Volume 1: Fierce Tiger Leaves Its Leash Chapter 9: Bomb Trap (Part 2)

  The incredibly powerful C4 explosive blast sent hundreds of rocks flying like shrapnel, instantly pulverizing the villager who triggered the trap, scattering body parts over an area of hundreds of meters. Several nearby US soldiers were unable to take cover and were injured by flying rocks, but the effective killing radius of the explosion was quite limited; a lieutenant standing more than 20 meters away, as well as two officials next to him, were only startled and disoriented, without suffering any injuries.

  What a pity! Ling Tianxiang sighed, this was the last bomb he had forgotten to install when he broke out of the US military camp. He had hoped that it would kill or injure several American soldiers, so that they would have to rush to rescue the wounded and be unable to fully deploy their search efforts, allowing him to take advantage of the opportunity to escape with Wei Daming at night. But now, not a single American soldier needed immediate treatment, and at most, only suffered minor injuries.

  The chaos ended quickly, and the US military, which had gathered together before, dispersed in all directions, vigilantly paying attention to the surrounding situation. The few helicopters that had fled to avoid the explosion also flew back. Ling Tianxiang's last hope was almost shattered, when the lieutenant colonel suddenly shouted loudly, and Ling Tianxiang immediately looked over at him, with his hopes rekindled once again.

  "Sir, there's someone's trail here!"

  The senior military officer walked quickly past with the intelligence officer, while several other US troops and some mercenaries who had come up with them fanned out to cover the surrounding area.

  "This is clearly where someone was hurt and left behind." The captain pointed to a rock with scuff marks from a leather shoe, "One person supported another, one of whom was seriously injured, which fits the situation perfectly."

  "Which way did they go?" The colonel officer just took a glance.

  The captain looked around and then gazed south towards Mount Noshak. "Must be headed south."

  "What are they doing heading south? Shouldn't they be retreating east?" The colonel also looked towards the cloud-shrouded Mount Noshaq.

  At this time, the intelligence officer walked up and whispered a few words in the colonel's ear. The colonel listened while nodding his head, and at the same time beckoned to the captain on the side, indicating that the captain should also listen carefully. After finishing speaking, the intelligence officer retreated to one side, waiting for the colonel to make a decision.

  The senior military officer thought for a moment, then turned to the subordinate beside him and said: "Take your men south to search, but do not enter Pakistan's territory. I will keep in touch with you at all times. If anything is found, report immediately, understood?"

  "Yes, sir!"

  The senior military officer nodded slightly and called the intelligence officer and several mercenaries to head down the mountain.

  Ling Tianxiang's attention had always been focused on these two people, although they were nearly 200 meters away. However, Ling Tianxiang's ears were extremely sharp and he could faintly hear the conversation between them. As the two "key figures" walked down the mountain, Ling Tianxiang also heard their last few sentences of conversation. "John, we should wait here." "Swelly, let's go back to camp and wait. The search party still has two days left, there's no need for us to drink in the mountain wind. If there's any news, we'll come over again." "But..."

  Upon hearing this, Ling Tianxiang slightly furrowed his brow. He really wanted to know which camp the two were stationed at, but that was impossible. On the flat ground below the mountain, a "Black Eagle" helicopter was waiting for the two of them. Even if Ling Tianxiang could run faster than a rock goat in the mountains, he still couldn't compare to the speed of a helicopter flying through the sky.

  On the hillside, the lieutenant quickly gathered his men and gave search orders to several non-commissioned officers, occasionally pointing towards Mount Noshaq in the south. Except for two soldiers who were slightly injured and needed to return for treatment, the reinforced platoon of US troops was divided into three search teams, with the lieutenant leading one team and assigning search tasks to two sergeants.

  "Commander, what about her?" A superior officer looked over at the girl.

  The senior lieutenant hesitated for a moment and said, "Send someone to escort him back to base. We'll complete the search mission first."

  The two soldiers who were escorting the young girl whistled and made a gesture of sending her back to the base.

  Ling Tianxiang glanced over at the innocent and helpless girl. At this time, the American soldiers on the mountain had dispersed into three teams to search southward. In this moment, Ling Tianxiang thought of going to rescue that girl, but he quickly dispelled this extremely impractical idea - he still had to take Wei Dongbei and escape, with one more person, he basically couldn't escape!

  The US military slowly moved away, and Ling Tianxiang did not leave immediately. No one could confirm whether there were still US drones above their heads. Although the camouflage uniform on his body could cope with the infrared imaging equipment and millimeter wave synthetic aperture radar on the drone, it was unable to cope with ordinary cameras, that is, it could not provide stealth protection in the visible light band. Night was his natural protector, and he had to wait until nightfall before taking action.

  Before nightfall, the helicopters that had been circling nearby all flew away, and the plateau was quiet once again. Ling Tianxiang gnawed on a piece of dried meat while patiently waiting. At 7 o'clock, he took one last look at his watch, then carefully listened to the surroundings for any signs of danger. Only after confirming that it was safe did he slowly get up.

  He remained motionless and hidden for several hours, still perched on the pile of rocks. Ling Tianxiang's hands and feet were numb, his whole body aching. He sat there for a while until his limbs recovered normally, then he stood up. The big fire in the village below had been extinguished, restored to calmness, as if nothing had happened. But Ling Tianxiang was very clear that the village, a family in the village, paid a painful price for a stranger.

  The cool mountain wind blew, and Ling Tianxiang shivered, but also regained his composure. This was not the time to lament or sympathize with others. The large-scale search by the US military would last for at least two more days, and by tomorrow morning, the US military searching southward would discover they had been deceived, perhaps tonight, those US soldiers would turn to search eastward. They must quickly take Wei Daming and escape, as for what would happen in the future, it was not yet time to consider that.

  While thinking of the retreat route, Ling Tianxiang accelerated his pace. The dark night and rugged mountain roads had no impact on him, the mountains were his friends, his companions, as if the gods of the mountains were protecting him! Chapter 9: Bomb Trap (Part 2)