Chapter 319 - Chapter 480: The First Gunshot

"This is the first batch of equipment you wanted."Witt stepped out of the vehicle and waved his finger, signaling two armed men to carry several crates down and open them.Uniform M16s lay quietly inside the crates, emitting a dark, faint luster.The other crates were opened to reveal portable air-defense missiles and anti-tank missiles, along with two crates of brand-new AKs and grenades. There was enough equipment here to outfit an entire company."The vehicles behind are all full of them," Witt said, pointing at the convoy.The armed leader beside Murmi stepped forward, grabbed a rifle, and chambered a round to test it. Once confirmed there were no issues, Murmi handed the signed documents to Witt."Here is your money and the agreement."He didn't understand why the higher-ups accepted the Westerners' conditions. Although buying this equipment was relatively cheap, those agreements were very troublesome. Once they succeeded, they would lose a vast amount of resources.However, the organization must have its reasons for doing so, so he could only follow Lirick's intent and agree to the Westerners' terms."Pleasure doing business with you. There will be a steady stream of aid coming later. I believe you will succeed; Vasoren has already lost the people's support. I hope you can overthrow him soon."Witt took the documents, his smile widening.It was within expectations that these people would agree to their terms. Having been in this business for so long, he naturally understood their mindset.If these people failed, they had already offloaded the weapons and wouldn't lose anything. If they happened to succeed, they could make a fortune from the war and have a submissive regime they could exploit at will. Therefore, they were more than happy to do such things, especially with several military-industrial giants supporting them from the shadows.Murmi gave Witt a deep look and waved his hand, signaling the soldiers behind him to begin unloading."Send the rest of the equipment quickly, and make sure the conditions you promised are realized soon. We will be taking action shortly. If you don't make a move, I will doubt your sincerity.""Rest assured, your success is beneficial for all of us. If you need air support, that can also be discussed, though it would require some new conditions and would be quite expensive. We'll be waiting for your good news."Witt waved the documents in his hand, got into a nearby off-road vehicle, and drove away amidst the roar of the engine."Have the brothers get used to the new equipment,""And wait for orders," Murmi said to the armed leader beside him as he watched Witt drive away.Lirick was sitting in the camp, quietly drinking, seemingly unbothered by the situation they were facing. He only set down his glass when he saw Murmi enter."How is the situation?""They delivered part of the equipment; it's not bad. What do we do next?" Murmi asked, sitting down at the table."Don't be in a hurry. Our goal is to overthrow Vasoren, and we've only just begun. Once Vasoren completely loses the people's support, our actions will be justified. If the Westerners' pressure succeeds, we might even be able to overthrow him without shedding a drop of blood.""The timing isn't ripe yet; wait for the Westerners to send more equipment. If a war breaks out, we won't have to fear them," Lirick said with a cold sneer, unhurriedly... Within Angola, protests and riots continued to expand. Despite appeals from all sides, there were still no signs of them stopping.Reports from some Angolan media outlets, combined with coverage from Western media, caused the story of Vasoren 'murdering' Diodin to spread further and wider.Diodin came from a commoner background and had a man-of-the-people image, making him one of the strongest candidates for the next presidency. His murder led to increasing indignation among the civilians.More and more people were joining the Opposition Armed Forces and opposing Vasoren.Before long, Vasoren had the military occupy the television and radio stations, announcing a takeover to control public opinion.Vasoren maintained a tough stance and had no intention of stepping down. He publicly claimed it was a frame-up and called for all parties to calm down and negotiate. Meanwhile, the opposition parties publicly denounced Vasoren as a dictator, demanding that he immediately release the arrested party members and resign.Both sides stuck to their stories, causing the atmosphere of the standoff to continuously heat up.The outcry against Vasoren within Angola continued to grow, and the war of words between the parties persisted, making the situation in Angola incredibly tense—almost to the brink of armed conflict.This standoff situation had already alarmed the United Nations.Before long, the opposition forces released news that they had agreed to the UN-mediated reconciliation and could engage in peaceful negotiations, but the condition was that Vasoren must resign and a new candidate must be elected.Vasoren's side emphasized once again that this was a conspiratorial frame-up. They could release the arrested party members but refused the Opposition Armed Forces' condition for him to resign.Neither side would yield, and the negotiations broke down."Is the timing right?"Sige looked at Murmi, waiting for his answer. He was a military general who had escaped with Murmi and the others, and he was loyal to the party Murmi belonged to.During this time, the team he led had continuously expanded to twice its original size. Moreover, they had received a large amount of Western equipment. Now, with their gear upgraded, he felt an unprecedented level of confidence.They had been waiting for Murmi's order to attack, but Murmi's response to him had always been to wait. Now that negotiations had broken down and Vasoren had lost public support, it was clearly the best time."We can attack, but it's best to let them fire the first gunshot," Murmi said. Everything seemed to be proceeding according to the plan from above, which made him much calmer."Alright." Upon receiving Murmi's instruction, Sige grinned, revealing his white teeth... "Tell me, do you think this chaos can be resolved peacefully?"Arthur held his rifle, watching the situation across from him. On the opposite side were the Opposition Armed Forces; the two sides were already in a standoff here.Both sides maintained a final bit of restraint, not wishing for war to break out. However, the atmosphere had become increasingly tense, and no one knew when the fighting would start.If an armed confrontation began, it would mean death and chaos, which was something they did not want."It's hard to say. We hope for a peaceful resolution, and the other side probably thinks the same; we're all people of the same country." The soldier beside Arthur shook his head. "But Vasoren is unwilling to step down, and the other side will definitely not let the matter rest.""I heard that if Vasoren steps down, the other side is willing to resolve this peacefully.""That condition was refused by Vasoren. Some people think Vasoren is power-hungry and values his own interests more than this country. Yesterday, one of our brothers defected to the other side fully armed," the soldier said in a low voice."I feel like Vasoren isn't a power-hungry person," Arthur said. "After he took office, he did a bit better than the people before him.""Isn't that right! But no one can guarantee that Vasoren isn't truly obsessed with that position; after all, power can make people lose their way. Whether it's a conspiracy or not, only those involved know the answer. We grunts don't know the situation; we can only listen to the commanders here. Whatever orders come from above, we execute them," the soldier said with some regret."Sigh..." Arthur let out a sigh and continued to focus his attention on the opposite side.Suddenly, the sound of something cutting through the air reached him. Before he could react, Arthur felt his comrade beside him stiffen and fall straight to the ground. The comrade who had been talking to him moments ago was now a corpse with a thumb-sized blood hole in the center of his forehead, his eyes still wide open.There was a sniper on the other side.An unprecedented sense of fear enveloped him; even under the scorching sunlight, he couldn't feel a trace of warmth.Crack!! Another shot landed on the bricks beside him, kicking up sand that stung his face. If it had been just a bit off, it could have taken his life directly."You damned bastards!" The fear of death combined with the anger of losing a comrade caused Arthur to lose his reason. Hiding in a corner, he pulled the trigger toward the other side.The gunshot shattered the oppressive atmosphere of the standoff.