The meeting was held in a sandy valley about 300 kilometers from K City. Due to the complex terrain, bombers couldn't conduct bombing raids, and the location was also far from the government's artillery range. Therefore, despite receiving internal intelligence, the government was powerless. Furthermore, their own troops weren't of high quality; breaking through the defenses of a thousand men to assassinate Bazafi was simply wishful thinking. Thus, all hope rested on Li Zhongyuan's team.
Twenty people set off under the cover of night in five off-road vehicles carrying equipment. Li Zhongyuan put aside his carefree attitude and carefully studied the terrain of the sand valley with his team. They first determined two rendezvous points. The five off-road vehicles would then split up and head to the sand valley, 300 kilometers away, to minimize the target's exposure and prevent Bazafi from becoming alerted.
Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiqi each drove an off-road vehicle, about five kilometers apart. The other three vehicles, directed by Li Zhongyuan, carried all their equipment and took a different road to Shagu. The team was expected to meet at the first rendezvous point around 2 PM.
Volume 2 [349] Checkpoint
"This is Dark Hawk One. Dark Hawk Two, how's the situation on your end?"
Yang Shiqi's voice came through the radio: "This is Dark Eagle II. Everything is normal. We occasionally see scattered anti-government forces, but they haven't attacked the vehicles. We're following behind you, maintaining our speed."
Zhao Qiang replied, "Received. Continue at the same speed. Contact me again in five minutes."
A moment later, a communication signal came through the radio from another team: "Dark Hawk One, this is Flying Eagle One, what's the situation on your end?"
Zhao Qiang turned on the radio: "This is Dark Hawk One, all normal."
"Dark Hawk One, we'll meet at rendezvous point one in half an hour. Don't be late!"
Zhao Qiang said, "Understood."
The first assembly point is 20 kilometers from Shagu. According to satellite scans, the anti-government forces' surveillance outside the assembly point is not very tight; in fact, it's quite loose. Vehicles coming from the city can pass freely. However, since last night, the area further ahead of the assembly point has been heavily fortified, strictly prohibiting the passage of any suspicious vehicles, let alone off-road vehicles carrying a large number of personnel and weapons.
Half an hour later, the five off-road vehicles successfully reunited. If it weren't for the ruins of buildings affected by the war, you might not even realize you were in a country embroiled in civil war. Zhao Qiang and his companions, new to the area, were all very interested in the desert scenery along the way. Although they were sweating profusely from the sun, the vast sea of sand was breathtaking. If it weren't for the urgency of the mission, they would have loved to get out and take some photos to commemorate the occasion.
Country S is also known for its abundant oil reserves, but its own oil refining industry is extremely underdeveloped, with the vast majority of its crude oil production exported. Both China and the United States are eyeing it covetously. Otherwise, why would so many overseas Chinese and companies invest in Country S? It's also hard to believe that Western countries aren't behind the anti-government armed groups. However, a direct conflict between the two superpowers is unlikely; it's only these smaller countries that suffer.
Five off-road vehicles arrived at rendezvous point one after another. Meanwhile, the scouts sent out earlier reported back that a checkpoint was two kilometers ahead, where a group of twenty anti-government forces was stationed. They warned that if a large number of government troops passed through, the forces would scatter and flee into the desert; however, small convoys and scattered pedestrians would be forced to undergo inspection.
Li Zhongyuan glanced at the convoy and said, "We must abandon our vehicles and bypass the checkpoint."
A special forces soldier said, "If we abandon the vehicle, what will happen to our large amount of weapons and ammunition? Without suppressive fire, I can't imagine what will happen to us if Bazafi's men find out. Besides, trying to outrun anti-government forces in the desert on foot is simply wishful thinking."
Li Zhongyuan was also very troubled by this matter. It would be great if people could be transported directly to their destination by helicopter as before, but helicopters simply couldn't travel here. S Country's national strength consisted of only a few ordinary fighter jets, and Li Zhongyuan later learned that its only bomber had been grounded long ago due to an irreparable engine failure. Even if it could take to the skies, it seemed there were no bombs to carry. The civil war that had dragged down the country's strength for months was in a terrible state.
