African Entrepreneurship Record

Within the city of Maputo.

”It was you who betrayed us, why?” Davis almost snarled as he uttered these words.

Traitors are the most despicable, especially this Portuguese traitor. If they had been defeated by East Africa on the battlefield, Davis would have accepted it, but being betrayed by a traitor, a Portuguese one at that, made his defeat unbearable. Even if it was a traitor of his own country, Davis would feel slightly better.

However, the Portuguese ”traitor” Owen in front of him appeared slightly awkward, avoiding a direct answer to Davis’s question and instead saying, ”As the war progresses, everyone knows the Allies have lost the upper hand, so naturally, smart people know how to choose.”

”You...” Davis hadn’t yet spoken.

Merk interrupted what he was about to say, ”There’s no point in placing blame at this time. The fact is Maputo has fallen into our hands. General Davis, it would be wise to cooperate fully, as all of you are essential talents from various countries and will be needed back home in the future. As for Mr. Owen defecting to the side of righteousness, that indicates your war was not just to begin with.”

”Sigh, it’s just the victor becoming king. Now, anything said is pointless.” Davis had already resigned to his fate.

However, seeing Owen standing calmly on the side, he felt very displeased and said, ”You’d better get rid of that turncoat, as someone who can betray his country can also betray his master again. I think such a person is despised anywhere.”

Owen felt no burden from Davis’s words; instead, he viewed him like a clown, though he hid it well, a faint but perceptible gleam flashing in his eyes.

...

After a ”friendly” exchange with Davis, Merk and other high-ranking East African officials decided to imprison Davis for the time being, as he was a significant capture, second only to Count Roberts and Governor Bugival.

Leaving the estate, Merk asked with great interest, ”Mr. Owen, what motivated you to make such an extraordinary move?”

For this informant, Merk certainly held no fondness. Although Davis seemed to be sowing discord, he was speaking the truth; no one favors betrayal.

Owen replied without evasion, ”Viscount Merk, what I did was not an extraordinary move at all, but rather thoroughly considering the interests of the Kingdom.”

”Hmm! Are you saying you’re actually a patriot? Why did you betray Portugal, then? That doesn’t seem beneficial to you, nor does it align with your claim of considering the Kingdom’s interests,” Merk inquired.

Owen adjusted his glasses and said, ”Viscount Merk, is it possible that I am not Portuguese at all, but an East African instead?”

At this statement, the room fell silent instantly! Everyone seemed to have heard something unbelievable.

Seeing the stunned expressions of those around him, Owen felt immense joy and said to them, ”Actually, I am a member of the Kingdom, of course, more specifically an intelligence officer of Heixinggen Kingdom. From the beginning, I was an East African embedded in Portugal. Naturally, I need to re-establish contact with my superiors to verify my identity, so I need your help to reach out to them; someone will confirm my identity later on.”

”Why didn’t you reveal your identity earlier but choose to do it now?” someone asked.

”After all, back then I was surrounded by Portuguese and British, it didn’t align with our confidentiality protocols, and I also hope you won’t disclose this matter freely, everything depends on the central decision,” he replied.

”How did you manage to rise to the position of an enemy regiment commander?” Merk asked with curiosity.

”It was entirely a misunderstanding. Initially, I was in Maputo executing my duties, but two months ago, due to the Portuguese conscription within the city, I was forcibly recruited. Because I had some abilities, a high-ranking Portuguese official noticed me, and I unexpectedly got promoted to this position,” Owen explained.

The Portuguese had no ID verification, especially in such a mixed colonial place. Therefore, Owen, speaking with a native ”Lisbon” accent, easily got by in Maputo with a false identity and lived quite comfortably.

Originally, according to Owen’s plans and orders from his superiors, it was a long-term intelligence-gathering task in Maputo, transmitting back to East Africa, but the unexpected happened.

As the war continued, the Portuguese became desperate, resorting to any means available, not only drafting Black people but also the white population in Mozambique started to get conscripted into military service—in layman’s terms, forced recruitment.

Later on, this educated Portuguese small-time merchant, Owen, was also dragged into the military, disrupting his rhythm in Maputo. Due to war blockades, Owen couldn’t manage to connect with his superiors.

Thus, Owen could only lay low within the Portuguese army, unknowingly climbing to the ”high” rank of regiment commander.

Of course, this was also related to Mozambique’s poor war situation, as the Portuguese newly formed military faced a shortage of front-line troops. Thus, in selecting leaders among the barely qualified, someone like Owen, well-versed in both civil and military pursuits, remarkably became a newly appointed regiment commander.

Naturally, rising to the position of a regiment commander attracted attention, such as from some of Owen’s ”Portuguese” underlings. So, the night before the uprising in Maputo, Owen was extremely anxious, fearing that Portuguese soldiers might report him.

But to Owen’s surprise, his actions didn’t meet with opposition, and he smoothly gained the ”support” of the soldiers beneath him.

Of course, ”support” might be an exaggeration; it was simply that no one opposed him. The Portuguese soldiers were already quite war-weary, and with Owen, the spy regimental commander’s encouragement, they easily rationalized the decision to ”defect.”

Even the Portuguese couldn’t imagine that Owen was actually an East African intelligence officer infiltrated into the Portuguese military as a lone wolf.

However, in a way, it served them right; had it not been for the Portuguese leadership’s ”conscription” actions, perhaps Owen would still be staying quietly in some unknown corner of Maputo.

Owen’s experience left the officers of the East African Defense Army in disbelief, as if a story out of a novel had come into reality, and they had encountered it firsthand.

”Regimental Commander Owen, although your explanation does seem reasonable, we must have someone keep an eye on you until we confirm your true identity,” Merk said.

Owen: ”Of course, no problem, but prior to this, you’d better allow me to verify my identity first. I was supposed to have a contact here; I’m not sure if he’s still in Maputo now.”

After all, following Portuguese tyranny, many innocent Portuguese were swept into the war. There’s a high chance Owen’s contact had also been forcibly recruited, given the weak background of their fake identities. The Portuguese discriminated based on background, and those ”Portuguese” people without background were directly drafted into military camps and sent to the battlefield the next day. Thus, whether Owen’s contact still lived was a mystery.

”What if your contact is lost?”

Owen replied, ”Then I can only go back to the city of Dar es Salaam and contact my superiors directly. I assume you’ve heard of the National Defense Security Bureau; I’m actually one of them, though that’s all I can disclose.”

Upon hearing the words ”National Defense Security Bureau,” most of the suspicions toward Owen dissipated. That organization is extremely secretive, inaccessible to ordinary people, though the military high command is relatively well-informed.

The military has its own Military Intelligence Department, so they’re somewhat acquainted with their sister department, but didn’t expect the National Defense Security Bureau to infiltrate the Portuguese military, let alone become a high-ranking officer—it’s outrageous.