An hour later, the team split up, and Luo Zheng alone approached the edge of the forest. Just ahead was Kuntai's campsite, separated from the forest by a fence. Beyond the fence lay rows of cabins, which under the pitch-black night, seed like silent monsters quietly observing the approaching Luo Zheng. The cabins inside were deathly still, not a sliver of light to be seen. To enter, one must first scale the fence, then navigate through the cabins.
The cabins served to so extent as a barrier wall. There were so many rows that it was impossible to go around; one had to pass through them to reach the core area of the camp. However, there were five rows of cabins. Luo Zheng glanced at a nearby cabin, which he had previously ramd with a vehicle. It was not fully repaired yet, fitted with electric lights, and occasionally swept by searchlights. The risk was too great to infiltrate through that breach.
After observing for a while, Luo Zheng decided to still make his way through the cabins. Once over the fence, he charged swiftly to the side of a row of cabins and hid in the shadows. Waiting for the searchlight to pass, he gently pushed on the door. It was firmly closed, different from his previous experience.
Luo Zheng pulled out his Tiger Teeth combat knife and carefully slid it into the door crack, trying to fiddle with the lock. The door seed to be bolted from inside, and to fiddle it open would take so ti, ti which he could ill afford to waste. Luo Zheng took out a Japanese sword, thrust it deep into the crack, and with force, chopped through the wooden bolt. He gently pushed the door open and slipped inside.
It was pitch black inside, the windows sealed shut—another change from before. Luo Zheng glanced at the four people sound asleep on the bunk beds and tiptoed to the window. A gentle push did not budge it. Applying a bit more force still resulted in no movent. He was taken aback, frustration welling up. Swinging into action, he went over to a bed and effortlessly slit the throat of one of the ard n.
With a "rip," after killing another ard man on the bottom bunk, Luo Zheng stepped onto the bed edge and eliminated the two on the upper bunk. Only then did he pull out a lighter to examine the window. It turned out to be bolted from inside with a secret latch. A rope was tied to the window, with the other end tied to a glass cup. If the window were forced open, the cup would fall and shatter, waking everyone. It was a clever setup. Luo Zheng was silently glad he hadn't pushed harder initially, as that would have spelled trouble. Pangolin had ntioned precautions, and this was evidently what he'd ant. With this knowledge, Luo Zheng quickly released the secret latch and opened the window to observe. Ensuring there was no one around, he jumped out the window, landing without a sound. His ears pricked up, his cold gaze piercing through the night, vigilant as if guarding against a ghost.
Seeing no one around, Luo Zheng quickly rushed to the next line of cabins, reaching the door before the searchlight could sweep over. With his back against the wooden wall, he waited for the searchlight to pass then checked the door. Finding it similar to the previous one, he chopped through the wooden bolt with his Japanese sword and slipped inside. Swinging the blade, he decapitated the sleeping ard n on the bed in quick succession. Blood splattered everywhere. Luo Zheng, without a glance, hurriedly pulled out his lighter to check the window, which was also secured with an internal latch. He breathed a sigh of relief.
After releasing the latch and pushing the window open, Luo Zheng listened intently for a while, confirming the absence of activity before leaping out. After landing, he heard the faint sound of the window closing and stayed still. He quickly surveyed the surroundings to ensure no one was alerted, then again rushed toward a line of cabins and concealed himself at the entrance of a random room.
Luo Zheng repeated the procedure and, before he knew it, had crossed through the five rows of cabins. The area opened up before him, the space between the cabins and the highest mountain peak—the very place Luo Zheng had visited before. After the searchlight passed, he dashed into the woods, using the cover of the trees to move ahead.
A while later, Luo Zheng arrived at a spot under the brush alongside the main road and hid. Peeking out, he could see the fifth checkpoint ahead. East of the checkpoint was Kuntai's new residence; a little further might be the power station, right? Luo Zheng checked his watch, the appointed ti was near. He must destroy the power source quickly; otherwise, it would be dangerous for the others once they infiltrated. Not daring to delay, Luo Zheng waited for the searchlight to pass, then with a forceful leap like a ghost, he crossed the main road and hid within the trees on the other side.
Luo Zheng noticed that the soldiers at the fifth guard post were chatting and laughing with little vigilance. Soone did turn around for a glance, but not spotting anyone, quickly joined in the laughter with the rest, smoking and looking very alert, probably just starting their shift.
Just then, a searchlight swung over, moving away from the guard post's location and along the ground toward the direction from which Luo Zheng had co. He was overjoyed and, taking advantage of the sparse cover of the trees, he moved quickly forward. In a few bounding leaps, he had covered a distance of over twenty ters, faintly hearing a rumbling noise, like the sound of so machine's motor.
Luo Zheng was pleased, but remained cautious as he looked around. It was very quiet, with nothing suspicious in sight. Once the searchlight passed, Luo Zheng hurried towards the open area, which was flat and had a clear field of view, with nothing to hide behind.
"Da da da!" Suddenly, a burst of intense gunfire erupted, with bullets nearly keeping pace with Luo Zheng's feet, which frightfully increased his speed. His heart pounded with shock, not expecting to have been discovered. It seed that the enemy had added secret sentries, and moving through this open area, it was easy to be spotted by one of them.
"What a sha," Luo Zheng thought angrily. Being discovered ant that a surprise attack was no longer possible, and how things would unfold was uncertain. However, Luo Zheng also knew it was essential to cut the power, otherwise no one would escape. As he ran, Luo Zheng slid into a wooden hut and fired a volley of shots in retaliation.
Since he was already exposed, there was no need to hold back. The bullets screeched, carrying Luo Zheng's anger and regret, and he quickly blasted a searchlight, plunging the area into darkness. The previous attacker's bullets lost their target and began to fire wildly.
"Woo woo woo!" Suddenly, the alarm howled, spreading panic through the night sky.
Luo Zheng knew he had completely lost the elent of surprise and, annoyed, stood up. Hearing the nearby roar of motors, he was delighted and ran towards the noise. However, as bullets sprayed wildly, he ca upon another wooden hut with a window. Luo Zheng swiftly opened the window and looked inside – it was pitch-black, but the roaring of the motor clearly ca from within.
"This must be the place," Luo Zheng thought excitedly. Suddenly, he felt bullets sweeping toward him and imdiately dropped to the ground. The bullets whizzed past, just above his head, embedding into the wooden hut without ricocheting, posing very little threat to Luo Zheng.
As the wildly firing bullets whizzed by, Luo Zheng's eyes grew cold. He quickly pulled out a grenade, removed the safety pin, and threw it through the window. Then he turned and sprinted away, estimating the grenade's explosion. He dove to the ground and hurriedly covered his head.
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