The Red Era: Living in Seclusion in a Siheyuan as a Boss

Chapter 692 Ambush on the Way!!

"From what we've seen so far, the performance is going quite well. The three of them have already gotten into character, which is great."

Our mission is now complete, and how things unfold from here on out depends entirely on the three of them!

"However, I believe that no matter how great the danger or difficulty, it cannot defeat or break our soldiers," Liu Wu said with great confidence.

Liu Xiaotao, the direct supervisor of Zhang Jincheng and the other two, was quite worried.

His idea was to have a group of people continue to follow Zhang Jincheng and his group, secretly infiltrating the "Jinsan area" as backup.

However, Liu Wu rejected this suggestion because it would make him too conspicuous.

If this were discovered by the enemy and alerted the "Lang brothers," there would be a risk of exposing Zhang Jincheng and his group.

Although Liu Xiaotao was filled with worry, reason told him that 001's judgment was correct.

"Go directly to Lao He's office. He will arrange the follow-up tasks in detail." Liu Wu was buried in a mountain of documents. Without looking up, he waved his hand, indicating that he should go to Chief of Staff He to learn about the specific details of the mission.

"Yes!" Liu Xiaotao understood immediately, knowing that the brigade commander was busy at the moment. After reporting, he immediately got up and quickly left the office.

Chief of Staff He Qiu's temporary command post was right next to 001's. As the number 002, he was equally busy and tense here.

When Liu Xiaotao pushed open the door, He Qiu was staring at the battle map, frowning in thought.

"Xiao Tao, you've come at the right time!" He Qiu looked up and saw Liu Xiao Tao, number 003, a look of relief flashing in his eyes. "There was an unexpected situation; I was just about to send someone to find you."

Liu Xiaotao keenly sensed the urgency in Chief of Staff He's tone and immediately straightened his back: "Please give instructions!"

"Alright, according to..."

……

Zhang Jin said that the four of them trekked through mountains and rivers and finally entered the territory of the "Jin San area".

Their journey was quite difficult.

With less than 100 kilometers to Migo's lair, victory seemed within reach.

At this moment, their marching pace noticeably quickened, because once they crossed the border, they no longer needed to worry about pursuers and no longer needed to hide.

They were almost home, and the group felt like wild animals returning to the mountains, extremely relaxed and their steps were much lighter.

Longkou Cliff, as its name suggests, is a dangerous place.

One part of the area is a canyon, and the other part is a cliff. The entrance looks like a gaping mouth.

A narrow path runs through the "dragon's mouth" in the middle, with a sheer cliff right next to it.

The timid will feel dizzy and lightheaded when they pass through here. People from outside the mountains will have their hearts race and their legs tremble when they walk through here for the first time. You can imagine how dangerous this place is.

Michael was very excited as they approached their lair, and the humiliation of the past few days vanished.

As Michael walked, he said to Zhang Jin, "After we pass Longkou Cliff ahead, and go another thirty kilometers, we'll be home. To put it bluntly, this is my territory now. We can have a proper celebration when we get home tomorrow, hahaha..."

Zhang Jincheng gazed at the distant Dragon Mouth Cliff, captivated by its treacherous terrain. The open dragon's mouth seemed poised to devour everything, and he secretly marveled at the wonders of nature.

Since entering the "Jin San area", they have been traversing dense forests and mountain peaks, a treacherous geographical environment rarely seen in China.

Zhang Jin said that he observed the mountain peaks ahead as he walked. He had developed a good habit of observing the terrain wherever he went and paying attention to any suspicious places.

Suddenly, Zhang Jin noticed a strange phenomenon: several unidentified birds were circling above Longkou Cliff, and were occasionally making mournful cries as if issuing a warning.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Jin frowned and became highly vigilant.

He looked at the mountain peaks on his left. The sun had set, and it looked like it would be getting dark soon. At this time, the animals that were active during the day should be starting to return to their nests.

Why are those birds circling in the air and refusing to come down?

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Zhang Jincheng's mind: "There are people on Dragon Mouth Cliff!"

Zhang Jin suddenly stopped in his tracks. Mi Gao and the other two looked at him curiously, not understanding why he had suddenly stopped.

