Chapter 531: Is That How the Command Was Issued?
Joe Ga paid no attention to Ngira's nonsensical rants…
He, the boss who loved to charge and fight, ought to stay put behind the lines, while Ngira, a clueless deputy defense minister, would only cause trouble for everyone at the front.
The P·B soldiers were well-trained, and so were the Congo special operation forces trained by P·B, making command fluid and without hesitation.
Thus, Joe Ga was able to deploy across 50 kilometers in less than eight hours and then wait for the air force to arrive.
Don't underestimate 50 kilometers. In countries with highways, 50 kilometers is a matter of pressing the gas pedal, but in Congo, heh...
Here, 50 kilometers is like a deep chasm, many Congolese from birth to death never traveled more than 50 kilometers from their homes.
Poor roads were just one aspect, accompanied by a lack of transportation, poverty, virtually nonexistent industrial infrastructure, and no job foundations—these were the primary reasons for this situation.
A few hours before launching the attack, Joe Ga, when he was free, had Tony use a drone to survey Nwankwo's residence.
A scenic hill, along which more than a dozen exquisite European-style villas had been built.
Don't say, despite being a dilapidated place in Congo, the homes where these leaders lived were extraordinarily luxurious.
First Belgium and then France, not only were Congo's finance, energy, imports, exports, and markets completely dominated by France, but even their architectural aesthetics were heavily influenced.
Joe Ga initially just wanted to inspect the terrain of the warlord's residence, but afterwards, he found that the villas built along the mountain road were all rather beautiful.
According to information collected by Thompson, those villas were designed and built by a French construction firm hired by Nwankwo, who took the two highest villas for himself, giving the rest to his so-called 'senior management.'
Nwankwo's villa was situated higher up the slope; jogging out of his home for a few minutes would get you to the top of the hill, breathing fresh air while wandering through the beautiful scenery.
As three 120mm mortars were positioned, Team D and 20 P·B soldiers took their places; these houses and the people inside were going to experience a disaster tonight.
Joe Ga looked at the houses for a while but soon lost interest, as within a short 30 minutes, there were two power outages.
In the end, it's unknown whether it was because generators were too troublesome, but the lower section of the hillside villas even lit up bonfires in their backyards.
These villas, which would definitely be considered luxury in China, couldn't even guarantee electricity, leaving Joe Ga unsure what expression to make…
But as Team B's Sanderson announced their readiness and switched on the cameras on their helmets, Joe Ga realized that the famous line 'Behind the vermilion gates meat and wine go to waste while frozen bones are found on the road' was no joke!
Team B was tasked with a lithium mine where a 100-strong militia was stationed. Sanderson and his men's goal was to eliminate or scatter these militiamen and then rescue a group of forced labor workers.
Sanderson and his team reached where the workers slept, which were just shacks built from wood, where a large number of emaciated workers numbly lay sleeping on the ground.
At the corner of the large shack, a few bodies were piled up, seemingly a normal sight for the people around as several who slept near the bodies only showed signs of life when occasionally shooing away flies; otherwise, Joe Ga would have thought they were dead too.
Having seen slaves at his own gold mine, Joe Ga noted that at least these workers had some clothing, unlike those slaves who had none.
Yet, the appalling living conditions, especially in contrast to the luxury villas he saw earlier, would suffocate anyone normal.
People are indeed not all the same, what kind of bitterness a person can swallow is sometimes unimaginable.
While Joe Ga was grappling with shock, Team D, responsible for the villa area, finally sent a message.
With Team D's camera turned on, Joe Ga looked at the shaking image of the luxurious villa and suddenly pressed the communicator and said, "'Grey Wolf,' I don't need a living Nwankwo, just kill him and film it, that's enough!
Burn those houses down, set that mountain ablaze…"
'Grey Wolf' paused, then said, "Sir, you should have told me earlier; that would have saved us a lot of trouble.
I was actually planning to capture Nwankwo alive, I heard this guy is really wealthy…"
Joe Ga responded indifferently, "Then we'll just tell those simpletons, rich or not, you can't spend money if you're dead.
Kill all those marked by Thompson, but don't harm their family members.
As 'Vanguard' from Team B have already reached the mine, once the battle is over, send their family members to live in the mine. Whatever treatment the workers there are getting, they'll get the same and ask them if they are willing to pay to improve the working conditions of the mine?
The more willingly they pay, the more willingly we'll release them!"
'Grey Wolf' paused again, then grinning, said, "Got it, not one will be missed!"
Speaking, 'Grey Wolf' made a tactical hand gesture at his fellow soldiers, then pressed the communicator and laughingly said, "Boss, you don't seem in a good mood? Did something happen at the mine?"