Li Zhongyuan said, "The weapons will be carried by people around the checkpoint first, and the vehicles will pass through the checkpoint one by one. Then we will board the vehicles and move forward. Later, we don't need to worry about this and can just drive through the checkpoint."
Yang Shiqi said, "Sure, but I don't know how many more checkpoints like this are ahead. We're still more than ten kilometers away from rendezvous point number two, and we must get there before nightfall, otherwise tonight's operation will be affected."
Li Zhongyuan said, "Because there are too many ground bunkers, we can no longer distinguish the movements of the anti-government forces from satellite images. We can only take it one step at a time. Have your men drive the first vehicle through the checkpoint, then my men will follow, and Instructor Zhao will bring up the rear."
Yang Shiqi's face was filled with anger: "You...!"
Li Zhongyuan chuckled: "Miss Yang, I am now the commander. I order you to drive the first vehicle through the checkpoint immediately! Have your men get out and carry their weapons. We'll meet back in the vehicle one kilometer from the checkpoint."
The first vehicle to pass through the checkpoint should be the most dangerous. If the first vehicle can pass smoothly, the safety of the following vehicles will increase exponentially. However, if the same vehicles pass through the checkpoint one after another, it will inevitably arouse suspicion from the anti-government forces. Therefore, the later the vehicle is, the higher the danger level. Li Zhongyuan gave Yang Shiqi the front and back seats, which is blatant bullying.
Yang Shiqi slammed the car door shut with a loud bang. Liu Jia and the others had already gotten out of the car and started unloading the weapons and equipment from Li Zhongyuan's three vehicles. This wasn't the time to argue with Li Zhongyuan; successfully reaching the second rendezvous point was the priority, otherwise everything else was out of the question.
Zhao Qiang followed Yang Shiqi's car at a distance. After rounding a sand dune, they could see the checkpoint. Zhao Qiang activated his anti-gravity device, and his running shoes were ready to go. If anything happened to Yang Shiqi, he would be there for her immediately.
From a distance, they watched as Yang Shiqi was stopped by rebels at the checkpoint. Three men searched her car but found no weapons. Even the weapons Yang Shiqi herself carried were given to Liu Jia and his men to take away. After the car search, one of the rebels attempted to search Yang Shiqi's body. Yang Shiqi naturally tried to back away, but one of the rebels, becoming suspicious, immediately pointed his gun at her and shouted at her to cooperate with the search. The other rebels followed suit.
Zhao Qiang yelled at Li Zhongyuan behind him, "Have the second car follow immediately to distract the checkpoint!"
Li Zhongyuan gritted his teeth. If the first car had an accident, it wouldn't just be Zhao Qiang's group that would be implicated. So he drove himself, the engine roaring as he sped towards the checkpoint. The rebels, who had originally planned to take Yang Shiqi hostage for a thorough search, immediately abandoned their plan and pointed their guns at the second SUV that was approaching. Yang Shiqi seized the opportunity to get in the car, stepped on the gas, and sped through the checkpoint.
Li Zhongyuan chuckled as he got out of the car, then greeted the rebels in fluent Japanese. He pulled a bottle of fine liquor from his bag—a gift from the S country president the previous night when he met Li Zhongyuan. Its value was considerable. Although the rebels didn't know much about liquor, they recognized its quality from the luxurious bottle, and several of them scrambled for it. Li Zhongyuan drove off, and a few minutes later, a third and fourth car also passed through, having paid the checkpoint a bribe. Finally, it was Zhao Qiang's turn. His team had all taken a detour, leaving only Zhao Qiang.
Yang Shiqi, still worried, sent a radio signal: "Zhao Qiang, if it's not working, abandon the car and come around. Ten of us can ride in one car." One person standing outside each of the four doors would be manageable, but overloading the car would damage the shock absorbers. But who cares? It's not their property.
