93: Chapter 92: The Kung Fu Enthusiast 93: Chapter 92: The Kung Fu Enthusiast Once they took off the unsightly sand-yellow camouflage uniforms, the journey ahead indeed became much smoother, at least not encountering any more fierce battles.
After a supremely harrowing start in Misrata, Gao Yang and his group endured a bland yet strenuous month, and left Misrata with a spine-chilling ending.
In addition to carrying more than three hundred thousand US dollars in cash, they also brought along items seized from the battlefield and valuable experience.
When they were completely out of the city, everyone could finally let their guard down.
Ali, weakened from excessive blood loss, called out to Gao Yang, managed a weary smile, and whispered, “Buddy, you saved all our lives.
Now, it’s time to follow the rules and show our gratitude.
I have over twenty thousand US dollars here, I…”
“Hold on, you saved me and my friend in Benghazi.
How much did you charge?”
Gao Yang interrupted Ali, who hesitated for a moment before responding, “It’s not the same, it wasn’t as dangerous as it is here in Benghazi.
It’s different.”
Gao Yang waved his hand impatiently and said, “Alright, I think we are friends, so can we not talk about money?
Where do you plan to go?
Do you have a reliable route out?
Also, you must get medical attention right away.
Can you find a doctor?
If not, I think I might be able to help you find someone to try.”
Ali was taken aback and then smiled again, “Thank you, but there’s no need to trouble you further.
We can find reliable doctors, and someone to take us out.
We are all planning to go to Zimbabwe.
We’ve put some money together, enough to buy a farm there.
Once we purchase a farm in Zimbabwe, we’ll bring our families over from Somalia.
As soon as we leave Somalia, we can start living a stable and happy life.”
Gao Yang shook Ali’s hand and patted his shoulder, laughing, “Congratulations, when you’ve bought the farm remember to give us a call.
We could visit and go fishing or hunting.”
Ali and his comrades all laughed, especially Ali, who beamed brightly, loudly saying, “Of course that’s no problem.
You’ll receive the best hospitality.
Brother, can I have your number?
As soon as our farm is up and running, I’ll give you a call.”
After Gao Yang jotted down a number for Ali, he casually asked, “I’m a bit curious and want to ask, how much is your commission?
How much have you saved?
Er, sorry, if it’s inconvenient, you don’t have to answer.”
Ali grinned proudly, “We hit a good time; here in Misrata, it’s eight hundred US dollars a day.”
The amount Ali and his comrades received was the lowest, but for them, eight hundred dollars a day was already good cause for joy.
Watching the cheerful Ali, Glolov stepped forward, patted his shoulder, and smiled, “You’ll be alright.
I hope your farm gets up and running soon.
And remember to send our regards to your family.”
Ali’s face dimmed slightly, “I’ve got no family left, but I can get married, have a bunch of kids, then I’ll have a family again, right?
So, I’ll pass on your regards to them, though it could be many years later.
Alright, brother, I won’t keep you any longer.
I’ve got to find someone to get us out of here quickly, especially since I need to find a doctor for surgery.
Whether or not it’s useful, I still want to keep this leg of mine, haha.”
Waving goodbye to Gao Yang, Ali had two men slowly drive him away.
Watching Ali’s retreating figure, Glolov spoke after a long while, “He’s very lucky.”
Gao Yang was astonished, “Please, he just lost a leg, alright?”
Glolov sighed deeply, “He’s lost a leg, but he’s alive.
As a mercenary, to be able to exit the battlefield like this and still have some money left to make life less difficult, he’s really quite fortunate.
You must know that not many mercenaries make it back home alive, let alone with some money saved.”
Gao Yang shrugged, “You have a point, but I firmly believe that all of us will make it back home alive, and we’ll have a decent amount of money.
After all, I’ve nowhere to spend money right now.
Besides, we all have families.
I’m even planning to give my parents the best life possible.”
Glolov chuckled, “Having something to hold onto keeps you from losing yourself.
Home, that’s our strength.
With a home, we won’t become mindless zombies who only know how to kill and spend money lavishly upon getting it.”
Gao Yang nodded, “Exactly, having a home gives us hope and goals.
At least we know who we are fighting for.
Alright, where to now?
I want to hear your opinions.
Shall we go to Tripoli to rest for a few days and then continue fighting, or should we go back to South Africa for a good rest first?”
When it came to these matters, Cui Bo was always indifferent, while Li Jinfang followed Gao Yang’s lead.
After the two showed they were leaving it up to Gao Yang to decide, he looked towards Glolov for input.
Glolov hesitated a little and said, “Remember my friend?
He started using drugs because of the heavy pressure, and then drugs destroyed him.
He was my best brother, but he still stole the money I sent home because of his addiction.
Although the current situation is good, I think we should take a proper rest.”
Gao Yang also felt drained after a month, and their equipment needed replenishing.
