The vast wilderness plains seed filled with darkness, barely visible fingers in hand, pitch-black and deathly silent. Even strong flashlights couldn't illuminate far, snowflakes fluttered in the bright spots, peaceful and harmonious. Luo Zheng led a few people out of the forest; Ghost Hand was among them. He had been summoned by Luo Zheng through earpiece communication to converge together, and the team was handed over to the deputy leader for command.
The five-man squad regrouped again. Hong ihua wasn't fast enough, so she followed Snow Leopard's squad. The five had fought side by side for more than two years, creating deep mutual understanding. Everyone understood Luo Zheng's mood, closely following behind, running forward in great strides. With strong flashlights for illumination and Lan Xing occasionally pointing out coordinates, they wouldn't run in the wrong direction.
Half an hour later, an enemy force once again appeared ahead, stopping in place. Everyone quickly turned off their flashlights and cautiously approached, silently getting close to the group, discovering about a hundred people, all lightly wounded, resting by a campfire. Continuous battles and retreat had drained this group of their strength, leaving them behind.
In the dark night, everyone found a spot to lurk, coldly observing the group like hungry wolves searching for prey in the night, eyes glinting with chilling murderous intent. Luo Zheng lifted his binoculars to observe for a while, noticing half were wounded soldiers, half were guards. The guards were on the outer periter, wounded soldiers in the middle, and there was a colonel, a big fish. But Luo Zheng wasn't very interested, coldly stating, "Go around them."
"Understood." Everyone nodded knowingly, circumventing from the outside, continuing the chase. These enemies were for others to handle. After a brisk march for half an hour or so, Luo Zheng asked via earpiece, "Lan Xing, can you locate the enemy position? Sunrise is in about two hours, we must intercept the target before dawn."
"Still identifying target location, enemies are split too much. Approximately ten kiloters directly ahead of you, another enemy force is resting. Twenty kiloters further, there's another force. Beyond that, found a squad on the move, uncertain which has the target you're looking for," Lan Xing quickly replied.
"Then identify them one by one," Luo Zheng coldly stated.
Everyone knowingly accelerated. Although very tired, physical energy greatly depleted, no one ntioned it, continuing to grit their teeth and carry on, rushing along. Approximately ten kiloters later, sure enough, a resting enemy force appeared ahead. They lurked nearby observing but found neither the State Preceptor nor any wounded soldiers within this group.
Luo Zheng carefully observed, his expression turning grave. It was understandable for wounded soldiers to remain for rest, unable to keep up with the pace. But why would this group without wounded stay behind? Didn't it need to protect the State Preceptor? This strange phenonon puzzled Luo Zheng, who quietly shared his speculations with everyone.
Everyone pondered as well. Lan Xue quietly spoke after thinking, "It could be to intercept us. This dark, snowy night is unsuitable for marching. They might not have thought we'd split forces to pursue. As long as the troops we left fight fiercely enough, they'll believe we're still behind."
"That's possible. Regardless, let's pursue; the mission is priority," Luo Zheng coldly stated.
Everyone continued to march, running another ten kiloters or so. Sure enough, another resting army was found, and they concealed themselves outside to rest while carefully observing this enemy force. Confirming the absence of the target, everyone continued on. After running for a while, Luo Zheng noticed their pace slowing. After several hours of continuous running, physical energy was already depleted; running further would harm their bodies, rendering any pursuit futile.
Reluctantly, Luo Zheng had to let everyone slow down, switching from running to walking to partially recover energy while continuing forward—a compromise of sorts. After walking for about an hour, everyone's stamina improved slightly, switching to a light jog.
Soon, another resting force appeared ahead. They approached covertly, concealing to observe. Luo Zheng used binoculars to watch for ten minutes, still not finding the target, but noticing a major within the squad, provoking curiosity. The rank wasn't low—what could the major be doing here, and where had the target gone? Had they fled?
"Looks like there are about two hundred people." Lan Xue reminded from beside.
"Indeed, we found nurous wounded soldiers and resting forces along the way. Counting this squad, numbers surely exceed six hundred. Maybe nearly a hundred enemies escorted the target away," Luo Zheng pondered aloud.
"Possible. Didn't Lan Xing say another squad's left? We must continue," Lan Xue solemnly said.
"Go," Luo Zheng said reluctantly, leading everyone onward.
The snowstorm intensified, making walking more challenging. Everyone's physical strength decreased again. Cold winds poured through their bodies, chilling them to the bone, with body temperature beginning to drop further. Continuing like this would damage their identities, but thinking of the mission and hatred, everyone persisted with gritted teeth, without uttering a complaint.
The five marched in a light jog for over an hour, dawn slowly breaking. The wind cald substantially, and snowflakes diminished. While walking, they ate so rations, warming their bodies slightly. The water in their canteens was ice-cold and difficult to swallow; thus, they had to hold small sips in their mouths, letting the temperature rise slightly before gulping, protecting their throats and stomachs.
After another half-hour or so, Lan Xing suddenly shouted in surprise through the earpiece, "Stop, enemy detected ahead unexpectedly, details unclear, hold on."
"Why only just detected?" Lan Xue asked in surprise.
"Sis, it's not intentional; the enemy camouflaged themselves. Not good, it's a military base, roughly two kiloters from your location in the valley. Had daylight not increased visibility, even satellites would miss it. Be cautious," Lan Xing spoke awkwardly with gratitude.
"A base?" Luo Zheng's face darkened, furrowing his tiger-like brows, glancing at everyone, saying, "Let's check it out."
"Yes," everyone responded softly, following behind Luo Zheng.
Two kiloters wasn't far; soon they arrived, crouching on a hillside to survey. Luo Zheng lifted his binoculars. Ahead, a valley—a road passing through and a small river. Nurous buildings constructed within, roofs camouflaged with white snow matching surroundings—hard to spot at first glance. A few military vehicles parked in the plaza, covered in white disguises as well.
"Judging by the building scale and layout, it's a small military stronghold, housing at most a company. The target may have entered the base; three patrols roam outside, each with twenty n and guard dogs—it's troubleso," Luo Zheng said, his face somber, handing the binoculars to Lan Xue beside.
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