CHAPTER 1499: CHAPTER 1480: LIFE IN THE JIANGHU

Every battle in the war with Djo can be considered an act of revenge; you retaliate, and I strike back.

Gao Yang was always worried about Djo launching a retaliatory action, mainly concerned about Djo deploying the Butter Knife unit again, so he hadn’t been having an easy time these past few days.

He obtained some specific information about Butter Knife’s operations from Nate, which was quite important. Also, some news could be gathered from Andre’s guards. By piecing this information together, Gao Yang could barely understand some of Butter Knife’s tactics and make targeted defensive arrangements against them.

The characteristics of Butter Knife can be summed up in three words: fast, precise, and ruthless.

Fast, precise, ruthless—these are cliché features of any Special Forces unit, indeed a common goal during actions. However, achieving this is rare.

The characteristics are clear. Although Gao Yang couldn’t know exactly how Butter Knife operated just from some snippets, he could make targeted arrangements against Butter Knife’s cliché yet highly effective and rare characteristics.

The enemy is fast, so force them to slow down.

How to slow the enemy down? Gao Yang’s tactic was to plant mines.

Mines are an old-fashioned weapon yet never outdated. No matter how formidable a unit is, when facing mines, they have to halt. There are no exceptions.

Precision can also be addressed. Whether using sonic locators or advanced night vision devices, these tools show that Butter Knife places great importance on detecting enemies and precisely locating them.

As a counter to this precision, Gao Yang could employ every measure to block infrared signals. There’s no good defense against sonic locators; the only way is not to give them a chance to deploy it. Even if they do, the goal is to keep them from getting close.

The ruthlessness is a broad concept. High combat quality, strong fighting will, ruthless actions against enemies; these are all under the umbrella of ruthlessness. What Gao Yang could do was to be even less afraid of death than they are. If they fight to the death, he would also rather die than retreat. With ruthlessness, it’s all about strength—no tricks involved, just a contest of who is stronger.

The strongest enemy can basically be confirmed; since it’s confirmed, Gao Yang’s next step was to find an opposing force and start targeted attack and defense drills.

Who will play the role of the Butter Knife opposing force?

Who else but the Black Demon?

Knowing Butter Knife might be the opponent, no one was more excited than Pavlovich.

Different positions naturally lead to different stances and thoughts. Gao Yang had extreme wariness and spared no effort in his guard against Butter Knife, while Pavlovich wished for a direct clash with them.

Thanks to Butter Knife, Satan and the Black Demon could learn a thing or two.

Black Demon and Satan each played the role of Butter Knife, engaging in mutual attack and defense. Not only that, they often trained for joint attack and defense against Butter Knife. Notably, to lay mines anytime and anywhere better and faster, Black Demon taught Satan all their mine-laying tactics and tips without reservation.

When it came to mine-laying, especially laying tactical mines, Cui Bo turned out to be the quickest learner and best performer.

If the role of a sniper was the result of Cui Bo’s hard practice, his ability in mine-laying truly showcased his talent. It’s quite extraordinary when one’s talent is displayed.

The contest with Butter Knife must be resolved through force, but Butter Knife is merely a tool in Djo’s hand. To solve all problems once and for all, Djo must be dealt with.

To take down Djo, you return to an old yet persistent problem.

Intelligence—without it, everything is nonsense.

Six days had passed, and Gao Yang was still the most exhausted, not physically but mentally, as everything required his personal involvement. The complex environment forced him to stay fully alert. Training and exercises with Black Demon were not chores but rather rare moments to relax his mind.

While Black Demon and Satan continued training, Gao Yang left alone because he couldn’t devote all his energy to training.

Gao Yang returned alone to his office. Dennis and Nulantova, who went out on business, had returned, and he needed to meet them to make the next steps in their deployment.

"Did you find Yergenis?"

After sitting down with a hint of weariness, Gao Yang directly asked the question he was concerned about.

Nulantova replied in a deep voice, "We found him. He’s still in Kiev, hiding at a relative’s house."

Gao Yang frowned, "I thought he’d fled Ukraine. How is he still in Kiev?"

Nulantova shrugged, "We kept an eye on him since you gave him the deadline. Although he managed to shake off the tail and hide, he had no chance to leave Kiev."

Gao Yang exhaled, lowering his voice, "It’s good to find him. I gave him a deadline and a chance, yet he ran. Even if he isn’t the informant, he can’t be kept anymore. I need to keep my word; find a few people to deal with him."

Dennis softly said, "He’s currently with his wife and children. If we hadn’t monitored his family, we wouldn’t have found him. What about his family?"

After pondering for a moment, Gao Yang shook his head and sighed, "I’m still not ruthless enough. Forget it; deal with Yergenis but spare his family, unless they pose a threat to our security. Yergenis should bear the responsibility himself; no need to harm his family."

Nulantova nodded, "Understood. We’ll do it right away. We’ll handle it personally. I’ll convey your words to Yergenis before he dies, so he can rest in peace."

Gao Yang gestured with his hand, "Go, and do it neatly."

Nulantova and Dennis left, and their departure signified Yergenis’s impending death.

Yergenis chose the wrong path. He could be incompetent and fail to obtain useful information, but he couldn’t run. By running, Gao Yang had to eliminate him, because, whether Gao Yang liked it or not, he was now in a position involving life and death decisions for many people. Therefore, he could tolerate a useless existence but never allow a potential threat.

One word to dictate life and death—now Gao Yang had such power, yet he seemed not to relish it.

Shaking his head to drive away the image of Yergenis from his mind, Gao Yang took out his phone, intending to call Shava.

Since Shava provided an accurate and extremely valuable piece of intelligence, Gao Yang now considered Shava’s White Shark Gang as the most important and valuable intelligence channel. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote for recommendations, monthly tickets on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. For mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)