413: Chapter 411: Huge Trouble 413: Chapter 411: Huge Trouble “Guys, let me introduce you to Sirte, nicknamed Can Opener.
He’s going to join us until our mission ends.”
Frey led Gao Yang and Sirte back to the spot where Glolov and the others were gathered—of course, they also brought along three MP7A1s.
Upon seeing Sirte, the surprise of the rest of the team was quite imaginable.
Cui Bo, with a face full of confusion, said, “What’s this supposed to mean?
What’s going on?
Have Satan and Angel become allies?”
Gao Yang shrugged his shoulders, glanced at Sirte, and said with a wry smile, “No, they’re far from allies.
In fact, it’s confirmed that Satan and Angel will become enemies in the future.
But now is not the time to fight, so we’re in a state of neither enemy nor friend for the moment.
Alright, I’ll explain the reasons for Sirte’s joining us later.”
Gao Yang looked over at Lucica lying on the ground.
One important reason he and Nate had been dragging things out was to buy Bruce some time to treat Lucica.
Now that they had confirmed there would be no conflict with the Angel Mercenary Corps this time, there was no longer a need to stall.
Lucica was lying on the ground, having already fallen into a coma.
Even in her unconscious state, her body would occasionally twitch.
However, thankfully, her clothes had been put back on.
“Test Tube, how’s Lucica doing?”
“The situation isn’t too good.
She’s been stung by bullet ants at least sixteen times.
Most critically, she’s having an allergic reaction.
I’ve administered antihistamines and adrenaline to her.
Her life isn’t in danger for now, but Lucica won’t wake up anytime soon.
The pain from bullet ant stings is extremely severe, and since I don’t have an antidote specific to the toxin, I’ve only treated her allergic reaction.
When Lucica wakes up, she’ll still have to endure the pain for at least another twenty-four hours.”
Gao Yang shook his head and said, “This is troublesome.
It looks like we’ll have to make a stretcher and carry her.
The good news is that someone sent me a GPS, so we can now head straight to Teodulo’s lair.
Worker Bee, how are you holding up?”
Tommy shook his head and said, “Just a minor injury.
I got hit by a tree branch sent flying by a grenade’s shockwave, not shrapnel.
It’s been treated and isn’t an issue anymore.
It doesn’t affect my movement.”
Gao Yang then pointed to the two injured guides and asked, “And these two?”
Bruce looked up and said, “Light injuries.
One was hit in the arm by shrapnel, while the other wasn’t hit by shrapnel but twisted his ankle, so his speed will definitely be affected.”
Gao Yang nodded, and then turned his attention to Sirte, glancing at the wound on his thigh before saying solemnly, “How’s your leg injury?”
“It has a slight impact on my movement, but it’s not significant.
I’ve received treatment already.
However, to prevent infection, I’ll need further treatment.”
After getting an update on the injuries, Gao Yang said gravely, “Guys, we’re very close to Teodulo now.
Even if our speed is reduced, by this time tomorrow we should be able to reach Teodulo’s camp.
For a special reason, I’ve decided to set off right now.”
Though Lucica was already unconscious, and the remaining four guides didn’t understand English, Gao Yang still chose not to mention his agreement with Nate in front of them.
Lucica and the five of them didn’t have a satellite phone.
To call Pailano, they had to borrow Gao Yang’s phone.
Although the four guides were lucid, they didn’t seem to think to call Pailano and report that they’d encountered the enemy.
These people appeared to be indifferent to everything, as if it all had nothing to do with them.
After issuing the orders, everyone stood up.
Gao Yang immediately said, “Rabbit, Toad, go chop a couple of branches to make a makeshift stretcher.
Let the uninjured guides carry her.
Can Opener, you’ll lead the way as point man.
Any problems with that?”
Sirte immediately responded, “No problem, boss.”
With Sirte as a free labor force, Gao Yang spoke loudly, “Good, now everyone adjust your radio frequency.”
The Satan Mercenary Corps usually operated on a common radio frequency, but with Sirte joining, they definitely needed to get Sirte to adjust his radio to the same frequency as everyone else.
Gao Yang didn’t want to disclose their working frequency to Sirte, so he casually mentioned a new frequency for everyone to change to.
Cui Bo and Jinfang used branches and vines to make a simple stretcher, then let the two uninjured guides carry Lucica as they continued on their way.
Sirte took the lead as the point man, but Gao Yang didn’t fully trust him, so he assigned Lee Jinfang to follow right behind Sirte.
That way, if anything happened, they wouldn’t be caught off guard.
Jinfang and Sirte maintained a distance of ten meters between them, taking turns leading the way.
However, Lucica and the two injured guides inevitably slowed down the pace of the whole team.
Even though their speed was reduced, Gao Yang and his team found the march relatively easy because not only did they have GPS guidance, but they were also following the route the Angel Mercenary Corps had taken on their way in.
