CHAPTER 1447: CHAPTER 1,428: WHISPER

Beira Port has one of the few docks in Somalia where large cargo ships can still dock and unload, and the landing zone for Gao Yang and his team is this dock surrounded by water.

The dock is connected to the land by only three roads, essentially surrounded by water, and the dock is filled with obstacles like containers and buildings. For a large-scale parachute operation, this landing zone is rather small and certainly not ideal, especially with strong coastal winds that could potentially blow one into the sea during deployment.

If it were an ordinary paratrooper unit, they would choose an open and flat area to land before attacking the dock. However, Gao Yang and his team landed directly on the dock.

A port covers a large area, and the vital spots are not all on the dock. Gao Yang chose the landing zone and first battlefield on the dock, simply because Beira’s strongest maritime defense force is anchored there.

Somaliland is de facto independent but not recognized by other countries, so while the Skull Gang can fight and capture it, they won’t bear the accusation of invading another nation.

Beira is extremely important to Somaliland, as more than 80% of the official government’s income comes from the customs revenue of Beira Port, and major exports like livestock are also exported through Beira Port. Saying Beira is Somaliland’s lifeline is no exaggeration.

Beira is so important to Somaliland that they naturally strive to defend Beira. Fourteen gunboats protect Beira from maritime attacks by the Skull Gang, and these gunboats are usually docked at the pier. Gao Yang and his team’s target is to eliminate these gunboats first.

The so-called gunboats are actually speedboats equipped with large-caliber machine guns and 23mm autocannons, with a maximum displacement of just over one hundred tons. Besides these, which Somaliland has modified from various boats, there’s one big vessel, a patrol boat from the Type 205P family built during the Former Soviet Union era.

With a full displacement of 253 tons, it is fitted with a twin-mounted 57mm anti-aircraft gun, a six-barrel 30mm AK630 autocannon, and a fire control radar. However, whether the radar works is questionable. This piece of junk is Somaliland’s prized possession, and it can indeed make mincemeat of the Skull Gang’s armed fishing boats.

Gao Yang and his team’s primary role is to conduct harassment and sabotage operations in Beira City, to disrupt Beira’s command center, and to harass the strongest forces defending Beira. Apart from a necessary defense of the airstrip, they focus on causing as much damage as possible elsewhere; defending isn’t crucial.

The dock is lit and has troops, but it’s unclear whether the crew aboard the gunboats remain on standby onboard after docking or go ashore to their quarters. From Gao Yang’s perspective, during wartime it’s normal for people to stay on the boat, yet this is Africa, so it’s likely more normal for the soldiers to abandon the boats for the comfort of the land.

Gao Yang deployed his parachute and immediately felt the impact of the strong crosswind, narrowly avoiding a fall into the sea upon landing. If he had been blown ten meters off course, he and his gear would end up immersed, and ten meters is a mere inch away in parachuting terms, taking less than a second to drift past.

As soon as Gao Yang removed his parachute, Li Jinfang landed beside him, and his first words were full of amazement: "Curtis! How do those old guys do it?"

All twelve members of the Black Demon landed within a hundred-meter radius, and they didn’t even have night vision devices, impressing Gao Yang greatly.

Gao Yang urgently said on the intercom: "The crosswind is strong, be careful."

Gao Yang didn’t rush to move; he watched each person land from the sky. Though slightly deviated, none fell into the sea.

After Satan’s team took about four minutes to gather, Cui Bo said in a deep voice: "These old geezers are truly something! Respect."

Eileen said softly: "Wimbel is far inferior to them; they’re still assembling their people."

Gao Yang said in a deep voice: "Let’s not keep those old folks waiting, let’s rendezvous with the Black Demon."

Gao Yang roughly remembered where the Black Demon landed. He waved his hand and quickly headed towards their location with Satan’s team. Before long, he saw the Black Demon dispersed in four directions.

The Black Demon was divided into four three-man combat groups, raising their hands facing Gao Yang’s team.

Remembering that the Black Demon had no night vision devices, Gao Yang quickly whispered: "Black Demon, we’re Satan, closing in from the west."

Gao Yang wondered how they distinguished between friend and foe in the pitch-black, let alone how they fought.

After joining forces with the Black Demon, an old man, who had always been proud, said unhappily: "Move faster; tell me, what’s the main objective."

