Rebirth: I have Monopoly System

"Everyone! Sorry for the wait! Please follow me!" Wang Qian said with a bright smile, her hips swaying as she walked up to Wu Yun.

Wang Qian led Wu Yun and his party toward the exit. Along the way, she took a down jacket handed to her by a colleague and draped it over her shoulders.

A black GL8 was parked at the entrance. Wang Qian first opened the door for Wu Yun. Once everyone was in, she got into the front passenger seat.

....

While Wu Yun and his group were touring the model home...

「East African Savannah」

"Professor James! That's the South Sudan border up ahead! We can't go any farther!" a Black guide said, pointing to a watchtower on a distant mountaintop. He blocked the path of a middle-aged white man in outdoor gear who was about to press on.

The white man watched regretfully as his target vanished into the brush. He sighed in frustration. "Damn! Lost the trail again!"

He glanced up at the scorching sun and cursed under his breath, "Goddammit! Why is it so damn hot this year!"

The guide heard James's muttering and said with a smile, "Professor! Haven't you gotten used to it after all these years?"

James glanced back at the guide's dark, gleaming skin, then at the bright red, sunburnt patches on his own body. "Ah Bu," he said, "I don't live here year-round like you do! I only come out during the dry season to observe the animal migrations and track our high-priority targets. It's not a long trip! By the time I'm finally adjusting to this godforsaken weather, it's already time to head home!"

James spoke into his walkie-talkie. "Pete! What's the signal from the target? Is it still moving? Over!"

A young man operating a computer in the Jeep picked up a walkie-talkie from a small tray table and immediately replied, "Professor! Subject Five has stopped to rest in the tall grass! Over!"

....

A tall, powerfully built white man in a striped naval shirt stood in the bed of a pickup truck, carefully peering over the top to watch the road ahead. An AK-47 hung from a sling across his chest, his right index finger resting on the trigger guard. A closer look would reveal that the safety on the big man's rifle was off.

"Caviar! Da Xiong! Five armed individuals approaching, five hundred meters out! They look like a Kenyan border patrol, rifles slung on their backs! No threat! Lowering the alert level!"

Hearing Hawkeye's intel through his earpiece, Da Xiong let out a visible sigh of relief. He didn't drop his guard entirely, though; he knew that on the savannah, humans weren't the only threat.

At that moment, Professor James walked back, accompanied by the guide and an armed guard.

The guard was dressed in the same style: a striped naval shirt and breathable tactical pants. He carried an AK-47, and his tactical vest was loaded with magazines. It was Da Xiong's teammate, Caviar!

Professor James gestured for the personnel in the Jeep and the pickup truck to get back in their vehicles.

The two vehicles quickly turned around and headed away from the border.

「Thirty minutes later.」

The two vehicles pulled into a camp encircled by several other vehicles.

"The Professor's back!"

Someone in the camp shouted.

The smell of roasting meat wafted through the camp. Da Xiong, though starving, found he had no appetite for it.

"Dammit! Roast boar again! We've been out here for a month! I'm dying for a seafood feast! And some of Cao Cao's congee!" Caviar started complaining the moment he got out of the vehicle.

The others who had just returned to camp nodded in agreement.

"Haha! We're finally leaving this shithole!" A man with a full beard, holding a drone and carrying a rifle, got out of the Jeep. He stroked his beard. "Look at this face! How am I supposed to seduce any big-booty girls now!?"

Caviar retorted, "Hawkeye! With that small frame of yours? Women with big butts like strong men like me and Da Xiong!"

To be fair, Hawkeye wasn't small by any means. Standing at nearly six feet tall, he was lean and well-muscled. The full tattoo sleeve revealed by his short-sleeved shirt was a clear sign that he trained regularly.

But compared to Da Xiong and Caviar, Hawkeye certainly seemed scrawny.

"Bullshit! Once we're back in Nairobi, we'll see who's better! Loser pays!" Hawkeye shot back, refusing to be outdone.

"Get lost! I'm not into these dark-as-pitch girls! Russian women are way hotter!" Da Xiong rumbled.

The three of them walked towards their team's tent, joking and laughing.

There were over twenty people in the entire camp, half of whom were armed.

Da Xiong's squad was a five-man team, personally hired by Professor James. Their mission was to provide close protection for the expedition members and guarantee their safety.

The rest of the armed men were local guides, hunters, and security hired on-site. After all, having the local power players on your side could prevent a lot of trouble.

Since others were standing guard and they were now far from the border, Da Xiong's group entered their team's private tent.

Two other white men were lying on cots inside. When the three entered, a middle-aged man, also in a striped naval shirt, sat up. "Brothers!" he said with a smile. "Just got the news. We're heading back to the city this afternoon. Tomorrow, you can catch your flight to Huaxia!"

Da Xiong asked anxiously, "Sickle, you're not coming to Huaxia with us? Didn't Cao Cao invite all of us to be his boss's bodyguards? A stable gig like that is way better than this life of running from one job to the next!"

The middle-aged man's gaze swept over his younger brothers-in-arms. He smiled. "After this contract, I'm planning to go check out Wagner."

"We met one of Wagner's helicopter pilots back in Ukraine. He's been in touch, wants me to be his second-in-command."

"You guys should go. You're still young, and you have families. I'm a lone wolf, and I'm used to this life."

At Sickle's words, all four of them, including Hawkeye, fell silent. They knew he had made his decision, and trying to change his mind would be pointless.

Sickle laughed. "Don't all look like you're at a funeral! Cheer up! You're about to start a new life! I already contacted Vampire on the sat phone; your passports and visas are ready. You can rest up in the city, go home for a visit, and then head to Huaxia together!"

Lying on his cot, Poison Thorn suddenly ripped the hat covering his face away. "Gunfire!"

Sickle hadn't heard anything, but he roared nonetheless, "Alert! Get the drone in the air!"

Da Xiong and Caviar rushed out after hearing Poison Thorn's warning.

Hawkeye grumbled as he deployed the drone, "Sickle! Couldn't you have avoided the classic jinx? Everyone knows you don't say things like 'after this one last job'! Knock on wood... What the hell am I even saying... FUCK!"

WHIRRR— The drone shot into the air. The view on Hawkeye's tablet rapidly zoomed out, centering on the camp.

The wide-open terrain of the savannah was the perfect environment for the drone. It was in its element. Soon, about two kilometers from the camp, it spotted an open-top SUV. A man in an explorer's outfit was crouching beside an antelope, preparing to field-dress the animal he had just taken down.

"False alarm! It's just someone hunting!"