The dire situation in Zone I was broadcast over the radio, leaving Song Heping and Mist, who were hiding near Rashim Street, shocked beyond asure.
Last night's bombing had been quite successful, and in theory, all those "Hunter" snipers hiding underground should have t their maker.
How co so many snipers appeared out of nowhere today?
Mist kept asking the Seal Team, only to learn that no one could even catch a glimpse of the enemy.
Based on the analysis, they estimated that the bullets were shot from at least a thousand ters away, most likely by mbers of the "Hunter" organization, and certainly by an expert.
Knowing that most mbers of the "Hunter" organization use SVD sniper rifles, anyone capable of hitting targets a thousand ters away with a single shot from such a rifle is undoubtedly a top-tier elite among snipers.
"FUCK!"
Chris cursed loudly on the channel.
"Lonnie is dead! I watched helplessly as he was killed at the crossroads—he fired one shot after another, taking three shots to kill Lonnie right in front of !"
Mist understood the reason behind Chris's raging fury.
It wasn't just about showing off his shooting skills, the Mosul Reaper was humiliating the entire Seal Team.
He had the skill to kill with a single shot but chose to torture Lonnie instead, rcilessly shooting him over and over in front of all the soldiers.
It was an overt act to execute their Commander in front of Warrior Camp and the Seal Team mbers, aiming to utterly crush everyone's morale.
This move was incredibly ruthless and made one's skin crawl.
No one liked to provoke such a daunting adversary.
Capable, calm, powerful, and utterly cruel.
An absolutely perfect enemy.
"Song, the Mosul Reaper wasn't killed by our bombing! He's appeared again, right in Zone I!"
"Zone I?"
"No, not in Zone I," Mist corrected himself. "Zone I is just his target. He should be a couple of blocks away. Lonnie was just killed by him."
"Lonnie is dead?" Song Heping felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this.
Poor Lonnie, he never got to be a camp commander...
He quickly moved to the observation scope, pressed his eyes to the eyepiece, and began to search the buildings in Zones J and H.
While searching, he estimated and hypothesized in his mind.
According to the usual tactics of the Mosul Reaper, his sniping point would be at least a thousand ters away, often between 1,400 and 1,500 ters.
"Above 1,400..."
Hastily, he pulled out a map, perford a quick comparison using GPS and the actual map, and then marked several points with circles.
Then, holding the map up to the observation scope, he began to search for the clusters of buildings within the circled locations.
"Song, what are you doing?" Mist asked.
Song Heping replied, "Marking his likely position."
He pointed to the map: "See here, these points, could be where his sniping spot is."
Mist, excited, said, "Should we go find that bastard and take him out?!"
Song Heping shook his head, "If we go out now, we might run into ard militants, and if a firefight breaks out, we won't have ti to deal with the sniper. Even if we survive and reach the marked location, do you think he'll be foolish enough to wait for you? Chances are he's already pulled out."
Mist thought it over and realized it really made sense.
Snipers never linger in one spot for too long; shifting their position is almost mandatory.
"We just stay here and watch? Do nothing?!"
Song Heping said, "Lao Mi, don't accuse of lacking compassion, but we really can only stay here and watch. There's nothing we can do, except help locate the sniper's position and inform your teammates to take care of him."
Mist had no retort to Song Heping's suggestion.
He kicked a nearby chair away in frustration, cursing under his breath.
Song Heping continued to observe, cautioning, "Go ahead and vent, but keep it down. Don't draw the enemy to us, or we'll all end up dead here."
Mist fell silent and returned to the radio to maintain communication with the main force.
The sniper Abu never suspected that, while he focused intently on the movents of the Seal Team mbers, a pair of eyes more than a thousand ters away, through a scope's lens, were staring fixedly at his location, betraying a mont of shock.
"I think I've found that sniper."
Song Heping, his excitent contained, steadily adjusted the magnification of the spotting scope to more precisely focus on the spot where Abu had briefly appeared.
Shortly after, Abu's figure re-entered the field of view.
Through the ghillie suit Abu was wearing, Song Heping accurately identified him as a sniper.
"What did you find?"
Mist ca over impatiently.
The radio only brought disheartening bad news.
Area I had already turned chaotic, and at the sa ti, nearly all the troops were under fierce attack by ard militants.
Mist suddenly realized that today's ambush might very well be a trap ticulously planned.
They had thought last night's operation had wiped out the "Hunter" organization completely, but there seed to have been fish that slipped through the net.
Watching Abu switching sniper positions in the distance, Song Heping's mind flashed back to the previous night.
Shortly after two pickups loaded with snipers left the tunnel entrance, he vaguely rembered seeing one person leaving the underground facilities alone.
"It must be him!"
Only now did Song Heping realize he had made a grave mistake last night.
As the man left, the two guards at the door exhibited an unusual reverence towards him.
At the ti, this subtle action had not caught his attention, but now, recalling it, it seed highly suspicious.
This scene suggested that this man held an extraordinary position within the "Hunter" organization.
Considering that this was the "Hunter" base, the identity of the person who had left the underground bunker alone was becoming apparent.
Looking again at this mysterious sniper in the spotting scope, with his homade ghillie suit, although it wasn't standard issue or anything expensive, it blended exceptionally well with the surroundings.
