The climate here in the mountainous regions of Turkey was drastically different from that of Illiguo; during autumn, temperatures could drop below freezing at night.
The altitude was high, the air was thin and low in oxygen, posing a significant challenge for anyone trekking through the mountains.
Song Heping kept his eyes on the map, using a GPS to aid his journey.
This helped prevent him from getting lost.
Even with a GPS in hand, one couldn't be completely at ease when marching through highland terrain,
because of the terrain's effect, often the GPS signal would get interrupted.
When that happened, you had to rely on a map and compass, using the most primitive thods to determine your position and find the right azimuth and route.
He had been walking for a good ten-plus hours, nearly an entire day.
Song Heping felt both exhausted and thirsty.
He found a depression in the mountain ridge, sat down behind a thicket of bushes, and took out his water and food to replenish his energy.
It had been many years since he had undergone such grueling mountain marches.
Luckily, he had a strong foundation from the past; otherwise, after walking for ten-plus hours, an average soldier from a regular unit would have already collapsed.
He had brought along many energy bars,
These high-calorie items could be carried in large quantities; he also had 4 packs of individual rations.
As long as he was frugal with his water consumption, it would last him three days.
However, it was essential that he conserve water whenever possible.
At night, when sleeping, he'd set up a dew collector to gather so rainwater – with luck, it could last half a day's use.
He glanced at the ti.
It was already seven o'clock in the evening.
The sky had darkened.
He planned to walk for another two hours before finding a place to camp out around nine o'clock.
It wasn't that he couldn't march at night, but it wasn't necessary.
Humans needed rest; travel during daylight, rest at night, and besides, the danger of marching at night increased exponentially.
Just as he was eating, he suddenly heard the sound of helicopter rotors stirring the air.
Song Heping quickly dove to the ground, curled up, and word his way into the bushes, draping his ghillie suit over himself like a hedgehog sensing danger.
This was the second ti he had seen this helicopter.
It had been circling the skies since the afternoon.
Song Heping was almost certain that the people on board were from the SAD.
Otherwise, who else would have the patience to circle this area for several hours?
Not tourists, that's for sure.
Who would co sightseeing at night in these godforsaken mountains?
The helicopter flew over.
The sound grew from distant to close.
Song Heping was extrely cautious, fearing even the slightest thermal signature might be detected.
Only when the sound of the helicopter had faded did he slowly lift his head, cautiously peering into the twilight to ensure all was clear before sitting back down.
That's what survival was all about.
There was no such thing as dignity or disgrace.
During survival and escape training in the past, he and the old squad leader had once crouched for hours in a pit of animal excrent.
That experience...
Was much more sour and painful than what he faced today.
Starting a fire was out of the question now,
No matter how cold it got, he just had to endure.
He picked up the cold, hard energy bar, forced himself to bite off chunks slowly, chew them thoroughly in his mouth, and then forced himself to swallow them.
After eating three energy bars, he begrudgingly took two sips of water.
With so sense of fullness in his stomach and his thirst slightly quenched, Song Heping waited in place for over ten minutes before picking up his backpack and moving forward again.
Seven o'clock had passed.
He wondered if Oma had followed his instructions and intentionally leaked his whereabouts to the police.
From a normal person's perspective, this would be akin to suicide.
But in Song Heping's view, this was about creating a desperate situation to find a way to survive.
He trusted the intelligence capability of the SAD.
After all, the CIA was the largest intelligence organization in the world, and Country M had other various intelligence agencies, with the most abundant intelligence resources and the most undercover operators.
Song Heping believed that no matter how formidable Avanti was, it was impossible for him to prevent internal leaks, and the slightest whisper would jeopardize the safety of both him and Oma.
Therefore, it was safest for Oma to change routes and head south, cut off all contact with Persia, and wait until they reached the territory of the Madheh Army within Illiguo to re-establish contact with Avanti and bring the people back.
Once the SAD realized the incident was related to Persia, they would surely think of the Alles Mountain Area,
Because it was the closest to Trebizond and the easiest route for crossing the border back to Persia.
They would definitely send the "Watcher" squad to block his passage through their expected routes.
There were only three pitiful paths through the Alles Mountain Area that could cross the border; even if their helicopters failed to spot him, just by increasing manpower to guard key routes, they could trap him here.
The "Watcher" squad was not stupid.
Their commander would surely think of doing this.
Facing an entire Special Forces team, or even more, it was difficult for him alone to break through the blockade.
Therefore, Song Heping decided to take a gamble.
The incident in Trebizond had caused such a stir that the police would undoubtedly escalate their response, and Turkey would definitely send counter-terrorism forces to hunt him down.
Turkey's counter-terrorism forces were nurous, and which one they would send, he was not sure; they even had their own professional mountain Special Forces, which he had encountered back when he was in the army.
On the whole, their quality was decent.
As long as he could draw Turkey's Special Forces to this location, they would also invariably blockade the sa areas.
This ant there was a high chance that the "Watcher" squad would bump head-on into those Turkish Special Forces.
For the "Watcher," the trap he set for them was a checkmate—
They could not prove their identities, nor could they afford to, as they had no official connection with the governnt of Country M, at least not openly.
