Chapter 283: Let’s Do Something Big!!
In the primitive jungle, there are no dedicated roads; muddy paths form only after many people have walked them.
Chen Jun led the team through the primitive jungle, following the path trodden during routine border patrols, heading toward the traces found by WJ.
This kind of footpath is inherently difficult to traverse, especially with heavy rain pouring down nonstop from the sky.
The route ran along the edge of steep slopes, with inclines of seventy or eighty degrees stretching dozens of meters; a single misstep or slip could send someone tumbling down the slope, resulting in death or severe injury even if they survived.
Even though Chen Jun wanted to pick up speed, he had to hold back for safety reasons.
The immense pressure from actual combat made everyone’s mood very heavy, the atmosphere extremely serious, with no one speaking during the march.
The team maintained this silence, braving the rain as they shuttled through the jungle.
Two hours passed just like that.
Rain in the east and sun in the west is one of the eighteen oddities of the southwest; morning rain and midday sun is similarly the weather here, all about being capricious.
Two hours later, the sky was fully bright, and the sun had risen high.
The heavy rain had vanished without a trace; if not for the still-very-wet ground and the rainwater lingering on the leaves, still dripping down steadily, it would have been impossible to tell that just half an hour ago, the area had been shrouded in dense clouds with torrential rain.
The weather had improved, and sunlight had arrived.
The gloom in the forest was dispelled by the sunlight; watching the rays piercing through the leaves and shining in, everyone’s suppressed moods lifted considerably.
But while the team’s moods improved, their alertness was even higher than before.
Because after two hours of rushing, they had arrived near the area where the traces were discovered, meaning they could encounter the armed smuggling group at any moment.
According to the information handed over by WJ’s search troops, after discovering the traces, they conducted tracking and encountered the armed gang in less than ten minutes.
The two sides, separated by one or two hundred meters, engaged in a fierce exchange of fire.
Although the primitive jungle’s dense forest turned sturdy trees into natural shelters, preventing casualties after a prolonged gunfight.
But since combat had already erupted between them, anyone entering the armed smuggling group’s field of vision would be shot at without hesitation.
To avoid being killed by the smuggling armed group, they had to put in 120% effort and stay vigilant.
To further enhance safety, the team’s marching formation switched from the previous linear snake formation convenient for travel to a pointed wedge staggered formation.
They continued like this for another ten-plus minutes.
Chen Jun, walking at the front, suddenly raised his right hand, arm horizontal with forearm vertical, fingers clenched into a fist facing upward, issuing the order to halt advance.
Everyone immediately stopped in place and entered a high-alert state.
Once his teammates assumed vigilance positions to cover him, Chen Jun half-squatted, bent down, reached out, picked up a bullet casing from the ground, and examined it carefully for a moment.
Then he softly reminded: “All units, note that we have entered the exchange of fire location. Maintain vigilance. Over.”
After speaking, Chen Jun turned and jogged back to Yuan Lang in the team for a discussion on the situation, quickly determining the next tracking route.
“All units, confirmed target. Proceed at full speed to the 2071 boundary marker. Over.”
After Yuan Lang issued the latest combat command, Chen Jun pulled out the map and compass to confirm direction, then returned to the front of the formation to lead the way.
Wu Zhe took a few steps then suddenly stopped, his gaze serious as he drew his Type 95 bayonet and began digging into a tree trunk.
“What is it?”
Xu Sanduo curiously leaned in.
“This hole is abnormal; it looks like a bullet hole.”
Wu Zhe said softly while continuing to dig with his hand, soon extracting a deformed metal lump that was clearly a bullet head.
“This is a bullet, and it’s from a stray bullet, proving the exchange of fire was very intense at the time.”
Qi Huan, passing by, gave a highly professional analysis, then couldn’t resist teasing: “This is seeing is believing. I believe you won’t doubt it anymore.”
Having seen the bullet firsthand, and with the bullet head very new, obviously freshly fired.
Xu Sanduo said nothing more.
He kept a straight face and continued forward.
Wu Zhe stopped arguing too, his expression growing even more serious; he basically believed the facts now and couldn’t help preparing mentally for the upcoming actual combat.
