Chapter 3

Gao Yang covered the magazine with his hand, trying not to make any noise as he removed it. After the magazine was off, Gao Yang couldn't help but sigh sadly in his heart.

There was only one bullet left in the magazine, and with the one in the chamber, Gao Yang had only two bullets left. However, the enemy still had three people, and it was obvious that they wouldn't be short of ammunition.

Gao Yang knew he had to find a way to leave. Even if he could take out one with a single shot, the remaining one could still kill him. Gao Yang didn't dare to hope that he could take out another one with a knife, let alone that he didn't know if the enemy had reinforcements.

The only good news was that it was almost dark. Gao Yang estimated that in about an hour, the sun would set completely. As long as he could hold out until it was dark, he would have a chance to escape.

After putting the magazine back, Gao Yang got up and observed again, but he didn't see any sign of the enemy. This time, Gao Yang didn't crawl on the ground again; instead, he knelt on one knee, trying to stay hidden while keeping an eye on the surroundings.

Gao Yang didn't wait long before he saw a head slowly emerge from the grass. After looking around, the person bent down and ran a few steps quickly, then immediately hid in the grass again after a few seconds.

A few seconds later, another head appeared from a patch of grass about ten meters away. After running a few meters quickly, the person also hid in the grass.

The enemy had started to advance in a covering formation. The two people Gao Yang saw were at most forty to fifty meters away from him, which was too dangerous. Gao Yang felt he couldn't let the enemy get any closer easily.

Gao Yang held his breath, raised his gun, and aimed at the place where the first person he saw was hiding. Soon, the person's head appeared again, though it was about three to four meters away from where he was hiding, and he was running fast. Without hesitation, Gao Yang adjusted the gun and pulled the trigger.

Shooting a moving target was what Gao Yang was best at.

The gun fired, and the person died. Gao Yang used his fifth bullet to kill the fourth person. Although this immediately drew a barrage of gunfire, the enemy didn't dare to show themselves. This blind shooting posed little threat to Gao Yang.

After moving a short distance, Gao Yang stopped again, remaining highly alert and observing the movements of the remaining two opponents. His last shot clearly had a deterrent effect; the enemy didn't dare to advance in a covering formation anymore and stayed hidden in the grass.

Gao Yang and the two enemies were in a standoff, neither daring to move first. At this point, it wasn't just Gao Yang who was worried. Although Gao Yang had only one bullet left, the enemy didn't know this. Gao Yang was afraid that the two enemies would charge at him together, while the enemy was afraid that showing their heads would invite a fatal bullet. It was a situation where both sides were afraid.

Time passed slowly, and the sky gradually darkened. Gao Yang's chances of escaping increased, and the remaining two enemies remained silent. At this point, Gao Yang began to consider which direction to escape.

About a hundred meters to the east of Gao Yang was a river, and the remaining two enemies were to the northwest. Gao Yang had two options: go south or go south first and then enter the river to follow it downstream.

Gao Yang decided to go south first and then turn to the river. The main reason for choosing the river was that his right knee was very painful, making it difficult to move. Once in the water, it would be much easier.

When it was completely dark and things were barely visible, Gao Yang decided to act. But just as he was about to move, he realized he had made a big mistake.

Gao Yang was wearing a life jacket, which was bright orange. Although he didn't plan to take it off because he needed the buoyancy to escape from the river, even though he could swim, without the life jacket, he would be dead in his injured and starving state.

During the day, the bright color of the life jacket wasn't a big problem with the cover of the grass, but now that it was dark, Gao Yang was shocked to find that the life jacket emitted a soft, bright fluorescence, which was enough to be seen from a distance. In the river, it would be impossible to hide.

Gao Yang was almost in tears. He quickly took off the life jacket and tried to remove the two fluorescent strips, but he found that if he forcibly removed them, the life jacket would leak air.

At this moment, Gao Yang heard a rustling sound. He knew he couldn't delay any longer and had to put the life jacket aside and start crawling south.

Gao Yang was very patient and didn't rush to run. He continued to crawl, knowing that the enemy couldn't see him as long as he didn't make too much noise.

After crawling a considerable distance, a short burst of gunfire suddenly sounded behind him. Gao Yang thought the enemy must have discovered his life jacket and opened fire.

Knowing that the enemy hadn't given up, Gao Yang slightly increased his crawling speed. But then he had an idea: perhaps he should try to divert the enemy.

After hesitating for a moment, Gao Yang started crawling towards the riverbank, stopping to listen for any sounds behind him after each short distance.

When he was about twenty meters from the riverbank, Gao Yang stopped because there was no more grass cover ahead. He didn't want to risk crawling out of the grass; he just wanted to make some noise in the river.

To Gao Yang's frustration, he hadn't encountered a single stone after crawling so far, and there was nothing nearby to use. After a moment's thought, Gao Yang quietly removed the magazine and threw it into the river with force.

The last bullet was already in the chamber, so the empty magazine was useless.

The gunfire had scared away all the animals nearby, and the grassland was completely silent. The sound of the empty magazine hitting the water was very loud, and a crisp splash echoed on the water's surface.

Regardless of whether it was effective or not, Gao Yang didn't stop this time. He turned and crawled deeper into the grassland. When he felt he had crawled far enough and was too exhausted to continue, he finally lay down to rest for a while.

Gao Yang was extremely hungry and had no strength left. He estimated that he had crawled at least three to four hundred meters.

What Gao Yang needed most now was energy. In such a critical time, it wasn't the time to be frugal. Reluctantly, Gao Yang took out the last piece of chocolate, slowly unwrapped it, and swallowed it in a few bites.

After eating something, Gao Yang felt much better, and the energy from the chocolate would help him last a while longer. After resting for a bit and feeling some strength return, he looked back and saw nothing but darkness. Gao Yang made a decision and immediately stood up and started walking south.

Although his right knee still hurt, he could still move, though his speed was inevitably much slower. Gao Yang didn't dare to stop and kept walking.

Gao Yang didn't know how long he had been walking, but he knew it had been a very long time. His rest periods were getting longer, and he had to rest for fifteen minutes or more after every five minutes of walking. He was extremely thirsty and hungry, and he was exhausted to the extreme. If it weren't for the belief that he had to survive and return home, Gao Yang would have already lain down.

By now, the moon had risen, but fortunately, it wasn't a full moon, providing only a faint light. Even if the enemy was behind him, it wouldn't expose Gao Yang's movements.

Judging by the height of the moon, Gao Yang thought it was around two or three in the morning. Unable to continue, Gao Yang finally decided to stop.

Gao Yang sat down against a tree. Away from the battlefield, the howls of wild animals echoed around him, and some of the sounds seemed very close.

Although he couldn't identify the animals, Gao Yang knew that the three major predators in Africa—lions, leopards, and hyenas—were active at night, and hyenas were especially active at night. Gao Yang felt lucky that he hadn't encountered any predators on his journey, but it was also possible that he had encountered them without knowing it.

Actually, the threat from predators wasn't the greatest. More terrifying than these predators were the swarms of mosquitoes and other flying insects, which could not only cause itchy bites but also spread diseases like malaria.

Fortunately, before coming to Africa, Gao Yang had prepared for the African environment. The medical kit, limited by space, might not have other medicines, but it definitely had insect repellent.

After spraying some insect repellent, Gao Yang didn't care about anything else. He hugged the gun with only one bullet left and quickly fell asleep.