644: Chapter 637: Getting It Without Any Effort 644: Chapter 637: Getting It Without Any Effort The disorganized Rebel Army that occupied the territory was in chaos.
On the west side of Aleppo Prison, the besieging Rebel Army organizations had groups as large as four to five hundred people and as small as thirty to fifty.
In any case, the main force currently attacking Aleppo Prison was the Victory Front, but it was open for anyone who wanted to join, and there was no one managing them.
North of Aleppo Prison was a stretch of buildings now occupied by the Victory Front, while to the east and south lay vast farmland, entirely open terrain.
To the west, however, was a large residential area.
The houses in the residential area had all been seized by the Rebel Army, with the majority occupied by the Victory Front, and the rest by other scattered Rebel Army factions that had come to help.
However, Gao Yang and his “position” were located directly to the west of the prison, similarly on an open piece of land.
People surrounded the entire prison.
Tents had been pitched nearly one thousand five hundred to two thousand meters from the prison walls, and many others simply lived in their vehicles.
After driving around the prison, Gao Yang and his crew realized that they had nowhere to pitch their tents except in the farmland.
In the beginning, Gao Yang was worried that driving around near Aleppo Prison might be dangerous, but he soon found that there were many others doing the same, driving or walking.
Numerous Rebels were still arriving, like them looking for a place to settle.
Gao Yang was shocked.
Intelligence had indicated that the Rebel Army besieging Aleppo Prison had reached over four thousand strong, but after making a round, he conservatively estimated that he had seen over five thousand people, with more unseen.
Thus, the forces surrounding Aleppo Prison must have at least six or seven thousand members, and their numbers were still increasing.
Since the Rebel Army was continuously receiving reinforcements, Gao Yang was not in a hurry to settle down.
Instead, he kept driving around, taking a good look at the terrain.
After all, becoming familiar with the terrain was definitely beneficial.
Having surveyed the terrain surrounding Aleppo Prison thoroughly, Gao Yang decided to find a place to settle down on the west side before slowly looking for the headquarters of the Free Syrian.
Suddenly, he heard Cui Bo’s urgent voice through the walkie-talkie, “Brother Yang, stop the car.
Look, what’s coming from the north.”
From the north, many vehicles approached, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.
Gao Yang asked Raja to stop the car.
After waiting for a few minutes, Gao Yang saw that amidst the dust kicked up from the north, a convoy of tanks was driving their way.
Gao Yang and his men watched from the roadside as the tanks passed by.
In total, there were four tanks, all T-72s.
After the tanks had passed, Gao Yang said to Raja, “Let’s head west.
We need to speed up our progress.
The Rebel Army now has tanks, and there are more and more people—I’m worried Aleppo Prison won’t hold out much longer.”
Raja didn’t respond but drove the car straight into a man-made grove of small trees to the west of Aleppo Prison.
Gao Yang’s position was close to the residential area at the western corner of the prison.
Because it was close to the residential area, it was easier to resupply necessities, such as water, so the closer to the residential area, the more tents there were, scattered with many parked vehicles.
After randomly finding an open space to stop, Raja got out of the vehicle, slung an AK47 over his shoulder, and put a chest rig of ammunition around his neck, blending in indistinguishably with the nearby Rebels.
Gao Yang also got out of the car.
He carried his rifle on his back and held a shotgun in his hand, but his appearance and outfit made him stand out noticeably from the nearby crowd.
Once everyone was out of the car, they naturally formed a circle.
Gao Yang spoke softly, “The situation is complicated.
Everyone, stay alert.
Rabbit understands Arabic; you’ll come with me to scout.
Everyone else, keep an eye on our surroundings.”
While Gao Yang was speaking, he heard several people shouting loudly.
Turning his head, he saw a group of seven or eight people, thirty meters away, waving enthusiastically and walking toward them.
Cui Bo whispered, “They’re welcoming us; that seems to be the gist of it.”
Raja said in a low voice, “I’ll go over and handle this, and try to pick up some useful information in the process.”
Raja greeted the approaching group warmly and started chatting with them.
However, it seemed two of them weren’t interested in talking to Raja and headed straight toward Gao Yang and his group.
The leader, a man with a big beard, said something with a smile.
Before Cui Bo could translate, perhaps noting the blank expressions on Gao Yang’s group, the man switched to English and laughed, “Where are you guys from?
Europe?”
Gao Yang was taken aback and responded, “Europe, yes, that’s right.
We’ve just come from there.”
The man laughed loudly, “Welcome, my brothers and sisters.
I’m from the United Kingdom and have been here for three months now.”
Gao Yang put on a smile and said, “From the United Kingdom?
That’s great.
At least we have a brother we can communicate with.”
