778: Chapter 769: Mysteriously Appearing and Disappearing 778: Chapter 769: Mysteriously Appearing and Disappearing In the jungle, where visibility was severely limited, if someone was spotted, a large troop might need to shout a command to identify friend or foe.
However, as Gao Yang’s group only comprised three people, they would shoot on sight, regardless of who it was.
Accidentally killing someone was still better than getting killed themselves; this was the key tactic of mercenaries in jungle warfare.
Once Bantuna spotted someone, he didn’t hesitate and took the initiative to fire, gaining the upper hand.
After completely controlling the situation, Bantuna, silent and stealthy like a specter, crawled out again.
The darkness inherently provoked a strong sense of insecurity, and Gao Yang couldn’t help but start to worry about Bantuna.
Jungle warfare was already challenging, and fighting a night battle in the jungle without night vision equipment was a death sentence unless one was an expert.
Bantuna was not only an expert in jungle warfare but also had a natural gift; he had excellent ears and could pinpoint the enemy’s location by sound alone, truly like a radar.
Gao Yang couldn’t help but think of Lucica, nicknamed “Bat,” whose abilities were remarkably similar to Bantuna’s.
He wondered whose ears were more effective.
After waiting for about fifteen minutes, the sound of gunfire suddenly erupted less than thirty meters away from him.
The muzzle flashes were extremely brief, and Gao Yang estimated only two or three bullets had been fired.
Although Gao Yang’s hearing was not as sharp as Bantuna’s, he could still distinguish gun sounds.
The gunfire came from a small-caliber AK74, he was sure of it.
Bantuna must have hit his target, and after he fired, a voice farther away shouted, “Who is shooting, who!”
“It’s the enemy!
The enemy!”
Another voice sounded, indicating that there were still at least two enemies remaining.
Rustling footsteps followed from the area where the voices came from.
Bantuna threw his last grenade, and after it exploded, the footsteps immediately ceased.
Then Bantuna loudly said, “Kid, I know where you are.
If you don’t want to die, turn on your light and stand up, and maybe I’ll spare your life.
If you try to run or fight back, you can wait to be blown up by a grenade.”
After that, Bantuna fired a shot, adding, “Don’t think I’m bluffing.
I know your location, make your decision fast!”
Gao Yang felt emotional inside.
As a scout, Bantuna was truly supreme.
Even in such a situation, he was still thinking about capturing a prisoner; his professionalism and prowess were undeniable.
In the same environment, if it were Gao Yang, he would have had only two options: sneak away quietly or, if unable to escape, stay motionless and wait for daylight.
Bantuna’s ability to locate by sound and his elusive combat style were something he could never learn, not to mention capturing a prisoner, which was an even more challenging task.
The remaining person made no sound, and then Bantuna’s voice resonated from a new location.
“Kid, you can’t escape.
You better do as I say, or else I’ll catch you and cut off your hands and feet and leave you to die in the jungle.
Do you think I’m trying to scare you, huh?
Do you think I’m scaring you?
Just wait, kid, I’ll catch you.”
While Bantuna was talking, gunfire suddenly erupted in a continuous burst, directing a ceaseless barrage toward the location from which Bantuna had spoken.
Gao Yang’s heart jumped to his throat, but he still did not shoot; he felt it was better to leave the situation for Bantuna to handle.
When the last person ran out of bullets and was changing the magazine, Gao Yang heard a heavy thud followed by several muffled impacts on a body.
Soon after, Bantuna loudly said, “It’s done, come here.”
Gao Yang shouted, “Are you sure there’s no one else?”
Bantuna shouted back, “I’m sure.
This was the last one, but we should be careful.
There might be someone injured but not dead.
Come and watch him while I check around.”
Gao Yang stood up, hesitated for a moment, then turned on his headlamp and quickly ran toward Bantuna.
As expected, no one fired anymore, and upon reaching Bantuna’s side, Gao Yang saw that Bantuna had a black man pinned to the ground, his arms contorted behind him.
Seeing Gao Yang, Bantuna hurriedly said, “This guy’s passed out.
Watch him in case he wakes up.
I’m going to check around.”
Gao Yang nodded, aimed his gun at the prisoner on the ground, and Bantuna stood up and also turned on his headlamp, swiftly making a round around the vicinity.
After five gunshots, Bantuna loudly declared, “Alright, they’re all definitely dead now.
Now we can ask this guy what’s going on.”
Gao Yang increased the brightness of his light, scanned the surroundings, and then noticed a recently extinguished fire not far in front of him, along with two hammocks and several moisture-proof mats on the ground.
From the residues, it looked like a temporary campsite.
The prisoner on the ground was still unconscious, his clothes indiscernible, but seeing the rifle next to the prisoner, Gao Yang picked it up for a glance and found it was from the same batch as his rifle.
