking. If it’s as you say, you must be a part of the secret operation that released the monster into the cenote swamp. One of three died in my hands.”


  “Monster? What are you saying?”


  Lieutenant Louis’ eyes widened.

  These b*stards know nothing. I’ll gain nothing from beating up an officer.

  He could guess what happened. The U.S. and CIA were carrying out some strange biology experiments using the Council organization as an excuse. What was incomprehensible was the level of biotechnology in the U.S. No matter how pathetic it was, they were biotech professionals. While they could manipulate DNA, stabilizing it was impossible. No matter how many superpowers the U.S. held, their level of biotechnology shouldn’t be that different.

  If there was one possibility, it was a jump. The relics left behind by the Concretus, believed to have been humans 150,000,000 years ago, were himself, his friend black, his Billion’s Water Armor, and Vajra. If they obtained ancient artifacts or some extraterrestrial remnants, the current situation could be explained.

  Slap—


  Koooh—


  Flap—


  The river’s central region was filled with crocodiles in a heated battle for food. All the crocodiles that lived near the Eplu River had gathered. The soft flesh of the human corpses had disappeared, and they were busy tearing apart the hippos’ hides.

  The crocodiles that have had their fill moved away from the chaotic scene, and the newcomers were tearing apart the rest. Why couldn’t humans help each other instead of tearing each other apart? That was because of a human’s natural instinct, greed. It was also because of the unpredictable future.

  Black Mamba felt tired. As always, his mind grew weary faster than his body. That was why his teacher always told him to train his mind. He suddenly grew disinterested.

  “How many came into Ituri?”


  “20. The rest headed toward the Devil’s Spring in the east.”


  “Devil’s Spring… What a good naming sense.” Black Mamba nodded his head.

  They must have come because of the monster he killed, which looked like an anaconda. He was surprised by the U.S. intelligence network and their immediate deployment, but he wondered whether they could retrieve the monster submerged at the bottom of the 120-meter lake.

  “Any last words?”


  “I killed 13 people. When I killed them, I was prepared to die myself. What kind of personal grudge would I hold when I’m a soldier dying for my country? I’d be grateful if you killed me off cleanly, at least.”


  “Good.”


  As soon as he finished his sentence, Black Mamba’s palm flew straight toward Lieutenant Louis’ temple and left immediately.

  Bang—


  Lieutenant Louis collapsed the moment his brain turned into mush. Black Mamba looked down at Lieutenant Louis, who’d collapsed. He suddenly remembered Zaitun, who faced death calmly.

  “I suppose this is why it’s such a strong country!” A sad exclamation escaped.

  He didn’t expect that a mere spy and strike force lieutenant would be so thorough in his view of the national departments and work ethics! Bonipas’ words of how forced patriotism wasn’t true patriotism rang in his ears.

  Forced patriotism!

  The actions of Korea’s law facilities and intelligence agency suffocated his chest.

  “Samedi, send him away well.”


  A cracking sound rang. There was no scream.

  The next day, Black Mamba checked his weapons the moment Samedi opened his eyes. It was time to act. As always, preparation took up 90 percent of an operation. In his case, it was even more so. Just because he couldn’t identify an enemy didn’t mean a visible enemy was a problem.

  “Kidamba!”


  Black Mamba called Kidamba over, pretended to shoot, and looked around. It was a signal to track down the b*stard who shot the Pygmies.

  “Meio, Meio!”


  After repeating it twice, Kidamba understood. He pointed at the river and raised two fingers. Mu Ssang understood it as crossing the river twice.

  “Go!”


  Contrary to Black Mamba’s expectation, Kidamba didn’t cross the river but moved along the river. The Eplu River continued endlessly through the forest. Once they moved 10 kilometers downstream, the river expanded to 200 to 300 meters wide. Kidamba stopped walking and tilted his head.

  “Aha, two fingers mean a river twice the size of an average one.”


  That was when he realized Kidamba’s two fingers meant the river’s widest point. The communication between the Korean and Pygmies was still long and perplexing. Fortunately, they were 13 kilometers away from the point where they killed the hippos. Ituri’s dense forest absorbed all the sounds. No one would be able to hear the gunshots from one to two kilometers away.

