Chapter 21 Safely

Not long after, Vulture's voice came through the radio Morgan held in his hand.

"Mr. Morgan, if I withdraw my men, can you assure me that you will not pursue this matter?"

Without hesitating, Morgan replied, "Take your men and leave, tell me who hired you, and I can pretend this never happened, my word is my bond."

"The person who contacted me is an Ethiopian by the name of Garrow, but he is from the Nu'er Tribe. After reaching South Sudan, we carried out a joint operation with a unit of Nuer people, all part of the Sudan People's Liberation Front. The commander is named Pip, and there are seventy-six people in total, but I think they come from three tribes. That's all I know."

After some thought, Morgan nodded and picked up the radio again, "Alright, you can leave. I'll let you go, but you killed people from National Geographic, and if the American government comes after you, it's not my problem."

Vulture replied urgently, "Those damn idiots, my god, I've been screwed by those idiots. Mr. Morgan, it was the Nuer people who killed the team from National Geographic. We hadn't even confirmed our target, and those idiots charged in and started killing anyone they saw. Alright, Mr. Morgan, I know I can't completely shake off my responsibility in this, so I'll just have to accept my bad luck. But I'm not afraid of the American government coming after me. I only care about your stance, Mr. Morgan. As long as you don't pursue this, I won't be afraid. Okay, I'm withdrawing now."

After Vulture finished speaking, it wasn't long before the small aircraft that had been circling above their heads suddenly descended, wobbled its wings, flew low over Gao Yang's head, and then headed straight away. Just as the plane had left, Vulture transmitted a set of coordinates through the radio to Morgan, which was the current location of the Nuer people.

Morgan entered the coordinates into the GPS and found that the straight-line distance to their location was over thirty kilometers. The Nuer people couldn't pose any threat to them from that distance, and without the aid of Vulture Mercenary Group or aerial reconnaissance, the Nuer people would be unable to find them.

Although he still didn't dare to completely relax his vigilance, it was a relief nonetheless. After sharing the good news with Professor Buck and the rest, everyone was able to set off again with lighter hearts.

Back on the road in the vehicle, Gao Yang's mood was very pleasant; reaching Malakal meant safety.

With his mind at ease, Gao Yang finally had the leisure to inquire about the current situation.

Today was the 16th of February, 2011, whereas he had arrived in Ethiopia on July 2008. Calculating the time, it was roughly three years.

Through Professor Buck's analysis, Gao Yang also roughly understood the journey since the plane crash. His aircraft had likely fallen into the Blue Nile River flowing into Ethiopia, and Gao Yang had been carried downstream along the Blue Nile, eventually reaching into Sudanese territory before reaching the western bank of the river.

After landing, Gao Yang followed the Akuri tribe in their migration, eventually arriving on the plains between the White Nile River and the Blue Nile River. This region was the main battleground of the North-South Sudan conflict. Although the large-scale civil war in Sudan had ceased, minor skirmishes had never come to an end.

By this year, just recently on January 9, 2011, South Sudan had passed a referendum confirming its intention to separate and become independent, so a new war could break out at any moment. The National Geographic Channel, seizing this rare period of peace before the next round of conflict, wanted to shoot a documentary about wildlife. They had invited Professor Buck, a well-known zoologist and natural historian, to collaborate on the filming, but he inadvertently became involved in a disaster.

Among the people sent by the National Geographic Channel, two were killed by the attackers, and the remaining fourteen fatalities were guides and escorts hired in Sudan. Of course, if Professor Buck hadn't followed Gao Yang to rescue the others, then all the people from the National Geographic Channel would have been massacred. So, while saving others, Professor Buck also saved themselves.

As for the only female in the team, Catherine, she was Professor Buck's student. Despite being a girl, Catherine had always been passionate about filming and protecting wildlife, devoting her efforts and actions to this cause. She had pleaded with Professor Buck for a long time, eventually earning the opportunity to accompany him to Sudan.

After hearing the explanations from Professor Buck and his team, Gao Yang's questions were finally answered. No wonder he encountered a gunfight shortly after emerging from the river, and no wonder his plane had crashed in Ethiopia, yet he had ultimately ended up in Sudan and lived for a long time without encountering anyone from the civilized world.

Now, Gao Yang and his companions' destination was Malakal, a city in Southern Sudan, but it was still under Khartoum's control and garrisoned with heavy troops. Once they reached the city of Malakal, they would be safe, although just outside the city was the active area of the Sudan People's Liberation Front, so they still needed to be cautious on their way.

To Gao Yang, Sudan was just a temporary stop; he was not concerned with how the situation in Sudan might develop. The only thing that worried Gao Yang was the Akuri tribe because Professor Buck and the others believed that war was imminent, and the battle zone would not be far from where the Akuri tribe was currently living.

The only good news was that the Akuri tribe's location was very remote and, even in the event of war, they probably would not be too badly affected. As long as the Akuri tribe remained cautious and retreated into the southern rainforests at the first sign of trouble, there should not be any major issues.

As time passed, Gao Yang's group approached Malakal without incident. Eventually, they reached a bumpy dirt road with some farms and huts made of mud and thatch on either side. It was common to see people armed with AK rifles along the way. When they saw the speeding car, they would step aside and watch with indifferent eyes as they left.

As the daylight began to fade, Gao Yang and his companions finally reached the outskirts of Malakal city. No one had shot at them along the way, and Morgan had not met up with the reinforcements sent by the Dinka Tribe. They had hurried all the way, trying their best to avoid everyone.

When they reached the edge of the city, they were finally in a safe zone. Morgan, who was leading the way, stopped the car and asked Gao Yang to hand over all his guns, as carrying weapons into Malakal might cause trouble. By handing the guns to Morgan, they could obviously avoid these problems.

Gao Yang wasn't a killer; he carried a gun merely for self-protection. Now that he had reached Malakal, whether he had a gun or not didn't matter. His greatest wish was to leave this place without any trouble. The kind of experience where one had to fight a bloody path to survival was something Gao Yang never wanted to go through again.

After passing through two checkpoints with Morgan leading the way, Gao Yang and his group entered Malakal city with ease, heading straight for the largest hotel in the city.