90: Chapter 89 Withdrawal 90: Chapter 89 Withdrawal Gao Yang was wearing a bulletproof vest that could withstand a nine-millimeter Parabellum bullet fired at close range, especially after the pistol was equipped with a suppressor, which significantly reduced the bullet’s initial velocity and power.
Therefore, not only were Gao Yang and Cui Bo spared from deadly peril, but they also suffered much less anguish.
Of course, excruciating pain was inevitable, and it would be normal to have bruising or even a broken rib if shot.
Upon hearing Cui Bo say he was shot three times without bleeding, Gao Yang immediately breathed a sigh of relief, but after hearing Cui Bo’s last words, a mix of grief and indignation, almost crying out, Gao Yang couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
As soon as he started laughing, Gao Yang understood what it felt like to have pain so intense that it seemed to join his chest to his back, hence his laughter quickly turned into cries of “ouch, ouch”.
Cui Bo, who was being helped up by Glolov, loudly said as he stood up, “Quick, quick, get me a jug of water, I need to wash up first.”
Upon seeing Cui Bo stand, Glolov made a puzzled face, turned his head, and covered his nose with one hand.
When Lee Jinfang went to help Gao Yang, the trembling Gao Yang, upon seeing the gun on the back of the man he had killed, suddenly forgot all about the pain and just pointed at the corpse, saying, “Quick, bring me that shotgun over there, I’ve finally got my hands on one!”
Urged by Gao Yang, Lee Jinfang shook his head helplessly, let go of Gao Yang, and pointed down at Gao Yang’s lower body, smirking, “If there’s nothing else, pull up your pants first.”
Gao Yang turned pale with shock and hurried to pull up his trousers, which had fallen down around his ankles, while Lee Jinfang went to pick up the gun from the person Gao Yang had killed.
The man Gao Yang had killed was lying sideways on the ground, his m92 pistol had fallen, but the shotgun on his back made Gao Yang’s eyes shine.
However, Gao Yang was also thankful that the man he had killed had used a pistol with a suppressor, not the big blasting shotgun on his back.
Lee Jinfang carefully searched the three bodies in the courtyard, and he found three M92 pistols with suppressors, one FAMAS automatic rifle, one MP5 submachine gun, and of course, the shotgun that Gao Yang was so eager for.
Looking at the spoils Lee Jinfang had collected, the constantly grumbling Cui Bo stopped cursing and yelled out, “Hey, hey, give me the MP5, I’ll use it as my secondary weapon from now on.”
Lee Jinfang walked up to Cui Bo with a bunch of miscellaneous items, and after giving him a look, frowned and said, “You stink to high heaven, can you put on your pants first?”
Cui Bo, with a look of urgency, said, “To hell with pants, if I put them on they’ll be all dirty, you expect me to wash them?
Just give me the MP5, and then get me some water quickly.
There’s still plenty in my water bottle, hurry, hurry, hurry.”
Lee Jinfang handed the MP5 to Cui Bo, who reached out to take it, but he winced in pain from the movement, yelping, then started fiddling with the MP5, grimacing.
This left Glolov, who had been pinching his nose with one hand while supporting Cui Bo with the other, quite irritated.
He let go of Cui Bo and quickly walked aside, taking deep breaths.
After handing the shotgun and ammunition belt to Gao Yang, Lee Jinfang took off the gun holster on his thigh, threw the pistol inside it aside, and said, “It’s a good time to switch pistols.
It’s rare to get pistols with suppressors.
I’m almost out of rifle ammo; I’ll make do with this FAMAS.
There’s still quite a bit of ammo for it, and oh, there are a few offensive grenades I didn’t pick up.
They’re not very powerful, and I have no room for them.”
Not caring what Lee Jinfang wanted to keep, Gao Yang was completely focused on the shotgun he had just obtained.
This shotgun was a treasure, with “Made in Italy” written on it.
It was a Benelli M4 Super 90 model.
The largest user of this gun in the American military had named it the M1014.
It had semi-automatic firing, a pistol grip, a Picatinny rail on top of the frame, a telescopic stock, and a maximum loading capacity of 7+1 rounds.
It allowed for the loading and combination of differently powered shotgun shells and could use both 2.75-inch and 3-inch 12-gauge buckshot.
It was a classic tactical shotgun, and also very popular for civilian use.
Obtaining a Benelli M4 delighted Gao Yang, and what made him even happier was that the 25-round ammunition belt was still full.
Besides buckshot, there were three breaching rounds on the belt, perfect for blasting door locks open.
Though he didn’t know how much a military-grade M4 taken from an armed soldier was worth, Gao Yang knew that a civilian M4 would sell for $1,500, and that the price had gone up and adjustable stocks were not allowed anymore.
Gao Yang was examining his shotgun, while Li Jinfang was busy strapping holsters to his thighs, one on each side.
He had decided to bring both pistols with him, and Glolov was off to pack up his beloved machine gun, leaving Cui Bo standing there naked, with a mischievous grin as he fiddled with the MP5 in his hands, completely unconcerned about the stench emanating from his body.
