Chapter 28: You’ve Been Surrounded By Me
Flowers bloom in pairs, each branch tells its own story.
He would never know the outcome for Xiao Zhuang and Chen Guotao after they fell into the water.
Afraid of being tracked by Gao Zhong Dui and the others, he ran wildly all the way until he was utterly exhausted before he had to find an abandoned cave that could barely accommodate him to hole up in.
“I wonder how Xiao Zhuang and Chen Pai are doing?”
After clashing with Gao Zhong Dui and the others, Chang Ning finally remembered this part of the plot. In the plot, Xiao Zhuang and Chen Guotao took out the Blue Team’s Missile Unit, and now he was worried that his influence might cause those two not to follow the plot.
“How about linking up with those two?”
Because Chang Ning had been right next to Chen Guotao before, he knew the position of the Blue Team’s Missile Unit.
With a plan in mind, Chang Ning gradually relaxed. He ate some individual rations, not even daring to light a fire. He planned to just tough it out for the night—who knew if Blue Team scouts were in the vicinity.
Chang Ning was exhausted and starving now; if the two sides met, he might very well be done for. Many ants can kill an elephant—even if Chang Ning’s marksmanship was top-notch and his physical fitness superior, it wouldn’t matter. If they surrounded him, they could capture him even by piling on with their lives.
Don’t forget, Chang Ning was now deep in the Blue Team’s territory—it was best to stay low-key.
The night passed uneventfully; the chill in the mountain forest was biting in early spring.
Fully rested, Chang Ning left the cave he had holed up in at the break of dawn.
“Woof woof… woof woof”
Hearing the barking from afar, Chang Ning’s expression changed. Clearly, he had run into the Blue Team’s search team—and unluckily, they had a military dog with them.
He had nothing on him to mask his scent, and there were no rivers around.
“Is the Blue Team playing dirty? If you’ve got the guts, ditch the military dog and race me in mountain cross-country—straight-up gunfight!”
Cursing under his breath, Chang Ning moved like the wind, picking a random direction and sprinting at full speed.
Taking advantage of the distance between them making a face-to-face encounter unlikely, Chang Ning bolted. He was certain that if they met head-on, the Blue Team might not do much else but they’d definitely greet him with a few magazines’ worth of bullets.
Red Team scouts had wreaked havoc on the Blue Team; when enemies meet, Chang Ning didn’t expect a smiling welcome.
“Squad Leader, there’s movement ahead.”
Feeling the military dog’s unusual behavior through the leash in his hand, the handler naturally understood his comrade’s meaning.
“Let’s go check it out, but we still need to be careful—this mountain has wild beasts!”
“Don’t worry, Squad Leader. I know Hu Zi; this reaction means he’s definitely discovered something.”
“Then quit yapping and lead the way!”
The Blue Team Squad Leader lightly kicked the handler to get him moving.
The situation now was Chang Ning racing the military dog—whichever gave out first would lose.
The mountain land paths were tough to navigate, seemingly fair for both sides, but not really.
Humans had shoes, but the military dog didn’t—and Chang Ning’s physical fitness was much stronger than an ordinary scout’s.
Before long, the Blue Team’s search squad was actually shaken off by Chang Ning.
“Squad Leader, Hu Zi can’t go on. The mountain land is rough; his paws are worn raw. If we keep this up, he’ll be done for.”
The handler looked heartbroken at Hu Zi, who was panting with his tongue out to cool down, breathing heavily.
The Squad Leader wanted to pursue, but he couldn’t ignore the reality, so he had to give up the chase.
“Fine, let that kid bounce around a bit longer. He sure can run!
Communicator, patch me through to the other search teams—report our situation to them.”
The Blue Team’s search team Squad Leader wouldn’t let Chang Ning off easy; since his team couldn’t catch him, he’d call in more people.
“This isn’t getting settled just like that!”
Chang Ning hadn’t gone far; the straight-line distance between them was only about five or six hundred meters.
Seeing the search team stop, he panted heavily, plopping his buttocks down on the ground regardless of whether it was damp. He figured he’d rest a bit, then circle back for a counterattack.
As long as he moved fast enough to take out those dozen or so Blue Team soldiers and slip away, he could draw the search team’s attention to this area.
Then Chang Ning could head in the opposite direction to the Blue Team’s Missile Unit barracks, looking for Xiao Zhuang and Chen Pai.
The plan seemed fine on the surface, but its biggest issue was Chang Ning’s speed.
The speed at which he wiped out that Blue Team search squad, and his withdrawal speed.
He didn’t believe the Blue Team’s various search teams had no communication. Chang Ning was willing to bet that if the squad he targeted suffered over half casualties and couldn’t hold, they’d call for backup. If Chang Ning couldn’t eliminate them then, he’d likely be like a meat bun thrown at a dog—gone for good, caught in a pincer attack.
Plus, the jungle terrain was complex; surrounded in daylight, he basically had no chance of breaking out. If luck was bad, they’d bring heavy firepower, and Chang Ning would have to smile and type gg.
After recovering a bit of stamina, Chang Ning carefully trailed behind the search team, waiting for an opening to strike.
Whether due to his golden finger or something else, Chang Ning found his stamina recovered much faster than others’.
That let him unleash his physical fitness without restraint; the Blue Team search team’s soldiers couldn’t keep up with his speed or recovery.
If Chang Ning didn’t bully them, who would he bully? That made the Blue Team search team suffer.
“Everyone hang in there a bit longer—we’re almost at the rest spot.”
The search team Squad Leader was slightly out of breath, turning to look at his teammates in the same state, and spoke up.
Before setting out, he’d seen the vicinity on the topographic map; another few hundred meters ahead was a flat area with a water source—perfect for resting.
“Yes!”
Hearing they could rest soon, the teammates mustered their spirits and hurried on, their steps even lighter.
“Why are they speeding up? Is there another team nearby they plan to link up with?”
If that was the case, Chang Ning would have to act early.
Letting two teams link up would force his hand; Chang Ning wasn’t arrogant enough to take on dozens alone. Though theoretically possible with his strength, it required specific conditions.
In this complex terrain, Chang Ning figured it was better to play it safe. As a scout, he specialized in solo and small-scale combat.
Besides, without teammates to support him, one slip and he’d be eliminated.
He hadn’t had enough fun yet—how could he get eliminated early? He hadn’t forgotten the exercise goal. With his previous performance, earning a third-class merit was still too thin a foundation.
Even if Miao Lian was willing to report it for him, Chang Ning would feel embarrassed.
No matter how anxious he felt inside, it didn’t show on his face. Maybe this was the so-called realm of facing a collapsing Mount Tai without changing expression.
Finding a small earthen slope that could serve as a sniper position, Chang Ning took a deep breath and adjusted his state.
He aimed the crosshair in the telescopic sight at the non-commissioned officer with the highest military rank, then fine-tuned the settings.
“Bang!”
Chang Ning pulled the trigger, firing the bullet.
Thanks to Li Jia Ge Ge Zhen Shuai, Gray Wolf, 5263551, Re Gao Wen, Iceland Warrior, Yong 666, 73117, Piaofeng Lone Wolf, , Reader 161117224846288
