36: Chapter 36 Breaking the Spear 36: Chapter 36 Breaking the Spear The opposition began their attack, and the government troops hiding had to return fire; otherwise, their blockade would be immediately overrun.
Gao Yang started ‘calling roll’ with bullets, mercilessly shooting anyone daring enough to expose themselves and fire.
The government forces were far stronger than the opposition’s untrained militia, but strength is relative.
They couldn’t even begin to suppress Gao Yang; they could only wait desperately for the bullets to come.
A sniper puts too much psychological pressure on people; the fear of an unforeseen bullet is enough to make someone collapse, especially for the government troops who had no backup and no hope of victory.
Eventually, they broke.
One of the government soldiers suddenly raised his hands and stood up.
Just as Gao Yang was about to pull the trigger, he managed to stop in time, realizing the soldier intended to surrender.
Although Gao Yang didn’t shoot, the soldier was still killed, as the militia couldn’t stop firing in time like Gao Yang did.
After seeing the soldier with raised hands fall, Gao Yang couldn’t help but curse.
Fortunately, this did not prevent the other government troops from surrendering.
From his scope, Gao Yang saw more and more people standing up with their hands raised, and then the opposition’s militia swarmed into the building.
When Morgan faced Gao Yang, he stood in front of him and after a moment of silence, spoke gravely, “You’ve saved me once again.”
Gao Yang pointed to Cui Bo and Glolov and laughed, “You should thank them.
Without these two, I couldn’t have managed it alone.”
After shaking hands with Cui Bo and Glolov, Morgan sincerely thanked them.
However, Cui Bo didn’t speak much English, so he didn’t converse much with Morgan, and after shaking hands with Morgan, Glolov, too, showed no intent for further talk but turned to Bob and said, “If this gentleman is our target for rescue, does that mean our mission is now complete?
Thank you for your employment, a thousand US Dollars, you still owe five hundred, thank you.”
Seeing Morgan’s puzzled look, Bob and Gao Yang suddenly remembered that they had not yet paid Glolov’s fee.
Without waiting for Bob to speak, Gao Yang conscientiously took out five hundred bucks and gave it to Glolov.
After Glolov put the money away, Gao Yang hesitated for a moment before asking, “What are your plans now?”
Glolov looked completely lost and said, “Where else can I go but to keep looking for work?”
Morgan understood what had happened without needing Gao Yang to explain, and said in a deep voice, “You’re a free mercenary?
If so, I’d like to hire you.
Two thousand US Dollars a day, paid upfront for ten days, and our contract will last until I leave this place.
How about it?”
Glolov looked at Morgan in surprise, then frowned and asked, “The price is high; I have no reason to refuse.
But can you tell me why you’re willing to pay so much?”
Morgan smiled and replied, “Simple, you’re sufficiently capable, and I need protection right now.
As for the price being a bit higher, you can consider it a thank you for your help.”
Glolov nodded, accepting Morgan’s employment, then stood aside and stayed silent.
Upon hearing Morgan’s words, Gao Yang asked in confusion, “Mr.
Morgan, don’t you plan to leave here for the time being?”
Morgan nodded grimly, “I can’t leave, at least not for now.
I have to stay here until my agent arrives.
However, I need to send Bob away.
Gao, you can leave with Bob, and of course, your friend here.”
“How will we leave?”
“We have to take advantage of the airport being open to get you on a plane.
First to Egypt, then you and Bob can head home from there.
Someone will provide us with two cars and enough guards, we just need to make it to the airport.”
Getting home was Gao Yang’s greatest wish.
He had no interest in interfering with Morgan’s itinerary.
Learning that he could finally go home, a huge weight lifted from Gao Yang’s heart.
They didn’t have to wait long with Morgan before two sedans and three pickups full of people arrived downstairs.
Morgan and Bob took one car with their two bodyguards, while Gao Yang, Cui Bo, and Glolov took another.
A pickup truck cleared the way in front, and two pickup trucks tailed from behind; the convoy set off to the airport with a formidable presence.
It was already evening, and instead of subsiding, the sound of gunfire in Benghazi seemed to grow more intense.
Roadblocks and fortifications were common sights, but Gao Yang and his companions faced no hindrances on their journey.
Even when their convoy was inspected, they were quickly allowed to pass.
The driver, a middle-aged man with a big beard, would stick his head out and yell something whenever they approached checkpoints, prompting cheers from the fully-armed personnel before zooming off.
Cui Bo told Gao Yang that the driver was shouting slogans like ‘Victory to the Free Army’ and ‘Death to Fikaza.’
