As dusk fell, the sun turned the western sky a fiery red, even the clouds glowed crimson. Yet the vast, original forest remained as noisy as ever, constantly playing out the survival wars of the food chain. Animals fought for food, plants fought for sunlight, and the natives living in this primal forest battled for life and reproduction. Today, the Hook Tribe fought for survival.
Under the sunset, Hook stood coldly with Lang Sen in front of the trench on open ground, with sharp eyes watching ahead, where weapons and equipnt brought by Hunter piled high as a mountain. Behind the equipnt were soldiers responsible for transportation, each holding a gun, confronting Hook's troops like an imminent battle ready to break out over a disagreent.
Hook stared coldly at Hunter, impatiently saying, "Let your people retreat first. Once I've moved the equipnt, I'll release the captives imdiately. Don't block my view, what if I get nervous and change my mind?"
"What if you take the stuff and don't release the captives?" Hunter questioned, not showing any emotion.
"You should know my reputation is not in doubt. This isn't our first transaction; you should be aware of that. Don't use this as an excuse. Tell , what do you want?" Hook truculently retorted. This ti, instead of leaving the equipnt and retreating, they confronted each other, prompting Hook to remain cautious.
"It's simple; I request that half the people retreat first. This request is reasonable, right?" Hunter refuted discontentedly.
Hook pondered, hearing Luo Zheng's reply agreeing to initially give one-third over the earpiece. Feigning difficulty, he said, "Half is not possible. I can give you the injured, let you treat them, as treating injuries too late isn't conducive to recovery. What do you say?"
"Okay, but it still must be half of the total number." Hunter insisted on the count tightly, probing Hook's bottom line to decide the next moves.
"No way, at most I'll give you one-third. If you don't agree, let's forget it." Hook pretended to be indignant, looking chillingly at Hunter, then at the mountain of equipnt opposite. If not for the urgency to retreat and preserve reputation, Hook would have wanted to capture all these people.
Hunter saw Hook's firm attitude and felt relieved instead. Soone unwilling to negotiate rarely appears so firm, feigning difficulty he said, "Fine, then one-third. I hope you'll treat the remaining captives well, and imdiately release the rest after moving the equipnt. Your credibility is still trustworthy; besides, we have bigger, more matters to cooperate on, don't you think?"
Hook heard the probing intention of Hunter and calmly replied, "We'll discuss future cooperation later. A matter this big requires several days of consideration. Moreover, my people value this transaction; if it succeeds, it shows you are indeed trustworthy, then I can make a final decision."
This desire to capture the elusive did not move the cunning Hunter but left him hesitating. If he could reclaim Hook and end the war peacefully, it would be a great accomplishnt, sparking his anticipation. Unintentionally, he committed the common mistake of overconfidence, which often equates to arrogance.
Ultimately, Hunter instinctively looked down on Hook, born a native, under the powerful military of Sam Country. He didn't even consider Hook a threat, only temporarily tolerating him for rescuing prisoners of war.
The transaction proceeded smoothly; Hook handed over one-third of the captives, then Hunter signaled his troops to retreat with the injured, remaining for the transaction himself. Hook ordered the removal of all equipnt, releasing the remaining captives. Hunter, seeing his trust honored, felt completely at ease, withdrew with his n. As they turned, his peaceful gaze turned icy cold, flashing malicious glints.
Hook left a unit in the trench to monitor enemy actions while the rest swiftly retreated to the cave, joining Luo Zheng with excitent, saying, "That bastard left with his n, probably enraged by . Shouldn't we leave too?"
"Yes, order the troops to evacuate from another exit imdiately, and make it quick." Luo Zheng agreed wholeheartedly, turning to Captain Li to continue advising, "Brother Li, your n will lead, scouting and clearing the path. Scholar and Farr, your n handle the left side, Monk, and Florist, your n manage the right side. Maintain a two-kiloter distance from the main force, and keep in constant contact. I'll accompany the main force all the way."
"Yes," those nad promptly agreed.
"Hook, arrange for soone to lead the way." Luo Zheng instructed Hook.
"No problem. I'll have Lang Sen lead the way personally. He's the most familiar." Hook responded assuredly, giving serious instructions to the nearby Lang Sen, who agreed confidently and eyed Captain Li, nodding to show understanding.
"Shadow, Snow Fox, Wino, please cover the rear. After the brothers in the trench outside evacuate, blow this place up and swiftly regroup with . The Equipnt Team personnel and missile technicians will retreat with the main force." Luo Zheng sternly instructed the trio.
"Understood." Everyone solemnly responded.
"Move." Luo Zheng shouted with heroic determination, waving his hand, filled with dense confidence and lethal intent.
"Yes." Everyone shouted in unison, swiftly taking action.
Suddenly, a warning from Lan Xing sounded surprisingly in the earpiece, "Not good, there's abnormal activity at the enemy's missile base. It appears they're about to strike, the target is unclear, be careful."
"What?" Luo Zheng was shocked, reacting quickly. The enemy was planning to strike first, but why choose missiles? Doubts clouded Luo Zheng's mind, casting a puzzled look at Lan Xue. Lan Xue also heard Lan Xing's alert, knowing the situation's reality, and saw Luo Zheng's questioning gaze, shaking her head with a bitter smile, unable to understand the enemy's motive either.
"Hook, evacuate the trench units imdiately, the enemy is about to launch a missile attack." Luo Zheng urgently shouted.
"What, I knew these bastards harbored ill intentions, understood." Hook was stunned, quickly agreeing and using the walkie-talkie to order his troops to evacuate swiftly.
"The enemy has previously attacked here with missiles, knowing they're ineffective against us, why choose missile attacks now? Could it be?" Shadow surprisingly spoke.
"Could it be what?" Luo Zheng curiously pressed.
"Unless they're using Poison Gas Bombs, only gas can be blown into the cave. Otherwise, this action is aningless." Shadow suggested.
"Poison Gas Bombs?" Luo Zheng froze montarily, his expression changing drastically, shouting, "It's possible, these bastards really dare to do anything, quick, Hook, have the brothers evacuate swiftly. Shadow brothers, prepare bombs imdiately, we must destroy the cave to block the gas, or none of us will escape."
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