Kane, located in Eastern Europe, was the largest country by landmass in Europe besides Russia. Formed when the Soviet dissolved in 1991.
Because of the fertile soil, Kane was the third largest grain exporting country in the world, renowned as the "granary of Europe." At the same time, Veit took the crown for the top ten "City of the beauties," selected by the world popular <Tourists Digest>
Food and beauty.
It was a beautiful place.
But the smokes of the war cast a gloom in this poorly trained place.The root of the disaster had been buried during the hasty revolution in 1991.
January 9, 2014, a conflict under the name civil uprise led the country into political unrest.
The night of March 29, 2014, Crimea forwarded their clocks by two hours, officially using Moscow time.
Like a flag, cities in the East soon followed,
Oesk and Lugansk declared independence which officially erupted the civil war.
"Precisely speaking, I am a Belorussian, but I spent my childhood in Kane. My father was a Soviet soldier and met my mom in Veit." Nick had a cigarette in his mouth while holding the steering wheel.
This morning, Jiang Chen left the Primir Hotel and took a taxi to the agreed upon location to meet Nick. The pickup truck was bought from the local second-hand store, they were driving on the highway to Oesk."So, you were part of the government force?" Jiang Chen casually asked.
"You could say that before." Nick twitched his mouth. "But the formation is already gone, so you could say I am a deserter."
"The government force is weak?"
"Really weak." Nick blew out a smoke ring, and he looked perplexedly at the truck that just passed by. It was filled with wounded soldiers from the front line.
"The soldiers' combat abilities are all over the place, and the officials are corrupted to the bone. What's more important is that no one wants to fight for this country."
Kane East was the previous border between Soviet and NATO, and within the armory, there were hundreds of tons of bombs, mines, bullets and other firearms left by the previous Soviet military regions. As of now, the Kane army was still using the free firearms. And because of this, the Kane national defense industry has regressed to a frightening point. Kane military's "Phonex" National defense Batallion, even dragged the 122mm Howitzer used as a salvo for years in Veit on to the front line. The armored cash truck was currently being used as an armored vehicle.
At the same time, the lack of military funding also decreased the soldiers' will to fight. A company commander's salary is similar to Kazakhstan's soldier's salary which is equivalent to 1500 RMB, not even comparable to a waitress in a Han restaurant.
The salary was not enough to sustain a living. The soldiers were poorly trained. Selling the weapons in storage illegally to make money became a trend within the army. It was satirical that a lot of weapons were being destroyed in the front line, and without the ability to replenish the equipment, an ordinary citizen could still buy an armored vehicle for ten thousand USD.
It was the current status quo of the Kane army.
The civil force, however, was well equipped and had high morale. They possessed potent firepower and armored force. The war lasted for almost a year, and the civil force did not once experience ammo shortages. The large-scale bombing consistently left the Kane army scrambling. Based on reports, the thirty-six thousand civil forces possessed 8000 advanced Russian heavy weapons, also based on US satellite, troops stationed in the Russian Kane border assisted the civil force at all time.
"If everyone fought for the country, I won't be here." Jiang Chen shrugged. "At least for those people with ability, let them fight for the force they could swear their allegiance for."
If weapons could be bought, then humans shouldn't be difficult at all. Although in principle, an active soldier of a country could not be sold to someone as mercenaries, but that was only in principle. If tank could be sold, what else couldn't be?
Another thing to note was that the reason why Jiang Chen didn't buy a tank partially because the future tanks did not consume oil. Rather, it used a large fuel rod similar to the power armor, while levitating tanks used batteries.
Another reason being that the modern age armor was way too thin. The material used was not even remotely comparable. Without exaggeration, the armored vehicle in the Fishbone base was comparable in armor strength with Frankberg primary tank 2A6. Of course, the discussion doesn't include the effect of impact angle on armor penetration.
"Swear allegiance? It's not about being worthy or not, no one is willing to fight. But the commission you are willing to pay is attractive, and the ten-year limit is not too harsh. At least if they fight for you, they could retire in Europe with the money." Nick smiled.
One million USD, enough to enjoy the rest of their life in comfort.
The pickup truck drove relatively steadily on the highway, black smoke could be faintly seen from afar. This place was fairly close to the front line, but this region was still considered safe.
But then, the car in front stopped.
