807: Chapter 798: Stop While You’re Ahead 807: Chapter 798: Stop While You’re Ahead Gao Yang had always considered his heart to be hard and his hand to be ruthless; indeed, calling him a prolific killer wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
But for some reason, seeing the Tuareg old man standing in waist-deep water, Gao Yang felt a kind of heartache.
An old man, his hair and beard almost completely white, was holding his fallen veil, trying hard to put it on his face with one hand, while the other hand paddled in the water, barely keeping himself from falling in.
Old Fox shivered and said, “Could you let me get onto dry land?
I don’t like water.
I don’t want to die in it.”
The feeling of a hero in his twilight years isn’t likely to be a pleasant one.
Perhaps Old Fox could hardly be called a hero, but he was an old soldier, and a very good one at that.
Even as an enemy, Gao Yang couldn’t help but maintain respect for Old Fox.
Gao Yang wasn’t necessarily a hero either, but that didn’t stop him from feeling a sense of camaraderie for the old soldier, the sort of sentiment that little people have, albeit they were just minor characters.
Gao Yang had intended to shoot Old Fox dead, but seeing the old man’s condition, he found it difficult to go through with it.
Of course, they were still enemies, but he could give Old Fox an honorable way to die.
After sighing, Gao Yang nodded and said in a deep voice, “You can come up, but what about the other person?”
The old man’s body was so shivery he could hardly move, and the place where Gao Yang had shot him, although not immediately fatal, made it impossible for him to move smoothly.
After taking two steps forward, Old Fox couldn’t keep himself upright, much less make it back to shore.
After stopping helplessly in the water, the old man shook his head and said, “Don’t worry, the war is over.
The other person, he has already left.
I let him go.
My eldest son’s death allowed us to leave the house, but since I couldn’t kill you, I let my younger son go.
Yes, the only one who was alive beside me was my youngest son.
He has left.”
Gao Yang remained silent for a moment, then said, “Among all the old men I’ve met, you are the toughest one.
As a Tuareg, you are remarkable, and although you are my enemy, I respect you.”
Old Fox sighed and said, “I hate you.
I really want to kill you because you killed all the people I brought out of the tribe.
Yes, I hate you to the bone.
But I also respect you.
You are young, but you are very capable.
I’ve been fighting for a while, and you are the toughest guy I’ve ever met.
So, I have to admit, as much as I hate you, I also admire you.
To die at your hands, I have no complaints.”
Gao Yang exhaled and said, “You are a respectable adversary.
I want to give you a dignified death.
So, tell me, what is your request?”
The old man smiled, muttered something in his native language that Gao Yang couldn’t understand, then tremblingly said, “It’s a saying from my homeland.
I can’t say it in English, but roughly, it means: ‘Don’t let a person die in the water.’ I come from the desert.
I cherish and like water, but I also fear it and certainly don’t want to die in it.
So please help me, get me to the shore.”
Gao Yang thought for a moment and said, “Okay, I can get you out of the water, and I can put the veil back on for you, but please, don’t try any tricks.
I think you know what the consequences would be.”
Old Fox bowed slightly to Gao Yang and said, “Thank you.
You really are a respectable opponent.”
Gao Yang turned to Kusto, who was beside him, and said, “Help me get him out of the water, be careful.
I think he probably won’t do anything, but we still need to be cautious.”
Kusto jumped into the water without another word, while Gao Yang raised his gun nervously.
If Old Fox tried anything, like suddenly pulling out a knife, he would shoot the old man’s head off at an even faster speed.
Old Fox was already very weak, and after being soaked in the water for so long, even if he wanted to do something before dying, he no longer had the strength.
After Old Fox was dragged ashore, he lay there on the ground, catching his breath contentedly, then said to Gao Yang, “I want to ask you for something.
I know you have the ability to follow someone’s trail and find them.
Please let my son go.
Let him leave and don’t chase after him.
You want the diamonds from here, and you have succeeded.
Please let him go, will you?”
Gao Yang crouched next to Old Fox, holding up his head with one hand, and carefully placed the veil back on Old Fox’s face.
With the wet veil covering his face, Old Fox’s voice was muffled, but he spoke with a pleasant tone, “Thank you very much.
This makes me feel much more comfortable.”
Gao Yang said solemnly, “The one who left, he is your son, isn’t he?
I don’t have time to chase after him.
If he doesn’t come back, there won’t be any issues.
But if he wants to become an Avenger, well, that’s not something I can control.”
Old Fox sighed and said, “No, he won’t come back.
He’ll take the money back to our tribe.
We hardly have any men left, and he should stay in the tribe.
Besides, we didn’t earn a small amount of money.
He has no need to be a mercenary anymore.”
Gao Yang thought for a moment and said, “Do you have anything else to say?”
Old Fox shook his head and said, “Except to thank you, there is nothing else.
Ah, I’m old.
I should have stayed in the tribe.
