Chapter 261: Finally Meeting, Lei Keming Eliminated!
Hearing the gunshots coming from not far away, Lei Keming’s mood relaxed instead.
When everything is fully out in the open, those unsettling negative emotions will gradually disappear.
Mystery is one of the sources of human fear, and it is also a way for special forces to maintain deterrence externally.
“Speed up, my old comrade’s expression right now must be quite splendid!”
Lei Keming strode forward, eager to see his old comrade who was now surrounded by him.
In the end, he had won this round. Even though he had beaten Xiao Gao many times before, who would complain about winning too much?
Moreover, it was winning against his old military unit, giving him a bit of the feeling of achieving success and fame abroad and returning home.
“He Da Dui, we’ll meet soon.”
Just thinking of He Da Dui’s face when he saw him after the exercise ended made Lei Keming secretly delighted.
Who told him to beat He Da Dui’s favorite? It would be strange if He Da Dui’s face didn’t darken.
“Forget it, I’ll bring a good bottle of liquor to apologize then.”
After all, he had come out of Wolf Fang back then, and this was on the Southeast Military Region’s turf, so he shouldn’t provoke too much.
Everyone was an acquaintance; the relationship still needed to be maintained.
He heard that Wolf Fang had found an interesting newcomer, and he wanted to find an opportunity to poach talent.
Pissing off He Da Dui at this time would make it hard to ask for poaching talent later…
The exercise wasn’t over yet, but Lei Keming was already eyeing 026’s Chang Ning.
It had to be said that Lei Keming acted like a guest who didn’t treat himself as an outsider at all, taking and eating freely.
Major military regions exchanging good prospects among themselves was originally something tacitly understood, and Lei Keming felt that He Da Dui wouldn’t take such a small matter to heart… probably.
If not, he could trade a few key officers; in the end, He Da Dui would be the one taking advantage, so what was there to be dissatisfied about?
With his mind full of wishful thinking, Lei Keming’s steps quickened, his leg stride frequency speeding up a bit more with his good mood.
“Hui Lang, I’ll cover you, hurry and retreat.”
The moment he stepped on the landmine, Gao Zhong Dui knew he was probably going to be eliminated.
He and Hui Lang were too close to Black Tiger; if the situation weren’t as bad as it was now, a small landmine wouldn’t trouble him.
Gao Zhong Dui almost instantly judged based on enemy and friendly intelligence. With his bullets still ample, he needed to create favorable conditions for Hui Lang to retreat before Lei Keming arrived.
The tactics he had formulated with Hui Lang earlier had only succeeded halfway, and the kill rate against Black Tiger was lower than expected; how could that be acceptable?
Since they were going to cause trouble for Lei Keming, they had to make him feel the pain at least.
So Hui Lang couldn’t be eliminated yet; he had to continue executing the plan to cause trouble for Lei Keming.
“No way! How can I leave you behind alone?”
Hearing Gao Zhong Dui’s words from behind, Hui Lang rejected the most correct course of action in this situation without thinking.
The landmine under Gao Zhong Dui’s feet hadn’t been demolished yet, but they were already exposed in Black Tiger’s field of vision.
Even elites like the Lone Wolf Special Assault Team couldn’t successfully breakout from an ambush by another special forces unit, let alone without any support.
Breaking out relying on a rifle in hand and a few hand grenades—that kind of battle record couldn’t be described as elite; that was a myth!
Having fought to this point, Hui Lang felt it was enough.
Why compete with Lei Keming? No matter how formidable Lei Keming was, wasn’t he still someone who came from Wolf Fang?
They were all on the same side anyway; why go to such lengths? Just go through the motions.
Finally catching a chance to rest, Hui Lang somewhat didn’t want to run anymore.
He estimated that the exercise was almost over; they hadn’t scouted the Blue Team’s command post, so special forces’ behind enemy lines attacks and decapitation tactics could no longer influence the exercise result.
So Hui Lang didn’t want to struggle anymore, especially since he wouldn’t leave Gao Zhong Dui alone here.
“If you don’t run, how will we carry out our plan? Hurry and go while Lei Keming hasn’t brought people yet; we can’t both be eliminated!”
Seeing Ma Da standing still, Gao Zhong Dui got anxious and pushed Ma Da.
“The battle has reached this point; just the two of us can’t influence the battlefield. Even if we take out Lei Keming, what use is that?