Zhao Qiang said to 273734156370: "Let's try it first before we talk about it. Okay, see you in a bit."
As expected, Zhao Qiang's car was also stopped. The vehicles ahead had all been allowed to pass by pretending to be Japanese, but the repeated passage of the same type of SUV had already aroused the suspicion of the anti-government forces. At this moment, another car appeared, and the person on board didn't speak Japanese, greatly increasing the suspicion. Even if there were no offensive weapons in the car, they couldn't let it go.
It wasn't that Zhao Qiang didn't want to speak; the problem was he simply couldn't! He'd never considered using his Japanese identity as a cover before. Li Zhongyuan's men had carried out numerous missions; while their Japanese might not be fluent, they could certainly handle basic conversations. Deceiving anti-government militants who didn't understand Japanese was a piece of cake. Plus, they all had gifts to offer. These anti-government militants were only following Bazafi for money, so they were naturally happy to receive benefits. But now Zhao Qiang had nothing. The few Japanese phrases he could recall were the kind from art films, completely unsuitable for the current situation.
"He's Chinese! He's Chinese!" one of the armed men suddenly shouted, immediately alerting the others. "Arrest him!" A dozen armed men rushed towards Zhao Qiang with guns drawn. They didn't intend to kill him outright, but rather to torture him slowly, perhaps only in this way could they vent their hatred.
Zhao Qiang stumbled back a few steps, realizing he really couldn't get through. What to do? He hesitated for only a second before turning and running. His weapons were buried where he had parked, intending to sneak back and retrieve them after driving through the checkpoint. He hadn't expected his plan to slip through would fail.
The militants didn't fire, but chased after Zhao Qiang. At the same time, the two vehicles at the checkpoint started up, and everyone climbed into the vehicles, preparing to capture Zhao Qiang, film a torture video, and then release it to scare the Chinese investors!
Zhao Qiang, equipped with running shoes, was naturally much faster than the armed men. He disappeared into the sand dunes like a gust of wind, prompting the armed men to pound the driver's cab with their rifle butts, urging the driver to give chase.
Zhao Qiang grabbed his weapons from under the sand dune, unfolded the plastic sheeting used to shield himself from the sand, and slung a gun on each hip. He then turned to face the dune; since he couldn't avoid it, he had no choice but to fight.
At that moment, the first car appeared, and several armed men leaned out of the windows, waving guns and shouting. The second car followed closely behind. Zhao Qiang raised his hand and fired a shot at the front of the car. Boom! The immense pressure forced the front of the car to roll backward, and the driver and the people in the back were instantly crushed into a bloody pulp and ejected from the car through the windows! The heads that were originally sticking out of the windows were severed by the blast wave and flew backward, slamming into the windshield of the second car with a bang!
The second car immediately crashed into the rear of the first, and the driver smashed through the windshield and flew out. Zhao Qiang, who had already switched to his longsword, met the flying driver head-on, the tip of the blade aimed at his chest. *Thud*, the longsword pierced the driver's chest cavity, and the man coughed up blood in despair. Zhao Qiang immediately dodged to the side, and *thud*, the body fell to the ground. Zhao Qiang pulled the longsword out and then rushed towards the armed men in the second car.
The group of guys were dazed and disoriented from the impact, and before they could even figure out what was going on, Zhao Qiang chopped off three of their heads with a single sword stroke. Another armed man had already raised his gun, but Zhao Qiang instantly drew his compressed gun and fired a shot that blew the man's body apart. Two men were trying to escape back, but Zhao Qiang activated his running shoes and leaped after them, severing one man's thigh with a single sword stroke. The man fell to the ground, and Zhao Qiang's running shoes stomped on his head, the powerful recoil instantly crushing the man's skull, his brains splattering everywhere!
Using the momentum of a kick, Zhao Qiang caught up with the other man. He grabbed the man's neck from behind and snapped it with a sharp crack. The attack was swift and clean; in that moment, Zhao Qiang transformed into a cold-blooded killing machine once again.
