Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
*Clank, clank.*
Two assault boats were thrown down from two different helicopters. Along with the assault boats, a few large floatable pails were also thrown down.
A few mercenaries who were clad in professional military uniforms quickly grabbed onto those large blue pails. They then hopped onto the assault boats. After confirming their destination, they paddled forward at a high speed.
They were still more than 20 miles away from Guozheng Charity Hospital. However, if they were to proceed any further with the helicopters, they would not be able to find a place to land. It was an extremely dangerous place to go even with the assault boats.
The mercenaries did not mind, though. Compared with the missions they had embarked on before, this mission was extremely easy. Most importantly, compared to the missions that they have heard their compatriots boasting about, not only was this mission easy, but they could totally boast about it. All of them liked it very much.
Amid the heavy rain, the mercenaries weathered all obstacles and tried their best to advance. Even though things were not difficult to the point that they had to pave their own paths and build their own bridges, plenty of dangerous incidents that were complicated to deal with happened during their journey. The boats had capsized a few times, and there were places where they had to walk while carrying the boats. If it were not for the fact that they were highly paid, the mercenaries would have made a documentary about their journey.
Of course, if the pay was not that high, they would not have embarked on this mission at all.
They started walking at dawn, and only managed to cover the journey of more than twenty miles by evening. They stood looking at the silhouette of Guozheng Charity Hospital on the horizon.
âAlright, gentlemen. Right now, we have basically secured our pay.â The captain took a few photographs. He then adjusted his cap and laughed.
His team members cheered too.
âNext, weâll do as planned. One team will be heading to Cuba Town while the other team will go to Guozheng Charity Hospital. As long as you protect the identified targets well, youâll receive a reward. Aside from this, the roads between Cuba Town and the hospital are no longer usable. So, whichever team that comes up with a way to solve this problem will receive a reward too. If both teams do it together, you guys can share the rewards among yourselves.â The captain licked his lips and said, âAn opportunity where you can earn so much money is hard to come by. So, do make sure that you guys stay alive.â
âOf course.â
âCheers to money!â
âIâm going to rent a yard and f*ck all the way from above to below the deck. Iâll then f*ck all the way from below to above the deck. Iâll thenââ
âYouâre merely receiving a reward, not robbing a treasury.â The captain sighed in resignation and continued, âAfter the first team arrives at Cuba Town, do make sure to communicate well with Tian Guozhengâs bodyguards. You guys donât need me to remind you about what you should and shouldnât do, do you? The second team, make sure to keep your guard up regarding the plague. I suggest members of both teams to wear your gas masks.â
One of the team members said, âWeâre not in Africa, and thereâs no Ebola outbreak here. Very little viruses are capable of airborne transmission.â
âDonât take the presence of dead bodies lightly.â The captain then pointed at the surface of the water and continued, âPolluted water can be deadly too, so, those of you who are going to Cuba shouldnât let your guard down either. Thereâs plenty of cattle there, and a few hundred of them are already dead due to a lack of food. Some of their dead bodies are in the floodwater. If weâre not able to leave even after a day or two, you guys will definitely thank God for the creation of gas masks.â
After he said that, the captain pointed at the hospital with a solemn expression. âIâll be leading the second team. Letâs take a ten-minute rest and make our way there. As none of the communication devices in the hospital are working, we donât know the exact situation there. Thereâs a possibility that everyone is dead. Perhaps⦠Hmm, if all the people there are dead, weâll have to look at the dead bodies one by one as weâll need to bring the doctorâs dead body back.â
âI hope that other people have not eaten him up.â
âItâs only been a few days. Things canât be that bad yet.â
âHave you not seen a person in despair before?â
The captain ignored what everyone was saying. He whipped out his satellite phone and tried to report the situation in town.
â¦â¦
In Botal City, the person in charge of the site, Lucio, became more and more agitated as he waited.
When the satellite phone started ringing, Lucio was looking outside the window. He immediately charged over to the phone, and he was so fast that it was as if he was on a skateboard.
He did not really have any useful subordinates, to the point that the situation could not be resolved at all. Right now, the only people he could pin his hopes on were the team of mercenaries. Of course, he had quite a lot of subordinates. It was just that none of them were useful.
In the face of such a disaster, other than the reporters, everyone intended to wait until the rain stopped before heading to the site of the flood via helicopters. At least, they would only like to travel there by the time they were sure that the rain would stop when they arrived.
No one was willing to risk their lives to enter the site of the flood like the mercenaries. After all, unlike the mercenaries, they were merely getting paid as civil servants.
There was nothing Lucio could do about this situation. This situation repeated itself every single time a flood happened. It was like this a few years ago, ten years ago, and twenty years ago. If it were not for the fact that Tian Guozheng and his entourage were trapped in the flood this time, Lucio would not have been this anxious.
âBoss, we found the car.â The voice of one of his subordinates rang out from the satellite phone.
