401: Chapter Three Hundred and Ninety-Nine: Encounter Battle 401: Chapter Three Hundred and Ninety-Nine: Encounter Battle After a conversation with Kamp, the attitude of the five guides changed; they became proactive, which eased the journey for Gao Yang and his team considerably.
Indeed, Gao Yang was right; they really did learn a lot from Kamp and his group.
Where to camp, which plants were poisonous, which could provide clean drinking water; and upon hearing distant sounds, how to discern whether their sources were near or far; how to prevent mosquito bites; and how to keep ants from crawling on you while sleeping—Lucica would proactively share this knowledge with Gao Yang and his team, instructing them thoroughly.
Thus, their knowledge of the jungle was gradually being built up.
Though the knowledge they gained from Kamp and his party was merely related to basic necessities, one should not underestimate its importance—it formed the foundation of jungle warfare.
To Gao Yang and his companions, the jungle was the greatest enemy since unfamiliarity could lead to their demise even without enemy engagement.
However, once they became familiar with the jungle, while it might not become their friend, at least it would stay neutral.
The journey became much smoother, but Gao Yang’s initial estimate that they could reach their destination in forty-eight hours was completely off.
Based on the distance they could cover each day, it would be good if they could get there within ten days.
In the jungle, they had to clear their own path for every meter they advanced, and often they had to detour around many obstacles.
Advancing ten kilometers a day was their limit, and that was after taking many winding routes.
If they were to calculate the straight-line distance, sometimes they could manage seven or eight kilometers in a day, and at other times, only two or three.
Gao always recorded their route on his GPS, but the disjointed trail it logged was useless, for in the jungle the GPS would lose its signal.
Relying on the GPS to find their way back to Pailano’s camp was simply not feasible.
Under Kamp’s arrangement, Gao and his team would set out at dawn and camp at nightfall; traveling at night was simply not possible.
After seven arduous days of travel, they were approximately ten kilometers from their destination in a straight line.
As they drew nearer to the enemy encampment, Gao and his team heightened their alertness and moved with greater caution.
Though Gao was able to get sufficient rest each night and his physical condition was fine, having walked for several days in succession, he felt numb.
The monotonous scenery continuously repeated itself, making it hard for him to maintain a high level of mental concentration.
As the point man, Li Jinfang, who carried the lightest load in the Satan Mercenary Corps, needed to clear the path continuously, which was hard for him to sustain.
Therefore, Gao would take over the task for a while every day to give Li Jinfang a break.
Gao checked his watch; it was already two in the afternoon.
Li Jinfang had been clearing the path for four hours; it was time to take over so Li Jinfang could rest.
“Toad, stop and wait for me; I’m coming to relieve you,” Gao said over the radio and then quickened his pace to catch up to Li Jinfang, who was only thirty to forty meters ahead and would soon be reached.
Gao held his shotgun and had just walked about ten meters along the path Li Jinfang had cleared when suddenly he heard the loud call of a hornbill.
Immediately after, Li Jinfang’s voice abruptly came through the earpiece.
“Situation, take cover!”
The call of the hornbill had come from Lucica, who was clearing the path ahead with Li Jinfang; it was their signal for when they detected people nearby.
Gao immediately crouched down but, looking around, could see nothing; neither Li Jinfang and Lucica’s figures were visible ahead, nor could he see the main group behind, leaving him in an awkward position.
Lucica gave out the call of the hornbill twice more in quick succession.
Gao had become used to the hornbill’s calls over the past few days and couldn’t tell if these were genuine or made by Lucica.
If made by Lucica, then two short calls meant she had spotted two people.
Soon, Li Jinfang’s voice, very low, also reached Gao through the earpiece, “Two targets spotted, approximately forty meters away.
Not observed visually, unable to confirm identities, and unable to ascertain the number of people.”
Spotting two individuals didn’t mean that there were only two; the opposition could likely be a larger group.
Guerrilla squads here typically moved in teams of around ten, so if two people were spotted, the likelihood was that more were nearby.
The most troublesome part was the inability to pin down the other people’s locations.
All Gao could do at that moment was to crouch and listen intently.
Crouching on the ground, Gao Yang quietly flipped off the safety on his gun, opened the pocket for shotgun shells, and made ready for quick ammunition retrieval.
Then in an extremely low voice, he said, “Everyone, be alert.
Stay quiet, try not to fire.
If you encounter the enemy and they are armed, you are free to choose how to respond.”
