Chapter 159: Chapter 158: The War Broke Out So Suddenly

Karman glanced at Joe Ga's noodles, then compared them to his own beef offal soup, and, very displeased, he stormed out to grab Old Cow's neck and demanded an extra bowl of noodles for himself.After coming back with a new serving, he smiled and said, "It's fine, those veteran jungle soldiers have set up a little camp outside. Over the past few months, they have been there performing drills with the Sevillians, and the losers are responsible for washing the winners' clothes." As he spoke, Karman glanced at the mercenaries, who were jumping around, and said with a laugh, "These guys have been washing clothes for two months now..." On hearing this, Joe Ga, intrigued, said, "The mercenaries haven't won a single time?" Karman swept his gaze over the hideous-looking veteran jungle soldiers and said with a smile, "When you want to go into someone else's home to kill, you first have to be familiar with the place. Without the help of live ammunition, just relying on hunting knives and headless arrows, they'll never beat those guys." Karman, perhaps knowing what Joe Ga wanted to say, shook his head and said, "You don't need to bang your head against the wall like those guys to train. In a few days, I'll call the veteran jungle soldiers, and we'll go into the jungle together. There are some things you must see for yourself before you can learn. In at most 15 days, you'll have the means to survive in the jungle." Ever since he had gone through the diving training, Joe Ga felt that his condition was getting better and better. Breaking through both physiological and psychological limits had made him feel as if he had been reborn. He was now not only confident but also had a strong desire to improve himself. There was no better place than this base. Compared to the South African training camp Dorian had once mentioned, the facilities here might not be complete, but it was home to a group of strong people from all around the world. Training with them was not only exciting but also allowed him to learn many different styles. Of course, adapting to the jungle was the first step, and there was no better guide than Old Karman! After having a breakfast that was quite tasty, Joe Ga received two pickup trucks from the ground crew 'Wrench,' and then six people split into two vehicles, following Old Cow's two trucks onto a dirt road. Sitting in the passenger seat and looking at the forests on both sides, Joe Ga said quite satisfactorily, "The road's not bad, but we'll need to cover it with some gravel later. Otherwise, it'll be a disaster when the rainy season comes." The driver, Karman, looked over at Joe Ga and said, "As long as we show the ability to take down drug traffickers, we can get the surrounding towns to contribute manpower and resources to help us fix our roads. This place is poor, but basic construction materials are not lacking. If you can get cement from Bangassou, we might be able to build a cement road. When we connect the road to your mine, the landscape here will change." Joe Ga, curious, said, "I never expected you to be more concerned about this than I am. I thought you were dead set on getting me here because the minerals are valuable." Karman, eyes on the road and with a somewhat heavy tone, said, "How can selling a mine make more money than selling guns? I just think you, boss, are a bit different from the others. You seem to prefer money that has meaning..." Joe Ga nodded as it went without saying, "Of course, trafficking death has nothing on the sense of achievement I feel now. I'm not sure I can make it, but I feel that this business is worth all my efforts." Joe Ga counted on his fingers and said with a laugh, "Look, war, death, getting stronger, excitement, a sense of achievement—nothing's missing. And I still see myself as a decent person; isn't that great?" Karman listened and nodded seriously, "I don't really understand the feeling you're talking about, as I've lived my life in a bit of a blur, but you're different. Boss, you must keep going. I feel like you can do something, I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but I believe you can do things even Sentulu hasn't done." Karman's tone was a bit somber, so Joe Ga did not pick up the thread of the conversation. He didn't know how to reply, because even his wildest dreams about the future had nothing to do with 'greatness.' Not promising what he couldn't achieve was a habit Joe Ga had formed since childhood. There was a moment of silence in the car. After about ten minutes, Nis, who was sitting in the backseat and had hesitated for a long time, leaned forward to pat Joe Ga's arm and said somewhat awkwardly, "Whatever you want to do, I support you!" Joe Ga was stunned for a moment, then he laughed heartily and nodded, "Then wait for it, one day I'll buy an island like paradise, build a big house there, and let you guys enjoy the lavish lifestyle too." Nis's face suddenly flushed, then she shrank back into the backseat, hugging her gun and evidently lost in thought, but the curvature of her lips betrayed her mood at that moment. Joe Ga didn't even notice, but Karman did see Nis's expression in the rearview mirror. The old man chuckled and said, "I've seen very beautiful seas in Equatorial Guinea. Boss, you might want to give it a try. If you're willing, I can take a few men and help you seize an island." "There are plenty of pirates in the Gulf of Guinea; kill them, and we'll have our own territory," said Karman with bloodlust, shaking Joe Ga out of his comfortable indulgences. He shook his head, chuckling dismissively, "Can't we aim a bit higher? If we can't afford the