At the same evening, in a canyon hundreds of kilometers away, in an open space beside a stream, there was a small camp composed of off-road vehicles and several camouflage tents.
Edison, the leader of the Black Thunder Mercenary Team, walked out of the tent while touching his neck and shoulders, facing the sunset on the horizon, and turned his neck slightly stiffly, showing the typical symptom of stiff neck.
He was on night watch last night, and of course he didn't sleep all day. It's just that I don't know if it was because he was not accustomed to the climate, or because of old injuries in the past, or a combination of both, which caused him to have extremely poor sleep quality and become comatose. After lying in a daze all day, I lay down straight away with a stiff neck.
Time is not forgiving!
I remember walking around the world with a gun, and walking through the tropical rainforests of Africa for more than half a year, just like going home. Looking at it now, it’s okay not to talk about it... While expressing melancholy and emotion that is appropriate for his age, Edison walked around The woods behind the tent release water.
Oh, Fuck, the water can’t be released far...
I walked back to the camp with increasing melancholy, and came to the stream, where smokeless charcoal was burning brightly in a simple barbecue grill.
Also sitting next to him was a middle-aged man, wearing a black combat uniform and a gun belt hanging on his waist. His overall image was quite hardcore, but his temperament was quite gentle. He slowly turned over the chicken wings and grilled fish in his hands, and occasionally looked at the steak on the iron plate beside him. The oil blossoms made a sizzling sound, and the craftsmanship looked pretty good.
"Are you awake? Just in time, I was just about to call you out to eat." The middle-aged man turned around and said hello. Seeing Edison's face, he couldn't help but be startled, "You're in a bad state. Didn't you sleep well?"
"It's okay, just wash your face." Edison denied it firmly, then turned back to look at the quiet camp and asked in confusion, "Where are the others?"
"Black Umbrella is playing games in the tent, and Yula is on guard outside. Xiao Ak and Viper drove to the town to do shopping in the afternoon. They should have been drinking in the bar by now." Shaking his head with a smile, the middle-aged man said casually However, it reported the movements of each team member extremely accurately.
"Bar?" Edison frowned upon hearing this, "We are on a mission, you should remind them."
"Don't worry, I told them the time to come back, seven o'clock." He raised his hand and looked at his tactical watch. After making a rough estimate, the middle-aged man smiled and said, "They can still have a drink."
"Then don't wait for them. I'll ask Black Umbrella to come out to eat. You call Yura on the intercom."
"Don't worry, the steak is not good yet. The best taste is when it is medium rare." The middle-aged man handed over a chicken wing. "If you are hungry, you can try this first. Let's talk while eating. Well, that one Your employer still hasn't contacted you today?"
"No." Edison gnawed on the chicken wings and replied vaguely,
"Oh, what a mysterious guy."
After hearing this, Edison moved his hands, looked at his thoughtful partner, and slowly put down the chicken wings: "You also suspect that there is something wrong with your employer?"
The latter shook his head: "It's hard to say. Although the other party has your personal phone number and contacting you directly is a bit abrupt. We, Black Thunder, are not famous. But whether it is the task negotiation or the price, it is enough to prove that the other party is an expert. I’m not joking. It’s just that there have been ten days in total, and now five days have passed, but there has been no movement, which is really abnormal.”
"Let me tell you, you think too much about classic cars!"
This was not said by Edison, but by a burly man with a mohawk, who was also wearing a complete combat uniform. He should be the only black umbrella left in the camp. He strode over and said casually, "Anyway, we have collected the deposit, and it is impossible to refund it. Just treat it as a trip and dinner, and you still have money to take it. Isn't this just right?"
"Ha, that's the truth."
The middle-aged man, also known as the old car, smiled and nodded in agreement. His original name was Rex. Because there was only one word different from a certain car brand, and because of his cautious driving habits of never exceeding 60 yards, he was nicknamed Laoye. The car... opened a can of beer and handed it over, "800,000 remuneration, 300,000 deposit, payment will be made directly after confirmation. I haven't encountered such a happy employer in a long time."
