Mercenary Black Mamba

"Dapsang, Novatopia is a family. A family does not make demands or assert one's rights. Self-sacrifice and generosity take precedence. We strive to share happiness and fulfilment.

"A wife demanding her husband to be more responsible, a child one-sidedly asserting their rights, and the father oppressing his family... That household is already beyond salvation. In Novatopia, we do not demand you to work, but there are also no special rights.

"You, Dapsang, are allowed to live your life the way you want, other than to never live in fear. You can enter or leave as you please. Assez a qui se contente! (The satisfied person is someone who has enough! A French maxim similar to the idea of 'everything depends on one's mind')"

After finishing his lecture, Mu Ssang patted Chairman Margerie's head like a teacher presenting the gift of wisdom to his disciple.

He wanted to explain the concept of 'il-che-yu-sim' (everything depends on the mind) or 'gyun-moon-gak-ji' (attaining enlightened knowledge through seeing and hearing, recognizing, and knowing, i.e., through all five sensory organs), but Mu Ssang wasn't confident of making Margerie understand the concepts when the latter came from a starkly different culture. So he preemptively gave up.

They said that committing adultery often makes you an expert — and it seems that Mu Ssang has become a bit of a pro in acting like a cult leader now.

"Assez a qui se contente!" Margerie muttered that while trembling away.

Something rocked his brain. As if the smell of mint had seeped into his head... His consciousness that had stepped into the pine forest of Centime began strolling around the boundless space.

He more or less figured out the meaning behind Dubaiburupa's 'Assez a qui se contente!'

Humans could not discard their greed. However, they could certainly analyze the cause of the greed itself. If they felt that this was the wrong path, they need not tread on it. The ability to judge was a gift from the god that made humans... Human.

"Thank you. I, Dapsang, do not believe in the existence of a god, but I still managed to witness a great soul today. It doesn't matter whether Wakil is human or god. You as Dubaiburupa are already complete, and you're also the guide of souls. Today, Dapsang was given three new lives. My brain came back to life, my heart came back to life, and my manhood came back to life. I swear not to needlessly waste this new life granted by Wakil and use it for the sake of this world."

Margerie's voice trembled.

Just like how a phoenix would experience rebirth within the heat of conflagration, Margerie acquired a new life through Dubaiburupa's hands. It did not matter what the age of a soul was. He was happy about acquiring a new lease of life, sure, but what shook his soul the most was the implication behind the word, 'family'.

A tired and withered soul finally found someone to lean on and rest — a much bigger soul. Margerie's heart began boiling almost out of control, while delight went off like fireworks in his head.

The eyes of Margerie, serotonin running amok in his system, began gleaming like a possessed shaman's.

"H-hey, would you look at this old man? Him becoming Ombuti No.2 would be troublesome, though…"

Mu Ssang was taken aback just then. Humans were capable of transforming in an instant through a special opportunity or circumstance. That was why Mu Ssang was somewhat afraid of the possibility of Margerie transforming into another version of Ombuti, the demon king of nagging, who had the nickname of 'king of going overboard' too.

"I only bestowed the gifts unto you because it was within my powers. Forget about making all these grandiose declarations for a minute. Why don't you stop your sponsorship of Nissan, instead?"

Mu Ssang, feeling awkward now, ended up raising his voice. Despite establishing a nation, his original narrow-mindedness had not gone anywhere, it seemed.

Margerie became dazed for a moment there before taking Mu Ssang's thoughtless remark as a supreme command. "I thought General Director was joking back then, but he was telling the truth, I see. In that case, I shall annul the sponsorship contract right away."

One remark from a narrow-minded individual, and Nissan suddenly lost a powerful sponsor. The Japanese carmaker would never find out why Chairman Margerie suddenly withdrew his sponsorship deal.

Edel, Ombuti and Samdi began clapping their hands.

"Chairman Margerie, congratulations on becoming our new family member."

"Thank you very much! Wakil has granted me this new life. And I shall fully devote it to Wakil's cause." Margerie bowed deeply.

