My autobiography is definitely not a tragedy!
Chapter 477 - 310: Proxy War

Chapter 477: Chapter 310: Proxy War

Damascus, a secluded alleyway.

Ning Shisan, carrying a travel bag, approached a bar named "Hellfire" and pushed open a heavy wooden door...

"Woosh~" "#&%￥#*￥#..."

Compared to the slightly desolate and quiet street, the bar was bustling with noise, as if the inside and outside were two different worlds.

In the somewhat outdated bar, dozens of patrons speaking the local language were loudly chatting and laughing.

Seeing Ning Shisan’s unfamiliar Asian face, many scrutinizing gazes in the bar turned towards him.

Those looks were not friendly.

Ning Shisan ignored the stares of the people around him and went straight to the bar, where he spoke fluently in Arabic.

"I’m looking for Emir!"

Upon hearing this, the bartender sized up Ning Shisan for a moment.

"What do you want with our boss?"

"To talk some business."

The bartender gave Ning Shisan a meaningful look, then nodded.

"Please follow me."

Seeing the bartender leading Ning Shisan away, those hostile gazes in the bar slowly withdrew.

Shortly after, the bartender led Ning Shisan into a room behind the bar.

"Boss, this guest says he wants to talk some business with you."

The bartender’s boss was a bare-chested Arab bald man exuding a fierce aura.

When Ning Shisan saw the man, he was playing Super Mario with a game controller. Hearing the words, he looked up, and when he saw who had come, he visibly shuddered.

The bald man stayed silent for a moment, his expression shifting from surprise to grimness before he waved his hand.

"You go out first."

After the bartender left, the bald man finally put down the game controller, slowly stood up, and with all his musculature, walked over to Ning Shisan, looking down at him coldly.

"You shouldn’t have come back here!"

"That was the plan, but... plans can’t keep up with changes."

Ning Shisan sighed helplessly.

"Ran into some trouble?" the bald man raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah... I can’t really say whether it’s trouble or not..."

"So, what are you doing here this time?"

"Some business."

The bald man didn’t ask what business, just snorted coldly.

"Hmph! Better leave quickly after you’re done. I don’t like having you here! But..."

The next moment, the bald man opened his arms... and gave Ning Shisan a tight hug.

"Welcome back, brother!"

...

"Whirr~" A hidden door in the room opened, and the large array of military hardware and equipment suddenly came into view.

Ning Shisan glanced over it and expertly picked up a Beretta Px4...

"Click!" He proficiently pulled the slide and checked the magazine and sights.

"Not rusty, huh? I heard it’s hard even to touch a gun back in your country?"

The bald man leaned against the door frame, unconcerned with the room full of comburant and explosive goods, jokingly said with a cigarette in his mouth.

"Yeah! Took some getting used to at first." Ning Shisan cracked a smile.

"Truly a peaceful country..." the bald man exhaled a ring of smoke.

"If you’re envious, why not come back with me and retire?"

"Forget it, that kind of environment would drive me crazy. I prefer falling asleep to the sound of gunfire outside, hahaha!"

The bald man laughed heartily, "Just like one of your ancient sayings, my fierce life should definitely end in battle, wrapped in horsehide!

The day you hear I died, it would definitely be on the battlefield!"

After laughing, the bald man said, "So, how about it? Want me to lend a hand this time? For old times’ sake, free of charge."

"No need, I must go alone this time."

"Hmm..." the bald man didn’t ask what he was doing there, he just exhaled another smoke ring.

"Is that so? Then hurry up and complete it, if you were to die, the world would be lonelier..."

...

Half an hour later.

Ning Shisan left through the back door of the pub, walked directly to the main road, and got into a taxi.

[Ding! You have a new task, please handle it timely!]

Not long after getting in the car, a familiar alert sound came from the cell phone.

Ning Shisan’s mouth twitched.

The artificial intelligence of this electronic voice was impeccable, but the style of the task announcement made it sound too much like a takeaway order notification...

It seemed like the hacker behind the scenes was too lazy, simply taking a ready-made audio clip, editing it, and using it online.

However, the abilities of this mysterious organization behind the scenes were indeed impressive—plane tickets, hotels, even calling a taxi, everything was arranged clearly and cleanly for him.

And they were all on public funds, he didn’t even need to worry about reimbursements...

With his previous experience as a mercenary in Syria and neighboring countries, he wasn’t exactly like a fish in water in this foreign land, but he was certainly unobstructed.

He discreetly picked up his cellphone.

[Side task: Receive mission equipment.]

...

Just returned to the hotel where he was staying.

