Chapter 40: The Crisis of the Wolf Pack

  I raised my head and stared at the board machine, I had seen the same tattoo on him before, it was during a game of push wood when I noticed that peculiar tattoo on his body. I didn't expect to see it again here. At first, I never thought that someone from our side would have a connection with the enemy, so I never suspected anyone from my own side. But just now, I accidentally saw a piece of wooden stake next to me and suddenly remembered this matter!

  The guy looked at me with a glare and said, "What are you staring at?"

  "You also have a similar tattoo on your body, right!" I said directly.

  "Really, what's wrong?" The plank machine still had an air of nothing's wrong, looking at me with a burning anger, I grabbed his collar and roared: "What's wrong? You have the same tattoo as the enemy, what's wrong? Are you friends or brothers? Your friend or brother chased us with cannons all day, what's wrong?"

  The plank stared at me with a hand grasping his collar and didn't say a word. It was the captain who pulled me away.

  "Xing Tian, don't get agitated, the tattoo is on Bao Ji's body, we all know that! This has nothing to do with him. Don't make wild guesses!" The captain pulled us away and slowly walked over to Kua Dao's side, patted his shoulder and said: "I'm fine!"

  The team leader listened to Kuai Dao's words and glanced at the warriors on the side, then said: "Those who know this matter should understand its severity. Everyone quickly go back and prepare, don't tell those refugees and nuns, find Mr. Li Ming, I think he should know about this matter."

  "YESSIR!" The others all responded and then left. Only I, the priest, REDBACK, and the captain were left. The captain didn't say anything, just looked at the sky and sat down to wait for the Chinese representative, Li Ming. Before long, Li Ming ran over from below, carrying an AK, wearing a black suit that was all dirty and stained with grass juice, his leather shoes and socks covered in mud, looking very disheveled.

  "Mr. Roger, what does Father want with me?" Li Ming's face was solemn, guessing he also felt something was off.

  "This is the situation, Mr. Li Ming. Our opponent this time is not an ordinary person. You are an important figure in China and a military man, so we think it's necessary to inform you first. I hope you can keep it confidential after hearing this!" The captain pointed to the two legs on the ground and said: "This corpse was killed by Xing Tian just now. The tattoo on the corpse tells me that he is a member of the US Army's elite 'Green Beret', and he has companions in the jungle, which means we will be subject to various attacks from them at any time. I hope you and your soldiers can be prepared at all times!"

  Li Ming's expression changed from being stunned, to slightly panicked, and then to one of eager anticipation. I watched him with great interest, wondering what was going on with this guy, whose face could change so many times in an instant!

  "I understand! Thanks for the message! Then I'll take my leave first, I'm going to prepare!" After finishing speaking, he went down, but before leaving, he looked at me and I knew he meant to see me in a while. So I nodded to him, and then he returned to the main force with one foot deep and one shallow. Really don't understand why he is wearing a suit in the jungle!

  "Alright, now that we're alone, let me tell you what's going on." The captain said, stirring the minced meat with his knife: "Two years ago, we took a mission in Angola to rescue an American journalist from the rebels. Of course, everyone knows it wasn't that simple. When we got there, we met our local contact, Mr. Ges, who was introduced by our employer. I knew him and trusted him, so we followed his map. But when we arrived at the location, we were ambushed - artillery, planes, and a team of 'Green Berets' were waiting for us. We suffered heavy casualties: nine new recruits killed in action, thirteen severely injured and disabled. As for the rest... well, I won't go into that. Fast Knife was the only one of those new recruits who survived.

  Later, we figured out what had really happened. After the Special Forces withdrew from Vietnam in 1971, their numbers began to dwindle. A new training program led to some changes within the Special Forces: in response to the threat of terrorists, the 1st Special Operations Wing - now known as Delta Force - was established on July 1st that year. Another temporary anti-terrorism unit, 'Blue Light', was disbanded a year later, when Delta became operational."

