Chapter 47 Feeling Offended

Trekking through the rainforest was already difficult, and it became even harder with an injured person.

The focus shifted from guarding against pursuers to how to bring John back alive. After a brief respite, they quickly made a makeshift stretcher so they could carry John instead of taking turns carrying him.

"Give me two magazines. I only have one full magazine left."

John lay on the ground, Rubber and Frank were nervously cutting sticks, and George was on guard, holding a gun. Arthur, who should have been taking care of John, walked over to George and asked him for ammunition.

George didn't look at Arthur. He groped around the magazine pouch on his belt with his left hand, and pulled out one magazine, but hesitated for a moment before pulling out another one.

"Use them sparingly, and... don't charge into the enemy's ranks!"

Arthur took the magazines and said softly, "I don't want to die. If it's not necessary, I won't charge into the crowd."

George didn't say anything else and continued to carefully guard the surroundings.

Arthur squatted beside John with the gun. At this point, John was already somewhat confused. He looked at Arthur and whispered, "In the future, don't be... so reckless. You were lucky today, not dying, but if you keep doing this, you'll die sooner or later."

"Well, I won't."

John closed his eyes for a moment, then forced them open again and whispered, "I feel like I'm about to pass out, but I'm trying not to. I'm afraid if I pass out, I'll die."

"Hang in there. You don't usually talk much. Why so talkative today? Rest for a bit, don't talk."

"Because if I don't say it now, I may not have a chance to say it later. I've been shot twice, although neither shot is very fatal. But no one has stopped my bleeding or cleaned my wounds. Even if I don't die from excessive bleeding, I'll die from infection. Moreover, enemies are waiting for us on the way back."

Arthur felt uneasy. He looked at Rubber, who was making a stretcher by putting clothes on sticks, and said, "You won't die."

The stretcher was finally ready. Frank picked it up and walked over, but Rubber reloaded his gun and whispered, "Mad Dog, you and Captain lift Bottle Cap. I'll be in front, Joe will be behind. Let's go."

Arthur didn't move. He looked at Rubber in confusion and said, "Are you calling me?"

Rubber frowned. "I've already assigned everyone's positions. Isn't there someone else with you?"

"But I'm not called Mad Dog!"

"From today on, you're called Mad Dog. Hurry up, don't dawdle!"

Arthur was furious because he refused to accept the nickname Mad Dog. But at this moment, John, lying on the ground, sighed and said, "There are too many people called Mad Dog. This nickname is so common, but it's more suitable than Kung Fu Kid. You don't know Kung Fu."

"Is now the time to discuss nicknames? Mad Dog, don't just stand there. Help me put him on the stretcher."

Frank placed the stretcher next to John, and Arthur helped him onto it.

Feeling offended, Arthur grabbed John's feet and put him on the stretcher.

Arthur and Frank lifted the stretcher, with Arthur carrying John's feet, which was much lighter. Frank bore most of the weight.

After walking a few steps, Arthur couldn't help but say, "I'm not called Mad Dog. You can call me by my name, or even call me Otto or Mr. Schmidt, but don't call me Mad Dog. Mad Dog is an extreme insult in our culture."

Without looking back, Frank said softly, "You don't choose your nickname; it's given to you by others. Mad Dog is indeed offensive, but when used as a nickname, it has become synonymous with describing someone as extremely crazy. It's a neutral term, so don't take it too seriously."

"But I do mind. I don't want the name Mad Dog. I'll turn hostile if anyone calls me Mad Dog!"

Rubber's footsteps slowed slightly, and he said sharply, "Mad Dog, shut up! Move forward in silence, no more talking!"

John smirked and said with difficulty, "Turning hostile, huh."

Arthur wanted to throw the stretcher away, but at this point, it seemed that there was no way to turn hostile.

After walking for a long time without saying a word, everyone tried not to make any noise. Until Arthur felt exhausted and couldn't lift it anymore, the stick slipped from his hand, almost dropping John.

Arthur was too thin. Although he was agile during the action, his strength was weak, and he was seriously lacking in stamina.

George noticed Arthur's embarrassment. He stopped the team, handed the rifle to Arthur, and took over carrying the stretcher for Arthur.

Arthur thus walked at the back with the rifle.

