Chapter 22: A Helping Hand

  August is the rainy season in Liberia, and a heavy downpour had fallen before dawn, bringing a welcome coolness to the stifling air of the African jungle. However, it also brought many troubles, the biggest trouble being the sound of water that was made while moving forward, so the speed of progress gradually slowed down. We spent four days crossing through the villages in the jungles and swamps ravaged by cholera under rebel control, now these towns have been destroyed by government forces beforehand, but there is no evidence left behind, however, they are now unscrupulous, all the villages that passed through were thoroughly cleaned up, people suspected of having a relationship with the rebels were shot on the spot, and now in the village opposite us, the government army is showing civilians a row of beheaded rebel heads.

  "In front of us is a relatively large village, which is the rebel's outpost. Once we pass this village, we will enter the Death Swamp, where the rebel base is located." The captain said in a low voice: "It seems that this is the main force of the government army. The batch that was surpassed by us should be the supply team. We need to rush ahead of these people into the swamp area. With the continuous heavy rain, the swamp has overflowed, and the path we know should not be usable. We need a guide!"

  "I'll sneak into the village at night and grab one out!" said the butcher.

  "What you've managed to scrape together is probably just a bunch of scraps!" The werewolf chuckled.

  "I think we don't need it anymore!" The assassin said, pointing at a tree on the side.

  Everyone turned their heads to look in the direction he was pointing, 30 meters away a child of about 10 years old was climbing up a tree with an AK-47 rifle slung over his back that was almost as tall as him.

  "God loves mercenaries! He's a rebel doll!" The captain shook his head and said, "Go bring him over!"

  The assassin disappeared silently beside me, circled around to the back of that tree, and while the little kid was looking around, he pinched his neck with one hand, his thumb pressed on the carotid artery, and in less than two seconds the kid stopped struggling, brain hypoxia fainted. The assassin carried him like a chick, brought him before us.

  "He's still just a kid." I was a bit dissatisfied with his rudeness.

  "Kids? He's killed more people than you have!" The assassin said with a chuckle.

  Leave the werewolf to watch the wind, while others take their children and sneak back into the depths of the forest, preparing for questioning.

  "Get him awake!" the captain ordered.

  The assassin patted the child's face, and as soon as he came to his senses, he immediately flipped over, reached back to feel for a gun, and his movements were extremely familiar. Unable to find the gun, the child was stunned, then slowly lifted his head, looking at us with no pleading or fear in his eyes, but rather a ferocity like that of a wild beast. He then jumped up and pounced on the assassin, opening his mouth to bite his neck. Unfortunately, he was once again grabbed by the throat by the assassin and left dangling in mid-air.

  "More skilled movements, more affectionate eyes than you!" The butcher sneered at me.

  I didn't speak up because I didn't know what to say. Such a young child has become a machine of war, and I don't know whether to be happy for him or feel sorrow.

  "Take it easy, don't be afraid, I'm your friend! We're not government soldiers! We're looking for 'Son of the Jungle', he's the one who brought us here!" The captain comforted the little kid.

  The little kid looked at us with distrust, sizing us up. After a while, he finally spoke: "The Son of the Forest said you have credentials."

  The captain took out a small wooden carving and handed it to the little kid. The kid looked at it and burst out laughing: "We've been waiting for you guys for a long time! The front sentry post has already been completely destroyed by the government army, and the rain has flooded the road. The captain had me come out just to pick you up. Follow me!" After all, he's still a kid, and once the danger is gone, his childlike nature shows through.

  Call back the werewolves, let's follow the little kids to the boundless swamp. Stepping on the soft and wet mud, one foot down and half of it would sink in. Just entering the swamp, gunshots came from behind, bullets flying over our heads. Turning back, we saw the government army also started to enter the swamp, and found that our footprints were being chased far away.

  "At this speed, we can't go any faster! We'll be caught up in no time!" the demon said.

  "But there's nowhere to hide in this vast wilderness!" The assassin also cried out, with a bullet whizzing past his buttocks.

  "The road we're taking is the only way through, it's completely impassable anywhere else." said the little kid in front.

  "That's better, we have to take this road, they also have to take it, we can't go fast, they can't go fast either. Don't counterattack, let's set an ambush at the bend ahead." The captain made a quick decision.

  "I've been waiting for you all day!" The butcher replied.

  Everyone rushed to the turning point, I slipped and fell on my butt, almost sliding into the muddy pit beside me. The slow machine ran back to pull me up, but before our hands touched, a bloody flower burst out from its ribcage, splashing warm blood all over my face.

  "Kuai man ji, ni hai hao ma?" I threw myself at him and hugged him tightly, asking.

  "If you let me lift my head out of the water, I'll be all right!" said the mud-spewing dredge.

  I picked up Kuai Man Ji, slung his rifle over my shoulder, and chased after the people in front of me. As I ran, I shouted: "Kuai Man Ji is injured! Kuai Man Ji is injured!"

