Chapter 49: Disgraceful Retreat
Relying on a Type 85 Sniper Rifle, 40 bullets, and tangling with the pursuers for three hours, Chang Ning did not believe he had that capability.
Blue Team’s pursuers would not obediently stay in place without moving, just exchanging fire with you.
On the contrary, they would split into two groups, one responsible for firepower suppression, the other responsible for advance.
This would make Chang Ning’s situation very dangerous, facing a dilemma where he could neither advance nor retreat.
As soon as he left cover, massive firepower would pour down on him. Retreating would mean exposing his back to the enemy, which is just waiting to get shot.
If the distance between both sides was relatively far, Chang Ning could still fight while retreating, but now with both sides less than 100 meters apart, how could he run?
After Chang Ning instantly eliminated ten of their comrades, Sharpshooter Fourth Company’s soldiers immediately made corresponding adjustments.
They began consciously changing magazines in batches, which allowed them to maintain effective firepower output while reducing the chance of being eliminated.
The pressure was now on Chang Ning’s side; with the opponent making tactical adjustments, his advantage was further lost.
What’s the use of good marksmanship if you don’t get the opportunity to shoot.
Sharpshooter Fourth Company people precisely would not give Chang Ning such an opportunity; just now when both sides came face to face, they had over ten eliminated.
They could not suffer losses in vain; they knew Chang Ning had excellent marksmanship just like them, and as the same kind of people, Sharpshooter Fourth Company easily came up with a way to restrain Chang Ning.
In short, it was empathy; just think about scenarios they usually wouldn’t want to face, then curse out to restrict Chang Ning.
This made Chang Ning extremely frustrated inside; things developed just as he had foreseen, with him suppressed to the point he could not even lift his head.
At this moment, he wished so much that what he held was not a sniper rifle, but a Type 95.
If he had an assault rifle, though it wouldn’t let him turn the tables, it would still be better than now being passively beaten to the point where even fighting back became extremely difficult.
“They’re coming up again.”
He slightly raised his head and glanced outside the position, discovering that Fourth Company’s people had begun advancing toward him again, so Chang Ning immediately stood up and fired to force those people back.
Fourth Company brought not much ammunition, and Chang Ning had eliminated their company commander right at the start, so the furious Fourth Company recklessly suppressed Chang Ning fiercely.
This caused their ammunition to become insufficient, forcing Fourth Company to change their offensive rhythm.
The recovered Chang Ning seized the hard-won opportunity and began counterattacking Fourth Company.
Fourth Company was as embarrassed now as they had been satisfied with suppression earlier.
Don’t think that Chang Ning’s “Sniper Rifle Shooting” experience wasn’t maxed out, but in a marksmanship contest, the skill he wanted would be superior to everyone in Fourth Company.
Now Chang Ning’s sniper technique was roughly equivalent to He Chenguang’s level when he was in Fourth Company. There was still a gap with top snipers, but he had already surpassed the snipers in basic units.
“No wonder he could eliminate our regiment commander without us discovering him in advance.
With this Red Team scout’s sniper technique, he definitely fired from outside our patrol range.
By this reasoning, he must have at least set up his sniper position over 1000 meters away!”
This non-commissioned officer was stunned by the conclusion he had deduced; the Type 85 Sniper Rifle’s effective range was only 1000 meters.
In Sharpshooter Fourth Company, people who could achieve this level were rare; not to mention small Fourth Company, even in the entire group army, few could hit moving targets at the maximum effective range of the 85 Sniper.
Those were people qualified to represent the group army in competitions and become “Gun Kings.”
What great luck they had to encounter such an opponent.
The non-commissioned officer who deduced the truth did not receive praise from his own platoon leader; instead, he got slapped on the helmet.
“So what if you know? With that brain of yours, why not quickly think of a way to take him down!”
The non-commissioned officer’s face immediately fell; if it were that easy to catch him, their entire company wouldn’t have let him eliminate the company commander right in front of them, nor would so many people have fought for so long without eliminating him.
The platoon leader looked worriedly at the gradually darkening sky.
“It’s about to get dark soon.”
In the deep mountains and old forests far from the city, it also got dark earlier than in the city.
If the opponent wanted to escape, the best timing would be using the night cover, slipping away during reduced visibility to shake off their pursuit.
“Old Chen, that scout might escape under cover of darkness.”
The platoon leader who spotted the clue contacted the comrade called Old Chen via radio.
Old Chen was the same as him, also a platoon leader in Fourth Company; as for the other platoon leader, he was rather unlucky and had already been eliminated by Chang Ning.
“Old Wang, you noticed too? I was just about to tell you; didn’t expect you to notify me first.”
Old Chen’s voice came from Platoon Leader Wang’s earpiece.
“How can we let him just run away like that? I say we all charge together; the Type 85 Sniper Rifle’s magazine capacity is 10 bullets, even if he’s fast, at most he eliminates 20 of us.
As long as we can steel our hearts, this guy can still be taken down.”
Platoon Leader Wang said viciously; Chang Ning had really pissed him off. He was the longest-serving platoon leader in Sharpshooter Fourth Company, with love for this company deep in his bones.
