As darkness fell, Luo Zheng arrived at a mountain ridge over two kiloters away from the rendezvous point. The eting spot was a valley, with flat terrain and a vast field of view, covered with grass. There was no sign of the squad mbers, but he discovered an army encampnt. Luo Zheng's face turned pale, and he hurriedly picked up the binoculars to observe. The army flag indicated that it belonged to the regular forces of Arctic Bear Country, and by the look of the tents, there was at least a battalion's worth of strength.
"Hiss?" Luo Zheng, with a face full of shock, stared at the valley, his expression as serious as frost. With a battalion of the regular forces of Arctic Bear Country stationed here, had his brothers been captured, or had they already evacuated to a farther location? Luo Zheng thought for a mont, clenched his teeth, turned on his headset, and called out urgently, "It's , can anyone hear ?"
After shouting for quite a while with no response, Luo Zheng's tense expression relaxed. No answer could only an one thing, that his comrades were not nearby. The distance was too great for the signal to connect. It was impossible that they had been captured—for if they had been, their headsets would have been confiscated, and surely soone would have heard his calls and would have no reason not to reply.
To be on the safe side, Luo Zheng stayed put to observe. After a full half hour had passed, the camp was in good order, with no activity indicating that if his brothers had been captured, the enemy would not only fail to respond to his calls, but would also send troops out to pursue him. Everything appeared normal, so it was unlikely that they had been captured, and Luo Zheng's mind was at ease.
"I wonder if my brothers went to the predetermined destination camp or are lying in ambush nearby waiting for ?" Luo Zheng hesitated, his sharp gaze scanning the surroundings. Suddenly, he spotted three stones placed in an arrowhead shape under a tree ahead. Luo Zheng hurried over to check and found that the stones had been deliberately arranged. He couldn't help but smile.
This was a signal to move forward, taught to him by Lan Xue, still fresh in his mory. Understanding the ssage, Luo Zheng rose to his feet, glanced one more ti at the enemy's position in the valley with a cold sneer, and then turned and quickly left toward the predetermined destination camp. The signal to move forward ant that everyone had continued on their way, with only one place to go—the predetermined camp.
After jogging for so distance, Luo Zheng saw similar markers. Lan Xue and the others were worried that he might fail to see them, so they had deliberately left them. Eager to catch up with everyone, Luo Zheng chose to march through the night. When darkness arrived, he put on his Night Vision Device and continued on his way, eating compressed biscuits when hungry and gritting his teeth to persist when sleepy.
Traveling through the mountains at night was perilous, but with the Night Vision Device, seeing the path wasn't a problem. Nevertheless, he still had to overco the twin difficulties of physical exhaustion and drowsiness. While running, Luo Zheng practiced the family's Breathing Skill and gradually felt his condition improve, his strength replenishing. Gritting his teeth and persevering, he traversed ridges and valleys, moving ever onward.
Early the next morning, Luo Zheng arrived atop a mountain ridge. Paired with the rising sun, he saw ahead of him a much larger valley open up. The valley floor was flat and had many single-story barracks made of blue brick lined up neatly. Against the backdrop of the morning sun, a large group of people clad in camouflage uniforms shouted out on the training ground, emanating a formidable aura.
"I've finally arrived," Luo Zheng muttered to himself as he looked at the camp ahead, breathing a sigh of relief. Cautiously scanning the surroundings, he noticed the mountain ridges were barren, devoid of any tall trees or even bushes, with the soil a grayish-brown color. He did not detect any sign of Lan Xue and the others, which startled him.
A gentle breeze carried a few dried leaves, and a ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, causing Luo Zheng to squint. He continued to search the area and spotted a large rock not far away. Carefully, he crawled over to it and concealed himself. His face set into seriousness as he turned on his headset.
"It's , respond if you can hear ," Luo Zheng called out urgently into his headset.
"You've finally arrived, are you alright?" A voice replied with surprise—it was Lan Xue.
"Is everyone okay? Report your positions," Luo Zheng exclaid with joy upon hearing the voices and quickly asked.
Soon, everyone reported their concealed positions, and Luo Zheng did the sa. He raised his binoculars to look at the coordinates reported by his team, finding nothing suspicious. Assuming that everyone was well-hidden, he retreated back behind the boulder and spoke softly through the earpiece, "I've just arrived. How long have you all been here, and have you noticed anything unusual?"
"We've been here for most of the day. There's infrared detection below, so don't move forward," Lan Xue warned in a low voice.
"Infrared detection?" Luo Zheng was startled and quickly peeked out to observe carefully. Indeed, he spotted tallic rods, like matchboxes in size, protruding less than a finger's length above the ground, glinting white in the sunlight, kiloters away in the bushes—virtually undetectable if not for the daylight.
Luo Zheng knew well that those tal rods emitted infrared rays. Should soone enter the periter, the infrared beams would be blocked, triggering the command center to receive an alert and sound the alarm. He beca vigilant, glanced at the camp about three kiloters away, and his expression turned grim as he continued through the earpiece, "My position is too far to shoot effectively."
"Surrounded by infrared detection, we can't infiltrate. We must think of another way," Lan Xue spoke softly.
"Nobody move; we'll wait till nightfall," Luo Zheng whispered, deep in thought. The infrared detection line had them blocked off three kiloters away, making sniping impossible. Engaging required infiltration, but that was extrely perilous and likely to expose them during the day. They would have to reassess the situation at night.
Luo Zheng looked around. The place was deserted, with no one in sight and unlikely for anyone to approach. He decided to let everyone stay alert while he took a nap right there, as the overnight journey had left him exhausted and depleted. After eating so compressed biscuits and putting on his camouflage suit, he curled up to sleep behind the big rock.
Waiting was at once thrilling and draining. Lan Xue thought it over and arranged for everyone to rest in turns, to regain their strength for the potential battle co nightfall.
The gentle breeze swept over the mountain ridge, and the world was eerily quiet except for bursts of training noise from the distant camp. Birds swooped past, with one landing on the rock Luo Zheng was hiding behind. It looked around curiously, seeming not to notice him, and after a while, flew off.
Ti slowly slipped by, and before they knew it, dusk had arrived. Luo Zheng gradually opened his eyes. After resting for most of the day, his energy had largely returned, and he felt revitalized. He moved his body slightly to get the blood flowing and cracked his neck, causing a series of clicks. Luo Zheng peered down again and saw that the camp was deathly silent.
"Huh?" To his surprise, Luo Zheng saw an ard transport aircraft at the camp that hadn't been there before—he must have slept soundly, missing its arrival. Fortunately, the enemy hadn't discovered their presence nearby and remained oblivious. He looked through his binoculars; the skies above the transport were empty, with only the occasional person dashing through the training field in a hurry.
"Are you awake? Any news?" Lan Xue's voice ca through the earpiece.
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