Chapter 50: A Comprehensive Sweep

"Click!"

Carrying explosives and taking advantage of the twilight, Su Yang slipped past the patrol and placed timed charges outside the tents one by one.

He didn't toss them inside. Although these were exercise rounds meant only to produce sound and smoke with minimal destructive power, whether someone was eliminated in an exercise depended entirely on the judgment of the umpire department. After all, the destructive force of a real bomb, even if placed just outside a tent, would be more than enough to send everyone inside straight to the heavens.

"Security is getting tighter!" Taking cover behind a tent once again to dodge the sentinel's line of sight, Su Yang hid behind a military vehicle and observed the alert sentinels.

He had already noticed that the closer he got to the tents in the center, the more energetic and high-strung the patrol teams and sentinels were compared to those on the outer perimeter.

"Loose on the outside, tight on the inside," was the phrase that came to Su Yang's mind.

However, had Zheng Sanpao or Chen Guotao been here, they certainly would have told Su Yang that it was simply because the senior leaders were present, causing everyone to instinctively tense up to avoid leaving a poor impression on the command staff.

As for the sentinels on the outer periphery, since the leaders were unlikely to see them, everyone naturally let their guard down. After all, it was just an exercise; not everyone lived on edge.

"It seems the leadership must be right here. I need to find a place to hide."

Su Yang muttered to himself. Based on the density of the sentinels' vigilance, he could deduce that the commander of the opposing Blue Force was definitely nearby, though he couldn't be certain which exact tent it was.

Fortunately, the rocket launcher he was carrying would come in handy precisely at a moment like this.

With that thought in mind, he cradled the rocket launcher, climbed into the bed of a truck, lay down flat, and waited for the right opportunity to arrive.

...

Outside the command post encampment, parked inside an off-road vehicle, Gao Dazhang was playing cards with Gray Wolf and Earth Wolf.

"Three aces, Gray Wolf. At this hour, there's still no movement. You should go get some sleep; Wild Wolf and I can hold down the fort," Wild Wolf threw down three cards and said as he glanced at Gray Wolf, who was yawning and looking thoroughly drowsy.

"Sigh, I'm getting old. Pulling an all-nighter could practically kill a man. But I can't turn in just yet. Didn't you say that if that soldier, Old Miao's boy, is hiding out there, he might make his move in the early morning?" Gray Wolf shook his head to shake off the sleepiness and declined Wild Wolf's suggestion.

"Fine, suit yourself. Once we finish this hand, I'm done playing. When the superior officers wake up, I'll need to go warn them not to step out of their tents. Otherwise, that brat Su Yang is likely lying in wait somewhere just to snipe them," Wild Wolf played another card.

"Boom..."

Just as Wild Wolf's voice trailed off, a sudden explosion echoed in the distance.

The expressions on their faces shifted dramatically as they hastily looked toward the encampment.

"What... what is the situation?"

Gray Wolf, who had just been checking his hand, stared blankly in the direction of the white smoke rising from the encampment.

"Not good! It looks like the armory has been bombed. Quick, come with me to protect the commander! This is a feint to draw us away!" Gao Dazhang roared.

Although the blast radius was quite small, everyone understood that the enemy couldn't possibly be going through all this trouble just to blow up a simple armory, as the equipment depot of the command post wasn't all that crucial.

Realizing this, everyone's complexion turned grim.

Hearing this, Gray Wolf by Gao Dazhang's side did not hesitate at all. "Let's go, protect the commander!"

Led by Gao Dazhang, the members of the Fang (Wolf Fang) unit rushed deep into the command headquarters, where they saw a lieutenant colonel leading a squad of security troops bursting into a tent.

"Quick, protect the commander! First platoon, cover the commander's relocation," the lieutenant colonel said anxiously.

Clearly, he too understood that the explosion just now was merely a diversion.

