96: Chapter 96 Chase in the Woods

Xu Hu missed his strike and quickly leaped out, contacting the Brigade Commander while in pursuit.

"Commander, those people are trying to escape. We're in pursuit, so you need to move fast."

"Understood. Stay safe."

"Yes, sir."

With a wave of his hand, the ten-man squad immediately entered the battlefield, advancing while alternating their search. They didn't rush in blindly but instead clung tightly to Fox Shadow's tail, waiting for other special operations members to get into position.

After running for a distance, Fox Shadow realized the pursuers behind weren't moving very fast, and he immediately understood why.

"They're trying to encircle us."

"Boss, should we split up to break through?"

Houzi replied, panting heavily.

"No, splitting up now would make us even more vulnerable; we'd just be picked off one by one. I suspect they've deployed at least an entire Special Operations Brigade."

"Our only hope now is to react quickly enough to break through the front before they cut off our retreat. Houzi, contact Viper and have him provide backup."

"Copy that, Boss."

While the two groups were in a high-speed chase, Wang Xuedong and his team had already left the base.

"Wang Xuedong, let me tell you in advance: don't act unless it's absolutely necessary. One shot from that sniper rifle of yours and there'll be nothing left. When we left, the Commander said to take them alive if possible."

Accompanying Wang Xuedong was the scout battalion commander of the First Division, who possessed extensive experience in tracking and counter-tracking.

"Exactly, just stay put and watch us work, haha."

Xue Zhikai was busy mounting the 16x scope that Wang Xuedong had removed, and he didn't miss the chance to chime in with Battalion Commander Wang. Wang Xuedong nodded helplessly; a higher rank truly can be overbearing.

"Based on the location of the firefight reported from the front, I can roughly determine which path they took to cut through. We'll head straight there; we might even catch a big fish."

Battalion Commander Wang then gave the location to the driver, who nodded and floored the accelerator.

The two military jeeps roared to life, racing along the uneven forest paths and occasionally catching air. The team members inside gripped the handrails as the jeep's tires kicked up high clods of mud.

...

Xu Hu and his team followed closely behind Fox Shadow, the distance gradually closing until they were within weapon range. Rapid rifle fire echoed through the forest from time to time.

They had engaged in a firefight.

After firing a burst behind him, Fox Shadow ducked behind a large tree and observed the pursuers through his sniper scope.

"Black Bear, take advantage of the chaos of the firefight to set some booby traps. At least it'll keep them from sticking so close. If this continues, they'll wear us down to death."

"Copy that, Boss."

Black Bear stowed his rifle, took out grenades from his backpack, and busied himself between several large trees.

A few minutes later, after finishing the booby traps, Black Bear picked up the MK48 Mod 0 machine gun from the ground, fired a burst toward the rear, and followed closely behind Fox Shadow as they retreated.

As his burly figure came into view,

Xu Hu held his breath, watching Black Bear through his scope. After estimating the distance based on his movement across the mil-dots, he decisively pulled the trigger. The bullet whistled through the air, and seconds later, with a squelch, Black Bear collapsed to the ground.

Before Xu Hu could take a closer look, he shifted his scope to aim at the next target. A flash of light flickered in his view, and he instinctively leaped to the side. The moment his body hit the ground, a thud came from his previous position as a bullet buried itself in the earth.

Xu Hu was stunned for a moment.

"Careful, they have sniper cover."

His reaction was fast enough, and he immediately warned his teammates through his headset, but it was still too late. Just as the words left his mouth, two teammates beside him were shot almost simultaneously.

"Everyone, take cover behind trees! Don't show your heads! There might be more than one sniper."

As Xu Hu spoke, he rolled over and dragged a wounded teammate behind a large tree. He checked the wound; fortunately, it was only a shoulder hit and hadn't struck anything vital. Even so, the shoulder was a bloody mess, and the wound didn't look like it had been caused by an ordinary rifle.

"You lucky brat. He probably missed me just now and switched targets in a hurry, losing his aim. Otherwise, the consequences would have been much worse."

Xu Hu comforted him while bandaging the wound.

"Squad Leader, don't worry about me. I won't die. They haven't fired again, so they've probably run off. You guys need to keep up the pursuit!"

The wounded soldier gritted his teeth against the intense pain as he spoke to Xu Hu, who was focused on bandaging him.

"Don't worry, not a single one of them will escape. I'll make them pay."

Xu Hu squeezed the wounded soldier's hand and gestured to a nearby teammate. Once the teammate arrived, he crouched low and crawled to the other wounded comrade, encountering no attacks along the way.

"How is he?"

Xu Hu asked with concern as he watched another team member bandaging him.

"Report, Squad Leader! He was hit in the abdomen, but thanks to his body armor, the wound isn't too large. The bullet is likely lodged inside. He needs to be sent back to the base for emergency surgery immediately, or it could be life-threatening."

The soldier replied urgently while pressing down on the wound.

"Shi Lei, contact the base immediately! Report our situation and have them send a medical team right away. Hurry!"

Xu Hu grew anxious. He saw that the soldier with the abdominal wound had already lost consciousness, and the gauze on his stomach was quickly being soaked red with blood. In this situation, surgery was needed immediately to stop the bleeding; otherwise, he would soon go into shock from massive blood loss, which would be critical.

"Wake him up! Don't let him fall asleep! Xiao Ma, you and Shi Lei stay behind to look after our comrades. The rest of you, follow me and continue the pursuit!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Yes, sir!"

The high-spirited responses of his teammates came through Xu Hu's headset. Without further hesitation, he picked up his sniper rifle again, patted Shi Lei on the shoulder, and charged forward. Several teammates followed close behind him.

Xu Hu knew that the group hadn't had time for follow-up shots because they were in a rush to escape. He couldn't afford any more delays, or they would likely lose the target.

During the chase, Xu Hu didn't forget to instruct the teammates behind him.

"Advance using alternating tactical cover. Watch out for their snipers; there should be two of them—one primary and one spotter."

"Yes, Squad Leader."

Holding their assault rifles, they carefully searched for their targets.

Fox Shadow's squad had already left the site of the firefight. After Black Bear fell, he had rushed back to check, but gave up after just one look. Black Bear had been hit in a vital spot and had died after only a few struggles, his eyes wide open as if he couldn't believe he had been taken down so easily.

Fox Shadow slowly closed his eyes, glanced back once, grabbed the rifle from the ground, and continued forward without looking back.

"Black Bear is down, but the people behind us must have taken losses too; they didn't follow immediately."

Fox Shadow adjusted his headset and explained the situation to his teammates.

"Boss, Xiao Ge Zi and I should have taken down two. I could have taken out their leader, but his reactions were too fast. He's a pro."

"Big Guy" didn't forget to report his results to their boss.

"You two have been exposed. Now is the chance. Move through this forest quickly, and we still have a chance to pull out."

"Yes, Boss!"

Fox Shadow and the others ignored the fallen Black Bear and Xu Hu's group, beginning a full retreat.