Whereas agencies including the CIA would not claim them and could only attempt rescue through certain special, secret channels.
But for the Turkish Special Forces, if they encountered the "Watcher" squad, they would definitely treat them as the culprits behind the Trebizond incident.
Otherwise, why would a well-equipped Special Forces unit with full combat gear be present in these mountains? Surely not for hunting?
Nobody would believe that!
Tactics, the art of war.
This was art.
A one-man war.
A one-man symphony.
Night marches were lonely.
Not only was it pitch-black all around, there was an eerie silence as well.
The quiet was interspersed with the calls of various unnad animals and insects.
Song Heping could even hear the howling of wolves.
This area was ho to wolves, and there were quite a few of them.
It was best not to encounter these damned creatures.
Having weapons, he was not worried about being eaten, but all his guns lacked silencers, and firing them would likely expose his position.
Ordinary people would shiver in such a situation, and enduring an entire night would be torture.
But Song Heping had long grown accustod to it.
His steps were light, as if he had returned to the days of old.
Let's treat this as a training exercise.
The training back then had been even more terrifying, with a small squad facing the search of an entire mountain troop.
If captured, they would undergo harsh interrogation and counter-interrogation training.
Here, though.
If encountered, just fight. If killed, it's just a matter of a bullet.
And if all else fails, leave a Hand Grenade for oneself.
Hehe.
Death, in fact, is not so frightening.
Song Heping moved stealthily through the mountains like a lone wolf.
Thanks to his superior wilderness survival skills, the "Watcher" squad had co up empty in the first two days of the search.
Trying to find one person in a vast mountain area was like looking for a needle in the ocean.
In two days' ti, Team C had rented three helicopters, placing two people in each, utilizing night-vision and reconnaissance equipnt to the fullest, even employing signal detection devices.
Not a trace of signal leakage had been found.
They did see several climbers, who turned out to really be climbers after investigation...
Every day Alvin sat in the secret operations command office in Trebizond, his eyes fixed on the computer in front of him, occasionally glancing at the ti.
According to his judgnt, the opponent would definitely pass through this mountain area within three days.
For a top-tier Special Soldier, this was not hard to accomplish.
When the last day arrived, Alvin made a decision that Song Heping had predicted—he decided to order Teams B and C to cease the ineffective aerial search and air-drop directly onto the three narrow paths that are essential for returning to Persia.
To hold these three positions, unless the opponent had the ability to scale the more than five-thousand-ter Great Alp Mountain, it was a fool's dream to think about returning to Persia.
On the afternoon of the third day, three helicopters flew over the Ghotur Region near the border between Alles Mountain Area and Persia.
Ghotur Region, unlike the tourist hotspots on the Great Alp Mountain with towns at their base and climbers, is not favored by anyone except hikers.
Therefore, it was the most optimal route.
The altitude was not too high, nor was the path too perilous.
Returning to Persia via this route was the best shortcut.
The helicopters dropped ropes down into the valley.
The six mbers of the "Watcher" team quickly slid down the ropes, and in just over twenty seconds, all six had landed.
"This is the place, Dowuba Valley is right there."
Wilson looked around at the terrain, stretched out his hand, and ordered, "Rock, set up a sniper position over there. Scott, light machine gun position on the opposite mountain. Philip, you guys follow for the ambush and interception in the valley below."
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
Rock, carrying his M14 EBR sniper rifle, began moving towards his sniper position.
Scott carried a M249 Paratrooper type light machine gun.
The remaining four were ard with two MK18s and two M4A1 assault rifles.
A classic Special Forces squad configuration.
Quickly, the six n vanished into the darkness, hidden among the vegetation on the highlands.
...
After night fell, at 8 p.m.
Song Heping finally neared Dowuba Valley.
He was extrely cautious.
Because according to his estimates, the "Watcher" squad, with the help of helicopters, would have definitely arrived here before him.
So he did not dare to cross the valley rashly.
Even though from a distance, the vicinity of the valley appeared calm.
No one knew where those damned "Watchers" would be stationed.
Song Heping decided to wait.
As for how long?
He didn't know.
He planned to waste a week here.
If after a week there was still no activity,
Then he would cross the border.
It was a reluctant decision.
Special operations required patience.
In the highlands, whoever loses patience first, loses.
He surveyed the terrain and then began to predict in his mind where a sniper might be and where he would set an ambush if it were him.
Being in the mountains ant the ambush distance wouldn't be too far,
Because sniper positions too far away could easily be obscured by the undulating slopes.
After scouting with his binoculars from a kiloter away, Song Heping determined that if an ambush was set up here in Dowuba Valley, the periter of the ambush circle would definitely not exceed four hundred ters.
That ant, beyond four hundred ters should be safe.
And he just had to find a secure spot beyond four hundred ters to hide.
Then it was all about waiting.
The long wait.
Using the most foolish, but also the safest thod.
This was a very interesting ga.
A ga of who blinks first.
As for Country M, if they sent soone, they would definitely co here as well.
But whether they had co,
He did not know.
Song Heping was willing to wait,
Just waiting to watch a good show.
User Comments
0 comments from readers