859: Chapter 849: I Can 859: Chapter 849: I Can Glolov expressed his views and the opinions he had formed after making inquiries.
No one thought the Iron Madonna was a big issue, even though she was indeed formidable; these matters were not for them to ponder.
It was Gao Yang who had to judge and decide whether Satan Mercenary Corps should take the risk.
That meant the final decision lay in Gao Yang’s hands, and Gao opted to take on the business.
He didn’t wait for two hours, only half an hour had passed when Gao Yang called Justin back.
Once Justin answered the call, Gao Yang immediately said, “We’ll take the job.
Now tell me the time and place.”
“The sooner, the better!
Get to Brazil, Manaus, as quickly as possible, take a boat from Manaus and head up the Rio Negro River to meet the Friend of Nature group.
I’ll send you the exact satellite coordinates.”
After a moment’s thought, Gao Yang asked, “Are we to make our own way to Brazil, or is the employer arranging it?”
“Sort it out yourselves.”
Gao Yang replied with a serious tone, “Alright, understood.
From America to Brazil and then to Manaus, that will take some time.
I guarantee we’ll arrive within seventy-two hours, provided the Friend of Nature group can hold out until then.
Also, you know the rules—transfer seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars to Little Donnie’s account first.
Once we receive the money, we’ll set off, and if there’s any leak, we’ll be coming for you.
Agreed?”
“Agreed, the money will be in the account soon.
I’ll let Friend of Nature know about this.
Stay in touch and goodbye.”
After hanging up the call and sighing, Gao Yang then called Little Donnie to start getting ready, followed by a call to Glolov to notify everyone.
Having made the decision, Gao Yang left the bathroom and walked back to the side of the bed, where Yelena opened her eyes, looking groggily at him and murmured, “Dear, what are you doing?”
Gao Yang had thought he could rest for a few days, but to his surprise, he had to leave again as soon as he arrived.
Most crucially, he did not know how to tell Yelena he was leaving again.
Seeing Gao Yang with a phone in his hand and an apologetic smile, Yelena immediately sat up, looking anxious and asked, “You’re leaving again?”
Gao Yang gently nodded and replied, “I’m sorry, dear, I think I really have to leave.”
Yelena looked visibly disappointed and anxious, but though she opened her mouth, she did not speak to stop Gao Yang.
Instead, she got out of bed and hugged him tightly.
After holding Gao Yang for a long time, Yelena finally whispered, “When do you leave?”
Gao Yang replied softly, “As soon as Bruce and the others get here from Seattle.”
Bruce lived in Seattle, and flying from the West Coast to the East Coast would take at least several hours.
Gao Yang had intended to leave immediately to start preparations, but after speaking, he gently kissed Yelena and added, “We still have a few more hours.”
Gao Yang was afraid Yelena would try to stop him from leaving or start crying, but his fears did not materialize.
Yelena did not want Gao Yang to leave, especially since his leaving meant that he was going off to fight, but she knew she couldn’t make him retire now.
Crying incessantly would only worsen his mood, and if she had to cry, Yelena would not let Gao Yang see it.
“Be very careful, pay attention to safety, and remember what I’ve told you.”
After gently advising Gao Yang, he held Yelena and returned to the bed.
Since there was still a bit of time, it wouldn’t go to waste.
Precious moments were rare, and being interrupted could be infuriating.
Suddenly the phone rang again.
Gao Yang didn’t want to answer, but as the phone continued ringing over and over, he reluctantly jumped out of bed to answer.
Realizing it was Justin calling again, he angrily said, “You better have a good reason for calling again and again!”
“There is a reason, but it’s not a good one.
Ram, you must reach the battlefield within twenty-four hours.”
Gao Yang replied, not amused, “Are you joking?
I’m in New York, not Rio de Janeiro!
Getting near the jungle around Manaus in twenty-four hours?
You think that’s possible?”
Justin urgently said, “I know it’s tough, but there’s no choice.
If it’s any later, not one person will survive.”
Gao Yang replied helplessly and unhappily, “Then there’s nothing I can do.
I need time to gather people and then get to Brazil.
Twenty-four hours isn’t enough, buddy!
Sorry, but I really can’t take this mission.”
Justin replied gravely, “Don’t worry about the plane; I’ve arranged it!
I can get you a direct flight from America to Brazil with no stops in between, straight to Manaus.”
Gao Yang sighed, “The first time we met was in the rainforest, right?
You know what a hellish place the rainforest is.
Alright, if you can get us to Manaus, I admit that’s not a problem.
But from Manaus, we need to take a boat and then trek to meet the people we need to rescue.
How long do you think that will take?”
Justin fell silent for a moment, then said gravely, “Direct flights to Manaus, and after arriving, switch to a seaplane.
Meanwhile, get the Friend of Nature people as close to the river as possible, alright?”
