Chapter 17 The Importance of a Good Gun

Gao Yang was startled by the price tag, $74,000 for an M1A rifle. To his knowledge, the most expensive mass-produced M1A on the US civilian gun market was only around two or three thousand US dollars, and that was for a good one.

"Bob, you told me you bought your gun for seven thousand four hundred bucks," Gao Yang said.

Proud Bob seemed to have misspoken in front of his father. Hearing his father's displeasure, Bob quickly said in a serious tone, "Oh, that, I misspoke, it is indeed seventy-four hundred US dollars. Now doesn't seem like the time to talk about this, hey, buddy, you should take out that sniper and then we can leave, what do you think of that idea?"

Gao Yang also felt it wasn't the time for chatting; he certainly wanted to take out the opposing sniper, but the problem was, he dared not leave the protection of the car, and the other sniper didn't give him the chance to shoot. Apart from the standoff, he really had no other options.

"If you have a way to take out that sniper, you can try. Um, do you still have rocket launchers or missiles in the car?"

Bob's father said in a muffled voice, "No more, we only had two RPGs, and we've used them all up."

"That's too bad. Well, now none of us dares to move, so we still have time to chat. Who are you guys? Why were you attacked?"

"We came here for hunting. As for why we were attacked, you should ask the people who attacked us."

Gao Yang laughed, "I don't want to pry into your privacy, but coming hunting with a rocket launcher doesn't seem quite right, does it, Mr. Morgan?"

After Gao Yang finished his sentence, Bob's father's tone changed dramatically, and he said with much tension, "Who are you? How do you know my name, and why are you here? Answer me, otherwise, I won't hesitate to take a shot at you."

"It seems I'm right, you are Mr. Morgan. To answer your question is simple, someone mistook us for your people and killed fourteen, no, sixteen people for it. We became your scapegoats and many died. The guy who killed them mentioned your name over the radio. That person realized his mistake and came looking for you. Now you understand, Mr. Morgan," Gao Yang said.

After a moment of silence, Mr. Morgan said gravely, "That is truly unfortunate, and I am very sorry for it."

Gao Yang sighed, "I can't really blame you; it was just a coincidence, but a deadly one. I've had a question that I haven't had the chance to ask. Please tell me now, where are we? And who attacked you?"

"This is Sudan. As for who attacked us, I do not know, but I will find out and make them pay dearly—for both my people and yours. So, who are you?"

Gao Yang was shocked because he had boarded a plane in Ethiopia, and the destination was also within Ethiopia. Although he didn't know where the plane had crashed, it shouldn't have ended up in Sudan. But knowing that he was in Sudan now, Gao Yang immediately understood why he kept encountering gunfights.

Sudan had constantly been at war, with civil strife between the southern and northern regions. Although large-scale wars had stopped, small-scale skirmishes and raids had never ceased.

"This is Sudan? It's really Sudan? My God, how did I end up in Sudan? Is it far from Ethiopia?"

"I'm not sure exactly how far we are from the Ethiopian border, probably three to four hundred kilometers. Why do you ask?"

Gao Yang, feeling dazed, "Because I ended up here due to a plane crash, and I took the flight in Ethiopia. Damn it, how could I be in Sudan?"

Mr. Morgan laughed, "No matter where you are, you should thank God, at least you didn't die in a plane crash. Now, I have a GPS. Once we deal with the sniper out there, you'll soon know where this is."

Regaining his composure, Gao Yang fell silent and turned his attention back to the sniper. He also felt that it was mysterious to deal too much with Morgan and his son and that any questions could be asked of Professor Buck and the others. There was no need for extensive interactions with Mr. Morgan.

Thinking of Professor Buck and the Chieftain, Gao Yang grew even more eager to take down the sniper. However, after racking his brains, he couldn't figure out how to accomplish that while ensuring his own safety.

The scope was an infrared thermal imager. Since the sniper's car engine had just been extinguished, the hood was very hot, showing as a large red glow in the scope, creating much interference for Gao Yang's aiming. But as the engine's temperature gradually decreased, the interference in the scope also began to dissipate.

Gao Yang thought for a moment and started shooting at the car's engine. He planned to disable the sniper's hideout car, preventing the enemy sniper from having the chance to drive away.

After firing several shots at the engine, Gao Yang suddenly thought that rather than wasting bullets, it might be better to take the opportunity to adjust his scope's aim.

Gao Yang aimed at a spot next to the engine and fired a shot. The recently made bullet hole was very hot, creating a small red dot visible through the scope, which he used to estimate and adjust his aim.