  "Put him down, let me see!" The captain said, tearing open the accelerator's clothes.

  The wound of the Kuaishou machine is turned outward, like a small child's mouth, and you can vaguely see the white bones, with blood flowing out 'gurgling', which makes me feel a pang of sadness.

  "It didn't hit any internal organs, the bullet just passed through muscle!" The captain said while applying a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.

  "I like large-caliber rifles, I love the SVD! At least it has strong penetration and won't leave bullets stuck in my body," said the slow and difficult-to-understand machine.

  "I'm glad you can still joke around. But hold on!" The captain said after bandaging the wound: "Butcher, you and the kid go to the village first, the others will set up an ambush here."

  The butcher picked up the quicksand machine and followed the children rushing into the depths of the swamp forest. We were preparing to set an ambush.

  "Damn it! Damn it!" I cursed as I grabbed the M249 machine gun that I had exchanged with the butcher, cocked it, and looked around to find no place to take cover. Everyone would be exposed to enemy fire.

  "What a damn good place!"

  "Xing Tian! Xing Tian!" The captain shouted loudly at me.

  "What?" I turned back and shouted, the slow machine had hurt me, making me very emotional.

  "Steady! Goddamn steady! Cover yourselves, wait for them to come over, and we'll blow 'em in half from the middle!" The captain said as he pointed behind him, the assassins were already slowly crouching in the water, only their gun barrels and eyes exposed.

  I also retreated into the water behind, slowly crouching down in the water, only exposing my eyes and gun barrel. The murky muddy water covered my nose, poured into my collar, and slowly took away the temperature on my body. However, the faint smell of blood from the slow machine's face stung my nerves, because it was the first time in my life that I saw a friend get hurt due to my own reasons. Looking at the pale face of the slow machine, and his trembling lips, it felt like someone was slapping me in the face with a big palm, making me feel uncomfortable.

  With tears in my eyes, I watched as the enemy turned around the bend and drew closer and closer. In the heavy rain, the enemy seemed to have not noticed the scattered gun barrels exposed outside in the distance, and they were rushing straight towards us. The captain's order was slow to come, leaving me anxious and feeling like there were tens of thousands of voices shouting: Wipe them out! Avenge our machine gun! Wipe them out!

  "Boom!" A remote-controlled landmine exploded in the middle of the enemy's column at a bend, blowing the troops apart.

  "Fire!" The captain's voice was like a refreshing rain from heaven, and for the first time I felt so eager to tear apart the enemy in front of me.

  I clutched the machine gun tightly, bullets flying towards the enemy in front like raindrops. The point man's chest was blown open like a burst pillow by my M249, and through the hole in his chest, I could see the enemies behind him. Next one! Next one! Next one! Next one!... The enemies in front fell down row by row like harvested wheat, and every time the rear enemy tried to rush over to support, the captain would press the remote control button, and the corner would explode again. After four consecutive explosions, the enemy no longer dared to charge forward.

  After firing 200 rounds, there was no one standing in front of me. I drew my pistol and rushed towards a guy who was groaning and trying to pick up his gun from the water. I aimed at his chest and fired repeatedly, not sparing anyone who showed their body above the water's surface, whether they were dead or alive. After finishing one magazine, I replaced it with another and stood in front of the last person who could still move. I shot him six more times but was still unsatisfied, so I picked up an AK from the water and fired a burst at his head until there was nothing left of his neck. Only then did I stop, looking around to see if there were any other survivors.

  "Slap!" The captain came up and gave me a slap: 'Xing Tian, I've been calling you for half a day, did you hear me?'

  "I didn't hear! SIR!" I panted out.

  "Get your damn ass out of here with them now! Did you hear me?" the captain yelled.

  "I..."

  "Did you hear that, you son of a bitch?!" The captain yanked on my collar, furious.

  "YESSIR!" I stormed off in a huff.

  "Ah-Lan! You keep an eye on this kid! Don't let him get into any trouble!" the captain warned Ah-Lan.

  "Yessir! Come on, kid!" The werewolf dragged me along, picked up the gun and chased after the butcher and his men in the direction they had just gone.

  "All the way, the werewolf walked and said: 'That's not your fault! Xing Tian, that's not your fault! Such things are unavoidable.' The werewolf kept comforting me, but what I heard in my ears was like a needle prick, very uncomfortable."

  "If it wasn't for me slipping away, he wouldn't have come back to pull me, and he wouldn't have gotten hurt! It's all my fault!" I was filled with self-blame.

  "It's nothing, on the battlefield we are your eyes and you are ours! We are your cover and you are ours too! This time he took a hit for you, didn't you also save Cowboy's life once? We're brothers, don't worry about it. Even if we die for our brothers, everyone would be willing to do so, right?" The captain said, patting my shoulder as he caught up from behind.

  "Yes, sir!" I replied, but the guilt still felt like a stone stuck in my throat, and I turned my head to take a hard look at the rebel army on the opposite shore.

  Click to view picture link: Dragunov SVD sniper rifle