Seeing that the opposition had almost taken control over the whole of Benghazi, Gao Yang felt more at ease about the journey ahead, finally finding the leisure to strike up a conversation with Cui Bo beside him.
“Rabbit, how did you end up here?”
“I came here the year you had your trouble.
After I graduated, I found a job and was dispatched to Libya to do construction work.
After more than a year, I quit but didn’t return home; instead, I started working as a cook here.”
Rabbit was a few years younger than Gao Yang.
He remembered that Cui Bo had gone to a vocational school for electrical engineering after middle school.
Working in construction made use of his studies, but how did he end up as a chef in a restaurant?
“Rabbit, if I remember correctly, you studied to be an electrician, right?
Don’t tell me you switched to culinary arts later on?
How else could you end up as the head chef in a restaurant?”
“No, man, I was barely making over five thousand a month at my job, and it was terribly exhausting.
The worst part was the food at the construction site; it was inedible.
After I got to know some people, I wandered out and came across a Huaxia restaurant.
I simply wanted to improve my living conditions a bit, but guess what?
The food they served wouldn’t even be fit for a dog, and yet they dared to call it a Huaxia restaurant!
In a fit of rage, I paid to use their kitchen and cooked a bowl of noodles for myself, made a bit too much, huh, and the boss couldn’t stop praising how delicious it was.
Then, I kept going to the restaurant to cook my own meals.
Once I got to know the boss, he begged me to be his head chef because it paid better than the construction site, and most importantly, he said he could get me a gun.
When I heard that, I couldn’t resist the temptation and quit my job to become a chef right away.”
Gao Yang clapped Rabbit on the shoulder and laughed, “Well done, kid.
I didn’t see that coming; you’ve got some serious cooking chops!”
“Psh, my skills?
I was just making some home-cooked food back in the day, like steamed bread and pancakes.
Back home, I would’ve gone broke running a snack stall.
But here?
Heh, tricking foreigners, you know what I’m saying, huh.”
Gao Yang was at a loss for words and didn’t quite know how to respond.
Seeing Cui Bo’s morose expression, he thought maybe Cui Bo was upset about the boss being killed and tried to console him, “Come on, don’t overthink it.
Nobody can do anything about what happened.
Just accept it and move on.”
Cui Bo sighed and caressed the gun resting on his lap, saying, “Yeah, I thought I was a genius.
Nobody could tell when we played with imitation guns, but today I realized what a true master is.
Brother Yang, when you’re free, teach me, will you?
Seeing how you shoot, then looking at my own shooting, it’s a blow to my self-esteem.”
It was then that Gao Yang realized why Cui Bo looked so downcast – he had completely misunderstood the situation.
Cui Bo was determined to become a sniper, but in his first real combat experience, his performance wasn’t very impressive.
He could hit stationary targets within three hundred meters using a Dragunov, but he struggled with moving targets.
However, Cui Bo’s performance had already surprised Gao Yang.
Unlike Gao Yang, before going abroad, Cui Bo had never even touched a real gun.
His shooting experience began only after he arrived in Libya and bought a Dragunov.
Although he had fired a thousand bullets, this amount of practice was still too small.
A good shooter is made by firing a significant number of bullets; not having shot at least ten thousand rounds, claiming to be a sniper is a joke.
Both Gao Yang and Glolov could perform outstandingly with their guns because they had trained through countless rounds of ammunition.
A great shooter not only needs talent but also long-term practice – both are indispensable.
Despite his lack of experience and the need for further refinement in his marksmanship, Cui Bo’s understanding of sniping was profoundly accurate.
He had a firm grasp on the knowledge required by a sniper, including ranging, wind speed estimation, and ballistic tables – skills essential for a sniper – and Cui Bo could speak about them effortlessly and apply them proficiently.
If not for the restrictions of his home country preventing him from accumulating experience with real guns, Cui Bo might well be a top-tier sniper by now.
In the beginning, Cui Bo fired three shots and hit two government soldiers.
However, as the government forces began to move and conceal themselves better, Cui Bo couldn’t kill another person; by the time he aimed, the targets had already moved, and shooting would have been a waste.
Gao Yang didn’t know what to say.
He picked up the rifle Cui Bo had placed on his lap, glanced at it briefly, and then, an idea struck him.
He removed the magazine, checked the chamber for any bullets, and then peered inside the barrel.
After inspecting the barrel, Gao Yang set down the rifle, extracted one bullet from the magazine to examine it, and then let out a sigh, “Rabbit, you actually hit someone with this junk gun; that’s pretty impressive.
This piece of crap gun with its rifling nearly worn smooth, and you treat it like a treasure?
My old Mauser 98K from decades ago is ten thousand times better than this heap.”