1008: Chapter 993 Violent Aesthetics 1008: Chapter 993 Violent Aesthetics Taylor lifted his leg, but instead of placing it on the table or chair, he rolled up his trouser leg to reveal a wound on his calf, then curled his leg up, standing on one leg.
The wound had already scabbed over, but some blood had seeped out, though not much.
Andy He leaned in for a closer look, pressed with his hand, and then nodded at Gao Yang, “It’s healing well, no inflammation, and it was treated nicely.
The bleeding is just because he’s been moving around too much.
A good rest and he’ll be fine in a couple of days.”
Gao Yang, satisfied, asked, “Good, how soon can he be on the battlefield?”
Andy He rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, and then said, “Five days, about five days should do.”
Gao Yang waved at Taylor, “You heard him, just wait five more days.”
Taylor, somewhat anxious, said, “Sir, I might not be able to join in any assault operations, but I have various combat skills.
Even if I am not allowed to engage in ground combat, I can still pilot an aircraft.
Even if there are no aircraft available for me, I can do aerial or ground guidance.
There must be something I can do, right?”
Gao Yang raised his finger, repeatedly saying, “That’s a good point.
You can’t engage in strenuous activities, but, as an assault operator, it seems a waste indeed.
Hmm, what kind of aircraft can you fly?”
“Fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, no problem, transports, fighters, anything!”
Gao Yang smiled, “Very good, very good.
How about Russian aircraft?”
Taylor hastily replied, “Absolutely no problem!
Sir, I trust you.
I have nothing to hide from you now.
Let’s just say, I’ve spent a long time in Iraq, Afghanistan.
I’ve flown the MiG-21 longer than the F-16, and I’ve nearly as much time in the Mi-24 as the AH-64, so I’m definitely capable.”
Gao Yang gave Taylor a thumbs up, then took a long breath and said, “Good, wait for your chance to shine.
Right now, we lack pilots more than we lack planes.
Hmm, had you arrived a day earlier, you could’ve participated in a major operation last night.
It was a grand success for the Syrians, so I guess they’d be willing to provide anything as long as it’s on their list.”
Taylor said with a frustrated look, “Still came too late.”
Just then, a walkie-talkie on the table dedicated to communicating with Dani and his team buzzed, and Dani urgently said, “Ram, come to my office and don’t bring any weapons.
We need to prepare for a reception.”
Gao Yang spread his hands, removed his pistol and holster from his waist, placed them on the table, pulled out a knife from his lower back and loudly said, “Keep these for me.
You guys talk and see what Taylor is most needed for, we will discuss it when I return.
I’m off to reap the benefits now, fellas, see you later.”
Eileen urgently said, “Boss, don’t forget to ask for more food supplies, and everything Loach asked for, don’t forget.”
Cui Bo seriously said, “Yes, that’s really important.
Don’t forget to buy some soy sauce and vinegar from the Chinese restaurant in Damascus.
Don’t forget, alright?”
Gao certainly wouldn’t forget.
Gao hurried to Dani’s office, where Dani had already changed into a crisp suit.
On seeing Gao, Dani looked surprised and said, “I thought you would put on formal attire!
Didn’t they give you a dress uniform?”
Gao shrugged, “I think combat gear is fine.”
Dani waved his hand, “Alright, combat gear it is then.
It suits you too.
Come on, let’s head to the apron.”
Dani took Gao and they rushed to the helicopter apron where Gao noticed about fifty people waiting, at least forty of whom were bodyguards.
An officer with the rank of Air Force Colonel nodded at Gao and Dani but did not speak.
He must have been Colonel Kuteli, the person in charge of the airport, whom Gao was meeting for the first time.
After waiting about five more minutes, Gao saw two helicopters descend one after the other.
They were two Mi-17 helicopters, but both were modified for transporting VIPs with significantly enhanced comfort.
As the helicopters touched down, six men in suits jumped out, standing on either side of the aircraft, and waited for the rotors to stop spinning before anyone disembarked.
The first to step off the helicopter, Gao recognized instantly: he was one of the central figures in Syria, the brother of the president, the commander of the Republican Guard, the division commander of the Fourth Armored Division—arguably the second most powerful person in Syria, Marshall.
The next to disembark, Gao didn’t recognize.
He saw someone with a Major General’s rank and another in a suit.