Mediterranean, what's wrong with the Caribbean Sea? If that won't work, Southeast Asia is not bad either – Thailand and the Philippines are pretty good. Buddy, what I want is a paradise, and paradise doesn't wage wars!" Sёarᴄh the NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. After hearing this, Karman pondered for a few seconds then replied, "Once all our enemies are dead, there will be no more wars, and paradise will exist!" Joe Ga burst out laughing at Karman, who seemed practical on the surface but whose thoughts were all about Africa. He just didn't want to leave Africa. His son had been away for nearly half a year, and he rarely called, because he disliked Italy; he worried that if he left, his son would struggle to adapt to other places. Selling his life away like this, Joe Ga didn't know what to say. However, after this exchange, the atmosphere in the car improved a lot. The three chatted and laughed throughout the two-hour journey, finally approaching a fork in the road ahead. But as they neared the fork, the lead truck stopped. Four jungle veterans jumped down from the truck, gesturing for the vehicles behind to stop as well, then they moved forward carefully, AK74U carbines at the ready. Old Bull and Tony got fully armed out of the second vehicle, signaling the cafeteria workers in the truck to hide in the jungle on both sides, as they followed the jungle veterans. Joe Ga and Karman exchanged a look, quickly grabbed their guns, pushed the doors open, got out of the car, and caught up with Old Bull, asking warily, "What happened?" Old Bull, looking at the position of the fork in the road in the distance, replied, "I'm not sure. I used to pass through here every week; it's where I agreed to trade vegetables with a few nearby villages. Now, not only are there farmers there, but also armed personnel..." Mid-sentence, Old Bull squinted into the distance, took a deep breath, and added, "Someone's injured." Without needing Old Bull to say more, Joe Ga saw it too: many vegetables prepared for trade were piled up at the edge of the clearing at the fork, alongside a few unidentifiable game animals. Dozens of men who looked like farmers were wailing loudly around a group of armed militants. The militants looked pitiful; only seven or eight of them could stand upright and shove the wailing farmers with their guns, while the rest lay on the ground, blood everywhere. The arrival of the convoy stirred up the armed men, who, facing the approaching jungle veterans, began to wave their arms and shout something loudly, but unfortunately, Joe Ga couldn't understand the local language and didn't know what had happened... When Nis and Antar signaled from behind that they had established sniping positions, Joe Ga glanced at Karman, who was frowning, then nodded at Dorian and Ayu, and pushed Old Bull behind him as he quickly walked toward the chaotic crowd. A jungle veteran who was negotiating with the militants, one whose nose was half missing, suddenly lost his temper when Joe Ga and his group approached. He knocked a militant down with a punch and then angrily kicked over another who was trying to point his gun at him... Realizing the situation was escalating, Joe Ga immediately raised his rifle, slowly advancing while loudly calling out, "Put down your guns, everybody put down your guns..." Karman gave Wrench a push, signaling her to move aside for machine gun surveillance, then placed himself in the center, allowing Dorian and Joe Ga to spread out to his left and right, positioning himself in the most dangerous spot. The four spaced out horizontally, guns raised, and slowly approached. Perhaps hearing their boss shouting, the jungle veteran with half a nose roared angrily, knocked another panicked militant to the ground, then was the first to put away his carbine and loudly said something in the local language to the frightened men... As Joe Ga and his group approached, the man with half a nose came over in anger. He first glanced at Karman, expressionless, then hesitated before lowering his head to Joe Ga and said, "Boss, someone has attacked a nearby village; these people were supposed to stay there to protect the villagers, but they fled." Joe Ga glanced at the ragged-attired militants, frowning, "Do you know who did it?" As Joe Ga spoke, a middle-aged black man with a neatly trimmed beard wearing a worn-out shirt pushed through the crowd and rushed up to about ten meters in front of Joe Ga and his group, shouting at Old Bull, "Iron Shovel, save our village. These guys ran away, and those people will kill everyone in the village!" The middle-aged black man, upon seeing Old Bull slightly moved, folded his hands and knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face as he pleaded loudly, "Save our families, save our children; they shouldn't be taken into the jungle." Joe Ga had not expected to encounter such a situation on his first day out. He looked at Karman with a furrowed brow and said in a deep voice, "Are the attackers drug traffickers?" Karman fell silent for a moment and then said, "I can't say without seeing them, but many jungle guerillas are no different from drug traffickers..." Joe Ga glanced at the angry jungle veterans and Old Bull, whose face was filled with pity. He walked over to the middle-aged man and said gravely, "How far is your village from here?" The middle-aged man, realizing Joe Ga was the one in charge, clasped his hands to his chest, his expression pained and voice trembling as he said, "It's to the south, a two-hour walk." Joe Ga nodded, stepped behind Ayu, took the communicator from the radio, and after dialing, said, "'Wrench', I need a helicopter, fully armed..."