137: Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Six: Pursuit 137: Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Six: Pursuit The passage was long, but having travelled only a short distance, Gao Yang had Li Jinfang stop the car, primarily because there was an intersection in the tunnel and secondarily, because he could no longer endure the captive officer’s screams of agony.
He also needed to get out of the car as soon as possible to remove a finger that Glolov had carelessly tossed into his collar.
By now, Gao Yang could shoot anyone in the face without hesitation or calmly stab anyone in the stomach, as long as the person was his enemy.
But slowly cutting off a person’s fingers with a bayonet, especially one who was already incapacitated, was something that Gao Yang couldn’t bear to do, let alone watch.
It was at the intersection where Glolov, using his very blunt AK74 bayonet, without asking any questions and with a completely calm face, slowly cut off one finger after another from the officer amidst his screams and struggles.
After severing three fingers, Glolov spoke for the first time, but he didn’t get a satisfactory answer until he had severed the officer’s ninth finger.
It was then that the officer, crying out, said he was willing to tell everything he knew.
When the officer finally broke down, Glolov also let out a long sigh of relief, saying in a gentle voice, “That’s great, I thought I would have to dig out his eyeballs to get him to talk.
I’m glad I don’t have to do that now, digging out people’s eyeballs is truly disgusting.”
For Glolov, torturing people wasn’t as easy as it looked.
After achieving his goal and handing over the rest to Cui Bo, Glolov stood up to return to the car.
After taking a couple of steps, however, he turned back and said to the tormented officer, “Even though you’re not as tough as those bastards from Grozny, even though you didn’t wait for me to stab your brain with a bayonet before confessing, as a Libyan, you are the toughest I’ve ever met.
But just to let you know, if you dare to lie, I will use a knife to peel your eyeballs out, then slowly thrust the knife through your eye sockets, believe me.”
Glolov got back into the car without a word, while the officer, under Cui Bo’s interrogation, spilled everything he knew like pouring beans out of a bamboo tube.
Seeing that the officer had genuinely collapsed, there was no further need for harsh interrogation; Gao Yang asked Cui Bo to bring the officer back to the car to continue the questioning as they moved on.
The officer was not Gaddafi’s confidant but belonged to Hamis.
Of course, to some extent, being one of Hamis’s confidants was akin to being one of Gaddafi’s.
However, the officer did not know the whereabouts of Gaddafi; he only knew where Hamis had gone.
It was after the opposition breached Azzizia Barracks that Hamis decided to flee.
Everything was conducted in a hurried and disorganized manner, and when Hamis and his escort fled, they finally resolved to destroy the underground tunnel to prevent pursuit.
Unfortunately, the officer was selected to carry out the task.
Nobody, including Hamis, expected the opposition to assault Gaddafi’s Palace so quickly.
The officer still thought the opposition was held outside the second perimeter wall of Azzizia Barracks, but in reality, although the battle inside the barracks was not over, the opposition had gathered their strongest forces and temporarily forwent other battles there, heading straight for the vicinity of Gaddafi’s Palace.
They all wanted to capture Gaddafi as quickly as possible, instead of slowly and methodically taking down Azzizia Barracks before attacking the palace to find it empty.
The opposition’s offensive caught everyone by surprise, and Gao Yang’s group, having narrowly escaped from the opposition’s clutches, also took the officer set to blow up the tunnel by surprise.
Had Gao Yang and his team been delayed a bit longer, just ten more minutes, the underground tunnel would have been completely destroyed by the explosion.
Gao Yang actually didn’t care about Gaddafi or Hamis’s whereabouts; he only wanted news of Abdul.
But Abdul’s fate was, in the end, tied with Hamis’s.
The reason Abdul had survived under the guns was because when Hamis ordered an officer to execute a captured opposition leader who he deemed useless, Abdul shouted that he was an American spy and that he could help Hamis find a way to escape.
Abdul’s words had the desired effect; the executioner knew what Hamis needed most.
Upon hearing that Abdul might offer Hamis an escape, he didn’t shoot Abdul but instead took him to see Hamis.
Subsequently, Hamis ordered Abdul to be imprisoned alone.
However, what Abdul said to Hamis, the officer captured by Gao Yang and his men was unaware.
When Hamis fled, Abdul was taken as well, but their destination remained unclear, as the tunnels under the Azzizia Barracks led to several locations.
Hamis was still unsure which passageway was viable.
The only certainty was that Hamis’s first destination was Sirte, for now, all of Libya except Sirte had fallen into opposition hands.
Gaddafi’s escape network was more complex and extensive than anyone had imagined.
Under the officer’s guidance, Gao Yang and his team passed by multiple exits: one leading to the Tripoli Zoo, another to Martyrs’ Square, and a third one to the airport.
However, these passages were certainly impassable, as those places were now occupied by the opposition.
When Li Jinfang slowed down the car at another three-way junction, Lee slowed down.
The officer, with his fingerless hand, pointed to one of the tunnels.
However, Gao Yang, after catching a fleeting moment of hesitation on the officer’s face, immediately shouted, “Stop, I’ll get out and take a look.”
After getting out of the car, Gao Yang closely examined the ground, then opened the car door and pointed to another tunnel, “Ask him where this road leads.”
The officer appeared somewhat flustered upon seeing the route Gao Yang indicated.
After his garbled words, Cui Bo quickly said, “He says he doesn’t know, he only knows that if we keep going straight, we can reach Sirte.”
Gao Yang shook his head and said, “Maybe he is telling the truth, but the route he pointed to has no car tracks.
Toad, drive the way I indicated.
Where did Hamis’s convoy go?
I think his choice should be the safest.”
After Gao Yang got back in the car, Lee Jinfang turned the car and drove down the road Gao Yang had indicated.
Now, they needed to find a way to survive for themselves and figure out how to rescue Abdul as well.