By the timing, Red and Blue Sides are starting their final decisive battle right now. Unless we take out the Blue Team Commander, nothing else matters.” Hui Lang said.
With the logic laid out this far, Gao Zhong Dui understood. As a mid-level officer, he didn’t lack the necessary military quality.
Just as Hui Lang said, they could no longer decide the war’s direction.
It didn’t matter whose hand he “died” in, just not Lei Keming’s—that would be too embarrassing for Gao Zhong Dui.
But he seemed unable to choose who killed him, just like Wolf Fang currently couldn’t decide the battlefield’s direction. This was war, not kids playing house.
Looking at the two stalemated not far away, Lei Keming’s expression was quite pleasant.
“You two, how about I have someone clear a spot for you? We’ll continue after you’re done arguing?”
Lei Keming’s mouth curved upward, a warm smile climbing onto his face as he greeted the oblivious Gao Zhong Dui and Hui Lang.
If one ignored the freezing atmosphere around them that seemed about to solidify, anyone seeing Lei Keming with his scholarly air would give a thumbs up and praise “gentle and refined”!
Seeing the main target arrive, the two knew there was no chance to escape.
But no matter; Gao Zhong Dui indicated this was all part of his plan.
In the instant their eyes met, both saw certain information in each other’s gaze.
“Swish~”
Hui Lang quickly turned and squatted, raising his gun to unleash a new round of suppressive fire toward Lei Keming’s direction.
Meanwhile, Gao Zhong Dui handled suppression on the Black Tiger soldiers Lei Keming brought and those from the earlier firefight.
Because this series of changes happened in a flash, Black Tiger’s soldiers, including Lei Keming, didn’t react for a moment, and they were once again struck head-on by Gao Zhong Dui and Hui Lang.
It was just that Gao Zhong Dui was held up by the landmine; otherwise, they might really have slipped away from under Lei Keming’s nose.
Black Tiger’s reputation wasn’t blown out of proportion. After getting over the initial daze, Lei Keming began organizing a counterattack.
It couldn’t even be said that Lei Keming personally organized it; he just gave a few pointers, and the rest were instinctive actions by the soldiers following muscle memory.
At this moment, the disadvantage of unequal numbers was fully displayed to both sides. No matter how standard Gao Zhong Dui and Hui Lang’s tactical maneuvers were or how precise their marksmanship, it was useless.
The advantage from their sudden assault-style firepower suppression earlier collapsed instantly under Black Tiger’s counterattack. After all, they were only two, while Black Tiger had no fewer than thirty from the firepower layout!
The next moment, the two were completely covered by Black Tiger’s firepower, red smoke bursting continuously from their bodies, slowly enveloping them.
The gunshots gradually stopped, and Lei Keming stood up to walk toward his old comrades.
Several surrounding soldiers had just lifted their feet to follow when he reached out to stop them.
“I’ll go check on them alone. Those two are my old comrades; I’ll catch up with them.”
As he spoke, Lei Keming’s smile was full, even his originally cold eyes gradually softening with the red smoke rising from Gao Zhong Dui and Hui Lang.
One moment they had been at daggers drawn, but when they formally met, the atmosphere, though not harmonious, lacked any gunpowder scent.
“Xiao Gao, Ma Da, we brothers haven’t seen each other in many years, have we?”
Looking at the familiar faces before him, Lei Keming sighed.
Special forces were in long-term combat readiness sequence; holidays were already few, and military commanders were either training or in meetings, too busy to stop.
“Four or five years, right? Last time we met was right after you returned from abroad, when we welcomed you at He Da Dui’s home.”
Gao Zhong Dui removed his communication equipment and weapons while speaking.
Already eliminated, carrying the weapon equipment felt burdensome.
“When are you going back?
You’ve finally come to our military region this time; aren’t you going to Wolf Fang to see He Da Dui?” Hui Lang asked.
“Definitely going, or else if He Da Dui finds out I came to the Southeast Military Region and didn’t visit him, who knows how he’ll curse me!”
Lei Keming unhesitatingly said he was going to visit the Wolf Fang Special Forces Detachment; he had come from Wolf Fang originally, so this was like returning to his maternal home.
He wasn’t here just to reminisce with old comrades about the past and look to the future; mainly to ask about intelligence.