  Gus was the founder of Blue Ray, and he was very dissatisfied with the disbandment of Blue Ray due to the Delta Triangle. So, he retired and went home, becoming a mercenary. After more than a decade, he gathered enough funds and reorganized his Blue Ray from among the retired soldiers of the Green Berets, selecting over 100 people. He had always held an adversarial attitude towards the Delta Triangle. Before I retired from the military, I had led the Delta Triangle troops to complete several successful missions, so he wanted to defeat my Wolf Group to prove that his Blue Ray was the best. Thus, the Battle of Angler occurred, and in the end, we lost many men, but they lost even more. The over 100 Green Berets were estimated to have only 20 or so remaining combat personnel, so we became sworn enemies! This time, running into each other here won't be a good outcome. This tattoo is the insignia of the "Green Beret" special operations unit. Banji is from the Green Berets, so he has it too - don't worry about Xing Tian!

  The priest didn't react, only REDBACK excitedly rubbed his nose, with an expectant face, while the waiter and the monk's faces were filled with worry. They kept making the sign of the cross on their chest, starting to pray! I had no reaction in my heart, it was as if what the captain said was someone else's business, except that I found the answer to the question about the tattoos on the board, this story left me with the impression that a pack of fierce dogs were following me.

  The captain looked at my reaction, nodded in satisfaction, and waved his hand: "Now the situation is like this, I estimate that the blue light attack will start at night, so everyone should be careful." After finishing speaking, he walked together with the priest.

  REDBACK hummed excitedly to the tune of a little Irish song, and ran off with a hop and a skip. I watched her back view without knowing what she was so excited about. When the monk walked by, I heard him whispering: "Lord, your name, help me drive away darkness, make me no longer afraid..."

  It seems that the young man was still afraid, and the servant was even more resolute. He ran over to me, pulling me along as we walked, saying: "Brother, in this final moment, I hope you can turn back and awaken, escape from the sea of suffering, come under the radiant light of the Lord, serve my Lord, and obtain eternal life!"

  Damn it! This is even more intense, I'm completely desperate now! I shook my head and patted his shoulder, not daring to speak - afraid that he would get stuck on me, then with a regretful expression quickly ran away, even the wound on my leg was scared into numbness.

  Ran quickly to Li Ming and the others, startling Wan'er who was resting. I reckon she's puzzled - didn't I hurt my leg? How can I still be jumping around like this? Li Ming saw me coming over with a worried face and asked, "What did your captain say to you again?"

  I don't think Lang Qun's death has anything to do with Li Ming, so I didn't say anything and just repeated what the captain said.

  "You little rascal, you're not honest! You can't even tell the truth to your own people!" Li Ming hugged me tightly, which made my abdominal wound ache. Hearing his words made me feel very uncomfortable, because as a member of the wolf pack, Li Ming was just an outsider to me, and as a Chinese person, he was only a compatriot. I'm a very pragmatic person, no matter if you know my brother or are Tong Er's little brother-in-law, to me, 12 hours ago you were a stranger, and now you can only be called an acquaintance, not yet familiar enough to be considered "one of us".

  After I paid him, Wan'er walked up to me and handed me a handkerchief. I took a look and it was the one I had given her yesterday, now washed clean and returned to me. Without hesitation, I accepted it and carefully said to her: "Wan'er, we have wounded teammates now, and I don't think we'll be moving again before nightfall. You'd better rest for now, I'm afraid you won't be able to sleep tonight!" In fact, I wanted to say that there was no danger during the day, but people would die at night. But I was afraid of scaring her, so I didn't tell her directly. I believe Li Ming wouldn't be foolish enough to tell this news to a weak woman either.

  "I'm not afraid, I have a gun!" Wan'er raised her MP7 and said to me.

  I can only smile wryly at her, you have a big gun but it's useless, I can only put more energy into you. I hope your guardian angel can play a role, thinking of this, I sneaked a peek at Yang Jian, that kid is staring very tightly. Always looking here, hoping you can take good care of her tonight too.

  The wireless team leader gathered us, and I bid farewell to Wan'er. We returned to the rear of the team, where the team leaders were assigning tasks. The lightly wounded had already been bandaged, while the seriously injured were lying on stretchers with emergency transfusion bags and plasma hanging from them.