After crossing the border, Zhuang Yan and Lei Jun no longer needed to be on guard, as they traveled together.

Seeing Zhang Jin suddenly stop and look ahead very warily, they knew that their captain must have discovered something.

Zhuang Yan and Lei Jun immediately became alert, took out their weapons, and stepped aside, scanning their surroundings with their eyes.

Michael looked at the three men with a puzzled expression, as they seemed to be facing a formidable enemy. He was about to reach his lair and didn't believe anything could happen there.

He asked Zhang Jincheng in surprise, "What's wrong, Boss Zhang? Is something wrong?"

“There are people on the cliff ahead!” Zhang Jincheng replied with certainty.

Michael looked towards the cliff ahead, but he didn't see anything. "No way, could there be someone up there?"

Zhang Jin stared at the birds circling in the sky for a moment, then, trusting his intuition, he asked Michael, "Brother Michael, besides Dragon Mouth Cliff ahead, is there any other way to go?"

Michael looked troubled and said, "It is true, but it's too far. We need to go around the mountains in front, which is at least several hundred kilometers away. We won't be able to reach the mountain village in another five days."

"Boss Zhang, are you overthinking this?"

Zhang Jin said he trusted his judgment; the attack in Mengwu Town had put him on high alert.

"monkey!"

Zhuang Yan responded, "What is it, brother?"

"Climb up Longkou Cliff from one side to scout ahead, but be careful to hide yourself."

"Understood." Before he finished speaking, Zhuang Yan had already turned and disappeared into the woods, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Now, Zhuang Yan left the woods and arrived at the foot of the cliff.

He looked up at the top of the cliff, which looked like a precipice, at least a hundred meters high.

Climbing up from here without any protective gear would be extremely difficult.

Zhuang Yan finally found a suitable climbing route at the foot of the cliff.

He tightened his belt, spat into his palms, and muttered to himself, "If I can't even climb this little cliff, what kind of monkey am I?"

Zhuang Yan leaped upwards, grabbing onto a protruding rock with both hands, and began to...

Without taking a break, Zhuang Yan climbed to the top of the cliff in about ten minutes.

After coming up, Zhuang Yan first secretly observed the situation above.

It turns out that the other side of the mountain is a relatively gentle slope, and there are many large trees growing there.

Zhuang Yan used the rocks on the mountain as cover and quickly moved towards Longkou Cliff.

After walking about 300 meters, Zhuang Yan suddenly heard people talking ahead. He crawled behind a rock and quietly peeked out to observe.

Just over ten meters away, on a slightly flat area, there were a dozen or so people, some lying down, some sitting, chatting, and three or four playing cards.

The card players were probably gambling, arguing heatedly, with several "Aka" (a type of gambling game) placed next to them.

Another guy was lying on top of Longkou Cliff, occasionally using binoculars to observe the path below.

Beside him was a sniper rifle with a scope, and a person was lying on his back next to the sniper rifle with a hood covering his face, seemingly resting.

Zhuang Yan could tell that their accents were similar to those of border residents in China, but he couldn't hear what they were saying clearly because of the distance.

He climbed for a while before he could vaguely hear two people cursing loudly, saying that they had been waiting for two days and still hadn't seen anyone.

Now that things had come to this, Zhuang Yan understood that these people were definitely waiting for the four of them.

So Zhuang Yan didn't linger and returned to the woods where Zhang Jincheng and the others were hiding.

Zhuang Yan reported the situation on the cliff top to Zhang Jincheng.

Michael was the most surprised; he never dreamed that someone would want to kill him right at his doorstep.

If they had rashly walked over there, they would have certainly died.

Michael secretly felt lucky to have escaped another disaster.

After listening to Zhuang Yan's report, Zhang Jin looked at Mi Gao and asked, "Boss Mi, do you think these people on the cliff top are targeting you, or is there another reason?"

"These bastards are definitely after me!"

If it were a legitimate robbery, they would lie in ambush in the woods.

What else can you do besides ambushing people from the cliff top?
"In the entire 'Jin San region,' only Lang San knows I'm back. Besides that bastard, who else could want to harm me?" Michael roared, his anger barely contained. "Hmm, Monkey, listen to their pleas. These people have been lying in wait here for two days. That alone proves they've been waiting for us."