But I got used to a nomadic life.
I’ve fought for too long, long enough that war became my instinct.
Neither the tribe nor a home can hold me anymore.
I always knew that this day would come.
To die by the hands of a respectable enemy is better than being blown up by a landmine.”
Old Fox said he had nothing more to say but then said a lot more.
However, Gao Yang really didn’t mind letting an old man talk a bit more before he died.
After listening to Old Fox’s words, Gao Yang also felt quite moved and said, “As a mercenary, dying on the battlefield seems like the inevitable outcome.
From the first day as a mercenary, many people are destined for this fate.
Besides, as a mercenary, you have lived long enough.”
The Old Fox smiled and said, “I started fighting in wars with my father when I was fourteen, and now I am fifty-four years old.
I’ve lived for so many years on the battlefield; indeed, I’ve been rather lucky.”
Gao Yang shrugged and replied, “You’re only fifty-four?
By your appearance, I thought you were at least sixty-four.”
“Can’t help it, I age noticeably.”
“It’s indeed noticeable, but that’s normal.
The life of a mercenary does accelerate aging.”
“I’ve thought about it, and I do have one last request.”
“Go ahead.”
“Could you retrieve my rifle from the water for me?
I’m a man of the desert, and my gun is a gun of the desert too.
I don’t think it would want to rot in the water.
I’ve been using it since the start of my fighting days.
Could you place it beside me after I die?”
Gao nodded and said, “Yes, I can do that.
Also, do you need me to bury you?”
“Of course, being buried is always better than being eaten by bugs.
I’d be immensely grateful if you’re willing to bury me!”
Gao Yang said to Kusto, “Go into the water and fetch his gun.”
Kusto dived back into the water and after groping around for a while, he raised a mud-covered rifle.
He rinsed it in the water, removing the mud from the barrel before returning to the shore and handing the rifle to Gao Yang.
Gao Yang took the dripping old rifle, examined it briefly, and after ensuring the safety was on, he swung the gun to shake out most of the water before laying it across the Old Fox’s chest.
The Old Fox clasped his rifle and hugged it tightly to his chest, saying in a very contented voice, “That’s wonderful, I didn’t expect you to give it to me while I’m still alive.
Thank you.
Seeing as you’re so generous and also planning to bury me, I won’t curse you.
Though my hatred for you won’t be lessened by the slightest.”
Gao Yang pointed to the Old Fox’s rifle and asked, “You can’t seriously have been using the same rifle for forty years, can you?”
The Old Fox proudly said, “That’s right, forty years.
Apart from replacing the recoil spring, I’ve never had to repair anything else, and it has never let me down.”
Gao Yang frowned and asked, “The rifling must be gone by now, can it still shoot accurately?”
“The rifling is pretty much gone, it’s basically a smoothbore now.
The bullets start to stray past a hundred meters, but surprisingly, the power seems to have increased because I found that sometimes the bullets hit sideways, and whoever gets hit dies faster.
I haven’t been very good at hitting distant targets anyway, so not being able to shoot accurately at a long range doesn’t really matter to me.”
Gao Yang clicked his tongue and said, “Tough guy, you are.
It’s the first time I’ve heard of someone willing to use such a gun.”
“No choice, if war has become a habit for me, then fighting with this gun is my instinct.
You should understand.”
“Sure, I get it.
I probably won’t change my rifle in this lifetime either.
Luckily, my rifle is strong, very, very impressive.
It’s the pinnacle of gunsmithing art, a combination of the gunsmith and the highest technology.
I reckon even if I use it for decades, the accuracy of my gun won’t reduce.
Pretty impressive, right?”
“Oh, oh, I don’t really understand; I’m outdated.
I don’t know much about those high-tech gadgets people use now.
But your rifle does sound impressive.
You’re lucky to have such a good gun.
Mine used to be very good, too, with an accuracy that didn’t resemble an AK47, but like me, it’s gotten too old.”
“That’s true, guns and people alike age, but not to show off, my rifle might still be as good as new even when I’m too old to move.
By the way, my gun is called the ‘Blade of Satan.’ What’s yours?”
Gao Yang had initially planned to put the Old Fox out of his misery with a shot, but seeing how the Old Fox seemed to enjoy talking, he continued speaking with him as if chatting with an old friend.
However, the Old Fox was getting weaker and weaker, and he barely had the strength to talk.
“You’ve named your rifle?
I haven’t.
I never named mine.
Uh, looking at you and your style, I guess you’re a mercenary, too.”
“You guessed right, I’m a mercenary.”
The Old Fox nodded, took several deep breaths, closed his eyes, and upon opening them again, whispered, “I’m out of strength.
I think I’m about to die.
Please remember your promise to bury me, thank you.”
After speaking, the Old Fox hugged his rifle even tighter, swallowed his saliva, and closed his eyes to say faintly, “Quit while you’re ahead…”(To be continued.
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