Brazil: Criminal Empire - Chapter 112: A Major Gear Upgrade (Patreon)

Death No. 6 stared at the sleek HK417 lying in the gun case in front of him.

He could barely hide his grin. As a marksman, even though the M24 looked cooler, he still preferred a weapon like the HK417, which suited his fighting style better.

He had been jealous of Death No. 5 for getting the M24.

He never expected that only half an hour later, his own FN FAL would be upgraded to an HK417.

“Thanks, Boss!”

Death No. 6 took six brand-new magazines, shouldered his newly acquired HK417, and went off to find a spot where he could familiarize himself with the rifle and load his ammunition.

The FN FAL that had accompanied him through his last two battles was tossed into the bed of the pickup like discarded junk.

Out with the old, in with the new.

That FN FAL would probably end up as nothing more than a training rifle for Battle Angels reserve members.

“Boss, I found something good.”

Cassiano excitedly jumped down from the pickup ahead, carrying several black weapons in his hands.

Rock took one look and realized Cassiano had found exactly what he needed.

A trace of regret had just crossed his mind after replacing the AK-308.

After all, the AK-308 was not just a rifle. It also had an M203 grenade launcher mounted beneath it.

Rock had specifically asked Rivaldo to take it to an underground armory for modification.

Still, compared to keeping the grenade launcher, the HK417 was simply too good to pass up.

Besides, he could always stash the AK-308 in his storage space and pull it out whenever he needed to fire a couple of grenades.

But Cassiano had just solved that problem for him.

The three weapons in his hands were M320 grenade launchers, the successor to the M203.

Judging by the HK417s and M320s, the Crazy Train leader riding in the two pickups that had escaped clearly had some very good supply channels.

HK417s were one thing. There were still several ways to get hold of them.

But the M320, a newer grenade launcher being adopted by the U.S. military to replace the M203, was much harder to obtain.

Even U.S. forces had not completely replaced the M203 with the M320 yet, and many units stationed overseas were still using the older launcher.

One reason the M320 could fully replace the M203 was that it remained compatible with all standard 40mm grenades.

Compared with the older M203, the M320 used a side-loading system.

That made reloading faster and more efficient.

Using the same ammunition, the M320 had an effective range of 350 meters, fifty meters farther than the M203’s 300-meter range.

Fifty meters might not sound like much, but in some situations, that extra distance could completely change the outcome of a battle.

The M320 also had its own pistol grip and adjustable stock.

It could either be mounted beneath a rifle or detached and used as a standalone grenade launcher.

At only 1.27 kilograms unloaded, carrying one separately was not much of a burden.

In all these respects, it was far more flexible than the M203.

Cassiano had also found one hundred matching high-explosive anti-armor grenades.

There were three M320s in total.

Rock would keep one for himself and assign the other two to the two special operations squads.

Considering the added combat weight, each launcher operator would carry only six dual-purpose high-explosive anti-armor grenades into battle.

Looking over everyone’s increasingly sophisticated equipment, Rock felt that their overall combat capability had risen another level.

He had an HK417 on his shoulder, a P90 across his chest, an M320 slung across his back, two FN57s in thigh holsters, and four M67 defensive grenades attached to his tactical vest.

With all that equipment, Rock felt far more formidable than before.

Perhaps because everyone had just upgraded their equipment, Rock did not get many kills this time.

He only received two 50-point Experience Cards.

Everyone else had been taken out by members of the two squads.

The smooth, overwhelming assault left everyone involved feeling extremely satisfied.

This was the difference between trained special forces soldiers and ordinary gunmen.

Rock finally understood what the Mexican cartel Los Zetas must have felt like when they first emerged.

Against special forces soldiers who had undergone rigorous military training, ordinary gunmen could offer very little resistance.

After inspecting the three pickups, the squad members found that despite being riddled with bullet holes, two of the vehicles were still usable.

They pulled the bodies out, stripped them of their weapons and equipment, then loaded the recovered gear into the pickup beds.

They first transferred all the weapons and ammunition out of the pickup that had crashed into the wall.

Then they piled all the bodies from the fight into the bed of that disabled truck.

They dragged the vehicle into the middle of the road, poured gasoline over it, and set it ablaze.

In the favelas, the police would not normally come to collect bodies.

Anyone willing to do the job charged a high price.

So most bodies in the favelas were dealt with by the people involved themselves.

Throughout Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, and even across Brazil’s favelas as a whole, people disappeared without explanation from time to time.

So by burning the bodies himself, Rock could at least say he was saving someone else the trouble.

With the two battered pickups surrounded by motorcycles, the group headed toward the distinctive building on the northeast side of the Stone River favela.

They would spend the night in Stone River.

Rivaldo arranged two sentry positions, one visible and one hidden.

Rock had his own reasons for staying here overnight.

Judging from Jairo’s reaction, Crazy Train still had no idea who was attacking the Stone River favela.

The two pickups that had escaped would almost certainly return to Crazy Train’s headquarters to request reinforcements.

Rock had already decided to use force to bring about negotiations.

He had no intention of fighting Crazy Train endlessly.

Battle Angels were currently at a critical stage of development, and a young organization needed a stable environment in which to grow.

If you wanted people to listen to you seriously and treat you with respect, sometimes you had to show them exactly how strong you were.

Strength was one of the simplest reasons people chose to speak politely.

That was why Rock stationed both the Death Squad and the Ghost Squad on the northeast side of the Stone River favela.

This building was also the only one in the area that had escaped the fighting.

So Rock chose it as their temporary base.

Because Prado had fled in a hurry, he had not managed to take everything with him.

After both squads searched the building, they found another cache of weapons and ammunition hidden in a concealed armory.

The only disappointment was that Prado had already emptied the safe.

Even so, the attack on the Stone River favela had already provided Rock with enough capital to fund Battle Angels’ early operations.

As long as he could keep Crazy Train in check for a while, Battle Angels would gain the valuable breathing room it needed to grow.

Given more time and proper training, Battle Angels’ members would only become stronger.

As Crazy Train weakened and Battle Angels grew, Battle Angels would eventually become a major force in southern Rio de Janeiro.

After thoroughly clearing out Prado’s stronghold, Rock gathered everyone in the main hall except for the two sentries.

This phase of the fighting was over.

Now it was time to reward everyone for their contribution.

Rock handed each person 200,000 reais in cash, using up nearly all the money Jairo had kept on hand.

Now all they had to do was wait for Crazy Train to arrive.

Whether they came to negotiate or fight was up to them.