Chapter 1058 Holiday Journey (Patreon)

"He’s okay, he’s okay."
Hannah quickly comforted the heartbroken mother, knowing that some things were better clarified immediately. Little Nicholas had only suffered some fright; though he would likely need psychological counseling once back home, he hadn’t sustained any physical harm.

After leading the group to the new camp yesterday, Elijah had set an example by laboring hard all day, helping to build the perimeter fence.
That night, they even held a lively party. Once the followers outside had consumed the drug-laced food and fallen into frenzy, Elijah, citing the need for special care for children, took Nicholas away from his mother Rebecca and into the small chapel.

At the time, Rebecca, deep in a hallucination induced by magic mushrooms, knew something was wrong but was too powerless to resist. In the blink of an eye, she had been dragged into a tent by several men.

Luckily, little Nicholas happened to pass the incubation period of malaria at that moment. Severe vomiting and diarrhea quickly disgusted Elijah enough to make him give up. After roughly washing Nicholas with cold water, Elijah locked him inside a small iron cage and went to bed.

When Hannah found the poor child, he was already slightly dehydrated and feverish, rambling in delirium.

Thus came the scene earlier: Jack broke into the chapel, directly tossed Elijah out, and Hannah’s well-placed stomp ensured Elijah would never again be troubled by earthly temptations—he could now focus solely on being a "saint."

Before Elijah could launch into more of his twisted preaching, several women, now fully conscious, rushed at him, beating and even biting him in a frenzy.

To be honest, the FBI agents found it hard to muster too much sympathy for these women. After all, marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms were only catalysts—they hadn't been forced to use them.

But regardless, the women had been deceived into coming here. Foolishness and ignorance were not crimes, and they did nothing to lessen the severity of Elijah and his followers’ sins.

"Don't let them kill him," Jack reminded Detective Polino. The FBI had no law enforcement authority on this land, and the prisoner would eventually have to be handed over.
As for extradition—that would be a matter between the two governments and their judicial systems. There was no such thing as the FBI directly bringing him back to the U.S., but letting him die right in front of them would also be hard to explain.

Detective Polino waved his hand, and two officers stepped forward to drag the barely breathing Elijah out of the mob.

"I’ve questioned several of the bastards," Polino reported. "It’s confirmed that Elijah personally killed Jacob Bruce in front of two witnesses. Jacob had opposed taking the seven-year-old Nicholas off the train. They argued, Elijah flew into a rage, and beat Jacob to death, later dumping his body in Somali territory to mislead the police investigation."

Hearing this, Jubal simply sighed, "Jacob Bruce had a conscience after all? Maybe."

"Regardless, the case is closed. I hear your country still has the death penalty, but you haven't carried it out in a long time?" Jack asked pointedly.

Detective Polino immediately caught the undertone and, despite his usually stern demeanor, couldn't help but smile.

"But Tanzania is still a conservative country, and the medical conditions here—especially in the prisons—are not good."

"If this guy unfortunately dies in prison before the extradition goes through, what a terrible shame that would be," Aubrey chimed in, mockingly sympathetic.

—

Although the case’s ending wasn’t exactly pleasant, at least the innocent child hadn’t suffered serious harm.
Malaria, for all its danger, could be effectively treated. Even without Jack’s healing abilities, the combination therapy with "artemisinin," the miracle drug against malaria, quickly improved Nicholas's condition once he was admitted to the University of Dar es Salaam’s aid hospital.

The bigger headache was the remaining 20 American tourists—ten men and ten women.
While the men were under suspicion, there was no concrete evidence against them, and in the end, all had to be released.

Moreover, some of them could very well be considered victims themselves. After all, the chaotic tent scenes had presented the FBI with a math puzzle from hell.

On top of the American tourists, Elijah’s locally recruited followers were all Tanzanians.
And considering that Tanzania had one of the highest HIV infection rates in Africa—with over 2.2 million infections among its 67 million people—the risks were enormous.

Given the situation under those tents, despite Tanzania being a major exporter of natural rubber, condoms—products made from natural rubber—remained expensive imported goods.
Combined with the locals’ habits and the complete lack of caution, the risks could only be described as indescribable.

Ultimately, Jubal managed to secure two batches of HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) medication.
The first batch, enough for ten people, was administered within the critical 24-hour window to the ten abducted women.
The second batch, arriving just before the 72-hour cutoff, was distributed among the male tourists—how many actually took it was unknown.

After all, a few still clung desperately to the belief that Elijah was their persecuted Messiah, and that everything had been a "test."

—

After leaving behind a pile of barely used supplies—long-acting mosquito nets, medications, and more—the FBI agents bid farewell to the always-stern Detective Polino and the always-smiling-to-Jack Old Mutto.

Well, after receiving those supplies, Old Mutto solemnly called the FBI agents "Comrade," which left Jubal and the others thoroughly confused.

Since they were already in Africa, and with the military transport plane not leaving for Djibouti until the next day, the team decided to stay and do some sightseeing.

First stop: Mount Kilimanjaro—the iconic natural wonder often featured in the Civilization game series.

Although it’s Africa’s highest peak, Kilimanjaro was far more tourist-friendly than Everest.
There were seven different routes to the summit, and even 85-year-olds and young children had successfully reached the top.

Each route had its pros and cons—some took longer but offered huts to sleep in; others were scenic but more crowded and challenging.

Considering their physical fitness and time constraints, the FBI group chose the oldest route: Marangu.

It was the best season for climbing Kilimanjaro. From tropical rainforests to temperate coniferous forests, then alpine deserts to the glacier zone, it took them three days to complete the round trip.

Although they didn’t break any speed records set by professionals, their pace far exceeded that of most tourists—and they hadn’t even hired porters or professional guides.

After marveling at the majestic glaciers, they descended the mountain, rested a day, then flew to Zanzibar Island.

Tanzania’s full name is the United Republic of Tanzania—the "Zan" part referring to Zanzibar, the world-famous archipelago.

In Civilization VI, Zanzibar appears as a trade city-state that provides both cloves and cinnamon as luxury resources.

Here, they finally felt like they were truly in Africa.
The hot, humid climate and intense sunlight were invigorating for city dwellers like Jubal and Aubrey.

The city itself was small and rundown, but at least it was a city—no more worrying about malaria-carrying mosquitoes, accessible power outlets everywhere, and far less risk of food poisoning.

Jack soon found a clean, affordable Chinese restaurant where a simply steamed fresh coral trout won everyone's hearts.

Compared to the natural wonders of Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar leaned more toward cultural wonders.
Historical records from the Song and Yuan dynasties mention it, and archaeologists had unearthed Song dynasty coins and Yuan dynasty blue-and-white porcelain here.
Some descendants of Zheng He’s crew members even lived on the island.

They went snorkeling to explore underwater ruins, toured the old slave market, feasted on seafood and tropical fruits, and dealt with Hannah’s occasional nighttime "ambushes," until Rossi finally called impatiently, pushing them to return to chilly New York.

"When did escorting prisoners become our fugitive apprehension team's job?" Jack asked blankly upon receiving his new assignment from Rossi, who had taken over Dana Morge's office.