262: Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty: Spoils of War 262: Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty: Spoils of War “What?
Airdrop!
Are you joking?”
Gao Yang had only intended to call Uriyangko to check his location and then ask how long it would take to deliver a batch of goods at the fastest speed.
What Gao didn’t expect was that when he told Uriyangko he needed a batch of life-saving medication, before he could ask how quickly it could be delivered, Uriyangko simply suggested that if it was extremely urgent, he could arrange an airdrop.
Hearing Gao’s voice filled with disbelief, Uriyangko laughed proudly.
“Buddy, as long as you can afford the freight cost, I can arrange to send it with a rocket, let alone a simple drop from a plane.
Why make such a fuss?
You’re in luck, as I’m in Al Mukalla, Yemen, just across the Gulf of Aden from you guys.
Buddy, we’re really close now.
Moreover, I have a small cargo plane available, so whatever you need, as long as I have it, I can deliver it to you within a day.
Don’t worry, Somalia doesn’t have fighter jets to intercept planes entering their airspace without permission.”
Gao was both elated and amazed.
He said, “Aren’t you only responsible for African operations?
Why did you go to Yemen?
That’s in Asia, right?
Buddy, you’re overreaching your boundaries.”
“Haha, buddy, thanks to your referral, the business with Skull Gang is a long-term deal.
So, with the help of colleagues in the Asian division, we’ve established a hub in Al Mukalla.
You can buy almost anything here, so whatever you guys need, I can send it directly from here.
It’s much more convenient than routing through Africa.”
Gao was thrilled.
“That’s fantastic.
I don’t yet know exactly what I need, but you should be able to find it.
So, does that mean, in the future, whatever I need, you can airlift it to me?”
Uriyangko quickly clarified, “No, no, no, of course not.
Brother, you have to understand that I will airdrop items to you when you urgently need something.
But this cargo plane belongs to my colleague; I can only borrow it occasionally.
Obviously, I can’t keep borrowing someone else’s plane.
Besides, airdropping is too risky—what if strong winds blow the parachutes off course?
Who bears the loss?
The main issue is, if I were to airdrop every time, how do you plan to pay me?
If I have to personally collect the money every time, why wouldn’t I just take the shipment boat and collect the cash on the way?”
Gao laughed heartily, saying, “Sorry, I forgot that key issue.
I think your main concern is how to collect the money, right?
Let me seriously ask you this—if we build a simple airstrip here, besides large and bulky equipment which would still be shipped by boat, could you use airplanes for the rest of the deliveries?”
After considering for a while, Uriyangko solemnly said, “It’s not impossible, but in that case, I would have to share some profits with my Asian colleagues, and Gao, as you know, that’s hard for me to accept.”
Gao immediately said, “We’ll pay the extra freight charges, of course.
The main method of transport will still be shipping, but having an air transport channel available for emergencies is definitely essential.”
“If you’re willing to pay extra freight charges, then there’s no problem—of course.
One more thing, Gao, I’ve told you that there’s a fee for the information you gave me for the Skull Gang deal, which comes from my personal income.
Last time it was a hundred thousand US dollars.
How should I give it to you?
Oh, I should clarify that this fee for information isn’t a one-time thing.
As long as we’re doing business, I’ll take your share out of the profits for each transaction, so don’t think it’s too little.
Your fee for information is also a long-term revenue.”
Gao gladly accepted the informant fee from Uriyangko, since it was coming out of Uriyangko’s profits, Gao had no reason to reject free money.
It was just that he had no way to collect the cash at the moment.
“About the informant fee, just keep it for me for now.
Give it to me when I leave Somalia.
Alright, I have to hang up now.
I need to find out what we urgently need this time.
As soon as I know, I’ll call you right away.
By the way, do you have our coordinates?”
“Of course, I have your coordinates, but relying solely on GPS coordinates won’t cut it.
You’ll need to prepare a signal, like three smoke grenades or something.
If it’s at night, a strong flashlight signal will do.
We’ll agree later on how to signal the drop zone.
Now I need to arrange the plane.
Tell me quickly what you need; I have to hurry up and make purchases.”
After hanging up, Gao immediately went to find Bruce.
Having obtained the list, he told Uriyangko what Bruce’s requested items were as quickly as possible.
Gao returned to the beach because he needed to quickly inventory the spoils taken from the attackers, as many of the items could be utilized.
The attackers’ gear was of high quality, impossible to buy in a place like Somalia.
Even if Uriyangko went shopping, such items would not be easy to find on short notice, especially in Africa.
Weapons were of secondary importance because even though the attackers had good weapons, they weren’t compatible with the logistical system or usage habits of the Skull Gang.
However, the helmet-mounted night vision devices, radios, several GPS units and satellite phones, usable heavy-duty bulletproof vests, sniper rifles, and gun-mounted red dot sights that each attacker carried were all high-quality items that could immediately enhance the capability of the Instruction Platoon.
Batteries were essential for using night vision and other electronic devices.
Since the attackers wouldn’t have brought spare batteries, Gao had to quickly inventory the devices that needed batteries and inform Uriyangko of the required battery types to see if he could also have the batteries delivered along with the medication.
Cui Bo was already leading the equipment inventory.
Seeing Gao, Cui Bo shouted, “Come and see if there’s anything you want.