There was no need to hack their way through the vegetation as before; they just needed to follow the path the Angel Mercenary Corps had cleared—saving them a lot of trouble.
They continued until it was dark, and Lucica still hadn’t regained consciousness, but by now Gao Yang and his team were quite accustomed to spending the night in the jungle, and it didn’t matter much even without Lucica, who served as the translator.
After sleeping through the night, the next day they continued on their way.
In the morning, Lucica finally woke up, but she was still unable to move and had to endure intermittent bouts of intense pain.
Bruce had given her a large dose of painkillers to make her ordeal a bit more bearable.
In addition to a few stops along the way to change bandages and to eat something, the journey was silent, with Gao Yang and the others drawing ever closer to Teodulo’s camp.
By around three o’clock in the afternoon, it started to rain.
In the rainforest, rain was nothing out of the ordinary—there was bound to be a shower every day at roughly the same time and with nearly a fixed amount of rainfall.
Gao Yang and his team were already accustomed to this.
It was stuffy and hot in the rainforest, but the rainwater was icy cool, which significantly reduced the temperature and made things much more comfortable.
As soon as the rain stopped, it would return to being stuffy and hot, so they took advantage of the rain to cover more ground.
After walking in the rain for almost an hour, Gao Yang suddenly heard Sirte over the radio, “Cease advancing, Commander.
We are getting very close to the target camp.
I think it’s time we spread out and move forward stealthily.”
Li Jinfang was holding the GPS, and his voice also rang out shortly after.
“According to the GPS, the straight-line distance to the target camp is still 2.1 kilometers.
If we follow the route recorded by the GPS, there’s 2.4 kilometers to cover.”
With just over two kilometers left to go, they would definitely arrive by dusk.
After contemplating for a short moment, Gao Yang said gravely, “Can Opener, is there any movement around the target camp?”
“Commander, as is customary, Teodulo’s Guard Squad will patrol around the camp.
They usually operate within a five-hundred-meter radius of the camp, but their patrols are irregular.
Sometimes they might patrol every day, but other times it could be several days before they patrol once, so we can’t confirm whether we will encounter the enemy’s patrol teams.”
After contemplating for a short while, Gao Yang said solemnly, “Rally to me, prepare for combat now.”
The team left the path cleared by the Angel Mercenary Corps and moved laterally for a bit before coming to a stop.
They were now at the doorstep of Teodulo’s home.
A night raid was the strategy they had developed in advance, but before nightfall, combat could break out at any time.
Therefore, Gao Yang and his team all put on their bulletproof vests and made all the necessary preparations for battle.
Advancing another two-plus kilometers after dark to launch an attack seemed too far.
Gao Yang checked the GPS and then passed around a simplified map of the camp that Justin had sketched out, so that everyone had a rough understanding of the layout inside.
Then he loudly commanded, “Move silently in battle formation to a position 500 meters from the target camp, and wait to launch the attack after dark.”
After speaking, Gao Yang pointed in a direction and ordered, “Toad, Can Opener, the three of us will advance side by side and maintain distance for reconnaissance.
The others follow behind.
Once we reach the designated spot, approach cautiously and decide the timing of the attack based on the situation.”
With their bullets chambered and safeties off, Gao Yang waved his hand, and together with Li Jinfang and Sirte, he took the lead towards Teodulo’s camp.
Gao Yang was in the middle, Li Jinfang to his left, and Sirte to his right, the three of them maintaining less than ten meters apart from each other and moving slowly forward.
Scouting ahead meant they had to be as silent as possible, so chopping down trees to clear a path was out of the question.
At times when they came across insurmountable obstacles, Gao Yang and his team had to make slight detours to avoid them.
Thus, the distance between the three leading men was variable, sometimes closer, sometimes farther apart, as they strived to maintain a straight line.
The rain had stopped, and they were now less than 700 meters away from Teodulo’s camp.
Gao Yang planned to find a suitable spot to regroup and then proceed with close-range reconnaissance.
But just before he could order to halt, someone beat him to it.
“Stop!
Stop!
Everyone halt your advance!
Don’t move, observe your surroundings closely, and do not move recklessly!”
Sirte’s voice came through urgently, and Gao Yang and the others immediately stopped in their tracks, followed by the guides.
Gao Yang quickly asked, “Can Opener, what’s happening?”
“Mines!
I’ve stepped on a mine!
It’s a minefield!”
Upon hearing the term “minefield,” Gao Yang knew that they were in serious trouble—a huge problem.
Tommy’s voice rang out immediately, saying urgently, “No one move!
Look around, Can Opener, tell us what you see.”
Although Sirte’s voice wasn’t panicked, it was unprecedentedly serious as he said, “I see a line that should be fishing line, green, about waist-level.
I can’t see the ends of the line.
Additionally, about two meters in front of me, there’s another line at chest level with droplets of water hanging from it, making it easy to spot.
Furthermore, I’m currently stepping on an anti-infantry mine, and I’ve heard the sound of the fuse.”
(To be continued.
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