Chapter 235: Discovered and Killed the Enemy
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“What’s wrong? Did you find anything?” Li Bing, who was following behind Wang Ye, naturally noticed Wang Ye’s abnormality.
“Something feels off!” Wang Ye quickly thought of an excuse as he opened his mouth and scanned the area.
“What’s wrong?” Zhou Qi instantly became nervous and cautiously unlocked the safety on his gun when Wang Ye spoke.
Their firearms were loaded with blank bullets, not live ammunition. As Wang Ye and the others looked around vigilantly, it was evident that they sensed a potential threat.
Although Wang Ye hadn’t provided an explanation yet, in such situations, unwavering trust in one’s comrades was a fundamental quality of a soldier. “Look, class monitor, look over there!” In the next moment, Wang Ye gripped his weapon and cautiously jogged towards a specific spot.
No excuses were needed because he had genuinely discovered something amiss. Without the system’s notifications, spotting every detail on the entire mountainside would be nearly impossible. However, with the system’s guidance, it was akin to playing a game of finding anomalies.
Wang Ye, aware that something was awry, scanned the area. It wasn’t overly challenging for him to make a discovery. Of course, it was also due to the fact that the scouts were human, robust individuals weighing at least 50 kilograms. Nonetheless, traces had been left behind, and no matter how hard one tried to erase them, they couldn’t be concealed completely. Furthermore, they were conducting this operation in low-light conditions.
“Stay vigilant!” As Wang Ye crouched down, Zhou Qi whispered.
He had also spotted a footprint beneath the fallen leaves as Wang Ye cleared them away. Even though it hadn’t rained in the past few days in Xi Guang, the air in the region was already humid, particularly at night.
After a night, dew covered everything, and the ground wasn’t entirely dry. It was challenging for someone weighing over 100 pounds to move without leaving footprints.
When they had buried the mines in the forest the previous night, they had only bothered to remove the evidence near the mines, paying no attention to other areas.
After all, they were in a defensive position and didn’t have the time to erase all the footprints.
They were well aware that no mines had been planted in this area. Naturally, if there were no mines, there would be no need to erase the footprints. The footprints concealed beneath the fallen leaves were definitely cause for concern.
Without hesitation, the four of them sought cover and readied themselves. Li Bing stepped forward once more, carefully and swiftly following the direction of the footprints. He used his hands to clear the fallen leaves around him.
If only one or two footprints had been covered while others remained exposed, they could have reasoned that they had passed by and didn’t notice. Perhaps the surrounding leaves had been blown over by the wind, or fallen leaves from the trees had coincidentally covered them.
However, as they discovered second, third, and fourth footprints in different spots, their certainty grew.
There were enemy forces closing in.
In an instant, the four of them rapidly surveyed their surroundings from their concealed positions.
“Fuck, what do we do?” uttered one of the soldiers hidden amidst the fallen leaves in the nearby forest, roughly 20 to 30 meters away.
They were bewildered. How had they been exposed?
“Eliminate them and retreat!” came a swift decision.
“Got it!”
They couldn’t afford to wait passively. They were too close to their target, especially after spotting Zhou Qi carrying a radio transmitter. Furthermore, they had already requested backup. Waiting any longer would inevitably lead to their discovery once reinforcements arrived.
“Pa, pa, pa!”
In the next second, a series of gunshots echoed through the air.
“Stay alert!” Wang Ye, crouched behind a tree, shouted as he sent bullets flying from his weapon.
Wang Ye’s reflexes were exceptional, allowing him to react swiftly even if he didn’t immediately face the enemy.
When the enemy fired their first shot, he instinctively pulled back, extending the muzzle of his firearm to return fire.
However, it was still a fraction too late.
That was because Li Bing concealed himself with his back to the enemy, and smoke began to billow from his head.
Meanwhile, Zhou Qi, who was the primary target of the attackers, was positioned behind a small mound. However, due to his lack of knowledge regarding the enemy’s direction, he inadvertently exposed half of his body to them.
In this moment, the enemy was shrouded in darkness while Li Bing and Zhou Qi were out in the open, resulting in smoke rising above their heads almost instantly as they were fired upon.
However, after they had shot at Li Bing and Zhou Qi, the attackers swiftly stowed their weapons and sought cover.
At this instant, both Li Bing and Zhou Qi appeared as if they had witnessed a ghost. Simultaneously, they caught a whiff of a familiar odor and saw smoke emanating from each other’s heads.
Wang Ye’s lightning-fast reaction eliminated the two soldiers who eliminated Li Bing and Zhou Qi immediately after they stood up.
“We’re done!” One of the attackers, dressed in a ghillie suit with face paint, reached up to touch the top of his head. Staring at the blue smoke before him, his scalp tingled. He wore a bitter expression as he leaned against a tree trunk and slumped down.
They were dead!
At this moment, he suspected that he might be the first… There was still an unfortunate comrade beside him, but that didn’t alter the grim reality. They were likely among the first casualties.
It was all over!
The company commander had even declared his intent to complete the mission with zero casualties. Well, these two had already shattered that promise.
“Class monitor!” On Wang Ye’s side, Wei Qinghai shouted anxiously. As soon as he heard the gunfire, he hastily adjusted his position and took cover. Following the direction of Wang Ye’s shots, he opened fire in that direction.
However, upon witnessing the smoke rising from Zhou Qi’s head, his anxiety escalated.
In the next moment, he noticed Li Bing’s head was also smoking, causing his unease to intensify.
This was only his second time participating in such an exercise. In the previous year’s exercise, he had been deemed “killed” by the artillery before even encountering the enemy.
Hence, this was his first experience at such close quarters, much like Wang Ye.
Nevertheless, Wang Ye remained considerably calmer than him at this juncture.
“Stay vigilant. There are still more of them!”
As Wang Ye spoke, he retrieved a grenade from his gear, bit off the safety pin, and hurled it in the direction where he suspected the remaining enemy was hiding. Although he saw smoke rising from Zhou Qi and Li Bing, he remained composed. He knew they weren’t truly dead.
The paramount objective right now was to eliminate the enemy.
The two adversaries had concealed themselves swiftly. Wang Ye could only discern the smoke emanating from the spot where one of them had been lying. The other was likely positioned behind a tree which was obstructing Wang Ye’s line of sight.
Hence, he opted to toss a grenade.
However, he immediately regretted his decision after doing so because the system flashed a message in his mind.
“Mission accomplished. Reward: +1 Skill Point.”
Upon contemplating this, Wang Ye observed that his inventory of skill points had indeed increased to five.
“Alright, alright…” he muttered to himself.
At that moment, Wei Qinghai responded. He was ensconced behind cover, with his hands raised as he spoke.
“Pa pa!” He discharged another blind shot in the direction of the enemy.
“What’s happening… Zhou Qi… Zhou Qi!” A voice came through Zhou Qi’s earpiece.
“Company Commander, it’s over for me!” Zhou Qi replied with a bitter tone.
A drill was tantamount to real combat; this had always been an adage in the military.
Simultaneously, it served as an assessment of a soldier’s combat proficiency.
Dying during a drill could have some impact on one’s personal evaluation.
This year was crucial for him. Based on his personal capabilities and his performance as a class leader, he had every reason to excel.
However, the new recruits had put Deng Hai in the spotlight.
With a heavy burden on his shoulders, Wang Ye was determined to shine, even if he was in a classroom right now.
But with the drill underway, he hadn’t even had a chance to make his mark, and he was already facing elimination.
At this moment, he couldn’t help but feel profoundly uncomfortable.