The exquisite tactics, ferocious cluster bomb attacks, along with the enemy's foolish marching, made such a sneak attack hard to lose. Luo Zheng showed no pride in winning against these militants; to him, victory was not glorious. Glancing at the corpses scattered all over, he estimated there were at least two hundred if not three hundred. Weapons and ammunition littered the ground, and trucks were still burning. Luo Zheng looked toward the excited crowd, his expression darkened, and he shouted, "Quick, clean up the battlefield, take everything that can be used."
"Yes!" Everyone roared excitedly. This battle might have been trivial for Luo Zheng, but for everyone else, it held significant aning. Previously, they had caught the enemy off guard by attacking their base; though the team had suffered no casualties, about a dozen were lightly wounded to varying degrees. In the battle just now, not a single one was hurt, and they won easily. This showed everyone a new type of special warfare tactic, using special warfare thinking to execute a positional ambush.
Shi Qingshan was the happiest, seeing the team's morale transform, every mber devoid of fear in battle. Having withstood the test of fire, all had beco hardened veterans. If he could bring everyone back alive, it would an a great deal for the Special Warfare Team. With this thought, Shi Qingshan turned to look at Luo Zheng. Although not particularly tall or robust, Luo Zheng's figure sohow inspired greater confidence in Shi Qingshan, who commanded everyone to hasten their pace.
Ten minutes later, after having cleaned up the battlefield, everyone rushed into the woods with the captured goods. Luo Zheng led the way, the team marching quickly. Along the way, everyone silently controlled their joy of victory, keeping pace with Luo Zheng's rhythm. The successive victories deepened everyone's respect for Luo Zheng.
As darkness fell, seeing that Luo Zheng had no intention of stopping, everyone willingly put on their Night Vision Devices and continued their march without any complaints. Late into the night, the team's march slowed down due to exhaustion. Luo Zheng glanced at his team mbers, signaled for everyone to rest on the spot and set up a watch, and he too found a place to sit.
Zhou Gang and others ca over and sat beside Luo Zheng, all faces filled with excitent. Zhou Gang spoke up first, "Captain, fighting alongside you is truly thrilling; it's exhilarating to kill, and after seeing blood a few tis, the brothers are no longer afraid."
"I've noticed that. The brothers are all quite capable. After this mission, we should be able to be converted into a regular Special Warfare Team, right?" Luo Zheng said, looking at his forr subordinates and feeling sowhat better.
"Yeah, if anyone still dares to call us a rookie team, I'll have an issue with them," Zhuzi replied.
"There's a sharp energy, good. Tell the brothers to pay attention to other brother units, consider it a learning opportunity. This is real combat training, a rare good chance. Their concealnt, tracking, and searching abilities are better than yours, and they are likely better in close combat too," Luo Zheng reminded.
"Understood, thank you, Captain," Zhou Gang said gratefully.
While they were speaking, Shi Qingshan ca over, handed a water bottle to Luo Zheng, and smiled, "You guys are all here, huh? You did well in the fight just now, charging down the dirt road first, quite fast."
"We still have a long way to go compared to you, please teach us more," Zhou Gang replied politely.
Shi Qingshan looked at Zhou Gang and then at Luo Zheng, understanding a bit more, and he smiled, "You have a good captain. By the way, Sir, since Kuntai isn't coming, we might need to change our plans. What do we do next?"
"First, head back to the waterfall. I need to establish contact with our inside help before I can determine our next steps," Luo Zheng casually replied, took several gulps from the water bottle, screwed the cap back on, and continued, "Rest for thirty minutes, and after that, we continue our march. Kuntai has lost so many n; they will definitely send more people to pursue us, and our approximate position has been exposed. Therefore, we must hurry back and keep Kuntai guessing."
"That makes sense, Kuntai would never expect us to strike near his headquarters," Shi Qingshan said.
"Alright, everyone rest," Luo Zheng said, closing his eyes to ditate. Seeing this, everyone also began to rest on the spot, relax their bodies, and recover their strength.
Half an hour later, the team woke up without needing a prompt, gathered their gear, and continued on their way in an orderly fashion, walking and stopping intermittently. By noon the next day, they had reached the vicinity of the waterfall. After setting up sentry watches, the team fell into a deep sleep, exhausted after marching urgently for several hours.
Luo Zheng also felt very tired; however, every ti he closed his eyes, he saw Lan Xue's image and couldn't sleep. He decided to get up and stood on a clear hillside, quietly watching the undulating forest in front of him, the green leaves fluttering in the wind like rolling waves. Occasionally, a few wild birds would fly up, screech, and then disappear back into the green waves. Everything seed peaceful and calm. Yet Luo Zheng's heart grew heavy—how could he go on without any news of Lan Xue?
"What if Lan Xue isn't with Kuntai? Where could she be?" Luo Zheng suddenly had this thought flash through his mind. He was startled and quickly tried to suppress it. Being distracted could lead to faulty judgnt and affect subsequent combat. But he found the thought growing uncontrollably wild and hard to control.
"Are you thinking about Captain Lan?" Shi Qingshan ca over and asked softly. Seeing Luo Zheng's face stiffen, he awkwardly continued, "I've been through this, I can tell. Your feelings for Captain Lan are extraordinary. The Group Army has dispatched so many people to find her, they should have so information. Shall I ask?"
"Okay," Luo Zheng nodded in response.
Shi Qingshan quickly took out a military satellite phone from his backpack, dialed the headquarters number, and started inquiring. As he listened to the response, his expression turned ugly. Luo Zheng saw this and felt a pain in his heart, sharp as a knife, and his face beca cold and stern as he glared fiercely ahead.
"I'm sorry, the headquarters said there's no news," Shi Qingshan said, forcing himself to speak softly.
"Hmm," Luo Zheng grunted noncommittally. Seeing that Luo Zheng was not interested in talking more, Shi Qingshan opted to leave, waking others to change the guard.
Ti passed and dusk gradually fell. Luo Zheng stood motionless on the dirt slope, coldly observing the mountains ahead, pondering unknown thoughts. Shi Qingshan wanted to offer so words of comfort several tis but realized his argunts were hollow and ineffective. Glancing at Zhou Gang and others, who were equally clueless about what to say, they shook their heads with a wry smile.
Night fell quickly. Everyone ate so dry food and continued to rest. Luo Zheng, lacking appetite, stood immobile on the dirt slope, like a statue, with slightly furrowed brows and a stern gaze. His resolute face was filled with ice-cold sorrow. The air around seed practically frozen, allowing everyone to distinctly feel Luo Zheng's inner grief and anxiety from afar, but no one knew what to do, exchanging looks and sighing quietly among themselves.
A little while later, Shi Qingshan checked the ti, about to remind Luo Zheng that it was almost ti for their scheduled departure, when he noticed Luo Zheng suddenly moving toward the waterfall ahead. His steps were sowhat frantic but large, clearly showing his inner turmoil and pain.
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