The long-haired bandit wasn't entirely honest. Even after Jack stabbed him in the leg, scaring him half to death, he only trembled but refused to reveal many details.
Finally, a combination of coercion and persuasion, with JJ launching a psychological offensive, finally got him to tell the truth.
The families of these militants were controlled by the "Abu Sayyaf" organization; if he were to betray them, all seven or eight mbers of his family would be executed.
So, after Jack promised him a quick death, the man stamred out so information.
This group belonged to a small unit under the "Abu Sayyaf" organization, about forty or fifty n, usually based in the village of Dandulit, about 20 miles away.
Clearly, the Marawi campaign still had dozens of veterans — wounded soldiers who had been evacuated from the battlefield.
Their leader, Junma, was one of the wounded soldiers, bearing a grueso scar on his face. It was said that he had once killed six governnt soldiers with a captured sniper rifle, earning him a great rit and thus being appointed to lead this unit.
These wounded soldiers also brought back a considerable amount of weaponry, so captured, so acquired through "trade." Besides the heavy machine gun previously mounted on the pickup truck, they also had a significant number of rocket launchers.
Early this morning, nearby villagers ca frantically to their leader, Junma, saying that a large plane had flown very low over their houses, and he guessed it had landed nearby.
The villagers feared it was a governnt plane and rushed to report it at daybreak.
But their leader, Junma, told them it couldn't be a military aircraft; if the governnt were involved, their spies in Manila wouldn't be unaware.
He then led a large portion of his n in a massive attack, leading to the scene described earlier.
Jack inquired further about the island. Jolo Island is actually a fairly large volcanic island, nearly 900 square kiloters in area, with a population of over 100,000.
About five or six small to dium-sized towns are scattered along the coast, mainly on the northern coast, housing nearly two-thirds of the island's population.
The island has almost no industry, relying primarily on fishing and pearl diving. There's even a port in the northeast capable of accommodating large ships and a small airport.
The remaining third of the population is scattered throughout the island, engaged in traditional agriculture such as rice, coconuts, and cassava. However, almost all the island's residents are devout Muslims, naturally sympathizers or supporters of the Abu Sayyaf organization.
They not only inform these extremists, but so are even directly involved, able to be mobilized with a single order — akin to civilians in peaceti and soldiers in warti.
It can be said that nowadays, apart from a few reckless missionaries still daring to operate in the larger towns, foreigners are almost nowhere to be seen.
Therefore, this group often sailed in small boats to Indonesia in the south or even crossed the Sulu Sea to Palawan Island in the northwest to kidnap foreign tourists.
After the battle of Marawi, the Abu Sayyaf organization lost several important leaders and went into a period of dormancy, shifting its kidnapping targets from foreign tourists to mainly Filipino and Indonesian locals.
"This is a big problem. According to this guy, we have no way to leave here safely."
Jack couldn't drive a boat, and besides, the major ports were in the north. Even if they went to the small port in the southeast as planned, it would be difficult to escape even if they managed to steal a boat.
After all, this wasn't an uninhabited island; the Abu Sayyaf organization had eyes and ears everywhere. Even if they escaped to sea, they could be caught by ard small boats, and a simple heavy machine gun would be enough to subdue them all.
"Let's try to get help first." Captain Torrance spread out the map and pointed northeast, asking, "I saw so facilities here before landing. What is this place?"
Lonu hesitated for a long ti before answering, "This is an abandoned old mine, originally owned by the governnt, but we drove them away a few years ago."
"Is there any usable communication system there?" Captain Torrance's eyes lit up and he asked quickly.
"There should be. Our people looted the place, but didn't completely destroy it. Occasionally, people bring won they've kidnapped from town there to play."
"No one usually?" Jack was a little skeptical. The guy's eyes were shifty when he spoke, and he didn't seem to be telling the truth.
Slap!
He slamd a religious book he had found on the guy in front of him.
"Swear on this?"
"I'll tell the truth, but you have to promise to kill , right here. I can't let them see that I was tortured." Lonu let out a desperate roar.
"No problem. I'll pile your body together with your companions and hide them in the jungle over there. In this godforsaken place, after a day or two, no one will bother to examine your bodies carefully, right?" Jack said, raising his rifle directly at Lonu's head.
"We've hidden a few won there without telling Chief Junma, and three nearby villagers take turns guarding them. There's internet there; we can contact the outside world by starting a diesel engine."
"We'll film so videos and sell them on the dark web. That's all. I've told you everything. Just kill , please."
Bang!
Jack shot him in the head, eliciting gasps from those listening to the interrogation.
Dragging the body, they threw the man into the jungle to keep his three wicked friends company. Jack covered him with so leaves.
In the Philippine archipelago, besides eagles that eat monkeys, perhaps only crocodiles that roam near rivers can be considered ferocious beasts. There aren't even any large streams here, so there obviously aren't any crocodiles.
But it doesn't matter; soon, various carrion insects, drawn by the scent, will clean up the corpse.
Even the large pools of blood and brain matter left on the ground are now swarming with ants and other small insects, a chilling sight.
Although the interrogation yielded mostly bad news, at least they had a next goal: to head to the old mine and establish contact with the outside world as soon as possible.
If, as Lonu claid, it was indeed their place of cri, then it also ant that few people usually ventured there. With the guards removed, they would have a place to settle the passengers overnight.
The tragic reality was laid bare before them, and with another unfortunate soul setting an example.
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