655: Chapter 648: The Rough Path 655: Chapter 648: The Rough Path In the past few days at Aleppo Prison, to avoid any trouble, Gao Yang’s satellite phone had always been turned off, making it impossible for others to contact him.
Worried that there might be an emergency with Uriyangko, even though it was late at night, Gao Yang immediately called him.
Actually, there was no particular urgency.
The reason Uriyangko sought Gao Yang was essentially because of Grand Ivan.
In Colombia, saving Ivan’s life meant that both Grand Ivan and Ivan owed Gao Yang a big favor, naturally, this also extended to the entire Satan Mercenary Corps at that time.
Now, Ivan was also in South Africa, staying by his uncle Grand Ivan’s side.
Since Ivan was seriously injured and couldn’t move around easily, and Grand Ivan couldn’t leave for various reasons, they couldn’t yet return the favor to Gao.
They had no choice but to wait for Gao to go to South Africa.
Originally, Gao had planned to make a trip to South Africa anyway, but then he consecutively took on two missions and didn’t have the time for a while.
Grand Ivan became anxious, and simply asked Uriyangko, who was very good friends with Gao, to entertain him and his team on his and Ivan’s behalf.
Gratitude, in the eyes of the heartless and fickle, is worth less than nothing.
There are countless instances where people have been killed by those whom they have saved, and the world is never short of those who repay kindness with enmity.
However, for most people, favors are meant to be repaid.
Even those who are not particularly known for their loyalty or sense of duty still keep in mind the need to return favors and repay kindness.
Morgan, who had a good personal relationship with Gao, in all honesty, was quite a bit out of Gao’s league.
So while Morgan did consider Gao a friend, not one of his numerous bodyguards or enforcers, he wouldn’t readily owe Gao a favor either.
Whatever help Gao provided, Morgan would immediately repay.
Gao had saved Morgan’s life, as well as Bob’s.
The incident with Bob could be dismissed, but unintentionally saving both Morgan and his son in South Sudan and then Morgan again in Libya certainly counted as lifesaving favors.
It was because of those two incidents that Morgan owed Gao a big favor to this day, unable to repay it unless he saved Gao’s life in return.
Since their encounter in South Sudan, whether it was saving Abdullah in Libya or Bob in Mexico, or the antique gun Gao had given to Morgan, Morgan would never speak of owing Gao a favor.
Even when Gao firmly refused money, Morgan would compensate with a farm, cars, or something of equal or greater value.
He simply could not owe Gao any favors.
For people like Morgan and Grand Ivan, problems that can be solved with money are not problems at all.
But owing a favor is not necessarily something that can be settled with money.
And now, Grand Ivan truly owed Gao a favor.
Of course, Ivan owed even more, so for Grand Ivan, paying off Gao’s favor with money would suffice, but for Ivan, it wasn’t so simple.
After all, saving Ivan had nearly cost Gao and his team their lives, and it was purely out of a difficult situation, not mixed with any profits.
Later, when Grand Ivan stepped in and specifically asked for Gao’s help in rescuing someone, the nature of the favor changed.
Therefore, the debt Grand Ivan owed Gao was not so significant, which could be repaid with money or some other things, but Ivan’s favor to repay was not as straightforward, definitely not something money could resolve.
So, Uriyangko didn’t need Gao for any urgent matters.
He just had to stand in for Grand Ivan to firstly take Gao and his team to a place to enjoy themselves for a couple of days, then accompany them to South Africa all together, giving Grand Ivan the opportunity to repay his favor.
The “good place” referred to was none other than Dubai.
After leaving Syria, Uriyangko planned to divert and pick up Gao and his entire team, bringing them to Dubai to have fun for a few days, and then from Dubai to South Africa.
Of course, all the expenses were covered by Grand Ivan.
Uriyangko had even booked the accommodation, specifically the world-renowned Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai, the only one that boasts seven stars.
After hanging up the phone, Gao Yang announced over the intercom that upon their departure from Syria, they would head directly to the United Arab Emirates, Dubai, and immediately a wave of jubilant cheers erupted at the prospect of the retreat.
The Burj Al Arab hotel, even the smallest and cheapest room costs $899 per night.
The question was, would Grand Ivan feel it proper to pick up Gao and his entire team, and then let them stay in the cheapest rooms?
Without a doubt, after arriving in Dubai, everything would be the most luxurious, most expensive, in short, the best of the best.
Not only were Gao and his team happy, but Uriyangko was also delighted.
He could take the opportunity to open his eyes along with Gao and his team.
Otherwise, with Uri’s own wealth, he couldn’t afford and certainly wouldn’t indulge in the extravagant pleasures of Dubai.
The route Gao and his team would take to leave was different from the one they came in on.
They needed to head north first, then after leaving the Rebel Army-controlled area around Aleppo Prison, they could head east, following the No.
60 Motorway, then switch to the No.
56 Motorway until they reached the Syrian-Turkish border, and finally arrive at Reyhanlı.
Only then would their journey be completed.
