Heading to the new location to find that artillery company, Gao Yang and his team returned to where they left the car, drove a bit after circling and turning, and eventually reached the outskirts again, disembarking to proceed on foot.
"Where are we? The outskirts, right? How can the artillery positions be deployed at the forefront of the outskirts? Logically, the artillery positions should be a bit further back, right?"
Gao Yang was not just curious; he genuinely didn’t understand how to use artillery. Discovering that Angel deployed artillery in a way that differed from his understanding, he naturally had to ask.
Wizard pointed behind him and said, "Actually, there are no suitable places within the city for artillery positions, for rather complex reasons. First, areas with many tall buildings won’t do, as they affect the artillery firing lines. Then, so spacious areas suitable for positioning have long been identified through countless reconnaissance efforts by the enemy, making them vulnerable to airstrikes and artillery fire. And since artillery is crucial heavy firepower for us, we can’t afford to waste it against the enemy, so we have to frequently mobilize and deploy it outside the city."
Gao Yang nodded and replied, "Understood. Although the outskirts are closer to the enemy, they are less likely to be discovered by aerial reconnaissance because many areas in the outskirts are densely vegetated, providing hiding places. Got it, though it’s a pity we can’t use this experience."
"True, in Yen it’s all desert, completely different from here."
Gao Yang looked back and saw that Phoenix was still a ways away from them and wouldn’t hear his conversation with Wizard. He continued, "Does anyone here know how to concentrate the use of artillery in the desert?"
Wizard shook his head and said, "Don’t even think about it. Why did Aricans struggle so much in Vietnam and why was it easy in Iraq? It’s because Iraq didn’t have the geographic conditions to support guerrilla warfare. Avoiding aerial reconnaissance in the desert is very difficult, especially against modern reconnaissance equipnt; it’s virtually impossible to hide in the desert."
Gao Yang said softly, "I’ll think of a way once I’m there on the ground. There’s always a way."
Wizard chuckled softly and said, "It actually depends on who your enemy is, right?"
Gao Yang also laughed, waved his hand, and said, "Exactly, in the Middle East the battles are always much easier."
The two chatted idly, but suddenly Wizard raised his hand, signaling Gao Yang to stop. He looked around, then took out a map from his pocket and squatted down to examine it.
"Really? Are you lost?"
"Not lost, just need to confirm the direction."
"You know where the artillery positions have moved to."
"I’m not a local, and I couldn’t possibly have explored every corner here. Even if I know the artillery positions, I still need to check the map."
After a brief conversation, Wizard stood up, pointed in a direction, and said, "Go that way. It’s a little over a kiloter, almost there."
Gao Yang swept his hand around and laughed, "No snipers, right? Or enemy troops? We are at your frontlines."
They were walking through the suburbs, surrounded by relatively dense trees. The trees obscured houses, and there were fields and vegetable gardens between these houses. The fields and vegetable gardens also had dense and low shrubs, making visibility poor but making walking safer.
Wizard laughed and said, "Don’t worry, although it’s close to the front line, it’s not a key position. Enemies won’t launch attacks from here as the terrain isn’t conducive for deploying chanized units. Snipers might appear occasionally, but they’re rare. You don’t need to worry unless you’re particularly unlucky."
"That’ll do. I’m usually lucky. If there’s a sniper, I could sll them from two kiloters away."
"You sure are good at bragging."
"Thank you for the complint."
They were on a path near a farmhouse. Walking along the path would have taken a bit longer, so Wizard reached out and parted a shrub, inviting Gao Yang to squeeze through. After Gao Yang squeezed through, he called out to Cui Bo and followed through the shrub.
Once Wizard squeezed through, Gao Yang smiled and said, "Look what we have here, tomatoes!"
They found themselves in a tomato field. The trees in the field were small, unlike the neat vegetable plots in Gao Yang’s mories from his hotown. The fras for the tomatoes here were quite haphazard, and the tomatoes were planted very sparsely.
Most tomatoes were still green, but so red ones hung on the stems, looking quite tempting.
"People here aren’t very attentive to their farming, can’t compare to my hotown. Here, have one."
Gao Yang picked two fully ripe tomatoes, tossed one to Wizard, and didn’t bother to wipe the other. He took a big bite and imdiately nodded, "Hmm, tastes good. It’s the taste of my childhood, different from the ones in the market, delicious."
Wizard was unceremonious, quickly finishing a small tomato, plucking two more himself, and started eating beside Gao Yang.
When Cui Bo, Lilia, and Phoenix also squeezed through the shrubs, Gao Yang whispered, "Hurry up, these are delicious."
Cui Bo’s eyes lit up, he rubbed his hands together and said with a smile, "Hey, not bad, tomatoes—grab a couple. Just right, I’m thirsty."
Gao Yang, in good spirits, tossed a tomato to Phoenix after plucking it, and laughed, "Eat a few, they taste great."
Phoenix took a big bite of the tomato, taking half of it down in one go. Cui Bo picked two red ones, handed one to Lilia, and after biting into it, laughed, "Let tell you, stolen stuff always tastes better. When I was a kid, I often stole from vegetable gardens..."
With a boom, the ground beneath Gao Yang and his team shook.
Gao Yang instinctively spread his hands, holding two untouched tomatoes in his left, a half-eaten one in his right, another half still in his mouth, juice dripping as he slowly turned his head to look at the still-smoking object to his left.
"Is this, is this... a missile?"
Wizard was trembling like a leaf, nodding repeatedly.
Wizard was at a loss for words, staring blankly at the thing that had fallen from the sky, purely scared out of his wits.
Cui Bo let the tomato in his hand fall and stamred, "Curtis or missile, a missile... Curtis, Curtis, that’s a missile... Curtis..."
Phoenix sat down hard on the ground, saying nothing, just running her fingers through her hair over and over, face pale as a ghost.
"What is this? A missile? Why didn’t it explode?"
Only Lilia, with a curious look, moved towards the object just twenty ters away from her.
"Don’t move!"
"Stop!"
"Get down!"
"Are you crazy?!"
The four of them scread in unison. Once Lilia stopped, Gao Yang trembled, "It shouldn’t... shouldn’t explode, Curtis. Let’s, slowly, slowly move back."
Wizard was still trembling, his voice shaking as he said, "I can’t move, my legs are weak. You guys, slowly move back, let ... let calm down a bit."
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