260: Chapter Two Hundred Fifty-Eight Help Us 260: Chapter Two Hundred Fifty-Eight Help Us Originally just a mercenary, training others was something Gao Yang could manage albeit with difficulty, but command, especially command over a group that numbered in the thousands and could barely be considered an army, as well as manage their food, drink, and daily necessities along with their families, was asking too much.
These people, including Gao Yang, were adept at fighting small-scale skirmishes, and commanding dozens or a few hundred soldiers in battle was still within their scope of expertise.
However, temporarily taking charge of the whole Skull Gang exceeded their capabilities.
Nevertheless, since there was no one else available for the task, Gao Yang felt no psychological pressure.
Even if he did poorly, he certainly couldn’t do worse than the current situation.
Gao Yang once again made his way to Bruce’s first aid station.
As he approached the emergency room, he saw that wherever there was a bit of cool shade, lightly wounded men were waiting, but no one spoke and no one made any noise.
Although there were at least a hundred people, including the wounded and their friends and family members, there was not a single sound to be heard.
Upon seeing Gao Yang, those blocking his path stood up and made way for him.
Some whispered greetings to him with a slight smile, others gave him vigorous waves of acknowledgment.
Although Gao Yang couldn’t understand what they were saying, he could feel the goodwill and gratitude they expressed.
Gao Yang usually lived in the barracks and had very little contact with the ordinary soldiers and civilians of the Skull Gang, but being watched with respectful eyes greatly satisfied his vanity.
For the first time, Gao Yang felt a pressing obligation to do something for them.
Several soldiers from the Instruction Platoon stood at the entrance of the first aid station.
Upon seeing Gao Yang, they saluted him in unison.
Then one of them stepped forward and whispered to Gao Yang, “Test Tube is exhausted.
There aren’t any seriously wounded in urgent need of treatment right now, so I’ve told the slightly injured to come back later to allow Test Tube to rest a bit.”
Bruce had performed surgeries non-stop for at least ten hours, unlike ordinary doctors who operate on just one patient at a time.
In those ten hours, Bruce had operated on at least a hundred people, not counting those he had to glance at and then declare beyond help.
Averaging just a few minutes per person, it would be strange if he weren’t exhausted.
Gao Yang nodded and whispered, “You did the right thing, he must rest a bit now.
What about Maide, how is your boss doing now?”
The soldier replied in a low voice, “He is still unconscious, but his condition is relatively stable.
There’s someone watching over him in the room, and Test Tube is in there too.
If anything unusual happens, someone will wake Test Tube immediately.”
“What about Abu, where is he?
Is his condition any better now?”
The soldier pointed at a small round hut a stone’s throw away and murmured, “Commander Abu is still alive, but his condition is very bad.
Test Tube went to check on him and had someone give Commander Abu a blood transfusion not long ago.
Test Tube said if Abu can hold on until tonight, he might survive.
If he can’t, well, that says it all.”
Gao Yang said gravely, “Understood, I’ll go have a look.
Keep on guarding here.
We’re seriously understaffed now, and as elites of the Instruction Platoon, you must take on more responsibilities.
Set a good example for everyone to see how formidable the Instruction Platoon can be.”
The soldier’s face lit up with excitement, and after saluting, he said in a low voice, “Yes, Instructor, I assure you we will not let you down.”
After nodding, Gao Yang patted the soldier on the shoulder and stepped into the round hut.
As soon as he entered, a foul stench hit him.
There he saw Bruce fast asleep on the carpet, with Maide right beside him.
The two lay less than two meters from the makeshift operating table.
In the hut, of course, there were no floors or cement surfaces, just bare earth.
Even though a trench was dug to lead blood out of the hut, the soil near the operating table was soaked with blood, squelching underfoot.
There were two soldiers in the hut, sitting on the ground on either side.
Each was using a large leaf as a fan, fanning Maide and Bruce to keep them from getting too hot.
More importantly, they were keeping the flies off Bruce and Maide.
The conditions were too rudimentary, and Gao Yang was somewhat angered by this.
Enough time had passed for them to find a new location and establish a better first aid station, but without direct orders, these people just wouldn’t take the initiative.
The issue was mainly one of habit.
Most of the people here were the same in this respect.
Regardless of the matter at hand, as long as they could get by, they would not bother trying to create better conditions for themselves.
Gao Yang only glanced once before stepping back out, and he said to the soldiers at the door in a stern voice, “It’s too dirty here.
Now that we’ve stopped, why haven’t you thought of finding a better environment?”
One of the soldiers looked confused and said, “Test Tube didn’t order us to.”
Gao Yang sighed with resignation and then whispered, “Go find some people.
Find a clean room and build a sturdier operating table like the one we have.
Move the medicines and purified water there, and set up a new first aid station.
