Chapter 208: The Confident Pursuit Squad
In the end, Li Hua Mao still chose to cross the meadow. Taking a detour would waste too much time, and catching up to the target would take ages.
He was still thinking of leading his team members to eat a few more bites of meat. How could he waste time on the road pursuing the target.
Thinking of this, Li Hua Mao was somewhat envious of the mission assigned to Cobra Squad.
Who knows how many Red Team firepower deployments and communication facilities they had destroyed by now, unlike them struggling to chase Wolf Fang’s special forces.
“Zhuang’er, wake up.”
Lao Pao reached out and gently shook Xiao Zhuang awake.
“Squad Leader, is it time already?”
Xiao Zhuang was still a bit dazed at this moment. It seemed he had slept very soundly.
“It’s your turn to stand sentry.”
As Xiao Zhuang got up with his gun to head to the post, Lao Pao’s voice sounded from behind: “Look at my memory! When you’re on sentry duty, be sure to watch the west side. Chang Ning placed landmines there.”
“Got it, Squad Leader.”
After saying that, Xiao Zhuang headed toward the sentry post.
The west side of the sentry post faced directly toward the meadow. On the basis of Lao Pao clearing the traces, Chang Ning had gone over it again while on sentry duty.
In this weed-covered mountain land, as long as traces were left, they definitely couldn’t be completely cleared. There would always be some tiny clues remaining.
If they encountered a truly expert scout, just a careful observation would reveal the traces they left behind.
Therefore, even though Chang Ning wasn’t sure if Blue Team’s special forces or scouts were pursuing them from behind, for safety’s sake, he still placed several landmines along the road as a warning.
If no one was pursuing from behind, that would be even better. After resting well, he would naturally retrieve those few landmines.
Yawning, Xiao Zhuang crouched down and arrived at the sentry post, which was also a shallow pit located on a high ground.
From there, just one person could see the place where they were resting, and even extend a few hundred meters further ahead.
Even better, this sentry post was downwind, perfectly avoiding certain scouts with a talent for scent detection.
To find such a perfect sentry post in the jungle, one had to say Chang Ning’s luck was pretty good.
Looking at the size of the sentry post, it could only fit one person either crouching or lying inside. Nearby, there was camouflage woven by Lao Pao using branches mixed with weeds, just enough to cover the shallow pit.
Xiao Zhuang lay down in the pit and pulled the nearby camouflage over himself. If not looked at closely, this sentry post would seem like an ordinary bush.
“Li Hua Mao, the target might have discovered us.”
The vanguard of the pursuit team crouched on the ground and reported his latest discovery to the team leader via radio.
“Everyone else rest in place. I’ll go ahead and take a look.”
After arranging the other team members, Li Hua Mao quickly approached the vanguard.
“What’s going on?”
“Starting from here, it’s already very hard to find any more traces left by the target.”
The vanguard’s expression was serious.
Not finding the target’s traces meant they might lose the target.
Once the target was lost, the mission would fail.
Even more terrifying was leaving such an elite squad from Wolf Fang in Blue Team’s rear. Their destructive power was no less than an artillery regiment.
Moreover, they would fire a shot and then change position, purely to harass.
This unit would also draw Blue Team’s attention, causing Blue Team to bleed continuously.
Without eliminating them, Blue Team would ultimately face defeat.
“They’ve covered their tracks.”
After the vanguard finished speaking, he silently looked at Li Hua Mao, waiting for Li Hua Mao to give the order.
Whether retreating or continuing the mission, it was better than staying in place motionless and feeding the bugs.
How to choose? Had the target really discovered them?
If the target had discovered these pursuers, continuing to follow would very likely lead to an ambush, and they might all be wiped out.
“No!”
Li Hua Mao seemed to have thought of some key point. Without waiting for the vanguard to ask, he continued: “We’ve come all the way without discovering any warning devices they set up.”
“I can guarantee that point!” the vanguard interjected.
As the squad’s vanguard, during the pursuit, he indeed hadn’t discovered any traces of warning devices set up by the target.
Li Hua Mao nodded, indicating he believed in his reconnaissance ability.
“After the bait was triggered, we were woken up by the Captain.
Factoring in the time we took to reach the bait’s position and search for the initial traces they left, the distance between both sides should be quite far.
At such a great distance, they’re not clairvoyant. How could they possibly discover us?
So…”
“So we’re not exposed. Continue the mission!”
The vanguard interjected again, picking up on what the team leader hadn’t finished saying.
Li Hua Mao gave the vanguard a deep look. “Exactly. The reason the traces have decreased is that they’ve started consciously handling them. These behaviors are just due to their cautious mindset.”
Since it wasn’t that they were exposed, the vanguard felt relieved.
He began racking his brains and analyzing together with Li Hua Mao: “It’s not just caution. The decrease in traces also indicates that the target got sufficient rest while on the run.
This made the target realize the problems they left behind earlier, and they started remedying them from here.
All of this indicates that the distance between the target and us might be very close.”
The pursuit team hadn’t rested at all since being woken by Lei Keming. They had been relentlessly following behind Chang Ning and the other two.
One side resting while the other hurried on foot—how could the distance between them not close?
After hashing it out, the two discovered that things hadn’t gotten worse; in fact, they were better than ever.
The perfect opportunity had appeared. If he retreated now, he would surely regret it later!
Li Hua Mao thought this way.
At the same time, the results from his analysis with the vanguard filled him with confidence for the next operation.
Weren’t they just a few Wolf Fang brats? Let Grandpa Li Hua Mao weigh your mettle!
“Everyone converge on me.”
Li Hua Mao issued the order over the radio.
The distance between the front and rear halves of the team was too great, making it easy to be cut off.
Although this was Blue Team’s territory and they were the attacking side, it was still better to be cautious.
After the team converged, Li Hua Mao explained the results and process of his analysis with the vanguard to the team members while walking.
He also proactively asked everyone to share their own thoughts.
Actually, analyzing and discussing before operations wasn’t the exclusive patent of Lone Wolf B Group.
Among all special forces units, encouraging team members’ initiative was quite common, such as in the famous Navy SEAL Team Six and Delta Force.
After hearing the captain’s analysis, the team members all agreed to continue the mission. After all, the analysis results were favorable to them from every angle.
A heaven-sent opportunity must be seized.
Seeing hope for victory, the pursuit team’s speed visibly picked up.
This made it painful yet happy for the vanguard.
He diligently searched for the traces covered by Chang Ning and Lao Pao, extracting key information from them.
This was delicate work that couldn’t be rushed.
“Click~”
The different feel underfoot from stepping on the ground, along with the sound of the mechanism activating just now, told him that he had stepped on a landmine.