"Alright, Gao Dazhang, take your Wolf Fang soldiers and cover the commander's retreat," the full colonel from last night saw that Gao Dazhang's Wolf Fang troops had arrived and decided to entrust the commander's safety to them. Compared to the regular security battalion, he trusted this group of special operators far more.

Gao Dazhang shook his head immediately. "No, Leader, I object to relocating right now. Doing so is no different from exposing the commander directly to the Red Force's scouts. We already know that enemy soldier has stolen one of our Blue Force's sniper rifles. He is undoubtedly concealed somewhere, just waiting for us to transfer the commander amidst the chaos. After all, inside the tent, no matter how formidable his marksmanship is, he cannot strike at the commander."

With that, Gao Dazhang looked anxiously at the colonel. As a mere major, whether they would listen to his advice depended entirely on the senior officer before him.

"Very well, Gao Dazhang, we'll do as you say and hold off on relocating for now. But you must capture that Red Force scout immediately; we cannot stay holed up here indefinitely." Finding Gao Dazhang's reasoning logical, the colonel promptly dismissed the lieutenant colonel's proposal and agreed to Gao Dazhang's plan.

"Understood, Leader! We will find him right away." Gao Dazhang breathed a sigh of relief internally, then turned his head to instruct Gray Wolf, "Sweep the surrounding area with the thermal radiation detector again, especially any spots capable of concealing a sniper."

"Understood!" Gray Wolf nodded and strode away.

Inside the truck bed, peering through a narrow gap in the wooden slats, Su Yang had a crystal-clear view of the actions taken by Gao Dazhang and the others.

"Go ahead and trust your instincts, Old Dog-head Gao."

Su Yang was thoroughly thrilled. Initially, he hadn't been certain which tent housed the Blue Force commander, but seeing them leading the charge and swarming around one particular tent made it abundantly clear.

With this realization, Su Yang rose to his knees in the truck bed, mounted the rocket launcher onto the side rail, and aimed squarely at the identified tent.

Gao Dazhang was narrowing his eyes to scan the perimeter, attempting to leverage his experience to pinpoint where Su Yang might be hiding. Just as his gaze swept across the line of military trucks, his eyelids twitched.

Right as he was about to dispatch men to search the vehicle beds, he caught sight of a figure rising in the bed of a military truck behind him, hoisting a rocket launcher.

"Watch out! Four-zero fire!"

Gao Dazhang mustered every ounce of his strength and lunged headlong into the tent housing the Blue Force commander.

"Whoosh! Bang!"

Alas, it was already too late. Su Yang pulled the trigger, sending the exercise rocket screaming toward the tent. A sharp report rang out, followed by a thick billow of white smoke erupting around the perimeter of the canvas shelter.

"Commander!"

Gao Dazhang froze in his tracks as he looked inside the tent, only to find officers of all ranks staring back at him with bizarre expressions on their faces.

"Is this your layer upon layer of protection? You gathered us tightly in a circle just so the Red Force scout could wipe us out in one fell swoop," the Blue Force commander said with a dark expression.

...

Watching the dejected Blue Force officers and soldiers emitting wisps of white smoke, Su Yang stood proudly in the truck bed and burst into hearty laughter.

"It worked! It actually worked, Old Dog-head Gao! I've succeeded!"

Roused from their shock, the Blue Force soldiers glared with fury at Su Yang, who was howling with laughter toward the heavens.

"Get him!"

A second lieutenant shouted at the top of his lungs.

Su Yang's laughter abruptly cut off. Seeing the enraged Blue Force soldiers charging toward him, he hastily vaulted down from the truck, scrambling away as he yelled back over his shoulder, "You're already eliminated! This is against the rules!"

"Against your mother's ass! Brothers, beat the living daylights out of him!"

The second lieutenant who led the charge seemed to have completely forgotten his status as an officer as he rushed forward first.

"Damn it, stop hitting me! Stop! I concede, I admit defeat!" Su Yang parried frantically while shouting out his surrender.

"You son of a bitch, and you still dare to fight back? Keep pounding him!"