Chapter 82: Night Battle, Lasers Light Up the Battlefield

Under the night curtain, the special operations brigade's base seemed to have changed its face.

The daytime clamor and dust were swallowed by the thick, impenetrable darkness.

Only the mournful whistle of mountain wind through the pines and the occasional, deliberately subdued engine sound from afar remained.

The air was filled with dew, earth, and a faint hint of tension.

Several members of the Dragon Chant team stood in the observation area, looking down at the valley designated as the exercise zone.

There was no moonlight; even starlight was blocked by thin clouds, making visibility frightfully low.

"My goodness…" Wang Hao shrank his neck and muttered softly.

"Why does this place look so creepy at night? It's like it's haunted."

Li Yang said nothing, merely silently checking the night vision system and thermal imaging module of his Iron Wolf exoskeleton.

His fingers slid over the cold armor, producing a faint scraping sound.

Chen Guang had already opened his portable workstation, with complex data flowing across the screen.

He was preliminarily calibrating the parameters of the "Firefly" laser communication system to be tested later.

Feng Yan took a deep breath, feeling his heart beat a little faster in his chest.

Nighttime confrontation—this wasn't a daytime‑style demonstrative show; it was a real, hard fight.

Brigade Commander Gao had thrown them into this environment; the meaning of the test could not be more obvious.

Staff Officer Yang Rui emerged from the darkness, having changed into a darker combat uniform better suited for night operations.

His face was coated with camouflage paint; only his eyes gleamed in the dark.

"Team Leader Feng, the opposition starts in half an hour." His voice was kept very low.

"The Red Side is an reinforced infantry company, responsible for defending Hill 3 on the valley's east side."

"The Blue Side is one of our special‑operations detachments, tasked with infiltrating, scouting, and guiding 'firepower' strikes on key nodes."

"Your mission is to use your equipment to provide battlefield illumination, communications relay, and, if needed, small‑scale precise 'harassment' for the Blue Side."

He deliberately stressed the words "firepower" and "harassment," meaning that although this was not live ammunition, the judging rules were extremely strict.

"Understood." Feng Yan nodded. "We'll do our best."

Yang Rui's gaze swept over Li Yang's Iron Wolf and Chen Guang's few crates of "insect" equipment, and he added:

"Beware, the Red Side possesses full electronic‑warfare capabilities."

"Good luck." Having said that, he faded back into the darkness.

"Electronic warfare…" Wang Hao smacked his lips. "Old Wang's 'Peregrine Falcon' probably won't be of use tonight."

"Not necessarily." Chen Guang didn't even look up. "Laser communication isn't affected by ordinary electromagnetic interference."

Half an hour passed in a flash.

Without any warning, several muffled explosion sounds suddenly erupted on the valley's east side (training‑specific simulation rounds).

Immediately after, the rapid "gunfire" (laser‑simulated combat system) and personnel shouts shattered the night's silence.

The Red‑Blue confrontation officially began!

On the big screen in the observation area, only the positions based on BeiDou and personnel tracking could be seen.

The generated, extremely schematic light dots showing both sides' troop distribution; the battle's details were completely swallowed by the darkness.

"Blue Side report: we've breached the forward obstacle, encountered stubborn Red Side resistance! Request illumination support!"

"Repeat, request illumination support!" came the urgent voice of the Blue Side commander over the encrypted channel.

"Illumination unit, move out!" Feng Yan issued the order immediately.

Chen Guang's fingers swiftly swiped across the control terminal.

The next moment, several Mechanical Butterflies rose silently from their concealed points.

They emitted no sound, like genuine nocturnal creatures, swiftly flying to the airspace above the combat zone.

Immediately afterward, a stunning scene unfolded.

These Mechanical Butterflies adjusted their wing angles, and the integrated micro‑high‑lumen LEDs on their abdomens suddenly blazed.

Several concentrated yet not blinding cold‑white light beams, like scalpels, precisely sliced through the battlefield darkness!

One beam locked onto a Red Side machine‑gun fire position that was relying on a boulder for cover.

It illuminated the gunner and assistant gunner in crystal‑clear detail!

Another beam swept across a thicket, instantly exposing two Red Side soldiers attempting to flank!

