450: Chapter 447 Silent Weapon 450: Chapter 447 Silent Weapon Ivan spread the map out on the table and pointed at a dot not far from Bogota, saying, “This is Laguna de Guatavita.
I’ve received reliable information that our target is there.”
Gao Yang looked at the map and immediately said, “That’s close.
Now that we have the location, what about the other details?”
Ivan said, “The target’s name is Arturo Benitez Gonzalez, forty-two years old, of Indo-European mixed race.
The problem is, this man doesn’t have any distinguishing features, and I don’t have a photo of him.
“My source is very accurate.
Arturo sold a batch of emeralds, top-grade, the very top-grade emeralds, eleven pieces, these stones earned him four million US dollars.
Including some lower quality but large quantity emeralds, Arturo last made eight and a half million US dollars.”
Gao Yang nodded and said, “You mentioned that Arturo has many armed guards.
Do you have detailed intelligence about his mine security?”
Ivan frowned and shook his head, clearly troubled, “That’s the biggest problem.
I know where Arturo’s mine is, but I don’t know what his defenses are like, and Laguna de Guatavita is located at the top of a mountain.
The summit is flat, surrounded by cliffs, and the only way up is by foot.
And the mountain is covered in rainforest too.
There’s only a small path that Arturo blazed to his vein, and undoubtedly, it will be guarded.”
“Then what about Arturo’s guards’ equipment and their combat capability?
You should be well aware of this, right?”
Ivan’s eyes flashed as he said, “Of course, all the weapons are from me; I know exactly what they are.
AK47s and RPD machine guns, plus hand grenades, that’s all, only these.
As for the guards’ combat abilities, I can responsibly say they are very poor, just a bunch of hoodlums who can shoot guns.
But I don’t know whether Arturo has hired any new bodyguards after striking it rich.”
After quickly calculating in his mind, Gao Yang said in a low voice, “It sounds quite simple.
Prepare everything we need as soon as possible.
As long as we have the equipment, we can move tonight.”
Ivan replied earnestly, “I want to go with you, along with my four bodyguards.
Although they are currently in security, they are experienced veterans.
Handling this situation will be a piece of cake for them.”
Gao Yang nodded and said, “Good, prepare your men with night combat gear.
We can move together.”
Ivan immediately said, “The ammunition you need to resupply has already been prepared, and I’ll hand it over to you before we depart.
If you need anything else, tell me quickly; I must prepare it now.
If we’re moving tonight, there’s not much time, and I need to arrange things immediately.”
Attacking a place that is also in the jungle and surrounded by cliffs with only one path for access, is a typical terrain that’s easy to defend but hard to attack.
To succeed in taking down Arturo, a key factor will be a silent approach.
After contemplating for a moment, Gao Yang said, “I will also need a complete set of personal equipment, but I’m not sure exactly what I’ll need.
Just go prepare now, and I will notify you as soon as I figure it out.”
Ivan stood up and said, “Okay, let’s do that.
Call me as soon as you need something.”
After finishing, Ivan left hastily, while Gao Yang gathered everyone to convey the latest information he received to Glolov and the rest, speaking gravely, “This mission is quite special; we have never fought in such terrain before.
Everyone, share any ideas you have.
Lucica, do you have any suggestions?”
Lucica was the person best at jungle warfare within the Satan Mercenary Corps, so her opinion was critical.
Gao Yang naturally asked her first.
After pondering for a moment, Lucica said, “The vegetation in a mountain jungle is different from that in a plain.
If the terrain is high, it won’t be as humid as on the plains, but fighting in a mountain jungle is more difficult.
If we’re faking an uphill attack, that’s even harder.
If we need to fight upwards, we must be careful not to use timed fuses for the grenades, only impact fuses.”
Gao Yang nodded and said, “The place we’re attacking is mainly at the top of the mountain, but the only path requires us to fight upward.
We can’t use delay-fused grenades while we’re on the road, so everyone should remember that.”
Tommy raised his hand and said, “Before we break through the enemy blockades and reach the top of the mountain, I think it’s best to use silent weapons.
We should try to break through the blockades without making any noise.
In that case, our current weapons won’t suffice, even guns with silencers are too loud.”
Gao Yang frowned and said, “The only completely silent weapons we have are knives and Toad, who can silently take out the sentries.
However, we don’t know how many sentries there are, and relying solely on Toad isn’t safe.