  The captain saw me coming and just gave me a sentence: "Xing Tian, you, the wolf man, and the butcher are in charge of the safety of Chinese members. After nightfall, anyone who moves must be allowed to do so, even if it's just to pee, you have to stand behind them and watch! Got it?"

  "YES SIR!" I immediately acknowledged.

  Everyone gathered together, in order not to give the sneak attacker any opportunity, everyone formed a team but not too dense, afraid of losing one person, because the seriously injured person's condition was unstable, the captain decided not to advance quickly for the time being, only went deeper into some bushes and then set up defensive lines, preparing to camp.

  The sky gradually darkened, and the long-lost darkness enveloped the earth. In the dense forest, it was soon pitch black, and a large group of people sat in a relatively open clearing, surrounding a wounded person in the center, with non-combatants forming the second layer and combat personnel forming the third layer. I sat on a rock, placing my rifle across my knees, took out sealed rations from my bag, pulled out beef and high-protein food to eat, while paying attention to the movements around me.

  "Psst!" A snapping sound came from the branches nearby, I immediately pulled out my gun and pointed it at the source of the noise. Then I took a closer look and found that it was Wan'er walking towards me with something in her hand. Seeing me pointing the gun at her, she stood still, frozen in fear, not knowing what to do. I put away the gun and said softly, "Come here!" She slowly walked over and sat down beside me. As she seemed to want to talk to me, I shifted my position back a bit, and the wolfman next to me moved over to take my place.

  "Didn't I tell you not to wander around? At night, in the dense forest, objects three meters away are invisible. If you get killed by someone, we won't even know." I reprimanded him in a hushed tone.

  Wan'er looked at me with a wronged expression, and to my surprise, tears began to well up in her eyes. I had no choice but to concede, waving my hand and saying, "Alright, what's going on?"

  She sniffled and slowly opened her mouth: "We also had a meal behind, you said you haven't been home for a long time, we'll send you some hometown food, who knows you..." Her voice was choked with sobs again. I quickly patted her back and whispered: "Really? That's great! Let me see, how do you still have hometown dishes? It's really rare! Let me see!" I quickly diverted her attention.

  "Here! Take it!" She handed me the thing in her hand, turned around and ran away. I was left standing there with the rice, not knowing what to do. This girl wasn't like this before! But never mind her for now, we'll talk about whatever happened after we get out of the woods.

  I opened the steaming hot package in front of me, and to my surprise, it was a packet of ready-to-eat cooked rice. I was delighted, wondering when the Chinese military had developed such military rations. Haha, there were even some carrots and meat shreds on top, making me dizzy with excitement. Haha, it's really complete!

  I hastily dug out a handful and put it in my mouth. "Mmm!" I hummed comfortably, the fragrance of rice bursting from my nostrils, the sweet grains melting in my mouth.

  The fragrance of teeth. Refreshing! The hometown rice is still delicious, this year has been eating bread and beef jerky, and compressed military rations, even the taste of cooked rice is almost forgotten, this mouthful makes me die beautifully.

  Chinese soldiers are really lucky, they can eat such delicious rations while fighting. I'm so jealous! With three mouths and two mouths, I quickly shoveled the rice from the bag into my mouth. Now that my appetite has increased a lot, this little food is not enough to fill me up halfway, so I had to pick up the beef and compressed rations again. However, with the rice as a base, the compressed rations also taste much better.

  I sat back on the big stone, chewing on dried beef, taking turns with Langren to keep watch. Unexpectedly, the wolf cub came over and asked, "What did you eat just now? I smelled it from so far away, it smells so good!" After speaking, he sucked his mouth water, looking very pitiful.

  "Chinese feast! No share for you!" I proudly laughed, but when I went abroad, I realized that the foreign food culture is quite poor. Except for coffee and cola, I think only red wine is not bad.

  "Impossible! I've had Chinese food many times, it doesn't taste like that, don't cheat me!" The werewolf was known for his keen sense of smell, so he was certain what I ate wasn't Chinese food.

