"Alright, I'll go find Hook right away," Lan Xue agreed.
"Wait a mont." Luo Zheng suddenly grabbed Lan Xue, who looked at Luo Zheng in surprise, her face inexplicably blushing. Luo Zheng picked up a towel and gently wiped the dirt off Lan Xue's face while softly saying, "You've had a tough ti these days."
"Mm." Lan Xue's face turned crimson, emitting an almost inaudible sound of pleasure. Her heart was filled with happiness and contentnt. Once Luo Zheng was done wiping, she turned and left hastily.
Luo Zheng ca to the window, looked up at the distant sun, clenched the towel tighter, his gaze becoming sharper. With a rigid expression, he coldly murmured, "What's ant to co will co; it's ti."
"We've detected a large group approaching the valley, approximately thirty kiloters away. The numbers are hard to estimate, but it's expected to be more than sixty people," suddenly ca Lan Xing's voice over the earpiece.
"Just that?" Luo Zheng was taken aback and imdiately sensed sothing was off. With a stern expression, he seriously said, "Check again, everyone report your situation, any abnormalities?"
"Yes," Lan Xing replied. The others quickly reported back via earpiece, unable to detect anything unusual. To ensure the valley's safety, the team had shrunk their periter to within ten kiloters. Beyond thirty kiloters, apart from satellite detection, no one noticed anything.
Luo Zheng fell into contemplation. The hostage exchange was about to happen soon, and there wouldn't be any chaos until the hostages were ransod. Perhaps there's an opportunity for a stealth attack? With this thought, inspiration struck Luo Zheng, and he imdiately had a plan, shouting, "Lan Xing, send the enemy's coordinates."
"Understood, sending to your phone right away," Lan Xing promptly replied.
Shortly after, Luo Zheng's phone rang with a notification. He picked it up and checked. Once he confird the enemy's location, he imdiately said through the earpiece, "Lan Xing, monitor the enemy's position at all tis, notify imdiately of any changes. Ghost Hand, Mountain Eagle, Xue Er, co over."
"Received," the addressed individuals promptly responded.
Not long after, Lan Xue, Ghost Hand, and Mountain Eagle arrived. Luo Zheng showed everyone the enemy's coordinates and continued, "The enemy is concealed within the gorge's dense forest. The hostage exchange is about to happen, they would never expect us to strike now. The enemy has sixty people, and our reserve team has two hundred. Let's ambush them, what do you think?"
"Sixty percent confident, doable," Mountain Eagle said calmly.
"Thirty kiloters straight-line distance, the actual distance is definitely more. However, with rapid marching, we can reach it in a maximum of two hours. I think it's feasible. Only, we must avoid the satellites overhead. Considering many countries are likely watching us via satellites now, disguising is the only option for success," Ghost Hand said seriously.
"Alright, if everyone has no objections, let's proceed. Xue Er, go talk to Hook, tell him to arrange the related matters. Let old Hook handle the hostage exchange. We'll depart in five minutes. Mountain Eagle, take Zhou Gang and the five others," Luo Zheng quickly said, feeling fearless with the scholars and others around.
"Yes," everyone agreed and left.
Five minutes later, Hook assembled the team. They were covered in various green branches, and wore green grass rings on their heads. Standing there, at first glance it seed like a tree; truly befitting of people whose ancestors have lived in this pristine forest, knowing how to disguise themselves.
Luo Zheng carried a sniper rifle without a backpack to avoid inconvenience due to his physical injuries preventing close combat; even the M4 rifle was abandoned. To ensure firepower, Luo Zheng had everyone carry two heavy machine guns with two boxes of ammunition as backup. The team headed towards the valley's outskirts.
Soon, they left the valley, entered the forest, led by Hook and the locals, taking shortcuts upwards. With thick canopy overhead, there was no worry of being detected, and everyone ran swiftly. After one and a half hours, they reached a hillside and stopped, scattered, and concealed themselves.
Luo Zheng hid behind a large tree, looking down towards the gorge below. The dense forest obscured the view of the gorge, so Luo Zheng could only speak through the earpiece, "Lan Xing, what's the situation now?"
"The coalition's transport aircraft will be over the valley in ten minutes. The enemy remains in the gorge with no sign of departure," Lan Xing promptly said.
"Ten minutes?" Luo Zheng contemplated, then said to Lan Xue, Mountain Eagle, Ghost Hand, and Hook beside him, "We must reach the shooting position within ten minutes. The enemy is in the gorge, we must stealthily approach. Mountain Eagle, lead Zhou Gang and the others to scout the situation first. I'll give you five minutes."
"Understood," Mountain Eagle replied, waved his big hand, and led Zhou Gang and the five others down the mountain. Each one donned a camouflage suit, making them inconspicuous in the forest, quickly disappearing from sight. The others hid on the spot, ready for battle, patiently waiting.
Luo Zheng took a deep breath trying to calm himself, seriously focusing on the direction of the gorge below. After a few minutes, Mountain Eagle's voice ca through the earpiece: "Estimated seventy enemies, all Yellow Race, nationality unknown, currently sleeping. There are three guard posts around."
"Sleeping?" Luo Zheng was surprised, then realized, coldly saying, "It seems they're resting and recuperating to attack us at night, perfect for us to take them down. Stay alert, locate the guard posts; we'll co down to support soon, do not act recklessly."
"Understood," Mountain Eagle promptly replied.
Luo Zheng turned to Hook and said, "You lead the team while waiting for the opportunity. Once we find the guard posts, we'll inform you. Then, you lead the team down discreetly, do not alarm the enemy, we'll ambush them."
"Okay, be careful," Hook promptly replied.
Luo Zheng knew the enemy was formidable. To succeed in the ambush, the best tactic was to quietly eliminate the enemy's guard posts and then stealthily infiltrate for a surprise attack. If the enemy were alerted, the battle would beco difficult, so fewer people were needed. After explaining to Hook, Luo Zheng glanced at Lan Xue and Ghost Hand.
The two nodded knowingly, and the trio quickly moved down the mountain, light-footed and swift. They soon reached mid-slope where Mountain Eagle awaited. Hunched over and tip-toed, they approached rapidly, silently, like hungry wolves sneaking up on prey.
Mountain Eagle didn't waste words and quickly gestured, conveying the positions and distances of the three discovered guard posts to Luo Zheng and the others through hand signals. Luo Zheng understood, nodded with a gesture, and signaled Mountain Eagle to continue surveillance while he, Ghost Hand, and Lan Xue dealt with the three guard posts.
All communication was done through gestures. Having fought side by side for years, they had developed an exceptional level of tacit understanding, able to communicate entirely with combat hand signs. Once roles were assigned, Luo Zheng slowly approached a target, his sharp eyes narrowed, advancing stealthily like a ghost.
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