So, the key question is, does anyone else have confidence in approaching the enemy sentries without making a sound and taking them out?”
Sneaking up on sentries was Li Jinfang’s strong suit, especially since reuniting with his old comrades Jiang Yun and Li Pengfei.
Li Jinfang quickly mastered the skill of neck-snapping that he hadn’t learned before.
Now, his ability to snap necks was reportedly even better than Jiang Yun’s.
Li Jinfang had learned how to instantly break a neck, and naturally, he had taught that to Gao Yang and the others.
However, not everyone is cut out for sentry duty.
Gao Yang now was confident about breaking necks, but he wasn’t sure he could do it as swiftly and silently as Li Jinfang.
If he had to sneak up on sentries, he preferred the assurance of smashing someone’s head with an axe.
Sneaking up on sentries is a skillful task.
It’s important to take out a sentry with a single blow, but it’s even more important to approach them silently.
In the majority of cases, there are at least two sentries together, making it necessary for multiple people to act simultaneously for a successful sneaking mission.
Another complicated scenario involved sentries placed in positions that were not easily approachable, such as high watchtowers.
In such situations, having a completely silent and long-range weapon that could guarantee a fatal blow was crucial.
When they attacked Teodulo’s camp, although it was also a sneaking mission, his camp was in the rainforest on the plain.
Even if sneaking up on sentries failed and they had to attack forcefully, the situation wouldn’t get too bad—they could always retreat.
If they just hid in the rainforest, it’d be harder for the enemy to find them than to reach the sky.
But this time it was different.
There was only one path up to the enemy’s mining area, and if discovered, it would be difficult to push upward through a frontal assault.
Gao Yang racked his brain for a silent long-range weapon they could use.
The first thing that came to mind was the crossbow.
Before he could speak, Cui Bo eagerly said, “How about a bow or a crossbow?
If it’s a bow, using a compound bow would pack enough power.
Crossbows are fine too, although a bit slower, they’re more accurate.
I practiced archery back home, I could use it.”
Tommy shook his head and said, “Crossbows won’t do.
We’ve used them before.
The sound of the crossbow string vibrating when it’s fired is too loud; actually, it’s louder than a silenced pistol.”
Gao Yang said irritably, “Bows won’t work either.
None of us can guarantee a fatal shot with a bow.
Killing an enemy with a bow is one thing, but killing them silently without letting them make any noise is another matter entirely.”
At that moment, Lucica smiled and said calmly, “Blowguns.
I can use blowguns to silently kill the enemy.
Of course, they have to be poison darts.”
Gao Yang was surprised and said, “Blowguns?
I’m familiar with those, and I also understand poison darts, but I don’t know of any poison that can kill someone instantly.”
Blowguns are the most commonly used hunting tools by the indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest.
Although they aren’t very powerful, they are extremely accurate.
Without poison, Indigenous People in South America can hunt birds and some small animals with their blow darts.
Once poisoned, blow darts can be used to hunt any animal in South America, with the only difference being how long it takes for the prey to die.
Gao Yang had also used poison darts.
When hunting with the Akuri tribe in Africa, poison darts were their only method.
They would track an animal until it succumbed to the poison.
The poison the Akuri tribe used was derived from the larvae of a beetle, and although death was certain, it took a long time to take effect.
As for the poison used by Indigenous People in South America, it is typically extracted from plants.
This kind of plant-based poison relaxes muscles.
After the muscles controlling breathing relax, the prey suffocates.
With a skilled extraction process, this type of poison could kill small animals within seconds, and larger ones within a few minutes.
Even for humans, it would take over an hour for the poison to be fatal, which was already much faster than the poisons Gao Yang had used.
However, the relaxation caused by plant-based poison is temporary, which is a major drawback, but also an advantage for hunters.
In case of accidental poisoning, as long as there’s someone to perform artificial respiration during the onset of the toxin’s effects, there’s a great chance of survival for the victim.
Apart from plant-based poisons, another major source of poison for Indigenous hunters in the Amazon basin comes from poison dart frogs.
Hunters capture the frogs to collect their venom, which is generally more potent than the plant-based toxins.
Contrary to popular belief, Indigenous People in South America are actually reluctant to use poison dart frogs as a source of their poisons, resorting to it only as a temporary or necessary choice.
(To be continued.
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