Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 356 - 340: Dodging Cannon Fire

Chapter 356: Chapter 340: Dodging Cannon Fire

Feng Biao led the way, with Gao Yi following behind.

The four of them were very close; if one of them was doomed to be hit by shelling, none of the other three would be able to escape.

Feng Biao moved quickly, gesturing for Gao Yi and the others to stop, then he ran to a room’s window to show himself before quickly running back and shouting to those hidden in the corridor, "Run fast!"

Feng Biao was still in the front, but as he ran, he suddenly dove forward and started crawling among the freshly killed corpses.

"Everyone down, crawl forward."

Gao Yi and Lucy, who had never undergone military training, had no choice but to learn on the fly.

A seemingly simple action proved to be quite exhausting.

After crawling about four or five meters, Feng Biao crawled into a room, and Gao Yi and the others followed in succession, like a caterpillar.

The recently separated Donkey was also in this room, along with a soldier from the War Axe Mercenary Group and, furthermore, two corpses from the British Army.

Donkey, sitting in a corner against the wall, looked at Feng Biao crawling in and said, "Hey, we meet again, huh? You’re quite clever."

Gao Yi didn’t know why they had to crawl in, but seeing Donkey and his companion also sitting on the floor, he felt there must be a reason.

With a thunderous boom, dust filled the air.

No one spoke, no one moved, and after a moment, Feng Biao suddenly said, "The enemy doesn’t fire quickly; my guess is there are still a few dozen British left here. Those Iraqis probably fired first. If there were any British still inside, they would have stopped them from firing. No one stopping them means the British are likely all dead."

Donkey softly said, "Yes."

Gao Yi was still on the floor, feeling that the room that had just been shelled was likely the one where Feng Biao had shown his face.

When in doubt, ask. Gao Yi quietly asked, "Are there any tricks to avoiding shelling now?"

Feng Biao whispered, "Yes, first you need to know the technical capabilities of the M1 tank and the power of its cannon. This M1 tank has two thermal imagers, one independent commander’s thermal imager, and one gunner’s thermal imager. Standing by the window, you would definitely be spotted. Running around in the corridors doesn’t guarantee safety either. So it’s better to expose yourself briefly and then quickly escape to the side."

At this moment, Donkey suddenly said, "Good news and bad news. The good news is, the tanks that arrived are early versions of the M1, not the most advanced electronic equipment M1A2SEP."

Feng Biao whispered, "And the bad news?"

Donkey nonchalantly said, "The bad news is pretty bad. The tanks that came are the M1A2TUSK version."

Feng Biao paused for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "What’s the difference?"

"TUSK is the Urban Survival Kit version. Americans specially developed this urban warfare tank during their occupation of Iraq. They added explosive reactive armor to the side skirts and rocket-resistant fences to the rear of the vehicle. The commander uses a reinforced M153 CROWS II 7.62mm remote-controlled weapon system, and the loader’s machine gun has a night-vision sight shield, all specifically enhanced for urban combat, especially against rockets."

Donkey spread his hands and said, "This was the most common tank variant the Americans left in Iraq towards the end. Unfortunately, even if enemy tanks get as close as 200 meters, our rocket launchers are nearly useless."

Feng Biao replied sheepishly, "So, assaulting the top won’t work either? You said there was good news, but all I hear are bad things."

"Assaulting the top won’t work either. I’ve tried; rocket projectiles can’t penetrate the rooftop’s protective grilles."

The soldier speaking was huddled in another corner with a rocket launcher, his tone casual as if the tank wasn’t targeting him.

During the conversation, another loud boom echoed.

Feeling the ground shake, Gao Yi couldn’t help but shrink his neck.

Donkey said calmly, "The tanks are still firing in a continuous trajectory, but only two of them have fired. If I had to guess, the other two tanks are either attacking the Lego Mercenary Group or circling to the back to fire at us from another side."

Gao Yi sighed, "The British armed helicopters have already targeted my cell phone for precision strikes, so the enemy definitely knows I’m in this building. That’s why I think the other two tanks are trying to move to the other side."

Lucy suddenly said, "Can’t we go up to the second or third floor? Why must we stay here?"

There was no fear in Lucy’s tone, just confusion, so she was merely asking a question.

Donkey nodded, "Good question, but there’s no fixed answer. According to my understanding, it’s all the same on any floor. Based on my experience, tank drivers invariably take special care of the highest floors."

Feng Biao also whispered, "Bombing the first floor is meant to flush us out. If we can’t stand it and return fire, once the enemy pinpoints our location, they can concentrate fire. That’s why if we wait a little longer, the second floor will be bombed even worse."

