A Mercenary's War

Chapter 46: Die Together If You Insist

Translated by: kevin1782

Edited by: Isalee

A bright light shone upon Gao Yang from the car. It brought great difficulty to the accuracy of his aim. His NVD was rendered ineffective. It was impossible for Gao Yang to shoot with precision.

At this moment, Tribo screamed at the top of his lungs, “This way! There’s a small path here, quick!”

Utilizing the car light, Tribo found an alley that was too small for cars. He pushed Grolev clumsily through the curbs from the road and into the alley. Then he started using his M700 sniper rifle to shoot at the car so as to cover Gao Yang’s retreat.

Gao Yang sheathed his gun and ran. He scurried into the alley in a flash just before the car reached him.

Tribo was still shooting but the M700’s shooting rate was very slow and his magazine could only load four bullets. Slowing down enemies wasn’t her forte. But Tribo had been focusing on his shots. Gao Yang went past him and pulled Tribo together and they both scurried into the alley.

The alley went many ways. Just when the pursuers got out of their cars to chase after them, they had already pushed the cart to a fork. They immediately turned here and there whenever they saw a fork. They wanted to use these maze-like paths to shake them off [1] but they couldn’t. What made them helpless was that no matter how they ran, once they stopped there would be footsteps from behind. Hence they could only run endlessly.

From midnight till dawn to when it was still daybreak they had been treading in the alleys all the way. They already couldn’t distinguish north from south and the different directions. Gao Yang’s eyes brightened at once and all those messy buildings disappeared. Before him was a desert. It caught his attention.

Gao Yang was stunned. They were already out of the city. Gao Yang asked Tribo, who was panting like h.e.l.l, “What the h.e.l.l happened, we’re out of the city?”

They could still play around with those pursuers using the maze-like alleyways, but once out in the boundless desert, that’d really be an impa.s.se.

Tribo was really exhausted and he sat to the floor in a huff, panting as he spoke. “F*ck, let’s make a U-turn, we’d be live targets in the desert. But let me rest a while first, just two minutes.”

Gao Yang of course knew that logic. He saw that Tribo really couldn’t go on. He could only helplessly say, “I’m gonna give you just two minutes. F*ck, tell me why those Resistance people got so much stamina in tracking people down? It’s already been a whole freaking night and they’re still chasing us like banshees and ghouls. This doesn’t make sense. When did the Resistance become so patient? Man, how much hatred is there?”

Tribo rolled his eyes and looked at Gao Yang like he was an idiot and replied, “What’d you say? You decimated somebody’s brain along with some American soldiers’ heads and you ask how much hatred’s there? Can they NOT pursue you? If you’re the one … Nope, if I were to be f*cked over, wouldn’t you get people to go and avenge me? Those American soldiers are retired veterans, probably even commandos. It surely ain’t too hard for people of their caliber.”

After three years of training, Gao Yang’s stamina totally obliterated the night’s worth of distance. Gao Yang was on high alert with his rifle while Tribo was resting. He had taken off his NVD but he didn’t use the telescopic sight because he didn’t have time to zero it. Un-zeroed scopes? Might as well not use it.

There were exits abound in this maze-like alley. Gao Yang didn’t dare to wait any longer. After two minutes he urged, “Get up, let’s go. I push the cart, you cover us. Gotta be quicker, we gotta shake them off so that we can get a doctor for Grolev.”

Tribo suddenly pointed at the cart’s wheel and said, “Ci Ao! I know how they found us! Look.”

Gao Yang inspected the cart and knew why those people could find their tracks. Grolev’s blood had leaked out onto the wheels out of the cart. The blood had coagulated but it surely left had some kind of blood trail. Benghazi’s outer roads had a thin layer of yellow sand. Two cart wheel-marks on the sand would be very obvious. As long as there was no wind, those marks wouldn’t disappear.

They looked at each other and swore in Chinese with much chemistry.

Tribo didn’t feel tired anymore and stood up. He pushed the cart and didn’t want to brush through the maze-like alley. It was because the pursuers would arrive anytime now.

They ran just in time. Not long after twenty plus people appeared from a nearby alleyway from the place they had just been at. If they had stayed, they’d have been blockaded right then. It was now broad daylight. Unlike the night, the enemies could easily find them and surround them.

Gao Yang and Tribo pushed the cart into the desert area. They gauged their enemies from the gunshots. Gao Yang turned around and used his binoculars to look. The pursuers were only six to seven hundred meters from them.

It wasn’t totally in vain that they ran the whole night. From the hundred plus pursuers, there were only ten plus now since not everyone had the same stamina to run for the whole night. What made Gao Yang uneasy though was that out of the ten plus pursuers, there were six who wore different clothing from the rest. They looked like white Caucasians.

Gao Yang was full of scruples about dealing with those retired American soldiers. Against those civilians who had just taken up arms, Gao Yang wasn’t worried in the least bit. But against those retired and old soldiers? It’d naturally be a lot more dangerous.

It was fortunate that the enemies were six to seven hundred meters away. There were not much of a threat with AK-47s and M4s at this distance. They just had to get farther. They’d temporarily be out of grave danger. But if the distance were pulled short, it’d be hard to say. However, both sides were really jaded. It could be said that they were at their limits. It wasn’t easy to close in on the six to seven hundred meters.