  "In two days when we return to France, I'll take you to eat authentic Chinese food." I said with a smile. All Chinese people know that when they are abroad and want to eat Chinese food, they have to go to Chinatown and declare themselves as Chinese in order to get the real deal; otherwise, all they can get is sugar water and MSG flavoring.

  "If you can't eat it, you're done for!" The werewolf licked his lips and said with some impatience.

  "No problem at all!" I said with a smile. That little guy then retreated to the back to eat his food.

  After a brief interlude, I fell into a dull wait. The black night in the jungle was like a layer of black wet cloth covering my face. The huge humidity oppressed my chest and made me feel suffocated. I slowly unbuttoned my collar to breathe, but it was already the second half of the night, and there were no signs of anyone attacking us, not even at 3 am when people are most likely to fall asleep. I slowly unwrapped a piece of energizing candy and put it in my mouth, and the unpleasant taste immediately rushed from the root of my tongue to the top of my head, shaking me awake. Holding my gun, I crouched in the grass thicket at the base of a tree, exposing only my eyes, slowly searching the darkness for any movement, no matter how slight. As the sky gradually lightened, a faint mist began to rise from the jungle floor. Tropical jungles are more prone to morning fog in mountainous areas. If I were the one outside observing us all night, this would be my best chance to launch a sneak attack!

  "Bang! Bang!" The wireless radio made a couple of light knocking sounds, I knew someone had come to take over the shift. Before long, the werewolf sneaked into another clump of grass and winked at me, telling me to go back and rest.

  I observed for a while, made sure it was safe around me, and slowly stood up, crouching down to retreat into the circle. I stretched my arms and slowly walked towards the densely populated area. This night of fear and anxiety had been difficult enough. Just as I was thinking about this and that, I looked up and glanced at the location of REDBACK on my right side, only to find that she had already gone off duty and left. The waiter was squatting behind a rock, looking in my direction. I nodded at him, and just as I was about to withdraw my gaze and continue forward, I suddenly noticed that a branch behind a tree in the distance slowly moved, followed by half of a face emerging, with an icy eye appearing in the faintly rising morning mist.

  "Guards, get down!" I shouted loudly, then raised my gun and fired a burst into the fog without aiming, hoping to slow them down, but I was still too late.

  "Whoosh!" A black figure burst through the fog, striking the servant's chest. I pulled out a grenade and threw it in the direction of the assassin. As the grenade exploded, I rushed to the servant's side, picked him up, and heard the roar of an M249 behind me. REDBACK also heard the sound, turned around, and covered me with machine gun fire. Gunfire came from all directions, apparently the enemy's first attack was this morning.

  I rushed into the team with the attendant, and the attendant in my arms grabbed my clothes hard and pulled them down forcefully. The bandage on my lower abdomen was also torn open by him. I endured the pain and ran while shouting: "Doctor, doctor! Someone is injured! Doctor!..."

  No one, the doctor and the priest rushed over, seeing the servant in my arms, they were all shocked. The doctor asked me to slowly put him down, then began to examine him. I gasped for air as I watched, an arrow was stuck in the servant's chest, pointing towards a black flag. The servant struggled to pull out the arrow but was held back by the priest beside him. His mouth kept gasping for air, as if he could never get enough. His abdomen kept twitching, only when his clothes were opened did they discover that the arrow had pierced through the iron plate seam of his bulletproof vest, at an angle, over a foot deep. The blood flow from the wound was not large, but slowly seeped out, the pale skin, black arrow, and bright red blood formed a vivid contrast, like an impressionist painting.

  The doctor examined him briefly, shook his head at the priest, who didn't show any unusual expression on his face, still calm and composed, tightly holding the servant's hand, comforting him. The doctor took out morphine and injected it into the servant's body; if a military doctor checks but doesn't take any measures and injects morphine instead, that means everyone understands what it implies - the elite turned their heads away, walking off. If there's anything more heart-wrenching than watching someone lying there waiting for death, it's watching someone lying there waiting for death while being helpless to do anything about it.

