Chapter 245: Lao Pao At The End Of His Rope?
“Unclear, it’s just that the insect chirping sounds in the forest have diminished a lot.” Xiao Zhuang replied in a hushed voice.
If it weren’t for the two being close and the radio still functioning, Xiao Zhuang’s voice would only be audible if one were lying right by his mouth, showing just how nervous he was, with his voice suppressed to such a degree.
“Go!”
Lao Pao decisively ordered Xiao Zhuang and himself to run; their current situation was not safe at all.
Whether it was coincidence or real trouble, running was the right choice without question.
Among the Second Squad Leader’s group, Lao Pao knew that using conventional means to extract useful intelligence was very difficult, so he could only abandon continuing the interrogation. He had originally planned that if the Second Squad Leader didn’t cooperate, he’d turn the gun on fooling that new recruit lying on the ground in a comatose state.
Can’t handle you, a veteran soldier? Handling a new recruit is still easy as pie?
New recruits lack experience; a little scare and they’ll spill everything they should and shouldn’t say.
Not everyone is as bold as Xiao Zhuang and Chang Ning; actually, most new recruits are like Xi Wa—that’s the norm.
Lao Pao didn’t believe his luck would stay bad forever; after dealing with Chang Ning and Xiao Zhuang, he wouldn’t run into another troublemaker.
But now it was too late to say anything; Lao Pao had no chance to scare that new recruit.
They had to run immediately, or else if the Blue Team blocked them, what then?
“Squad Deputy, those two are going to run!”
A Blue Team soldier squatting by the bushes reminded Xi Wa.
In the dim environment, Xi Wa couldn’t clearly see if those two standing in front of his own Squad Leader were Red Team or their own people, but their figures gave him a familiar feeling.
Just as he hesitated whether to reveal himself, those two in front of the Second Squad Leader suddenly hid behind cover.
“What a sharp reaction!”
Seeing the two react as swiftly as cheetahs, Xi Wa realized the opponents were definitely Red Team people.
Combined with the familiar feeling they gave him, the answer surfaced, and the identities of the two were obvious.
They were Xiao Zhuang and Lao Pao!
“Shoot, they’re Red Team people!”
He couldn’t let these two slip away right under his nose; seeing them about to escape, Xi Wa quickly called for Second Squad’s soldiers to open fire.
Under Xi Wa’s order, gunfire instantly enveloped this small area.
The sudden fierce attack caught Xiao Zhuang and Lao Pao completely off guard, causing the situation to tilt heavily toward Xi Wa’s side.
Aura is something invisible and intangible, but it exists very real.
Xi Wa’s side’s aura surged while Xiao Zhuang and Lao Pao were suppressed and unable to fight back; if they didn’t find a way to stop the rising aura on the opposite side, the two’s fate would be either capture or being killed.
Of course, considering the tradition of “leave the last bullet for me,” before being captured alive by Xi Wa, Xiao Zhuang and Lao Pao would likely detonate the glorious bullet on their chests.
“There are more people opposite; Xiao Zhuang, retreat first, I’ll cover you.”
Lao Pao fired several short bursts toward the direction where gunfire emerged, seemingly killing one opponent, which finally gave him a breather to talk to Xiao Zhuang.
He couldn’t see how many people were opposite due to the darkness, but judging from the intensity of the firepower alone, there were quite a few.
In the current situation, even unwillingly, he had to go; preserving one portion of strength was better than losing both here.
Besides, Lao Pao might not lose; he still had the skill to run if he really couldn’t hold out.
“Got it.”
Xiao Zhuang cooperated with Lao Pao to empty a magazine of bullets, momentarily suppressing the Blue Team opposite so they couldn’t raise their heads, winning timing for his own retreat.
The Blue Team still didn’t know that due to their negligence, one Red Team member had already slipped through their fingers.
“Press forward; I don’t believe those two opposite can outmatch the firepower of our five!”
After Xi Wa spoke, he shouldered his gun and charged first toward Lao Pao; the others, seeing the Squad Deputy leading the charge, surged with hot blood and shouted as they rushed toward Lao Pao’s position.
Under Xi Wa’s lead, the Blue Team didn’t charge blindly—that would be suicide, not charging!
While charging, the Blue Team still fired at Lao Pao, providing firepower suppression for their comrades around, making it very taxing for Lao Pao to fight.
The distance between both sides slowly closed, with pressure on Lao Pao multiplying geometrically, yet at this moment, he still couldn’t retreat.
Xiao Zhuang hadn’t run far yet; if he left, Xiao Zhuang would be caught.
Lao Pao moved while firing, always maintaining a relatively safe distance from the Blue Team opposite; seeing they couldn’t take him down quickly frustrated Xi Wa, but he was helpless and could only keep grinding.
Xi Wa was anxious, but was Lao Pao opposite any less so? Don’t forget he was in the Blue Team’s encirclement; once gunfire started, he could only fight quickly and decisively—the longer it dragged, the worse for him.
If he didn’t think of something soon, Lao Pao wouldn’t be able to leave even if he wanted to later.
Did he really think the Blue Team were all deaf? Such dense and prolonged gunfire—surely they couldn’t hear? Likely, nearby Blue Team were converging on him right now.
The matter was like that, but putting it into practice was extremely difficult.
Lao Pao was tightly locked by the Blue Team opposite; to break free, he could only rely on external help, like throwing a hand grenade or planting a bomb—he was a demolition soldier, professional at this.
But now, even a clever woman couldn’t cook without rice; they had infiltrated, and their equipment was taken from the Blue Team—where was anything complete?
As for demolition gear, Lao Pao had none; not to mention others, he had nothing on him now that could make noise when thrown.
The opponents were the familiar Night Tiger Reconnaissance Company, and the battlefield was the jungle, their main field for special operations; logically, Lao Pao shouldn’t be fighting this hard.
The strangeness was here: those few opposite felt like slippery eels to Lao Pao, hard to grasp, and they understood his combat style very well.
Thus, after engaging them, the more Lao Pao fought, the more uncomfortable he felt; the battle went very unsmoothly.
“The leader opposite isn’t Chen Pai, is he?” Lao Pao muttered to himself.
Thinking it over, among the Night Tigers, only Chen Pai seemed possible.
This thought had just emerged when it was rejected; if it were Chen Pai, the numbers opposite wouldn’t be just this few.
“Probably some new hotshot who’s popped up.”
After running through all the familiar people in his mind, Lao Pao still couldn’t find anyone matching the leader opposite.
“Newcomers these days are fiercer with each batch, putting real pressure on us old guys.”
Lao Pao’s smile was very complex, bitter yet gratified.
After all, it was his old company; seeing it full of talent and developing better, how could Lao Pao not feel gratified?
“But don’t underestimate us old guys!”
