Chapter 20 Strength

Gao Yang had quickly taught the chieftain and his three companions how to use guns. The AK47 rifle had this advantage: it was simple and easy to learn.

As the rifle most favored by extreme illiterates worldwide, the AK47 thrived in Africa. Here, where the concept of maintenance was alien and rifles suffered under the sun and rain, even rusted to the point where only the shape of the gun was discernible, the AK47 was still functional. Gifting it to the Akuri tribe was most appropriate.

Gao Yang first shot and killed a large antelope as a demonstration. The antelope, similar to the one snatched by a leopard but slightly smaller in size, was identified by Professor Buck as a waterbuck and not a rare animal.

Gao Yang didn't care whether the animal he shot was rare, but Professor Buck certainly did.

Gao Yang taught the chieftain and the others how to shoot, hands-on. Soon, within a range of forty to fifty meters, the chieftain and his men could accurately hit vital areas on the dead antelope. However, Gao Yang spent over two hours teaching them how to clean the gun, how to preserve the elasticity of the spring in the magazine, and everything else pertaining to maintaining the AK47.

In less than three hours, Gao Yang had taught several extreme illiterates to handle the AK47 proficiently. The time he used was about the global average. If Gao Yang had been irresponsible, only teaching them how to shoot and reload, the time could have been reduced to under five minutes.

After training the chieftain and his men to use firearms, Gao Yang's group finally started their mission. Morgan and his son took one vehicle, while Gao Yang, Professor Buck, and their party of five took another, heading towards Malakal.

Gao Yang had actually thought about having Professor Buck and the Morgans operate separately, but with only the Morgans having a GPS, no one else could find the road to Malakal. Besides, even if Professor Buck and his team operated alone, they could still be attacked. Thus, everyone decided to travel together in the end.

Since they were using two vehicles, Gao Yang handed the walkie-talkie Professor Buck had given him to Morgan and his son. This way, the two cars could stay in contact while on the move. Of course, they changed frequencies, not fearing any eavesdropping.

From the GPS, Gao Yang saw they were 150 kilometers from Malakal in a straight line. However, the cars could not travel in a straight line, so Gao Yang estimated they would reach Malakal at the earliest after dark, praying they wouldn't encounter any attacks on the way.

Initially, things went smoothly, although they had to navigate around some obstacles. The vehicles were generally heading straight towards Malakal. After traveling for over thirty kilometers, the news Gao Yang least wanted to hear arrived.

"I know why they've been able to find us. Look up."

Bob shouted hoarsely over the walkie-talkie. Gao Yang looked up and saw a small plane constantly performing S-shaped maneuvers in the sky, its clear purpose being reconnaissance.

After cursing under his breath, Gao Yang yelled at Daniel who was driving, "Speed up, we've been spotted; there's a plane above us."

After spotting the two vehicles on the ground, the small plane above Gao Yang kept circling in the sky, staying right above them and refusing to leave. Gao Yang was fuming, but with the plane high above, he could only watch in anger, helpless to do anything.

Soon after, Morgan's voice came through the walkie-talkie, "Gao Yang, my people have sent word. The Dinka Tribe will send someone to guide us into Malakal. As long as we join them, we'll be safe. Until then, we're on our own."

"Understood, but how do we shake off the plane above? If it keeps following us, I'm afraid we'll be caught before we reach Malakal."

"My father fought in the Korean War, so I've always held Huaxia soldiers in high esteem. You are very good at creating miracles with poor equipment. I'm eager to know if you have a way to deal with this."

"I don't have a way. I can't shoot down a plane with a rifle. And you got something wrong? I'm not a soldier; I've never served in the military."

"You're not a soldier? From your actions last night, I always thought you were a battle-hardened elite soldier."

Gao Yang laughed, "Sorry, I've fought many battles, but only in wargames. I'm just a military enthusiast, not a soldier, much less an elite. So, I can't give you a satisfactory and professional answer."

"Wow, your performance was too amazing. It's hard to believe you're just a military enthusiast. Let me guess, you're a Huaxia special agent? Just kidding, let's think of another way."

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There was a brief silence on the walkie-talkie, and after about ten minutes, Morgan's voice came through again, "Some good news, I finally found out who attacked us. The attackers include members from the Nuer people of the Sudan People's Liberation Front, but they are not much of a threat. The biggest threat to us is from a mercenary group called Vulture, which has about fifty members and is very active in Central Africa."

"Mr. Morgan, what's the use of knowing who attacked us?"

