Mercenary’s War Chapter 1273: 1256: A Reluctant Choice

Chapter 1273: Chapter 1256: A Reluctant Choice

The hotel had arrived. After Nikolai helped Gao Yang and Glolov carry out the boxes, he whispered, “I’ll just wait for you guys in the car at the entrance.”

Gao Yang waved his hand and said, “It’s dangerous outside, and staying in the car the whole ti ans explaining yourself if soone needs the car. Co with .”

Walking into the lobby, Little Donnie, seated on the sofa, ca over and whispered to Gao Yang, “Everyone’s here. You’re the last to arrive.”

Gao Yang nodded and pointed to Nikolai behind him, whispering, “He’s the driver I hired. He’ll take us out later.”

After speaking, Gao Yang said to Nikolai in a serious tone, “Mr. Yashkov, wait for us here for a mont. You’ll need to go out with later.”

Leaving Nikolai to wait in the lobby, Gao Yang and Little Donnie took the elevator back to his room. Once inside, Gao Yang placed the box down imdiately and said, “Go call everyone here. We’ll get things settled and head out.”

Little Donnie went to gather people, while Gao Yang took off his jacket, opened the box, and pulled out a bulletproof vest without plates. He put it on, then secured an underarm holster, loaded his pistol with a full magazine, slid it into the holster, and gently patted the handgun hanging by his left ribs with an exhale.

Carrying a gun always gave him peace of mind. It had beco a habit for Gao Yang. Putting his jacket back on, he stuffed a few loaded magazines into his pockets for quick access, tested his draw repeatedly to ensure everything was fine, and practiced quick magazine swaps. When the placent of the magazines felt awkward, he adjusted them, fine-tuning until the spare magazines were fixed in the most convenient spots for retrieval. Only then did the process feel complete.

Once fully geared up, and with everyone present, Gao Yang clapped his hands loudly and said, “Alright, folks, ti to assign tasks. I’ll be heading out to et our arms supplier with Little Donnie soon. If anyone has any requests outside the plan, speak now.”

Glolov said in a deep voice, “I do. Besides the PKM, get an extra RPK. No mags—just drum magazines. 75 rounds per drum, ten to fifteen would suffice.”

Little Donnie scribbled quickly in a notebook and noted Glolov’s requests. Rafael frowned and said, “Get more C4. Nothing else, just more C4. Add five hundred kilograms on top of the original request. Don’t bother with detonators; I’ve got plenty of those already.”

Everyone turned to look at Rafael, and Frey exclaid loudly, “Another five hundred kilograms? F**k, what are you planning? Overturn all of Kiev?”

Rafael grinned and replied, “I just think fifty kilograms isn’t much. When it cos to setting traps, too much power is always better than not enough, wouldn’t you agree?”

Originally, Rafael had only requested fifty kilograms of C4. Now, with five hundred kilograms added, flipping all of Kiev was obviously a joke, but demolishing a building would easily be doable with plenty to spare.

Gao Yang waved his hand and said, “He’s right. Extra power is better than insufficient power. Anyone else need to add anything?”

The rest shook their heads. Gao Yang snapped his fingers and murmured, “Alright. Little Donnie and I are heading out now; Toad will co along. The rest of you stay here and prepare to move at a mont’s notice. We’re completely unfamiliar with this place, so stay alert. Oh, one more thing: avoid tap water. Kiev’s water cos from the Dnieper River, and Chernobyl is upstream. If locals have a choice, they don’t drink the tap water either.”

After saying that, Gao Yang turned to Li Jinfang and asked, “Do you need ti to prepare?”

Li Jinfang shook his head and replied, “No, everything’s ready.”

“If everything’s ready, then let’s move.”

Little Donnie picked up a briefcase and followed Gao Yang and Li Jinfang out the door. In the lobby, Gao Yang made a gesture to Nikolai, and the four of them got into a taxi.

Li Jinfang sat in the front passenger seat, while Little Donnie pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket and said in broken Russian, “Take us to a place called Abento, Apinto.”

The tongue-rolling pronunciation of Russian proved difficult for Little Donnie. After muttering a few tis urgently, Gao Yang took the paper and said loudly, “It should be Apirto.”

Nikolai turned around helplessly and said, “Gentlen, can you give the note, please?”

Gao Yang handed the slip to Nikolai, who took a quick look and said aloud, “Oh, the Apinta Industrial Zone. That’s in the outskirts. We won’t be back before nightfall, and it’s always been a dangerous area. Are you sure it’s there?”

Gao Yang smiled and said, “Yes, we have so business there. Oh, I’ll give you a danger allowance. Let’s go.”

Nikolai waved his hand and said urgently, “No, it’s not about the danger allowance—it’s just that the area is… Well, never mind. We’ll just leave now.”

The taxi began its journey, weaving through the city. Occasionally, roadblocks appeared along the way, but the streets were eerily empty. When people did appear, they hurried with urgency.

