บท 3: Chapter 3
After getting on the truck, Freeman kept talking incessantly, complaining about the harshness of this transport mission. At first, Li Yexing listened attentively, thinking that this talkative guy might accidentally say something interesting.
But after ten minutes, Li Yexing had to admit that he underestimated this guy. Freeman talked for a full ten minutes, without any substance at all. He seemed to say everything, but in fact, what he said was just nonsense. But unexpectedly, he was a guy with a tight-lipped attitude.
Thinking this way, Li Yexing no longer paid attention to what this guy said, but turned his head to look at the other people in the truck.
There were a total of ten people in the truck, excluding Freeman and himself. It was exactly an eight-person team, fully armed in black combat uniforms, wearing black helmets that Li Yexing had never seen before, and gas masks on their faces. Each person was equipped with a pistol, a knife, a radio, and an HK-416.
The only exception was the tall white man sitting opposite Li Yexing. This guy had his gas mask hanging on his waist, his helmet beside him, and his face wore a pair of sunglasses, looking serious and not smiling. However, what caught Li Yexing's attention the most was his conspicuous bald head.
Feeling Li Yexing's gaze, the bald guy raised his head, and his eyes met through the sunglasses. A chill ran down Li Yexing's spine, feeling like he was facing not a person, but a wolf in the wilderness, emitting a dangerous aura all over.
"He is Norman, the captain of our security team." Freeman noticed Li Yexing's gaze and introduced this bald guy to him with a smile.
"Don't mind him. He's always like this, always wearing a deadpan face. That's why I don't like being in the same car with him. It's too boring. Luckily, you came!"
Li Yexing thought to himself, 'I'm sorry but, it seems like I haven't really talked with you at all. Wasn't it you who did all the talking alone while I just listened quietly?'
Of course, he didn't say this out loud to avoid offending anyone. Just as the atmosphere was becoming awkward, a voice came through their radio, "Boss, we're about to enter Roples."
The convoy was stopped by local forces. Li Yexing shifted his gaze away from the bald man Norman and got off the truck to negotiate with the local troops. The officer in charge was an acquaintance of Li Yexing.
After being given some bills, he happily signaled for the soldiers to let them pass. Li Yexing waved to the driver of the lead truck, indicating that the convoy could move forward.
As the lead truck slowly passed, Li Yexing noticed that the trucks were not for transporting people. The rounded shape of the vehicle resembled that of an oil tanker, but it was entirely black with numbers and letters written around it, resembling the codes used for Japanese AV movies in a past life.
There was a red valve on the side of the vehicle, which seemed to be used to open the tanker. This thing looked like an oversized virgin iron lady that had come off a 21st-century industrial assembly line. Apart from the lead truck, there were two more trucks behind it.
The officer patted Li Yexing on the shoulder and asked, "Li, what is this convoy transporting?"
"I'm not sure. Our rule in this business is to take the money and do the job without asking unnecessary questions."
The officer understood and Li Yexing didn't say anything more. When the second truck passed by, he got back on the truck.
"It's great to find a reliable local guide," Freeman said with a smile as they got back in the truck.
"I heard Roples is a den of scum and villains, but I can tell that you're different. You and I are both civilized people. By normal standards, our security team is more than capable of handling small-scale armed conflicts, but my boss always thinks it's not safe enough. He insisted that we spend money to find a local guide, so I contacted Mr. Argo."
"Civilized people?" Li Yexing pondered, thinking that Argo probably didn't tell him that he was already capable of peeling people alive and feeding them to fish while he was still underage at sea.
Roples is not an ordinary city where money talks and bullsh*t walks. It's full of ball-busting, money-grubbing scumbags who even deal with stolen goods. Argo's job is to help outsiders find reliable locals. In other words, he's a middleman. You give him money, and he finds people while making some profit on the side.
Li Yexing heard a hint of disdain in Freeman's words and guessed that this guy probably didn't do much fieldwork. Underneath his polite and hospitable manner, he was concealing his arrogance as a so-called civilized person.
This made him look down on the scumbags in the small Eastern European city. Without a doubt, he considered Roples as an ordinary city with poor security conditions, lacking the beating of local gangs and veteran villains.
You know, Roples is a city where street gunfights happen every day. Wait a minute, that country America is almost the same. Li Yexing suddenly realized that, there was a reason why others looked down on this place and that he was too shallow.
The bald man Norman sitting opposite Li Yexing looked out the window and his already tense brow furrowed even tighter. "Let's get out of here quickly. The air here is nauseating," he said.
Next, Li Yexing planned the route for the convoy and made a few stops to make arrangements. The convoy left Roples without incident.