Joe Ga was taken aback and then said, with a chuckle, "No, I'm just a bit affected.
I feel like, after struggling for so long, I still haven't enjoyed life like those simpletons, which bothers me a bit. So, I want to shatter those houses!"
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Joe Ga's capricious words left 'Grey Wolf' momentarily stunned, and then the Eastern European giant laughed, "Making our boss unhappy is a capital offense. Rest assured, not a single building here will remain intact, haha…"
Upon hearing 'Grey Wolf's' assurance, Joe Ga nodded satisfactorily and said, "I now understand a principle…"
These people had already largely distanced themselves from the locals, and by being sufficiently ruthless towards them, a few benefits would make the locals cooperate with us.
"This mine is now owned by your boss, me. Make sure the job is done beautifully."
.........
Raubler, a 24-year-old captain in the Congo Special Operations Forces...
He was standing on a small hill on the outer perimeter of a military camp, 5 kilometers away from the mines.
The mortar position behind him had been set up, and now they were only waiting for the command from the rear to launch the barrage. Raubler would lead his team into action.
Raubler, holding a night-vision binoculars lent to him by his brother P.B., was expertly observing the movements inside the camp.
He saw that apart from a few sentries patrolling, everyone else was laughing and making noises inside the barracks. Despite the one-kilometer distance, he could faintly hear the uproar.
Being a native of Congo, Raubler could guess why the camp was so lively.
To win over the soldiers' hearts, wealthy warlords would occasionally provide their troops with alcohol.
The less wealthy warlords would kidnap a few women from the surrounding villages to amuse the soldiers.
Poverty-stricken warlords would choose to seek thrills with their soldiers, usually by robbing a passing merchant or even attacking a local village, to give their troops some tangible benefits.
The camp being so boisterous, it was most likely that the soldiers were drinking, and they would generally start gambling after getting drunk.
The specifics of the gambling varied by region, but it was either cockfighting or dogfighting, a type of bloody entertainment that Africa Soldiers all enjoyed.
Hindered had trained with P.B. for nearly half a year, and he felt that he had long outgrown these low-level entertainments.
What exactly P.B.'s people sought in their so-called sense of honor, Raubler still couldn't quite grasp. He simply felt that earning the respect of his own people and instilling fear in his enemies was P.B.'s sense of honor!
After leaving P.B.'s base, Raubler had always demanded the strictest standards from himself and his team.
Their beds were always neatly made, their shoes were always clean before departure, he never hesitated to lend a hand to those in trouble, and didn't mind aiming a gun at some bastards, making them flee in terror.
This was the first time Raubler formally cooperated with P.B.'s team, and he desperately wanted to perform well, but he found that those usually amiable soldiers not only had top-notch equipment but also exhibited efficiency and confidence far surpassing his team.
Raubler wasn't convinced. He thought it was the effect of the night-vision devices. If his men also had one night-vision device each, then they too could move freely at night.
The order Raubler received was to attack the camp under the cover of mortar fire. He didn't know in what form the order would come, and he was getting a bit impatient.
From his experience, those soldiers would soon enter into a frenzy due to the alcohol.
Now was the best time to attack. Although he only had 100 men, he was confident of taking down the camp.
The Serbian old paratrooper responsible for the mortar position sensed Raubler's restlessness. He smiled and shook his head, saying, "Keep your men down, and nobody moves without an order."
Raubler felt slightly uncomfortable and said, "Coach, but when exactly will the order come?
I can't contact headquarters at all. What if we miss the chance…"
The Serbian veteran, seeing Raubler's eager face, smiled and said, "A soldier's duty is to obey orders. I believe I've told you this.
Don't worry, you'll know when the 'order' is given!"
Hearing this, Raubler helplessly said, "But what if they forget about us?
Coach, we are quite capable, and we've been in North Kivu for two months now. We are very familiar with this place…"
Just as the Serbian veteran was about to say something, a buzzing noise suddenly came from the sky.
The veteran glanced at the time, then turned toward the mortar position and called out, "Prepare the rounds, wait for the order!"
Then the old paratrooper himself rushed to where Raubler had been standing, pulling out a laser designator…
A green IR light traveled the distance of one kilometer, making repeated circles inside the camp.
Raubler was about to ask if he could take action when suddenly a roaring sound approached from the sky…
Realizing something, Raubler picked up the night-vision binoculars and looked towards the sky…
"Our air force has arrived!!!"
The old paratrooper glanced at the inexperienced Raubler, smiling and said, "It's P.B.'s air force!
Listen, the order you want is coming right now!"