Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
However, Li Du was still confused. “The number of animals hidden in that reserve was huge. Hence, the poachers were willing to risk killing people. What about here? There are only some mosses and shrubs.”
Steve shook his head and smiled. “You still don’t quite understand. The value of the tundra resources is high too. There are minerals, rare plants, and valuable fur animals.”
The gunshots halted as the helicopter made its appearance. Both sides wondered who the new arrivals were.
Big Ivan turned around and looked at Li Du. Li Du understood what he meant.
The noise of the helicopter’s engine was too loud and people in the passenger seat would not be able to hear what was said in the cockpit. Hence, Big Ivan did not speak and only looked at him.
Li Du looked and Steve and asked, “What do you think?”
Steve took the binoculars and looked down. It was all dark below them and they could not discern the situation.
He slowly put down the binoculars and said, pondering the matter, “This issue has nothing to do with us. It’s too dangerous to get into a fight at night. Let’s go back and guard our campsite well. Then we can check out the situation again tomorrow when there’s daylight.”
That was a choice they had to make, and it was the best solution they could see for now.
According to their guess, the rangers were fighting the poachers. Speaking from a conscientious point of view, they should have dealt with the poachers by joining forces with the rangers.
However, they had no direct obligation to do that. Although Steve and Li Du had wished to interfere, the bodyguards advised against that. The bodyguards’ role was to protect their employers’ safety, not to risk their lives being heroic.
They worked as bodyguards as they needed the money to feed their families. It was not a job they had taken because they were looking for adventure.
It was too dangerous to have a crossfire at night. A stray bullet might just end a life. The bodyguards would not be happy to join the fight.
It was especially true because the protectors were all stubborn, ill-tempered men. Li Du’s group had not had a good interaction with them and hence, deep down, Li Du was doubly unwilling to risk his life for them. To join in the crossfire at such a time would be courting death.
When he was a lad, Li Du had sought to have a colorful, thrilling life. However, now that he was at his present age and had aging parents and a future wife to care for, he had realized how childish he had been.
After he had witnessed the gunshots first-hand he became even less willing to fight. In the face of gunfire, lives were extremely fragile.
However, he knew that it was still important to support the good and to strike back at the evil.
Li Du got Big Ivan to increase the height at which the helicopter was flying. Then, they started to fire from above.
They were attacking the ground from a height. Even though they were far away, the bullets were supported by kinetic energy and gravity force. When the bullets struck the ground, they were still rather powerful. On the other hand, when the people on the ground shot into the sky, the bullets were of low threat. After all, they were not using high-range machine guns.
As the helicopter hovered up high, Brother Wolf and Madman sat by the exit of the aircraft and started to shoot below.
They had checked out the situation just now. The poachers were surrounding the rangers. They were attacking the primitive campsite of the rangers from all directions. Hence, they gave directions to the pilot to fly the helicopter around the campsite.
The gunshots continued and it was unclear whom the shots had struck.
Brother Wolf and the others had night vision devices. However, as they were so far away, the devices were of no use.
After they had used up several hundred bullets, the fire from the helicopter had completely subdued the battle on the ground below.
Brother Wolf and Madman were familiar with gunfights and knew how to conserve their bullets. The shooting had lasted for over twenty minutes and eventually subdued the situation on the ground, helping the protectors to buy more time.
When they had used up all their bullets, the helicopter turned back. They had nothing to do with what happened next.
Back at the camp, the bodyguards split themselves into different lines of defense, preparing for a sleepless night.
Li Du and Steve did not have to stand guard with them and could return to the tents to sleep. However, they had to sleep near their weapons and be prepared to react at the first sign of danger.
That night, they heard gunshots from time to time at a distance.
The little animals were very sensitive to the sound of gunshots. The whole night, they did not sleep well and would wake up every time a gunshot rang out. Seeing that, Brother Wolf brought them outside to keep the guards company.
The gunshots were a little disturbing but Li Du chose to think of those as the sounds of firecrackers. The situation then became more bearable.
Later, he felt as if he was back in his hometown for the Chinese New Year. It was similar to the situation on the thirtieth day of the lunar New Year. At midnight, many people would be setting off firecrackers.
He had a good sleep and woke up at dawn. Steve and the Ford brothers had dark circles underneath their eyes and yawned as they came out of their tents.
Li Du wanted to tease them, but then Brother Wolf walked over and passed some photos to him, saying, “Here are some people we know.”
“What?” Li Du asked. He did not understand what Brother Wolf was saying.
When he looked at the photos, he understood. The photos were shadowy, blurry and clear, but still sufficient for him to identify the people they captured.
They had seen them before. They were the American bikers they had bumped into when they had driven to the south. At that time, those men had said that their motorcycles were damaged and that they needed to borrow a car.
Brother Wolf said, “Those are poachers. They must have chosen this season to loot the tundra.”
Li Du passed the photos to Steve and then asked, “Who took these photos?”
Brother Wolf said, “Sissy and Vampire. Since last night, we started to inch towards the borders of the tundra to check out the situation. These were taken early in the morning.”
Li Du was shocked, “Are you guys mad? D*mn, why did you guys go there yesterday? What if something had happened to you guys? How could I have explained it to Ivana?”
Brother Wolf smiled and said, “Then you would have to be Ivana’s god-father.”
Li Du elbowed him and said, “Be more serious, don’t risk your life!”
Brother Wolf pointed to the infrared vision device hanging from his neck and said, “No problem, boss, I have this.”
Besides them, Steve said in envy, “F*ck, where did you find your guards? They are a bunch of tough men. I hired my men at a high price too, so why are they so different from yours?”
Li Du threw his hands out and said, “I’m just lucky, I guess. So now that we understand the situation, what should we do?”
Brother Wolf said, “The rangers have guarded the campsite well and the poachers had been unable to enter their territory. However, it seems like they had not intended to subdue the camp itself. All they wanted was to surround the camp and keep the rangers inside.”
Young Ford frowned. “That’s strange. Why didn’t those old soldiers call the police? D*mn it, those b*stards started a fight in the wild. The police would have intervened.”
Brother Wolf said, “The mobile phone reception has been blocked.”
Steve shrugged. “That could be expected.”
“Now what?”
The question was thrown back into Li Du’s court.
Li Du rubbed his nose and said, “Let’s show those b*stards! Let’s go and support the old soldiers and teach the whoresons a lesson!”
“Got to capture them then,” Steve said. “Are you sure about doing that?”
It was now daylight. Now that they had the advantage of their weapons and the employers’ willingness to give them a bonus, the bodyguards were willing to fight the poachers.
