At dawn, the rosy sky spread widely above the ancient, unchanging tropical rainforest, adding a touch of vibrancy to the forest, with lush, green treetops undulating in the wind, like rolling waves. Suddenly, several large birds burst forth from the trees with strange cries, followed by the roar of a Fierce Beast. Startled, the birds took flight. The river andered, its mists hovering over the banks amidst the bushes, creating clumps of watery haze that screened like a splash-ink landscape painting, incredibly beautiful.
In a part of the mountains, a person dressed in a camouflage suit, with face painted, glided down from high trees like a nimble monkey. With a few leaps, he reached the ground, heading towards a clearing where several individuals were gathered around a campfire, grilling two wild rabbits and a python. The tropical rainforest was rich in food, if only one had the skills to catch it.
This group was none other than Luo Zheng and the others. After a successful kidnapping, they had retraced their steps to a river fork, hid the boat in the bushes, and disembarked to hide. They had taken refuge in this forest for the night. The one who had co down from the tree was Mountain Eagle, the scout. Seeing that the food was almost ready, he casually found a broken branch to sit on, unceremoniously tore off a leg, sprinkled so salt from his bag, and began to gnaw away hungrily.
Luo Zheng glanced at the old lady who was still sound asleep, covered with a blanket that they had brought along during the kidnapping. His sympathetic expression shifted to a young man with a grim face nearby. The man was short but powerfully built, with tough muscles, a high forehead, and a hooked nose, bearing a sowhat heroic look, but his thin lips revealed a ruthless nature. After a brief interrogation the previous night, it turned out that this man was Balang, the General's only son, and the old lady was indeed the General's biological mother.
With his hands bound, Balang could not resist. Considering the old woman's safety, he forcibly endured, staring fiercely at Luo Zheng all night, his gaze gradually becoming gloomier—a sign of deep-seated hatred. But Luo Zheng did not care, nor did he bother to offer these people any food. He drew his military knife, cut a piece of at, and began to eat on his own.
Everyone silently ate their food, not even glancing at Balang. Feeling ignored, Balang grew even angrier. As the General's son, accustod to being high and mighty, arrogant and commanding, he had never been in such a situation. His gaze towards Luo Zheng turned colder, resembling a lurking venomous snake, ready to strike fatally at any mont.
After everyone had their fill, they all looked towards Luo Zheng. Thinking for a mont, he said, "Mountain Eagle, co with . We need to find a contact person." He then looked towards Lan Xue.
"Go with a clear mind, I'm here," Lan Xue said softly.
Luo Zheng nodded, glanced at Mountain Eagle, and both n got up to descend the mountain. They jumped onto the boat they had used earlier, started it up, and Mountain Eagle cautiously asked, "Doing such a big thing, our opponents must know about it by now. They could be searching everywhere. What's your plan?"
"Let's first head to the main river channel," Luo Zheng said offhandedly, moving to the deck to lie down and set up his sniper scope. Mountain Eagle didn't say more and steered the boat forward.
As the boat reached the main river channel, they spotted a fully-ard boat patrolling. Perhaps it had noticed their presence and was approaching fast. Through the sniper scope, Luo Zheng saw they were ard militants, undoubtedly militia forces. He spoke into his headset to Mountain Eagle, "Circle around, control the boat, leave it to ." With that, he quickly aid at a man.
"Swish!" The bullet whizzed by, tearing the calm of the river surface, ferociously biting through the air towards the militants' boat, not five hundred ters ahead, like the roar of a prival beast. It instantly penetrated the head of the man operating the heavy machine gun, stirring up, rolling, sending a chunk of skull flying, a headshot—red and white matter splattering, blooming like eerie snowflakes in the Void.
After his successful shot, Luo Zheng did not rush to fire again but calmly observed. He spotted five enemies in total and was about to aim at the second one when suddenly, a militant with an RPG slung over his shoulder burst out of the cabin. He knelt to aim. Luo Zheng, alard, quickly aid at him. Just as he was about to fire, a swift idea made him adjust his aim to the RPG and, taking the initiative, he pulled the trigger.
"Swish!" The sniper bullet, carrying Luo Zheng's surprise and anger, howled away, tracing a terrifying energy shockwave along the river surface, its sonic boom crushing.
"Boom!" A loud explosion rang out as the enemy's ard boat detonated violently, engulfed instantly by a red flash. Gunsmoke filled the air, and the cabin was left unrecognizable from the blast.
"Nice gun skills." Mountain Eagle exclaid excitedly.
"Just not sure if there are any survivors." Luo Zheng said with so regret. He had intended to capture a few alive to send a ssage when they set out. If the enemy hadn't used an RPG, Luo Zheng would never have acted like this. But at the brink of life and death, to survive, he had no choice but to eliminate the enemy.
Mountain Eagle maneuvered the boat in a detour and soon noticed that the enemy's ard boat was eerily quiet, with no sign of life. As the smoke cleared, Luo Zheng, looking through the sniper scope, couldn't see anyone moving and coldly said, "Approach from the side, but not too fast. Stay concealed and be wary of enemy snipers."
"Understood," Mountain Eagle responded calmly.
Luo Zheng continued to scan the enemy's ard boat while lying on the deck. Seeing no one, the boat slowly moved closer. After it docked, Luo Zheng quickly got up, charged across the deck, and jumped onto the enemy boat, only to find all four onboard had been killed by the blast, leaving no survivors. Luo Zheng felt increasingly frustrated—it seed they had to start looking for soone all over again.
"No survivors?" Mountain Eagle ran over after stopping the boat and saw the dead bodies in the cabin. He sighed helplessly with a wry smile. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed a satellite phone, half-covered by a corpse. Startled, he hurried forward and picked up the device, only to find it wasn't a satellite phone but a high-powered military radio capable of connecting over ten kiloters. Mountain Eagle handed the radio to Luo Zheng.
Luo Zheng checked it with surprise and, after turning it on, found it was still working. He could hear voices inside but couldn't understand them, and remarked, "Good stuff, still functional."
"Hmm, what do you plan to do?" Mountain Eagle asked.
Luo Zheng didn't answer directly but looked around at the terrain. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he said, "The river here is broad and the current is gentle. We can exchange hostages here. With two mountain peaks pinching from the sides, as long as we hold these two high points, we can restrain the enemy. What do you think?"
Mountain Eagle, also an experienced Soldier King, instantly understood Luo Zheng's intentions upon surveying the terrain. He thought for a mont and then said, "I think it's feasible. Let's do it your way. You and the captain have good gun skills; you handle the sniping. I'll negotiate with the enemy. The other two will watch over the prisoners. How does that sound?"
"Trying to steal my thunder, no way. I'll handle the negotiation," Luo Zheng said with a laugh.
Knowing Luo Zheng's personality of always wanting to be first and not backing down, Mountain Eagle said no more. After pondering for a mont, he asked, "What's the specific plan?"
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