788: 779th chapter Blood 788: 779th chapter Blood Using local resources, Gao Yang could obtain inexhaustible and highly effective camouflage materials in the jungle, but he couldn’t just stick them directly onto his body as it would lack the three-dimensional effect needed for optimal camouflage.
He also needed something that could serve as a frame.
Vines could serve as a frame, just like the mesh used in making ghillie suits.
By securing leaves and moss and such onto the vines, Gao Yang could drape his makeshift camouflage suit over himself like a real ghillie suit, and although it was made in an emergency, the camouflage effect was not bad at all, even better, in fact.
The jungle was not short of vines, but Gao Yang did not want to wait any longer.
Any encounter meant he had to gather more while the enemy was still not too close, and so he took his folding knife from his belt.
Gao Yang preferred straight knives, especially small ones with a dragon bone handle, because they were the most reliable type of knife.
However, for convenience, he still had to carry a folding knife, and it was the type of blade he didn’t like, with the front half being a straight blade and the back half a serrated one.
The serrated blade wasn’t good for carving, but it was the best for cutting things such as ropes; there was nothing better than a serrated blade for that, and of course, for vines as well.
Gao Yang opened his folding knife with one hand and was about to cut a very thin vine, when he first took the gun in his right hand and used the butt to sweep the ground.
Once bitten by a snake, one fears the well rope for a decade.
Gao Yang, having been bitten by a venomous snake once, would not make the same mistake again.
The cool, damp corners next to dead trees are spots snakes and various venomous insects incredibly favor, and by habitually clearing the leaves and twigs on the ground with the butt of his gun, Gao Yang found no signs of snakes or any poisonous insects.
However, as he was putting down his gun to cut the vine, Gao Yang, who had turned his head to the side, noticed there were no snakes in the area he had swept with his gun butt, but there was a large snake just over a meter from where he stood.
While Gao Yang feared a snake’s ambush, he wasn’t afraid of snakes; after three years on the grasslands, he had even taken a liking to eating them.
After a quick look, he realized the snake beside him was not venomous but an African ball python.
When threatened, an African ball python coils up into a ball, hence the name.
They are non-venomous and quite docile, common in the forest.
Among the python family, it is considered a dwarf, the longest one ever found being less than two meters, while the one Gao Yang saw was at least 1.5 meters long.
Although not long, the python was quite thick, and upon noticing Gao Yang, it immediately coiled itself into a large ball.
Seeing it was a ball python, and knowing there were no other snakes nearby, Gao Yang actually felt relieved.
Ball pythons are quite docile and wouldn’t attack him.
So, Gao Yang quickly cut off a vine, coiled it up quickly after withdrawing it, and then picked a slightly thicker but longer vine, cut it, and coiled it around himself.
Having cut two vines, Gao Yang was planning to prepare a couple more while he had the time, but while searching for suitable vines, he noticed that the ball python, which had coiled into a ball, had loosened its body and was trying to sneak away.
Gao Yang initially didn’t plan to trouble the ball python, but watching it attempting to escape, he impulsively ran up behind it, grabbed the tail of the python, shook and slammed it, and the substantial weight of the python immediately immobilized it.
Gao Yang had eaten plenty of snakes in the Akuri tribe, mostly African rock pythons that lived on the grasslands.
He hadn’t eaten ball pythons before, but his technique for grabbing snakes was the same.
Of course, one should always pick the softer persimmon to squeeze, and Gao Yang had no pressure grabbing non-venomous snakes, but grabbing poisonous, especially highly venomous snakes, would really make his liver tremble.
This time, Gao Yang wasn’t catching the snake for eating; he had another clever use in mind.
The ball python was not dead, but also unable to move, so Gao Yang took out some duct tape and wrapped it several times around the python’s mouth, then tied the snake’s head and tail together before hanging it around his neck along with the vines.
Having already delayed quite a bit, Gao Yang did not dare linger any longer.
After a brief observation, hearing no enemy movements, he determined his direction, and after surveying the route, he quickly ran toward his chosen direction.
Although he couldn’t see anyone, Gao Yang didn’t dare to run straight up with his head up; he still ran in a zigzag pattern while crouching low, and just a few steps out from the fallen tree, he heard a gunshot, and after ducking down, saw a bullet hole on the trunk of a nearby tree.
