74: Chapter 73: Must be the Elite 74: Chapter 73: Must be the Elite South Africa is one of the major countries in the world that exports mercenaries.
The famous South African EO Company was once the largest legal mercenary company in the world.
Although the EO Company had disbanded in 1999, its parent company still exists.
Therefore, EO merely fragmented from one large company into several smaller ones, with no reduction in the services offered.
The Global Defense Service Company is one of the smaller firms that spun off after the EO Company disbanded.
The company has its mercenaries, but as times are tough for mercenaries now, Global Defense Service Company also provides services to other mercenary groups and free mercenaries, such as logistics and transportation.
As long as you are willing to pay, they can get you to anywhere in the world.
Africa can be said to be the backyard of Global Defense Service Company, and South Africa is like its private grounds.
If Gao Yang and his team were in another country, they might have to wait a few days, but in South Africa, Global Defense Service Company could send them to Libya in minutes, as they have their own planes.
Good service often comes with a high price.
The travel expenses for the four of them amounted to eight thousand US dollars.
Fortunately, Cui Bo had not touched the money he carried, which allowed Gao Yang and his team to travel to Libya as quickly as possible instead of wasting time on the road.
Gao Yang and his team’s destination was Tripoli, so they flew to Tunisia and then took a car from the Tunisian border to Tripoli.
If they had chosen to work for the opposition, they would have flown to Egypt and traveled from Egypt to Benghazi.
Including Gao Yang and his team, a total of forty-six people were sent to Tripoli by the Global Defense Service Company.
Apart from two who were free mercenaries like Gao Yang and his team, the remaining forty were part of a small mercenary group from several countries.
They just finished their previous engagement and hurried to Libya to make their fortune.
After arriving in Tripoli, instead of joining the other mercenaries and heading straight to the barracks, Gao Yang and the others first sought out Abdul since both Gao Yang and Cui Bo’s guns were still with him.
Although Gaddafi provided weapons to the mercenaries, with top-quality firearms available, they certainly weren’t going to settle for junk.
Upon meeting Gao Yang once again, Abdul was noticeably surprised.
After shaking hands with Gao Yang, Abdul said with astonishment, “Why did you come back?
I thought we’d never see each other again, and yet here we are meeting so soon.
It seems like it has been less than half a month since you left, hasn’t it?”
Gao Yang forced a smile and said, “There was a problem, and we had to come.
We four have now become Gaddafi’s men.
If my guns are still here, I’d like to pick up my stuff and head straight into battle.”
Abdul shrugged and responded, “While I don’t think being a mercenary is a good job, you’re an adult and, of course, can make your own decision.
Alright, all your things are still here, nothing is missing.
Also, let me tell you some good news: Gaddafi is now offering a very high price.
If you’re going to be a mercenary, then you’ve come at the right time.”
Gao Yang laughed and mentioned, “I know.
Isn’t it now up to a thousand US dollars a day?”
Abdul laughed heartily and said, “That was the price the day before yesterday.
Now, the lowest-level mercenary gets a thousand dollars a day.
As far as I know, most mercenaries have now joined the 32nd Brigade under Hamis’s command, but with NATO starting to bomb, many mercenaries have chosen to leave.
So, the current thousand dollars is the offer for the lowest-level mercenary.
However, a good mercenary now gets at least sixteen hundred dollars a day.
Listen to this: at least.
A Colombian sniper is getting four thousand dollars a day, and if their record is very good, it can even go up to ten thousand dollars a day.”
Gao Yang was stunned.
After exchanging a glance with Glolov, they both exclaimed in unison, “Amazing.”
Abdul shook his head and cautioned, “Don’t be too optimistic.
Remember, your enemies are not just the opposition.
The French Foreign Legion and the Airborne Troops have come, the British SAS has arrived; all these come as whole units.
There are also elite forces from other countries, both overt and covert, supporting the opposition, and the opposition forces have a fair number of mercenaries too.
If it wasn’t like this, why do you think Gaddafi would offer such a high price?”
Gao Yang shook his head and replied, “No matter who the opponent is, we have no way out at this point.”
Abdul shrugged and said, “Seems like you’ve made up your minds.
Good luck to you, and by the way, Gaddafi is about to attack Misrata, so you better hurry up if you want to join this operation.
Also, I’d advise you not to blend in with other mercenaries in large formations.
You should strive to become an elite squad.
It’s not just about the money.”
Gao Yang didn’t quite grasp the significance of Abdul’s words and frowned, “What’s the difference?”
Abdul chuckled and explained, “Well, as mercenaries, you’ll be under the command of officers from the former 32nd Brigade.
If you’re not afraid of risking your life under the command of an idiot, then you can be part of a large mixed force.”
Not understanding the implications, but Glolov, being an experienced mercenary, was all too aware.
Frowning, he asked, “What’s going on?
How can mercenaries accept commands from unfamiliar commanders?”
Abdul replied with a laugh, “You have to understand, there are now over twenty thousand mercenaries in Libya, and more continue to come.
No one can disperse so many people and deploy them individually onto the battlefield.
Thus, Gaddafi’s choice is to incorporate them under his son Hamis’s command in the 32nd Brigade.
I think his choice isn’t wrong, but the problem is that his officers are really not that great.
Nonetheless, fortunately, Hamis is aware of this, so he allows some elite mercenaries to operate independently, giving them the freedom to choose their own way of fighting, as long as they achieve the desired results.”
Glolov nodded and told Gao Yang, “Looks like we’ll have to buy our weapons.
I originally thought our funds were too tight and planned to get by with government-issued weapons.
However, for the sake of our lives and in order to earn more money, we need to wield the best weapons.”
As for Glolov’s suggestion, Gao Yang had no objections.
His weapons were already top-notch, both his M1A and M1911 being of the highest quality, and Cui Bo’s M700 and SIG P226 were also decent.
Thus, what Gao Yang and his group needed to consider was finding some good gear for Glolov and Li Jinfang, not the kind of firearms and ammunition with Arabic markings that Glolov had mentioned before, which were so bad they needed to be thrown away.