68: The scent of wild animals

"What's going on?!" Xing Zhan's adjutant rushed into the command vehicle, his face pale. "Is it an earthquake?"

"No." Xing Zhan's voice was unusually calm, forming a stark contrast to the surrounding chaos. "Go, launch the drones. I want to see what Zone C looks like right now."

"Yes, sir!"

"Everyone," Xing Zhan's voice echoed through the camp's broadcast system, not loud but carrying undeniable authority, "immediately enter Level One combat readiness. Repeat, Level One combat readiness."

The adjutant quickly returned and projected the high-altitude footage captured by the drones onto the main screen.

"Report, sir! The surface above Zone C has completely collapsed, forming a massive crater over five hundred meters in diameter. The main structure of the base remains intact, but... all our external communication channels with the base have been severed."

"A mining accident?" the adjutant ventured. "It might be a chain reaction caused by a cave-in, damaging the communication equipment."

"Have you ever seen such a 'clean' mining accident?" Xing Zhan's finger traced the neat edge of the collapse on the screen. "Both the entrance and exit were sealed simultaneously. The explosive energy was perfectly contained underground, causing only vertical collapse with minimal damage to the surroundings. This doesn't look like an accident. It's more like... a precise surgical strike."

Before his words faded, several sharp explosions suddenly erupted from the camp's perimeter!

"Enemy attack!"

"What is that?!"

"Drones! Ultra-low-altitude penetration!"

The Scavenger Unit's anti-air defenses reacted within seconds, shredding the incoming small armed drones with a dense web of fire.

But the damage was already done.

"Sir, our backup communication antenna has been destroyed!"

"And three supply piles on the west side have been detonated! All High-Energy Nutrient Paste!"

Xing Zhan ignored the adjutant's report. He personally walked over to the wreckage of a drone, crouched down, and picked up a piece of scorched metal with his tactical glove.

"Standard mining-area modified gear, crude technology, but flown with cunning." He stood up, his gaze fixed on the distant, silent base, his eyes growing colder.

"This isn't an attack; it's a provocation and a warning." Xing Zhan said to his adjutant. "They're telling us they can see our every move, and they don't want us contacting the outside world."

"That idiot Bachm..." the adjutant cursed.

"No, Bachm is no longer important." Xing Zhan cut him off, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "Interesting, truly interesting. It seems this dump is hiding a nest of rats smarter than I imagined."

He returned to the mobile command vehicle, completely ruling out the possibility that Bachm was still in power. He knew he was facing an organized, premeditated, and technically capable unknown force.

This made the desire named "hunt" within him surge to unprecedented heights.

"Sir, should we prepare for a full-scale assault?"

"No." Xing Zhan rejected the adjutant's suggestion. "Launching a strong attack without knowing the enemy's details is what fools do. I want them alive—at least one captive to find out who's behind them."

He pulled up the base's defense structure diagram and pointed at the weakest point: the northern cliff.

"Go, summon the 'Ghost' squad." Xing Zhan issued a new order. "I want three of them, equipped with the latest Optical Camouflage Gear, to infiltrate from here. I need to know who's in charge inside now, how many people there are, and what their firepower configuration is."

"Yes, sir!"

Meanwhile, in the command room of Mining Area No. 7, Chen Feng was clearly watching through a covert omnidirectional surveillance system as three soldiers in special gear approached the northern cliff in Xing Zhan's camp.

"Boss, it's a special forces unit!" Reno's voice was filled with tension. "They're trying to infiltrate! Let me cover that area with the base's defensive artillery. If we act now, they won't even have a chance to react!"

"Don't rush." Chen Feng stopped him, a playful smile on his face.

"Reno, what do you think a cautious beast does before launching a fatal attack?"

"...Probe?"

"Exactly." Chen Feng pointed at the three black dots climbing the cliff on the screen. "It will carefully test its prey's reaction with its claws. And what we need to do is make sure its claws step right into the trap we've prepared for it."

He turned to the communicator and gave an order to Lao Mo on the other end.

"Lao Mo, shut down all conventional sensors in the northern cliff area. Yes, all of them. Create a perfect, undefended 'vulnerability' for them."

"Boss, you're..." Reno couldn't understand.

"This is an invitation." Chen Feng said with a smile. "Inviting them to walk right into our trap."