After a scream, Gao Yang fell to the ground,
During the combat, using tactical movements had become an instinct for Gao Yang, and this good habit had saved his life.
If he hadn’t suddenly turned, those bullets would have definitely hit him.
Gao Yang was not injured; the screaming and falling were just a trick.
The enemy wasn’t very close; they had just spotted him and fired hurriedly, giving Gao Yang enough time to set a trap for them.
Lying on the ground, Gao Yang took out his folding knife again and, after opening it, he swiftly slashed twice at the ball python hanging from his body.
Gao Yang withdrew the knife and waited until the blood flowed from the python’s wounds, forming a pool on the ground.
Then, he quickly crawled forward.
After crawling rapidly for about ten or more meters, he immediately got up and continued to sprint.
Gao Yang lifted the snake slightly so that its blood would fall on the ground, not on him.
Now, with the snake’s blood marking the trail, the pursuers could easily follow him without him having to risk staying in one place and firing shots to keep the enemy’s attention.
Without worrying about the enemy losing track, Gao Yang ran the distance of a thousand meters in one go.
When he noticed the wounds on the python were no longer bleeding much, he immediately stopped and took off the vines from his body.
He then began swiftly crafting a more perfected camouflage suit.
Gao had shown enough deterrent power, making his enemies aware that he was a skilled marksman.
Moreover, the illusion he displayed was that of being injured, not of having surrendered his life.
The Tuareg People, searching for an opponent who might be too weak to escape and might have stopped to fight to the death, would not rush.
They only needed to follow the blood trail slowly, which was exactly what Gao Yang needed.
If his pursuers had been raw recruits, Gao would not have been so certain.
But knowing there were cunning veterans among his enemies allowed him to play this trick.
Gao Yang looked around and immediately began collecting branches and large leaves that didn’t have distinct features or colors.
He then adjusted the branches and leaves as needed to achieve the desired effect.
Gao spent seven minutes tying various colored and shaped leaves with tape to two vine ropes.
He didn’t have time to attach the newly formed camouflage suit to himself.
After carefully covering his tracks and creating the impression of an injured person resting briefly, Gao used his knife to cut a new spot on the python.
Once the blood flowed again, he resumed his escape.
The ball python wasn’t large, and its blood was limited.
Gao felt he needed to quickly find a point to conclude his trap.
Upon hurriedly reaching a relatively open area suitable for setting up an ambush, Gao stopped.
He made several cuts on the python, squeezed out almost all the remaining blood onto the ground, then carried the snake forward for about forty meters.
When no more blood could be squeezed from the python, Gao hang it back around his neck.
Holding his gun in one hand and the cumbersome vine in the other, he ran back to the spot where he had left the puddle of blood.
After setting up his ambush point and seeing that no one had arrived yet, Gao wrapped a vine with leaves around one leg, went around his waist, and then wrapped it around the other leg, securing it carefully.
He then wrapped the longer vine around his upper body, adjusting and securing it periodically, until he heard voices.
That’s when he quickly tied a knot in the vine and crouched behind a bush.
Although not in its complete form—since that would require someone else’s help for adjustments and a dedicated position to achieve a flawless effect—Gao’s camouflage was good enough that even if someone walked past him, they wouldn’t immediately notice him.
Of course, it wasn’t yet to the point of being completely undetectable if someone stared intently, but it was sufficient for now.
After crouching, Gao used the tape he had prepared to stick to his gun.
Soon, it also became hard to detect.
But there was a big problem; using leaves as the primary camouflage and moss as a secondary to adjust the color meant that Gao could no longer aim precisely.
He had to rely on his instincts to shoot.
Raising his gun, the muzzle hidden behind a leaf and unseen, Gao began to wait.
Seeing the blood on the ground, the pursuers, convinced Gao was injured, relaxed significantly and approached leisurely.
Four black men clustered together; the leading Tuareg People numbered five but were well-spread, maintaining a cautious search pattern as they slowly approached.
Behind them, another eleven or twelve Tuareg People, also spread out, followed at a slow pace.
One of the black men in the lead, spotting the large puddle of blood, excitedly shouted out.
He yelled in English, “A lot of blood!
He rested here again, he’s out of strength, that bastard is dead for sure!” (To be continued.
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