Fearing the unorganized and undisciplined old men of Black Demon might act independently, Gao Yang whispered: "Old...buddy, we don’t have code names between us, what should I call you?"

The old man slowly said: "Just call me officer."

Gao Yang said decisively: "Choose another name, I won’t call you officer."

After a cold snort, the old man said in a low voice: "Then call me Black Demon; I won’t casually reveal my operation code name to anyone."

Gao Yang was helpless, then he whispered, "Alright, Black Demon it is, it’s just a codename, whatever you prefer."

After a brief conversation, Taylor, who was carrying a high-powered radio, whispered, "Boss, the airport team is already in position; they’ve initiated the attack."

Gao Yang frowned and said, "So soon? Alright, we need to speed up on our end too, before the port hears about it and heightens security."

Wimbel’s people finally rushed over, and right at that moment, Li Jinfang, who was on guard duty, whispered, "Someone’s coming!"

Almost simultaneously with Li Jinfang’s warning, the sound of gunfire erupted from two old men of the Black Demon team, though instead of vocalizing a warning, they shot directly.

Two soft pops, and Gao Yang saw two soldiers on patrol fall to the ground, and once they fell, Gao Yang exclaimed in shock, "F**k! Who told you to shoot?"

The sound was faint, lacking the typical muzzle blast, mixing instead with the subtle sound of the gun mechanism, meaning it was a silenced weapon, the VSK-94 silenced sniper rifle—a good choice for sneaky operations.

The VSK-94 is a silenced weapon with poor accuracy and low power, decent within a hundred meters for stealth kills but useless at long-range, and the Black Demon team brought four; that’s one thing. Besides the VSK-94, they also brought eight 9A-91s with silencers, as for pistols, the Black Demon’s choice was the Makarov PB, also silenced...

The guns chosen by Black Demon don’t work well beyond a hundred meters. It’s not entirely unusable, but definitely inefficient.

The guns were all supplied by Andre, and Gao Yang wasn’t sure whether the Black Demon team was adept with these weapons that Russia adopted widely after the Soviet Union’s collapse, but he definitely knew firing without hesitation was a bad habit, even with silenced rifles.

Gao Yang was anxious, yet the old guy from Black Demon spoke at a leisurely pace, "Have they discovered us?"

"No, but—"

"If they haven’t discovered us, what’s your hurry? I’ve told you, each handles their own part."

Gao Yang held back his anger and looked towards Wimbel.

"You sure are quick."

In a mocking tone, Wimbel’s leader snorted coldly, a rumbling voice followed, "We have more people."

Gao Yang waved his hand and whispered, "Alright, everyone has gathered. Let me announce the operation objectives. The primary target is the fourteen gunboats on the other side of the dock; destroy as much as you can, sink them if possible. Then target the soldiers stationed at the dock and port. Lastly, the entire port’s coastal defense firepower and personnel. As for this dock, control it if you can, abandon it after completing the mission if necessary."

The old man from Black Demon, quite displeased, said, "Such a simple thing, wasting our time. Listen up, first deal with the soldiers in the barracks and outposts, then destroy the vessels, lastly resolve the coastal defense firepower points. Let’s move."

Before Gao Yang could speak, Wimbel’s leader whispered, "Who said you get to command? I think we should deal with the gunboats first, at least simultaneously with the barracks and sentinels on land. Those are boats, they can escape, attacking barracks first, hmph, idiotic move, what if the boats escape or use their autocannons to attack us."

Gao Yang couldn’t get a word in, the old man from Black Demon said slowly, "Young people nowadays really don’t understand anything. Let me tell you, this is Africa, sailors here will absolutely not stay on the boats once they’ve docked. If you want to seize those empty boats now, suit yourself."

Here we go again.

After a silent sigh, Gao Yang spoke gravely, "First deal with the sentinels in the barracks, then destroy the boat, lastly resolve the coastal defense firepower points. Let’s move."

The old man pointed at Gao Yang and said solemnly, "We attack, you cover."

The old man liked giving orders and was accustomed to it. After speaking to himself, he looked at Wimbel’s leader and pondered, "As for you..., do whatever you want."

After taking a deep breath, Wimbel’s leader said resentfully, "We’ll attack the barracks."

The old man drew his silenced pistol, saying nonchalantly, "Suit yourselves, just don’t hinder us, action, keep close and don’t get lost, the young ones who can see in the dark, haha."

After a disdainful laugh, the old man stood up and whispered, "Action." (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)