Hook's thod was very simple: he had people gather a pile of dry firewood, light it, and place it inside the cave. The thick smoke produced by the dry firewood funneled into the cave, and before long, shouts ca from inside. After listening for a while, Hook imdiately had people remove the firewood and set it aside to keep burning, illuminating the surroundings.
After waiting for a while, people erged from the inside, dragging with them rcenaries who were unconscious. Luo Zheng couldn't help but laugh—the battle had resulted in the complete annihilation of this group. Lan Xue ca over and whispered, "This matter is over, thanks to the counter-ambush plan you proposed. If we hadn't attacked from behind, the cave might have been taken and no one would have escaped."
"There's a traitor among the natives; certainly, the traitor must have leaked the information. So, they really thought we were going to raid the Japanese research base. It serves them right for being cocky and thinking they could easily defeat us with the weapons they had in hand," Ghost Hand said in a low voice.
"Let's not talk about that now. Their ambush on the natives forced us to postpone our attack. Let's set it for the early hours of tomorrow morning," Luo Zheng interjected. "We'll prepare during the day, sneak over at night, and launch the attack at dawn. What do you think?" Luo Zheng suggested.
Everyone pondered for a mont, then nodded in agreent. There were too many things to prepare to ensure success, so it was right to allow for more ti. Seeing no objections from the group, Luo Zheng pulled Hook aside to explain the situation. Upon hearing that there was plenty of ti to prepare, Hook readily agreed.
The bodies of the rcenaries were carelessly discarded in the dense forest, ignored by everyone. Luo Zheng, witnessing this scene, couldn't help but ask, "Don't you guys gather the bodies?"
"Bodies?" Hook was taken aback, looking at Luo Zheng with so surprise. After a mont, he explained, "It's our custom here. In this forest, we live off the wild animals, and when we die, we beco food for the wild animals. It's a way of giving back to nature, contributing to the forest. In your terms, it's about maintaining ecological balance. In our terms, it's returning to the embrace of the nature gods. It's been this way for hundreds of years."
"Oh, forget I said anything," Luo Zheng said awkwardly.
After arranging for his n to stand guard outside, Hook gestured for everyone else to enter the cave. Luo Zheng and the others rested inside as well, having been busy for most of the night, they were indeed exhausted.
The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, everyone had eaten and drunk their fill and ca out of the cave to see many people carrying logs and so with bamboo tubes. Hook explained that the liquid inside was oil, and the logs, being sowhat dry, would burn easily. All the materials were piled up beneath the cliffs.
By midday, more people arrived to lend support, significantly boosting their manpower. Luo Zheng guessed that there were about three hundred in total—hardly a third of the defensive forces at the Japanese research base, and their equipnt was rudintary. They had managed to confiscate so weapons, but most people were unaccustod to using them. Thinking it over, Luo Zheng had Hook select so people to be trained.
With over a hundred rifles and plenty of bullets, Hook had long wanted to train everyone to shoot but was too busy to get around to it. Hearing that Luo Zheng was willing to teach, Hook was overjoyed and imdiately chose fifty n—warriors who had proven themselves in combat. Everyone agreed to this arrangent without any objections.
Luo Zheng, seeing that Hook was thorough in his work, respected him even more, but said nothing. He took the fifty n aside to begin rifle training. With five people teaching fifty, each instructing ten, the task wasn't too challenging. Moreover, they only needed to grasp the basic shooting skills.
By midday, everyone was performing well. These were all hunters from the mountains, accustod to bows and arrows, blessed with keen eyesight. Once they mastered the shooting techniques, they were confident they could hit a large tree within twenty ters at least fifty percent of the ti. Luo Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. With these fifty helping hands, even if they didn't kill the enemy, their suppressive fire would be a significant advantage.
Seeing the high enthusiasm for learning among everyone, Luo Zheng, considering the rciless nature of the battlefield, did his best to minimize casualties by teaching them so key pointers for survival in battle, such as how to conceal their shooting, how to provide suppressive fire, and how to set up crossfire, among other tactics. As for how many would survive to leave the battlefield, Luo Zheng could not know—it was now in the hands of fate.
At night, Luo Zheng saw the pile of logs that were stacked like a mountain, at least two hundred of them, along with a good supply of grease. He breathed a sigh of relief, as everyone went into the cave to rest. The natives had hunted a few wild boars, and there were also so pheasants and fish from the underground river for food, enough to feed everyone.
Hook brought over so of the cooked food for Luo Zheng and the others to eat, and no one stood on ceremony, filling themselves with food and drink. Hook then told Luo Zheng that the logs, grease, poisonous grass, and other supplies were all ready and they could act at any ti. Luo Zheng checked the ti and said, "Let's rest for three hours before taking action. When we do, find so trustworthy people to keep watch; be careful of anyone sneaking off to inform the enemy."
"Or, why not just expose the matter of the traitor and have everyone keep an eye on each other? What do you think?" asked Hook.
"Could that lead to disarray among the troops?" Luo Zheng said worriedly.
After thinking it over, Hook replied earnestly, "It shouldn't. Since everyone shares a deep grudge against the Japanese pirates and ca here to seek revenge, it's unlikely that there are many traitors. Mutual surveillance is good. In the darkness of the night and the dense forest, a few people keeping watch won't be enough. We have to rely on the collective power of the group."
"That could work." Luo Zheng had been worried about morale dissipating upon hearing the news, but seeing how earnest Hook was and reasoning that it made sense, agreed to the plan. A strategic matter of great importance like this was better to have so impact on morale than to have the information leak out.
Hook acknowledged and hurried off to consult with the leader. Before long, the news of the traitor spread through the cave and everyone was howling with righteous indignation. Luo Zheng saw Hook climb onto a high platform and start shouting sothing, which gradually stabilized everyone's emotions. Luo Zheng smiled and said to Lan Xue in a low voice beside him, "The guy really does have so organizational ability. I was worried that knowing about the traitor would make everyone suspicious of each other. It seems I thought too much."
"It's not overthinking; it's being cautious. However, I have a feeling that sothing is not right about tonight's operation," Lan Xue said quietly, her face showing clear concern.
"Where doesn't it feel right?" Luo Zheng pressed, his military intuition very sharp and even more so for female soldiers. He couldn't ignore this intuition and imdiately beca alert. After pondering and sorting through his plan, he found no obvious flaws, which made him look towards Lan Xue for an explanation.
"Could it be too quiet?" Lan Xue whispered. Seeing the confusion on Luo Zheng's face, she explained, "The Japanese pirates are too quiet. There's been no activity these past few days. It's not logical."
"It is a bit too quiet. How about I go scout around?" Mountain Eagle said in a low voice, his expression growing serious.
"Scouting at night is too difficult; it's hard to see clearly, and the scouting wouldn't be very aningful," Luo Zheng mused. He too sensed that sothing was not right. After thinking it over and still coming up empty-handed, his brow furrowed deeply.
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