The temperature in Nairobi in December 2023 reached 32°C. Xiao Weiyi, wearing an ivory silk shirt, stepped into the lobby of the Kempinski Hotel, followed by three legal advisors.
The electronic screen at the conference center was scrolling the slogan "China-Africa Mining Cooperation Forum," but her eyes were fixed on the VIP room on the second floor—the heir to the British Russell family, commonly known as Carrot Head, was having a lively conversation with the Minister of Mines of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
"They had a secret conversation for three hours on a yacht on Lake Victoria last night." The assistant handed over the encrypted document, "Luo promised to provide the minister's son with a full scholarship to Cambridge University, plus permanent residency in a luxury house in London." Xiao Weiyi sneered. This tactic was exactly the same as the one Luo used three years ago when he competed for copper mines in South America.
On the opening day of the forum, something unexpected happened. Zambia's Mining Weekly published a front-page report titled "Excessive Heavy Metal Contamination in the Huasheng Vale Mine," accompanied by shocking images of muddy rivers and sick children.
Xiao Zhenbei made an urgent call from Hong Kong: "The photo wasn't taken in our mining area at all, but the internet trolls have already pushed the topic to the top of trending searches around the world."
At the same time, Zhenbei asked Pan American to find the source so that the data center could be controlled by their own people.
During a lunch break, Xiao Weiyi met with the CEO of Standard Bank of South Africa and said, "If your bank can provide details of Roche's loan in Mozambique, Washington is willing to take over the underwriting of your railway bonds in Tanzania."
At the same time, Xiao Zhenbei led a security team composed of former special forces soldiers deep into the jungles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Within three days, they intercepted two groups of mercenaries who were trying to blow up the mine transport trucks. The gold coins in their pockets were engraved with the double R family emblem.
The real showdown took place at the mineral auction. When the host announced the bidding for the Njombe iron ore mine in Tanzania, a Luo family representative raised his sign, offering a 15% premium per ton. Xiao Weiyi suddenly turned to the African Union representative and said, "Huasheng has pledged to build a mineral processing plant within 50 kilometers of the mine, train 2,000 local technicians, and donate a 15% stake to a community fund."
The whole audience was shocked - this directly echoed the "Local Processing Compulsory Act" just introduced by the African Union.
Just as Roche was about to raise the price, the big screen suddenly played surveillance footage from Maputo Port: a cargo ship marked RR was mixing undeclared uranium ore with iron ore.
Xiao Weiyi raised the satellite phone: "Three hours ago, the International Atomic Energy Agency seized your cargo ship in Mozambique." The face of the Luo family member who led the team suddenly changed. He did not expect that the Xiao family could mobilize Namibia's uranium mine detection expert team.
At a late-night family meeting, Xiao Zhen twirled the copper scepter gifted by a Congolese tribe: "Old Man Luo has forgotten two things: First, the African chiefs drank blood wine with me thirty years ago; second, China's existing investment in Africa's mining industry exceeds $43 billion - this is not a war that can be won by holographic projection." Suddenly, a torrential downpour broke out outside the window, as if echoing the bloody battle for resources on the African continent.
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