Several armed men remained at the checkpoint. From their position, they should have been able to see what was happening here. Zhao Qiang didn't dare to waste any time. He switched from his compression gun to an electromagnetic gun and fired five bullets in quick succession. The three armed men remaining at the checkpoint were instantly killed. The car involved in the accident did not explode, and the sound of the weapon Zhao Qiang used was extremely low, so even Li Zhongyuan and his group, who were a kilometer ahead, did not hear anything unusual.
Zhao Qiang quietly dumped the body into a distant ditch. The wrecked car was also dragged to the roadside with the help of an anti-gravity device. The bloodstains on the ground were covered with sand, and everything appeared to leave no significant trace. With nightfall, it seemed unlikely anyone would discover it so quickly.
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Volume 2 [350] Sniper
Because the armed group had difficulty communicating, they didn't fire their weapons while trying to capture Zhao Qiang alive, allowing Zhao Qiang to wipe them all out without them noticing. After covering their tracks, Zhao Qiang got back into his car and continued on his way. He caught up with Li Zhongyuan's convoy in just a few minutes. He was already impatient, and if Yang Shiqi hadn't strongly stopped him, he probably would have left first.
"What happened? Is everything alright? You're not answering the radio," Yang Shiqi asked Zhao Qiang.
Zhao Qiang said, "It's alright, they let us through. Let's hurry on our way, we don't have much time." Zhao Qiang didn't want Li Zhongyuan to hear the truth, otherwise Li Zhongyuan would start yelling at him again, and if the mission failed, he would be blamed for it.
Li Zhongyuan said nothing. The weapons and equipment had already been reloaded onto the vehicles, and the scouts had gone forward to search. The five vehicles continued on, and half an hour later they arrived at the second checkpoint. There weren't as many armed men here as at the first checkpoint, and there were no vehicles for pursuit either. There were only seven men with guns slung over their shoulders, squatting scattered along the roadside.
Li Zhongyuan checked the time and said, "If we keep going around in circles like this, we don't know when we'll reach the second rendezvous point. I think we should just go through it."
Zhao Qiang agreed: "I think that's a good idea. Don't you have a sniper? Let's take them out."
At Li Zhongyuan's command, the four team members began assembling their sniper rifles. He said to Yang Shiqi, "I told you to ask for some equipment, but you wouldn't listen. Now each of you only has two pistols. You won't be able to help at all when the fighting starts. You're just a burden to us."
Yang Shiqi sneered, "Battalion Commander Li, that's hard to say. We'll see who helps whom in the end."
Li Zhongyuan snorted: "I'll be extremely grateful as long as you don't drag my team down!"
Four snipers lay prone in the sand ditch, their gun barrels and scopes peeking out from the edge. Six hundred meters ahead were the seven armed men. The snipers had determined their firing pattern based on the target's position. Two snipers would fire two shots each, while the remaining four would strike the last armed man when the opportunity arose, as he had been partially obscured by two other snipers. Whoever first saw him revealed himself would fire first.
After Zhao Qiang and his ten men were secured to the sand dune by Li Zhongyuan, they were not allowed to move. Zhao Qiang, who had used his X-ray vision to observe everything happening ahead, could see through the small dune. However, Liu Jia, Ma Dahong, and the others' X-ray glasses were not powerful enough to see through the dune. Li Zhongyuan did not personally go to the front line to command, but instead leisurely stayed with the group chatting with Yang Shiqi.
"Company Commander Yang, I'm not trying to be mean, but you should just go back to your military academy and be the third young master of the Yang family. Why did you insist on participating in this African mission? Weren't you just being a busybody?" Li Zhongyuan didn't hold back with Yang Shiqi at all, because he himself came from a very powerful background—the nephew of Chen Kezong from the South. That kind of status made him a very influential figure in any city in the South.
Yang Shiqi retorted, "I can do whatever I want, and I don't need your opinions!"
Li Zhongyuan said, "Fine, but don't expect me to protect you at crucial moments! We risk our lives to fight for merit, while you just want to hide behind us and take advantage of us. It's not that easy for me to take advantage of you!"