Lucio froze for a moment and shouted out loud in disappointment, âJust give me a normal voice call if you found the car. Why the heck did you call the satellite phone? Can you be a little more careful with the taxpayersâ money?â
âOh, okay⦠Iâll give you a call.â His subordinate immediately hung up.
Lucio froze for a moment. He said angrily as he held the satellite phone which was bigger than a tomato, âDonât these people know how to finish what they want to say before hanging up?â
Before he could finish cursing his subordinate, the phone on the table started ringing. Right after that, the satellite phone in Lucioâs hand rang again.
Lucio answered the satellite phone first.
âWeâve already arrived in Cuba Town.â The voice of the captain of the mercenary team rang out from the satellite phone.
Lucio perked up. He immediately asked, âHowâs the situation there now?â
âWeâll be in the city center in ten minutes. Thereâs nothing out of the ordinary about the situation hereâ¦â The captain of the mercenary team did not have anything to report, but he spoke to Lucio anyway. This was because he wanted to report the progress of the mission to Lucio so that if an accident were to happen that prevented them from completing the mission, he could charge them based on what they have done. After all, mercenaries were the type to show off for a long time even if they only completed their basic tasks.
Lucio quickly offered him some encouragement. After he hung up, he could not help but smile. He even started whistling a song.
For him, it would be enough to protect Cuba Town. As for how things turned out in the hospital, he did not care.
Of course, it would be best if there were a few survivors in the hospital.
As Lucio thought about this, he could not help but walk toward the window again. He was deep in thought as he gazed at the rain outside the window. If he managed to save Tian Guozheng this time, he could try participating in the election.
After a long time, the satellite phone did not ring again.
Lucio raised his left hand abruptly and glanced at his watch. He furrowed his eyebrows. âAlmost half an hour has passed.â
His second-in-command nodded. He was secretly impressed. âTrue, you did zone out for half an hour.â
âWhere are the mercenaries? Have they arrived?â Lucio continued inquiring.
As they spoke, the satellite phone rang again.
âBoss, we have arrived at Guozheng Charity Hospital.â The captain was very accurate in his pronunciation of âGuozhengâ.
âHowâre things? Did you guys find that Chinese doctor?â
âYes. Youâll never be able to imagine what heâs doing.â The captain was emotional.
Lucioâs heart skipped a beat. What decisions would a doctor make when he had to deal with almost a hundred patients as well as their family members in a hospital in a site of disaster? He had already conjured up a tragic story in his mind.
Fortunately, the captain did not expect Lucio to reply. He continued, âTheyâre barbequing meat.â
âWhat⦠meat?â
âBeef. They gathered a herd of cattle who were escaping the flood and also obtained some coal. It is really delicious. One of the patientsâ family members is a cook. A few of the people here had also worked in barbeque restaurants before. They totally set up a free barbeque restaurant here. Hm, everythingâs perfect aside from the fact that thereâs no beer.â After the captain said this, he realized that he was not conveying important information. He quickly continued, âThe Chinese doctor is operating on patients. He seems very healthy. Everything in the hospital is going really well too. They powered up the hospital with a backup generatorâ¦â
However, Lucio did not relax when he heard this. He asked, âDid nobody die? How many survivors are there?â
âNobody died. At least, not for the past few days. All the patients, their family members, and the people who are taking refuge here survived.â The captain bit off a mouthful of beef as he spoke. After trudging through the flood all day, he felt like he was in heaven to be able to sit in the clean cafeteria and devour delicious barbequed meat.
âIt looks like youâre loving the food. Eat up.â With a friendly expression on his face, the head chef placed a large chunk of barbequed rump on the table. He then asked, âYou guys have a satellite phone? Can we borrow it? Iâd like to give my family members a call.â
âMe too.â
âThank you for bringing the satellite phone over. Our only worry is that we canât communicate with the outside world.â
Everyone in the cafeteria crowded around the captain and sucked up to him.
As a mercenary, the captain rarely had the chance to become the center of attention. Every time he was the center of attention, he was merely being cursed. His ego inflated at lightning speed, but he learned how to put on a humble act even though no one was teaching him how to. âYou guys donât have to thank me. This is nothing. You guys should thank the Chinese doctor. He saved everyone in the hospital.â
âDoctor Ling doesnât need our gratitude. Heâs a saint.â
âYes, Doctor Ling provided us with guidance and saved us. He also taught us how to maintain the order in the hospital.â
âMeeting Doctor Ling is the best thing that has ever happened to me.â
Everyone in the cafeteria clasped their hands together and started a round of prayer.
After a while, the head chef turned and flashed the captain a smile. âAfter Doctor Ling is done operating on the patient, heâll probably come over to meet you guys and thank you for your contribution. You guys showed that thereâs good in humanity.â
The captain stayed silent for several seconds. He then said, âYouâre welcome.â