The actual point of impact wasn't far off from the targeted spot. At a distance of around one hundred fifty meters, the deviation was about twenty centimeters. Gao Yang twisted a few dials on his scope and fired another shot. By the time he fired the fifth shot, the bullet hits were mostly within the size of an orange.

At night, without accurate reference points and only guesstimating, ensuring the bullets hit within the size of an orange was already quite remarkable. Gao Yang no longer doubted Bob's words—an excellent gun really shows its quality at first try.

After shooting enough to feel satisfied, Gao Yang suddenly remembered something and said to Bob, who kept groaning due to his wound pain, "Bob, do you still have bullets? Most importantly, do you have tracer rounds?"

Bob nodded. Realizing Gao Yang couldn't see his gesture, he spoke softly, "Yes, but I only have five tracer rounds. I have a magazine where every third bullet is a tracer round, alternating with two regular lead bullets. I was planning to use them for night lion hunting. What do you have in mind?"

Gao Yang was very excited and chuckled, "I want to try something—see if I can blow up that vehicle."

Bob grew excited upon hearing this and promptly replied, "Great idea, we have plenty of bullets. You can take your time."

Mr. Morgan whispered, "That vehicle is a Toyota LC80; the fuel tank is on the left side of the body. Aim a little below and behind the rear wheel, and you should be able to puncture the fuel tank."

Gao Yang wasn't familiar with the Toyota LC80, but knowing the location of the fuel tank was enough. Before firing, he wanted to be certain, "Are you sure their vehicle's fuel tank is behind the left wheel?"

"Of course, I'm quite sure."

Gao Yang glanced at the position of the vehicle's front and was pleased because luck was on his side. The sniper's car was parked with the front facing left, meaning the fuel tank was directly in his line of sight.

Gao Yang started shooting toward the area a bit behind the left rear wheel, alternating shots with the engine to prevent the opposing sniper from realizing his intent, and also to stay ready for any possible counterattack.

As expected, Gao Yang's persistent shooting made the opponent restless, who started shooting back at Gao Yang. However, the sniper didn't have a good shot, and most bullets were wasted hitting the vehicle's body.

After emptying the remaining bullets in his magazine, Gao Yang loaded a full twenty-round magazine and continued firing until it was empty. Feeling it was about time, he switched to the magazine with tracer rounds and started shooting at the ground near the left rear wheel.

The fourth bullet was a tracer round, emitting red light as it burrowed into the soil behind the wheel, but it failed to ignite a flame. Actually, Gao Yang didn't know if he had penetrated the fuel tank, nor if any leaking gasoline would be ignited by the tracer round, but at this point, he could only blindly test his luck.

Gao Yang fired more than a dozen shots, and the third tracer round had already been spent. Soon, it would be the fourth tracer round, yet the vehicle on the opposite side remained intact. Gao Yang was getting anxious. He gently kissed the rifle in his hands and whispered, "Do me a favor—whether we win this fight is up to you now."

After saying this, Gao Yang pulled the trigger. A red streak passed by, and a flicker emerged under the vehicle, followed by a flame that ignited. A couple of seconds later, a loud boom rang out as the fiery vehicle turned into a giant fireball.

Gao Yang exclaimed excitedly, "It worked!"

At this moment, Mr. Morgan urgently said, "Burning might not kill him, but whether he's using light intensification or infrared night vision, it's now interfered with and useless. Take this chance—go finish him off!"

"No need to rush over—watch this."

After speaking, Gao Yang picked up the M1A and ran to one side of the vehicle. Using the light from the burning car, he found a gun on the body of a fallen dead man by the door.

The dead man was armed with an M4A1, equipped with taped-together 'jungle-style' magazines for quick reloading. Gao Yang snatched up the M4A1 and circled around the burning vehicle, not getting closer but instead making a wide detour.

Standing next to the burning vehicle and looking around revealed nothing but darkness, but from a distance, the vehicle was clearly visible. Gao Yang ran a few dozen steps and, when he could see the other side of the vehicle, spotted a figure stumbling and trying to escape.

The enemy sniper appeared to be injured, escaping slowly and not getting far from the burning vehicle. Gao Yang tried the M1A, but the infrared scope was severely disrupted.

Gao Yang set down the M1A, loaded a fresh magazine into his M4A1, then started firing in short bursts. The M4A1's recoil was slight, and its accuracy far surpassed that of the AK47. At a distance of less than two hundred meters, after firing more than a dozen bullets, Gao Yang finally hit the fleeing sniper.