As Gao Yang and the others were immersed in their joy, an anxious Green Mamba arrived, bursting into the courtyard and exclaiming, “What’s the problem?
Rabbit, what are you doing?
Sh*t, Toad, get me some water!”
Cui Bo’s face was beet red as he tried to reach for his pants but didn’t dare; left with no choice, he shuffled forward two steps before squatting down again.
It was only then that Li Jinfang remembered Cui Bo left hanging there.
Slapping his forehead, he hurriedly ran to fetch water to aid the pitiable Cui Bo.
Green Mamba had brought a dozen people with him.
Everyone couldn’t help but burst into laughter, standing there watching Cui Bo and chuckling, while Gao Yang could only silently rejoice at his own good fortune.
He was lucky he hadn’t managed to relieve himself earlier, thus avoiding the embarrassing plight that now befell Cui Bo, a silver lining in an unfortunate situation.
Cui Bo was so angry he was jumping up and down with frustration, but he was helpless.
He thought if he pulled up his pants, he would have to wear them soiled.
Eventually, he resisted the urge to pull them up and shouted in his not-so-fluent English: “We’re all men here, what are you looking at?
Haven’t you seen it before?
Now go check on your people!”
Only then did Green Mamba’s expression change, and he hurriedly led the men away.
At last, Li Jinfang brought Cui Bo the urgently needed water.
Then, the three of them turned their faces aside, listening to Cui Bo’s cursing mixed with the sound of water, trying hard to stifle their laughter.
Gao Yang was struggling to suppress his laughter, his shoulders twitching, which caused both his chest and back to ache terribly.
Finally, Cui Bo pulled up his pants and, with a long sigh, said with a bitter smile, “All right, turn back around.
Jeez, what a loss of face.
I took three bullets but ended up with an MP5, so I guess it was worth it.”
Gao Yang tried doing some chest expansions and found that lifting his arms made his chest and back hurt badly, but walking almost didn’t affect him at all.
Smiling, he said, “Fine, since there’s no issue, let’s quickly pack up.
We can’t stay here; we need to move out fast.”
The group hurried back to the cabin with the quickest speed and packed up all their equipment.
Just as they finished, Green Mamba rushed back once more.
Green Mamba looked very distressed as he urgently spoke to Gao Yang, “Our men were attacked by the French.
They are very formidable.
They silently killed six of our men.
My men saw at least four of them bolt out, taking two bodies with them.”
Gao Yang nodded, his voice tense with apprehension, “They are indeed formidable.
Rabbit and I would have been dead meat if we hadn’t been wearing bulletproof vests.
If the grenade they threw was defensive rather than offensive, we would either be dead or severely injured.
Judging by their combat style, they must be special forces.
But what I don’t understand is, why they would launch such an attack during the daytime.
And in this situation, even if they took our position, what good would it do?
It doesn’t make sense for the French to do this.”
Green Mamba, fuming with indignation, said, “I’ve just received a notice; those damn government forces have abandoned Misrata.
Everyone is retreating.
The TV stations are even broadcasting their retreat live, and we’re still here waiting for new orders.
There are no damn new orders!
We are now in a salient.
That’s why we were attacked!
Damn it, no one informed us of the full retreat.
We’ve been abandoned – no, we’ve been betrayed!”
Gao Yang went pale and said, “Really?
Then aren’t we in great danger?
We must retreat quickly.”
Green Mamba nodded, “Exactly.
Of course, we must retreat.
Our men are gathering; once everyone has assembled, we’ll start the evacuation immediately.
However, we have to be careful.
Those French left three corpses here, and I expect they’ll come back to retrieve the bodies and seek revenge.”
The situation was dire.
Without a doubt, evacuation was the most critical task.
Although Gao Yang and his group could leave immediately, they chose not to.
Waiting for Coleman’s people to assemble might waste time, but there was safety in numbers.
Moving out with Coleman’s men would definitely be safer than heading out with just the four of them.
As they waited for the men to gather, Green Mamba noticed the M92 pistol in Li Jinfang’s hand.
Seeing that Li Jinfang’s leg holsters already each carried a pistol, Green Mamba pointed to the gun in Li’s hand and said, “Nice piece, silencers are hard to come by.
Can you spare one for me?”
Li Jinfang had gotten three M92s with silencers.
Keeping two for himself, the remaining one had no takers.
Gao favored his M1911, and Cui Bo refused to swap out his P226.
Though an M92 with a silencer could easily fetch over a thousand US dollars, since they were on good terms with Green Mamba, and he had asked, Li Jinfang wouldn’t be stingy.
Without a word, Li Jinfang tossed the pistol to Green Mamba.
After securing the gun in his backpack, Green Mamba pulled out a knife from his own pack and threw it, sheath and all, to Li Jinfang, saying gravely, “I seized this – a Green Beret from Chris Reeve.
It’s a pretty decent blade.
I was going to keep it for myself, but I’ve noticed you don’t have a knife, so it’s yours now.”