Chapter: 2656

Charlie Wade found himself in a small, run-down courtyard with just three earthen houses. Using his aura, he sensed that there was no one inside the houses. Feeling safe, he decided to quietly make his way to the village’s central square.

Earlier, while parachuting in, he had noticed the opposition had parked four helicopters in that square, indicating that they viewed it as a stronghold. Since these valuable helicopters were located there, Charlie figured that the eight hostages, including He Zhiqiu, were likely being held nearby.

As he moved through the empty courtyard, he was about to enter another small courtyard when he heard footsteps. Quickly, he stepped back and hid against the wall of the abandoned courtyard.

Two middle-aged soldiers in desert camouflage walked by, chatting as they held their guns. Charlie was surprised to hear them speaking English instead of Arabic.

What he didn’t know was that English had become a common language in Syria. Though education levels were low, years of influence from Europe and the United States meant that many people, including soldiers, had learned English. The opposition forces had received funding and training from these countries, with English being the primary language used in their training sessions. As a result, many Syrian soldiers could speak English fairly well.

One of the men turned to the other and said, “Xishan reported over the walkie-talkie that five people were struck by lightning on the mountain. Three were injured, and two of them are in serious condition. It’s urgent. They asked the commander to send a helicopter for rescue, but he said no.”

The other man shrugged and spread his hands in frustration. “The commander can’t agree to that. We’re running low on aviation fuel, and we don’t have enough for four helicopters to take off and land several times. If we’re saving fuel for emergencies, we can’t waste it on just two wounded people.”

He continued, “We don’t have much diesel left either. Luckily, the government forces haven’t started any offensives yet. Otherwise, our helicopters and tanks would only last for a day at most.”

The first man couldn’t help but complain, “It’s crazy! The world’s oil is in the Middle East, yet here we are, running out of oil!”

Another man chuckled and said, “We have a lot of crude oil, but our refining capacity is terrible. This time, the commander wants to get some money from the Americans to buy new refining equipment. If we do that, we’ll have our own fuel supply in the future!”

The first man sighed, “I just hope the Americans are willing to pay. Among the eight people, it seems no one is in a good position financially. If we can’t get any money back, we’ll be in trouble.”

The other man scoffed, “What’s the big deal? Just eliminate them all.” He lowered his voice and said, “The commander said if the Americans don’t pay today, then…”

“Let’s kill the eight Yankees. We’ll record it and send the video to the media worldwide. Let the Americans see what happens!”

One man rubbed his hands together and said, “Hey! I like that blonde woman. I haven’t been with a Western woman before. I wonder if I’ll get the chance! It’s been three months since I’ve been with anyone. I miss women…”

The other man grinned and replied, “I prefer the black-haired Oriental woman. There’s something mysterious about them.”

The first man smiled and said, “Let’s go check on them later. If we get the chance, we can distract the guards and take the two women to another room. We can have some fun before they die!”

“Sounds good! Let’s see what happens. They’ll be executed soon anyway, so why not enjoy ourselves first?” They both laughed.

Suddenly, a pair of strong hands grabbed the necks of the two men from behind, leaving them unable to move or make a sound.

The owner of the hands spoke in English, “If you don’t want to die, drop the idea!”

It was Charlie Wade!