A person who could create such an urban ghillie suit perfectly matched all the speculations about the "Mosul Reaper" who was known for modifying rifles and exhibiting divine shooting skills.
"Area H, top of the gray six-story building on the east side."
Song Heping conveyed Abu's position to Mist.
"Inform Chris to be on the alert; this guy is probably ambushing them."
"GHOST calling Chris."
"Chris here."
"We've spotted an enemy sniper, located in Area H on the east side, atop a gray six-story building. Be cautious, Song says he's laying an ambush for you guys."
"Understood!"
Chris, having received the ssage, whipped out his GPS and checked it against the terrain.
Soon, he broke out in a cold sweat.
Song Heping was spot on.
If the sniper was hiding in the building they had just talked about, the place he was headed to would be in clear view of the enemy.
"Son of a bitch!"
He imdiately turned to his spotter, Jamie, and said, "We can't go up this building, we need to change locations now, we're being watched."
"Being watched?"
"Yes, he's waiting for us to go up. Let's change the spot."
After saying this, the two of them quickly went downstairs and left the building that Abu had been keeping an eye on.
And from a distance, Abu seed to sense that sothing was off.
Chris and his team should have already arrived at the top of the building by now.
There couldn't be a mistake in timing.
He checked his watch again and confird that the ti had surpassed his estimate.
"Sothing's not right..."
Abu's eyebrows knitted together.
He was a sensitive guy.
The kind of intuition belonging to a sniper was telling him that trouble was on the horizon.
So without a word, Abu packed up his stuff and left his prepared ambush spot.
He needed to switch his sniping point again.
"Did they spot ?"
A strange thought popped into Abu's head.
Though he didn't quite believe this judgent because how could his opponents be so skilled as to predict that he would be here?
They had clashed a few tis before.
In his opinion, although these Seal Snipers were top-notch, he was confident that he could handle them.
But this ti, Abu suddenly felt a bit apprehensive.
The kind of apprehension that made his skin crawl.
It was a feeling he had never experienced before.
It was also the first ti the idea of fleeing entered his mind.
But confidence once again took the high ground.
He quickly reassured himself that perhaps he was being overly paranoid.
Maybe it was just a coincidence that the other party didn't arrive at the building he had guessed.
Nobody could be one hundred percent accurate in their judgent, not even him.
"Maybe it's just a coincidence..."
He grabbed his rifle and sprinted downstairs.
Now it was a race against ti.
He had to find another suitable location, an extrely advantageous terrain, before those Seal Snipers reached their new sniping point.
This confrontation could last at most one hour.
After one hour, the firefight in Area I would surely be over.
By that ti, whether or not he managed to take out the Seal sniper, he should leave the scene and bid farewell to Mosul forever.
All his movents, however, were clearly observed by Song Heping, who was more than a thousand ters away.
"Fuck!"
Song Heping was dumbfounded.
"This is a pro! He's on the move!"
Mist beca anxious, "Why did he move?"
Song Heping said, "A sniper with a natural talent has an extraordinary battlefield perception and sixth sense. He must have felt that sothing was off..."
After a mont of thought, Song Heping cautioned Mist, "When you find his trail again, tell Chris and his team to move faster. Don't be too slow. I think the Grim Reaper sensed that Chris and his team are moving faster than he expected. Such a person would run at the slightest hint of trouble."
Mist spat on the ground, "Son of a whore! He's slipperier than an eel!"
Quickly, Song Heping realized his judgent of Abu was completely right.
The man truly was badass.
After moving to a new sniping point, he obviously occupied a better line of sight faster than Chris and his team, so Song Heping had to notify Chris once again to switch locations to avoid being taken out by a bullet as soon as they were in position.
This was like a ga of cat and mouse.
The cunning Abu would imdiately change his location whenever he detected sothing amiss.
Chris was always a step behind.
As a result, both sides kept changing locations and never actually engaged.
Eventually, Song Heping beca a bit irritated, "Can't you make that bastard Chris run any faster?! Are your Seal fitness trainings designed for won?"
Those words were hurtful.
Mist was clearly angered and retorted, "The Grim Reaper knows the terrain here like the back of his hand, he can navigate it blindfolded. Chris is different, he relies on GPS and maps, not to ntion he might encounter ard militants along the way. How could he possibly move faster than the Grim Reaper?"
Now it was Song Heping's turn to be speechless.
Because Lao Mi was stating facts.
The foreigner born and raised in the locality, Chris, no matter how skilled, could not possibly be faster than the Grim Reaper Abu.
"It seems like today's confrontation is going to end just like this..."
Song Heping glanced at the ti.
"The firefight in Area I is over, the Mosul Reaper surely won't continue. He will imdiately escape, hide his rifle, change into civilian clothes, and leave Mosul."
"I will have Brigadier General Yue Ke lock down the city, search each and every one!"
"Are you crazy?! Do you know how many civilians there are in Mosul? Even if you only captured n, do you know how long it would take to interrogate them all? Besides, how long do you think he's been preparing his escape plan? Even if you lock down the city, he might have secret passages. How can you be sure you'll catch him?"
"So we can't do this, we can't do that! Are we supposed to just watch him slip away right under our noses?!"
The more Mist talked, the more angry he beca. He snatched up his MK18 assault rifle and aid in the direction Abu was thought to be.
Song Heping was stunned, "You're not planning on hitting that sniper with that rifle, are you?"
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