"Traffic jam."
Nick frowned and stopped the car as well. He put the cigarette butt in the ashtray as he got off and walked to the car in front.
"What happened in front?"
"I don't know, the car in the front stopped, so I had to stop as well." A Slavic man stepped out of the car with a clueless expression on his face.
The cars in the back slammed on their horns as they were trying to release their anger. The clueless people all got out of their cars and tip-toed to see what was happening up front.
"Okay, friends, don't be anxious, please get back to your vehicle. The special force is taking care of a small problem, please remain calm." A soldier in camouflage walked front the front as he patted the car roof of each car, signaling people to stay calm.
"I want to know, what happened in front?" A chubby driver yelled out of his window.
"A bomb made a hole in the middle of the road, but it didn't detonate. To ensure that it will not blow you up when you drive by, we are trying to defuse it." The soldier shrugged as he leaned against the car.
To be honest, his relaxed look certainly made people feel calm.
"He is lazy, sticking around in the safe area after reporting. I did that a few times," Nick half-joked, and half-cursed. Seeing the young face, he felt like he saw the young him.
Jiang Chen looked at him in surprise. He thought Nick was the type to be meticulous at all times.
[Because it was not worth fighting for?]
He thought about it, but he instantly understood.
"Is it common to see these bombs?" Jiang Chen looked at the soldier slacking off as he asked Nick.
"Very common." Nick who sat back in the car lit another cigarette to waste time. "Both sides are wasting Soviet firearms, but these things are well past their expiration date. Take the "Dot-U" tactical missile with only ten years of service life, for example, once it leaves the launch pad, you don't even know where it will fly to."
The soldier leaning against the car chatted with the driver with a smile on his face. He also took the cigarette passed to him.
Jiang Chen's eyebrows twitched. He was worried about the ability of the Kane army. If it were these types of fools, he wouldn't want them even if they were free.
Sensing Jiang Chen's concern, Nick smiled and spoke.
"Probably a new recruit. He could be an electrician yesterday, and today he was given a rifle to patrol the front line. Adjusting is hard. In this place, anything is possible."
"What about recruit training?" Jiang Chen asked, dumbfounded.
"No money and no one wanted to do it. The guy we are going to find, Markanov, is a good guy. He will not use unqualified people to substitute good people. There are plenty of fighters in the kane army. Take the army I was in for example. Although six out of ten were recruits, the remaining four were great people. Especially the guy from Cossack, his shooting was insane."
Jiang Chen fell into a short silence as he thought about another problem.
"Right now, is he willing to bring the fighters in the army out?"
"Why not?" Nick shrugged. "The war is not going to be swayed by one or two soldiers. Especially since you are paying enough money."
To the Markanov guy, Jiang Chen's bribe was also one million USD, payable in gold. The only thing he needed to do was to pick the right people, sign a few spots, and provide a few missing reports.
Suddenly, a deafening explosion erupted from a distance.
Thick smoke rose, and people watched the chaos from afar as they began to frighteningly curse. Some people took out their phones and started recording.
The soldier was clearly stunned by the explosion as he looked blankly at the highway in front.
After a long time, the soldier looked at the Kane driver that he just chatted with.
"Perhaps our comrades successfully detonated the bomb?"
The cars in the front began to move gradually.
The danger was already alleviated. Regardless, a bomb could not blow up twice.
Seeing this, Nick also started the car. The good thing was that there were not a lot of cars on the road, to begin with. So, it didn't cause a massive blockage.
When they passed the frightening bomb hole, Jiang Chen saw traces of bloody remains.
"Looks like the special force's method of detonation is quite unique."
Hearing that, Nick cracked a smile, his words had a satirical tone, "Special force? The only force worthy of this name already defected to Russia."
As the two chatted back and forth to kill time, a white van followed behind them.
The tinted window blocked the scene within the vehicle. If Jiang Chen saw the person sitting in the passenger seat, he would have been shocked.
The blonde, blue-eyed, gorgeously figured beauty, the same woman that chatted with him yesterday afternoon. The only difference was, the seductive exposed dress changed into a black trench coat, easier for combat.
"This is Silver Fox. Target entered Oesk."
"Roger, this is Vulture. Continue with plan B."
"Understood."
The vibrant red lips carved a mischevious, demon-like smile.
