Chapter 3: Desert and Temptation

  On the sixth afternoon, three people brought back a backpack of drugs and a border guard soldier to the base. They went through the usual reporting procedures and sent the soldier who had been unconscious all along to the medical room. The three hadn't even had time to rest when their instructor called them into the conference room.

  The wolf head still had a lazy look, the cigar in his hand exhaled a faint sweet scent. If it weren't for the huge LCD screen behind him displaying satellite images that were updated at any time, he would be just a laid-back old farmer. However, the words coming out of this old man's mouth along with the smoke were indeed surprising.

  "Hey, young ones! I heard you blew up the processing plant? Hmm, not bad. After all, one less toxic factory means one less threat to our hometown. You've made some progress this time, and the intel you brought back is quite useful. As a reward for your bravery, the squad leader has decided to give you a chance to experience foreign culture. I'll lead the team, just the four of us will go to the Middle East to make some extra cash. Take a break!" Wolf Head said, his tone suddenly turning serious...

  "Bang!" The three remaining wolves instinctively stood at attention.

  "This March, the US-Iraq war broke out. Two months have passed and I reckon the US army has already clashed with Iraq's 'Eight Route Army'. This time, I'm taking you guys there not just to make some extra money, but mainly to let you learn combat skills in a desert environment. The specific battle plan will be told when we arrive on site. Take the passports on the table and go rest for now. A helicopter will pick up you three little devils to Yangguang in five hours. I'll wait for you there. Oh, just bring one roll of silk rope each for self-defense, other equipment will be discussed when we get to France."

  What is called self-defense is actually a psychological comfort, people who have been in contact with war for a long time lack a sense of security, they need to hold something in their hands to feel at ease, so the seemingly harmless and can be carried on the plane garrote wire became the first choice, this also makes it have the nickname "old soldier chewing gum".

  "Li Min", looking at the ordinary name on his passport, Lang Hu's eyes were dazed for a moment. It had been almost seven years since he last returned home to see his grandfather. This time, who knew how long the US-Iraq war would last? If Lang didn't fully master desert survival skills, there was no chance of returning. In fact, whether or not he returned made little difference; this place was just a base after all, and he had long since lost his home.

  Shaking his head, he stopped thinking and walked into the bathroom. The icy water hit the scars on his body, as if telling the story of a cruel war that had taken place on this small man's body.

  As the plane took off and landed, in an airport on the French island of Corsica, a tall man with three children walked out of the airport.

  "Uh, instructor, where's the legendary beautiful woman with flowers, red wine and a luxurious car?" He asked, sweating profusely as he looked at the heavily modified Hummer outside the airport.

  "Shut up, I didn't bring you here to have fun. If something happens later, don't resist." Before the wolf head finished speaking, a black soldier wearing ACU uniform jumped out of the heavily armed Hummer.

  "Hello, I'm Vicks. Sorry to have kept you waiting." The black soldier said as he put four black hoods on the heads of the four men one by one. Sitting in the carriage filled with loud heavy metal music, the four men could only feel the Hummer accelerating, decelerating and turning non-stop. Until a screeching sound brought them to a stop, the four were taken out of the car. As they removed their hoods, Wolf found himself inside the belly of a huge transport plane. Before he could regain his senses, a low rumble started, and the plane took off.

  The wolf looked around slowly and observed, the more he looked, the more puzzled he became. This is a C-17, how can it appear on the outskirts of France? Is it the British SAS?...

  It seemed that the few wolves had doubts, and the wolf head explained to the three people in lip language. It turned out that this was a "flight" rented at a high price by several smaller mercenary groups in France, which was used to transport ammunition for their own team members, and they were just buying off the mechanics after hitching a ride, now that the situation in Iraq is tense, this is the safest and simplest way to enter Iraq.

  The black soldier seemed to be at ease with Wolf's character and smiled warmly at the few people before turning around and leaving through the spiral staircase from the aircraft cabin.

  "Alright! The outsider is gone, you little devils shouldn't be stunned anymore, quickly change your clothes." Wolf Head said as he lifted the canvas on the back of the Hummer, and the three of them were again dizzy for a moment. Four M82A1s, four SSG69s, four AK74Us, over ten Beretta M92FSs, and... ammunition boxes filled all the space in the trunk.

  Godfather, are you going to kill me or what... The chicken's eyes twitched as it squeezed out a chrysanthemum-like smile towards the wolf cub.

