Chapter 1022: Helicopter Rescue

According to the work plan, this morning two magneto-receptive Evolvers from the Ninth Center, under the protection of the Ninth Center security squad and the Northern District Three inspection team, went to the Northern District Three territory to inspect for aggressive hostile Evolved Plants.

After Ma Xiaoyin went missing in the safe zone, the Ninth Center tightened security, doubling both the number of personnel and the weaponry assigned to protect the magneto-receptive Evolvers, and adding ten inspection team members as escort. With protection that strong, no one expected anyone would still dare to target them.

After clarifying the enemy's numbers, combat strength, and weapons and equipment, Xia Qing hung up the phone and immediately contacted Beard Feng. "Captain Hu, where are you? … Notify Huo Zhun, Jing Kuan, and Peng Jian right away. Get to the helipad on the summit of Mount Forty-Nine within five minutes. We're heading to the building ruins three kilometers north of Northern District Three to rescue the Ninth Center's field mission squad. I'm on the north side of Mount Forty-Nine and on my way over now."

"Copy that!"

The mission was urgent; Beard Feng had no time to call Huo Zhun's team members. While running up the mountain, he used the Lord walkie-talkie to reach him. "Huo Zhun, you there?"

"Here." Huo Zhun, who was picking green bean pods in the field, responded immediately.

"The Ninth Center mission squad has been attacked. Xia Qing is asking you to team up for a rescue. If you can make it, get to the helipad on the summit of Mount Forty-Nine's First Peak within five minutes. Weapons and ammo will be supplied by the Azure Dragon Squad."

"Copy that! Should I cut straight through from Territory One?" Huo Zhun dropped his bundle and burst out of the greenhouse. Two bounds took him to the northwest corner of Territory Eight. After getting Beard Feng's permission, he dropped into Territory One and headed straight for Mount Forty-Nine's First Peak.

Tan Junjie also came on the line. "Beard Feng, the inspection team has assembled and is en route by vehicle to the incident site for rescue. Let's stay in contact."

"Copy that." After Beard Feng replied, he immediately called two of his own team members to rush up the mountain.

Tang Huai cursed on the Lord channel. "Which son of a bitch had the nerve to target our magneto-receptive Evolvers! Kill every last one of them and make a name for our Northern District One!"

"Yeah!" Wen Nengjie chimed in right after.

In Territory Five, magneto-receptive Evolver Yuan Yan clenched her teeth. In Territory Six, Zhu Li followed up. "Sister Qing, we're on standby at any time, ready to move out."

Shi Du followed right after. "Yeah, Sister Qing, just call us whenever you need us."

Magneto-receptive Evolvers are the bane of aggressive hostile Evolved Plants and the guardian gods of the farmland. Every Lord has the responsibility to protect their safety.

A roar came from the Evolved Forest on the north side of Mount Forty-Nine. A single-person flyer shot up from the ground and rocketed straight toward the summit of Mount Forty-Nine's First Peak.

After Huo Zhun reached the summit, he boarded the helicopter cabin by catapulting himself in. Gripping the cabin door with one hand, he executed a clean flip inside the cabin and landed precisely in the pilot's seat, then pushed the control stick to take off.

Xia Qing, who was airborne, flew straight into the cabin. Huo Zhun turned the helicopter around and, with a roar, raced toward Northern District Three, arriving at the incident site even earlier than Northern District One's patrol vehicles.

Xia Qing, who had been on the line with Guo Chongjun the whole time, glanced at the Ninth Center's car that had been blown apart on the ground and quickly located the small building where they were taking cover. She gave a calm order:

"They're in the half-collapsed brick-red civilian house 500 meters north of the tallest small building at eleven o'clock. The enemy's heavy-fire squad is in a two-story building 200 meters north of them. Take out this squad first. Brother Huo, go in at full speed, altitude 2,100 meters."

Two thousand one hundred meters — outside the range of the enemy's rocket launchers and howitzers.

"Copy that!" Huo Zhun locked onto the target, gripped the control stick, and charged straight in.