"Dapsang, it seems that you still haven't understood what I said. You must devote your life to your family and yourself. Remember that there is no family without 'me', and there is no country without families. Those people who go around talking about the 'Great Cause' or whatever but do not look after their own families are either hypocrites or nut cases.

"Dapsang, you shall return home right away. Your family must be worried, so you should show them your healthy body. Your work will come after that."

"Ulla! Those are truly wise words, sir. Dubaiburupa, hooray!"

At this point, Margerie was prepared to believe that the Arc de Triomphe was located in London as long as Mu Ssang was the one proclaiming that.

Broad smiles spread on the faces of Edel and Samdi, while the expressions of Mu Ssang and Ombuti distorted ever so slightly.

And so... The chairman of Total, Michel Margerie, was kissed by lady luck on this day near a mysterious lake located in the eastern Sahara.

*

Ariba had to pinch his own thigh as hard as possible. The staggering pain sobered him up instantly. His wits that seemingly went on vacation returned to him.

"'That's what I'm talking about!"

He witnessed the unfathomable depth of Black Mamba's true weapon, his fearsome telekinetic powers that made others empathetic of him.

Margerie became bewitched by the godly ability Black Mamba displayed, and his actions, his mind and his manner of speech all got instantly sucked into the black hole of empathy. Just like that, he had become a follower.

The spy agencies of various nations were training espers, and they even had deployed the 'assets' in several operations too. In fact, even the DGSE had people with 'psychometry' powers in its ranks.

Originally, psychometry was a psychic ability to figure out the history of an object by simply touching it, but there was also another powerful application of it that involved empathy.

However, Black Mamba never relied on psychometry. He did not artificially shock the opponent's mind, instead choosing to use truth and his ability to empathize as a means to do that. What a scary ability that was.

If Ariba had not been trained to resist brainwashing, if he did not know the real face of Black Mamba, and if he had not been scared to death, then he would be just like Chairman Margerie, kneeling on the floor in awe.

No, he did want to kneel, but his fear prevented that.

Ariba was one of the few people who knew all too well the terror of Black Mamba.

Black Mamba might be a man with few words, but he was the type to definitely do what he said he would do. Chief Valvoue ignored the warning about not calling Black Mamba 'Ange de la mort' and ended up as a cripple.

Back then, Ariba was the one egging Valvoue on, and he got to experience this unmentionable terror of death. Something enveloped his face, blocking out his oxygen supply. He tried to claw it off with his hands but could not feel anything tangible.

A physical attack without an actual physical form was terror itself. Ever since then, Ariba suffered from the case of Black Mamba phobia.

Even now, Ariba's eyes staring at Mu Ssang were filled with fear.

He recalled every politician, religious leader and philosopher currently recorded in the DGSE's list. But none of them demonstrated the level of ability to empathize as skillfully as Black Mamba's.

Black Mamba normally did not befriend those who had plenty. What if he changed his belief and decided to suck in a wealthy individual like a black hole? The world order could get reorganized in this way. It felt like a cold wind scythed through Ariba's chest when he thought about that possibility.

The emperor of oil, Chairman Margerie, had come under Black Mamba's spell — this is an incident shocking enough to stun the whole world. Of course, Ariba would never tell anyone about it other than General Director Bonipas. He had not forgotten Black Mamba's warning of keeping his trap shut at all times, after all.

"Dammit. Should I also just resign from the DGSE using this opportunity and join Novatopia? But I don't have money nor abilities, so would Black Mamba even accept me as his family?"

Ariba became so envious of Chairman Margerie.

Outwardly, it might seem like Black Mamba had scored big by 'acquiring' Total. But the truth was, it was Margerie that struck gold by acquiring a backer like Black Mamba. From this moment on, any factions trying to hinder him would disappear without even so much as a squeak.

Ariba could already imagine Total standing tall at the top of the oil supermajors pyramid.

If the DGSE was a shadowy but stable workplace, then Novatopia was the land of light-filled with wild adventures. This difference made Ariba deeply contemplate his options.

