The sandstorm arrived as scheduled.
The cold air, accompanied by the all-enveloping black sand like a veil, quickly invaded and occupied the sky. The blue sky was replaced in an instant. The sun's rays feebly penetrated the increasingly thick atmosphere, and the small town was plunged into a thick darkness. Coupled with the cooling effect of the cold wind, it was as cold as ice water. The floating particles washed against the walls, making a rustling sound like the tide lapping against the islands.
"The crash site is probably around here." Hedwig marked it on the tactical tablet, which was blinking red as it was in an offline state. "Let's go and rescue them. If we can't take Tucker away, deal with him on the spot."
"With all due respect, sir," Bob said. "How can we be sure they're still alive?"
"How did you listen in the Mogadishu incident course? It has its own system that can prevent the fuel tank from catching fire. Moreover, they were hit on the flank, not the fuselage. Plus, considering the performance of the pilots in the end, the possibility of casualties among them is not high. But there's a problem. Gu Xiaoyao, based on your understanding of Angehefei, how likely is it that she'll abandon us?"
"Not very likely," I said, taking a bite of a Snickers bar and speaking indistinctly. "But it's also impossible for her to come in and look for us."
Yes, you read that right. It's indeed a Snickers bar—the kind that's sickeningly sweet, comes in small bars, and costs two and a half yuan each in Chinese supermarkets. Many people may think of Snickers as a snack, full of sugar and likely to make you gain weight. In fact, Snickers is originally a functional food. It won't produce phlegm like other chocolates and burden the respiratory system, nor will it take up space in the stomach like military rations and affect movement.
After chewing carefully and swallowing, I added, "She should follow the previous plan and evacuate in batches. But if the ammunition runs out, it's hard to say."
In the large evacuation plan, there were three batches of evacuations. The first two batches could transport about 30 people each, and the last batch would evacuate together with the rapid reaction force. Among them, the priority of the special task force was higher than that of the Fire Brigade 252, and the priority of the Fire Brigade 252 was higher than that of Class 4. Come to think of it, I'm quite looking forward to meeting the new classmates. In the class, I, along withValentina (name) and others, still belong to Class 4. However, due to a series of personnel changes some time ago, the class has also been restructured on the original basis.
"Then synchronize our watches. Compass direction. Time."
"The same." "The same."
"Then let's go." Hedwig pulled down the goggles tied to her hair and put on a cloth to cover her mouth and nose to protect her respiratory tract. Zhuge Yu adjusted the drone in his backpack to the communication mode, turning it into a signal node. The moment the door's latch was loosened, it was roughly pushed open by the wind. The bone-chilling cold, along with the flying sand, rushed in, howling.
To prevent jamming, we wrapped a layer of cloth around our guns—it and the face-covering scarves distributed earlier were both made from curtains. Thanks to the local climate, there was no strange smell on them.
The situation of the other comrades was unknown, but I was sure that the weapons used by Team 4 wouldn't malfunction. The Russians all used the WZ1996, which was the 5.56 NATO-modified version of the AK 74M. The AK, always reliable.
"It's really cold," Ji Ling, who was always at the front, shivered and pulled out the MP5 submachine gun that should have been forgotten by the readers.
The team lined up like a long snake in the unfathomable darkness, and everyone huddled together. Team 6 chose to move to the other side of the street.
"That means you're still alive," Yang Shixiu chimed in at the right time.
"Shut up if you don't have anything good to say. Damn it. It's all your fault that we've ended up like this! Why did you have to jinx us for no reason?"
"Damn it. If your mother knew that the son she raised for 17 years was actually an idiot, she'd be very sad."
"Damn it! Can you guys stop yapping in the channel like a bunch of women without balls?" Lu Wanqing cursed angrily.
"...Why are you scolding yourself?"
"Hehe," Lu Wanqing sneered with contempt. "If I didn't have balls, where would you come from?"
"Good grief. Do you want to compete to be the next Bulgarian Chameleon or the Emperor of Futanari?"
"Hehe, bumpkin?"
The argument was getting heated. Liang Dong joined in. Behind us, Hedwig quietly asked Dongfang Muxue, "Why are these people so rowdy?"
"Don't ask me. Who should I ask? But I've seen a whole team like this before. Now there are only two left."
"Dead? About seven?"
"No—one is still alive, one who defected counts as half, and another who's always between missing and half-missing also counts as half. Well, I've told you so much. Shouldn't you tell me something too?"
"I don't have anything to tell you. And don't imitate the Japanese when you talk. It just makes me feel sick."
"Na na na na na na na..."
But all of this was suddenly broken by a gunshot. "Under attack!"
The report came from Team 6. After that single shot, the surrounding area fell back into the howling wind. I didn't dare to speak and signaled my companions to lie down. We lay on the warm ground, trying to make out some figures in the grayish-black in front of us. Nobody could tell whether that bullet was fired deliberately or it was just an accidental discharge.
Under the oppressive atmosphere, Ji Ling suddenly opened fire: "One o'clock direction. One machine gunner!"
The counterattack came immediately. Rolling on the sand to dodge the bullets, I fired two shots in the direction where they were coming from and moved forward while keeping to the side. Ji Ling fired in short bursts and then ran towards me against the wind and sand.
"One o'clock, five to seven people. At least two PKMs!" Lu Wanqing reported the target's location in a timely manner. However, in the sandstorm, everyone was practically blind. The only option was to shoot in the direction where the gunshots came from. Realizing this, both sides fell into a silent ceasefire, which was eerie and terrifying.
Ji Ling and I walked side by side and switched back to the M4: "The rifle is more handy. This submachine gun just doesn't have enough power."
"I've told you that's a police gun... By the way, I heard that the Hill Chieftain next door has set up a Global Criminal Police Academy."
"Are there any pretty policewomen?"
"...You're being weird."
"Ah—" A scream pierced through the darkness. I shuddered in fright and quickly turned my head and the muzzle of my gun towards the source of the sound. It was like a spark falling on firewood, fierce and sweeping up in an overbearing manner, igniting everything. Whether it was like drumbeats or the sound of rain on plantain leaves, the chaotic gunshots played a waltz of death. The particles floating in the atmosphere were pushed aside by the harder and hotter metal. The gunfire flickered on and off, like candles swaying in the wind.
"Damn it! What's going on?"
"One member is down!" "Medic! Medic!" Whenever this happened, the communication channel would become so chaotic that it made people feel irritable. The communication established with the drone as a node couldn't perfectly separate the communications of each team, resulting in an influx of too much redundant information.
"Captain, where are you?" Amid all the voices, I finally found my own people. "Just up ahead!" I replied to Zhuge Yu. "Who's injured?"
"It's one of my men," Dyson said hoarsely and anxiously. "CQB! (Close Quarter Battle, close-quarters combat) At least seven people!"
Ji Ling and I jogged forward with our guns: "Approaching from the right. Watch out for the firepower!"
"Two moving targets noticed on the right!" Lu Wanqing added, which was really not helpful.
"What do you want to do?!!"
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The illustrations have already been commissioned. The first illustration will be uploaded at the end of this volume, and the character is Ji Han.
By the way, the manuscript of the second volume has already been completed.