“It’s Captain Sadik’s men.”
After addressing Bantuna and Jansen, Gao Yang sighed and said, “That was close.
To think we stumbled upon a group of people sleeping here.
Radar, how did you find out there were people?”
Bantuna pointed to his ear and said, “I heard the sound of people breathing in their sleep, and there were quite a few of them.
Then I heard someone cocking a gun, and I knew we were discovered too.
It’s just that their sentinel was an old hand and didn’t wake his companions loudly; but he wasn’t as quick on the trigger as I was.”
Jansen, looking frightened, asked, “Then what?”
Bantuna shrugged and said, “Once I fired, they all woke up and then scattered.
These people react quickly, but they don’t know how to fight in the jungle.
I think that sentinel was experienced; he knew what to do, but he wasn’t as tough as me, so he died and I survived.”
After finishing, Bantuna said to Gao Yang, “Alright, wake him up.
Let’s quickly find out what’s going on and then leave.”
Gao Yang ran to where the enemy was sleeping, grabbed a water flask, twisted off the cap, and poured the water over the unconscious captive’s head.
As the captive twitched a few times and violently turned over upon waking, Gao Yang pressed his gun muzzle against his forehead and quietly ordered, “Don’t move.
Answer what I ask, or I’ll kill you.”
The captive lay back down, shielding his eyes from the light of Gao Yang’s headlamp, and remained silent.
Bantuna pulled out his large machete and said to the captive on the ground, “Left hand, right hand, left leg, right leg.
Which do you want me to chop first?”
After hearing Bantuna’s threat, the captive on the ground took a few breaths and asked, “Who are you?”
Bantuna placed the machete on the captive’s left foot and said fiercely, “Kid, we ask the questions here, not you.
Answer wrong again, and you can say goodbye to your left foot.”
Gao Yang whispered, “Are you one of Captain Sadik’s men?
Speak.”
After looking at Gao Yang, the captive uncertainly said, “Yes, that’s right, I am one of Captain Sadik’s men.”
The captive spoke, which was a good sign.
Gao Yang immediately asked, “Why are you here?
And where is Captain Sadik?”
After hesitating, the captive loudly said, “We were heading back to our garrison.
As it got dark, we just slept here.
Captain Sadik, he went somewhere else with some men, and I don’t know where he is.”
Gao Yang demanded sternly, “How many of you are there in total?”
“There are nine of us in this squad.”
“This squad?
So where are the other squads, say more specifically.
Where is your garrison, and what is the purpose of your presence here?”
After taking several deep breaths, the captive said solemnly, “We came here to find a few people; they had killed Captain Sadik’s men.
This squad was searching nearby; overall, there were four squads in the search.”
Gao Yang urgently asked, “What have you found?”
The captive spoke softly, “We found nothing.
Yesterday evening, the captain issued an order.
They found traces of the gunmen, and then Captain Sadik led men to hunt down those gunmen, while the rest of us, who were searching in other directions, could end our search and return to the garrison.”
Gao Yang quietly asked, “So did Captain Sadik and his men find the gunmen you were looking for?”
The captive shook his head and said, “I don’t know.
We just received orders to return to the garrison, and we don’t know if the captain has already eliminated those people.”
Gao Yang, becoming anxious, demanded sharply, “What do the people you are looking for look like, how many are there, speak quickly!”
The captive looked at Gao Yang again and whispered, “Like you, with red on their faces, four of them.”
Suppressing his inner turmoil, Gao Yang demanded harshly, “Why are you looking for them?
Explain more clearly.”
The captive whispered, “A few days ago, a soldier died near the sentry post, but no one knew how he died.
It looked like poisoning.
Then yesterday, early in the morning, near the sentry post, one of the two soldiers who left was struck in the neck by a poisoned arrow, and the other soldier was shot dead.
The one who was hit by the poisoned arrow died half a day later, but he saw the people who attacked them.
Captain Sadik immediately took men to pursue those four fleeing individuals.
Since those four ran fast, to ensure their capture, Captain Sadik led a squad in the main direction, and we had four small squads spread out on the flanks to search.”
Gao Yang, irascible, demanded, “Quick, where did Captain Sadik head in which direction, where is your garrison, and where is the sentry post located?”
The captive spoke gravely, “When we left, Captain Sadik was chasing in the southwest direction.
Our squad was chasing westward, but we were discovered.
Later, Captain Sadik suspected someone might target our garrison, instructing us to return.
However, it was too late when we returned; we could only spend the night in the forest.
Captain Sadik and his men had night vision devices, making it easier to chase down those four during the night.”
Hearing about the night vision devices, Gao Yang’s heart suddenly tightened.
(To be continued.
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