*

"Samdi, what is the material for Nova? It's very light, so I was wondering... Oops!"

The 'Nova' bone dagger slipped out of Margerie's grip. It stabbed deep into the mahogany wooden floor, leaving only its hilt exposed.

"Hul?!" The shocked Margerie jumped up. He already had an inkling that this dagger was no ordinary object, but even so, its sharpness still managed to surpass his imagination.

Samdi replied. "It's a fang of an ancient crocodile called the Sarcosuchus. I killed it personally in the jungles of Ituri."

Despite the unbelievable claim, Margerie nodded in acceptance without a shred of suspicion. He was already prepared to believe everything that had ties to Dubaiburupa.

He began scanning Samdi from top to bottom. Rather than a regular human, this big African man seemed more like 'Iron Man'.

"Huh! A life and death struggle between Samdi the Iron Man and the ancient crocodile, Sarcosuchus. If we can get it on video, we could make a killing by selling the footage off to Nat Geo."

The Iron Man who beat up an ancient crocodile to death, even though the monster boasted the 350mm-long fangs thicker than Margerie's arms! As expected of Wakil's bodyguard.

"Dapsang, I don't know how rich Total is as a company, but do not forget that our master is Dubaiburupa. You better not entertain any wicked ideas of winning over the Miss through expensive gifts. If you misbehave toward either our master or Miss, then..."

Samdi stopped talking there, then pulled out a Beretta with gold trimmings from his back pocket.

"Huh?! That's my pistol!" Margerie gasped before hurriedly patting his inner pocket. His Beretta tucked away securely under his jacket was gone.

As expected, Samdi was a surprising human being.

"Crunch!"

The barrel and the handle were crushed into a sphere as springs and the magazine popped out. Beretta, which cost a hundred thousand Francs and was only available through special order, met its end as a pile of scrap metal in Samdi's hand.

"This is the end waiting for you." Samdi's reddish eyes burned ominously.

Truth be told, he was dissatisfied with Margerie. This old Frenchman was supposed to be a wealthy man, and after presenting some random knife to the Miss as a gift, he received the master's blessing and became a family member out of nowhere.

A person was bound to get arrogant if they earned their position too easily. That was why Samdi warned the chairman through a show of force.

"You don't need to intimidate me, I already know full well. The true value of a treasure is in the meaning and the status granted to it. How can some mere pile of metal compare to Dapsang? Honestly, Dapsang is far more precious to me than Total, you see. Hahaha!"

Margerie laughed good-naturedly, then pulled out the dagger with Dapsang engraved on its handle from the floor before gently caressing the weapon as if it was his lover's bosom.

He had experienced all sorts of things in his life, so he was rather pleased by Samdi's spectacular show of strength. The stronger the individual members, the sturdier Wakil's kingdom would be.

"What the? This guy is no pushover, huh."

Strange light flickered in Samdi's eyes. This old man looked so weak that he probably could not even kill a chicken, but his tough and unyielding personality was actually pretty similar to Ombuti's.

Indeed, humans were different from animals. Rather than young and strong punks, the sly old foxes were harder to deal with.

"Mister Dubaiburupa, sir. You should draw up the MoU first."

Ariba finally regained his wits and brought order to the drawing-room. A ceremony was one thing, but business was another.

He drew up the MoU, which was signed by Margerie and Mu Ssang.

[The owner of the mining area of the Pendé River's delta in Chad's Doba region (hereafter referred to as Doba mining area), Sbard Gulbeig, will enter into an agreement with the chairman of Total CFP, Michel Margerie, that contains the following:

1. Total CFP will hold the rights to explore and develop the Doba mining area, while the necessary expenses will be paid by Total CFP.

2. The period of exploration will be one year from the date of signing. The exploration schedule can be adjusted through mutual discussion.

3. Total CFP will hold the right to acquire the 30% stake in the Doba mining area. For the payment to secure the preemptive rights, it will pay two billion dollars to Sbard Gulbeig within seven days of the date of signing.

