Chapter 1516: Target — Fierce Fire Second Squad

Northern Hui Three, the hot-spring lake basin within Mountain Region No. 67.

From afar this place seemed no different from the other evolution-forest regions blanketed in ice and snow; up close, one would find it utterly unlike anywhere else: elsewhere lay ice and snow, temperatures twenty-some degrees below zero; here lay billowing white mist, and beneath that mist, plants growing in lush abundance and animals moving about in lively activity.

The bear overlord of this basin territory slumbered, the giant python in the lake lay in ambush, and Xia Qing, a human clad in a specialized protective suit, hid within the dense forest at the basin's edge.

To her right was her human companion Watching Huo Zhun; to her left, the king of the northern wolf pack. Behind the wolf king stood the northern pack's Black Wolf, Broken-Leg Sister, Broken-Leg Wolf, two giant wolves, and four half-grown wolves.

Every member of the human-wolf squad hid within the dense forest, not peering outward, lest the enemy's scouts detect their green-glowing wolf eyes.

"Whoosh—"

Hearing the sounds of movement from afar, all the wolves with closed eyes pricked up their ears and raised their heads at once; upon hearing the lead wolf's low growl, they lay back down on the ground.

Yang Jin, who had gone to scout, returned to the team, came to Xia Qing's right side, and used his earpiece-style walkie-talkie to brief his teammates on the situation inside the basin.

"My lord, Sister Qing, Does Daigua is three kilometers ahead of us, in the canopy of a sixty-plus-meter-tall tree fifteen meters to the left of the tallest tree in the basin. There is one person beneath the tree, and on that tallest tree sits one sniper; the other four are scattered around the big tree. Two of the enemies have been confirmed as members of Fierce Fire's second-ranked squad, the Gale Squad. This squad has a trained eagle-owl, which has also been brought along; it is currently perched on the tree where Does Daigua is hiding, and is carrying micro-camera equipment on its body."

Xia Qing immediately pressed, "They didn't spot Does Daigua?"

Yang Jin analyzed, "The eagle-owl is on a lower branch; Does Daigua and its family are up in the dense canopy above. The Fierce Fire squad must have spotted the monk-faced monkey troop in the tree but didn't drive them off or kill them—most likely they're using them as sentries."

Xia Qing nodded, a chill running through her heart: if Does Daigua hadn't been using the secure phone she traded with her idol, it would likely have been exposed the moment it sent its first message.

The lead wolf silently gazed at Yang Jin for two seconds, realized he didn't understand its meaning, and turned its head toward Xia Qing. Xia Qing spoke, "Brother Jin, give a detailed rundown of the enemies' abilities and positions in the valley."

"Got it."

Yang Jin quickly sketched a terrain map of the basin in the snow; after marking the lake and the position of the tallest tree, he began marking out the enemies' locations. "This one near the lake is a high-level auditory-evolution human; his task should be watching the lake surface. This one, oriented toward the core territory of the bear pack, is a high-level olfactory-evolution human; his task should be monitoring the evolved bears' movements. These are the two enemies whose identities Brother Duan and I have confirmed. Brother Duan and Little Wolf Brother are hiding here, watching the enemies' movements."

The lead wolf nodded gravely.

Yang Jin continued drawing. "Fierce Fire's second squad works in close coordination and rarely splits up. So the human standing beneath the tree where Does Daigua is hiding should be Fierce Fire's fifth-ranked combatant—high-level speed-evolution modified human Huo Lin. The sniper on the tallest tree is high-level visual-evolution user Feng Ziyu. This squad has two more humans: one is a high-level elasticity-evolution user, the other a high-level explosive-strength-evolution user, positioned here, and here respectively."

"According to intel, the second squad left the Hui One safe zone together with Liao Wen. If Liao Wen isn't dead, he's very likely inside a cave, burrow, or tree hollow within the basin. I suspect…"

Yang Jin's finger landed on the big tree where Does Daigua was hiding. "He's very likely hidden inside that tree's hollow or underground, suppressing his aura so Brother Duan didn't detect him—otherwise Squad Huo Lin wouldn't be standing the way they are. My lord, Sister Qing, we've hooked a big one tonight!"

