Chapter 257: Exposure
Red Team members had infiltrated the camp, so Viper hurriedly sent someone to report to the Captain, while he himself led the rest to pursue.
No need to capture them, just keep a tight tail on their tracks.
To break into their Black Tiger Detachment camp without alerting the sentries posted outside, they must have some real skill.
The opponents might very well be from Wolf Fang.
It wasn’t unreasonable for Viper to suspect Wolf Fang; in this patch of the Southeast Military Region, the only ones who could threaten their Black Tiger were the Wolf Fang Special Forces Detachment.
Besides, their main mission right now was to capture the remnants of Wolf Fang who had slipped through the net.
Putting all the clues together, if he couldn’t even guess their identity, he might as well submit a transfer report to Commander Lei—he had no face left to stay in Black Tiger.
“To slip past our sentries, in the entire Southeast Military Region, only the renowned Wolf Fang could pull that off.
Since they’ve walked right into the trap, there’s no reason to let them escape.
Everyone, follow me in the pursuit—capture them and bring them before the Captain, then we’ll regain our face!”
Just thinking about the praise he would receive from the Captain made Viper’s body tremble uncontrollably.
It wasn’t fear of Captain Lei Keming, but excitement.
Lei Keming’s prestige in the Black Tiger Special Forces was like He Zhijun’s in Wolf Fang.
If one day He Zhijun’s stern face suddenly broke into a brilliant smile and he patted Chang Ning on the shoulder with encouragement, Chang Ning would excitedly run laps around the sports field.
The same applied to Viper in Black Tiger.
A nearly transparent fishing line connected to the pin of an anti-personnel landmine, buried under dense weeds.
Coated in jungle camouflage all around, a slight lack of attention would make anyone overlook it.
It was the underhanded tactic’s favorite, and Chang Ning surely loved it to bits.
It was all part of the established plan, so Ma Da and Dog Head Old Gao naturally wouldn’t really run at full speed.
They even kept an eye on the pursuing enemies behind them while running, to see if they would lose the trail.
“Hurry, they’ve run out of steam!”
Seeing Hui Lang’s footwork become stumbling, Viper’s eyes lit up as he rallied his comrades.
When people see hope, they lose their usual composure and become extremely impulsive.
With Red Team special forces soldiers about to be caught, Viper naturally ignored the landmines buried in the weeds.
Of course, he didn’t think the Red Team special forces soldiers, chased like lost dogs, would play mind games with him at a time like this.
A nearly transparent fishing line hooked Viper’s ankle, pulling it taut into a significant arc under tension.
When the force reached its limit, the landmine pin connected to the fishing line snapped off with a “click~”.
Watching the landmine suddenly leap to his waist and abdomen, Viper’s mind flashed with its info: Anti-Infantry Bouncing Mine!
By then, it was too late to warn his comrades to watch for mines; he could only watch in horrified panic as the mine exploded right in front of him.
“Damn Wolf Fang!”
Blue smoke rose from Viper’s body; he didn’t blame the Red Team for playing mind games.
In special operations, tactics were inevitable.
He could only blame himself for not being vigilant enough.
“Tsk tsk~, taking out five Black Tiger members at once—Commander Lei is gonna be pissed!”
Perched on a tree branch, Chang Ning held the 85-style sniper rifle he’d borrowed from Ostrich, watching the whole event clearly through the scope.
“Yo, there’s a lucky one left.”
After enjoying the show, Chang Ning was about to shoulder his rifle and move when, just as his eye left the scope, he spotted a sneaky figure.
The man, draped in a ghillie suit, quietly slipped away from where his comrades had been ambushed, set up in position, and cautiously scanned the surroundings with binoculars raised from his chest.
“Should I take him out?”
Finger on the trigger, bullet chambered—with a light pull, the man would be eliminated.
As Chang Ning applied pre-pressure to the trigger, his finger whitened under the strain, but the next second, he hesitated.
Eliminating that Blue Team member unhit by the mine would surely increase his exposure risk.