They were about to reach the location where Rubber's boat was parked. Rubber made a gesture to stop, then gathered everyone and whispered, "Go check if our boat has been discovered by the enemy. Joe and I will scout, Mad Dog, you look after protecting Bottle Cap, Captain..."

Rubber hesitated for a moment, then looked at Frank very seriously and said, "If you're clear-headed enough, I hope you'll go to the rear to set up a line of defense. Captain, are you ready now?"

Frank pursed his lips and whispered, "I am."

"Move out."

Arthur returned the unheated rifle to George and went back to John's side with the handgun. He felt helpless and somewhat angry because he absolutely couldn't accept the nickname Mad Dog, but now everyone had started calling him that.

Rubber and George quickly returned, and their faces didn't look good.

"The enemy is already ambushed, waiting to ambush us, but there won't be many people."

Rubber's words made Frank's face turn ugly too. He whispered, "Did you spot the enemy?"

"No, but our hidden boat should have been discovered. They moved to check the inflatable boat and then put it back in place. I guess they are ambushing on both sides of the waterway, waiting to open fire on us when we leave by boat."

The rainforest provided cover for both sides of the conflict. Without enough manpower to spread out and occupy this vast rainforest area, even the guerrillas who lived here year-round couldn't accurately locate and kill people.

Frank whispered, "There are only two choices: bypass this area and return to the plane, or kill all the nearby enemies."

Bypass? That's a joke. It would take over an hour by boat to reach the plane, and if on foot, it might take two days if lucky.

This area was not only a rainforest but also a swamp. It was impossible to carry someone through waist-deep swamps, and many places were likely to easily swallow a person completely. Why didn't the guerrillas ambush or search in the swamp? Because they couldn't do it, and they knew others couldn't either.

So there was only one plan: find the enemies hiding nearby, ambush them, and then leave by inflatable boat through the waterway. Once in the swamp, they would be completely safe.

Arthur couldn't help but say, "Walking is impossible. John can't hold on for that long. How do you know our inflatable boat has been discovered?"

"I placed a small twig under the Rubber boat. As long as someone moved it, the twig would break or fall off. I just checked and found the twig had moved."

Arthur thought for a moment and said, "If the enemy is coming, they should have been monitoring the inflatable boat. Why didn't they shoot you when you were checking the inflatable boat?"

"It's simple. The guerrillas know we will send someone to check first, so they won't shoot at the person coming to check. Two inflatable boats indicate that there are at least four or more people. The guerrillas won't choose to kill one and let the rest go. So their best choice is to let us think it's safe, wait for us to leave by inflatable boat, and then shoot at us. That way, none of us can escape, and we won't even have the ability to resist."

Rubber explained carefully, then pointed in a direction and said, "The swamp is on both sides of the river where we came from. But here, where we landed, one side is a swamp, and the other side is land. So the enemy must be ambushing on the land side, waiting for us. Because of the dense vegetation, their maximum attack distance won't exceed thirty meters."

Arthur didn't know why Rubber was explaining these things so carefully at this time. Was this a jungle warfare field teaching?

Rubber withdrew his hand and whispered, "The enemy won't be too many because if there are too many, there's no need to ambush us by the inflatable boat. Their ambush area would be larger. Now that we know roughly the number of enemies and their approximate ambush location, we just need to bypass them from behind, launch an attack, eliminate the enemies ambushing us, and then leave by boat. Understand?"

"Understood!"

Rubber nodded and whispered, "I need you to understand our battle plan and the situation we are facing. Now, the three of us will go around to the enemy's rear for an attack. You stay here and watch over Bottle Cap. Don't do anything. If the enemy has reinforcements arriving, or if someone searches here, don't shoot. Just quietly hide anywhere. Trust me, they won't be able to find you, just like you can't find them. Remember that?"

Once again excluded from the battle plan, but this was the treatment rookies should receive. Arthur nodded and said, "I remember."

Frank took off his earphones and handed them to Arthur, whispering, "The tactics used often expose the enemy's strength. Experienced people, can make accurate judgments without contact. Remember this, and don't go crazy again."

Arthur took the earphone wire and couldn't make any sound here, but if Frank and the others opened fire, they wouldn't be able to remain silent.

"Be careful."

Arthur could only say, "Be careful." Rubber waved his hand, made a gesture to move forward, and then the three of them quietly moved backward. They would bypass and attack the enemy from behind.