Mercenary's War

Everything is in order now, ready to go, just waiting for the right moment.

That night, Gao Yang was deep in sleep when suddenly the phone rang, waking him up abruptly. When he answered the call, he heard Polovich’s deep voice, "Get ready to receive the goods!"

Gao Yang was instantly wide awake. He sat up abruptly, grabbed the walkie-talkie, and then shouted loudly, "They’re coming, prepare to receive the goods!"

The self-propelled artillery was to be provided by Iran, so delivery was naturally their responsibility. But missiles were different—the first batch of missiles was brought by Gao Yang under the guise of Russian aid, so, of course, the missiles had to be delivered by Grand Ivan.

Two sets of missiles are not just two vehicles. There are two missile launch vehicles, a command vehicle, a power supply vehicle, and a transport vehicle carrying four spare missiles; this whole setup makes for quite a large convoy.

With large numbers of big vehicles, air transport was out of the question, so Grand Ivan took the sea route, unloaded at a port, and then transported them by land directly to Sana’a.

Gao Yang told the Houthis Armed Forces that Russia would supply two sets of surface-to-surface missiles. Once the missiles arrived, they would need to inform the Houthis Armed Forces; otherwise, two sets of missiles showing up undetected in the most guarded Sana’a would leave the Houthis wondering, and what would Abdullah think?

Thus, when the missiles were to be delivered, Gao Yang had to inform Abdullah, allowing the Houthis Armed Forces to arrange for security escorts so that the two sets of missiles could finally be delivered to Sana’a.

Highly sensitive weapons like surface-to-surface missiles need to be treated with caution. Unloading at the port, they were only transported at night, taking two nights to finally arrive in Sana’a by around two in the morning on that day.

Accepting the missiles had to be done by Niva and Dmitry leading the missile troops, but Satan’s group wasn’t idle; they needed to escort the missile troops.

Receiving just two sets of missiles wasn’t enough to excite Gao Yang, nor did it overly thrill Satan’s people. Having seen many grand scenes, they weren’t easily stirred.

But Niva and Dmitry were different; Dmitry was relatively calm, but Niva was extremely restless, pacing anxiously. While waiting for Satan’s people to board the car, Niva muttered to himself, "Quick, quick, faster, faster."

Gao Yang found it amusing and said lightly, "Major, why the rush?"

Niva replied in a low voice, "I can’t help it, comrade! You’re still young, you can’t understand how eager someone who’s served for over a decade, then spent more than twenty years in despair and disappointment after discharge, can be."

When Niva raised his head, Gao Yang was startled as Niva’s eyes were filled with tears.

Gulping, Gao Yang shouted, "Guys, pick up the pace!"

Salim had to accompany them to receive the missiles. After all, the missiles were nominally aid to the Houthis Armed Forces. Although they would be used directly by Satan upon arrival, the Houthis Armed Forces still needed to send a high-level official to receive them to showcase their political significance.

Satan’s group gathered quickly, but Salim was a bit late. After waiting for more than ten minutes, when Salim finally arrived, they could finally set off.

The reception point for the missiles was in the southwestern suburbs of Sana’a, with the convoy transporting the missiles already waiting on the sandy roadside.

In the dark, the sight of a massive convoy finally excited Gao Yang, who had remained calm; although the missile launchers were covered with camouflage, their massive sizes were unmistakable even from afar.

Gao Yang’s car came to a stop, he was the first to get out, followed by Salim; a few people who had been waiting walked out of the crowd to greet them.

The Houthis’ escort team reported to Salim, and the Russians tasked with delivering the missiles naturally had to hand them over to Gao Yang.

Due to the secrecy and complexity of this missile batch, Polovich personally came to Yemen to deliver the missiles to Gao Yang, wary of sending just anyone lest they expose anything to Gao Yang—those delivering the missiles had roles to play.

Only a few small car lights were on, casting dim shadows, but when he stood in front of Gao Yang, Polovich’s face immediately broke into a meaningful smile.

It had been a while since Gao Yang last saw Polovich.

Polovich’s path had been fraught with hardships, losing everything he once had, and nearly dying at the hands of Butter Knife in Ukraine. Now, his health had fully recovered, though he no longer held his former power, having gone from being the chief of the Asia District to being under Uriyangko. In essence, he wasn’t much different from before.

Now confident and spirited, Polovich first smiled at Gao Yang before speaking in a deep voice, "Sir, I was ordered to deliver the goods here. The goods have now been delivered, please verify and receive them."

Gao Yang also smiled, then said in a deep voice, "Thank you, you’ve worked hard."

Salim, already waiting on the side, reached out to shake hands with Polovich after Gao Yang finished speaking, smiling, "Hello, I’m Salim, the Houthis Armed Forces’ external liaison officer, it’s been a hard journey."

Polovich wore a serious expression, merely shaking Salim’s hand briefly before saying sternly, "Please proceed to verify and receive the goods immediately. The sooner we finish, the sooner I can leave this place."

Salim immediately looked at Gao Yang and said in a deep voice, "Please go ahead with the reception."

Gao Yang nodded and then waved towards Niva and the others, "Go ahead and receive the equipment."

At this point, Polovich lowly said to Salim, "Sorry, Mr. Salim, I have a few words to discuss privately with Mr. Petram."

Salim promptly smiled, "Sure, you go ahead, I’ll oversee the equipment reception."

After Salim and the others left, Polovich immediately put on a smile, gave Gao Yang a strong hug, and said softly, "Thank you, I’ve been looking for a chance to thank you in person."

"Don’t mention it, buddy, congratulations to you."

Without Gao Yang’s intervention and kind words, Polovich wouldn’t be able to work for Grand Ivan again, let alone regain his former influence in Asia. Gao Yang had even saved his life, meriting Polovich’s gratitude.

"Buddy, why did you come in person, aren’t you afraid of being recognized?"

"Kidding, I spent quite some time in Asia but didn’t handle everything personally, not many people have seen me. I’m afraid my subordinates might screw things up for you, and besides, I wanted to see you; it’s not easy to meet you nowadays, buddy."

Laughing, Polovich lowered his voice and said, "I have something for you, but this isn’t the right place to bring it. I’ll personally deliver it to you when you’ve got some free time."