"Moreover, they chose to ambush us here because they were worried about the three of us." Zhang Jin said, pointing to the narrow path carved into the cliff. "If we go up here, we'll be completely exposed to their line of sight, and they'll have excellent firing angles, while we'll have nowhere to hide unless we jump off the cliff..."

"Brother is right. The other side must have thought this through carefully before choosing this location to ambush us. They must also be very familiar with the terrain. If you hadn't seen through our plan, we would have been in danger," Zhuang Yan said with some lingering fear.

Lei Jun asked with some curiosity, "Brother, how did you find out there were people up here?"

"Didn't you notice the birds circling above the cliff top?"

"I see, ah, I understand..."

Michael said with admiration and gratitude, "Boss Zhang is such a thoughtful person. If you hadn't discovered us in time, we would have been finished. This is the third time you've saved my life. I really don't know what to say..."

Zhang Jin waved to Michael, seemingly unconcerned about Michael's gratitude, and then asked everyone, "The problem now is, how do we get across Dragon's Mouth Cliff? What are your thoughts?"

Lei Jun quickly said, "It will be dark soon. Can't we sneak up under the cover of darkness?"

Zhang Jin shook his head and said, "No, that would be too dangerous. If the other side has infrared telescopes, they could easily spot us. They'll be fully prepared if they're waiting for us here."

"I'll climb up again. There are only a few people in the class. I'll launch a surprise attack on them. I'm confident I can take them down," Zhuang Yan said resolutely.

Michael was completely at a loss. He could only stare at Zhang Jincheng with utter admiration.

“It’s getting dark soon, it will be very dangerous for you to climb this cliff.”

Even if you get up there, it would be difficult for one person to subdue so many people at the same time.

"Let's rest well in the woods tonight, recharge our energy, and talk again tomorrow morning," Zhang Jin finally decided.

After days of long journeys and sleeping outdoors, the four of them were exhausted.

It's a rare chance to get a proper rest. One person will stay on guard while the others take turns resting.

These people on Longkou Cliff were sent by Boss Lang.

From what Lang Laosan said, Boss Lang realized that the people who were with Michael were unusual, and guessed that they might be special police officers from that side.

Therefore, Boss Lang selected a squad of skilled guards from his own ranks and had his trusted men lead a team to ambush Longkou Cliff.

Just as Zhang Jin had predicted, these people not only carried conventional weapons, but also infrared night vision devices.

They worked in pairs, taking turns monitoring the path below the cliff day and night.

The next morning.

As dawn broke, Zhang Jin woke up the other three. He first said to Michael, "Boss Michael, you wait here for our signal. When you hear three Q sounds, start crossing Dragon Mouth Cliff. We'll meet up over there."

"Okay, how are you going to get across?" Michael asked worriedly, though he believed that Zhang Jincheng and the other two could make their way across the cliff.

Zhang Jincheng smiled and said, "Don't worry, we have our own way." After saying that, he disappeared into the woods with Zhuang Yan and Lei Jun.

After entering the woods, Zhang Jin asked Zhuang Yan, "Can 'Steel Nail' and I get up to that spot you climbed yesterday?"

Zhuang Yan pondered for a moment and said, "If you're going to do it barehanded, the two of you will really have a tough time. Even professional mountaineering teams might not be able to make it up. But with me, Monkey, everything will be fine."

“I knew you’d have a solution. You help us up there, and we’ll take care of these guys together. It won’t be a problem,” Zhang Jin said with a smile.

Lei Jun, standing to the side, retorted rather defiantly, "Why would I need his help? If the monkey can go up, so can I."

Zhuang Yan ignored him completely, treating him as if he were talking nonsense; the two were used to being at odds with each other.

After walking for a while, Zhuang Yan saw some vines on some big trees and cut down a few for later use.

Each vine was about ten meters long, and Zhuang Yan tied them together to make two long ropes in total.

After walking for a while, they arrived at the spot where Zhuang Yan had climbed the day before...

With Zhuang Yan's help, it took a great deal of effort to get the two of them safely to the top of the cliff.