  Suddenly, his vision cleared up as though ancient master Shim had opened his eyes. The sky opened up. He finally got out of that annoying canopy. A white satin strip glistened in the sunlight. It was the Ituri River.

  An endless stretch of black land stretched between the Eplu River, which blocked their path, and the glimmering satin strip. It was their destination point, also known as Apadombe’s lower sector, placed between two heads. It was the place where the Pygmies called Katanga. It took 14 days to reach there. 10 days had passed from the point where they had been warned.

  Black Mamba turned on the GPS and altered Apadombe’s coordinates. They moved 13 kilometers southwest from their starting point. It was understandable why the DGSE intelligence agency couldn’t locate Kamuge’s base and faltered.

  Kidamba took out the gun mounted on his backpack, knocked on it, and pointed to the island. Then, he shook his head quickly.

  “What? There are those shooting b*stards on the island, and you can’t go yourself?”


  Kidamba did his job. There was no reason for him to get involved in the fight, and he had no fighting abilities. Black Mamba nodded, pretended to fire three times, and flapped his hand. That was a signal to come out of their hiding place if the gun was fired thrice.

  “Meio, Meio!”


  Olonge and Kidamba nodded their heads. He wondered whether they understood, but there was no way to confirm it. Kidamba pointed at the river and continuously opened and closed his mouth. Then, he stretched out 10 fingers and shook his body from side to side. This time, it was a little difficult to understand him.

  Does this mean there are a lot of crocodiles? Are there anacondas too? Does this mean I shouldn’t open my mouth? Ugh, what’s so difficult!

  He missed Ulumbo. He felt so frustrated. He didn’t have to know someone’s importance, but losing someone’s place was certainly unfortunate.

  He was hungry. His biological clock was approximately three o’clock. Humans recognized the passing of time through the increase and decrease of melanin in their bodies. Black Mamba could sense time accurately after receiving a sniper’s education in an Epidium’s body. The ability was almost non-existent in modern humans living in the city. Samedi opened the C-ration that he’d been holding onto and poured the pippin water into the water bottle. That was because he couldn’t light a fire.

  “Good work. Thanks.”


  Black Mamba tapped Olonge and Kidamba’s shoulders after he finished the meal. If he’d entered Ituri without both of their help…Just imagining it made him feel sick.

  “Lah wa dahaku lah bruk.”[4]

  Olonge and Kidamba lowered their heads and disappeared into the forest.

  What did those b*stards say? They’re not telling me to lose, are they?

  Black Mamba tilted his head.

  “Wakil, let’s hurry up and go. I want to see Miss Edel.”


  Black Mamba flinched. He felt a longing and lust that seemed to be soft yet hard and small yet big. His lower half got heated up all of a sudden.

  Damn b*stard, why are you acting up at this moment. Have a taste of this.

  Whoosh-

  An African tarantula that had been crawling up the branch crawled into Black Mamba’s hand. He activated his becoming one with nature and left the poisonous spider on Samedi’s neck.

  “Samedi, there’s a deadly spider on your neck.”


  “Ugh, it’s annoying.”


  Samedi swept the back of his neck with his palm. A large furry spider was caught in his large hand. He shoved the spider into his mouth and chewed it. A blue liquid dripped down his mouth.

  “Huh!”


  Black Mamba, who was joking around, let out an exhale. It was such behaviors that made him realize Samedi was a zombie. No human would chew up a tarantula so deliciously, after all.

  “We’ll go in at two in the morning. Let’s take a good break for the first time in a long while, yeah?”


  “Why don’t we just take care of them right now?” Samedi mumbled and gathered some Abyssinian branches with many twigs to hang a hammock 30 meters up in the air. When Black Mamba crawled into the hammock, Samedi flung himself down on a tarp he spread under the tree. That was it for his sleeping area. Whether it was a human or an animal, none could approach his master.

  A tapping sound was heard from above. It was the sound of his master catching the insects that penetrated his mosquito net. Horseflies and mosquitoes rushed at his exposed wrist and face. Ants the width of his finger crawled up in rows, raising their claws.

  [1] It is a news agency that is a part of the Chinese government.

  [2] The Chinese security agency, Ministry of State Security.

  [3] Chinese news agency.

  [4] “God prevents God’s actions.”