Chapter Seventeen: The Gunshot on the Plateau

  Kashmir, about seventy kilometers north of Srinagar, near the Indo-Pakistani ceasefire line.

  The plateau at an altitude of over 3,000 meters appears exceptionally desolate. A small road that runs through the ceasefire line emerges and disappears in the lead-gray giant rocks, like a giant python lying across the mountain waist, headless and tailless.

  South of the ceasefire line, Major Anthony was hiding behind a rock and observing the surroundings with binoculars.

  Behind him, twenty-one special troops from the "Red Devils", namely the Army Paratrooper Assault Team, dispersed into skirmish lines and cautiously lay in ambush among the stone forests on both sides of the road.

  The valley was very quiet, except for the "whooshing" sound of the wind, and only occasionally the sound of rocks rolling down from the mountain slope.

  Lowering his binoculars, Anthony drew back and leaned against the rock.

  Last year, he came here on a special mission and was very familiar with the terrain. However, the massive earthquake at the beginning of the year changed the landscape, making him feel very strange.

  After some thought, Anthony beckoned to the nearest signalman.

  "The GPS shows we're about five kilometers south of the ceasefire line." The special forces operative turned the screen of the GPS device towards the major, which marked the location of the ceasefire line and their current position.

  "When will the unmanned reconnaissance aircraft arrive?"

  "Half an hour later."

  Anthony nodded. "We'll keep moving forward."

  Twenty-two special troops formed two combat teams, advancing northward in a pincer movement.

  "The Red Devils" is the most elite special forces unit of the Indian Army, which has been performing special tasks in border areas for a long time and has also participated in anti-terrorism operations in recent years. The special soldiers of "The Red Devils" are the best, strongest and rarest warriors in the Indian Army. Before becoming a formal member of "The Red Devils", they all served in the army for three years and then received two years of rigorous training, and finally less than 10% of people can stay and wear the shoulder badge of "The Red Devils" unit. In terms of equipment, "The Red Devils" is far superior to other units of the Indian Army, not only are all light weapons imported from Western countries, but also equipped with very advanced individual electronic devices.

  Eleven years ago, Anthony wore the "Red Devils" combat uniform.

  After taking command of the special warfare detachment, Anthony led his troops to accomplish more than 20 missions, all with great success. In "Red Devils", he was the most outstanding tactical commander.

  The troops advanced stealthily, and Antony's mood also became increasingly tense.

  In the Kashmir region, not only Indian and Pakistani special forces are active, but also Chinese special forces. Three years ago, he encountered Chinese special forces in a skirmish and left with a lifelong souvenir - a scar from his left temple to his chin. Since then, Anthony has regarded Chinese special forces as the most formidable opponent that should not be offended.

  Thinking of this task, Anthony couldn't be happier.

  Bring the ceasefire line, lead the Pakistani border patrol to the south of the ceasefire line and annihilate it. Take a "live video" shot by an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, and make evidence that Pakistan has breached the ceasefire agreement and invaded the actual control area of India.

  Why should he? It was a matter for the Prime Minister and the generals.

  Anthony had to consider whether he and his twenty-one men could get out alive.

  After the Indo-Pakistani crisis broke out, the scale of Pakistan's border patrol was expanded three times, from platoon to company, and a large number of Pakistani troops were stationed near the ceasefire line. As soon as the battle started, the Pakistani army would pour in, while Anthony had only 22 people on his side. If Pakistan mobilized artillery or even air force, they would all become a fuse for the Indo-Pakistani war, igniting the war with their own burning method.

  What worried Antony even more were those elusive Chinese special forces.

  Anthony suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked towards the western slope of the mountain.

  The ten special soldiers following him and the eleven special soldiers farther away immediately stopped, quickly dispersed and hid, and entered a state of alert.

  The wind is still so strong, and a tense atmosphere lingers in the air.

  The special forces' intuition told Anthony that there was danger nearby, and it was lethal.

  Slowly crouching down, Anthony habitually patted the solid earth. Just like Hektor in Greek mythology, only when standing on solid ground did Anthony feel a sense of security.

  Where is the danger?

  On the western slope there were only strange and rugged rocks, without a single movement.

  The silence made Anthony even more uneasy; if there was some noise, he could at least tell which direction the danger would come from.

  "Major..." The communications officer quietly approached him.

  Anthony pressed his hand down and looked at the western slope again before turning back to the signalman.

  "Twenty minutes later, an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft arrived; we were still four kilometers from the ceasefire line."

  After a slight hesitation, Anthony stood up and made a gesture of continuing forward.

  Maybe this task is too big, maybe I'm just too tense, or maybe there's no danger around here at all.

  After quickening his pace, Anthony tried to calm himself down. Time was running out and if they missed the Pakistan border patrol's arrival time, they would have to stay near the ceasefire line for two to three days waiting for the next opportunity, during which anything could happen. They had to reach the ceasefire line on time, lay an ambush, complete their mission and leave this godforsaken place where not even birds flew.

  That strong sense of danger did not dissipate, but instead grew stronger.