The semi-automatic sniper rifles can be used by marksmen.
These mercenaries carefully selected these rifles, and they are definitely better than the common M21s, but to be honest, the stuff they used isn’t as good as what we have.”
Gao Yang said in a deep voice, “Check if there is anything worth keeping; if not, all weapons should be sealed up, and the rest of the stuff should be distributed to the members of the Instruction Platoon.”
Cui Bo shook the rifle in his hand and said, “There’s really nothing to fancy, but this gun is pretty good, very good indeed.
You might want to take a look.”
The rifle in Cui Bo’s hands was the only HK417, the one used by the SBS sniper.
When Gao Yang saw the rifle Cui Bo was holding, he frowned and said, “I was the one who killed the owner of this gun; I don’t want it.
It feels weird.
Besides, I have an M14EBR now, so this gun is useless to me.
If this was a 12-inch barrel assault model, that’d be great, or even a 16-inch barrel reconnaissance model, but as a sniper version, it’s a bit superfluous for me.”
With a helpless expression on his face, Cui Bo said, “Tch, you’ve only had money for a few days, and you already look down on war spoils.
Besides, this is Somalia; good guns are hard to come by.
Don’t you want a backup good gun?
What does it matter that it was seized from an enemy you killed?
Don’t forget, your shotgun was also confiscated from an enemy you killed.”
Upon hearing this, Gao Yang felt it made sense.
One couldn’t have too many good guns.
If there was ever a problem with his primary rifle, having a spare good one would be bliss.
Gao Yang took the HK417 from Cui Bo and inspected it carefully.
The gun was still very new; it was evident it hadn’t been used much.
The scope and night vision attached to it were also high-end gear.
Just the gun and its accompanying optics would cost at least twenty to thirty thousand US dollars.
Gao Yang removed the night vision device from the Picatinny rail, aimed the gun, found a target, and tested a shot.
The shooting felt great and was very accurate, at least not less accurate than the M14 Army model EBR he was currently using, considering that his own gun was just a slightly modified mass-produced weapon.
After test-firing only twice, Gao Yang couldn’t let go of the HK417 in his hands.
He immediately decided to give the gun a good trial.
Even if he didn’t use it to replace his Army model EBR as the main weapon, he would at least keep it as a backup.
As for picking it up from a dead person, that seemed trivial.
War spoils were always seized from the enemy, and whether the enemy was dead or alive made no real difference.
After slinging the gun over his shoulder, Gao Yang shouted, “I’m using this gun.
I’ll look for spare magazines here.
The magazines aren’t on the bodies, so they must be around here.
Rabbit, have someone collect any usable body armor from the bodies.
Even if there are bullet holes, it doesn’t matter.
Having them is definitely better than not, and the Skull Gang members won’t mind these details.”
Cui Bo answered and went off to collect the body armor.
Gao Yang then urgently said, “Hey, watch over them a bit.
Even if they are enemy bodies, we should still show some respect.
Be careful, alright?
Leave their clothes and personal belongings; let them keep those.
Hurry up and collect the useful things, then bury these bodies.
It’s so hot, they are going to start smelling soon.”
Gao Yang instructed Cui Bo and went back to looking for his spare magazines.
Since the magazines had been taken by the Skull Gang and then returned, there were piles to sort through, and Gao Yang had to carefully pick out the right ones.
Just as he found the seventh HK417 magazine, he suddenly heard Cui Bo let out an exclamation.
“Damn it, come take a look at this!”
Gao Yang stopped searching for magazines and looked over to Cui Bo, who was holding a small object with a shocked expression.
“Brother Yang, come over and see this.
If I’m not mistaken, a frog with two paddles.
Isn’t this the SBS badge?”
Gao Yang walked over and glanced at the body next to Cui Bo, then shrugged.
“You’re right, it’s the SBS badge.
This guy was a former member of the SBS.
We got confirmation from a prisoner.
Also, this HK417 was his.
Just so you know, last night I almost died at this guy’s hands, but luckily, and as you can see, things turned out fine.”
Cui Bo smacked his lips and said, “Impressive, Brother Yang, you have to tell me how you dealt with this guy last night.
Seeing the position of the wound, it was a stand-off, wasn’t it?
Come on, you have to tell me how you dodged.”
Gao Yang nodded and replied, “Alright, I’ll tell you later.
Put the badge back on him first.
It seems this guy was quite attached to this badge; otherwise, he wouldn’t have carried it into battle.
Better to return it to him.”
Cui Bo put the badge back in the pocket of the sniper’s jacket and after securing the Velcro, he clapped his hands.
“I didn’t want to take this thing.
Besides, it must have been the biggest pride of his life.
If it were taken by someone else, he’d probably rest uneasy as a ghost.
Considering we’re in the same profession, and he was a sniper too, I’ll make sure to bury him properly.”
After putting the item back, Cui Bo stood up again, looked at Gao Yang curiously and asked, “Who fired first last night between you two?”
Gao Yang pointed to the corpse and said, “He fired first, several shots.”
Cui Bo’s eyes immediately widened as he exclaimed, “He fired at you first, and not only did you not die, but you also killed him!
Damn it, that’s sure to be a classic battle example.
Tell me, how did you avoid it?” (To be continued.
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