Volume 1: The Fierce Tiger Leaves Its Leash Chapter 28: Luring the Snake Out of the Cave (Part 1)

  Ling Tianxiang didn't go to the airport to see his father off, he couldn't bear the scene of parting. In the first place, he had gone alone to report for military school, then alone into the army, and later alone to the "Snow Leopard" detachment, no one had ever sent him off before. He also didn't like sending others off, especially when it came to family members leaving, he always felt that wasn't a lucky thing to do.

  To root out the internal enemy, all aspects of work were quickly deployed. The "Snow Leopard" detachment still undertook the main combat mission, and two other special forces detachments secretly cooperated. The intelligence department also made relevant arrangements, and the American spy had been closely monitored. On the third day after Huang Longfei left Wucheng, the operation officially began, and Luo Director told three different action plans to the three most suspicious personnel in different ways. On this day, the "Snow Leopard" detachment, as well as the "Mountain Eagle" and "Fierce Tiger" detachments, had all been deployed.

  The plan was simple: once the message got out, whichever day the US military took action would reveal who had leaked the information. If there were no developments in the first three days, it would prove that all three intelligence officers were clean, and the "Snow Leopard" unit would launch a formal manhunt to capture members of the Afghan resistance organization in contact with Blackwater, then extract the needed intelligence from them. However, this also revealed another problem: the mole buried within the Military Intelligence Bureau was extremely well-hidden and wouldn't easily make a move.

  As time went by day after day, Ling Tianxiang's nerves also became tense. On the night before the formal capture action, Ling Tianxiang began to feel a little uneasy.

  "There must be a problem here." Ling Tianxiang has been following Zhou Guohui closely, not leaving his side for an inch. "Until now, the US military has not taken action, which either proves that the three intelligence officers are fine or proves that they have realized the danger and have not passed on the intelligence yet. But at the same time, this also explains a problem."

  Zhou Guohui nodded slightly, understanding what Ling Tianxiang meant.

  "Great uncle, we can't keep waiting!" Ling Tianxiang put his hands on the edge of the table. "It's definitely someone else who leaked the information, tomorrow's action must be cancelled immediately, or it will be too late."

  "Do you think it's Old Luo who has a problem?" Zhou Guohui raised his head.

  "There are only a few people who know the exact time of action, and the US military has not made any moves so far. It is very likely that they already know our exact time of action. If we let the 'Snow Leopard' unit move out tomorrow, it is very likely to be ambushed."

  "But how can we prove it?" Zhou Guohui leaned back in his chair, "And also, the US military didn't take any action, so how could they ambush the 'Snow Leopard' Brigade?"

  "We only monitored the US military base in northeastern Afghanistan, and the US can definitely mobilize troops from other regions, and it must be special forces. In these few days, it's enough for the US to deploy its troops." Ling Tianxiang looked very excited, "Moreover, the US has always wanted to catch us off guard in Afghanistan, if the operation fails, even if our team members fall into the hands of the US military, the consequences would be unthinkable."

  Zhou Guohui touched his forehead, what Ling Tianxiang said might not be impossible, but it's very likely to happen, and the consequences will definitely be very serious. But now the problem is that it's impossible to determine whether the US military has taken action or not, and it's also impossible to prove who the traitor is through these inferences.

  "Great uncle, we can't hesitate anymore!"

  "I know, but we need to find the traitor." Zhou Guohui gritted his teeth, "No matter who it is, we must investigate and we must have evidence."

  "What evidence? Dog farting evidence, is it worth sacrificing our best warriors for this?!" Ling Tianxiang slammed his fist on the table. "Absolutely cannot let such a thing happen, our warriors are not going to be sent to their deaths, if they find out they've fallen into the enemy's trap again, how can we explain to them? And how can we explain to the families of those comrades who have sacrificed?"

  "Sky soaring!" Zhou Guohui also slapped a palm on the table. "When you put on your military uniform, your mission is to defend your own country, protect your own country, and sacrifice is the duty of a soldier. There is no question of whether or not to hand over."

  "But they didn't die under the enemy's guns, they were killed by their own people!" Ling Tianxiang showed no weakness.

  "No matter where they sacrificed, why they sacrificed, they are all making contributions to the country. If I were in front, I would also make the choice without hesitation!"

  "But did you give them a choice?"

  Zhou Guohui suddenly stood up, his teeth chattering "ge ge" sound, in over ten years, Ling Tianxiang still for the first time so defiant to him.

  "Great Uncle, do you really want to see the best warrior in our clan go to his death like this?"

  "It's still uncertain now, I won't cancel the action." Zhou Guohui controlled his emotions, "Tianxiang, if you want to do something, it's best to go back to your own post."

  "Great Uncle——" Ling Tianxiang almost knelt down and begged.

  "Go away, don't bother me anymore." Zhou Guohui sat down, "The operation will start in four hours, you still have a lot to do. If you think staying here can make any difference, then stay."

  Ling Tianxiang's gaze lingered on Zhou Guohui for several seconds before he said, "Uncle, if anything happens to the 'Snow Leopard' squad, I won't forgive you."

  Zhou Guohui ignored Ling Tianxiang's words, which had a childish and petulant tone. In fact, he didn't feel good about it either. The "Snow Leopard" unit was the best special forces unit in the entire army, nurtured by him over several years with great care. Every officer and soldier in the unit was his most precious subordinate, and if he had a choice, he wouldn't let them take risks.

  Ling Tianxiang, who had returned to the command center, was still unable to calm down for a long time. He thought many times about contacting his comrades-in-arms who were lurking in the front, and even wanted to exceed his authority and cancel the operation. However, the code to cancel the operation was in Zhou Guohui's hands, and he had no way of cancelling it. Moreover, the communication officer at the command center would not listen to his orders.

  In Ling Tianxiang's view, this was a completely futile and meaningless action, and he couldn't understand why so many people had to take risks. There were other ways, but why did it have to be done this way? The more he thought about it, the more anxious and agitated Ling Tianxiang became.