  As soon as REDBACK came over, she saw the doctor's treatment method and looked at me with a panicked face. The look in her eyes was unforgettable, it was a desperate and helpless seeking of hope. What did she want to find here? Was she looking for comfort from my words? I raised my hand and hugged her into my arms, this was the first time I had ever initiated a hug with a woman, but instead of warmth, it brought me darkness.

  REDBACK is a strong woman, she just buried her head in my arms and kicked twice before breaking free from my embrace and walking towards the wounded servant's post, replacing the monk who continued to be on duty, with no emotion in her eyes, like a dead person, numbly scanning the forest.

  "Xing Tian! The servant has something to say to you!" The priest's voice trembled as he called out to me.

  I turned my head to look, and the waiter was staring at me with a strange gaze in his eyes while twitching. I didn't have time to think about anything, so I quickly knelt down, pressed my face against his mouth, hoping to hear what he wanted to say to me. However, except for the sound of coughing caused by blood blocking his airway, nothing else was audible.

  "The arrow pierced his lung, he can't speak!" The doctor patted me on the back and pulled me up, pointing to the servant's slightly raised hand. It was only then that I noticed the servant struggling to pull down a blood-stained silver cross from his neck and handing it to me.

  I knew what he meant, he wanted me to convert, but I really couldn't do it. I looked at the priest in a daze, and the priest didn't give me any guidance, just turned his face away. From his trembling shoulders, I knew he was crying. Looking at the servant's hopeful eyes and twitching hands, I had no choice but to take up the cross. In an instant, I seemed to see a burst of colorful light in the servant's eyes, and he actually trembled as he drew a cross on the cross in my hand with his hand, then squeezed out a sentence from his throat: "GODWITHYOU! (God be with you!)"

  For the first time, I saw a comrade die. Although he wasn't a member of our wolf pack, he was still a friend who had gone through thick and thin with me. He might have been a bit garrulous, but he was definitely a man of noble character. I stared blankly at his lifeless body, feeling his hand slowly grow cold in mine. I didn't know what to feel, as no one had ever told me about this kind of feeling before, and there were no precedents. All I could do was call it numbness.

  "I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. (Revelation 2:2-3) May the true light of faith deliver us from ignorance and slavery to sin, and guide us towards the only true freedom (John 8:32): that is, living in the guidance of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus Christ, in this world, in heaven, and in the beatific vision of God face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12; Galatians 5:6-8)! We have been redeemed through the Son, our sins forgiven. (Galatians 1:14) May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen! (Revelation 22:21)" The heavenly Father began to slowly read the sacred scripture and pray for the servers.

  The servant stopped trembling slowly with a smile on his face as he gazed up at the sky amidst the chanting voices.

  "The Holy Spirit has taken his holy soul, God will bless him in heaven, may his virtues always be in my heart!" The priest made the sign of the cross on his chest and then said to all of us.

  The other nuns and Catholic priests on the side were making the sign of the cross in front of their chest, silently praying for the deceased. Only I was holding the bloody crucifix there, looking at the priest. What to do with this crucifix? I'm not a believer, it's not very suitable for me to keep it!

  "Keep it, this was his last wish. We don't force you to believe in the faith, just take it as a memento left by the servant!" The priest said while doing the final preparations for the servant.

  I glanced at the cross in my hand and smiled wryly. What is this? A last will and testament? Even as a good luck charm, it couldn't protect its previous owner, how could it bring me good fortune? Holding the cross, I slowly walked to REDBACK's side and handed it over to her. No matter how I looked at it, I felt that I wasn't suitable for taking care of this thing. REDBACK looked at me with a glance but didn't take it, instead pointing at my stomach. I lowered my head to look and saw that the buttons on my shirt had been undone by the servant, and the bandage on my stomach had also been torn open, revealing the pale wound underneath. Just as I was about to cover it up with my hand, REDBACK stopped me, gently removing the gauze from my stomach and reapplying medicine and bandages. She busied herself with her head lowered, while I stiffened my body, not daring to move. Her hair brushed against my face, and the faint scent of shampoo wafted into my nostrils, making me feel itchy.

