Long Zhan shot and killed an armed militant on his side, but it had no effect on Jason's work. Jason acted as if he hadn't even heard the gunshot.
With standard CQB (Close Quarters Battle) entry steps—fast yet steady—he entered the room.
His first glance was toward the back of the door to ensure no one was hiding there. After confirming the area was clear, he approached the militant's corpse, aimed at its head, and fired a final shot to ensure the kill.
He bent down and, with one hand, picked up the AK-74, performing the intricate task of ejecting the magazine and clearing the chamber in one fluid motion.
After finishing, Jason called out, "Clear!"
By now, several gunshots had echoed through the first and second floors, combined with the noise from a militant tumbling down the stairs earlier.
Everyone inside the building who should have been awakened was now fully alert—those who shouldn't have been woken were also wide awake.
Team B continued their slower, silent advance. However, there was no longer any need for stealth. Completing the mission as quickly as possible was now the top priority.
Simply put...
The earlier unexposed approach was a stealth operation. Now, having been exposed, they had to switch to an assault mode.
"Move!"
Jason stepped out of the house, replacing hand signals with direct verbal commands.
Following his order, Brock continued advancing. Jason and Long Zhan maintained their previous coordination, alternating between covering each other and moving forward cautiously.
The second room. The third room...
The three-man team pressed forward, their coordination improving with each engagement. Their efficiency in clearing rooms increased as well.
After taking down two more militants and discovering a group of women, children, and elderly hiding in one of the rooms, the team arrived at a room that stood out even from the outside. It was clearly different from the others they had cleared—there was something suspicious about it.
Light seeped through the gap under the door, and it was locked from the inside.
This indicated that whoever was inside was already prepared.
Jason couldn't use a door-breaching ram alone, and the situation no longer allowed for rash entries. They needed to employ the most forceful method.
He opened Long Zhan's tactical backpack and pulled out a roll of black breaching charges.
"Breaching!"
Jason held his weapon steady, aiming toward the staircase, his gaze fixed ahead as he handed the breaching charge to Long Zhan with his right hand.
No further verbal commands were necessary. This action signified that Jason would cover the rear for now.
Fire support team members, typically bulkier individuals, often carried more equipment and supplies since they operated from the back of the formation. Unlike assault troops, who prioritized lightweight gear for greater mobility, fire support members often specialized in explosives, either as a primary or secondary expertise, to maintain the team's versatility.
For example, Sunny specialized in demolitions, while Long Zhan had it as his secondary specialization.
As a trained demolitionist, Long Zhan was highly familiar with directional breaching charges, mastering 108 ways to use them.
Breaching charges, a type of plastic explosive, had excellent flexibility and malleability.
They weren't rigidly shaped but were like a thick strip of adhesive tape rolled into a coil, with one side highly sticky. Once unrolled, they could adhere to any surface, allowing users to target specific areas for detonation.
The explosion energy was directional, similar to a claymore mine, producing a powerful blast focused in one direction. It was practically tailor-made for special operations.
Long Zhan unrolled the charge into a strip and adhered it along the door latch on the opposite side of the handle, running it vertically.
He then attached a remote detonator, stepped back to the side of the door, and readied the wireless remote. Holding his weapon with one hand and aiming at the staircase, he appeared to mutter to himself, but he was actually addressing Jason:
"Breaching ready. Five-second countdown."
Receiving Long Zhan's signal, Jason immediately repositioned himself, pulling back to his original location—
Right beside the doorframe, sticking to the wall.
"5...4...2...1."
As Long Zhan uttered the final number, he pressed the detonator.
"Boom!"
The massive explosion reverberated through the air.
The wooden door was effortlessly shredded by the breaching charge. The intense shockwave from the directional blast reduced the door to splinters, scattering them into the room.
The entire door was obliterated, but Jason, positioned right beside it, remained unharmed.
The moment the explosion ended, Jason, holding his weapon with both hands, executed a flawless pivot and step, charging through the left side of the doorway into the room.
The first thing he saw was an armed militant sitting across the room, holding an AK-74.
The militant, dazed from the shockwave, was fumbling to avoid the flying door fragments. He spotted Jason rushing in through the doorway.
Their eyes met.
The militant instinctively tried to resist, but the explosion's shockwave had left him disoriented, his reaction time sluggish as if he were drunk—barely half of his usual capacity.
In contrast, Jason, a top-tier operator, already had reaction times far superior to the militant. Combined with the advantage from the directional breach...
"Biu~biu~"
Jason's weapon fired, and another corpse hit the ground.
Remaining vigilant, Jason scanned the room, his weapon sweeping from side to side. Once he confirmed no other threats, he quickly advanced to the militant's body and delivered a final shot to the head.
He crouched down, retrieved the militant's weapon, and dismantled it.
This room was at the end of a corridor, with a window overlooking the first floor ahead. There was no possibility of any further enemies emerging from that direction.
As Jason finished securing the room, Brock entered as well.
Brock's focus was on a woman lying on the floor to the right side of the room. Her hands and feet were bound, and a cloth was stuffed into her mouth. She stared at Jason and Brock in astonishment.
Brock knelt on one knee in front of her, removed the cloth from her mouth, and quickly said:
"We're here to rescue you. I need to confirm your identity. Your name—tell me your name."
Verifying the individual's identity was a basic step in any rescue mission to ensure they had found the right person.