Chapter 123 I Don’t Want to See

Chapter 123 I Don’t Want to See

Chapter 123 I Don’t Want to See

The battle to retake Mosul lasted a full nine months, from October 2016 to July 10.

The 9-strong army, including Iraqi counter-terrorism forces, police forces, tribal armed forces, Kurdish armed forces, and of course the Iraqi National Defense Forces, fought for nine months with the support of the air forces of nine countries led by the United States and just recaptured Mosul.

Looking down from the air, it is not enough to say that the entire city of Mosul has turned into ruins. It should be said that the entire city has turned into a dump of construction waste.

The helicopter landed slowly. This was not a battle, nor was it an emergency landing, so Petel waited until the rotor stopped rotating completely before opening the hatch.

Gao Yi jumped off the helicopter. He was like an old cadre inspecting a construction site. He wore a helmet on his head, but he also wore a bulletproof vest.

A stench that only comes from war hits me in the face, the smell of rotting corpses.

"gentlemen!"

A major wearing Iraqi desert camouflage came forward, saluted Gao Yi, and then said in English: "We are ready, please come this way."

With Gao Yi's current mobility, he didn't need to wait long. He just needed to ask someone for the general idea and then call for a helicopter in the name of the Secret Operations Bureau.

Lin Xianghua and his group of six surrounded Gao Yi in the middle, with two in front and four in the back. This made Gao Yi look more like an old cadre on inspection.

The battle is over and Mosul has been recaptured.

But the battle is not over yet, because Mosul has been bombed into ruins, and there are still some scattered terrorists hiding in the ruins, in places that are not easily noticed, so sporadic battles still occur from time to time.

After all, it has only been two days since we recaptured the area, and it is impossible to completely clear every corner immediately.

There were no buildings suitable for headquarters, and the Wehrmacht's headquarters would rather be placed in tents.

It was a very large tent with two large air conditioners turned on at full blast, but it still didn't feel very cool inside the tent, at best it was not hot at all.

Gao Yi walked into the tent as if he was inspecting something. An Iraqi general saluted him and extended his hand.

A general in his forties or fifties saluted a young man in his early twenties very naturally and smoothly.

Speaking in a language Gao Yi couldn't understand, the general began to introduce himself enthusiastically. The major who greeted Gao Yi translated, "The general said that they didn't find the person you mentioned, but they found the mercenaries you mentioned. They are the team that fought with the Messenger of Justice. As for the hostages, the terrorists will push the hostages to the front in almost every battle to stop our attack. The Messenger of Justice you mentioned has been captured for more than nine days. We think there is little hope that he will survive."

After translating the general's words, the general pointed to a group of people standing in the tent.

There were seven people in total, all wearing camouflage uniforms and carrying guns, but they all looked dusty and their clothes were tattered.

"They are the team that fought with Justice Messenger. Unfortunately, all of them have been killed in the battle group that Justice Messenger was in. However, they know the area where Justice Messenger was captured."

After the major finished translating, the general said to Gao Yi, "You can ask them. If they need our cooperation, just notify me."

The general left after he finished speaking. The only people left in the tent were a team that had just withdrawn from the Mosul battlefield, an interpreter, and Gao Yi and his seven companions.

He would not make the same mistake again this time. Gao Yi took out his phone, pulled up a photo, and walked up to the seven people and said, "Is this the one you have seen?"

The photo of Li Jie was very clear, but the seven people seemed to have no interest in looking at it, and no one answered Gao Yi's questions.

The major who was translating shouted, "Answer this gentleman's question!"

Still no one spoke.

Gao Yi thought for a moment and said, "He is my friend. I came here to rescue him."

After hearing what Gao Yi said, someone finally said, "He was arrested. We haven't seen him since. We know he's probably in that area, but we've searched and haven't found his body."

Are you looking for the corpse directly?

Looking for Li Jie would not waste Gao Yi much of his time or energy. It would only require a small favor, so he came.

Even if Gao Yi was looking for Li Jie just to make a gun, but now it has come to this point, Gao Yi really wants to find him. After all, he has wasted time and energy, and also lost favors, which are all sunk costs. It would be a pity if he didn't look for him after asking a few questions.

Gao Yi thought for a moment, then he said to the people in front of him: "Are you all mercenaries?"

"I am, the three of us are, they are not."

Three of the seven were mercenaries, and their commissions were paid by the Iraqi government, and the commissions were very high.

It is actually quite common that in a meat-grinder-like battle, paid mercenaries and free tribal forces are mixed together at the end.

Gao Yi exhaled and said, "I want to find him. You mark out a rough area, and then someone will go to search. Now, please mark the area you have searched."