Given that everyone coming at this time was from the military, Gao thought that person must be the top official from the Military Intelligence Bureau, even though his rank was only Colonel, his actual authority far exceeded that.
Colonel Kuteli, the person in charge of the airport, stepped forward to greet Marshall with a salute and loudly said, “General, on behalf of all the warriors at the airport, I welcome your arrival.”
Marshall returned the salute and casually nodded, then his gaze immediately fell on Gao Yang, because he was the most special one.
The man in a suit quickly approached and smiled at Marshall, “Let me introduce you, this is Major Dani from my bureau, and this is Major Ram, the commander of the Night Demon Squad.
They jointly planned and directed last night’s operation.”
Marshall nodded and said to Gao Yang, “Ram, interesting name.”
After saying that, Marshall extended his hand to Dani and said in a deep voice, “Well done, you’ve worked hard.”
Dani, flattered, saluted and then held Marshall’s hand, anxiously saying, “Thank you, serving the nation is an honor.”
Dani’s superior was grabbing the credit, which Gao Yang found somewhat disdainful, but he was just a passerby; he would leave after completing his goals, foolish to compete for credit with them.
Marshall looked at Gao Yang, his expression slightly complex, but after a moment, he also extended his hand to Gao Yang and said in perfect English, “Well done, a splendid victory.”
Gao Yang had no interest in offending the influential.
Marshall was a big shot; offending him would have endless disadvantages, whereas flattering him could bring immense benefits, crucial for his revenge plans, only a fool would offend Marshall.
Gao Yang saluted Marshall, took his hand, and leaning forward said, “You flatter me.
Without your support and cooperation, we couldn’t have achieved this result.
It is our victory, but even more, it is yours.”
Marshall smiled, seemingly pleased, and waved his hand, “I heard the whole process was recorded.
Let’s go watch it.”
The introductions and small talk were cut short by Marshall’s comment, and the group walked majestically towards the airport command headquarters building until they entered a conference room with a projector.
Farouk was already waiting inside the conference room used by the pilots for tactical setups, but at that moment, only Farouk and Gilanor were present.
Both were very excited, but Marshall didn’t seem inclined to talk more; guided by Kuteli, he sat in the central seat and directly said, “Begin.”
The room was sparsely populated, only Marshall’s two bodyguards, a brigadier general, two colonels, and Gao Yang’s four-man liaison team.
Farouk personally operated the projector, and the video quickly started.
The video began with the armed helicopters preparing their firepower, starting with machine gun strafing followed by rockets bombing until the helicopter carrying Farouk as the cameraman landed, capturing Gao Yang being the first to rush out of the cabin into the high morning.
Though the camera was constantly shaking, one could still make out the scenes; as someone who experienced the battle, Gao Yang found it quite intriguing as it was the first time he saw himself in action.
He rated himself quite highly, seeing himself dash out of the aircraft signaling the commencement of the attack looked incredibly cool.
The battle began smoothly; the only halt was the mere tens of seconds spent waiting to blast through a door, but overall, the impression was of fluidity.
Gao Yang noticed Farouk consistently focused the main camera on him, which was not surprising since Farouk knew him best and he was also the one in command.
The camera followed Gao Yang sweep through the first floor, then into the basement, where a group relentlessly attacked, swift and flowing like water, which appeared pleasing to Gao Yang; he realized their attack was even more visually appealing than in movies.
Seeing himself kill two enemies with a gunshot and then seizing Abach by the beard until he captured him confirmed Gao Yang’s satisfaction with his own performance; although everyone performed well and looked great, their faces obscured by camouflage and mainly filming his back, his actions were undoubtedly the coolest.
Of course, if someone else were watching the video, they would certainly think they were the coolest ones.
Farouk did a decent job filming and did not delete any segments, including filming the corpses on the ground until Gao Yang chased him away, following the perspective of everyone fighting their way back to the helicopter landing site, rushing into the helicopter cabin, marking the end of the video; everyone’s performance was flawless.
A term came to Gao Yang’s mind, “violent aesthetics,” and if violence could look beautiful, then this shaky video, making people dizzy watching it, perfectly interpreted the phrase “violent aesthetics.”
After watching, Marshall remained silent for a while, appearing thoughtful.
As Marshall stayed silent and didn’t speak, no one else moved.
Finally, Marshall nodded and then began clapping.
(To be continued.
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