“This is Toad.
Lucica has spotted a squad of over twenty people, still advancing.
Their direction is unclear, they should be about fifty meters from me.”
Li Jinfang had already begun referring to the individuals he’d spotted as enemies.
His position had become disconnected from the main force, which had its pros and cons.
Although Li Jinfang had detected someone earlier, he couldn’t accurately report the location of the enemy to Gao Yang.
After Li Jinfang reported his findings, Bruce’s voice came through again.
“Kamp has spotted movement to our left, approximately forty meters away.
The number of people is unknown, and no further information can be obtained from Kamp’s position.”
Li Jinfang was at the forefront, Bruce at the rear, both had detected movement.
Gao Yang’s first reaction was that they were being surrounded by the enemy, but he quickly dismissed that possibility because if the enemy had already detected them, they wouldn’t be moving but silently lying in ambush.
The people to the left must also be moving in several echelons, one behind the other.
It wasn’t known whether they would head towards them, but Gao Yang thought it unlikely.
In the vast rainforest with no real paths, yet paths everywhere, it was already a huge coincidence to encounter anyone at all.
Even if they were only forty to fifty meters apart, as long as they remained quiet and hidden, the other group would just pass them by.
Gao Yang felt they just needed to wait quietly for the other team to walk by, but after ten minutes of silent waiting, he heard the splash of boots in water and the squishing noise of stepping into mud.
Hearing the sound of water made Gao Yang’s heart skip a beat, not knowing whether it was a stream or a swamp nearby.
But when encountering such terrain, anyone would choose to slightly detour.
Gao Yang aimed his gun toward the source of the noise and whispered into the microphone, “This is Ram, movement on the left with sounds of water.
The enemy may turn towards us; be cautious.”
After issuing the warning, Gao Yang focused intently on listening to the footsteps coming from the left.
Then he heard two sets of alternating footsteps gradually approaching.
It was exactly what he feared.
Gao Yang hoped to avoid the unidentified group, but as luck would have it, not only had they encountered someone in the dense jungle, which was unlikely enough, but the terrain was also forcing them closer together.
What Gao Yang feared most was that these people were Teodulo’s men, as there were no other armed organizations nearby.
If they encountered Teodulo’s men prematurely and a firefight ensued, and if they failed to wipe them out completely, Teodulo would definitely become more vigilant.
This would not only cause great trouble for their mission but could also potentially lead to Teodulo sending a large force to hunt them down.
Gao Yang would never choose to fire if he had any other option.
But to his disappointment, the sounds of footsteps drew closer.
Finally, two heads appeared above a patch of shorter grass in front of Gao Yang.
However, as soon as both heads were visible, one of them suddenly pushed the other and immediately crouched down.
Gao Yang concealed himself in the grass; he was sure he wouldn’t be spotted immediately.
But one of the two people who appeared immediately took evasive action, and Gao Yang didn’t know if they had detected him or if it was for some other reason.
Gao Yang glanced around and immediately spotted the problem.
To his right was the stump of a vine that had been cut by Li Jinfang’s group during their advance.
Those two people must have seen the severed vine.
Although it was only a split second, Gao Yang had confirmed that the two people opposite him were armed personnel.
One of them had a face covered in camouflage paint, wearing a camouflage military cap and sporting an earpiece and throat mike.
The other one was wearing an army green hat.
Even though he couldn’t see a gun, ordinary people would never dress like that, nor would regular anti-government forces.
It was more likely that the other party was also a group of mercenaries or similar.
Gao Yang remembered Ivan saying that in the rainforest, if you encounter armed individuals that are not your own, just shoot; don’t consider anything else.
So he thought that the people he had just detected felt the same way.
Although Gao Yang was sure he was well hidden and had not been detected when the opposition spotted the cut vine, they would inevitably search the area.
If they acted as Ivan had described, a firefight was now unavoidable.
The two people who crouched down were only about twelve or thirteen meters away from Gao Yang, very close.
He immediately decided to strike first.
However, he did not open fire but quickly pulled out a hand grenade and threw it toward the location of the two crouching individuals.
As he threw the grenade, he urgently called out, “Our position is exposed, the enemy is definitely armed, open fire.”
Gao Yang was certain he had not been spotted, so after throwing the grenade he didn’t move immediately.
Instead, he prepared to find a chance to shoot after the explosion.
But as he threw the grenade, he also saw something dark being thrown from the grass on the opposite side.
(To be continued.
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