Yet another beam struck near the Red Side's makeshift command post, interfering with the erection of its communications antenna!

This sudden, pinpoint‑accurate "sky lantern" invigorated the attacking Blue Side special‑operations troops!

"Take out that machine‑gun position!"

"Two in the thicket on the right!"

"Nice! This light came in damn timely!"

The Blue Side's offensive instantly became much smoother.

The Red Side was clearly caught off guard, and a brief chaos erupted on their positions.

But they reacted extremely quickly; immediately someone tried to shoot down these "butterflies" with rifles fired upward.

However, the Mechanical Butterflies' flight paths were flexible and variable, and they flew at a considerable height, making ordinary rifle fire hard to hit in the darkness.

"The Red Side has activated strong electromagnetic interference!" a communications soldier suddenly reported, "Our wireless communications are being heavily suppressed!"

Indeed, on the observation area's big screen, the green light dots representing Blue Side units began to flicker unstably.

Communications with headquarters also turned into intermittent static.

"Switch to the 'Firefly' laser communication mode." Chen Guang's voice remained calm.

He controlled several other Mechanical Butterflies hovering in the safe airspace and activated their underslung Firefly laser communication modules.

Invisible to the naked eye, laser beams rapidly formed an intangible, anti-interference communication network in the night sky.

"Communications restored! Signal clear!" came the delighted voice of the Blue Side commander.

"Command, we can see them! The Red Side is gathering in B7 Area, apparently preparing to counterattack!"

"Insect reconnaissance squad, advance, keep watch on B7 Area." Feng Yan ordered.

Several "Mechanical Spiders" and a "Mechanical Centipede" immediately used the night and terrain for cover, silently moving toward B7 Area.

The real-time footage they transmitted clearly showed that the Red Side had indeed gathered at least two squads of troops behind a slope.

"Blue Side, note: rear slope of B7 Area, enemy reserve about two squads with a heavy machine gun." Feng Yan immediately synchronized the intelligence.

"Received! Damn, they want to flank our rear!" The Blue Side commander immediately adjusted deployment.

However, the Red Side's electronic countermeasure capability was indeed formidable.

After discovering that wireless communications had been replaced by laser communications, they actually attempted to use high-power jamming devices to conduct area-wide blocking interference.

Although they could not completely cut the laser link, it caused considerable impact on the Blue Side's ordinary individual electronic equipment.

Several team members' tactical tablets showed screen distortion and lag.

"Haizi, your Peregrine Falcon isn't carrying a special warhead, is it?" Feng Yan looked at Wang Hao.

"Can you give their jamming source a little surprise?"

Wang Hao's eyes lit up: "Exactly! I brought a soft-kill warhead!"

He immediately ran to the temporarily erected Peregrine Falcon launch rack, and together with the security crew, quickly loaded a special warhead.

This warhead's payload is not explosive, but a large amount of special metal foil strips and conductive graphite fibers.

"Target, suspected jamming source area of the Red Side, approximate coordinates sent! Set the parameters!" Wang Hao rubbed his hands excitedly.

"Parameters set!"

"Fire!"

With a soft whistle, a Peregrine Falcon rose into the air.

It traced a brief arc in the night sky, flying toward the rear of the Red Side's position.

A few seconds later, the warhead detonated at the preset height, without flame, only a muffled thud.

Large sheets of silver foil strips and black graphite fibers fluttered down like heavenly flowers, covering a wide area.

These things are practically a disaster for precision electronic equipment.

They can reflect and absorb electromagnetic waves, creating a strong electromagnetic fog in a local airspace for a short time.

Sure enough, the indicator lights on several active jamming devices on the Red Side's position flashed erratically, and their power output instantly dropped!

"The jamming has weakened!"

"Individual equipment is back to normal!"

"Well done! Dragon Chant!"

The Blue Side's communications instantly became smooth, and command efficiency greatly increased.

But the Red Side, being elite, immediately changed tactics after suffering a series of technological strikes.

They no longer massed in large groups, but dispersed into small units.

Using the darkness and terrain, they continually harassed and infiltrated with small forces, trying to close the distance so that the Blue Side's technological advantage could not be utilized.