"Mr. Black Cat, this is your express package, please sign for it."

The receptionist, with a professional smile, delivered a package about half the height of a person to him.

"Thank you!"

After giving a 5 US Dollar tip, Ning Shisan carried the package into the room, then shut and locked the door and drew the curtains.

"Is this the so-called mission equipment?" he curiously unwrapped the package.

He then took out one brand-new box after another.

Hua Wei Matepad, a satellite phone, and a DJI Mavic Pro Platinum Edition drone...

Well...

The tablet and satellite phone were easy to understand, but as for the DJI drone, it was probably for his personal reconnaissance.

But... what’s with this number?

Because in the package, there were actually a total of 20 DJI drones...

Although Ning Shisan had not been on the battlefield for several years, as a seasoned military enthusiast, he was certainly not ignorant about the military weapons development of various countries.

This Mavic drone weighed only 743 grams, could fly at a speed of 65 km/h, and the longest air endurance was 30 minutes.

In early 2018, Israel’s military announced that it had decided to equip combat units with DJI small commercial drones by the end of the year.

Using drones for military purposes was not unusual, but it was the first time for a regional power like Israel to bulk purchase drones as equipment for combat troops.

This highlighted a certain application trend of small drones in ground combat.

Using them for individual reconnaissance was understandable, but was there a need to have so many all at once? Even including backup units, this was a severe surplus, right?

With a hint of confusion, he began to follow the mission requirements, to unbox, power on, and connect to the network.

Until finally, the small room was filled with drones everywhere, and the floor was covered with opened express boxes.

If there were disassembly enthusiasts present, the scene would probably be quite satisfying.

"Is this all set?" Ning Shisan wiped his sweat, took out his phone, and spoke into the microphone.

He knew that this phone was always "watching" him.

[Mission complete! ’Hive’ program loading! Connection starting...]

Once again, an electronic voice came from the phone.

Then Ning Shisan saw the tablet in his hand suddenly light up with screens flashing alerts...

Following that, all the signal lights of the DJI drones in the room began to flash!

"Buzzzz~" "Buzzzz~"...

Then, one after another, the DJI drones’ rotors began to emit buzzing sounds and started spinning rapidly.

The first one, the second, the third...

Ning Shisan watched, dumbfounded, as the drones in the room took off one by one and then hovered around him.

And without exception, all the drone cameras were directed at him...

"Buzzzzz~"

Ning Shisan felt somewhat stiff, his ears filled with the buzzing sound of the drone rotors, feeling as if he was being stared down by twenty eyes, creating a rather eerie scene.

The tablet in his hand started flashing images from various angles, most of them being extreme close-ups of himself...

What shocked him the most was that all the drones were nimbly weaving around him, floating and sinking smoothly.

But throughout, in this confined space, there was not a single collision between them, as though an invisible hand was controlling everything...

This was not manual remote control; it was coordinated remote control through an advanced computerized system!

What shook Ning Shisan was not just the concurrent control of twenty drones.

But the flexibility, intelligence, and coordination far exceeded any cutting-edge technology he currently knew!

At that moment, he felt like a magician from another world, surrounded not by drones operated by humans, but by magical spirits with their own consciousness...

Let alone small countries; even the major powers seemed not to have announced such exaggerated drone swarm technology, right?

"Gulp~" Ning Shisan swallowed his saliva.

What level of conflict had he gotten himself into?

"With this technology, you really don’t need to hire a small mercenary like me, do you?" he said wryly.

From beginning to end, it seemed he was just a puppet being manipulated.

[Please do not sell yourself short, Mr. Black Cat, for now, your role is indispensable?]

"What indispensable role could I possibly play?"

[Adaptability and battlefield escape. To put it in the boss’s words, you are the only human unit in the unmanned combat sequence, similar to a ’human autonomous transport platform.’]

Ning Shisan: "..."

So... am I actually just a courier?

Or a courier of life and death on the battlefield?

[Ding! You have a new mission, please handle it promptly!]

This time, the sound came from the tablet in his hand.

Then, a high definition topographic map appeared on the tablet, complete with coordinates and various annotations.

"What is this?"

[This is the real-time satellite image of the mission location.]

Ning Shisan: "..."

A real-time satellite image?!

Can I even opt out now?

"Are you trying to have me, alone, intervene in a war?" he said grimly.

In the face of such high-level power struggles, no matter how capable he was, he was just an insignificant pawn...

[Relax, we do not have to intervene directly. To use the boss’s words, we are fighting a ’proxy war.’]

Ning Shisan: "..."

So... are you saying...

I am that proxy?