  The wolf head watched the three little ghosts with a painful expression, and his mood seemed to be particularly good. "This time your task is to adapt to the desert background of the war mode, so I kindly prepared urban sniper training and ultra-long-range shooting training for you. Don't make that face, just our skin color, in this country there is no chance to fight a surprise attack, unless you want to disguise yourself as a Japanese devil."

  Three people began to put on their equipment as if they had resigned themselves to their fate, and looked at Jīyǎn with envy, who was already nearly 190 cm tall. Then they looked back at the remaining wolf, which was only 154 cm tall, a standard Cub Scout size. Knife thought maliciously that Jīyǎn must be the illegitimate son of the Wolf King...

  C17 landed in Baghdad amidst the war, gazing at the scarred city and the constant gunfire nearby. The wolf head tied a black scarf around the fire tower on top of the Hummer, then drove towards Ramadi, 100 kilometers west of Baghdad.

  Ramadi is located on the south bank of the Euphrates River, near which are produced dates, corn and millet. The Ramadi Barrage is one of Iraq's main irrigation structures.

  "Boss, are we helping the Americans attack Iraq this time?" Ji Yan asked while chewing on a roasted fish he had bought from the banks of the Euphrates River.

  "You really are a pig brain, aren't you? Helping the Americans, we use this broken thing to run to Ramadi?" Zhan Lang patted the thick body of the M82A1 and snatched the roasted fish from Jiyanyan's hand, handing it over to Daozi.

  "The little rascals have analyzed it well, this time we are helping the local armed forces to give the Americans a hard time. Soldiers above the rank of sergeant will get $1,000 each, armored vehicles will be $5,000, and other facilities will be calculated separately. This price is not bad, our employer is an Iraqi millionaire in exile, so we don't have to worry about the commission issue. You guys install these micro camera probes on the scope, it can help us record in real-time, and when you switch guns, remember to take this little thing off, our commissions are all here." Wolf Head smiled and threw a pile of things similar to tactical lights at several kids.

  "The base has already opened three accounts for you in a Swiss bank, the bank cards are all placed in your bachelor apartment at the base. From today on, you three brothers are officially approved to join the Chinese camp."

  "Furthermore", what was unprecedented for this wolf cub was just getting started.

  "Zanlang, your bank card is in the hands of an old man. He asked the captain to tell you that some things are not urgent, and your strength is still not enough."

  The remaining wolf was stunned, and then nodded and fell asleep with his gun, while the knife and chicken eye had a thoughtful expression, and the carriage was rarely quiet.

  At midnight, the car drove into Ramadi and stopped in front of a dilapidated mosque restaurant after several right turns. Soon, a man with a white headscarf opened the door and sat in the passenger seat, and Lang Tou'er followed the man's guidance to drive the car to an abandoned oil refinery on the outskirts.

  As the four fully armed young warriors walked down from the car, the old man at the gate of the refinery excitedly grasped Wolf's hand. "Thank God, you are the strongest warriors! My name is Abdulh, please come in, these damned Americans are too greedy."

  Servant of the Lord? The old man's name is really funny, and several people followed in with a sneer.

  "According to the contract, your combat area is several major cities in Iraq and around each oil field. According to Mr. Ebeni's latest request, if you need to go and destroy the US-controlled oil fields, I know it's difficult, but Mr. Ebeni is willing to pay $100,000 to hire you. For Allah's sake, please accept our employment, Wolf Head!" The old man bowed to Wolf Head.

  The wolf head slightly considered and readily accepted the extra employment, "We will contact each other once a month as agreed and settle accounts. The task period is six natural months. I hope your people won't cause any trouble. Also, I need your people to provide us with free logistical support at all times. After all, we can't carry so much ammunition around the world ourselves." Wolf head said to the old man, patting the Hummer's carriage.

  With Akadula's consent, the four men stopped talking nonsense and quickly changed into the desert combat uniforms provided by the other party before getting back on the car to return to Baghdad.

  Along the outskirts of Baghdad, Wolf Head hid the Hummer in a dilapidated car wash shed. This place would serve as an arsenal for the four men for some time to come. After a simple division of labor, Wolf Head led Chicken Eye, who was familiar with machine guns, into a half-destroyed six-story building in Hurriyah (a district northwest of Baghdad). Knife, who was originally a sniper, took Broken Wolf and headed towards the Central Railway Station. The first exercise against the desert backdrop seemed to be about to begin...