"I'm afraid it won't be easy to get the money." Edison shook his head in a deep voice, "As I told you, I had a feeling when I contacted you before that the other party seemed to know us very well. This is not normal!"
"It can't be an old friend who made a joke, right? A joke worth three hundred thousand dollars?" Black Umbrella spread his hands, "If so, I hope this old friend can maintain his sense of humor."
This point really doesn’t make sense, and it’s also the reason why Edison and his team, Brain Classic Cars, finally agreed to it after long discussions.
Of course, the main reason is lack of business and money.
Perhaps in the eyes of uninformed outsiders, mercenary status represents mystery, power, adventure, war, death, money, etc., and other high-yield and high-risk words. But if you really get involved, it is like discovering that this industry is essentially different from other industries. Not much difference.
For example, it still follows the head effect and the 80/20 rule; it is also like the winner always takes all, and the rest are all losers. Title
Black Thunder is the latter. They didn't even have the chance to participate in the market competition. Before they had time to taste the taste of failure, they unknowingly reached the edge of elimination.
The reason is very simple to put it bluntly. If you want to live well, in addition to the necessary hard power, you must also keep up with the soft power such as fame and connections. Otherwise, you will often end up in the embarrassing situation of being drunk and afraid of deep alleys.
Obviously, none of these big guys like Black Thunder have such hard and soft strength. Let alone where they are from the special forces, they are mercenaries who have never seen ordinary soldiers. When asked, they are all special forces, and at last they are airborne soldiers. Don’t ask for details. After all, even if there are special forces in the African region, they are also special forces, right?
"Anyway, we'll stay here for ten days. If there's still no news, we'll go back. If there is, be careful when moving..." Just halfway through saying the word "caution," suddenly, there was a buzzing and vibrating sound coming from Edison's body.
He was stunned for a moment, took out his cell phone, and his eyes suddenly froze. Upon seeing this, the old car realized something and made a silent gesture to Black Umbrella.
Picking up the phone, "Hi, Mr. Employer...the equipment has been shipped and is ready to go at any time...wait a moment, let me check..." He took the phone away and a text message came in, containing an address and specific longitude and latitude.
The old car beside him pulled out a small laptop from nowhere. After inputting the coordinates and calling up the data, he turned the screen around.
"... We are now 220 kilometers away from the location you gave us, which takes about four hours' drive... Mr. Employer, I don't want to question your decision, but I think professional matters are best left to professionals. What do you think? ...Okay, let’s talk about it then!”
After ending the call with a few words, Edison turned to look at Black Umbrella solemnly: "Call AK and Viper and ask them to come back now."
The latter turned around and walked towards the tent without saying a word.
"This place... looks like a fishing village." Laojia Che stared at the coordinates of the coastal map on the screen, touched his chin, and said thoughtfully.
"Pirates, you can think of it." Since they accepted the mission, they naturally have to understand the general situation. However, Edison and the others currently only know that they want to rescue the hostages from the pirates, and they don't know anything else.
"Well, is there anything else you can say?"
"Not much, just give us an address and let us arrive before noon tomorrow. In addition, besides us, the employer seems to have sent his own people, or hired a team of people, so that we can act together then."
"Is there anyone else?" Laojie Che immediately frowned upon hearing this and immediately grasped the key point, "What about the command authority, is it with the other party or with us?"
"Undecided, I just said that we will contact you when we get there." Edison shook his head, lowered the corner of his mouth, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone, "But from the employer's tone, it seems that he is very confident that the other party can get the command. In this case, then, when we get there, Everyone should act according to his ability, and whoever is forced to do so will listen to him."
Obviously, Edison is quite indifferent to this group of newcomers who suddenly appeared. This is also human nature. It is not that they are trying to grab business. The prices are all negotiated in advance. Which side contributes more has nothing to do with how much it should get. .
But command authority is very important, because it is not only related to the success or failure of the mission, but also related to the personal safety of the team members, which must be taken seriously. After all, no one wants to be killed by a pig teammate.