Never mind if that Blue Team followed exercise rules and hinted to Lei Keming about Red Team and a third person—once Gao Zhong Dui met up with those Blue Team members, the truth would come out immediately.
The only one still wandering the forest, bold enough to disobey orders, was him, Chang Ning.
Gao Zhong Dui knew Chang Ning too well; at that point, how could he still carry out his plan to take Lei Keming’s head? So Chang Ning hesitated.
But if he didn’t eliminate that Blue Team, Gao Zhong Dui and Ma Da might flip the car.
After all, the opponents weren’t small fry, but aces like them—if they really went all out with underhanded tactics, it was hard to say.
While Chang Ning agonized in the tree, that Blue Team’s underhanded player wasn’t sitting idle.
“Damn, Red Team is really insidious—how did they set those mines?
Did they prepare them in advance?”
The Blue Team soldier crawling cautiously thought to himself; all the way in pursuit, he hadn’t seen those two Red Team members stop at all.
“Hah, you didn’t expect a Blue Team pursuer to still be alive, did you!”
This une liminated Blue Team soldier suddenly felt it necessary to avenge his unlucky comrades—if he could capture those two Red Team members, the credit would be his.
Dreaming sweet dreams, the Blue Team soldier grew nervous, licking his dry lips, eyes locked dead ahead.
He’d calculated earlier: if those two Red Team came to check the situation, they’d surely pass his hiding spot in the grass.
Then, if he burst out suddenly while they weren’t paying attention, he’d take them both down, and the credit would be his.
Pulling back his wandering thoughts, the surviving Blue Team soldier poked his head from the grass, exposing only a pair of bright eyes.
He needed to pinpoint Gao Zhong Dui and Hui Lang’s positions for mental prep during the surprise attack.
Immediately, confusion flickered in those watchful eyes—clearly, moments ago he’d seen the sneaking Red Team special forces nearby, now they were gone.
How could two grown men just vanish?
Describing two well-trained special forces soldiers as “disappeared” in the jungle wasn’t apt; “stealth” fit better.
But that made the Red Team’s behavior seem illogical.
With enemies eliminated by their mines, why bother with stealth?
“Oh no!”
Sensing something wrong, the Blue Team soldier prepping his ambush instantly realized his position had been spotted.
No time to wonder how he’d been discovered—the priority was to slip away and report the encounter to the Captain.
Instinct honed from training ground and actual combat told him danger was closing in fast.
“Don’t move!”
Just as the Blue Team soldier started to shift, a hard tubular object pressed against his occiput.
Done for!
No need to guess—the thing against his head was a 92-style handgun; he knew he’d ended up a captive.
Better to have been “killed” by the mine from the start than this.
“Soldier, cheer up—that long face is bad for the mood.”
Ma Da chuckled as he yanked the captive up from the ground, casually brushing grass off his collar.
But the captive’s expression showed no gratitude—he looked ready to dismember Ma Da.
“Wolf Fang?”
The Blue Team soldier sized up the fat-and-thin duo before him and probed.
Losing to Wolf Fang might save some face.
If they were from some other Red Team reconnaissance unit, his days in Black Tiger would be rough.
Nobody wanted snide remarks everywhere they went.
“Good eyes!”
Hui Lang smiled back; ignoring the captive’s sour face, the conversation felt pretty amicable.
“Give it up—you’ll get nothing from me!”
With that, the Blue Team soldier clutched his gun and glared at Hui Lang and Gao Zhong Dui.
Clearly, he planned to say no more.
Though he’d guessed as much, hearing it still irked Gao Zhong Dui, so he jabbed: “Never had any hopes pinned on you anyway.”
As he spoke, Gao Zhong Dui glanced pointedly at the captive Blue Team soldier’s rank insignia, eyes full of disdain.
“You!”
Seeing Gao Zhong Dui’s look, the Blue Team soldier bristled like a fluffed-up cat, itching to punch those annoying eyes.
Who’re you looking down on!
Such thoughts stayed in his head—actually lunging would likely get him beaten; two against one, he couldn’t win.
