Chapter 9: Ambush (Part 1)

  The topographic map has arrived, and Jin Huan holds the one that only marks the coordinates and contour lines, speechless for a long time. The markings on the map are not comprehensive, nor is there any indication of troop deployment or firepower configuration, presumably because the person who drew it couldn't fully understand either. His long fingers lightly tap the desktop, his brow furrowed in concentration.

  Long Fei looked at the map in his hand and said, "This won't work. We're completely blind and deaf. We need to send someone to check it out on site."

  "It's too late, with the round trip and the time it takes to formulate a plan of action, I'm afraid the goods have already been shipped." Chen Jianfeng's cold face was tense, his eyes gleaming with a fierce killing intent: "Jin Huang, we'll split into two teams. I'll take two team members to set up a sniper position on the front line, drawing the enemy's attention and clearing any living obstacles in the assault direction. Once we're pinned down, you can lead the other team members to launch a surprise attack. As soon as you succeed, immediately withdraw from combat. As long as I receive your retreat signal, I will..."

  Long Fei suddenly interrupted Chen Jianfeng's words: "You stay behind as a reserve, I'll go set up the sniper position."

  "What nonsense! This plan won't work!" With a loud shout, Jin Huan slammed the map onto the table. "Drawing up a battle plan requires caution. If we fail, it's not just about the success or failure of the entire mission, but also means that our comrades' lives will be left forever in a foreign land. We can't afford to be even slightly careless or casual."

  Chen Jianfeng took a step forward and grabbed Jin Huang's arm: "I insist on my opinion, let me lure the enemy away!"

  "I disagree!" Jin Hao glared at Chen Jianfeng with a fierce gaze.

  Two people glared at each other like fighting cocks, neither willing to give in. Long Fei was stuck in the middle, looking at them with difficulty, and after a while, he cleared his throat and said: "Jin Huan, I think Jian Feng's plan has some feasibility, the key is who will complete the frontal sniper attack, as long as every step is carefully considered, the team member responsible for the frontal task has a chance to withdraw."

  "How to withdraw?" Jin Hao turned his head and roared at Long Fei: "This plan clearly shows who is in the vanguard and who will be sent to their deaths! Once there is a firefight, all the enemies will be attracted over, let alone three people, even thirty people will be suffocated inside! Not to mention that we don't even have a grasp on the enemy's troop deployment, how can we talk about frontal sniping or flanking maneuvers?"

  "Don't forget our oath, even if it's just one person left, we must complete the mission!"

  "I must not only ensure the completion of the task but also ensure that all team members return safely!"

  "Jin Huang!"

  "Chen Jianfeng!"

  Shen Xianghui pushed open the door under the leadership of the sentinel and saw two people confronting each other, and was stunned: "What's going on with you?"

  Long Fei smiled indifferently and said, "Don't mind them, it's always like this. I'm used to it, as we often argue over a battle plan until our faces turn red, refusing to give in to each other."

  Shen Xianghui smiled and said, "Don't argue for now, let's take a look at the weapons I've obtained." He instructed Cheng Xiaopeng and Ma Ping to bring in a heavy large wooden box.

  Jin Hao opened the box, all the weapons he had ordered yesterday were neatly arranged inside. He picked up a G3SG sniper rifle and examined it carefully. The gun had been modified, the original 20-round magazine replaced with a 100-round drum. This G3SG should be called a sniper machine gun. He handed the gun to Chen Jianfeng.

  "Good shot!" Chen Jianfeng praised.

  "Report! Comrade Captain, First Squad Leader Lei Meng has recovered from his injuries and requests to return to the squad!" Lei Meng stood straight at attention by the door.

  "You're not in the hospital taking care of your injuries, what are you doing back here? How's Geng Guohui?" Jin Huan gave him a slanted glance, his face as flat as if it had been ironed.

  Lei Meng chuckled and picked up a small disassembled AUG assault rifle from the box, quickly assembling it with ease. He swung his right shoulder, pulling out the gun that was tucked under his right armpit, and with both hands on the gun, he used inertia to load the bullet into the chamber, aiming out the window with a "click".

  "What a beautiful shot!" Shen Xianghui applauded and praised highly.

  "Captain, look, my wound has healed long ago. Geng Guohui is almost recovered too, he's so bored that he's about to dismantle the hospital." Lei Ming replied with a smile.

