766: Chapter 757: Let’s Get to Work 766: Chapter 757: Let’s Get to Work The journey was only 80 kilometers as the crow flies.
By plane, even a slow one, it would take a maximum of half an hour to reach the destination, but by car, the same 80 kilometers could turn into a 200-kilometer journey.
With no roads and occasional treks through the forest, it took Gao Yang and his group six hours to cover just half the distance after departing in the morning.
Riding off-road was exhausting, and finally unable to bear it any longer, they stopped the car to eat and rest.
As soon as the car stopped, Jansen grabbed his AKM and said to Gao Yang, “I need to clean my gun.
Do you have any gun oil?”
Gao Yang shook his head, “No.”
Jansen, looking distressed, said, “What should we do?
This gun is too dirty, and it’s impossible to clean it thoroughly without gun oil.
I don’t want to use a rifle that might explode on me at any moment.
No, I can’t accept this.
This is really testing my nerve.”
Gun oil is highly corrosive, and trying to use something like lubricant in place of gun oil just wouldn’t work.
After firing, the gun barrel would be left with residue from the propellant.
If you’ve shot a lot of bullets, it’s hard to remove the propellant residue with just a cloth.
Gun oil needs to seep into the residue to potentially clean it thoroughly.
Therefore, in more regular forces, gun cleaning is taken very seriously, and the more precise American and European guns, like the M16, M4, and HK series, need even more frequent cleaning.
Otherwise, a slight impact on accuracy is the least of the worries; the real danger is a barrel explosion.
While Gao Yang and Jansen were at a loss, Bantuna quietly took out a small bottle from his pocket and said, “Use it sparingly.”
Jansen, overjoyed, said, “I was just asking casually.
I really didn’t expect you to actually carry it with you.”
Bantuna, expressionless, said, “In Africa, if someone gives you a rifle, you’d better check it before firing, unless you want to risk blowing your eyes out or worse.
I carry gun oil with me so that when I have to use a found rifle, I can clean it first before using it.”
Gao Yang also smiled and said, “My experience is that no one cleans their guns in Africa.
The reason AKs are popular here is simply that they tolerate dirt better.
Whether it’s regular armies or not, they seem to lack the habit of cleaning their guns.
The Americans have also supplied many AR Gun Family weapons here, but those guns didn’t last long before their barrels exploded, which explains why you don’t see them.”
Bantuna added, “So while others carry spare guns, I choose to carry a bottle of gun oil.
AK rifles are everywhere, but gun oil is hard to find, and I don’t want to use an AK that has never been cleaned.”
Gao Yang fully understood and appreciated Jansen’s attitude towards his weapon.
Careful maintenance and upkeep of a rifle meant for battle was the mark of a true warrior.
Gao Yang was happy to give Jansen enough time to clean his gun.
After disassembling his AKM completely down to the parts, Jansen applied gun oil to each component that needed cleaning, then they began to eat, which also meant they could start cleaning.
To save time, Gao Yang and Bantuna helped Jansen clean the gun, but a well-used gun that had never been cleaned not only made them marvel at why it hadn’t exploded yet, but also tested their patience.
Together, the three of them spent an hour just cleaning the gun because the residue was too thick and stubborn, and it had to be coated with gun oil and left to soak before being vigorously wiped repeatedly to remove the propellant residue.
It was like trying to clean someone who hadn’t bathed in twenty years; you couldn’t expect ten minutes with soap to do the job.
After an hour, the three men used up an entire bottle of gun oil, and Jansen’s folding-stock AKM was still not perfectly clean, but it was acceptable.
Not only did they need to clean the gun, but they also had to check the magazines.
Holding a magazine, Jansen said, “I’m not very familiar with AK rifles.
Could you check the quality of this magazine for me?”
After examining eight magazines, Bantuna immediately discarded two of them, saying, “I never use this type of magazine.
They are very unreliable when feeding.”
The ones Bantuna discarded were two plastic magazines.
Over time, plastic magazines do become unreliable, whereas steel magazines are much more dependable.
However, this is only true if they are well-made.
There are many places that can manufacture AK rifles and magazines, even small workshops can produce them, leading to a proliferation of counterfeit products.
Thus, if you’re going to use an AK rifle, you must be able to distinguish between genuine and fake.
After reviewing several magazines that turned out to be fairly decent, not the kind that you could crush with your hand, Gao Yang still reminded Jansen, “Unload the bullets from the magazine to see how many there are.
It’s best to load only twenty-five bullets into an AK magazine; if it’s full, it might feed improperly.
Who knows how many years these magazines have been used.”
After unloading the magazines and testing their spring tension, Jansen discarded another magazine that had almost no elasticity left, leaving him with only five usable magazines.