Then arrange several clean rooms nearby for those seriously wounded who need care and assign someone to look after them.
Go on and find people to do this now.”
After saluting, the soldier ran off quickly to do as Gao Yang had ordered.
Gao Yang then re-entered the hut and squatted beside Maide.
Maide’s breathing was steady, and his wound was already bandaged.
Only then did Gao Yang remember that Maide’s arm had been left on the beach, but it didn’t matter if it couldn’t be found.
There definitely were no conditions here to reattach it anyway.
Maide should be grateful to be alive.
Gao Yang whispered to the soldier fanning Maide, “How is he?
Has he woken up at all?”
The soldier shook his head and also whispered, “No.
The ‘Test Tube’ instructor said the anesthetic would last for about twelve hours.
The time should be almost up now, but if our boss doesn’t wake up after the effects wear off, we need to quickly call for the ‘Test Tube’ instructor.
If that situation arises, it means our boss’s condition is more troublesome.”
At that moment, Gao Yang also felt both tired and drowsy, but he still had many things to discuss with Maide.
Looking at his watch, he saw that less than two hours remained until the anesthesia would wear off.
Whether Maide would wake up, though, was another matter.
Gao Yang thought that there was nothing else to do for the time being.
With Bruce still sound asleep from exhaustion and Maide unconscious, and with the new emergency point unlikely to be set up any time soon, Gao Yang decided to just sleep and wait right there at the emergency point.
“I’m going to sleep for a bit too.
Whoever wakes up first, make sure to wake me up immediately.”
After instructing the two soldiers fanning the air, Gao Yang walked over to a corner inside the roundhouse, hugged his gun to his chest, and lay down on the ground.
At that point, whether it was the smell of blood or the buzzing flies around him, getting some sleep was already a luxury, and such concerns were secondary.
When they were fighting in Misrata, Libya, of the five of them, one would keep watch while the others could fall asleep right beside the freshly killed enemy bodies.
When utterly exhausted, they could even sleep next to rotting corpses.
Having a place to sleep safely was a luxury, and there wasn’t much room for fuss.
Compared to those times, this place was practically a good sleeping area, as they didn’t have to worry about being bombarded.
So, relatively speaking, it was a decent spot for sleep.
Less than a minute after lying down, Gao Yang entered dreamland.
In a drowsy state, having felt like he hadn’t slept for long, Gao Yang felt someone jostling him and instantly sat up, only to see a soldier holding a large leaf squatting in front of him, whispering, “Instructor, our boss has opened his eyes.”
Gao Yang turned his head and saw that Bruce was already squatting by Maide’s side.
He quickly went over to Maide and saw that Maide’s eyes were moving erratically.
After glancing around bewilderedly for a moment, Maide managed to ask in a weak voice, “Where am I?
What’s the situation now?”
While Bruce continued to check Maide’s condition, Gao Yang said softly, “You’re in the village.
Your wound has been dressed, and it’s safe now.
You’re okay.”
Maide’s expression showed intense pain as he tried to turn his head to look at his left arm.
It was then that Gao Yang gently said, “Don’t look.
Your left arm is gone.
Don’t move around now.
Surviving is a victory.
Buck up, the Skull Gang is finished without you.
For their sake, you have to try and survive.”
Maide said urgently, “What’s our status?
Are there many casualties?
What about Abu?
How is Abu doing?
Where is he?”
Gao Yang did not answer Maide’s question but looked towards Bruce who, without raising his head, said, “He’s just wounded, not traumatized.
He’ll be fine.”
Gao Yang said softly, “Abu is wounded too, he’s in the next room.
As for the casualties, a little over one person died, and more than two hundred were injured.
The attackers have all been killed.
Don’t worry, no one will be coming anytime soon.”
Maide’s face was filled with pain as he asked in a deep voice, “Who were the attackers?”
Gao Yang thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth, his voice grave as he said, “Mercenaries brought by the British came from the sea, and Mokadi from Bosaso joined them as well.
However, we managed to easily repel them.
Yes, the Mokadi Faction took the initiative and even joined forces with the British.”
Maide said blankly, “They came so quickly.
I thought the Skull Gang was still weak and wouldn’t attract attention for a while.
I didn’t expect that the Mokadi Faction and those British would attack us so soon.”
Gao Yang responded with a wry smile, “Obviously, you guessed wrong.”
Maide sighed deeply and said, “We should have put you in charge of all military matters earlier.
Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been attacked so easily.
Alas, we completely lack any military knowledge.
To think that acting like pirates would suffice was foolish.
Pirates don’t provoke foreigners to launch attacks on shore.
Ram, the Skull Gang doesn’t have even a single knowledgeable person right now.
You need to take charge.
Please, I beg you to help.
We can’t afford another attack like this.
Please help us.”
(To be continued.
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