Besides the stray bullet Wu Zhe found embedded in the tree and the bullet casing Chen Jun picked up from the ground.
Others also discovered various traces left by bullets on nearby trees and the ground, confirming a gunfight had really taken place here.
Thinking of having to fight such a group of thugs, everyone’s hearts inevitably grew more nervous.
The atmosphere, which had eased with the sun’s appearance, sank back into heaviness upon seeing the site of the recent gunfight.
Time approached nine o’clock in the morning.
The hunting squad, advancing cautiously with vigilance through the jungle for over three kilometers, finally arrived about 200 meters from the 2071 boundary marker.
“Halt advance. Vigilance.”
Chen Jun issued the tactical order, then pulled out a monocular to observe.
Yuan Lang also moved forward from the middle of the team, crouching beside Chen Jun to observe as well, hoping to find some useful intelligence.
Yuan Lang had come specifically to 2071 to analyze from the previous exchange of fire location and infer that the armed gang had entered here.
At the time, the armed smuggling gang was repelled, and WJ troops, fearing danger, didn’t dare pursue rashly.
Plus, with the heavy rain then, many traces were washed away.
This led to WJ’s follow-up search troops failing to find more traces of the armed smuggling group, unsure where they had gone.
There was no way to judge if, upon realizing their position was exposed, the smuggling gang got scared and retreated along the original route.
To confirm whether the smuggling gang had returned or was still wandering somewhere in our territory trying to break out another way, the best method was to return to the entry point and re-analyze the surrounding environment.
Even if the heavy rain had washed away many traces, careful inspection might yield discoveries.
Chen Jun had the same idea, so the two saw eye to eye immediately without hesitation.
Yuan Lang and Chen Jun observed ahead, seeking basis for the next action.
The other seven team members had no tasks for the moment, so they found a spot about ten meters back to conceal themselves and stand by.
“This feeling is really bad.”
Wu Zhe gazed at the distant 2071, his face-painted face full of seriousness.
“What’s wrong? What’s bad about it?”
Xu Sanduo asked softly, like he was doing something sneaky.
“I’m still unmarried, my life just beginning, haven’t seen this world’s wonders yet, but found a place to spend my final years.”
Wu Zhe was actually quite nervous inside, but he didn’t want to show weakness, so he joked to entertain and relax himself.
“This place is pretty good, mountains and clear waters; in another fifty years, we could keep each other company here. But for now, no way—my gun gives me confidence.”
Cheng Cai touched his sniper rifle devoutly, seeking courage from it.
“Tch, just a few little thieves running around the mountains—what if they have guns? Don’t let me catch them; my firearm all-rounder skills aren’t for nothing.”
Tuo Yonggang’s eyes showed nervousness and anxiety, but even more excitement and exhilaration.
His already dark face turned pig-liver red.
Being kicked out of A Team back then was a lingering pain for Tuo Yonggang, an insurmountable hurdle that needed filling.
The simple way to fill it was to prove himself with strength.
Returning to A Team for special training with Steel Seventh Battalion in glory only proved Tuo Yonggang qualified to be a special forces soldier.
But to prove he was stronger than the old A members, that Yuan Lang’s decision to kick him out was the biggest mistake.
That alone was far from enough.
So Tuo Yonggang desperately needed an opportunity to showcase his strength and prove he was stronger than the old A members.
This combat operation was a rare golden opportunity for him.
Under the intense stimulation of this desire.
Even if Tuo Yonggang was terrified inside, he couldn’t suppress the excitement from his desire.
“Yeah, what are we afraid of? They treated us like dirt, we trained so hard for so long—what were we waiting for if not today?” Wu Liu Yi said solemnly.
“Brothers, chance to prove our strength is here—everyone grab it.” Cheng Cai said with great ambition.
“Really, really have to shoot? Can we not shoot?”
Just as morale was rising and everyone was rolling up sleeves ready for a big fight, Xu Sanduo’s words were truly deflating.
“No shooting? You crazy?”
“No shooting, then why are you here? Sightseeing?”
“Damn, what you said has me confused.”
…
Everyone was dissatisfied with Xu Sanduo’s words and piled on him.
