308: Chapter 306 Don’t Think About Hiding 308: Chapter 306 Don’t Think About Hiding Gao Yang lay on the ground, first carefully scanning with his binoculars for anyone who could target his position.
Finding no one, he then rose to a kneeling stance and continued to observe.
It was only after ensuring there were no signs of anyone even from this position that Gao Yang finally stood up and began to move and observe more carefully.
Gao Yang wasn’t worried about wasting time; after all, only one person was left.
If it came down to it, he could simply abandon the truck and continue to follow the tracks.
Having confirmed that no one could shoot him from that direction, Gao began to slowly search the other areas using the truck for cover, moving slowly and carefully in search of where the last person might be hiding.
After searching for a long time without seeing a single figure, Gao Yang reluctantly climbed onto the roof of the truck, but even with the height advantage, he still came up empty-handed.
Gao Yang felt that he needed to go back and find the escape route of the person, then start to track on foot.
However, before leaving the truck, he couldn’t quite let it go and, after some thought, jumped down from the truck and took an AK47 out of the cabin.
Climbing back onto the roof, Gao Yang fired the AK47 into the denser bushes, then switched directions and continued firing.
The reason he went to the trouble of climbing up and down was to try and scare out the poacher who was likely hiding.
The FAL’s bullets were too precious, so he had to make do with the AK47.
Although he himself thought it was unlikely, Gao Yang decided to give it a try.
Gao Yang believed that the last poacher’s hiding place couldn’t be too far from him.
There were only a few minutes for escape on foot; no matter how fast one ran, they couldn’t get very far.
The only possibility was that the poacher had gone into hiding.
After firing several shots and observing no abnormalities, the hiding poacher didn’t make a move.
It was when Gao Yang was about to start tracking on foot that he lifted the binoculars for one last look.
He inspected through his binoculars again, but this time, it wasn’t to locate the poacher.
Instead, it was to memorize the surrounding areas suitable for hiding.
This way, he had a better idea during the search and knew which areas needed careful attention.
And with that last look, a problem caught his eye.
After examining a particularly dense thicket, something felt off to Gao Yang, so he brought the binoculars back for another look.
He remembered a tall stalk of grass topped with yellow flowers in the center of the thicket that should’ve been standing straight, but now it appeared to be leaning quite a bit.
A quick survey of an area, remembering its key features, then returning to observe after a while to spot any changes—these were basic training exercises for every sniper.
Gao Yang, too, had undergone enhanced training for this skill at the Israeli Training Camp.
There wasn’t much to differentiate the grasses of the steppe, so naturally, when Gao Yang focused on observing dense thickets, he used that flowering plant as a primary reference point.
Grass doesn’t move on its own.
If a plant that was originally standing upright is now leaning, it must have been disturbed by some animal.
Confident he hadn’t remembered incorrectly, Gao Yang carefully surveyed the thicket, estimating the distance before putting down his binoculars and picking up the AK47.
The distance between Gao Yang and the thicket was roughly four hundred meters—a range at which accurate shooting with the AK47 was highly unlikely.
However, he didn’t need to shoot precisely; he just wanted to see if someone was hiding there.
After adjusting the sight on the aiming device to four hundred meters, Gao Yang fired several shots at the thicket, then with one hand, he picked up the binoculars to look.
No animals fled, and the thicket remained undisturbed.
Gao Yang put down the binoculars and continued to fire at the thicket in a leisurely manner.
Just when he had emptied his magazine and needed to reload, the thicket suddenly shook violently.
Gao Yang let out a soft breath.
Now, the answer was clear—the last poacher was in the thicket he had targeted.
If it had been some animal hidden there, it wouldn’t have waited until now to run after hearing the gunshots.
The distance of four hundred meters was quite far.
FAL bullets could cover the range with no issue, but Gao couldn’t use iron sights to aim at such a distant target.
Furthermore, he still hadn’t seen the target, and although the poacher must have realized he was discovered, he did not stand up.
Gao Yang returned to the cabin, drove towards the thicket, and when he had covered less than a hundred meters, he finally saw a person leap up from the ground and start sprinting.
When he was about one hundred and forty or fifty meters from the poacher and with a loaded AK47 in his right hand, he slammed on the brakes without getting out of the car.
Aiming at the poacher, who could only hop and skip in an attempt to escape, he pulled the trigger.
Close enough now, but the AK47 was never renowned for its accuracy.
Firing over ten bullets in rapid succession and emptying the magazine, Gao Yang failed to hit the poacher.
Instead, his efforts had allowed the poacher to gain another hundred or so meters.
Throwing the AK47 with the spent ammo to one side, Gao Yang put the truck back into gear and chased after the poacher once more.
