The hostage transfer was completed smoothly. Luo Zheng signaled to his brothers to retreat quickly. With so many people and broad daylight, it was impossible to evade enemy satellite reconnaissance, so they briskly marched towards the crevasse. The injured brothers were carried on their backs, and the Mountain Eagle Team also began to retreat in an orderly manner.
On the way, Luo Zheng felt that Nuoqi had laid out a massive conspiracy waiting for them, but he couldn't recall what it was, which was very frustrating. He gave the order for everyone to retreat promptly while he fell to the back of the team, occasionally stopping to observe their rear, seeing no pursuers.
"What are you worried about?" Lan Xue asked softly beside Luo Zheng.
"Sothing feels off. Nuoqi can't be this agreeable. Is he waiting for us to settle in before acting, or is there another conspiracy waiting for us? No, we can only hide in the cave for one day at most. We need to withdraw overnight tonight to avoid a long night fraught with dreams," Luo Zheng said softly.
"That's good. The brothers will feel better after resting during the day. The hot spring has therapeutic effects on frostbite. Let them soak in it; it might help with recovery," Lan Xue reminded softly.
"Alright, can do," Luo Zheng agreed quietly, stopping and turning to look back, seeing nothing but a blanket of white snow and trees. Frowning, he pondered. Lan Xue knew Luo Zheng's habits and waited quietly beside him without interrupting. After a few minutes, Luo Zheng suddenly said in a low voice, "Nuoqi is no simple character. This crafty old fox surely has a backup plan. Even if we escape this ti, he will likely beco our life-and-death enemy in the future."
"Indeed, he's patient, has a unique perspective, and is experienced, like a cunning fox," Lan Xue agreed.
"Let's go," Luo Zheng saw the team had moved far ahead and signaled Lan Xue to speed up, and they quickly evacuated.
An hour and a half later, they arrived at the crevasse. They stopped and used ropes to lower the injured brothers down. So people climbed down to assist. By the ti Luo Zheng reached the crevasse, nearly half had descended. Wu Jin ca running, saying solemnly, "Sothing's not right. There hasn't been any enemy pursuit for so long; it doesn't make sense."
"Never mind that for now," Luo Zheng said offhandedly, looking towards the others and shouting, "Brothers, speed up. We must get to the bottom as quickly as possible."
"Yes," everyone responded quietly, quickening their pace.
Only then did Luo Zheng turn to Wu Jin and say, "Captain, this old fox Nuoqi certainly has a backup plan. I can't guess what it is, but everyone will stay here and hide. After dark, whether the enemy cos or not, we must retreat."
"Alright, better safe than sorry," Wu Jin agreed, looked around, and whispered, "Shadow feels he has let the brothers down, and in his rage, he went to hunt down Nuoqi, saying he wants to vent anger for the brothers; otherwise, he'd have no face to show them. I thought he could stall the enemy's pursuit, so I agreed. With his ability, retreating won't be a problem."
"Shadow went to assassinate Nuoqi? No wonder the enemy is quiet." Luo Zheng smiled wryly. After thinking it over, he continued, "That's fine; Nuoqi can't be assassinated successfully, but at least it'll scare him, making him think we have more troops watching the Snow Bear Base Camp, making him afraid to act rashly. If we endure through the day and make a swift nightti retreat, can we arrange for the military district to dispatch a unit to assist us?"
"Sure, I'll have the Northern Military District send a Special Forces team to support us. From here, it'll take at least ten days to retreat, and without a receiving team, it won't work. Rescuing the brothers is just the first step. The real challenge lies ahead, and I planned to discuss this with you," Wu Jin agreed wholeheartedly.
Luo Zheng hadn't expected Shadow to go assassinate Nuoqi. This unexpected plan wouldn't disrupt complete deploynt. He admired Shadow's boldness and courage imnsely and had no security concerns; alone on this snowfield, no one could catch him. Looking at Lan Xue, he said in a low voice, "Speed up the retreat, then."
"Not good, an enemy ard helicopter is coming, carrying missiles," Lan Xing's urgent voice suddenly sounded in the earpiece.
"Ard helicopter?" Luo Zheng was shocked, thinking it was a newly arrived combatant. The previous five had been taken down, leaving him puzzled why it wasn't deployed earlier. Out in the open, there's nowhere to hide, making certain death inevitable. Why deploy it now?
Luo Zheng couldn't comprehend the situation but knew they must evade quickly. He shouted, "Brothers, increase your speed. The enemy helicopter is coming. Don't fight back; just get down and hide."
"Yes," everyone quickly responded, climbing faster.
Luo Zheng and Lan Xue quickly descended along the cliff. Halfway down, a massive roar erupted in their ears. An instant later, they saw the helicopter roar past overhead, firing a missile that landed above the crevasse with a deafening explosion.
Countless dirt and snowflakes tumbled down, painfully striking their bodies as everyone desperately endured and climbed down. Shortly afterward, the ard helicopter returned, flying over the crevasse but didn't drop any bombs, perhaps thinking it wouldn't hit. It hovered overhead without leaving.
Luo Zheng and the others reached the crevasse, faces covered in dirt, but fortunately without casualties. Gazing at the sky in exasperation, Luo Zheng's expression grew somber as he couldn't figure out the enemy's real intent. If the enemy launched ard helicopters during their retreat, it would spell disaster. Why use them now?
After pondering for a while without finding answers, Luo Zheng assigned people to monitor the situation and signaled the others to retreat quickly back to the cave. The officers gathered, and the wounded were stripped and thrown into the hot spring to soak. Wu Jin looked at Luo Zheng, saying, "The reinforcents are arranged and will indeed co. The enemy's actions are quite anomalous?"
"Yes, if the helicopter had co earlier, we would have suffered heavy losses. Why arrive now? Also, why aren't the pursuers coming? This situation feels strange. Should we send soone to investigate?" reminded Lan Xue coldly.
"It's very necessary, but not many people. Until we clarify the situation, we won't feel secure. It was hard to rescue the brothers; we can't afford any mistakes," agreed Wu Jin.
Luo Zheng thought it over, found it reasonable, and nodded towards Mountain Eagle. Mountain Eagle nodded in understanding and said, "I'll take two people to check. We can be back before nightfall."
"No need; we're leaving after dark. Take your n to monitor above, and report imdiately if any enemy movent is detected," Luo Zheng instructed seriously, feeling unease growing within.
"Yes," Mountain Eagle responded, quickly leaving with two others.
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