521: Chapter 517: Fourteen Bullet Holes 521: Chapter 517: Fourteen Bullet Holes Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
During these two weeks, Gao Yang and some others had a very peaceful time at the temporary camp, feeling as if they were not refugees, but vacationers.
Within this period, the situation changed several times.
After the initial setback in their offensive, the Colombian military increased their attack intensity.
To deal with the mere dozens of members of the Angel Mercenary Corps, they deployed at least two thousand troops in a sweeping search and attack operation.
Additionally, they began to use mortars and rocket launchers to lead the way.
Having access to accurate intelligence played an extremely critical role.
Gao Yang and his team were able to receive early warnings of any movement, which helped them avoid being surrounded, and prevent their temporary camp from being discovered.
The Angel Mercenary Corps took the initiative to retreat.
During the retreat, the Angel Mercenary Corps maintained a state of near-engagement with the enemy forces, occasionally launching brief attacks to lead the enemy in the opposite direction of their temporary camp.
Moreover, the Angel Mercenary Corps did not directly vanish but dragged a large group of enemy troops into guerrilla warfare in the jungle.
After four days of waging guerrilla tactics, the situation began to change.
After several days of negotiations, Grand Ivan finally reached an agreement with FAEC.
Consequently, FAEC moved beyond just issuing statements and deploying a hundred or so people for perfunctory restraint.
They began to fully exert their efforts to reach an agreement with the Colombian Government.
Pretending to be on the verge of a large-scale conflict to exert considerable pressure on the opponent is almost an inevitable choice before negotiation.
FAEC first mobilized troops in three states, showing a genuine willingness for full-scale war.
After that, things naturally progressed.
Nobody wanted a war, so before the conflict would break out, the government forces had to ask why FAEC wanted to fight.
Hence, various channels of communication began, of course, all conducted in secret.
After several rounds of back-and-forth banter, FAEC finally made it clear that they would protect the Angel Mercenary Corps at all costs.
At this point, the Angel Mercenary Corps had already become one of FAEC’s deployed troops.
Such negotiations couldn’t be concluded in one go, and the Colombian Government was not a pushover, especially since the President had sworn on television to annihilate the Angel Mercenary Corps.
They definitely wouldn’t give up too easily.
While bantering with FAEC, the government forces intensified their offensive against the Angel Mercenary Corps.
Unfortunately, after the adoption of guerrilla warfare, the Angel Mercenary Corps was not so easily cornered and wiped out.
FAEC’s scattered forces launched small-scale attacks, while the Angel Mercenary Corps was visible yet elusive.
As both sides continued fighting and negotiating, by the twelfth day, they finally proceeded to the substantive negotiation stage, but they were still just at this stage of negotiation.
The Colombian Government was already feeling the heat, with the President’s surprisingly stubborn attitude.
He absolutely refused to budge on lifting the blockade against Gao Yang and his people, while FAEC, though loud in its demands, had no real intention of going to war—they were merely bluffing for the sake of interests.
So their hand was raised but unable to strike, leading the negotiation into a deadlock.
The negotiations were at a standstill, but not without hope of resolution.
For a while, Grand Ivan was also very conflicted, debating whether to continue negotiating or to resort to force to rescue Gao Yang and his people.
After much consideration and finding no safe choice, thankfully, Gao Yang and the others still needed time for Ivan to recover from his injury, and since they were not yet discovered nor in any immediate danger, dragging it out was acceptable.
Thus, Grand Ivan chose not to proceed with a forceful rescue, pinning his hopes on the negotiations.
Of course, if Ivan’s physical condition improved enough to be moved, and negotiations still couldn’t break through, they would have no choice but to turn to a military rescue.
While the Angel Mercenary Corps fought heated battles, Gao Yang and his group felt uneasy.
With medicines sent by Uriyangko and various nutrients to assist in wound recovery, the injured members of the group recovered quite swiftly.
In just half a month, Gao Yang’s injuries had almost healed.
Although not fully recovered, his left arm could already move freely, except for not being able to exert too much force.
While Frey and Lucica’s wounds had not healed completely, they could also walk for short periods.
The two injured members of the Angel Mercenary Corps, as well as Sergei, were basically in the same condition: they could walk briefly but would still need to be carried if a move was required.
As for Ivan, he still couldn’t even get out of bed.
His injury was not something that could heal in a short period.
The common expression was that his vitality was greatly damaged;, resting for half a year to recover would already be quite good.
This referred to the case of full functional recovery.
To get to a point where he could walk, it would take at least another month or two.
Ivan was extremely weak and couldn’t eat.
During these two weeks, he simply managed to stay awake a bit longer each day.
However, injury recovery is also staged.
After half a month, Ivan suddenly found himself able to stay awake much longer, and at last, he had the strength to talk to people, but that was all he could do.