After Zhang Jin and Lei climbed up, they were exhausted. If it weren't for Zhuang Yan's help, they wouldn't have been able to climb up on their own.

The three of them rested behind a large rock for a while. Zhuang Yan pointed ahead with his weapon, and together they quietly crept over.

Two people were still on duty at the edge of the cliff, while the others were curled up under the trees to rest.

After assessing the situation, Zhang Jincheng assigned tasks to Zhuang Yan and Lei Jun.

He pointed to the two people on the edge of the cliff, signaling Zhuang Yan to go and deal with them, while Lei Jun followed him to deal with the others.

The two nodded silently. Their long-term training and life together had created a tacit understanding between them. They didn't need to communicate verbally; a single gesture or glance was enough for them to understand each other.

Three men, each wielding a silenced weapon, leaped simultaneously from behind a large rock, like three agile cheetahs, each rushing toward their target.

Two people were sitting on the ground and lying on the grass on the edge of the cliff, clearly chatting.

Suddenly, someone jumped out from behind him. The guy lying on the ground saw him and sat up abruptly, asking in surprise, "Who's there?"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhuang Yan kicked him in the head, slamming him against a nearby rock, causing him to lose consciousness on the spot.

The other person was sitting with his back to him. When he turned around, Zhuang Yan's fist hit him squarely in the face, spitting out blood and saliva, and knocking out two of his teeth.

The guy was completely disoriented from the beating, not knowing where the divine soldiers had come from.

Zhuang Yan stepped forward, stepped on his back, and tied his hands behind his back.

In the same way, I tied up the one I just saw.

After finishing, Zhuang Yan looked back at the slope.

Zhang Jincheng was holding an "Aka" (a type of ceremonial hat) and pointing it at eight or nine people lying on the ground, while Lei Jun was tying them up one by one.

The three men captured the group without wasting a single shot.

After Lei Jun had secured these people, Zhang Jincheng went to the edge of the cliff and fired three shots into the sky.

He was informing Michael that it was safe here and that he could come over without worry.

Zhang Jincheng sat on a rock and said to Zhuang Yan, "Go and interrogate them. Find out who is the leader and bring them here. I need to understand the situation."

In no time, Zhang Jin pulled one person out from the eight or nine people and brought him to him.

Zhuang Yan kicked the man in the back of his calf, and the guy was caught off guard and fell to his knees.

He pressed the weapon against the man's head and threatened, "You'd better answer my questions truthfully, or I'll smash your skull open..."

"I understand, I understand, please ask away, I will tell you the truth." The guy nodded hurriedly, appearing very cooperative, while secretly glancing at Zhang Jincheng, revealing a terrified expression.

Zhang Jincheng stared at the man in front of him and sized him up. He was in his early thirties, dressed like a local border resident, and could speak Mandarin, though with a heavy local accent.

"Who are you all?" Zhang Jin asked calmly.

"We are from the Old City Allied Forces. My name is Bale, and I am the company commander of Chief Lang's guard company."

"I wonder where you three heroes are from? You're all incredibly impressive," the guy flattered.

Zhuang Yan kicked him in the butt and scolded, "Stop talking nonsense, just answer my questions."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

Zhang Jin then asked, "What is your mission here?"

“The former Allied leader, Mike, didn’t get along with my boss. He was going to lead his men through here, and my boss told us to deal with them here.”

How did you know they were going to pass through here?

"I don't know about this brother. I was just following orders and I don't know anything else."

Zhang Jin knew that what this guy said was basically true, and that he wouldn't be able to get any more information from him.

So he changed the subject: "Since you're the guard company commander of Boss Lang in the Allied Army, you must know that he recently purchased..."

"This..." This guy didn't expect Zhang Jincheng to ask this question suddenly, and his eyes darted around as if he was thinking of a solution.

Seeing this, Zhuang Yan grabbed him by the collar from behind, pulled him to the edge of the cliff, and threatened him, "If you don't tell the truth like a dog, I'll throw you off."

This guy was a spineless coward; his face turned pale with fright, and he stammered, "No, no, I'll talk, I'll talk..."

Zhuang Yan dragged him back again and shouted, "Speak up!"

(End of this chapter)