Of course, whether they told him depended on Gao Zhong Dui and Hui Lang’s willingness, but as the opposing Black Tiger, the process still needed to be followed.
Though Lei Keming knew asking was pointless, putting himself in their shoes, he wouldn’t reveal intelligence either.
“A complete combat team has 12 people; including those at your operations department, there are 11 of yours.
Where’s the last one?”
Facing Lei Keming’s question, Gao Zhong Dui and Hui Lang looked odd; clearly, the other side didn’t know the Lone Wolf Special Assault Team’s official members numbered 13.
Whether 12 or 13, they wouldn’t tell Lei Keming, even though he had been part of Lone Wolf back then and their direct superior.
“I don’t know either; that guy’s brain isn’t like ours.”
Gao Zhong Dui laughed it off, speaking vaguely, but Lei Keming didn’t know.
“Oh? Tell me, how is it different?”
Lei Keming knew Xiao Gao’s character too well; for such an evaluation from his mouth, the remaining one must be an interesting character.
Seeing Lei Keming’s interested expression, Gao Zhong Dui continued: “He’s like you, with an artist’s brain.
Artists, you know, divergent thinking, wild imagination!
So I really don’t know what he might do.”
As he spoke, Gao Zhong Dui tossed the communication equipment in his hand in front of Lei Keming and ripped off his armband in clear displeasure.
Even though they were old acquaintances, being eliminated still left a bad taste.
“Artist?”
Lei Keming didn’t mind Gao Zhong Dui’s behavior; they’d eliminated them, so wasn’t he allowed to vent?
Of course, this was only because he and Gao Zhong Dui were old comrades and acquaintances; try it with someone else, and not whipping with a military belt would be mercy.
Though the info from Gao Zhong Dui’s words was sparse, Lei Keming keenly caught the keyword.
Before coming, he had used his authority to check Wolf Fang’s information, but not being in the same military region, what he could see was very limited.
The word “artist” immediately matched in his mind with Wolf Fang’s intelligence, and he indeed found something interesting.
A year ago, a film academy undergraduate had participated in Wolf Fang’s selection; these days, it was quite rare for undergraduates to enlist.
“I know who you’re talking about; if there’s a chance, I’d like to meet him.” Lei Keming picked up the equipment from the ground and patted it on Gao Zhong Dui’s chest.
These words made Gao Zhong Dui’s face change drastically; even Hui Lang, who had been chuckling at their banter, went on high alert.
Joking aside! Good prospects were already scarce; if Lei Keming took an interest, that would be disastrous?
……
“Click click…”
The mechanical rotation sound was almost inaudible in the dense forest. Chang Ning, hiding in the tree canopy, fine-tuned the telescopic sight until the crosshair’s target was clear.
Lei Keming’s appearance had been shown to everyone by He Da Dui at the pre-exercise meeting; not much time had passed, and Chang Ning’s memory was fresh.
As long as he pulled the trigger, his decapitation plan would be complete!
Just thinking about it was exciting.
The opportunity was only once; with the cheat’s boost, he wouldn’t fail!
“Hoo~”
Slowly exhaling, Chang Ning began controlling his breathing rhythm.
To increase bullet hit probability, Chang Ning kept his crosshair on Lei Keming’s torso.
On the battlefield, no one aimed for a one-shot headshot; hitting the enemy’s torso meant death wasn’t far off.
“Bang!”
Chang Ning fired.
Blue smoke slowly rose from Lei Keming’s body, while the red smoke from Gao Zhong Dui and Hui Lang around the three hadn’t fully dissipated.
At this moment, all three were stunned.
Who could have thought there was a mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind?
Lei Keming first thought of Xiao Gao’s backup plan, but seeing the astonishment in his eyes, he dismissed the idea.
This was getting interesting.
Lei Keming only saw Gao Zhong Dui’s astonishment, not the understanding that appeared behind it.
Yes, he knew who fired that shot.
Of course, Hui Lang also realized who the “culprit” was.
This kid ultimately didn’t choose to return to the Red Team’s position.
Hui Lang’s mood was extremely complex, unsure how to evaluate Chang Ning’s action.
But now, he couldn’t expose Chang Ning in front of Lei Keming.
Xiao Zhuang was already targeted; if Chang Ning caught Lei Keming’s interest too, that would be the end!