But today that Red Team scout slapped their face twice, and in Platoon Leader Wang’s heart, this face must be recovered no matter what!
“Old Wang, you’re crazy!
Now our company has only over 80 people left; don’t forget we still have to carry out the task the regiment commander assigned earlier.
Even though our regiment commander was eliminated, as long as Iron Fist Regiment’s unit structure is intact, we must complete the mission for one day!”
Platoon Leader Chen earnestly persuaded Platoon Leader Wang; he was not as obsessed as Platoon Leader Wang—what was one Red Team scout compared to the entire exercise?
As long as they cooperated with the whole regiment to take Hill 522, the scales of victory would tilt toward them.
Therefore, Platoon Leader Chen did not agree with Old Wang’s idea.
“Old Chen, trust me! Even if 20 are eliminated, our company still has 60 who can fight, and with our company’s combat power, it’s enough to complete the next tasks!”
Platoon Leader Wang still insisted on everyone charging to take down Chang Ning in one go.
“This…”
Platoon Leader Chen hesitated; his conversation with Old Wang was on the public channel, and all the company’s soldiers could hear their dialogue.
If he disagreed with Old Wang’s suggestion, it would be hard to lead the troops next.
‘Sigh, whatever, it’s not total annihilation.’
“Alright, agreed.”
Platoon Leader Chen compromised; he did not want this matter to create a rift between him and the soldiers.
After discussing, the two began notifying all of Sharpshooter Fourth Company to prepare to charge.
‘What’s the situation? Why has the opponent’s firepower suddenly weakened so much?’
Having been continuously suppressed by firepower, Chang Ning had become very sensitive to Sharpshooter Fourth Company’s firepower output, because every change in firepower output was his chance to counterattack.
‘They wouldn’t have noticed my thoughts, right?’
After experiencing so much, Chang Ning had gotten smarter and did not dare underestimate anyone.
Now although the sun was almost obscured by the horizon, there was still some time before it got completely dark.
At such a time, if Sharpshooter Fourth Company launched a charge against Chang Ning, he would be in great danger!
Thinking that his plan might have been guessed by them, Chang Ning did not counterattack this time while the firepower output weakened; instead, he quietly retreated.
Chang Ning’s crawling movements were very quick, but the sound of his body rubbing against plants was extremely small.
If he encountered dry branches and leaves, he would carefully avoid them, fearing the sound would be heard by the soldiers pursuing him.
Once he reached a distance where he was sure he was not discovered, Chang Ning quickly got up from the ground and ran into the depths of the forest.
The above actions all happened while the two platoon leaders of Sharpshooter Fourth Company were discussing. They would never have thought that Chang Ning was so cautious, alerted by even the slightest change.
“Everyone, listen to my command.”
Platoon Leader Wang issued orders via radio to all surviving soldiers of Sharpshooter Fourth Company.
“Charge!”
As soon as these two words left his mouth, Platoon Leader Wang shouldered his gun and charged first toward Chang Ning’s sniper position.
During the charge, everyone was filled with doubt: ‘Why is there no movement at all from that Red Team scout’s sniper position?’
Platoon Leader Chen and Platoon Leader Wang exchanged a glance, thinking of a possibility they did not want to believe.
When they reached Chang Ning’s position, they found nothing there; Chang Ning had not even left them any 7.62mm bullet casings.
“Damn it!”
Platoon Leader Wang was furious; he had been just that close to capturing that hateful guy alive!
“Since we didn’t catch him, let’s head back to camp.”
Platoon Leader Chen advised Platoon Leader Wang to return to camp; after all, pursuing Chang Ning was not an order from the regiment commander.
They had to prioritize the big picture; the loss was completely worth taking Hill 522.
It was far more meaningful than wasting manpower pursuing one scout.
“Get the hell away from me!”
Platoon Leader Wang shoved the advising Platoon Leader Chen away.
If not for wasting time discussing with Platoon Leader Chen, Chang Ning would not have had a chance to escape.
Thinking of this, Platoon Leader Wang was furious and glared at Platoon Leader Chen.
“Those willing to pursue that scout with me, come with me!”
After saying that, Platoon Leader Wang followed the traces left by Chang Ning alone.
Chang Ning had left in a hurry without time to clear the traces, which was how Platoon Leader Wang discovered them.
The remaining soldiers looked at each other, then gradually one by one… until everyone shouldered their guns and chose to follow Platoon Leader Wang.
“What a mess…”
With the momentum like this, what could Platoon Leader Chen do but give a wry smile and follow along.
Actually, Platoon Leader Wang’s thinking was not clouded by anger; he planned to pursue Chang Ning at the fastest speed, and if he did not catch up after 5 kilometers, he would give up the chase.
People who could be platoon leaders, though their tactical literacy might not match company commanders, were definitely not fools. Compared to the whole regiment’s mission, Sharpshooter Fourth Company’s face really did not count for much.
The exercise was not just this once; worst case, after it ended, find out which company that guy was from and get revenge next time.