  About five hundred meters away, Anthony stopped again. A gust of wind like a knife swept in front of him, and the danger of death had just emerged from his mind when a second gust "blew" on his neck. In terror, Anthony found that the mountain range in front of him slowly fell to the left. As the azure sky poured into his eyes, he thought he was finally back in the arms of Mother Earth as Hector's special forces major.

  Gunfire, sudden and intense.

  Su Mingjin pulled the trigger for the second time, hitting the communicator's head. When looking for the third target, Su Mingjin revealed a hint of a triumphant smile.

  "Don't be too happy yet." Kang Xiao said somewhat gloomily, "If the target hadn't suddenly stopped, I wouldn't have missed it."

  "Two to zero." Su Ming said with a smile, "I've already thought of what we're having for dinner tonight, you can't get out of it."

  Kang Xiaoting rolled his eyes, pulled the trigger, and hit the head that had just emerged from behind the rocks 800 meters away.

  Before the battle began, the two made a bet with war results, and the loser would treat the team members who participated in the action to dinner. Although it wouldn't cost much to treat fourteen special soldiers to dinner, Kang Xiaoting didn't want to lose to his partner he had personally trained.

  Caught off guard by the sudden attack from the western slope, the Indian commandos on the right side of the road quickly shifted eastward. Within a span of over 10 seconds, five commandos including Major Anthony fell to the sniper's bullets. If they continued to be exposed in the sniper's line of fire, they would all be done for. Instinctively seeking survival, their rich combat experience told them that they must quickly take cover in a safe location.

  Is there safety on the battlefield?

  As two light machine guns on the eastern slope of the mountain spat out tongues of flame, the hopes of the Indian commandos were shattered.

  Suddenly attack, left and right pincer movement, can make any troops fall into a desperate situation.

  On the commanding heights of the eastern slope, Lieutenant Colonel Lu Cheng turned off the GPS jammer and picked up his binoculars.

  Before joining the trial troops, Lu Chengwen and his team had been carrying out special operations on the Pamir Plateau, mainly targeting separatist and terrorist elements. They occasionally encountered Indian special forces and had several skirmishes in the past. However, they rarely engaged in intense firefights, usually retreating after an unexpected encounter. This time was different; Lu Chengwen's team had been lying in ambush for three days and nights, waiting for this small Indian special operations unit.

  The last Indian commando attempting to shift positions fell under a hail of bullets when Lu Cheng looked at his watch.

  Less than two and a half minutes later, eight Indian commandos were shot down, and the remaining fourteen Indian commandos were all suppressed at their hiding points.

  It's almost done, the two snipers have already decided the outcome of the battle.

  Lu Chengwen turned his head and looked at the communicator, then nodded slightly.

  "Strike of the viper, strike of the viper!"

  As the order was given, two three-man assault teams that had been lying in wait at the front and rear of the path shot out, rapidly assaulting under the cover of sniper rifles and machine guns, eliminating the scattered Indian special forces one by one.

  Lu Chengwen left the observation position and walked towards where Anthony fell.

  He saw clearly that the bullet had hit the Indian major in the neck and probably broken his spine, but hadn't severed a major artery. In this case, it was quite possible that the Indian major was still alive.

  The sound of gunfire gradually subsided, and the battle was about to end.

  Lu Chengwen arrived on the small road, the last gunshot was still echoing in the valley. The special forces soldier who took the assault mission used a cheap bullet to send an Indian special forces soldier who had been hit but not immediately killed to the west, ending his suffering.

  "Major, he's still alive."

  Lu Chengwen nodded at the teammate squatting beside the Indian colonel and bowed his head to look at his opponent.

  Anthony did not die but instead opened his eyes wide.

  Chinese people, Chinese special forces!

  Anthony wanted to cry out, but except for his lips moving a few times, no sound came out.

  "The bullet went through the main artery and cervical vertebra. This shooting is too damn godly, more accurate than surgery." The special forces soldier who arrived first checked Anthony's injury. "The trachea was severed, a tracheotomy must be performed immediately, otherwise he will suffocate to death."

  "Let's move, we'll evacuate in three minutes, can't let him die."

  After finishing speaking, Lu Cheng looked towards the mountain slope in the west and then pressed down on the comms device embedded in his left ear. "Rattlesnake, you can come out now, head to the extraction point and wait for us."

  Kang Xiaoting and Su Mingjian immediately packed up their equipment and crawled out from under the rock they had been hiding behind.

  Three minutes later, the fourteen commandos participating in the operation withdrew from the battlefield with Major Anthony.

  About eleven minutes later, an Indian unmanned reconnaissance aircraft arrived over the battlefield.

  Through the tactical data link, the battlefield images were transmitted back to the Indian Army Command. When they saw the bodies of the special forces scattered all over the place, General Shimbale, commander of the "Red Devils" unit, and General Alede, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, widened their eyes and opened their mouths, thinking it was an illusion.

  Behind them, Santos stared expressionlessly at the latitude and longitude numbers in the upper right corner of the screen.

  The battlefield is north of the ceasefire line, not south of it!

  ****

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