For a time, the battlefield again fell into a stalemate, with short, intense firefights constantly erupting in the darkness.

"Section Chief Feng, Blue Side reports: multiple Red Side sniper teams have infiltrated to within 200 meters under cover of night."

"They pose a serious threat to our command and firepower nodes; please eliminate them!" The communications soldier relayed the request again.

Regular illumination flares would expose our position and have a short duration.

"Use the Mechanical Butterfly for close-range illumination?"

"The risk is too high; they'd be easily shot down."

Feng Yan looked at Chen Guang and Li Yang.

Li Yang immediately understood, saying in a low voice: "Iron Wolf advances, draws fire, creates an opportunity for the Bee Sting."

Chen Guang had already called up the control interface for the Mechanical Mantis equipped with the Bee Sting micro-laser:

"The Mantis squad is in position, standing by."

"Move out!"

Li Yang controlled the Iron Wolf Type 2; this black steel beast suddenly burst from a concealed point on the Blue Side's flank, its heavy footsteps unusually clear in the quiet night.

It deliberately exposed its position, using its armor to withstand several simulated sniper shots from different directions.

It emitted "thump-thump" hit alerts, while its loudspeaker mimicked the sound of a heavy machine gun sweeping, instantly drawing most of the Red Side's fire.

Just as the Red Side snipers were turning their scopes toward this suddenly appearing "steel fortress".

Four Mechanical Mantises, like ghosts, silently leapt from the shadow opposite the direction of the Iron Wolf's advance!

They used their excellent jumping and climbing abilities to quickly approach within a hundred meters of the Red Side sniper position.

The Bee Sting lasers on their forelimbs glowed faintly.

"Hiss!" "Hiss!" "Hiss!" "Hiss!"

Four extremely fine blue laser pulses, almost invisible to the naked eye at a distance.

They flashed and vanished in the night sky, precisely striking the four Red Side snipers who had just fired!

No explosion, no smoke.

But the Blue Side Command's judgment system almost simultaneously sounded an alert:

【Red Side Sniper A, judged blinded, withdrawn from combat.】

【Red Side Sniper B, judged blinded, withdrawn from combat.】

【Red Side Sniper C, judged equipment sensor burned out, withdrawn from combat.】

Red side sniper D, assessed as blinded, exits the fight.

The four sniper points that posed the greatest threat to the Blue side were instantly silenced!

"Sniper threat eliminated!" the Blue side commander's voice carried an incredulous exhilaration.

Deprived of the sniper's suppression, the Blue side special forces immediately seized the chance and launched a fierce assault on the Red side positions.

The Red side's defensive line finally was torn open with a breach.

The subsequent fighting left no doubt. With support from the Dragon Chant team's "global vision," "silent communications," and "precision point‑targeting."

The Blue side special‑ops squad surged forward like a hot knife through butter, ultimately succeeding in "destroying" the Red side's command node on Hill No. 3.

When the cease‑fire whistle sounded, the valley still echoed with the Blue side troops' excited cheers.

The lights in the observation area lit up.

Staff officer Yang Rui, at some point, reappeared beside Feng Yan; the camouflage paint on his face had been washed away by sweat in a few streaks, yet his eyes shone astonishingly.

He said nothing, but gave Feng Yan's shoulder a firm pat.

Then, toward Chen Guang and Li Yang, he solemnly gave a thumbs‑up.

Wang Hao bounced over, looking at the Mechanical Mantis being recovered by the support crew.

Heh heh, laughing straight: "Guangzi, Old Li, the coordination you two just showed was awesome!"

"One acting as MT taking damage, the other as an assassin cutting the backline—standard online‑game setup!"

Li Yang stepped out of the Iron Wolf cockpit, wiped his sweat, and ignored Wang Hao's nonsense.

He only looked at Chen Guang: "The Bee Sting's cooling still needs optimization."

Chen Guang nodded, recording data on the terminal:

"Continuous activation count has reached the preset limit; the cooling system pressure is near the threshold."

Feng Yan watched the special‑ops members in the distance, orderly withdrawing yet still occasionally glancing toward them, their eyes blazing.

He then glanced at the companions beside him, weary yet with eyes shining brightly, and let out a long sigh.