920: Chapter 910 A Very Bad Guess 920: Chapter 910 A Very Bad Guess To get the goods to Aleppo, Gao Yang had two routes to choose from.
Both routes required him to initially head south from Baghdad and then turn west, following Highway 1 passing through the dangerous towns of Fallujah and Ramadi before making a decision.
He had to choose whether to continue west on Highway 1 or turn northwest onto Highway 12, depending on what Gao Yang decided.
The straight-line distance between Baghdad and Aleppo was about one thousand kilometers, mostly through the desert.
Highway 12 followed the Euphrates River, maintaining a direct route to Aleppo alongside the river.
Moreover, traveling along the Euphrates provided towns along the way, making resupply convenient, but the downside was clear – more towns meant more people, and more people naturally meant more trouble.
If he continued west on Highway 1 past Ramadi, it would be a flat, open desert, definitely not worrying about encountering any armed organizations.
Taking Highway 1 meant making a big detour, adding about five hundred kilometers.
Including detours within Syria, the route could extend another thousand kilometers.
Additionally, it was impossible to resupply along the way, so if he chose this path, he needed to be prepared with sufficient fuel and drinking water.
The road conditions for both routes were not ideal, but Gao Yang ultimately chose Highway 1.
Choosing to make a detour rather than going straight for a simple reason – Gao Yang did not fear harsh natural environments or the possibility of attacks, but he was afraid of roadside bombs.
By traveling through the desert the entire way, he could minimize the risk of bombs.
Another important reason to choose Highway 1 was that route safety had to be considered not only within Iraq but also within Syria.
The Euphrates River was the lifeline of both Iraq and Syria, with the route stretching to just near Aleppo.
However, within Syria, the banks of the Euphrates housed dense towns where government forces and the Rebel Army were fiercely fighting.
To take the Euphrates route, at least half of the journey would have to pass through these battle-torn towns.
As for going west on Highway 1, even though it meant making a big detour, crossing the national border would be much easier.
Upon entering Syria’s territory, it was still largely uninhabited desert, and Gao Yang had multiple routing options to avoid combat zones, only needing to worry about encountering people once he got closer to the densely populated areas near Aleppo.
The route was already determined since Gao Yang was in charge of everything, thus there was no need to delay discussing the route anymore.
Gao Yang directly addressed the driver, “We’re going west, through the desert.
How’s the car, is there enough fuel?
Do we need to replenish any supplies?”
The driver hesitated for a moment, then nodded, “The car is fine, but it would be best to top up the water and fuel.”
Gao Yang thought for a moment and asked, “How far can the fuel last?”
The driver checked the fuel gauge and replied, “Two hundred kilometers shouldn’t be a problem.”
Gao Yang snapped his fingers and asked, “Good, what’s your name?”
“Mulafa.”
“Mulafa, you can call me Captain.
Do you have a walkie-talkie?
Set the frequency.
We’ll leave in five minutes.”
Gao Yang, reluctant to reveal even his nickname to these people who were not meant to have long-term interactions with him, adjusted the radio frequency after receiving the walkie-talkie from the driver, handed it back to him, then walked away with a wave above his head.
Gao Yang got into the sedan.
His driver, Eileen, whispered lowly, “All set?”
“Sorted, ready to depart.
First, head to the supply point in Ramadi; the truck needs to top up on fuel.”
Eileen started the car without another word.
As people dispersed and returned to their respective vehicles, Gao Yang spoke solemnly into the walkie-talkie, “Depart, head to the supply point in Ramadi.”
Before being kicked out of Grand Ivan’s massive arms enterprise, Polovich had been the biggest arms dealer in Western Asia.
A significant portion of his goods was transported from Iraq to Syria, so the route Gao Yang and his team were taking was actually one Polovich was familiar with.
If they needed supplies, Polovich naturally had reliable sources.
The so-called supply point wasn’t established by Polovich, but it served as a place to fuel up and replenish water, requiring only payment.
If Polovich could use it, then naturally, so could Gao Yang.
It was like a gas station, but one that Polovich knew well and had good relationships with.
The car started, with the armored all-terrain vehicle leading the way, carrying Jinfang, Frey, Cui Bo, Andy He, and Rafael – five people, primarily assault troops, paired with Cui Bo, a marksman.
This front car was the most flexible and prepared team, capable of assault or defense, and equipped for both close and long-range engagements.
Gao Yang and Eileen drove a sedan, one as an assault trooper and the other a marksman, making it easy to either push forward to support the lead car or fall back to support the trailing support vehicle.
The truck was in the middle, followed by a machine-gun mounted vehicle driven by Glolov, Bruce, and Lucica.
Their main task was to provide support.
At the rear were Jansen and Tommy’s mortar vehicle.
If they needed to utilize their firepower, it would take some time, and if they really encountered an attack, it was unlikely that the attackers would pass over the first four vehicles and specifically target the last one.
