Police in Los Angeles

The long-haired bandit wasn't entirely cooperative. Even after Jack stabbed a knife between his legs, scaring him half to death, he only trembled and refused to reveal much. It was only after a mix of threats and persuasion, with Jiejie stepping in for some psychological tactics, that he finally confessed.

The families of these armed men were all controlled by the "Abuzayev" organization. If he were found to have betrayed them, none of his family members, totaling seven or eight, would survive.

After Jack promised him a quick death, the man hesitantly provided some information. This group belonged to a small unit under the "Abuzayev" organization, consisting of about forty to fifty people. They were usually stationed in the village of Dandulit, about 20 miles away.

It was clear that the battle in Marawi hadn't been the perfect encirclement and annihilation claimed by the Philippine government. Several of the veterans among them were wounded soldiers who had withdrawn from the battlefield at that time.

Their leader, Junma, was one such wounded soldier with a hideous scar on his face. It was said that he had used a captured sniper rifle to kill six government soldiers, earning him great merit and the leadership of this unit.

These veterans brought back a lot of weapons and equipment, some captured, and others "traded." Besides the machine gun mounted on the pickup truck, they had several rocket launchers.

Early in the morning, a nearby villager rushed to their leader, Junma, reporting that a large plane had flown low over his house, possibly landing nearby. The villager feared it might be a government plane and hurried to inform them at dawn. However, Junma assured them that it couldn't be a military aircraft, as their spies in Manila would have alerted them.

He then led a large group to the location, resulting in the earlier scene.

Jack inquired about the island's situation. Holo Island is a sizable volcanic island, covering nearly 900 square kilometers with a population of over 100,000. About five or six small to medium-sized towns are located along the coast, mostly in the northern part of the island, where nearly two-thirds of the population resides.

The island has little industry, primarily relying on fishing and pearl harvesting. In the northeast, there is a port capable of docking large ships and a small airport. The remaining population is scattered across the island, engaged in traditional agriculture, such as rice, coconuts, and cassava. However, almost all residents are devout followers of the LV religion, naturally sympathizing with or supporting the "Abuzayev" organization.

They not only provided intelligence to these extremists but some were even part of the group, ready to mobilize at a command, embodying the idea of civilians in peacetime and soldiers in wartime.

It's safe to say that, aside from a few fearless missionaries in the larger towns, foreigners are rarely seen here. As a result, these people often set sail to southern Indonesia or cross the Sulu Sea to Palawan Island to kidnap foreign tourists.

After the Marawi battle, the "Abuzayev" organization lost several key leaders and went into hiding, shifting their kidnapping targets from foreign tourists to local Filipinos and Indonesians.

"It's a big problem. According to this guy, we can't leave here safely."

Jack couldn't pilot a boat, and the large port was in the north. Even if they reached the small southeastern harbor as planned, it would be difficult to escape. After all, this wasn't an uninhabited island; spies for the "Abuzayev" organization were everywhere. Even if they escaped to the sea, they could be chased down by armed boats equipped with machine guns.

"We should try to call for help first," suggested Captain Torrance, spreading out a map and pointing northeast.

"Before I landed, I saw some facilities here. What is this place?"

Ron looked closely for a while before hesitantly replying, "It's an abandoned old mine, originally owned by the government, but we drove them away a few years ago."

"Does it have any external communication capabilities?" Captain Torrance's eyes lit up as he asked urgently.

"It should have. Our people searched the area but didn't destroy everything. Occasionally, someone would take women captured from town there."

"Is there usually no one there?" Jack was skeptical, noticing the man seemed evasive.

"Bang!"

Jack slammed a religious book, taken from the man, onto the table before him.

"Dare to swear on this? Using your family?"

"I'm telling the truth, but you have to promise to kill me right here. I can't be seen as having been tortured into confessing."

Ron screamed in despair.

"No problem. I'll pile your body with your companions in the jungle. In this hellhole, no one will carefully examine your bodies after a day or two, right?"

Jack said, raising his QBZ97, aiming it at the man's head.

"We secretly hid some women there, guarded by three local villagers in turns. There is internet there; start the diesel generator, and you can contact the outside world. We take videos and sell them on the dark web. That's all I know; kill me now, please."

"Bang!"

Jack shot him in the head, eliciting gasps from the onlookers.

Dragging the body, he threw the man into the jungle to join his three accomplices, thoughtfully covering them with some leaves.

Aside from monkey-eating eagles, only crocodiles in the rivers could be considered predators in the Philippine islands. However, since there wasn't even a stream nearby, there likely wouldn't be any crocodiles.

But that was fine; soon, scavenging insects attracted by the smell would clean up the bodies.

Even the large pool of blood and brain matter left on the ground was already swarming with ants and other insects, making one's skin crawl.

Though the interrogation yielded bad news, it gave everyone a new objective: to reach the old mine and establish contact with the outside world.

If the mine was indeed used for nefarious activities, as Ron said, it would also mean it was generally deserted. Clearing out the guards would provide a place to shelter the passengers for the night.

The grim reality was evident, and with an unfortunate example before them, the surviving passengers, as expected, were forced to band together, finally showing some collective spirit.

Could I get a vote for this month's update?

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