“What’s the noise?”
Yuan Lang turned with a low shout, his angry eyes sweeping around; everyone immediately shut up, all deterred by him.
“All squads, maintain vigilance. Chen Jun, you stay here to lead the team, rotate vigilance in groups of three, await new orders.”
“Qi Huan, come with me to scout terrain.”
Yuan Lang then issued two orders, taking Qi Huan away from the team to scout nearby terrain and find the most advantageous ambush position.
Through the earlier observation and discussion with Chen Jun, the two quickly reached a consensus.
Observing through binoculars and carefully analyzing the traces on the ground, they both confirmed two facts.
First, it could be determined that the armed smuggling gang had come through this route.
This was their entry point!
Second, after the gunfight with WJ troops, the smuggling gang had retreated along the same route.
Human footprints on thick weed paths restore quickly after rain soaking, making usable clues hard to find.
But a pack horse weighs several hundred jin itself, carrying over two hundred jin of supplies.
That total several hundred jin distributed to four legs means each hoof bears over two hundred jin of load, far exceeding human feet’s ground pressure.
No great effort needed; a casual search finds hoof prints.
Even with few footprints, one or two suffice.
The direction of footprints on the ground, with return footprints stepping over the incoming ones, proved the pack horse team had gone back along this route.
Even if not 100% probability, at least seventy or eighty percent.
Since the smuggling gang had crossed the border and left, the hunting squad had only two options: stay and guard or head back.
After discussion, Chen Jun and Yuan Lang decided to wait here one day and see.
Having gone to such great effort to come all this way, going back empty-handed was too unprofitable; with the competition having one more day anyway, better to gamble here.
If they won the bet, huge profit.
If they lost, no real loss.
Moreover, by Chen Jun’s personal judgment, the armed smuggling group definitely wouldn’t give up easily.
The DP they carried weighed over a ton—a massive deal anywhere, surely very important to Kun Jiang too.
Failing to deliver on time would be a huge loss for Kun Jiang.
According to intelligence from Wei Haiming to Chen Jun, Kun Jiang was meticulous yet bold, rising precisely through boldness.
Chen Jun had ample reason to infer that a ruthless bold man like Kun Jiang would absolutely return.
Using a Chinese saying, retracing the exit route for re-entry was like the most dangerous place being the safest.
…
Half an hour later.
Yuan Lang and Qi Huan scouted the surroundings, soon finding an ideal ambush spot with a chance to annihilate Kun Jiang’s gang.
About 2 kilometers back from the entry point, a small valley dipping downward.
This location was very carefully chosen.
Too close to the entry point wouldn’t work; if Kun Jiang’s gang was attacked, they could turn and flee back, and the hunting squad couldn’t cross the border to operate.
Too far from the entry point wouldn’t work either; too far and they might slip away.
After all, the hunting squad had only eight people, with poor pursuit and interception capability.
The primitive jungle’s terrain was too complex; despite the smuggling team’s large size, if they split into groups, the hunting squad could only watch helplessly.
No matter how strong individual soldier combat ability, no way to effectively intercept.
But the small valley Yuan Lang scouted had high terrain on left and right sides, with only front and rear easy for passage—an excellent ambush site.
As long as Kun Jiang’s gang fully entered the valley, blocking both entrance and exit.
Even with just eight people, the hunting squad could annihilate the dozens-strong team, letting them know China’s might.
Having found the best ambush site, next was team task assignment.
“The armed smuggling group has left the entry point, but after discussion with Deputy Team Leader Chen, we confirm they will likely risk it again…”
Yuan Lang briefed the situation, then assigned tasks to each team member one by one.
Xu Sanduo and Cheng Cai were to guard the entry point, monitoring 2071 nonstop for twenty-four hours, reporting any situation to Yuan Lang immediately.
If the armed smuggling group re-entered, they would block the small valley’s entrance.
The others would pre-position in ambush in the valley.
Chen Jun and Ba Te Er responsible for the valley’s right side, Wu Liu Yi and Wu Zhe on the left side ambush, Yuan Lang and Qi Huan guarding the valley exit.
Eight people, exactly two per direction, surrounding the small valley from all sides.