"It's useful, let me finish. The Vulture Mercenary Group was founded by a guy nicknamed Vulture. His style is just like his nickname. If the prey loses its ability to fight back, he will swoop in, but if the prey is still alive, no matter how weak, Vulture won't make a move. He and his mercenary group are not good at fighting tough battles. They are just a bunch of bullies that prey on the weak. As long as I can get in touch with Vulture, I can make him and his mercenary group scram. If only the Nuer people are left, it will be much easier to handle. But I need time; my people are trying to make contact with Vulture. Now I just hope Vulture's satellite phone is not switched off."

"Don't you have the walkie-talkie of the Vulture Mercenary Group? Why not try using it?"

"I've tried, but no use. They've changed the frequency. Now the only way is to find out his satellite phone number. It should be possible, but it takes time. As soon as I have his number, I can put enough pressure on him."

After hearing Morgan's words, Gao Yang suddenly remembered something. If the guy who had talked to him on the walkie-talkie before was Vulture, then it's possible that Vulture still had the communication frequency of the photography team. Although there was not much hope, he had to try to know the result.

Gao Yang got the frequency previously used by his team from Professor Buck. After adjusting his handheld walkie-talkie to the old frequency, Gao Yang pressed the send button, "Calling Vulture, please respond if you receive this message. Calling Vulture, please respond if you receive this message, this is important."

Minutes went by, and the walkie-talkie remained silent. Gao Yang felt a bit disappointed. After calling several times, Gao Yang was about to change the frequency back when suddenly a voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"Who's looking for me, primitive? Is that you? I'm getting more and more curious about you. If by chance you're not dead later, I think we might have an opportunity to meet. But I'm sorry to tell you, I'll personally peel your skin off."

Overwhelmed with excitement and ignoring Vulture's threat, Gao Yang shouted for the car to stop, then he yelled into the walkie-talkie, "Wait, someone wants to talk to you."

After the two cars stopped, Gao Yang jumped out and ran towards Morgan's car, waving the walkie-talkie and shouting, "Hurry, I've made contact with Vulture. You talk to him."

After giving Gao Yang a surprised look, Morgan took the walkie-talkie. After a moment of contemplation, he said in a commanding tone, "Is this Vulture? I am your target, Morgan. It seems your employer didn't tell you who you're supposed to kill, now let me tell you, you're in big trouble. After I make contact with my people using a satellite phone, whether you kill me or not, you're going to die. I guarantee I'll kill you and your family in Cape Town. Let me think, oh yes, your wife, your two sons, the two dogs you love, and the horse. Do I need to name them? Mr. Jan Vanberyk."

After Mr. Morgan said a bunch, the voice on the other end of the walkie-talkie was no longer arrogant but anxious, "Who are you, exactly? How do you know my name?"

Mr. Morgan smirked with contempt, "Stop asking such stupid questions. If you don't want ten mercenary groups after you, if you don't want to hear about the death of your wife and children today, I suggest you'd better get your people out of here quickly. Give me your phone number, someone will call to confirm that I'm not just scaring you. My patience is limited. You have ten minutes. If you're late, you'll face the consequences."

Despite being in a difficult situation, Morgan spoke with Vulture with great assertiveness and a commanding presence, clearly not just for show, and Vulture did not make Morgan wait. He gave a phone number in less than ten seconds.

Mr. Morgan picked up a satellite phone from the car, dialed the number Vulture gave, didn't say much, and then hung up.

Seeing Gao Yang's puzzled yet admiring gaze, Morgan shrugged his shoulders and smiled, "I had no choice, I can only exert limited strength here, so I had to resort to threats and intimidation. Otherwise, we could have peacefully waited here for someone to come and pick us up."

Gao Yang didn't think Morgan's power was limited. From last night to now, it wasn't a long time. With just a few phone calls, he had completely investigated Vulture in a short period and even arranged for a pickup. The energy Morgan had shown was enough to astonish Gao Yang.

Then there was Professor Buck, who was somewhat of a celebrity in the United States. Yet, using Mr. Morgan's phone, he had contacted several places, whether it was domestically or the embassy, including the National Geographic Channel, but no one could provide useful help. It's not that nobody cared about the fate of Professor Buck's film crew; the only problem was that help from these places would arrive too late, and by then, Professor Buck and his team would probably be corpses already.

Actually, Gao Yang had also made phone calls. He had used Morgan's satellite phone to contact his parents in Huaxia Country as soon as possible, but unfortunately, one of his parent's phones was out of credit and the other was unreachable. No matter how many times he tried, it was the same result. Gao Yang had finally had a chance but couldn't reach his parents. As for the phone numbers of his friends, unfortunately, they were not in his memory but on his phone, so he couldn't even make a call back home now.

However, after trying several times without getting through, Gao Yang had to suppress the urgent desire to talk to his parents. He also thought it would be better to wait until he was safe to call again. If he didn't survive this ordeal, it would only bring a brief joy to his parents before plunging them into even greater sorrow.

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