  "I'm warning you, if you drag the whole squad down with your injury, I'll deal with you! Get back to the team." Chen Jianfeng said to Cheng Xiaopeng who was guarding the door: "Take the box to your room." There was still a wooden box full of ammunition outside the door, and Cheng Xiaopeng and Ma Ping lifted it away without hesitation.

  Shen Xianghui closed the door and asked seriously: "The weapons and maps are all here, what do you plan to do?"

  Jin Huang handed the topographic map to Shen Xianghui, "The topographic map does not have troop deployments and firepower configurations, we can only formulate a battle plan based on the specific situation on site. We must keep our guests at the embassy and cannot let them take risks."

  "Alright." Shen Xianghui thought for a moment and said: "As long as we are within the embassy, I can guarantee the safety of our guests with all my might."

  "Please rest assured, I don't plan to keep our guests here for too long, lest the night wears on and dreams multiply. When we leave, we'll create a fake scene to confuse the mercenaries watching from outside, making them think that Mark and his wife are with us, and they'll follow us out."

  Shen Xianghui smiled slightly and let out a gentle sigh. "Once they follow you guys and leave, I'll be responsible for safely sending the guests back to their home country?"

  "Yes. The sooner the better!"

  "Tomorrow afternoon, I will send them on a military transport plane to return home. I will do my best to ensure this goes smoothly, don't worry!" Shen Xianghui looked at Jin Hua with a serious expression, "You must come back! I know you will complete the mission safely and successfully! I have prepared a celebratory feast at my home, waiting for the good news of your triumphant return!"

  "Thank you!" Jin Huan grasped Shen Xianghui's hand, "I've calculated the route, tomorrow morning we'll set off and arrive at our destination before nightfall."

  After Shen Xianghui left, Jin Huan began to consider how to persuade the Mark couple to stay at the embassy. It was a very difficult thing to persuade the stubborn Mr. Mark, no matter how Jin Huan and Chen Jianfeng persuaded him, he insisted on going to see the engine wreckage in person.

  "My children, I appreciate your kindness, but this is my job, my duty. I can promise to leave my wife at the embassy, but I must go with you myself. Don't worry, I used to be a soldier, I won't hold you back." Lin Ruo-lan translated this sentence over and over again, more than ten times, really feeling exhausted.

  "If... if you must go, because of the language barrier, we can only bring your translation with us." Chen Jianfeng tried to appeal to his sympathy: "Do you think it's suitable for a girl to take risks with us?"

  Mr. Ma hesitated, looking at Lin Ruolan with a guilty gaze, knowing that Chen Jianfeng was right, because of their own reasons, they had already put Lin Ruolan in danger many times, and he really shouldn't add more trouble for others anymore.

  Seeing his attitude relaxed, Jin Huan immediately took advantage of the situation: "Mr. Mark, I assure you that you will see what you want to see, I guarantee it with my personal integrity!"

  Mr. Ma looked at Jin Huang's sincere eyes and reluctantly nodded in acceptance.

  Jin Hao let out a sigh of relief. He and Chen Jianfeng bumped heads, deciding to take the team members to a secluded mountain forest on the outskirts to try out their new guns. Special forces soldiers were not willing to switch guns easily, as each gun had its own unique "temperament". If they couldn't grasp this temperament, problems would arise when encountering enemies suddenly, and sometimes it could be fatal. Especially for snipers like Chen Jianfeng and Lin Jie, they wouldn't have confidence in their sniper rifles without firing hundreds of rounds to test them. Because if they didn't fully understand the accuracy of the rifle's barrel, snipers would easily make mistakes when calculating shooting parameters, and this mistake might lead the entire team into an unimaginable predicament!

  The whole day, Lin Ruolan's mood was in a slump. Jin Huan had been busy all along. She wasn't the kind of woman who didn't understand things and needed her loved one by her side every minute. But knowing he was about to go into a big battle, clearly very dangerous, and she couldn't face it with him, her emotions hit rock bottom. Since she couldn't help, then don't get in the way, so at just past 9 PM, she went to bed early.

  When Jin Huan opened the door to Lin Ruolan's room, he saw her curled up alone on the bed, her arms tightly wrapped around her body, motionless with her back to the door. Her appearance was heart-wrenching and made one's heart ache. Jin Huan couldn't imagine how this frail woman, who seemed like she could be blown away by the wind, had such great strength to hold herself together. Without a word, he lay down beside her and pulled her into his arms, wrapping both her and the quilt around him.