“Of course!
But my only requirement is that you arrange the itinerary because if there’s any issue that prevents us from arriving on time, the responsibility will be yours.”
Justin sighed and said, “I know it’s difficult, practically impossible, but there have been some problems.
Friend of Nature is really desperate now.
They’ve made their demands, and I have to find a way to meet them.
But I’m just a middleman, I really can’t agree to your condition.
How about this, we raise the price to 20 million USD, and extend the time to thirty hours, pay on arrival!
But if we don’t make it on time and fail the mission, well, you know.”
Gao Yang said coldly, “Unless you’re planning to shoot me in the head, there’s no way I can accept that condition.”
Justin sighed, “Then there’s nothing I can do.
The original agreement is off, and I have to think of other methods.
Ram, it’s not that I’m breaking my promise, but Friend of Nature can’t wait any longer.
They’ve already lost two people, their situation is precarious; there is just no way to wait any longer.”
Gao Yang said gravely, “I understand, no worries, we’ll collaborate another time.”
After hanging up the phone, Yelena looked absolutely thrilled and cautiously said, “So you don’t have to go?”
Gao Yang nodded and smiled, “Yes, the mission’s cancelled; I don’t have to go.”
“Ah!”
Following a sharp scream, Yelena threw herself onto Gao Yang, excitedly saying, “That’s fantastic!
Can you come to see my performance?
It’s an internal school show, I have a solo part, oh, and I got a scholarship!
A full scholarship, I want to buy some gifts for you and dad, and I also want to buy some clothes for you, and and, I haven’t been to Broadway since I came to New York, I want to go with you.
I’ve booked two tickets for ‘Cats’, do you like operas?
If you don’t, I can exchange them for movie tickets.”
Watching the overjoyed Yelena, Gao Yang laughed and said, “I like it, I like everything, you got a scholarship?
That’s great, alright, I’ll look forward to your presents.
What day are the tickets for?
I wasn’t sure if I liked operas before, but as long as you like them, I’ll like them too, so we can see as many as you want.”
Gao Yang wasn’t upset about losing a business deal; Justin had given too tight a schedule, it was almost impossible to arrive on time unless he agreed to drop in by air.
Actually, with the right plane, Gao Yang and his team could make it on time to the battlefield.
Having just completed parachute training, Gao Yang seemed he should seize the chance to put his new skill to use, but the problem was the landing zone was the rainforest, the Amazon Rainforest in fact.
The rainforest is one of the most dangerous landing zones, it could also be said that tropical rainforests are simply no-go zones for parachuting.
20 million USD for a very small mercenary group was undoubtedly a princely sum, but Gao Yang was unwilling to take it on because it wasn’t worth it.
Put it this way, even if not fighting the Iron Madonna, just the risk of parachuting into the rainforest would be worth 20 million USD.
The perils of parachuting come mainly from the landing site and weather conditions.
How difficult and dangerous it is to parachute over a rainforest is something unknown to those who don’t know, but to those who do, daring to parachute there is definitely a life-risking decision.
The weather conditions over the rainforest are so variable and fundamentally unpredictable.
That’s the tropical rainforest for you, encountering air turbulence is perfectly normal.
There are no clearings in the rainforest, unless it’s over water, getting caught-up in trees is almost unavoidable once you parachute down.
What would happen if you got caught in a tree?
The trees in the Amazon aren’t just ten or eight meters tall; they are at least several tens of meters, with some growing up to a hundred meters.
If you get caught in the canopy of a hundred-meter-tall tree, how do you get down?
If you’re not caught, but your parachute rips, then, well, get ready to fall to your death from hundreds of meters, not just a few or a dozen meters.”
Therefore, Gao Yang wouldn’t consider parachuting into the Amazon Rainforest, no matter how much money was offered.
Just as Gao Yang was about to call Glolov to inform him that this operation was cancelled too, the phone rang again.
The phone rang, and Gao Yang saw it was an unfamiliar number.
Meanwhile, Yelena watched him pick up the phone, but it was as if she sensed something, her hands covering her mouth and her eyes wide open, tension written all over her face as she watched Gao Yang handle the phone.
Gao Yang answered the call and said gravely, “Hello, this is Gao Yang.”
“I’m from Friend of Nature.”
“Oh, hello.”
“Ram, Justin should have told you everything by now.
Now I want to know, do you have any way to get to a certain spot in the Amazon Rainforest quickly?
Any method will do, as long as you have a way, I’m begging you to tell me, yes, I’m begging.”
Gao Yang hesitated for a moment, then said gravely, “There is a way.
If you want to get to a specific spot in the Amazon Rainforest quickly, the only option is to parachute in, the only way.
And we, the Satan Mercenary Corps, have the capability for global rapid deployment, meaning we can parachute in.” (To be continued.
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