Lucy waited a moment before finally asking, "So, are we just supposed to take it?"

"What else?"

Donkey spread his hands, surprisingly still able to smile, "Do you want to rush out, cover a distance of over two hundred meters, get to the tanks, and use our only anti-tank mines, which can threaten the tanks? Not one, not two, but four tanks."

Feng Biao followed up, "And there are eight armored vehicles..."

Gao Yi couldn’t help asking, "Then how will the enemy end this fight?"

Donkey casually replied, "Tanks will bomb first, basically razing this building down. Then maybe armored vehicle cannons will strike each room again. Next, they’ll send infantry in small groups into the building. As long as there’s resistance inside, they concentrate fire again. By now, you should realize that the enemy doesn’t have any particularly good methods to ensure they can destroy resistance within this building. That’s urban combat. We’ll always have a chance to retaliate. So, what we need to do is just quietly wait, wait for the enemy infantry to come in, repel them, then take cover from shelling again, and retaliate, until reinforcements arrive, either theirs or ours."

Gao Yi said, "Is there a possibility that the enemy’s infantry can carry a lot of..."

"Stop talking!"

"Shut up!"

"Please, don’t say it!"

Feng Biao, Donkey, and Lin Xianghua all stopped Gao Yi from continuing.

Feng Biao nervously said, "Don’t jinx it by saying it aloud."

Lin Xianghua nodded repeatedly on the ground.

Donkey spread his hands and said, "What we need most now is luck, not tactics, not weapons, so no matter what you are worried about, don’t say it."

Gao Yi was about to say that if the infantry in the armored vehicle carried a lot of explosives and didn’t attack but just blasted the building, what would they do.

Luckily, he was timely stopped because if the enemy truly did that, they seemed to have no solution at all.

Since he was cautioned not to speak, Gao Yi shifted his thoughts and said, "So, how should we strike the armored vehicles?"

"We brought an RPG-7 launcher with four rocket shells. It has a longer range and could theoretically destroy four armored vehicles, but that’s just theoretically and I wouldn’t choose to do this," Donkey said, and then he helplessly continued, "Because if we choose to destroy the armored vehicles, the shooter basically has no chance to escape. You need to understand that focus firing and extended firing are different concepts."

Gao Yi looked at Feng Biao.

Feng Biao whispered, "Extended firing is actually a concept of howitzer, but here you can just understand it as firing from one end progressively to the other."

"Alright, then let’s wait."

Gao Yi slowly sat up and then whispered, "Are we just going to keep waiting here?"

"No."

Donkey, who was sitting, slowly lay down on the ground and then said seriously, "I never stay with rookies because rookies die fast. Although I really hope you survive to pay me, I... I value my own life more, sorry, I don’t want to be with you, so I’m leaving."

Another loud rumble occurred, apparently farther away this time, just as Feng Biao said, the enemy was conducting extended firing.

Donkey crawled past Gao Yi, while his companion still sat there hugging the rocket launcher, unmoved.

Donkey did not call out to his companion but just slowly crawled away, no longer to be seen.

Gao Yi couldn’t help but asked the remaining one, "Aren’t you leaving?"

"No, unlike Donkey, I like being with rookies. Twice now, I watched rookies die in front of me while I was unscathed. I feel... this time should be the same."

"You have a way with words."

Annoyed, Gao Yi sighed and said, "We can’t just sit here, it’s too suffocating. No, I have to think of a way."

Acting alone wasn’t realistic, but he couldn’t always have a bunch of friends who were enthusiastic when benefits arose but indifferent in troubled times.

At this point, everyone had to pitch in.

The first person Gao Yi thought of was Panetta.

With such a huge mess, the first to blame was Panetta for the lack of intelligence, Freedom Wind had made such a big move without him noticing it, if not him then who else to blame.

It might feel a bit strange to call now and it may not even help, but it was better than just sitting around waiting to be shelled and doing nothing.

Gao Yi pulled out his satellite phone, found the number, and dialed Panetta.

The first time, no answer.

Gao Yi, frustrated, called a second time, but still, no answer.

Out of options, perhaps Panetta was already hiding, the phone might never get through again.

Just as Gao Yi was wondering who to call next, his phone suddenly rang, and looking at the number, it was Panetta calling back.

Gao Yi answered the call and heard Panetta whisper, "I’m at the White House. I know your situation is tough. Give me some time to figure things out. I’ll contact you later."

The information in those words was indeed significant.

Gao Yi held the phone, stunned for a moment, then finally said, "You better hurry up..."

Panetta hung up, and it was unclear if he had heard the last words.