Apart from everything else, the bulletproof vests that had saved him, Cui Bo, and Glolov were now so damaged they were unusable.
Gao Yang always felt uneasy without a bulletproof vest.
“Alright, we’re heading back to South Africa right away to get some good rest, and we’ve also got to work on our weaknesses while we have the chance.
I plan to practice close combat fighting, Rabbit, you can finally work on your shooting, Toad, you get the chance to get used to foreign weapons, since you’re still not quite comfortable with them.
Old Russian, er, you don’t really need to practice anything, you can go enjoy yourself with your wife.”
Now Li Jinfang and Cui Bo could speak English, although not fluently, and they couldn’t write, but they could understand basic conversations quite well.
To help them master English quickly, Gao Yang would speak in English now.
He only explained in translation when they didn’t understand, but when calling names, Gao Yang habitually spoke in Chinese.
After Gao Yang finished speaking cheerfully, Glolov repeated the three Chinese characters for “Old Russian” in a strange accent and asked in confusion, “Are you referring to me when you say ‘Old Russian’?
What does ‘Old Russian’ mean?
Is it Chinese for ‘Big Dog’?”
Gao Yang said with a grin, “Old Russian is just Old Russian, it has nothing to do with Big Dog, stop asking, why all the questions?
All you Russians are Old Russians.
Alright, brothers, let’s move out!”
When Gao Yang cheerfully announced it was time to move out, Cui Bo shrugged and asked, “How are we moving out?
Where to?”
Gao Yang naturally turned his gaze to Glolov, who shrugged and said, “You should have Vampire’s number, right?
Uriyangko, I reminded you to keep his number, I bet that guy is definitely around here.”
Gao Yang took out the satellite phone, tried to turn it on, but before he could dial, the phone automatically turned off.
Misrata had long been without power, and for the past month, there had been nowhere to charge his satellite phone.
Seeing Gao Yang’s expression, Glolov nodded and said, “No worries, if we can’t get through by phone, we can try contacting him by radio.
He has a powerful radio repeater station and offers relay signals for free.
Oh, I forgot to tell you that.
Moreover, Uriyangko has equipment to search for signals.
We just need to switch our walkie-talkies to his frequency.
He wouldn’t pass up any opportunity to do business.”
Although the satellite phone’s battery was dead, Gao Yang and his team’s walkie-talkies had power.
The Libyan government forces provided supplies to the mercenaries, including batteries.
Though the battery quality was poor, Gao Yang and his team at least had batteries to use.
After adjusting his walkie-talkie frequency, Glolov shouted, “Hey, Vampire, big business coming your way!
If you can locate electromagnetic signals, you better get here fast.”
After releasing the transmit button on his walkie-talkie, Uriyangko’s voice immediately came through.
“I’ll be there soon.”
Although Uriyangko said he would be there soon, he didn’t literally mean ‘right away’, but it only took him fifteen minutes to appear before Gao Yang and his team.
Uriyangko arrived with four vans, two off-road vehicles, a minibus, and most surprisingly, an ambulance marked with a red cross.
A huge convoy duly rolled up in front of Gao Yang and his team.
After Uriyangko got out of an off-road vehicle, still looking spick and span, he opened his arms from a distance, first giving Glolov a big hug and then naturally hugging Gao Yang without caring that he would dirty his designer suit from their filthy bodies.
However, when Uriyangko hugged Cui Bo, he involuntarily wrinkled his nose several times, then looked slightly embarrassed.
Cui Bo sniffed himself a few times and looked innocently at Uriyangko, speaking English with a few grammatical errors, “Do I smell bad?
I shouldn’t, right?
I used two pots of water to wash my butt, the smell shouldn’t linger, right?
Why don’t you take another whiff?”
“No, no, not smelly, not at all, you’re mistaken, misunderstood.”
Uriyangko chuckled awkwardly, looking a bit flustered and hastening forward to grab Li Jinfang’s hand, vigorously shaking it while saying, “Ah ha, let me guess, you must be the Frog who took down eight members of the Scimitar Mercenary Corps, right?
Wow, that’s amazing, Kung Fu, Huaxia Kung Fu, ha!
Yo!
Yo!
Ah da!”
After Uriyangko made a few kung fu noises, Li Jinfang firmly shook his hand and said, “My name is Toad, not Frog, it’s Toad!
Although a toad is a frog, and a frog is a toad, you got to call me Toad.”
Uriyangko nodded repeatedly, “Hama, hama, not Frog.
Hey, do you know?
You are my idol, I admire Bruce Lee the most, and Jack Chen is also impressive.
Now I have another hero to admire, you!
You’re all the same, Huaxia Kung Fu, my god!
I’ve finally met a real-life kung fu master.
Can you teach me a couple of moves, please?
I’m willing to pay!
Mister, please show me some moves!”