861: Chapter 851: Bosom Friend 861: Chapter 851: Bosom Friend Gao Yang and his team had their own parachutes, military chutes from the Israeli Paratrooper Corps, three types suited for different situations, which Wolfgang had personally helped to acquire before they left.
Although they had to pay for them, it was still a steal because brand-new military chutes were hard to come by.
Especially the parachutes used by Special Forces, which need to meet the requirements of high-altitude low-opening or low-altitude low-opening jumps, are much stronger than the standard chutes used by regular Airborne Troops.
Everyone folded their own parachute; if someone didn’t successfully deploy their chute in the air and ended up crashing to their death, it was their own fault.
Gao Yang spent several hours unfolding and repacking the originally well-folded chutes, taking no chances.
Unfortunately, Bruce and his team were unable to check and pack their chutes themselves, due to lack of time, so they had to rely on others to do it for them.
As the team leader, Gao Yang had to take responsibility, so after packing his own chute, he also had to supervise others who were packing chutes for Bruce and the rest of the team, fearing the slightest mistake.
Once the parachute preparations were complete, Bruce and the others disembarked from the plane.
By then, ten hours had passed since Gao Yang had agreed to take on the mission from Friend of Nature.
Without delay, Gao Yang and his entire team headed straight to a cargo airport in the southern part of New York, where Friend of Nature was already waiting for them upon arrival.
On the tarmac stood a Federal Express cargo plane, an Airbus A300-600R, with a maximum range of 7,500 kilometers when fully loaded, enough to transport Gao Yang and his team to Brazil.
Little Donnie drove a fully enclosed box truck, also with Federal Express livery.
As the vehicles carrying Gao Yang and his team pulled up, Little Donnie parked the truck right behind the cargo plane’s open loading bay and began to load large packages onto the plane, one after another.
As Gao got out of the vehicle, a young man who was standing on the tarmac approached him, the very same Friend of Nature he had met once before.
Friend of Nature handed Gao a stack of documents and said solemnly, “Here’s what you asked for.
We’ll fly directly to Manaus, and then there, we’ll switch to a smaller plane.”
Flying directly over the Amazon Rainforest from America and jumping straight out of the cargo hold would be the fastest method, of course, but unfortunately, no plane could fly that far.
More precisely, Friend of Nature couldn’t possibly find such a large aircraft.
The distance from New York to Manaus in Brazil was about as far as from the East Coast to the West Coast of the U.S.
A C130’s range certainly wasn’t adequate.
If they wanted to fly directly from America and then immediately parachute out, they would need a C17 Globemaster transport plane of that caliber, and obviously, Friend of Nature, despite their wealth, could not secure a Globemaster.
Using a commercial aircraft was too time-consuming, besides, it couldn’t carry weapons and equipment.
Therefore, the quickest option for Friend of Nature was to find a courier cargo flight direct to Manaus and then perform an airdrop using a smaller aircraft.
Friend of Nature was very handsome, and a bright young man, but right now, he seemed anxious and edgy all over.
After taking the hefty stack of documents, Gao frowned and said to Friend of Nature, “Did you just say ‘we’?”
Friend of Nature urgently replied, “Yes, ‘we.’ I’m going with you.”
Looking puzzled, Gao retorted, “Sorry, we’re not used to playing nanny.”
“Please, I’m just coming along; I’m not jumping with you.
I won’t be in the way; please!”
“Alright, get on the plane.”
Gao walked into the tail compartment of the cargo plane and sat down on the makeshift seats against the wall.
He then asked gravely, “This plane doesn’t have any problems, does it?”
In a soft voice, Friend of Nature responded, “It has a pressurization system and heating, no problems at all.”
Typically, large commercial or cargo planes cruise around an altitude of ten thousand meters in the stratosphere, where the temperature is low and air pressure is also low.
Without a pressurization system, the altitude sickness alone could be fatal.
Even though modern aircraft are very well-sealed and do not depressurize, without heating, the freezing temperatures would be unbearable.
Once Gao and his team were all inside the cabin, the tail door was immediately closed, and the plane began to taxi and take off without a second of delay.
A single light was left on in the cabin for Gao and his team.
When the plane reached a stable altitude and the ride became smooth, Gao took down a bound set of documents and handed the rest to Glolov beside him, whispering, “Pass these around, one for each person.”
There were twelve copies of the same document, so that each of the dozen men didn’t have to crowd around a single file.
Knowing oneself as well as the enemy leads to victory in every battle.
Gao needed to understand the capabilities of the people he would soon be fighting alongside.
When he opened the document folder, he found that Friend of Nature had provided comprehensive information, including names and photos as well as a brief summary of their abilities.
Name: Huan
Gender: Male
Age: 38
Nickname: Jackal
Summary: Grew up in the rainforest.
Global Forestry destroyed the rainforest in which he lived, forcing him to leave the woods.
Later involved with criminal organizations.
Jungle Warfare Specialist with no special combat skills.
His intimate knowledge of the rainforest makes him the central commander for this mission.