The major took out a battle map, or rather a very large and detailed aerial photo, and spread it on the table. He said, "Do as he says."

The English-speaking mercenary stood in front of the map. He looked at it for a while, then reached out and pressed a building. He said to the person next to him, "Is this the place?" "Yes."

"I don't think so..."

Several people gathered around the table and started arguing, but the result came out quickly. After about twenty minutes, a not very large area was marked on the map.

"We were here at the time. The area drawn on the map was in the hands of the terrorists. We only searched this small area and found six remaining terrorists, all of whom were injured, but no hostages were found."

Gao Yi doesn't have to worry about these things. He doesn't understand and doesn't need to be responsible for tasks like rescuing hostages. Even asking Peter and several others to carry out the rescue mission would be a crime.

Of course, this kind of thing should be left to the Iraqis.

The major got the map, took a quick look at it, and said, "The area isn't very large. I'll send someone to search right away. I'll use a regiment of people, and there should be results soon."

"Thank you."

The major hurried out with the map.

There was no need to shout orders, nor to gather a group of people to perform for Gao Yi. This was not a rescue operation, but only a small cleanup of the battlefield.

If he's alive, we have to find him; if he's dead, we have to find his body. Even if nine days have passed and the person has rotted away, we have to find his clothes, his bones, and everything that might be related to Li Jie.

It is difficult for one person to do this, and it is not easy for a group of people to do this. But if an army of thousands of people are mobilized to this small area and they have to look into the crack in the wall, then this task is really not too difficult.

Gao Yi found a chair and sat down. He had no intention of talking to the soldiers. The seven soldiers had not received the order to leave, and they could not find anything else to do for a while, so they soon fell asleep in the tent.

There were not enough chairs in the tent, but these people stood, lowered their heads, and fell asleep like that, snoring softly.

Gao Yi was surprised. He looked at Lin Xianghua. Lin Xianghua hesitated for a moment and whispered, "I'm so tired that I can sleep even if I get shot."

Well, since this is an area that Gao Yi doesn’t understand, there’s no need to say more.

After just a few minutes, the major came back. He went up to the soldiers and woke them up one by one. He told them that they could find a tent to sleep. Then several soldiers staggered out.

"We just need to wait here. It may be fast or slow, but we will definitely get a result today."

The major was very polite, but Gao Yi was not actually in a hurry.

About two hours later, the intercom that the major placed on the table rang, and then someone said something very quickly into the intercom.

The major said to Gao Yi in surprise, "We found a basement hidden under the ruins. There are many people in it, at least more than 20 people. They have already arranged for the commandos to enter. Maybe the person you are looking for is in there."

Before he could finish his words, a hurried call came from the intercom again. Then, the major was even more surprised. He said to Gao Yi: "It is confirmed that there are hostages inside! And most of them are alive. It is very likely, very hopeful that your friend may really be in there."

Gao Yi couldn't sit still any longer. He stood up and asked, "Let's go take a look?"

"No, no, it's better not to. It's still very dangerous. The terrorists are very likely to have bombs installed nearby. Believe me, you would never want to go in there. Believe me, please believe me!"

The major had always been very polite and smiling, but now, the smile on his face could no longer be maintained. His expression began to become sad. After emphasizing several times to make Gao Yi believe him, he whispered: "That is definitely not a place a normal person should set foot in. It is... hell. It will give you nightmares if you see it."

Gao Yi looked at Lin Xianghua, who didn't react much, but Peter suddenly said, "The major is right. Don't go. Don't step into the battlefield, let alone a... a... you know, don't go. Just wait for news here."

Gao Yi didn’t know what he knew, but he knew to listen to people’s advice and eat his fill.

If I really went to see it in person, I might not be able to eat for a long time.

Gao Yi sat back down.

Less than ten minutes later, the intercom rang again. Then, before the person on the intercom finished speaking, the major shouted to Gao Yi in surprise, "Found it! He's still alive! Found it!"

Gao Yi stood up and asked in surprise: "Is he really alive?"

"Yes, yes! He's still alive. Our people rescued him and sent him here immediately. Sir, he's still alive!"

The major probably didn't know Li Jie, but he was even more excited than Gao Yi. After saying a few words about being alive, he said with genuine joy on his face: "That's great, this city... has four more survivors."

Didn't they say there were more than twenty people? How come there are only four survivors?

Gao Yi thought about it, and after figuring out the key, he decided not to say anything.

War is ugly, war is terrible, and war is disgusting. Gao Yi has never seen the horror of war, and now he doesn't want to see it anymore.

(End of this chapter)