After inspecting each bullet individually, throwing aside those with no markings, those marked in Arabic, and those that were rusted, Jansen was left with only two hundred usable bullets.
Watching at least half of the bullets being discarded, Jansen helplessly said, “Well, I thought the AK rifle was the best rifle on this planet, but now it seems that’s not the case.”
Bantuna disdainfully said, “Kid, this is Africa.
To use an AK well in this godforsaken place, you have a lot to learn.”
Gao Yang also laughed and said, “The AK is indeed easy to use, but you need eyes that can discern the real from the fake.
If you come across AKs made in family workshops, or encounter some bullets that always fail to fire, you must be able to sort these out, or else you’ll suffer.
In a word, to use a good AK, you need experience, especially here in Africa.
Alright, assemble the guns; we need to get going.”
After Jansen had packed up his rifle, Gao Yang and the others set off again.
Cleaning the rifles had taken quite some time, but Gao Yang felt it was very worthwhile, he didn’t want the guns of his comrades to malfunction during combat, besides, cleaning the guns was also a resting process for him.
As they proceeded, Gao Yang and his team quickened their pace slightly, as there were fewer forests they must pass through, and more savannahs that allowed for faster progress.
Even if they needed to deviate from their path, the distance required to circumvent obstacles had also reduced significantly.
At nearly four in the afternoon, Jansen, holding the GPS, loudly said, “We are less than six kilometers away from the marked outpost, we should get off the vehicle now.”
The GPS marked an outpost that Gao Yang had discovered during an aerial search.
After driving into a forest, they found a spot with dense vegetation to get out, moved their equipment out of the vehicle, and then pushed the car into a bush.
They then covered it with branches to camouflage it.
After marking the hiding spot of the vehicle on the GPS, watching Jansen fiddling with a box, Gao Yang sternly asked, “What are you planning to bring?”
Jansen pulled out a remote control, a quadcopter drone, a tiny-looking camera, and a device the size of a palm, resembling a phone, then solemnly said, “With these, we can carry out minimal aerial reconnaissance.
The maximum distance can reach three thousand meters.
If it’s in the dense forest, it can reach up to one thousand meters.
Beyond that would exceed the controllable range.
It would be great if we could get a military reconnaissance drone; under ideal conditions, the reconnaissance distance could reach up to ten kilometers.”
Gao Yang didn’t understand much about drones.
Although the equipment Jansen produced looked like toys, these gadgets could play a crucial role at times, especially for Tommy, who could conduct non-contact firing without needing direct visual observation if he had drone support.
After packing the flight reconnaissance equipment into a specially made backpack, Jansen carried his flight equipment and also took a photography bag containing a borrowed infrared camera.
With these items, Jansen appeared somewhat encumbered in his movements.
After making all preparations, Gao Yang checked his watch and said, “We still have plenty of time.
Let’s hurry and conduct reconnaissance.
If the person I’m looking for isn’t nearby, we can still make it back before dark.”
After finishing, Gao Yang looked at Bantuna and said, “Scout, let’s move out.”
Bantuna held his rifle in hand and pulled the bolt to chamber a round.
Gao Yang’s habit was to cock his rifle only after seeing the enemy, so seeing Bantuna’s action, he was quite puzzled and said, “Is it necessary to chamber a round so early?
Be careful of accidental discharge.”
Bantuna shook his head and said, “In the jungle, always be ready to fire at a moment’s notice.
That’s my principle.”
After Bantuna spoke, he started moving forward, and Gao Yang, after thinking for a moment, also chambered a round in his 1911 pistol.
In the jungle, it indeed was better to be prepared to fire in advance.
Bantuna moved quickly, and Gao Yang could follow easily, but Jansen was slightly struggling.
He was carrying a lot, and he wasn’t quite used to moving at a marching pace in the jungle, but Jansen still managed to keep up, though with difficulty, he wasn’t left behind by Gao Yang and Bantuna.
The progress was very smooth, and as they got closer to the outpost, Bantuna gradually slowed down.
Finally, as the trees became sparser, Bantuna stopped, raised a fist towards Gao Yang, and then said to Gao Yang, “I see that outpost.”
Gao Yang walked up to Bantuna’s side; they had reached the edge of the forest.
Moving forward a bit further, there was a meadow, and following the direction Bantuna pointed, they could already see a wooden hut between the trees.
Gao Yang moved forward a few steps, found a spot with a broader view, raised his binoculars, and after observing for a moment, he spoke in a deep voice, “There are people outside, they all have guns, and they seem very tense.
This might be a signal.
I need to look around here to see if I can find any trace of the person I’m looking for.
So, let’s get to work.” (To be continued.
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