Aside from talking, Ivan struggled even to move his arms.
The recovery process of severely injured members is usually summed up in a single sentence, but the process is filled with agony and torture.
Not to mention, before Gao Yang’s injury had healed, Satan’s men had to take turns caring for Frey—feeding, tending to needs, and dealing with excrement was all part of the job.
As for Lucica, Bruce had to work a bit harder.
After all, a bunch of burly men weren’t suitable for looking after Lucica, so it fell to Bruce to step up personally.
Once Gao Yang’s wound had recovered enough for him to move, he also joined the group caring for Frey.
Frey had taken a bullet for him, and if Gao Yang didn’t look after Frey, he’d feel terribly guilty.
However, by the time Gao Yang was fit to care for Frey, Frey was already not needing constant attention.
So Gao Yang still felt quite inadequate.
On the morning of half a month into his stay, Gao Yang helped Frey to the restroom, and after escorting Frey back to the tent, he habitually went to check on Ivan’s condition.
During these days, Gao Yang had made it a point to see Ivan every day, and if he happened upon Ivan when he was awake, he would briefly speak a few words.
The content of the conversation was nothing more than to cheer Ivan on and wish him a speedy recovery, not daring to say too much for fear of disturbing Ivan’s rest.
This day, when Gao Yang saw Ivan again, he intended to say a few words and then leave as usual.
However, as soon as he entered the tent and before he had a chance to speak, Ivan looked at him and said solemnly, “Thank you!”
Gao Yang was taken aback and asked, “Thanks for what?
Thanking me out of the blue like this.”
Ivan answered seriously, “Thank you for saving me.”
Gao Yang chuckled and replied, “Haven’t you thanked me already?
Why thank me again?
Come on, it was nothing, let’s just forget it.
There’s no need to keep remembering to thank me every time we meet.”
Ivan sighed and said, “Today, I talked to Sergei.
He told me all about what happened at that time.”
Sergei was also in Ivan’s tent.
Gao Yang glanced at him, and Sergei shook his head slightly, signaling that he had not told Ivan about Antonov’s death.
Gao Yang didn’t know how much longer he could keep the truth from Ivan, but he figured to conceal it as long as possible.
He cleared his throat and said with a smiling face, “Speaking of which, you should thank us, haha.
How about this?
Once you’ve fully recovered, you can treat us all to a drink.
Let me tell you, don’t think you can get rid of us so easily.
You’ll have to treat us to the best drinks in the best place.
I’m telling you upfront, I can’t drink vodka, I can’t stand the taste, it’s so awful.
I really don’t understand why you guys like it so much.”
Ivan didn’t bite on Gao Yang’s change of topic.
He said softly, “Sergei told me about the situation at the time.
Thank you to all of you.
If it’s convenient, I would like to thank them personally.
Ram, thank you.
It was all of you who saved my life, but the order was given by you.
I owe you my life.”
Gao Yang waved his hand dismissively and said, “Alright, it’s all in the past, don’t make it sound so touching.
Didn’t we agree?
Once you recover, we’ll have drinks.
Just you wait, we’re going to take you for all you’re worth.
You need to show some real appreciation.”
Ivan smiled slightly and remarked, “My body flows with your blood.
Drinking is not enough.”
Gao Yang touched his arm and exaggeratedly said, “Hey buddy, that statement is a bit ambiguous.
I told you, don’t get so emotional, okay?
Look, you’ve given me goosebumps.
Alright, alright, let’s not talk about this anymore.”
After a moment of silence, Ivan asked in a heavy tone, “Can you tell me about Antonov’s death?
I know he must be dead, otherwise, he would have already visited me, whether being carried or crawling over by himself.
Since he hasn’t come, he must be dead.”
Gao Yang glanced at Sergei again.
Sergei remained silent but helplessly shook his head and shrugged.
Gao Yang coughed lightly, unsure of what to say, when Ivan said softly, “Tell me.
I had already guessed it.
I know you’ve been keeping it from me and I understand why.
I can handle it now, so that’s why I’m asking you.
Besides, you had the clearest view, and I want to know the details of Antonov’s death.”
Gao Yang sighed and replied, “Okay, I’ll tell you.
You saw it all, didn’t you?
Antonov was hit by many bullets, um, he didn’t suffer any pain.”
After tactfully indicating that Antonov had died on the spot, Ivan looked disappointed and asked, “Did he leave any last words?”
“Sorry, no,” Gao Yang answered.
Ivan exhaled softly and inquired, “So, how many bullets hit Antonov?”
Gao Yang had not inspected Antonov’s body; he only knew it was riddled with bullets.
Bruce had checked just enough to confirm Antonov’s death but had not had the time to count the number of gunshot wounds.
Looking again towards Sergei, after Sergei sighed, he said in a grave tone, “He had fourteen bullet holes.”
(To be continued.
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