Chapter 138: Damn It

Qin Yang had never learned to fly a plane, but that did not mean that among the many people he had killed, there wasn't someone who could. After spending over eighty soul points to acquire one person's skill through the warden system, this transport helicopter became his temporary ride. He first wiped away all traces of the nearby villagers' evacuation routes, then fabricated signs of a retreat toward the east. It was quite simple: he scattered the corpses of the rebels along the eastern path to create the illusion of a pursuit-and-kill scenario. He then piloted the aircraft eastward, making a show of his presence, yet he stopped at intervals to carefully plant false trails. He was meticulous, leaving behind what appeared to be sloppy mistakes after deliberate concealment, and occasionally dropping small trinkets he had scavenged from the villagers.

Before long, word spread among the armed rebels: looking for that group of runaways? Just follow that brazen, arrogant helicopter.

Qin Yang had no intention of traveling far by air.

He landed near a group of rebels. These men, assuming he was one of their own, let their guard down, and Qin Yang seized the opportunity to gun them down. He then jumped out, dragged the bodies to the side of the aircraft, scrambled inside to cut a few wires, and hurried off toward the east. On his way, he spent three hundred soul points to summon thirty undead entities with no offensive capability whatsoever, purely to serve as decoys.

Meanwhile, the ghost soldiers who had been assassinating rebels along the eastern route quickly converged, leaving a trail of breadcrumbs to mislead the enemy. With the majority of the enemy forces drawn away by Qin Yang, Xie Chengyang and Yang Guang’s groups had ample time to erase all traces and make their way to the southern port unhurriedly.

Leosel was a famous "hunting dog" in Africa, a title he wore with pride. He had earned countless merits in counter-espionage and reconnaissance, serving as the top intelligence chief in Azalias's army and as his right-hand man. He had been ordered to track the runaway Chinese villagers because the mission involved more than just a deal with Zaka and others; it served broader strategic goals. For instance, he was to extract individuals for interrogation at the behest of a certain nation, forcing them to confess to being spies so that the regime could reap the rewards. Azalias had calculated everything; he was determined to squeeze every ounce of value out of the hostages.

A pack of tracking hounds followed the scent to the helicopter.

Seeing the aircraft plastered with posters of Azalias, Leosel instinctively assumed it was one of their own. Yet, he had never seen it before; while the army did use CH-46 transport helicopters—mostly old, refurbished wrecks—he had never seen one covered in such absurd, paper-like decorations. When his subordinates opened the hatch, they found a dozen armed rebels—their own men.

"Damn it."

Leosel cursed. He scanned the area, finding no signs of anyone fleeing. Just as he intended to investigate further, a subordinate stepped forward and said, "The main wires of the helicopter have been severed, but it can be repaired."

"How long will it take?" Leosel asked.

"Thirty minutes."

"Repair it immediately."

After giving the order, Leosel began to scour the surroundings for details. When he spotted several branches snapped by human feet and a few drops of blood on the ground, he flashed a sinister smile. He pointed to a few men and ordered, "You lot, keep pursuing. There should be over twenty of them. Move out!"

"Yes, sir!"

The soldiers hurried east, quickly disappearing into the jungle. Once the helicopter was repaired, Leosel boarded it and took off, constantly scanning the ground to pinpoint the enemy's location. Walker had already arrived with reinforcements to conduct a comprehensive search of the eastern region. To prevent the rebel forces hiding in the cities of Jos and Bauchi from causing trouble, Azalias had recruited a group of international mercenaries and began driving the residents of the northeastern region southward. Some of these villagers suffered from persistent coughing, others had unsteady gaits; some were covered in small red bumps and festering sores, while others bore deep, black abscesses—though not obvious on dark skin, a closer look revealed them to be horrifying and repulsive.

If Qin Yang and Yuwen Rounu were to see this, they would be shocked, for these were the effects of the bubonic plague virus—a pathogen supposedly contained and existing only in the laboratories of a few major powers.

With the rebel forces forced to hole up in the two cities, their public support dwindling, they naturally took in the refugees. Azalias had timed the refugees' arrival for the dead of night, and with the distraction of several skirmishing parties, the rebels failed to detect the plague, cholera, and other infectious diseases spreading among them. Many of the rebels were unaware; had they known, they would never have herded these people, fearing the tragic fate that awaited them if they were infected.

In the southeastern jungle, Qin Yang was "vacationing" with over a thousand armed rebels. Two days were enough for Xie Chengyang and the others to get the villagers to safety. The longer he dragged this out, the better. Since it wasn't yet time to assassinate Azalias, he decided to play a game of cat-and-mouse with the thousand men.

Of course, Qin Yang did not hide too well. When necessary, he would let the thirty undead entities appear before the soldiers—just a glimpse in the dark was enough. The rebels became even more convinced that the hostages were on the path they were tracking, and they picked up their pace. Leosel, observing from the helicopter, also caught glimpses of the hostages, prompting him to urge Walker to close the net.

"Report, sir! There are three experts among them," a subordinate radioed. "One of our small squads was wiped out."

"Hmph, I expected as much," Leosel said coldly. "The fact that they escaped us before proves they have experts. This is good. The more experts they have, the more convincing our narrative becomes—none of them will escape the charge of espionage. Pass the order: keep searching. Ten men per team, thirty meters between each team. If they resist, open fire. But don't kill too many. Their lives are worth a fortune."

Leosel continued to monitor the ground via the searchlights. As the helicopter swept the area, he spotted the shadows of a frantic crowd in a small clearing in the jungle. He immediately ordered the ground troops to surround them. The people below seemed panicked, running in every direction, while a Chinese man tried to maintain order, firing his AK into the air. The pilot swerved to avoid the fire; at an altitude of less than a hundred meters, they were easy targets for bullets.

"Capture them now!" Leosel shouted into the radio.

The ground troops heard the gunfire and rushed toward the location.

A cold smirk played on Qin Yang's lips. The night belonged to the ghost soldiers. Two first-tier ghost soldiers flickered in the moonlight, nearly invisible—no shadows, no breath.

He made it look as if all the undead were fleeing east, while he retreated, firing a few shots backward. When Leosel caught up, he found another group of about twenty "hostages" in the vicinity and shouted excitedly, "They are all here! Pursue them immediately!"

Qin Yang, watching from below, sneered, though his heart ached—summoning fifty undead entities had cost him five hundred soul points!

With all the undead exposed to their view, Qin Yang knew his plan had succeeded. He fired a few more shots into the air, causing the pilot to veer away again. But when the rebels looked down, all they saw was darkness; they could barely catch glimpses of silhouettes in the moonlight, nothing more.

"What is going on?" Leosel demanded furiously.

The pilot replied with a bitter laugh, "Sir, the searchlight has been shot out."

"Damn it!" Leosel cursed.

But no sooner had he cursed than a deafening series of explosions rocked the area. The dark jungle below was suddenly illuminated by a sea of fire. As they looked down, they saw massive explosions erupting exactly where their troops were positioned, followed by a chorus of wails. This time, Leosel’s curse was one of genuine, heartfelt despair.