Soviet-style architecture was ubiquitous in Kiev, a stark reminder of the city’s bygone era. All the buildings looked old and decrepit, mirroring the state of the long-gone Soviet Union.

The ride was smooth. Gao Yang lowered his voice and asked, “Mr. Yashkov, how long will it take us approximately?”

“It’s quite far. Though there aren’t many people on the road, it’ll still take at least an hour and a half. We need to cross a bridge and reach Kiev’s southernmost outskirts.”

There was still plenty of ti. Little Donnie pointed out the window and said to Gao Yang with a smirk, “You know, I just can’t fathom how Ukraine ended up like this. The land, the location, the resources, the population, the education—Ukraine had great conditions. But after the Soviet Union dissolved, this place beca a forgotten corner.”

Gao Yang sighed with so emotion, smiled faintly, and said softly, “It is sowhat baffling. But all I’ll say is the Soviet Union’s dissolution was for the best. As long as the Soviet Union existed, it was the biggest threat to Huaxia. A dissolved Soviet Union is a good Soviet Union; a weakened Russia is a good Russia. For Huaxia People, the Soviet Union can be reminisced about or comnted on, but it must never co back.”

Little Donnie nodded repeatedly, laughing, “Exactly, exactly. Haha, aside from Russians themselves, there’s probably no one in the world hoping for Russia to rise again.”

Gao Yang and Little Donnie were conversing in English, and Gao Yang assud Nikolai wouldn’t understand English. Even if Nikolai did, it didn’t matter much. Compared to Huaxia People and Aricans, Eastern European countries like Ukraine were far more fearful of Russia regaining power.

As the journey went on, the closer they got to the outskirts, the more desolate the surroundings beca. Nikolai started to show signs of nervousness, prompting Gao Yang to ask, “Mr. Yashkov, has security in this area always been poor?”

“Yes, security has always been bad here. Gentlen, I have no idea why you’re coming to this place, but here’s a word of advice: be extrely careful!”

Gao Yang smiled and reassured him, “Don’t worry, Mr. Yashkov. There’s no need to be concerned about danger. Just relax.”

Bad security was expected because the arms dealer Little Donnie had found this ti wasn’t a professional arms rchant—it was simply a gang.

Buying arms from a gang was a reluctant choice. The reasons for choosing a gang over an arms rchant were a bit complex. Following the disappearance of Grand Ivan and Uriyangko, Satan lost its most convenient source of arms. And in Ukraine, this was Grand Ivan’s ho turf, his absolute sphere of influence.

Unable to contact Grand Ivan, even reaching his European regional manager would suffice. The issue was Gao Yang couldn’t contact the latter either.

Ukraine used to be relatively stable, with common large-scale arms deals. But small-scale weapons transactions were rare, unlike the more chaotic regions of Africa or the Middle East, where small arms dealers abound. Even now, with Ukraine descending into disorder, the arms market hadn’t fully exploded. Weapons still weren’t easy to acquire.

Those at the top of industries like rcenaries, arms dealers, and intelligence brokers had known early on that Ukraine would face turmoil. Early movers with inside information had already arrived, while those destined to be fodder at the bottom waited for the chaos to erupt fully before flooding in en masse.

Ukraine would inevitably beco a haven for rcenaries and spawn a wave of small-ti arms dealers. But not yet—not until the full-scale conflict broke out.

Industry elites like Iron Madonna and the Angel rcenary Corps, or intelligence brokers like Justin, had started their prep work well ahead of the ga. But the arms dealers, despite knowing what was coming for Ukraine, dared not step in recklessly.

Why didn’t arms dealers dare enter Ukraine? Because it was Grand Ivan’s turf. His reputation lood large; among arms dealers, his na commanded intimidation. Yes, Grand Ivan had disappeared. But it was only a disappearance. Unless it was confird that he was dead and his underground empire had crumbled, no one would dare encroach on his territory.

That said, Grand Ivan’s reputation was so intense that even Gao Yang couldn’t find a professional arms dealer in Ukraine. Big dealers wouldn’t co, and the market for small players hadn’t ford yet. That’s just how it was.

Finally, Nikolai stopped the car in a dilapidated neighborhood and murmured, “This is the Apinta Industrial Zone.”

Little Donnie scanned the surroundings from the car and nodded to Gao Yang, who gestured to Nikolai and said, “Wait for us in the car. There won’t be any trouble.”

The three stepped out of the car, and Little Donnie guided them a few steps forward, whispering, “It’s right here. I see the building we arranged to et in. I’ll call our contact now. This shouldn’t take long.”

Little Donnie pulled out his phone, made a call, and after a brief wait, spoke softly, “Hello, we’re here. Three of us.”

Once he ended the call, Little Donnie snapped his fingers and smiled, “Got in touch. Soone will co to et us soon. Just wait here.” (To be continued. If you’re enjoying this work, please visit Qidian (qidian) to cast your votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian to read.)