"The enemy has set up camp ahead, and another group is coming to join them. Their total strength is around two hundred," Luo Zheng whispered, crouched under a large tree, his back against it. His eyes flickered as he fell into thought; the enemy had sent nearly two hundred n in one go for an ambush. Obviously, their forces were substantial—the Intelligence Team's estimation of the enemy's total strength being close to a thousand was accurate. However, this made the mission exceptionally challenging.
Lan Xue glanced at Luo Zheng and shot him an inquiring look. Luo Zheng gave a bitter smile and continued his contemplation. If they could divert this group of enemies, the base's defensive power would be reduced. But he quickly dismissed the idea, not to ntion the risk involved. Reducing the enemy's number by two hundred when they nearly numbered a thousand wouldn't significantly impact their defensive capability; with eight hundred, they still couldn't be penetrated. What to do?
While pondering, Luo Zheng noticed Lan Xue signaling a detour maneuver from the corner of his eye. After considering it montarily, the imdiate priority was to first ascertain the situation at the enemy's research base. He nodded in agreent, and everyone got up and made a detour. Luo Zheng, consulting the GPS and aerial maps, took the lead and marched forward briskly.
An hour later, as night fell, everyone put on their Night Vision Devices and continued to hasten along. Ti was pressing. Their movent had already been exposed, and they needed to understand the research base's situation quickly to devise a subsequent plan. Otherwise, any action taken would be inappropriate.
Traversing rugged mountains and through forests, the difficulties of the journey were alleviated by the Night Vision Devices. En route, they encountered only a few snakes, which they quickly tossed aside without taking further notice, focusing solely on making progress. Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting charming, speckled patterns, but their mood was so grave they weren't in the mood to appreciate it.
In the middle of the night, the group climbed a peak and looked out to see a valley ahead, surrounded by mountains with a river winding into it. The trees within the valley had been cleared, and the ground was flattened. At the center was a complex surrounded by a tall periter wall with an open area on the outside. At the entrance of the building complex was a small plaza with three helicopters parked, and patrols were persistently present nearby.
"Hiss?" Luo Zheng's expression changed slightly upon seeing this scene, which strongly resembled the Wild Wolf rcenary Group's base in the jungle. He glanced around; the surrounding hillside was lush, and the valley's edge was fenced with barbed wire preventing wild animals from entering. Several charred birds hung on the electrified fence.
Seeing this, everyone's expression turned serious. Snow Leopard spoke in a low voice, "There must be land mines on the surrounding slopes. I'll go scout later. The three-ter-high barbed wire is definitely electrified, hard to cross. It's a clear shot to the periter wall which would take at least three minutes—a ti sufficient for the enemy to react, not to ntion the number of patrols outside and inside the wall. The buildings also look complex, which makes infiltrating exceedingly difficult."
"I suspect the open area outside the valley may be mined. The density isn't very high, but it's still troubleso. There are no roads here; these people probably communicate via helicopter. The buildings, made of wood and stone, look quite old, like so ancient tribal settlent, maybe it's an expanded archaeological site?" Mountain Eagle murmured.
"Very possible," Ghost Hand replied softly, his eyes sharply fixed on the distant valley. His solemn voice added, "The enemy's defenses are tight, and infiltration is going to be incredibly challenging. Moreover, nearly a thousand people couldn't be accommodated by just these buildings; there must be underground facilities as well. Look at the back hills, there are two huge wind turbines."
Luo Zheng shifted his sniper scope for a closer observation and his expression grew grim. Infiltration seed hopeless; how could they penetrate and sabotage the enemy's research? Ti was not on their side. What to do?
"Everyone, don't rush; let's observe a bit more and then discuss," Lan Xue said quietly.
Everyone agreed and continued their surveillance. Luo Zheng realized the enormity of the challenge in capturing this base; with just the five of them, it was nearly impossible. As he was thinking, he suddenly sensed sothing approaching. Startled, he quickly shifted his sniper scope to look. The forest was pitch-black, showing nothing.
"What's wrong?" Lan Xue asked in a low voice, and the others looked at Luo Zheng, all aware that Luo Zheng's hunting skills from an early age gave him an unusual sense of danger in the jungle, which made everyone cautious.
"Sothing feels off, like sothing is moving towards us," Luo Zheng explained.
The expressions of everyone shifted slightly, all turning to look at Lan Xue. Lan Xue thought for a mont and, regardless of whether Luo Zheng was being overly cautious, decided it was better to err on the side of caution and decisively said, "Let's pull back."
Everyone began to retreat. Seeing that Luo Zheng hadn't pulled back, they were all stunned for a mont and then concealed themselves on the spot. Lan Xue asked through her headset in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
"Everyone follow behind for cover fire, I'll go et whatever it is," Luo Zheng said softly, picking up his rifle and moving cautiously toward the hillside in front, moving slowly and carefully to make as little noise as possible, almost like a ghost waiting for its chance under the moonlight.
Soon, Luo Zheng spotted several black shadows darting out from the forest ahead, their bodies camouflaged with branches and ard, moving agilely. Luo Zheng was startled, quickly crouched down, signaling the others to retreat with a hand gesture, but he himself did not move imdiately, observing patiently instead.
Soon, a dozen people appeared in the field of view ahead, spreading out to search carefully. Luo Zheng was shocked, wondering what these people were doing here in the dead of night. Had they been discovered? As he pondered, Luo Zheng saw through the sniper scope a figure dressed like a Ninja vanish after a flash, disappearing into the woodland so thirty ters ahead.
"A Ninja?" Luo Zheng's expression turned cold, and he imdiately understood why they had been exposed. Facing a Ninja, skilled in tracking and hiding, it was very difficult for the group to conceal themselves. More figures appeared in his view, and Luo Zheng knew these people were targeting the group. They had to retreat, otherwise it would turn into a firefight, which was not suitable.
Luo Zheng, with an anxious expression, signaled to retreat again, and he also quickly started to move back. The enemy's numbers were unknown, and since they ca prepared, there certainly wouldn't be just a few. Staying would an death. Using the dense forest for cover, everyone retreated rapidly without pausing, marching urgently.
While running, Luo Zheng was like a wounded tiger, bristling with murderous intent, his expression grim. The mission was going terribly; being discovered even in these circumstances indicated that there were experts among the enemies, making it difficult to conceal their movents. What to do?
After roughly half an hour of rapid marching, the group stopped in a patch of forest, and Lan Xue signaled everyone to spread out and keep watch. She then pulled Luo Zheng down to crouch, spread out a satellite surveillance map, and said, "The base's location is correct, but how were these people able to sniff us out before we even made a move? Do you have any ideas?"
ps: Recomnding a good book, "Shura the Supre," a blockbuster work by Creation God Zheng Shuyi with substantial content. For fans of fantasy, it's a must-read.
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