"It's really hard to get this money." Laojia sighed.
"It's okay. If we really can't reach an agreement, the worst we can do is quit. As for how much of the deposit should be refunded..." After a pause, Edison hesitated, "We'll discuss it then. Anyway, we can't make this trip in vain!"
"Okay, let's do this, eat first."
…
Then Black Thunder and a group of six people, including Xiao Ak and Viper who were urgently called back from the town, as well as Yura who was on guard outside, finished dinner one after another and returned to their tents to seize the time to rest until they all woke up at one o'clock in the morning and packed up. Equipped with equipment, cleared traces, and broke camp overnight to leave the canyon.
Although the phone call in the evening said that they could arrive before noon, Edison and others who have experienced battles cannot completely trust their employer, not to mention that the mission itself has an unusual smell, so for Just in case, they decided to set off early, arrive at their destination, and then spend half a day doing preliminary reconnaissance to eliminate possible risks.
It took about four hours to drive, and there was no conversation all the way. At nearly 5:30, several off-road vehicles successfully arrived at the outskirts of the target fishing village.
It has to be said that this wave of stuck points is quite accurate. At this time, the sun has not risen in the east and the sky is not bright yet, which is suitable for reconnaissance and platooning.
After hiding the car on the spot, six heavily armed black thunderbolts chose to sneak in from the direction of the coastal cliff woods in the north of the fishing village.
About a quarter of an hour into the journey, Edison, who was walking at the front of the team, suddenly raised his arm and made a gesture. Then, in the doubtful gaze of the team members, he reached into his arms and took out Yingying's low-light mobile phone.
Looking at the familiar caller ID number on the screen, Edison couldn't help but frown, but after thinking about it, he picked up the phone and put it to his ear: "Mr. Employer, your call came at a bad time."
"Oh, you're here."
"Hmm...huh?!" In the cool morning breeze mixed with a faint fishy smell, Edison felt as if he was electrified. His whole body under the black combat uniform suddenly shook. He suddenly raised his head, and his sharp eyes like a knife swept across him instantly. All around.
Upon seeing this, the rest of the Black Lightning team members dispersed on condition of reflex, each hiding behind the bunker, pointing their guns at random. Immediately, after a few seconds of silence, they all looked at their captain blankly.
Edison's cheek twitched, and he quickly raised his hand and lowered it to send a safety signal. Then he faced the inquiring look of the old car, smiled helplessly, pressed the hands-free button on the phone, and took a deep breath.
"Mr. Employer, I can understand your eagerness to rescue the hostages as soon as possible. But what I want to say is that even if you come in person, it will not be of any real help to the operation."
Edison's tone is still calm, but God knows that at this moment, his heart is already roaring with ten thousand grass and mud horses, and it is really chaotic and collapsed!
Although he didn't know how the mysterious employer knew that they had arrived in advance, the problem now was not that. You must know that on the way here, he and Lao Xiach had racked their brains for a long time to study the command of the next operation, and they also wanted to He tried many methods in order to give those later colleagues a deterrent and try to frighten them and win them in one fell swoop!
As a result, the employer himself came to the scene in person to finish the job. How can he establish his power now? How can he seize the command power? What a fuss!
To be honest, Edison had already begun to consider the issue of how much percent of the deposit would be refunded later... Of course, before that, he still had to save something.
I cleared my throat, organized my words, and was waiting to talk to the other party again about the necessity of leaving science popularization matters to professionals, but unexpectedly, a faint voice came from the other end of the phone,
"This is my business, you just need to do what you should do. I am calling to remind you that at three o'clock, fifty meters to the right of the ridgeline, there is a hidden sentry. If you go further, It will enter the opponent's field of vision."
"Walter!"
"In addition, you'd better return the same way you came from now. Someone in the village is going up the mountain, and they should be changing the guard. If they pass by, they will most likely see where you are now."
"Well……"
"Finally, for the first time, I hope that such an unexpected situation will be the first and the last time. Goodbye, professionals."