Weapon of choice: AK74U.
Name: Nxau
Gender: Male
Age: 31
Nickname: Cheetah
Summary: None.
(Deceased).
Name: Mulu Apfebaum
Gender: Male
Age: 32
Nickname: Snake-Eating Mongoose
Bio: A Bedouin, excellent sniper, an expert in desert operations, not adept in jungle warfare, carries the M21 weapon.
Name: Brut Hinkson
Gender: Male
Age: 36
Nickname: Chainsaw
Bio: Former member of the U.S.
Army Green Berets, fire assault specialist, not adept in jungle warfare, carries the M4 weapon (ammunition is insufficient, 140 rounds remaining at the time of contact).
Name: Luca Schmi
Gender: Male
Age: 41
Nickname: Gas Can (Bulldozer)
Bio: Northern European, former special forces operative, mechanic enthusiast.
Serves as the heavy weapons and demolitions specialist on this mission, skilled with using and destroying various machines, extremely familiar with polar forest warfare, not familiar with rainforest combat, carries the M249 Paratrooper machine gun, ample ammunition, and sufficient C4 for clearing landing zones.
Name: Vladimir Poletoha
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Nickname: Electric Fish Stunning Machine
Bio: Ukrainian, former Frogman Corps member, familiar with underwater operations, extremely knowledgeable about boats, not familiar with rainforest combat, carries an AK74 weapon.
After quickly reviewing the briefings, Gao Yang looked up and asked, “Why is there information on only six people?”
Friend of Nature replied in a deep voice, “The others are dead, or at least they are presumed dead.
In fact, when I was in contact with them, Cheetah had already been seriously injured.
By the time I printed out the information, he had died, so there’s no data on him.
That is to say, now there are only five people left.”
Gao Yang nodded and said solemnly, “That’s unfortunate.
I hope we can bring them all back.”
After speaking, Gao Yang waved his hand and said, “I notice your men are quite skilled; even if they are not familiar with jungle warfare, they shouldn’t have suffered such a heavy blow.
Do you have any information on the enemy?”
Friend of Nature clenched his fist and said gravely, “Not at the moment, but Justin is actively searching for it.
Perhaps by the time we land, we will know who we are up against.”
Gao Yang looked back at the dossiers of his soon-to-be comrades-in-arms; these men seemed to have quite a reputation.
Like the person nicknamed ‘Chainsaw,’ who was a fire assault specialist from the former American Green Beret forces—with such a background, no further introduction was necessary.
Gao knew what a Green Beret fire assault specialist was capable of.
All in all, this person must be strong, and the fact that even he couldn’t put up a fight against the outnumbered Iron Madonna Squad and could not even manage to retreat, said a lot about their situation.
Gao Yang flipped through the materials a bit more, then put them down and asked Friend of Nature, “There’s no detailed account of their engagement in here.
Can you give me a brief rundown?”
Friend of Nature sighed and answered, “I don’t know much myself, as there wasn’t time to explain.
Every call was extremely tense, both in terms of time and the situations they were facing.
All I understand is that they encountered an ambush while attacking a large logging site near a river, then they immediately tried to retreat, but they couldn’t shake off the enemy.
They didn’t even have a chance to rest, because as soon as they stopped, they would be attacked.
This has been going on for twenty-eight hours since they were ambushed.”
Gao Yang frowned and called out loudly to Lucica, “Bat, do you have any thoughts?”
Lucica responded with a serious tone, “Experts, they’re all experts.
The enemy is toying with them.
The fact that Iron Madonna can keep up with them shows that they’ve taken control of the situation.
In the rainforest, the ability to closely follow the enemy while concealing one’s presence indicates a group of highly skilled individuals.”
Gao looked at Friend of Nature and asked, “What about that Huan?
He’s also an expert in jungle warfare.
Can’t he do anything?”
Friend of Nature shook his head and said, “No, the only thing he can do now is lead the remaining people in their escape.
He tried to ambush the enemy twice, but it was completely ineffective.”
Lucica interjected, “When both sides are jungle warfare experts, an ambush is almost impossible.
Huan’s decision is correct.
Leading a group that isn’t familiar with the jungle, the best choice is to escape as quickly as possible.
With his leadership, the others’ marching speed in the rainforest won’t be too slow, but fighting is out of the question.
Marching and fighting in the jungle are two different things.”
Gao Yang nodded and ordered, “Understood.
Everyone, the communication frequency of our allies has been provided in the material.
Now change the radio frequency, take note of what needs to be remembered, and then hand back the materials and get some rest.”
After giving the orders, Gao Yang adjusted his walkie-talkie to the same frequency as Friend of Nature’s people, then without saying more, he focused on the materials, making sure he remembered everything that needed to be memorized.
The materials contained many secrets that could not be leaked, so it was best to return them after use.
Once Gao Yang was sure he had memorized everything important, he handed the materials back to Friend of Nature, then closed his eyes and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
(To be continued.
If you like this work, you are welcome to go to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes.
Your support is my greatest motivation.
Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)