So, in case of an attack, they both would have to quickly get out of the vehicle, then Jansen would start by coordinating with Tommy to maximize the artillery fire, followed by Jansen using a drone for reconnaissance.
The five vehicles each maintained a distance of one hundred meters from each other.
Once on the highway, they proceeded at nearly fifty kilometers per hour.
It was mostly vehicle-free at night, but the road conditions were really bad.
Iraq was in dire need of rebuilding, but sadly no one was taking care of Iraq’s revival.
The pot-hole-riddled road occasionally had large bomb craters and purposely placed roadblocks that made fifty kilometers per hour seem quite fast.
Traveling along Highway One, the first significant danger was the inevitable passage through Fallujah.
The U.S.
Army had cleared Fallujah over and over again until their departure, yet they never fully gained control of Fallujah.
After the U.S.
forces left, the outcome was predictable; the official Iraqi government had long since handed over control of Fallujah.
Now, the Iraqis who dared to go to Fallujah were either terrorists or truly fearless warriors.
Taking a detour from Baghdad onto Highway One to Fallujah covered about one hundred kilometers.
With speeds varying, Gao Yang and his team approached Fallujah after about two hours.
“Boss, we’re nearing Fallujah.
I can already see the road signs, and there’s a clear increase in roadblocks.”
Satan’s internal communication was isolated from the people in the truck.
Upon hearing Frey’s report, Gao Yang immediately said, “Heighten alertness, prepare for combat, turn off the headlights, and move stealthily with night vision.”
“Understood, moving stealthily.”
After the other three vehicles indicated they understood one by one, Eileen pulled down the night vision device on her helmet, then turned off the headlights before she looked at the trucks behind them through the rearview mirror and said with a smile, “Boss, what about the trucks?”
Gao Yang replied solemnly, “Don’t worry about them.
It’s good if they serve as a target to draw fire.”
After a laugh, Eileen said, “Boss, you’ve learned some bad habits.”
Gao Yang shook his head with a smile, “I feel like I’ve become a bit bad too.
But Eileen, don’t you feel that the people following us from behind seem a bit off?”
Eileen shrugged and laughed, “Of course, they’re up to no good.
They were never on a good path, to begin with.”
Gao Yang said gravely, “I feel something’s fishy.
Well, now I’m almost certain that what we’re transporting isn’t cash.
Now, the question is back to where we were before we accepted this mission.
If it’s not cash, then what are we transporting that could be worth a 20 million USD commission?
What could a truck possibly carry that’s so valuable?”
Eileen furrowed her brows and said, “Boss, I think I have a bad suspicion, and it’s making me feel really uneasy.”
Gao Yang nodded and said, “Me too.
I haven’t had time to explain the details to you all, but the cargo was already hijacked once in Mahmaudiya, and yet, it was returned to us.
If what we’re transporting isn’t money, then the only thing I can think of is…”
Eileen looked solemn and said, “Biological or chemical weapons.”
Gao Yang sighed, “Exactly, it’s too easy to make that connection.”
After a moment of silence, Eileen suddenly said, “In the Middle East, Syria has a massive arsenal of chemical weapons.
Americans claimed Iraq had them too, but they never found them.
Another country with chemical arsenals is Saudi Arabia, and that big-bearded guy I was talking to is a Bedouin.”
The main ethnicity in Saudi Arabia is indeed the Bedouin.
Gao Yang sighed and said, “I know, so we need to discuss this matter carefully.
I plan to talk about this with everyone during the supply stop in Ramadi.
Also, now that we’ve taken over the cargo, if we want to find out what it really is, at least we don’t have to rely solely on guesses anymore.”
Eileen said in a grave tone, “We must find out, Boss, if we’ve transported a truckload of chemical weapons to Syria and handed it to the Rebel Army, oh God, I can’t imagine what will happen next.”
Gao Yang nodded silently and said, “We are mercenaries.
Mercenaries shouldn’t have a stance or leaning; that’s the principle.
But let that principle go to hell—we are mercenaries, but we are also human!
We cannot become executioners responsible for the slaughter of tens or even hundreds of thousands.”
Eileen somberly said, “Agreed.”
Gao Yang added solemnly, “Also, think about it.
If it really is some kind of biological weapon, and we handed it to the Rebel Army, imagine how much harm, how much disaster it would cause to the world.
Even if we won’t be plagued by conscience, we’re done for, completely finished.
Even Uriyangko and Polovich wouldn’t dare touch these things.
Trading in arms and trading in weapons of mass destruction are completely different things.”
After saying this, Gao Yang gestured with his hand and said gravely, “So, no matter what, we must find out what the cargo is.
If it’s what we suspect, terminate the mission immediately!
I’ll inform everyone later, and there’s no need for discussion.” (To be continued.
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