Yang Shiqi said, "Bullshit! If we hadn't destroyed two anti-aircraft strongpoints, you, surnamed Li, would have been shot dead in the air yesterday, and you'd probably be hanging somewhere drying like jerky right now."
Li Zhongyuan blushed; this was his sore spot. He and his team were in the air, without their weapons and equipment, completely unable to engage the ground-based anti-aircraft fire. If Yang Shiqi hadn't silenced the strongpoint in time and then completely captured it, at least half of his men would likely have perished in the air! Li Zhongyuan simply couldn't understand how Yang Shiqi's men had landed safely. Surviving a fall without parachutes—was that even possible? Also, they seemed to have fired shots at the ground from the air, but given their descent speed and the wind, hitting their target would have been impossible!
Li Zhongyuan turned and crawled into the sand ditch to check the situation. He was afraid that if he stayed behind, Yang Shiqi would seize on this excuse and continue to hurl insults, and if the two of them got into a fight, he, as a man, would be in the wrong. He would also offend the Yang family, and Old Master Chen would scold him when he returned home. He decided to go ahead and check on the sniping situation.
Bang, bang, the sound of sniper rifles rang out. Although silencers were used, they were still quite noticeable at close range. Zhao Qiang watched as four armed men were blown off their heads. Li Zhongyuan's men were indeed quite capable; this wasn't an opportunity to go abroad obtained through flattery, but rather through genuine combat prowess.
The four militants immediately stood their ground, followed by two more shots. The two militants who had reacted were also killed. The last one had already taken to the ground after the two rounds of shooting, using the three corpses as cover to avoid the snipers hiding in the shadows. His gun was resting on the corpses and could be fired at any time. If the gun, which was not equipped with a silencer, was fired, the checkpoint ahead would definitely hear it, and the team's whereabouts would be exposed!
Without the slightest hesitation, Zhao Qiang drew his gun, cocked it, fired, and then slung it back over his shoulder in one fluid motion. With a soft bang, a solid bullet struck the sand dune. By the time Li Zhongyuan's team members, who had remained in the convoy, heard the sound and turned to look, Zhao Qiang was already standing motionless with his arms crossed. No one knew what had happened. The hole he had drilled in the dune had already been covered by the collapsing sand, and the seemingly spontaneous quicksand was everywhere in the desert, which did not arouse any suspicion from Li Zhongyuan's team.
The solid bullet does not explode or burn; it penetrates any obstacle with all its might until the bullet's momentum completely dissipates. It pierces through the sand dunes, kicking up a cloud of dust as it flies past, entering the thigh of the first corpse, running up the thigh to the abdomen and chest, then exiting from the shoulder, entering the chest of the second corpse, and finally exiting from the back of the third corpse, striking the back of the head.
The surviving militant, lying prone behind the third corpse with his head aligned with the body's, spotted the sniper's position and placed his thumb on the trigger, ready to fire! Suddenly, a loud thud echoed from the corpse's forehead as a bullet spun and pierced the skull, creating a spray of blood right before the militant's eyes.
This scene flashed by only briefly. The militant felt a sharp pain in his head as the bullet, like a carpenter's screw, spun rapidly and pierced his skull. His fingers gave way, and he pulled back to clutch his forehead, now riddled with a gaping hole. With a scream, he rolled on the ground! The bullet passed through the back of his head and continued its flight, disappearing without a trace. His final roll was merely a reflex; in reality, he was already dead, his brains churned up by the spinning bullet.
Li Zhongyuan, using his binoculars, had a clear view of what was happening ahead. Although it was only a flash, the situation was incredibly tense. The sniper hadn't expected the three corpses to become cover for the last militant. While their sniper rifles were powerful, it would be difficult to penetrate three corpses. But that wasn't the main problem. Even if they could penetrate the corpses, the crucial issue was that Li Zhongyuan's sniper didn't know the militant's posture behind them. If he couldn't kill him with a single shot, firing even one would alert the other militants.