Wolves don't eat fish; big fish hold no attraction for them. Xia Qing corrected, "My lord, what Yang Jin means is that a human might be hiding in this tree, and capturing him could be exchanged for a great many points."

Before the lead wolf could nod, Watching Huo Zhun, who was facing outward on lookout duty, spoke up. "My lord, Sister Qing, Brother Jin—leave the high-level elasticity-evolution user Jiang Hongbiao in this squad to me. I have to stomp him in half tonight."

"Stomping" is the elasticity-evolution user's method: high-speed ejection, using the feet to annihilate the target.

A few days ago, Broken-Waist Wolf used this move to kill a bounty hunter who had invaded Mountain No. 50; this past spring, a high-level elasticity-evolution user who invaded the Northern Zone One territory used this same move to kill the strength-evolution screening squad member Jiang Hu.

From Watching Huo Zhun's tone, the elasticity-evolution user in the basin must have killed his friends or comrades in the same way, which is why he wants revenge.

Xia Qing asked Yang Jin in a low voice, "I remember the intel profile said Feng Ziyu is a high-level sniper?"

Yang Jin answered cautiously, "Officially listed as high-level, but his live-fire sniper record has reached 2,050 meters—he's a genuine top-tier sniper."

Watching Huo Zhun spoke again, "Sister Qing, take him out—he's no good either! This squad's methods are extremely bloody and brutal; not a single one of them is any good! If we don't have enough people, then let's—"

"Grr!"

The lead wolf, Broken-Leg Sister, and Little Wolf Sister all let out low growls at once.

Xia Qing spoke, "Brother Huo, carry out the mission properly."

"Copy that." Watching Huo Zhun rein in his aura and continued the mission.

"Feng Ziyu is very dangerous." Yang Jin hadn't brought his own squad today, so his reconnaissance capability was insufficient; if he hadn't paired up with the keen-scented evolved wolves for scouting, he very likely would have been shot by Feng Ziyu before he ever spotted the sniper hidden in the big tree.

Xia Qing immediately locked onto her own opponent. "I'll take care of Feng Ziyu, but I need a chance to slip past Feng Ziyu and the eagle-owl's surveillance and reach that sniper position. My lord, Brother Jin—do you have a battle plan?"

The lead wolf raised a paw and pressed it onto the lake on Yang Jin's terrain map. The battle-experienced Yang Jin spoke, "My plan is the same as my lord's—use the animals by the lake to create chaos and draw the eagle-owl and Feng Ziyu's attention. There's a troop of baboons over here…"

After Yang Jin finished laying out the battle plan, he asked, "My lord, in your view, which two wolves should we send over?"

The lead wolf and Little Wolf Sister stood up at the same time.

Yang Jin looked at Xia Qing to confirm what the lead wolf's gesture meant.

Xia Qing nodded, "Good, my lord and Little Wolf Sister go together!"

As the human-wolf rescue squad hidden in the dense forest above the valley finalized its battle plan and began to move, the members of Fierce Fire's second squad inside the valley were in a state of mounting irritation.

"This place is warm enough, but the humidity is way too heavy." The elasticity-evolution user Jiang Hongbiao flicked the water droplets off his protective gloves and muttered, "If the helicopter doesn't show up, let's just cut through the evolution forest and walk there ourselves!"

Another teammate chimed in with his own complaint, "There are poisonous gases everywhere here—my nose can't take it anymore…"

Huo Lin beneath the tree opened his blood-red eyes and pressed his walkie-talkie. "Cut the goddamn chatter—report your positions and status."

The sniper Feng Ziyu at the top of the big tree reported first. "Sniper Point One, spotted a troop of baboons appearing by the lake."

The olfactory-evolution user reported, "Nine o'clock direction, no large predators detected. Brother Lin, my head is killing me—can I grab a monkey from the tree and eat some monkey brain to nourish myself? I bet my life the cleanest one is a green-light brain-domain evolved monkey."

"Catch one on the way out."

"Thanks, Brother Lin!" The high-level olfactory-evolution user, who loved eating monkey brains, immediately fell quiet.