4. The stake distribution and the takeover premium will be decided on the international practice upon the conclusion of the exploration of the mining area.

5. In the case of successful commercial production, the revenue will be distributed according to the ownership percentage.

6. The rebate payable to the government of Chad will be calculated and handled by Total CFP.

7. South Korea will be given priority when negotiating for the sale of produced crude oil.

...

The changed parts were the percentage of the preemptive right that had grown from 20% to 30%, while the cost of the preemptive right had also gone up from one billion to two billion dollars. Mu Ssang and Margerie were trying to be considerate to each other here.

As for supplying South Korea first with the produced crude oil, this only happened due to Mu Ssang's kindness. He might not like Korea, but it was still his home country after all.

After signing the documents, Chairman Margerie's expression brightened to resemble a kid receiving a Christmas present he had been praying for the whole year. Well, he had received the greatest gifts imaginable today, after all — three different types of renewed life. Not only that, but he was also accepted as Dubaiburupa's family, so it was unsurprising to see him overjoyed like this.

*

"Kuwahahaha! We were running rather short on funds lately, only for two billion dollars to land on our laps, master! I knew it, our lady is a bundle of good fortune while our Wakil has the Midas touch. Hahaha!"

Ombuti received the agreement, then burst into raucous laughter.

Wakil possessed an ability to see through a person's true nature. However, not anyone could occupy the position of a chairman running a supermajor oil company. Ombuti was worried about his master being pushed around by the crafty old man, but as it turned out, master was able to bring out a result beyond anyone's expectations.

Mu Ssang replied. "We need to join hands with someone, anyway. To be considerate to Bonipas, I chose to end it there."

"You did well, sir. From my judgement, this was the best outcome for this negotiation."

"It's all thanks to the quality of the product. Oh, and I've accepted Chairman Margerie as a member of Nova."

"You made the right call, sir. I'm sure he'll serve as a pillar of strength during the development of Novatopia." Ombuti nodded despite the unexpected turn of events.

He was not the type to raise objections or argue against the master's decisions. He believed that the master must have had good reason to make such decisions, and if there was something lacking, then it was the servant's duty to assist his master.

"I've granted the name of Dapsang to Chairman Margerie."

"I see, Dampsang means he's the second person. Master, General Director Bonipas still doesn't know he's now a Nova member as well, yes?"

"Well, his job title is still the boss of the DGSE, after all. A man called the Serpent wouldn't be oblivious of it after receiving a Nova from me. I'm pretty sure he's pretending to be none the wiser even after figuring it out. I too, have no desire to put the boss of the DGSE in a difficult spot."

"Indeed, that was the wise decision, sir. I see, master was thinking about a protective shell for Novatopia."

"That's right. A nation's power comes from information, financial muscle, and finally, military might. Novatopia has stepped into the international stage only recently. The further we develop into a juicy and ripe land of treasure, the more and more hyenas will drool after us.

"However, I cannot stay in Novatopia forever. That's why we must cooperate with outside forces while we internally foster and strengthen our self-defence capabilities."

"Please do not be worried, Wakil. The citizens of Novatopia are people who have escaped from hell, sir. Even the children are filled with determination to protect their home even if it costs them their lives."

"Indeed, that is the way. By the way, who was the barista that taught Edel how to brew coffee?"

"Sir, who else could it be other than Afwerki? He's been frequently visiting the House for the past year to teach us the cultivation and commercialization methods for coffee, sir."

"Ah. I'd forgotten about him. I've never drunk coffee as fantastic as today's cup, you see. Simply put, it was the best coffee in my life."

Mu Ssang raised his thumb high up.

"That should be the case, sir. If I'm being honest, Miss Edel's skill in the kitchen is somewhat lacking, isn't it? However, she seems to possess a keen intuition when it comes to coffee, sir. So much so that this servant was deeply surprised by her talents."

"Really? Even a lazy bum knows how to roll around, they said. So my Edel is..."

"Hmph. Why don't I take over from there?"

Mu Ssang and Ombuti flinched in surprise when a voice suddenly came from behind them.