Mercenary's War

Chapter 2425 - 2401: It Wasn’t Me

"Where are we heading today?""To the mountains, for a mountain long-distance shooting training. Let’s go to our old camp, how about it?"

"Sure, let’s go there."

During the brief conversation between Gao Yang and Cui Bo, Cui Bo was putting his gun and a tripod-mounted spotting scope onto the car, then he shouted, "There are a lot of things here, worried about them being knocked around. Put them all on the back seat or maybe take two cars?"

Phoenix stood silently to the side holding her big gun; she wouldn’t speak unless necessary.

"No need for two cars, just one will be fine."

After gently turning down Cui Bo’s suggestion, Gao Yang shouted, "Porcupine, come with me, and Clumsy Bear, bring your gear and join us."

Cui Bo paused for a moment and said, "Oh, they’re coming too? What for?"

Gao Yang smiled without speaking, pointing at the car Cui Bo loaded with equipment and said, "You drive."

Joseph directly got into the car and started it up. As Yuri was about to put his sniper grenade launcher in the vehicle, Gao Yang shook his head and said, "Don’t put it in the car, carry everything with you as though you were in combat."

Cui Bo had an ominous feeling and was stunned as he said, "Holy crap! Are you kidding?"

"Yes, you guessed correctly."

"Holy crap! Sixteen kilometers!"

"That’s why I said you chose the right spot — not too far, not too close. Actually, I wanted a place 20 kilometers away, but since you’ve already picked a spot, let’s stick with it."

Cui Bo was completely dumbfounded, then shook his head and said helplessly, "Well, nothing to say, no point talking about it."

Cui Bo sighed as he took the gun case off the car, slung his sniper rifle over his shoulder, and with a grimace, carried bullets and tactical gear as if in battle.

As for Phoenix, she silently began loading things onto herself early on.

Cui Bo and Yuri both had forlorn expressions, Phoenix was expressionless, only Gao Yang had a smile full of anticipation.

When everyone was ready, Gao Yang smiled and said, "Now, advance by running, target 16 kilometers away at the mountain camp. Upon arrival, immediately proceed with the shooting practice. Note, the one with the worst score has to run back, let’s go."

"Sixteen kilometers, just take my life already! Have you no shame? Thirteen kilograms with just an unloaded gun! And you still want me to run 16 kilometers, have you no shame."

Cui Bo started running, grumbling incessantly, while Yuri running beside him with the sniper grenade launcher suddenly said, "How about we swap?"

Cui Bo instantly fell silent.

Yuri was a big guy, an extremely big guy, so only he could bear the weight that was difficult for others.

"Sixteen kilometers, if I run the whole way, I might die, no, I definitely will die halfway..."

Though despairing, Yuri’s pace did not slow; he felt he couldn’t make it, but since the order was given, he had no choice but to run.

Complaining is allowed, cracking jokes is allowed, venting is okay, but the orders must be executed without compromise, even questioning is not allowed — this is the basic quality of a competent military, and Yuri had been trained very well.

After running three kilometers, Yuri was already out of breath; by five kilometers, his steps were faltering. Yet, he gritted his teeth, his face flushed red, gasping loudly, but his speed didn’t slacken, keeping up with Gao Yang who was running in the lead maintaining the pace.

As long as one can move, persistence is necessary. If Yuri fell behind halfway, what would happen during combat?

However, given Yuri’s size, his gear, and the tasks he carried out, keeping pace with Gao Yang from start to finish was an impossible feat, simply unrealistic.

Gao Yang didn’t stop running at the front but suddenly turned his head with a smile and said, "Well done, Clumsy Bear, you can get in the car."

Yuri immediately halted, gasping for air, and after falling to the side, lying on the ground, Joseph who was driving at the tailing end stopped the car. He first threw Yuri’s sniper grenade launcher onto the back seat, then struggled to help Yuri into the car.

"When can I get on the car? Brother Yang, give me a break, cut me some slack, will you?"

"Oh, you still have the energy to talk? Then pick up the pace a bit more."

"No, no! I was wrong, just ignore what I said."

After running another three kilometers, Gao Yang turned back to look at Phoenix, who was flushed red, drenched in sweat, yet still expressionless.

Gao Yang stopped, smiling as he looked at Cui Bo.

Cui Bo said with a look of horror, "Holy crap, what are you looking at me for?"

"Crow, give your gun to Rabbit."

For Gao Yang, pushing physical limits and completing an extreme training while assessing Satan’s sniper team’s capabilities was his goal, but pushing someone beyond their physiological limits to irreversible harm is unacceptable.

Phoenix was indeed reaching her limit; she had determination, but that didn’t mean she could ignore her physical limits. Thus, she yielded her prized sniper rifle to Cui Bo, something she never let out of her hands and definitely wouldn’t let others touch.

As part of a sniper team, receiving help from teammates when necessary is normal and essential. Phoenix also had to trust her teammates. If she can’t even let her team handle her gun, what kind of confidence is that?

Phoenix’s gun was .338 caliber, smaller than Cui Bo’s but larger than Gao Yang’s, with middle-range caliber and lethality, tactically bridging between Gao Yang and Cui Bo’s roles. Importantly, her gun was heavy, weighing nine kilograms.

Cui Bo gasped and said, "Brother Yang, are you trying to kill me? I can’t keep running; I’m really going to collapse..."

"Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. You’re tough, come on, let’s continue."

Gao Yang wasn’t running fast, and Cui Bo ultimately lost the strength to speak. With three kilometers left, Phoenix gestured to Cui Bo that she’d regained some strength to take her gun back, but Cui Bo nonetheless nearly walked the final stretch.

Upon finally arriving at the shooting range, Gao Yang calmly said, "Alright, immediately start shooting. Joseph has already set up the targets for us, I’ll observe and call the shots, you three can begin."

For Gao Yang and his endurance, this journey didn’t push him to his limits, so he wasn’t in a rush to shoot. But he was eager to see Cui Bo and Phoenix’s shooting performance under extreme conditions.

Cui Bo collapsed directly into the ground gratefully grasping the chance to rest. As he tried to open the scope cover, he said shakily, "Finally, we’ve made it..."

A sudden explosion occurred in Sanaa City with tremendous force, such that Gao Yang and the others saw a plume of smoke rising from a corner in the city before hearing the sound.

Yuri got some rest in the car, but when Gao Yang and the others had just one kilometer left, Joseph made Yuri get off. Thus, Yuri accompanied them for the last kilometer, though his strength hadn’t really recovered, putting him back in a state of collapse.

Yuri lay on the ground, trembling as he loaded a rifle grenade, then aimed at a target five hundred meters away.

Yuri fired, but his shot was way off, the grenade didn’t explode on the target but vanished somewhere unknown.

The chosen shooting range had an open view; although mountainous, shooting from above meant there was no worry about injuring others.

"Clumsy Bear, you overshot, missed terribly."

Yuri said softly, "My hand trembled, let me try again..."

At this moment, smoke suddenly rose from the city they faced, followed soon by a dull explosion sound.

Many people saw the explosion happen in Sanaa City, Gao Yang immediately frowned, getting up from behind the scope.

Yuri turned his head, looking at Gao Yang in astonishment and said, "No, that wasn’t me."

Gao Yang stared at the smoke rising in Sanaa City, then he suddenly shouted, "Air strike!"