  A strong palm wrapped around her waist, embracing her from behind, warm breath approached from the back, closely attached to her back, that scorching body temperature, through the thin quilt, simmered her, and the icy mood was slowly melted by his body temperature. Sometimes, a thousand words are not as touching as a gentle action.

  His breath brushed against her hair ends, bringing a tingling sensation.

  Lin Ruo Lan turned over and buried her face in that broad chest, "Jin Huang..."

  "Shh, sleep, I'm with you." Jin Hwang stopped her questioning, his low and mellow voice filled with infinite pampering.

  Lin Ruo Lan was reluctant to sleep, hoping that this night could be a little longer. However, in his warm embrace and under the lullaby of his steady heartbeat, she still fell asleep unknowingly.

  When she woke up, the morning light had driven away the darkness, and the birds were chirping outside the window. Lin Ruo Lan suddenly woke up, immediately, she felt something was off, beside her was empty, not even a hint of his warmth remained, her heart seemed to be emptied in an instant.

  On the table was a small backpack and a note.

  The calligraphy is Jin Hao's own handwriting, with powerful and vigorous strokes, majestic and heroic, like a strong and brave warrior.

  Lan Er: I don't want to wake you up, and even more so, I don't want to see the scene of you sending me off with tears in your eyes. After we leave, someone will arrange for you and the guests to return home, be good and wait for me at the big team until I come back. The backpack is left for you to use in case of emergency, remember to always carry it with you until you return to the special forces team. Jin Huang.

  Lin Ruo Lan opened her backpack, inside which were stacked topographic maps, a compass, GPS device, first-aid kit, several compressed biscuits and a small bottle of water purification tablets. She hugged the backpack into her arms, tears pouring down uncontrollably.

  16:45 The assault team arrived at a jungle 100 kilometers away from the destination, and from here to the destination, it was all primitive forest, and they had to proceed on foot. Long Fei Ping, who served as the vanguard, held an AUG assault rifle and walked cautiously in front of the team. After two hours of continuous marching, the dense tropical rainforest trees layered on top of each other, blocking out the air, making it exceptionally humid and hot. Long Fei glanced at the pedometer on his gun, silently calculating that they had already walked about 23 kilometers.

  Suddenly, Long Fei Yun noticed that the grass about 7 meters away in the one o'clock direction seemed to have been trampled! Jin Huan signaled with hand gestures for Long Fei Yun to cover him and slowly approached while searching with his gun. He pulled out the assault rifle's barrel and lightly swept it along the ground from bottom to top, advancing less than a meter before the barrel hit a fishing line about 5 centimeters off the ground. He put down the barrel and used his fingers to gently pinch the fishing line, following it to find an anti-tank mine. He didn't rush to remove the mine but instead used his bayonet to slowly insert it into the mud beside the mine, and indeed hit another hard object - a double-firing mine. If he had simply cut off the fuse of the buried mine above, the one below would have exploded. He cut off the fuses connecting the two mines, removed the detonator and put it aside, then used a plastic probe to poke at the soil in front of him to confirm safety. He bent his elbow, pointing his forearm downwards with his fingers closed, and signaled for the team members to form a V-shape search formation to advance forward. More and more hidden dangers - tripwires, traps, swinging logs - were discovered as they got closer and closer to the enemy.

  The trees in the forest were tall and dense, with extremely poor visibility, making it impossible to open up a scattered line. Jin Huan's eyebrows furrowed, and advancing like this would make them easily suppressed by enemy fire once they encountered the enemy. Clusters of milky white fog emerged from the gaps between the trees like ghosts, and soon the entire assault team was shrouded in thick fog. Jin Huan looked forward, and Long Fei's figure, less than 10 meters away, had become blurry and unclear.

  "Halt! Hawks and jackals are closing in on me, others stand by!" Jin Huan decided to redeploy.

  The fog was getting thicker, and visibility was even more blurred. The team members crouched down with their guns, using their ears instead of their eyes to search for suspicious movements around them. The forest was eerily quiet, so quiet that you could almost hear the sound of dew dripping from the leaves.

  Chen Jianfeng carried the captured M82A1 sniper rifle on his back, holding a G3SG in his hand, and quickly ran to Jin Huan's side with Ma Ping.

  "What to do with poor visibility?" Chen Jianfeng's voice was laced with undisguised anxiety. As the team's strategic sniper, his role was extremely important, equivalent to a long-range firepower support unit. In jungle warfare, the dense foliage would often result in low visibility and narrow fields of view, making it difficult to accurately shoot at enemies during sudden encounters, and only allowing for suppressive fire. At this time, Chen Jianfeng had to rely on precise sniping based on the bullet's impact point to eliminate the enemy's living targets. But in such thick fog, a sniper was equivalent to a blind man.

