It was hard work parachuting down, and the initial plan was to familiarize ourselves with the surroundings first. If we encountered Wild Wolves or other Fierce Beasts, we could ignore them, but the mastiff was special—it had so connection with the State Preceptor of Lamaism we were pursuing. It appeared to be dosticated, so we had to consider the worst. Luo Zheng reviewed the surrounding terrain map in his mind and said in a deep voice, "Everyone has seen the aerial photos of the terrain. The area within a 200-kiloter radius is all snow mountains, with harsh weather. Nobody ever cos here, which is why we chose to land here."
"But here, discovering the mastiff changes the situation. It might be wild or dosticated, and we can't make a gamble. To be safe, it's best to plan carefully," Lan Xue advised seriously.
"I propose we bury the supplies on site, travel light, and follow the mastiff's direction to see if we can discover anything," Ghost Hand suggested solemnly.
Luo Zheng didn't imdiately express his opinion but calmly examined the surrounding terrain. Unfortunately, it was too dark to see far, so he had to give up and silently calculated the ti in his mind. Finally, he said, "Assuming the mastiff is dosticated, no matter how fast it is, it would take more than half a day to run out of the snow mountains, giving us enough ti to prepare. If the enemy is nearby, we don't have ti to bury the equipnt."
"What do you an?" Lan Xue asked with a heavy expression.
"The earpiece malfunctioned, and we've temporarily lost contact with the outside world and can't obtain satellite intelligence. We don't know if there are enemies around, so we can only prepare assuming there are enemies. There's a valley below the mountain waist that looks like a dead end and could provide shelter from snowstorms. It's also an effective defensive terrain. We should drag the supplies and equipnt down there and wait until daylight; if no enemy attacks by then, it would suggest there are none around," Luo Zheng analyzed earnestly.
Everyone was shocked by Luo Zheng's analysis, and their expressions grew serious as they pondered its reasonableness. They started to act, unable to help being cautious, as a dosticated mastiff wouldn't be too far from humans. The supplies were heavy, but it wasn't a big problem going downhill—just wrap them in parachute fabric and drag them down.
About ten minutes later, everyone reached the bottom of the slope. Luo Zheng observed the terrain; it was indeed a dead valley, surrounded on three sides by towering snow mountains. The valley wasn't deep, but the terrain was dangerous, with a narrow entrance that only needed enough firepower to block it—impregnable. Everyone had good judgnt and agreed it was a suitable spot.
"Prepare for battle," Luo Zheng instructed.
"Yes," everyone replied, opening one of the boxes and taking out their weapons, loading bullets into magazines, each person with a solemn expression. Once their weapons were ready, everyone sighed with relief, feeling emboldened with a gun in hand, before packing their survival supplies into military backpacks.
The supplies in the box were scavenged clean. Another box was kept in reserve as the enemy still hadn't appeared. Everyone rested in sheltered spots, calmly waiting. As ti passed, the horizon showed a tinge of red as daylight approached. Luo Zheng raised his hand to check his watch; it was a few minutes to six. He sighed in relief and said, "Let's find a place to bury the supplies."
"Yes," everyone brought out folding entrenching tools and found a spot to dig. Under the thick snow was frozen earth that couldn't be dug into. Luo Zheng pulled out the Dragon Tooth Long Sword to make a small pit and placed a Button Bomb inside, then detonated it, blasting a large pit open, and continued excavating small pits to place bombs.
After repeating this process several tis, a large pit was ford, and everyone placed the box inside, covered it with frozen earth and snow, tamped it down, then camouflaged it with more snow. After ensuring there were no issues, they cleaned up the surface, taking away the unused box to prevent suspicion by the enemy. In the swirling snow of the valley, within an hour, all traces of human presence would be covered by snow, with no worry of exposure.
By now, the sun had risen with no unexpected occurrences, bringing relief. The team left the valley and proceeded in the direction the mastiff had retreated. After walking for about an hour, they reached a slope and stopped to rest in a leeward spot, scouting the surroundings. The view was expansive, with no people in sight. They split the box they were carrying for firewood and lit a campfire, then filled helts with snow to lt over the fire.
Soon, the snow lted into water and gradually heated up. Everyone took turns drinking so hot water, feeling much better physically. Although they had made thorough preparations beforehand—carefully selecting clothing, weapons, and food—they still underestimated the harsh environnt here. A sip of hot water was very important to help everyone adapt to the surroundings.
After eating and drinking their fill, they buried the ashes in a pit and looked at Luo Zheng, who had been contemplating an issue—the mastiff's true nature. If it was wild, none of this was a problem, but how to explain its fearless behavior? Could it naturally not fear any danger? If it was dosticated, why was the enemy not pursuing them? Could they be waiting ahead?
With this in mind, Luo Zheng combined the surrounding terrain to think carefully. Continuing forward would be more snow mountains. Walking along the ridge would make them an easy target, while walking along the valley would provide cover from the wind but pose a risk of ambush. Lan Xue reminded, "It's getting late, we must make a decision quickly."
"Let's walk along the mountain waist," Luo Zheng said in a deep voice.
Everyone was sharp and imdiately understood Luo Zheng's concerns, offering no objections. The ridge was too exposed, and the valley was prone to ambushes. Though walking along the mountain waist would be exhausting, as the path was extrely tough, it was relatively safer. Fortunately, the snow wasn't too thick along the waist where Dangyang's area had less snow, making it manageable.
Once the decision was made, the team moved into action, with Luo Zheng leading as the pathfinder like a head wolf clearing the way. Half an hour later, Ghost Hand took over, and Luo Zheng went to the rear to rest and recover energy. This marching style was borrowed from Wild Wolves.
With thick snow, each mber walking separately ant everyone faced the deep snow. Walking in single file ant only the head wolf had to clear the way, and others could follow its footsteps, saving energy and allowing survival in harsh nature. As a forr Hunter, Luo Zheng understood the benefits of this thod.
The team continued this pattern until noon, when they found a spot halfway up the mountain to rest and eat their rations. Luo Zheng calmly scanned the surroundings; besides snow mountains, it was an endless expanse, undulating and boundless. The ghastly wind whistled, probing his neck. Fortunately, everyone had wrapped towels to block the snow and wind. Suddenly, Luo Zheng saw sothing moving in the distance, and he was taken aback, quickly raising his binoculars to look. His face changed dramatically as he urgently shouted, "It's not good, we have enemies."
User Comments
0 comments from readers