Tom, you're right, it's dangerous here." Norman looked at the tripwire mine on the ground with disdain and said, "There's a tripwire mine right under my feet. It must have been set by those stupid Soldiers."
The others walked over, looked at the tripwire made of steel wire, and burst into laughter as well.
Norman lifted his leg to step over the tripwire, and Tom suddenly shouted, "Don't move!"
But it was too late; Norman's foot had already touched the ground.
Tom's eyelid twitched violently. After shouting, he lunged toward a large tree behind him.
Jerry knew things were bad the moment Tom shouted; he lunged toward another large tree almost at the same time as Tom.
Boom!
With a loud bang, Norman's bear-like body was tossed into the air by the powerful blast. When he hit the ground, he was completely silent.
Jerry, now in mid-air, looked ahead with eyes full of fear and despair. A steel wire was stretched across the tree in front of him.
Puchi!
A sound like a sharp blade piercing an air bag rang out.
Immediately following was the 'boing' sound of the steel wire snapping under tension.
Thud.
Jerry's corpse fell heavily to the ground.
Among those slightly further away, a few who reacted slowly were blown into the air, their bodies struck by stray bullets flying in all directions, leading to a chorus of wails and howls.
One fellow stood there dazed, feeling as if something was constantly burrowing into his body. Looking down, he discovered in horror that countless points of blood were blooming on his skin.
A scream of despair hadn't even left his mouth before a spinning piece of shrapnel struck his head.
...Five hundred meters away, the members of Team B stared blankly in the direction of the mercenaries, lightly wiping the cold sweat from their faces.
Now they finally understood what that thin steel wire tied to the tree was for; they hadn't expected it to be a death trap prepared for experts.
"It's terrifying. Team leader, you're practically a prophet, being able to predict the enemy's next moves like that," the Medic said, looking at the returning Lin Mu.
Davis stared blankly at everything happening around him. After a long silence, he let out a roar: "Fuck!"
Lin Mu, who had already returned to his team's side, looked at the constantly roaring Davis in the distance and said, "Nothing was wasted at all."
"Only four mercenaries are left now. I'll leave this to you; I'm going to check on the villagers," Lin Mu said to Geng Jihui.
"Blood Wolf, rest assured," Geng Jihui said in a deep voice.
Lin Mu gave a hum of affirmation and left the hidden position.
Just as he reached the front of the hostage building, Geng Jihui's voice came through Lin Mu's headset: "Blood Wolf, the remaining four have been eliminated by us."
"That's good. No casualties among our brothers, right?" Lin Mu felt relieved after glancing at the bottom left corner of the Light Screen, which showed the enemy count at 0.
"None!"
"We're doing great!"
The voices of the other Team B members echoed in Lin Mu's headset.
"Go and give them a finishing shot. While you're at it, see if there's anything to prove their identities and take photos. Gather at my position once you're done," Lin Mu ordered.
"Yes!"
Soon, Lin Mu heard a few sporadic gunshots from the distance.
"Wild Wolf, Blood Wolf reporting. The hostage rescue mission is complete. Zero casualties among the hostages and team members. How is the situation on your end?" Lin Mu asked after switching his communicator to another channel.
"I'm finished here too, also with zero casualties. I'm heading to the rendezvous point with the items," Dog Head Old Gao replied.
"Wild Wolf, I have a situation to report. We encountered twelve mercenaries on my side, and they have all been eliminated," Lin Mu said.
"What did you say? Have you confirmed their identities?" Dog Head Old Gao asked in surprise.
"I've already sent people to confirm and take photos," Lin Mu said.
"Good, I'll notify people to come and clean up the battlefield now. We'll meet up shortly," Dog Head Old Gao said.
Ending the call, Lin Mu walked into the building. Seeing the villagers huddled together, he was startled and hurried forward: "Fellow villagers, the enemies have all been eliminated. You are safe."
Hearing his voice and seeing a Soldier with camouflage paint on his face, the villagers stepped forward one by one to express their gratitude.
"Thank you, thank you!"
"Thank you for saving us."
"Thank you!"
Listening to the villagers' thanks, Lin Mu's heart was filled with pride and dignity.
"Blood Wolf, we're back. All enemies have been confirmed dead," the voices of the Team B members sounded behind him.
Before Lin Mu could speak, a villager said, "comrade, there's still an accomplice here."
After speaking, the crowded villagers moved to make a path, and a woman in red appeared before Lin Mu's eyes.
"Could you explain things to the villagers? I told them I wasn't with that group, but they didn't believe me," the woman in red said helplessly.
"Fellow villagers, this person is an undercover agent we sent among them. She really is one of ours," Lin Mu quickly explained to the villagers.
The villagers looked at Lin Mu and then at the woman in red. Seeing Lin Mu nod, they turned to apologize to her and then filed out of the room.
"Hello, let's have a formal introduction. I'm Lin Mu. The situation was urgent before, so please forgive any impropriety."
"Hello, I'm An Ran. I understand."
With that, the two shared a smile and walked out of the room.
"Comrade Lin Mu, can I ask you a question?" An Ran asked.
"Please, go ahead."
"Do you know who was responsible for sniping into the room? I want to test my skills against him and then take him as my master," An Ran said, looking at Ostrich, who was carrying a sniper rifle and cleaning up the corpses.
"Take him as your master?" Lin Mu asked curiously.
"Yes. Several shots in a row with almost no time interval, and every shot went straight for the forehead. Based on that sniping skill alone, I admit I'm inferior."
"The most impressive part is that he was sniping with a Type 95 Rifle," An Ran said with a face full of admiration.
Lin Mu looked at An Ran and then at Ostrich not far away, answering irrelevantly, "comrade An Ran, do you know Lei Zhan?"
"I've heard of him, but I don't know him. Why?" An Ran asked.
"It's nothing. Ostrich, the one carrying the sniper rifle over there, he was the one responsible," Lin Mu said, pointing at Ostrich.
Seeing An Ran eager to move, before Lin Mu could find a reason to stop her, two car headlights shone directly from the distance, and the sound of an engine became increasingly clear.
"They're here." Lin Mu took his rank insignia from his pocket, pinned it to his collar, and walked toward the vehicle.
"comrade, we'll leave this place to you," Lin Mu said to the Second Lieutenant jumping off the truck.
"Greetings, Chief. Please don't say that. If anything, we're the ones troubling you," the border defense Second Lieutenant said.
"There are a few intact mercenary corpses over there; take them back as well." After saying this, Lin Mu walked toward his team members.
"Assemble!"
"Target: Rendezvous point. Move out..."
...Forty-five minutes later, the helicopter landed on the helipad at Lang Ya Base. Captain He was already there waiting for them.