Big Beard waved his hand and chuckled, “It’s a problem when the language isn’t common, but since we’re here for the same reason, it doesn’t matter.
We’re all brothers.
As a forerunner, I welcome you.
My name is Hasan, I guess I’m the boss around here.”
Gao Yang hugged Hasan, and before he could speak, the enthusiastic Hasan pointed to a young man beside him, “This is my son; just call him Ali.
He’s a student at Cambridge University.”
Hasan looked proud, and Gao Yang, quite surprised, exclaimed, “A student from Cambridge University, wow, that’s a high achiever indeed.”
Gao Yang was genuinely surprised, not feigning it, that a student from Cambridge University would abandon his studies to fight in Syria, and even with his father at that.
It was indeed astonishing.
Ali held an AK-47, wearing a small cap, but just shyly smiled.
Hasan seemed very pleased with Gao Yang’s surprise, and after a chuckle, he pointed at the people behind Gao Yang and said, “You all look different, I think you must all be veterans, and good ones at that.”
Gao Yang smiled reservedly and then said without any modesty, “We have been through countless battles.”
Hasan’s eyes lit up and said, “Our cause needs skilled veterans like you, brother.
I plan to join the assault today, will you be joining us?”
Without any hesitation, Gao Yang said, “We will certainly join the battle, but not right now.
We have just arrived and need to familiarize ourselves with the situation before we can participate.
You know, we need to make our own judgment.”
Hasan laughed and said, “Alright, you are special, but we came the day before yesterday and are planning to fight today.
There’s going to be a major attack today, and I think that we will surely take the prison.
Brothers, don’t miss the opportunity.”
Gao Yang’s expression did not change as he said, “Oh, there’s going to be a major attack today?
Then, who is in charge?
Whose command should we follow?”
Hasan pointed to the building cluster to the north and said, “The loudspeakers will call to assemble when it’s time, after the prayer, it’s time to launch the attack.”
Gao Yang nodded and said with a smile, “Alright, we might join the offensive, depending on the situation.
So, who is gathering the forces for the attack?
I heard it was the Free Syrians.”
It was then that Ali suddenly said, “You are proficient soldiers, you should stay in the village; there should be a place for you.”
Ali’s response was off-topic, but Hasan expressed disdain, “Free Syrians?
Those locals are fools, they can’t get anything done.
The main players here are Victory Front.
The Free Syrians just shout behind the people of Victory Front.
Brother, it’s us foreigners who count in warfare.”
Gao Yang, feeling slightly embarrassed, touched his head and laughed, “It seems I was not quite informed.
So, who should we contact?”
Hasan eagerly said, “There’s no need to contact anyone, you can just move with us.”
But Ali shook his head and said, “Dad, it’s different for them, they’re elite and need to be deployed in key positions to play a crucial role, so it is the right choice to follow the organizer’s arrangement.”
Finally coming across someone sensible, Gao Yang immediately said, “You’re right, it’s still better to get in touch with the commander first.
So, where should we go?”
Without waiting for Hasan’s response, Ali pointed with the rifle toward the buildings to the north, “The command post of Victory Front is to the north of the prison, but if you want to join the battle, you need to go there first.
The elites are staying there, and commanders of Victory Front will be there picking people to form a strike team.
What I know is that there are a few Victory Front commanders in charge there, and it’s easy to find, a two-story building with the flag of Victory Front on the roof.”
After finishing, Ali shrugged his shoulders and then turned back, saying to Gao Yang, “It’s right next to the command post of the Free Syrians.”
Without much effort, one could stumble upon what they have long sought.
With a casual mention, Ali had told Gao Yang the location of the command post of the Free Syrians.
Suppressing the joy in his heart, Gao Yang smiled and said, “Thank you, we’ll go there, maybe someone will arrange some tasks for us.”
Ali nodded and said, “I am going to sacrifice myself today, I need to hurry and prepare, so I will not accompany you there.”
Gao Yang was instantly shocked, once he realized what Ali meant by sacrifice.
A promising student from Cambridge University, not continuing his studies, had traveled all the way to Syria, just to become human bomb.
Hasan was still smiling, looking very proud, while Ali had a calm face.
As for Gao Yang, the smile on his face had frozen.
Seeing Gao Yang a bit stunned, Raja quickly approached, exclaiming loudly, “Congratulations, young man, let’s reunite in paradise.”
Raja showed great respect to Ali.
Ali was nonchalant, while his father Hasan happily accepted Raja’s exaggerated congratulations.
When he looked at his son, there was nothing but pride on his face.
Gao Yang quickly adopted a respectful demeanor, but inwardly he couldn’t help thinking, “These crazy fools with sick minds, if they don’t value their own lives, fine, but they also damn well harm others.” (To be continued.
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