From Aleppo to Reyhanli, the journey wasn’t too far, a quick half-day’s travel sufficed, and even at a slower pace, one could still make it within a day.
The only problem was that most of the area east of Aleppo was still in the hands of government forces.
For Gao Yang and his team, moving around in rebel territory was somewhat better.
In areas controlled by government forces, they could encounter checkpoints and, being fully armed, there might be trouble.
However, Polovich assured them that even if they ran into a checkpoint, he could get them safely to Reyhanli.
As a major arms dealer, Polovich would have had no business continuing if he couldn’t clear a path, thus there wouldn’t be any major issues whether in rebel-controlled or government-controlled areas.
The greatest concern was the zones where the government forces and rebels were actively engaged in battle.
The government forces and the Rebel Army were fiercely engaged, with territories controlled by both sides entangled, making it difficult to distinguish between them.
A place or stretch of road might be under government control in the morning and change hands to the rebels by the afternoon; the reverse was also true.
No one could be certain to completely avoid the conflict zones; they could only take it one step at a time and rely on luck.
They set out at three in the morning, and if they moved quickly, they would reach Reyhanli by around ten o’clock.
Although the journey was relatively quiet, with hardly a few gunshots heard, everyone still maintained their vigilance, never daring to relax for even a moment.
The government forces and the Rebel Army were fighting intensely, with both sides frequently moving troops.
The government forces, though they would launch air and helicopter attacks on rebel convoys, generally would not attack vehicles that could not be identified as belonging to the rebels.
As for the rebels, what they were best at and most frequently used were road-implanted IEDs.
Therefore, Gao Yang and his company had to remain constantly alert, ready to stop or even retreat at the first sign of trouble, to avoid unwarranted misfortune.
The road conditions were quite poor, often requiring them to slow down or even stop to observe and ensure safety before proceeding, so by dawn, Gao Yang and his team had only covered a little over a hundred kilometers.
Their vehicle carried oil barrels, so they were not worried about running out of fuel, as they could refuel anytime; otherwise, it would have been a major issue, for one could not find any operating gas stations at this time of year.
After checking the GPS, they were nearing the intersection of No.
60 Motorway and No.
56 Motorway.
Gao raised his voice over the radio, “We’re approaching the turning point.
That’s an area of heightened focus for both sides in conflict.
Stay alert and be careful.
If there’s anything unusual, we’ll leave the motorway immediately.”
Five kilometers from the intersection of the two motorways, Gao Yang and his team were prepared for evacuation or combat.
At their planned retreat route, the intersection was arguably the most dangerous point.
With trepidation and careful progress, they approached the turn, but in the end, there was no incident.
They didn’t encounter a single person, and Gao Yang’s convoy smoothly transitioned from No.
60 Motorway onto No.
56 Motorway.
After passing the critical point and driving another five kilometers, Gao Yang finally allowed himself to relax.
The checkpoints and potential conflict zones with the government forces and the Rebel Army they had anticipated slipping past so easily gave Gao a moment to silently celebrate the smoothness of their journey.
With the tension easing slightly, although Gao still dared not sleep, he finally managed to chat a bit with Li Jinfang and Raja.
Keeping the nerves tightly wound was not always good.
“Brother Yang, once we get to Dubai, we’ve got some serious partying to do, and Grand Ivan is footing the bill.
Just thinking about it feels awesome.
But with Big Dog around, do you really think we can have a good time?
Haha, that’s the downside of having your father-in-law with you, Brother Yang.
I feel for you.”
Gao Yang was teased by Li Jinfang but didn’t mind it.
He flipped Li Jinfang the bird and then said with an air of relaxation, “Speaking of which, what’s there to do in Dubai, anyway?
I seriously have no clue.
We can’t just stay at the Dubai Sail Hotel for a couple of nights and call it a day, right?
Yeah, we’ve been under quite a bit of stress lately.
It’s about time to unwind.
I plan to go off-roading in the desert; other than that, I’m not sure what else there is.
We’ll find out when we get there.”
As they were conversing leisurely, Gao Yang suddenly noticed several trucks painted in a sandy yellow color approaching from the front, a standard camouflage of the Syrian Government Forces.
Upon seeing what appeared to be a convoy of Syrian Government Forces coming towards them, Gao Yang immediately felt a surge of intense apprehension, an extremely sharp apprehension.
Although he knew that stopping the vehicle would draw the government army’s attention and possibly lead to a checkpoint inspection, and even though he couldn’t pinpoint the source of his anxiety, Gao Yang roared desperately into the radio, “Everyone stop the cars!”
Li Jinfang slammed on the brakes, bringing the vehicle to a halt and then looked at Gao Yang, asking loudly, “What’s wrong?”
No sooner had Li Jinfang spoken when he felt the car he was in shudder.
The trucks that had been coming towards them had vanished from his sight, as they were now enveloped in thick smoke and dust.
Then, Li Jinfang heard a thunderous explosion.
(To be continued.
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