The Ultimate War Of The Apocalypse-Chapter 399 - 392 The Significance of Reconnaissance

After waiting for about six hours, a time span that isn’t considered long for a reconnaissance mission, Li Jingang and his team returned as dusk fell.

Then, as they returned, they brought bad news.

"Twelve kilometers ahead is Al Fashir City in Sudan, but it has been occupied by the Sanitation Workers."

Gao Yuan quickly located Al Fashir on the map and let out a sigh, saying, "We’re already in the central-southern part of Sudan, continue."

The expression on Li Jingang’s face was grim as he went on, "The aliens did not attack here, but the Sanitation Workers’ influence has expanded to this area, and they brought a virus that destroyed the city. After a brief stay, the Sanitation Workers’ troops withdrew."

"Withdrew?"

"Yes, withdrew. Four days ago, all of the Sanitation Workers left this place, and the city was completely doomed."

Gao Yuan let out a breath and, looking at the map, said, "Continue."

"It’s not clear. According to the description from local survivors, they numbered around a thousand, with tanks, armored vehicles, and flatbed trucks that carried tanks. But on the day of their arrival, a zombie virus outbreak occurred in the city."

Gao Yuan frowned and said, "Deliberately spreading the virus? Those people... Damn it! But what’s their purpose? Why would they do this?"

"I don’t know. The locals don’t either. According to their description, I believe this was a contingent similar to a scouting and exploration team. They did not come to fight, but to look for a suitable place. They came here, destroyed it, and then left upon realizing this small city in the desert did not meet their requirements. It seems they had originally intended to continue westward, but they abandoned that plan and returned instead. So the furthest forward point reached by this group of Sanitation Workers is the tracks we’ve seen."

"Then where did this vanguard unit go?"

"They headed south down the highway, presumably towards Niara, which is a larger city in the southern part of Sudan, 200 kilometers from here."

Li Jingang pointed to a location on the map, and Gao Yang acknowledged, "That means we have now encountered the tentacles of the Sanitation Workers, and the south has been occupied by them."

"Yes."

Gao Yuan thought for a moment and then asked, "Is there any other news?"

"Niara is connected by road to El Daein, and from El Daein there’s a road to Babulusa. Babulusa leads to the Abiye Region. Based on what we learned from the survivors, these people had six fuel tankers. Considering the distance from Al Fashir to the Abiye Region, the road conditions, and the known number and type of vehicles, we believe..."

Li Jingang grew serious, took a breath, and continued, "It’s likely the enemy set out from the Abiye Region and, having reached here, found it the limit of their fuel supply. After occupying and examining this place, they decided it held no value for them and so they returned. But their remaining fuel would only have been enough to reach El Daein. From this, we can draw a conclusion."

Li Jingang drew a question mark shape on the map, with the curve’s peak near Al Fashir, which wasn’t far from where Gao Yuan and his team were, the dot at Abiye, and the start of the curve at El Daein.

"The Sanitation Workers set out from Abiye, headed north, and reached their limit at Al Fashir. Their remaining fuel wasn’t sufficient to return to Abiye, so they turned towards El Daein. There, after refueling, they would have had enough fuel to return to Abiye. Of course, this is just our speculation."

Gao Yuan drew the question mark on the map with a pencil and then looked up at Li Jingang, "All of this, including the route, is your speculation?"

Li Jingang shook his head, "It’s not speculation, it’s an estimate based on the number of vehicles and their types, after doing calculations."

It was just one reconnaissance mission, but it led to a conclusion, and this mission enabled a rough judgment of the enemy’s occupied territory.

What is reconnaissance? This is reconnaissance. This is the essence of reconnaissance.

Gao Yuan felt quite emotional because to arrive at this conclusion required extensive knowledge, which he did not possess.

"Your collective conclusion?"

Li Jingang shook his head and said, "Our conclusion, the three of us, as for Yuri, he just knows the enemy moved toward El Daein again."

Gao Yuan smiled and then turned to the other three people, "So, what’s our next move? Do you have any ideas?"

"We must bypass El Daein because, given the current situation, El Daein must have been occupied by the Sanitation Worker, and it’s likely a large base, so we can’t go south. We should continue east and then head south. Also, we believe that the Abiye Region should be the enemy’s base of operations."

"Why?"

Li Jingang thought for a moment and then said, "This is just speculation, but it’s because the enemy came from Abiye. As per usual, a reconnaissance and exploration force of over a thousand men can only be dispatched by the headquarters of a large base. Moreover, the Abiye Region is a disputed area between Sudan and South Sudan, where there is a large oilfield."

"A large oilfield?"

"Yes, it has always been undeveloped, but there really is a large oilfield there, and there are oil wells, and basic oil refineries. If I were the Sanitation Worker, I would definitely seize this region to obtain a stable and sufficient supply of fuel."

Mechanized troops would be nothing more than scrap metal without oil, Gao Yuan immediately agreed with Li Jingang’s speculation. If he had a mechanized force, he would secure the oil fields at all costs.

"Uh, may I say something?"

Renato had been listening quietly; now he stepped forward and said, "Three years ago, a refinery was built in the Abiye Region, not modern, but near the oil wells. I know this because those oil wells are not far from my boss’s."

Gao Yuan couldn’t help asking, "The Ram’s oil fields?"

"Yes."

"Your boss truly dabbles in all sorts of business..."

"No, the oil field is limited, only a few exploratory wells. I haven’t finished yet. That newly built refinery, um, its backing investors are quite complex, but it seems, in hindsight, to be controlled by the Sanitation Worker."

Gao Yuan drew a circle on the map and said, "All right, then we can determine the Abiye Region as one of the Sanitation Worker’s bases of operations, at least."

After drawing a circle on the map, Gao Yuan looked at Li Jingang and said, "Analyze this for me, if Abiye is the base of operations, how far can the Sanitation Worker’s influence reach, in terms of effective control and military presence?"

Li Jingang shook his head and said, "Not very far, because the area is vast but sparsely populated, there’s no need to occupy. However, to be on the safe side, I think Kaduguli City must have been occupied. It’s a strategic location."

Gao Yuan drew another small circle and then nodded, "All right, the route is clear, we’ll bypass Kaduguli."