This time, he managed to close the gap to about a hundred meters before yanking out another AK47 without checking if it was loaded.
He stepped on the clutch and the brake, and as soon as the vehicle came to a stop, he immediately pulled the bolt and began firing.
Gao Yang, who was solely focused on revenge, felt no pity at this moment.
He wanted all the poachers dead, not one to be left alive.
He switched guns, but it seemed his luck was still bad; Gao Yang fired five shots and the poacher kept running.
Gao Yang simply stopped firing.
He released the clutch and floored the accelerator, closing the distance to less than fifty meters before stopping; only then did the poacher finally come to a halt, turn around, and shoot at Gao Yang.
Shooting with the gun tucked under his arm and held at waist level, it would be surprising if such a shooting method were accurate.
Gao Yang couldn’t even be bothered to dodge; he stepped on the brake, raised his gun and, after a quick aim, cleanly shot the poacher in the head at a distance of thirty to forty meters.
Having dealt with the last person, Gao Yang let out a long breath.
After turning off the truck, he walked over to the body he had decapitated, picked up an AK47 without a stock, and returned to the truck to check how much ammo he had left.
There were still plenty of the M43 intermediate cartridges for the AK47, loose bullets combined with those pulled from the magazines totaled around one hundred and sixty.
Gao Yang began inspecting each bullet.
If the bullet had Russian or English markings, he kept it; if it had Arabic, he threw it out of the truck.
After this selection, the result wasn’t bad, he still had one hundred and sixteen bullets left.
After checking the ammunition, it was time to inspect the guns.
Gao Yang picked four AK47s that seemed in slightly better condition and began test firing them.
After a few shots with each, he chose the two with the highest accuracy.
He loaded the bullets into magazines and then attached them to the two selected AK47s, and Gao Yang began inspecting the FAL.
The FAL was a product of Belgium’s FN and, essentially from the same era as the American M14, used 7.62x51mm NATO rounds.
Its accuracy and reliability were decent, having been adopted by the militaries of over ninety countries, it was also considered a legendary firearm.
In Africa, the FAL might be the most abundant gun after the AK family, particularly popular among mercenaries, and now, Gao Yang planned to use the FAL as his main weapon going forward.
The FAL had a longer range and greater power than the AK47, and was much more accurate too, making it a far better choice for Gao Yang.
However, with only twenty-seven rounds left across two twenty-round magazines, the quantity of ammunition was a bit lacking.
After disassembling and cleaning the FAL, carefully wiping down the gun, Gao Yang, having restocked his weapons, ate some food, drank some water, and then drove the truck to the spot where the poachers had first parked, finding their tire tracks.
Gao Yang felt that the poachers he had killed couldn’t be all of them.
Following the tire tracks would surely lead to other poachers; the thorn barrier beside him couldn’t have been made by just a dozen or so people.
Continuing the pursuit was inevitable; Gao Yang would not rest until he had killed all the poachers.
Now the only question was how to proceed—should he charge in brazenly with the truck, or sneak up on foot quietly.
If the Sako shotgun still had ammo, Gao Yang wouldn’t mind charging in boldly and then opening up distance for long-range shots, which wouldn’t pose much of a threat to him.
But the only gun he had with a slightly longer range now was the FAL, and without a scope, Gao estimated his maximum effective range was also within three hundred meters.
Beyond that, he could only guess.
Within three hundred meters, facing a large number of poachers, there was no guarantee Gao Yang could avoid being hit by stray gunfire.
Both driving and walking had their advantages and disadvantages; after much hesitation, Gao Yang eventually decided to drive.
He estimated the next thorn barrier to be at least ten or twenty kilometers away.
If he had to carry several guns for that distance, he would be exhausted; it was better to drive a part of the way, then if he was discovered, he could just drive away, and if not, proceed on foot and fight guerrilla style.
Gao Yang didn’t expect to remain undetected throughout, but the poor combat quality of the poachers gave him great confidence.
Even if he couldn’t win, he was confident that he could escape.
Driving the truck for about ten kilometers along the tire tracks without encountering any thorn barriers, Gao Yang felt it was about time.
Continuing could lead to being spotted, so he veered the vehicle to the side and stopped under a tree.
For the next part of the journey, Gao Yang had to walk, carrying several guns: two AK47s, a double-barreled shotgun, a FAL, and a revolver.
These guns, along with the ammo, weighed over thirty pounds.
During combat, he certainly couldn’t carry all the guns, but Gao Yang couldn’t just leave them in the truck either.
Thus, he decided to take them all, and when it was time to fight, he would simply choose the most suitable one to use.
(To be continued.
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