  After she bandaged my wound, she took the cross and slowly tied it to the soldier's tag on my chest. Then, looking at me with a faint smile, she said: "The attendant was my childhood friend in Ireland. This cross was given to us by the priest when he rescued us from the battlefield. There were ten of them at that time, now I have eight in my hand, and I don't want the ninth one anymore. Can you help me keep it? It's also the attendant's wish!"

  After listening to her story and looking at her expectant eyes, I couldn't bring myself to refuse the proposal, so I nodded my head, buttoned up my clothes, and tightened my belt. She saw that I didn't reject her request, smiled happily, and even gave me a hug and a kiss. Although it was just a light kiss, it still startled me, because this was the first time I had been kissed by someone of the opposite sex. Before I could even realize what was happening, it was over? I licked my lips, but there was no different feeling, not even a chance to savor the aftertaste. Wanting another one, I couldn't bring myself to say it out loud.

  Just as I was lost in thought, a sudden commotion broke out among the crowd. I turned my head to see that the butcher had an arrow stuck in his arm and was dragging someone along with the assassin into the crowd. Then, with one swift motion, he slammed the person to the ground. REDBACK and I rushed over immediately. REDBACK kicked the person right in the face, and I couldn't even stop her. The priest was about to scold her when he saw her pinching the person's face and pulling out a small black object from their mouth. We took a closer look and found it was a small pill coated with wax, likely used for suicide. This kind of thing is usually only possessed by spies, not soldiers who are expected to keep secrets even in death. It seems this guy knew he wouldn't have a good ending if he fell into our hands, so he tried to die quickly.

  REDBACK jumped up again and kicked the guy's mouth several times, kicking the person's head "Bang! Bang!" rang out as it hit the ground, until all the teeth in that house were kicked out. Only then did he slowly and calmly say: "Now you have no medicine for poison, no tongue to chew, and no bullets to swallow a gun. If you want to die quickly, it's best to cooperate."

  I just realized why everyone calls her Redback Spider, she's toxic enough!

  Everyone saw that the little guy was not dead, tied him to a tree, and then began to count the number of people. Except for the waiter who died, only the butcher was shot with an arrow, and no one else was injured. The enemy used bows and arrows without making a sound, so they didn't find any trace of the enemy either.

  "How did you catch him?" I asked the assassin beside me.

  "This little guy was unlucky, just happened to be shooting arrows under the tree where I was hiding, and I stabbed him in the leg with my knife. However, he's still quite capable, managed to run away. Myself and the butcher chased after him along the blood trail and caught up to him, but the butcher got stabbed once!" The assassin shrugged his shoulders, a look on his face that said it had nothing to do with me.

  I turned my head to take a look at the butcher, this little guy was sitting on a stone with his legs spread wide, letting the doctor remove the arrow from him. The doctor broke off the tail of the arrow and grabbed the other end of the arrowhead that had come out, took a glance at the demon beside him, the demon nodded with a piece of gauze in hand. With one swift motion, the doctor pulled out the arrow shaft from the flesh, while the demon simultaneously used the gauze to press down on the wound and stop the bleeding. The doctor threw away the arrowhead, took out some hemostatic powder and sprinkled it on, and within five seconds the bleeding stopped. The doctor took out morphine to give the butcher an injection, but was refused by him. From start to finish, the butcher didn't make a single sound, as if the doctor was removing the arrow from someone else's body. If not for the sweat on his forehead telling everyone that this little guy also knew pain, everyone would have suspected that he wasn't human.

  The butcher kept staring at the captive during the treatment, and after the doctor finished bandaging his arm, he slowly walked up to the prisoner's face and said in a slow and deliberate tone: "My name is Ivan, but everyone likes to call me Butcher..."

  Before the butcher could finish introducing himself, that little guy's eyes widened and his legs kicked wildly as he scrambled up the tree, muttering to himself. It was clear that he knew he wasn't facing an ordinary military interrogator, but a notorious... I don't even know how to describe him, except to say that "butcher" is the most fitting term.

  Click to view picture link: The obvious difference between MSG3 and G3/SG1 is the long barrel and the stock of MSG90. The installed sight rail is also different from that of G3. Due to the thin barrel and the stock, it looks very similar to MSG90.