"You're quite well-known in this city," Freeman said, seemingly surprised at how smoothly the trip went. "I heard from Mr. Argo that you're just a mercenary, but it looks like I underestimated you."
"You flatter me," Li Yexing didn't want to dwell on this topic. He just wanted to deliver the goods, get paid, then leave.
It was already pitch-black outside, and the mountains on either side of the road were covered in trees that Li Yexing couldn't name. In the darkness that the headlights couldn't penetrate, it felt like something was lurking, which made Li Yexing very uncomfortable. He couldn't help but light a cigarette and look up, only to find the bald man Norman staring at him intensely.
After thinking for a moment, Li Yexing handed over a cigarette and said, "Want one?"
"I don't smoke," Norman shook his head.
Li Yexing threw the already lit but unsmoked cigarette out of the truck window, feeling a little disappointed.
"I told you, Mr. Li is a gentleman," Freeman said, patting Li Yexing's shoulder and turning to Norman as if he had found a new topic.
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On the dark roadside, a short-haired muscular man in thick clothing looked at his phone and checked the time. Then, his earpiece made a sound, "Chris, the roadblock is in place, I and the others have reached the designated location. We can launch the assault at any time."
"Good." The man named Chris nodded and checked his equipment, which was an M4A1 assault rifle.
"Their convoy has five trucks. When the convoy reaches the designated location, you take out the lead truck, and then we'll start our operation."
"That's a very straightforward plan, very much in your style," the other end of the radio teased. "But there are still four trucks left after you take out the one carrying the target, and they have quite a few people. You know we only have twenty people here, and air support is still on the way."
"Not really," Chris shook his head. "According to the intelligence, only two of the trucks are carrying people, while the other three are transporting goods. We don't know which truck our target is in."
"Is it a diversion tactic..." The person on the other end of the radio seemed somewhat disdainful. "What's the point of that? It would be safer to just pack all the trucks with people."
Chris didn't respond to this statement.
"By the way, have you been following the situation with Wilpharma?" The other person suddenly changed the subject.
"That new pharmaceutical company? I've been keeping an eye on it," Chris replied.
"What do you think of Wilpharma?"
"I hope it goes bankrupt soon."
"Come on, man, really?" The other end of the radio said. "They just obtained a sample of the T-virus, which many CDCs already have. If Wilpharma can successfully develop a vaccine for the T-virus, the tragedy in Raccoon City will never happen again." [CDC: Center for Disease Control and Prevention]
"If a private pharmaceutical company is legally researching the Umbrella legacy and succeeds in establishing itself in society, it will undoubtedly give the field of biomedicine worldwide a bad start. However, after they were exposed by the media for conducting human experiments in India, they and the politicians behind them are already busy. The local protests are very high, and people are afraid of a repeat of the Raccoon City incident in their own homes." Chris pursed his lips.
"You're always right, BSAA's hero of combat, frontline fighter against bioterrorism, Mr. Chris Redfield," said the voice on the other end of the radio with a laugh. "God bless us for successfully completing this mission. To be honest, I'm a bit scared."
"That's not like you, Newmann," Chris frowned. "What are you worried about?"
"I've read your file, Chris. It's not uncommon for frontline combat personnel like us to have a higher mortality rate, but... your teammates' mortality rate is too outstanding. Few people who join you on missions make it out unscathed... or even with a whole body."
"They were all good people, but the battle was too dangerous. I couldn't protect them," Chris said after a long silence.
"Well, don't worry too much. This is what war is like, and the things we're facing are like they're straight out of a horror movie. Everyone chose this path and sacrificed for it, and I don't think they regret it."
Listening to Newman's words, Chris looked up at the starless night sky.
"Hopefully so." He remembered those who had worked together but didn't make it to the end. They were all great warriors who had put aside their prejudices to fight together for a greater cause. Then one by one, they fell. Chris was sorry that they couldn't see the day when bio-terrorism would be completely eradicated from the world. But he was still alive, and as long as he was alive, he would fight. Not just for himself and his comrades who had sacrificed for the greater cause, but also for the world.
"Attention, a vehicle is approaching!"
The voice from the radio interrupted Chris's thoughts. The ground began to shake beneath his feet, and the sound of a truck engine grew louder and louder until he saw the headlights of the approaching truck.
"We've received information that it's them, five black trucks with three carrying cargo in the front, middle, and back!"
Newman's voice came through the radio, and Chris pushed aside his distractions. He released the safety on his weapon, put on his night vision goggles, and watched as the black convoy passed by. Suddenly, a blue light flashed from the bottom of the lead truck, followed by a deafening screech as it coasted to a stop in the middle of the road. Chris held his gun with his right hand and pressed his earpiece with his left.
"Attention, all units. Operation begins now. And... make sure you all come back alive!"
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