Gao Yang’s group didn’t have a choice. They could only continue escaping. He turned around and was about to catch up to Tribo when Tribo suddenly said, “Grolev’s awake.”

Grolev was only conscious for certain time periods, but the time he was conscious was getting shorter and shorter. Gao Yang knew he couldn’t drag it on anymore, but he didn’t have any ideas on how to save Grolev either.

When Grolev woke up, he didn’t faint like the previous few times. He propped himself up and suddenly said a sentence. 

“What’s our ten twenty? How’s it going?”

Gao Yang deliberated for a while and smiled, “We’re out of the city and safe now. n.o.body’s chasing us.”

Grolev shook his head and laughed bitterly. “Knock it off buddy, from your looks I can tell we ain’t doing well. Looks like I’m really gonna die this time. But from the moment I became a mercenary, I knew I was gonna die sooner or later on the battlefield. I knew it all along.”

They looked at each other’s expressions upon hearing Grolev’s words. They saw sh*t. Tribo whispered, “Surely it isn’t the dying flash[2]…”

Gao Yang glared sharply at Tribo and whispered to Grolev, “Don’t say anything else, don’t waste your body’s energy no more. Don’t you die now, we ain’t letting you die so easily.”

Grolev weakly shook his head and dryly laughed, “Let me say it, let me finish. I’m afraid I won’t have a chance to say it anymore. You will execute my final wishes.”

Grolev’s face was full of sorrow and pain as he whispered, “Being a merc, especially one grinding for the money, is a very painful one. ‘Cause you never know which side, the good or bad, you’re fighting for in your next battle. I killed many men. There were bast*rds should’ve down to h.e.l.l and there were also innocent civilians. I’ve sold my soul for the money.

“When I fought for my country, my heart was filled with responsibility and pride. I could sacrifice my life without looking back. Ain’t matter if the battle’s justified or not, at least I know that even if I died from it, I sacrificed for my country. All the blame would be taken by those politicians.

“But when I fought for the money, I had guilt in my heart, only guilt and helplessness, and also extreme disgust. Even if I die on the front, there’d be n.o.body who cared. They’d only be relieved that another merc deserving of h.e.l.l had died. Luckily, what’s worth rejoicing was that at the very least, I knew that I fought for a justified, last battle. Even though I got paid cash, it was also a justified vengeance. It made me feel a lot better.”

Gao Yang was silent for a long while before he sighed, “You won’t die. Your injuries are not serious enough. You’ll be fine as long as we get you a doctor.”

Grolev shook his head and replied, “It’s okay, I know you and Tribo’s character. You are trustworthy. I still have twenty thousand bucks on me, please take it to my wife. Take the money or else we’re gonna die here and our money’s gonna be plundered by others. Give me the gun, I’ll cover your exit.”

Grolev grabbed Gao Yang’s hand and pulled with all his strength as he tried to get up from the cart.

Gao Yang pushed Grolev back into the cart and said with iron resolute, “I told you to shut the f*ck up, so don’t go messin’ with this and add on to the mess. You wanna say your final will? Say it to your wife’s face. You listen to yer old man, it’s either we die here together, or leave this h.e.l.l hole together, get it?!”

After saying that, Gao Yang struggled out of Grolev’s grip. He raised his gun and spammed a few shots at the pursuers behind them. But Grolev hadn’t given up. He shouted at Gao Yang emotionally, “You idjit! You should have let me fulfill my final honors, at least I know my money’s getting back to my wife’s hands and my daughter could still have the fees to learn music!”

Gao Yang felt that Grolev made a lot of sense, but he couldn’t just leave him there to rot while he escaped. Deliberating for a moment, Gao Yang spoke to Tribo as if his energy was sucked out of him, “Hare, the old Ruski’s asked us to go, said he’ll cover for us. I don’t agree. I know I can’t just leave him here, you go. Whoever can get away shall get away.[4]”

Tribo didn’t even lift his head and just pushed the cart with all his strength. He said strenuously, “You’ve become stupid again, I knew you couldn’t do it, but I also can’t. Ai, life and death are destined. Die then die, live then live, I can’t leave him to die here. Since we’re fools, let’s abide by the Heaven’s will.”

Hearing Tribo’s sentence, Gao Yang became a lot more relaxed for no reason. He smiled and raised his volume. “Okay, no need to say no more. Hare and I were unanimous about this. Die together or survive together. If you died because time ran out for you, we’d, of course, leave you. But as long as you’re breathing, we’re just gonna count our time. Also, don’t worry about your wife and kid. Give me an address I’ll call Mr. Morgan to give them money. Don’t worry[3], Morgan still owes me ninety thousand bucks. I’m gonna call Mr. Morgan right now and that money will go to your wife and kid. Am I, as your bro, generous enough, eh?”

Grolev just dazedly looked at Gao Yang for a second before saying weakly, “You’re really an idiot. Tribo too. Forget it, I have accepted your good intentions. But this kinda stuff I just can’t do, the money’s leavin’ for your parents. Last sentence, I am really honored to have fought with you and Hare. Translate that to him for me.”

Gao Yang translated and solemnly said, “It’s an honor for Tribo and me too.”

Translator’s note(s):