  Jin Hao recalibrated their direction using GPS, "We're now about 75 kilometers away from our destination. Jackal, use the thermal imager to scout ahead. Falcon, come with me to recon the situation. Hawk, stay alert and Arctic Fox, be ready to provide backup at any moment. Everyone else, take a 30-minute break."

  "Understood!" came Long Fei's calm and collected voice from the receiver.

  Three people took off their large equipment, screwed silencers onto the G3SG and AUG, put on camouflage suits, and crept quietly into the dense fog. They searched forward silently and slowly for over 600 meters, with Jin Huan and Chen Jianfeng taking turns covering Ma Ping, who was holding a thermal imager. The trees in front of them became sparse. After searching another 50 meters, an open area appeared before their eyes. This open area had signs of artificial excavation, and if they passed through it rashly, they might become targets for snipers lying in ambush. Jin Huan immediately raised his hand to signal a halt, pointing to his own eyes. Ma Ping used the thermal imager to scan around the woods surrounding the open area, shaking his head at Jin Huan to indicate no signs of life.

  Jin Huang's mind suddenly had a bad feeling, he turned his head to see Chen Jianfeng's expression also becoming serious, the sniper rifle was already resting on his shoulder. The two of them silently crawled into the half-person-high weeds and remained motionless. Ten minutes passed, the forest was silent, another ten minutes passed, still no sound. But Jin Huang's doubts in his heart could not be dispelled, he used hand gestures to "talk" with Chen Jianfeng for a few sentences, deciding to use the thick fog as cover to probe cautiously.

  He then observed the dense forest in front of him for a while, and Jin Hua suddenly stood up and rushed forward more than ten meters, fell into the bushes and immediately rolled over to the hiding point he had previously observed. There was no expected gunshot, and the forest was as silent as death. The third ten minutes passed, Ma Ping adjusted the thermal imager to its maximum power, scanned the forest again, and shook his head indicating that nothing was found.

  Chen Jianfeng slowly stood up, bowing his waist, and suddenly a faint sound of "crack" came from the thicket in the direction of ten o'clock, followed by complete silence. Chen Jianfeng immediately fell to the ground, with the gun butt on his shoulder, searching for the source of the sound bit by bit.

  A sudden gust of wind blew strongly from the valley, and when I listened carefully, apart from the "rustling" sound of the wind passing through the treetops, I couldn't hear any other sounds. The other party was very calm and still, ten minutes passed, and they didn't move at all.

  Waiting is the first element of victory in jungle warfare! The opponent who waits loses patience, and one move will completely expose his tracks. The strong wind came fiercely and went suddenly, and the jungle returned to its dead silence in less than a minute! The target was obviously an old hand at jungle warfare, but surprisingly did not take advantage of the strong wind to change positions.

  The wind gradually grew stronger, and the dense fog showed a slight relaxation, lighter than before, with visibility starting to improve. The wild grass and shrubs in the forest began to sway in the wind.

  Jin Huang slowly raised the night vision telescope, scanning past meter by meter, and finally found that at the root of a tree about 100 meters away from him, there was a cluster of withered grass that was exceptionally lush. This was obviously a sniper wearing a camouflage net, his position was extremely clever, and his body was completely invisible.

  Jin Hao lightly scratched the intercom with his fingernail and used hand gestures to inform Chen Jianfeng that he was preparing to make a detour on the left flank, attracting the sniper's attention and creating an opportunity for Chen Jianfeng to fire.

  Chen Jianfeng nodded, and Jin Huan immediately moved forward quickly and silently like a agile leopard among the dense trees on the left wing. When he was about 50 meters away from the sniper, the sniper's muzzle moved, rapidly shifting to the left. Almost at the same time as his movement, Chen Jianfeng's G3SG made a faint sound, "Pfft", hitting the target.

  "Clear!" came Jin Hwan's low voice through the earpiece.

  A figure flashed through the trees, quickly pouncing into a thicket of bushes. The figure's movements were extremely agile, clearing waist-high obstacles with a single bound. Jin Huan's eyes caught a glimpse out of the corner and reacted extremely quickly, rapidly dodging and rolling into a thicket of bushes. "Rat-a-tat-tat" A string of bullets hit the tree trunks beside him.