152: Chapter 152 Blood for Blood

The desert on the border of Central Africa.

After nightfall, even the stars were hidden in the pitch-black sky.

As the saying goes, a dark night with high winds is the perfect time for murder and arson.

Old Xu personally led the team. The group consisted of elites deployed in Africa by Tianxing Security, most of whom were domestic retired special forces. Having performed security missions in Africa for years, they were very familiar with the terrain of this desert.

The group wore desert camouflage with camo paint on their faces. Using the cover of sand dunes and scattered rocks, they silently approached the abandoned outpost.

The team members all carried Russian-made equipment: AK-74M assault rifles, SVD sniper rifles, RPG-26 rocket launchers, and Russian grenades. In harsh environments like the desert, Russian weapons are more reliable than precision American ones.

Each had a tactical knife at their waist and spare magazines on their bodies. They soon arrived near the abandoned outpost.

A few hundred meters ahead, the Blackwater Mercenaries' abandoned outpost was a half-collapsed old warehouse. Only two sentries remained on the perimeter, patrolling with American M4A1 assault rifles.

A few dim emergency lights were lit inside the outpost. Through binoculars and the broken windows, one could see over twenty Blackwater Mercenaries gathered in small groups. Their weapons included M1911 pistols; they were equipped entirely with American standard-issue gear.

Old Xu lay behind a sand dune, scanning the area with night-vision goggles to confirm the enemy's defenses. He lowered his voice into his headset:

"All teams in position. Sniper team, take out the sentries. Assault team, flank from both sides. Move in three minutes. Fire on my command. Make it quick, leave no survivors, and leave no trace!"

"Copy that!"

"Copy that!"

Low responses came through the headset. The sniper team set up their SVD sniper rifles, locking their scopes onto the two perimeter sentries. Their fingers rested lightly on the triggers as they held their breath.

Three minutes passed.

"Action!"

At Old Xu's command, two muffled sniper shots pierced the night. Though the suppressors dampened the sound, they were precise and lethal.

The two Blackwater sentries on the perimeter fell instantly without a sound, unable to even raise an alarm.

Before the mercenaries inside the outpost could react, Old Xu waved his hand and whispered a low command:

"Charge!"

The assault team rose instantly, advancing rapidly in tactical formation. The roar of AK-74Ms suddenly erupted, and a hail of bullets poured toward the outpost like a rainstorm.

The firepower of the Russian rifles was raw and fierce, with immense penetration. It immediately pinned down the Blackwater Mercenaries inside. The previously lax mercenaries were scared out of their wits and scrambled for their weapons to return fire. The sounds of American M4A1s followed, mixing with the AKs. The desert instantly turned into a battlefield.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

"Take cover! Fire! Suppress them!"

The Blackwater Mercenaries inside were in chaos. Despite being elites, they were caught off guard and could only put up a desperate struggle behind broken walls and sandbags.

Several mercenaries set up M249 light machine guns and fired wildly, sparks flying as bullets hit the rocks. But our team members were already familiar with their tactics, dodging nimbly using the terrain and giving them no chance to aim.

"RPG, blow up their machine gun positions!"

Old Xu shouted into his headset.

A team member immediately shouldered an RPG-26 rocket launcher, aimed at the machine gun nest inside the outpost, and pulled the trigger.

A tongue of fire hissed out with a piercing whistle, striking the machine gun position with precision.

*Boom!*

A massive explosion followed. Flames soared and debris flew everywhere. The M249 light machine gun was blown away, and the two mercenaries operating it were killed instantly, their severed limbs and flesh scattered across the ground.

Losing their heavy suppressive fire, the Blackwater Mercenaries fell into a completely passive state.

Old Xu led the team to the entrance of the outpost and tossed in two grenades.

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

After the two explosions cleared the defensive forces at the entrance, the team members rushed into the outpost to engage in close-quarters CQB combat.

Although the indoor space was cramped, our team's tactics were crisp and efficient: close-quarters combat, precision shots, single-man rapid fire, and two-man rapid fire.

While the Blackwater Mercenaries were also proficient in CQB and their American weapons were more accurate, they couldn't leverage these advantages in such a close-range melee. Moreover, our team members struck with ruthless efficiency, giving them no room to breathe.

A Blackwater mercenary raised an M1911 pistol to fire, but Old Xu stepped forward quickly, grabbed his wrist, and twisted it back. With a crisp sound of bone snapping, he snatched the pistol and shot the man through the skull.

Another mercenary lunged with a tactical knife. A team member sidestepped, smashed the butt of his AK into the man's face, then knocked him unconscious with another blow before finishing him off with a shot.

Gunfire, screams, and the sound of breaking bones intertwined. In less than ten minutes, the gunfire inside the outpost gradually died down.

None of the twenty-odd Blackwater Mercenaries survived. They all lay sprawled in pools of blood, American weapons scattered everywhere, and the outpost was in ruins.

Old Xu scanned the battlefield and then ordered:

"Clear the area. Recover the stolen data and destroy all traces. Take whatever weapons and ammunition you can; blow up the rest. We must evacuate within ten minutes!"

The team members immediately went to work, quickly searching the outpost. They successfully recovered the important Dragon Side Infrastructure data that had been stolen. Then, they piled up the extra American weapons and ammo and set remote-controlled explosives.

Everyone quickly evacuated to a safe zone. Old Xu pressed the remote, and a thunderous explosion erupted from the outpost. The entire structure collapsed completely, leveled to the ground, burying all traces of the battle.

Looking at the collapsed outpost, Old Xu took out a satellite phone and dialed Chen Mo's number to report:

"President Chen, mission accomplished! The twenty-three members of the Blackwater squad have all been eliminated. The data has been recovered, the scene is cleared, and no traces were left. Zero casualties on our side!"

On the other end of the line, Chen Mo was silent for a moment before replying:

"Well done. Immediately lead the team back to the safe house and stay on high alert."

"Yes, sir!"

Hanging up, Old Xu led his team and vanished into the pitch-black desert.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean in the United States, and among the eyes the US side had planted in Africa, they only learned that an elite Blackwater squad had mysteriously lost contact and their outpost had been completely destroyed.

The US side guessed it might be the Dragon Country's doing, but with no evidence, they could only suffer in silence. They were fuming with rage but helpless.

The US side could only play dumb and didn't dare make a scene. After all, Blackwater was carrying out a clandestine mission; if it became a major issue, it would only confirm their guilt as the masterminds.

However, the United States didn't just swallow this; they were already plotting another conspiracy in the shadows.