Beard Feng and Peng Jian, manning the machine guns, requested permission. "Sister Qing, should we open fire with the machine guns?"

"I'll use grenades to blast them out first, then you gun them down." Machine-gun fire might not punch through a two-story building, but the grenades specially made by Xin Yu could. For this mission, grenades were cheaper and more effective than machine-gun fire.

The helicopter roared over the two-story building, and Xia Qing dropped two grenades.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The grenades hit the target accurately. The explosions sent up great clouds of smoke, obscuring human sight. Through radar, Huo Zhun locked onto the targets fleeing the smoke. "Two escaping from the building's northwest and southwest — elastic-force and speed Evolvers!"

"Copy that." Machine gunners Beard Feng and Jing Kuan replied simultaneously.

"Rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat!"

Air-to-ground was absolute suppression. The machine guns spat tongues of fire and quickly cut the targets down.

After two more grenades were dropped and no enemies escaped, Xia Qing ordered Peng Jian, a Level-5 visual-Evolution sniper, to keep watching the building. Her sniper rifle and the two machine guns swung toward the enemy squad on the other side to mop up the foes.

The Ninth Center security squad and the Northern District Three inspection team inside the civilian house, taking advantage of the aerial fire support, also lunged fiercely at the enemy.

"Bang!" After Xia Qing took out another enemy who had just poked his head up from behind cover on the east side of the civilian house with another shot, she went into full visual mode, searching for snipers who might be lying in wait.

Huo Zhun requested permission. "Sister Qing, the Northern District One patrol vehicles have arrived 300 meters out. Should we use the machine guns to clear a path for them?"

"Do it." Tan Junjie's squad's patrol vehicles were battered and old; they couldn't withstand a land-mine hit at all.

With the machine guns clearing the way, Tan Junjie's squad quickly charged into the civilian house, linked up with the Ninth Center mission squad, and began rescuing the wounded.

After confirming that the Ninth Center's three wounded had no fatal injuries, Xia Qing and Tan Junjie worked out a battle plan — a joint ground-and-air sweep to eliminate the enemy.

No matter where those bastards came from, anyone who dared come here to blow up vehicles and snatch the Ninth Center's magneto-receptive Evolvers shouldn't expect to leave alive. Besides the ones who came to surround and attack, those hiding in the shadows to back them up and ready to haul the magneto-receptive Evolvers away — they shouldn't expect to leave either!

After finishing his call with Tan Junjie, Beard Feng reported to Xia Qing. "Sister Qing, Captain Tan captured one enemy squad member alive. The guy confessed that their support team has fourteen people, hidden inside Mount Forty-Eight. But because it's a single-line contact, he doesn't know their exact hiding location either."

Xia Qing quickly worked out an action plan. "We land first, send the wounded back to Northern District One, then go to Mount Forty-Eight to grab them."

The Ninth Center's vehicle had been blown up; Tan Junjie's patrol vehicles couldn't fit that many people.

"Copy that." Huo Zhun reduced altitude and set the helicopter down beside the civilian house.

Seeing Xia Qing jump down from the helicopter, the Ninth Center staff all reddened around the eyes.

Guo Chongjun stepped forward and asked. "… Director, may I bring my brother's body back?"

Xia Qing nodded. "Everyone else get on the helicopter first. Guo Chongjun, take three men to collect the remains of the fallen security team members; tow the vehicle back with a rope. Su Sibao, you take two men and come with me to clear the small building to the north. Brother Huo, sorry to trouble you, come with me."

"Okay." Level-7 strength Evolver Huo Zhun jumped down from the helicopter and followed Xia Qing toward the small building to the north.

They had only walked a few steps when Xia Qing suddenly raised her sniper rifle.

"Bang!"

On the ruins 2,100 meters away, a sniper in gray-green ghillie suit had his head blown off by Xia Qing's single shot.

After lowering her rifle, Xia Qing calmly gave the order. "Su Sibao, go retrieve that sniper rifle and the gear."

"Copy that!" Su Sibao, captain of the Ninth Center Security Squad One and a Level-4 speed Evolver, shot out immediately.