When Li Zhongyuan observed the bullet that suddenly appeared, it had already pierced through the sand dunes, so he couldn't understand where it came from! When the sniper risked going to the checkpoint to observe the situation and returned to report, Li Zhongyuan was even more astonished. It had pierced through four corpses, hitting the target squarely in the forehead, killing him instantly. What kind of weapon was this, and how could it achieve such precise aiming!
"Drag the bodies to the roadside and cover them with sand," Li Zhongyuan ordered. Four snipers immediately climbed out of the sand ditch, while two other special forces soldiers rushed over to patrol and provide cover. Meanwhile, the convoy headed towards the checkpoint.
Yang Shiqi jumped out of the car and asked, "Battalion Commander Li, how is it?"
Li Zhongyuan said proudly, "I successfully took down all seven of them without making a sound. The quality of my team members is absolutely top-notch."
Yang Shiqi shouted, "I'm so excited!" She looked at the scene with a smile, her voice trembling. She was surrounded by a strange, unsettling air. The scene was filled with a mix of sounds and words, seemingly a mix of emotions.
Li Zhongyuan was taken aback: "You...how did you know?" After Yang Shiqi was blocked on the sand dune, no one ran over to tell them what happened at the checkpoint, so Li Zhongyuan's suspicions were perfectly normal.
Yang Shiqi smiled mysteriously: "Don't you know I have X-ray vision?"
Li Zhongyuan snorted, "You? You four-eyed idiot?" Yang Shiqi didn't used to wear glasses, but now she had to pretend to be a scholar, otherwise her X-ray vision and aiming abilities wouldn't work.
Yang Shiqi didn't explain to Li Zhongyuan. She got into the car and drove forward. The second rendezvous point wasn't far away, where a temporary camp would be set up. The rest of the way would have to be covered on foot, because the closer they got to the sand valley, the easier it would be to expose their position. Driving was definitely not a good idea.
Without encountering any other armed men along the way, the convoy reached its destination smoothly. The lead vehicle veered off the road and turned onto a sand dune, followed by the other vehicles. After selecting a suitable location, they turned off their engines, and immediately team members took out wireless surveillance cameras from their suitcases. They placed two cameras around the perimeter of the sand dune, then opened the suitcases to pop out the monitoring screens inside. The situation in all directions was then displayed on this large screen, eliminating the need for patrols around the perimeter.
Li Zhongyuan opened the map and marked an "X": "There's another checkpoint one kilometer ahead, but we won't be taking the road anymore, so we can ignore it. However, it might hinder our retreat, so everyone should still be careful. Two kilometers ahead from the last checkpoint is our final destination. Bazafi will appear at the venue in two and a half hours. We need to get there within an hour and a half to plant bombs and ambush snipers. We must ensure a successful strike."
A special forces soldier asked, "Commander, since you're worried the checkpoint will hinder our retreat, why not eliminate it as well?"
Li Zhongyuan said, "This checkpoint is too close to Shagu. Even if we can eliminate them without them noticing, if any patrol vehicles from Shagu go out, they will notice something is wrong. That would alert them too early and be detrimental to our assassination plan."
Yang Shiqi pointed to the map and troop deployment markings of Shagu and said, "Shagu is defended on all sides; it will be too difficult for us to sneak in quietly."
Li Zhongyuan said, "My team will cover your men as they go in to plant the time bomb. You and your team can discuss the specifics of how to safely infiltrate."
Yang Shiqi sneered: "Commander Li, you're really dreaming. Why don't you let your men do such a dangerous job?"
Li Zhongyuan said, "My men are responsible for sniping. Are your men up to the task? Do you have the equipment?"
Zhao Qiang stopped Yang Shiqi from arguing any further, saying, "Fine, we'll plant the time bomb. The rest is up to you. We guarantee the bomb will be successfully placed. If it fails to kill Bazafi, that's none of our business."
Li Zhongyuan said, "Fine, we'll take care of whether Bazafi lives or dies."
Volume 2 [351] Secret Infiltration