Chapter 943 - A Strong Dragon Can’t Suppress a Local Snake

"You guessed it right. Those two did cause quite a bit of trouble last time. If you were going there alone to shoot a movie, it might not be a big deal. But if their faces show up there, trouble will come knocking on its own. At that point, forget about filming—getting the crew back safely might even be a challenge."

Laila knew that while Xiao Ye often seemed laid-back, he rarely joked about serious matters. If he was this certain, there had to be a good reason.

"I need to know the details. Tell me everything," she said, her expression turning serious.

Xiao Ye was a tight-lipped person. In his line of work, loose lips could lead to big problems. He had promised Roy not to tell Laila about the dangers they faced in South Africa, and he had kept that promise. He figured it wouldn't affect her, and it might even add some excitement to the couple's life. Why not keep it to himself?

But now things were different. If he continued to keep quiet, Laila would stubbornly go ahead with her plans. He knew exactly what South Africa was like and understood the kind of trouble Roy and Leonardo's presence would stir up. At this point, he couldn't afford to keep things hidden anymore.

"The trouble Roy and the others ran into in South Africa last time wasn't as simple as he made it out to be," Xiao Ye began, not exaggerating but laying out the facts as he knew them, letting her draw her conclusions.

"The diamond you have was stolen by a low-level gang member. The middleman took advantage of Roy and the others being foreigners who didn't understand the local rules and introduced them to the deal. Roy fell in love with the diamond as soon as he saw it, bought it, and planned to bring it back."

"But the boss who had the diamond stolen couldn't stand being betrayed by his underling, especially when it cost him millions! So after catching the thief, he also wanted to track down Roy and the others to get the diamond back. In other words, he wanted both the diamond and the money."

Laila nodded, already understanding the greed of those people and not finding it surprising at all. In South Africa, millions of dollars were a fortune, something most people could never earn in a lifetime. It was no wonder they would covet someone who could casually spend that much. As for whether Roy and the others were Hollywood stars, those people couldn't care less.

"Did they know Roy and the others' identities?"

"I don't think so," Xiao Ye shrugged. "How many people living on the edge do you think go to the movies? Watching a DVD at home is enough for them. And to those people, all white people look the same. The problem is they have photos of Roy and the others, and more than one boss is looking for them. That's why Roy and the others had to hide until I showed up to get them out."

Thinking back to that time, Xiao Ye was impressed by Roy and the others' escape skills. Who said movies were useless? Didn't these two big stars put the skills they learned in movies to good use, escaping capture time and time again?

Unless you were there, you couldn't imagine the intensity of the manhunt. The lure of a huge sum of money and the chance to catch two wealthy foreigners had almost everyone with any means involved. They all had the same thought: what if they could get both the people and the diamond? It wasn't just about the reward money—it was about changing their lives with that kind of wealth!

Laila frowned. "It's been so long. Hasn't the situation calmed down?"

"Calmed down? How could it? The diamond hasn't been recovered, and the people haven't been found. That's a stain on the boss's reputation. If he doesn't clear that stain, how can he keep his standing? Even if it's just for the face, he'll do everything he can to make up for the damage to his reputation."

Xiao Ye looked at her. "Roy and the others returned to the U.S., and since those people don't know their real identities, they wouldn't go out of their way to come after them here. But I can guarantee that if they set foot on that land again, they'll be spotted immediately and targeted once more."

"What if we bring more people?"

Xiao Ye knew she meant bodyguards, and given her status, they would undoubtedly be top-notch. But that wouldn't make much of a difference.

"Bodyguards are there to protect you, sure, but how many can you bring? Can they protect every single person in the crew? Can they stay alert 24/7 without a single moment of distraction? There's an old saying in the East: 'A strong dragon can't suppress a local snake.' No matter how powerful you are, you're still on someone else's turf. On their turf, even a dragon has to coil, and a tiger has to crouch."

"…" Laila was left speechless by his words. Why did they sound so off? Was he just trying to sound profound?

"I've also heard, 'Only a fierce dragon dares to cross the river.'"

Xiao Ye choked for a moment, silently cursing how hard it was to fool a foreigner who knew Eastern sayings. He coughed dryly. "A fierce dragon? Are you a fierce dragon?"

"What if I directly contact the South African government and secure military protection by sponsoring some of their expenses?" Laila felt that working with the government was the way to go for protection.

Xiao Ye stroked his chin and thought for a moment. "It sounds good on paper, but honestly, I don't have much faith in their military. It's nowhere near as reliable as ours."

"I didn't expect you to be a nationalist," Laila raised an eyebrow, tossing him a big label.

"Please call it 'national pride,' okay?" Xiao Ye said smugly. "I say, why don't you just find some remote corner in the East to build your set? There are plenty of cheap places there. If you throw in a little investment, you might even get the land for free."

Laila couldn't argue with such an amateur. "Even if I wanted to, do you think I could find enough foreign actors there to work with?"

"Didn't you recruit people here before going to shoot 'The Lord of the Rings'?"

"Did you forget why I still went to New Zealand for many scenes? If it were easy to find people in the East, why would I need to go to a second country? Blame it on the fact that Eastern and Western people look too different—it's obvious at a glance."

Xiao Ye's face scrunched up. "Then you could just make them Asian!"

Laila grabbed a water cup from her desk and threw it at him. "Get out!" Asian? Damn it, there aren't that many Asians in South Africa! Look at the time period I'm filming—even now, there aren't Asians everywhere, okay?

Xiao Ye caught the cup with a grin and placed it back on her desk. "We're just brainstorming solutions here!"