Even if he did, it’d be pointless.
Circumstances stronger than man—he had to swallow this insult.
So the Blue Team soldier invoked Ah Q’s spiritual victory: Wait till you two get taken by our Captain—see how I mock you!
That thought eased his stagnant qi quite a bit, letting IQ reclaim the high ground.
The Blue Team soldier’s mind turned quick: that lanky guy was up to no good, trying to rile him for interrogation.
Wolf Fang folks were all sly foxes!
Seeing the Blue Team captive turn his head away, refusing eye contact, Gao Zhong Dui knew his scheme had failed.
This thick-headed guy like Xi Wa wasn’t as easily fooled as he looked.
No bite? No matter—Gao Zhong Dui wasn’t annoyed; it was just stroking grass to hit rabbits on the way.
They’d already annihilated the pursuing squad—no loss for him.
Chang Ning, hidden in the tree, saw it all; too far to hear their words.
But from their expressions, Chang Ning knew the talk wasn’t pleasant.
“Underestimated Gao Zhong Dui and Hui Lang—they don’t need off-field aid after all; I was overthinking,” Chang Ning mocked himself.
On second thought: All good—he’d been torn on helping Gao Zhong Dui, but things resolved without him.
Through the telescopic sight, Chang Ning saw Gao Zhong Dui and Hui Lang say something to the Blue Team captive, then leave.
Seeing this, Chang Ning prepared to follow. Learning from last time, he hung far back to avoid detection by Gao Zhong Dui.
Having wiped out Lei Keming’s pursuing squad, Gao Zhong Dui and Hui Lang quickly relocated.
Since Black Tiger hadn’t gotten detailed intel on them yet, they could leverage that slim edge to continue their prior plan.
Meanwhile, with such a big incident at camp, if Lei Keming didn’t notice and react, he might as well step down as Captain.
“Good, now any tomcat or dog can come bite me!”
As Lei Keming spoke, surrounding soldiers—from officers to non-commissioned officers—looked solemn, eyes blazing at their Captain.
The anger wasn’t at Lei Keming; with Black Tiger Special Forces’ dignity under severe assault, soldiers with strong sense of belonging wouldn’t just watch.
“Captain, give the order!”
A second lieutenant with face paint urged anxiously.
Others chimed in agreement—Black Tiger Special Forces’ face was being trampled by Red Team; they needed immediate, hard counterattack to avoid disdain in the Southeast Military Region.
The deputy saw the crowd’s fervor, stole a glance at the Captain—his neutral expression gave nothing away.
First, calm everyone; see what the Captain says.
The deputy’s voice drowned the echoes: “What’re you yelling for! Panicking now gonna help?”
The sudden voice startled Lei Keming mid-thought; quick reflexes suppressed his startle, or he’d have embarrassed himself before comrades.
“In your current state, counterattack? Lucky not to get picked off one by one in the forest,” the deputy continued.
His cold words doused their rage like ice water.
They exchanged glances, faces flushed with shame—veteran soldiers, yet they’d lost it?
Following Number Two’s line of thought, rushing out emotional would end badly against Red Team.
Their lives didn’t matter—mainly, couldn’t tarnish Black Tiger Special Forces or lose Commander Lei’s face.
Seeing emotions settle into quiet, the deputy turned to Lei Keming.
“I was just thinking what kind of group dares provoke Black Tiger like this.”
Everyone watched the Captain, eager for more—they wanted the enemy’s identity too.
In this Southeast Military Region patch, only one could infiltrate Black Tiger camp with such strength: Wolf Fang Special Forces Detachment.
Wolf Fang had many they didn’t know; key was the Captain.
Rumor had it their Captain came from Wolf Fang—he should have intel.
Lei Keming hated suspense; seeing their eager eyes, he declared: “We’ve ID’d several Wolf Fang from our kills—quite a few old acquaintances of mine.
So, I deduce our attackers were the famed Wild Wolf and Hui Lang from Wolf Fang.”
