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

Chapter 710 Attacked!!

Li Wencai initially thought their goal was simply to seize the priceless jadeite ore, unaware that Boss Lang's true objective was to eliminate Zhang Jincheng and his two companions.

At this time, Lang Laoda's main focus was on how to rescue Lang Laosan, so he didn't have time to explain things to Li Wencai, which inadvertently helped Zhang Jincheng a lot.

Li Wencai was no ordinary man. As Lang Laoda's most capable subordinate in controlling the army, he was a ruthless character.

He was very familiar with the terrain of the valley area, and he immediately thought of an ambush location.

Li Wencai and his team arrived here two days in advance and made all the necessary preparations.

When Zhuang Yan and Lei Jun, who were in charge of scouting ahead, entered the ambush area first, Li Wencai specifically instructed his men not to open fire and let them pass, completely disregarding them.

Li Wencai never dreamed that he had made a fatal mistake.

After the raft carrying the ore entered the ambush area, Li Wencai spotted the company commander through his binoculars and mistakenly thought he was the leader of the transport belt. He immediately ordered the sniper to take out the company commander.

As the sniper's bullet whistled through the air, the company commander fell to the ground, and the team on the raft immediately descended into chaos.

Li Wencai smirked and waved his hand, signaling his men, who were lying in ambush on both sides, to launch an attack.

Meanwhile, Lei Jun and Zhuang Yan had already walked out of the valley when they suddenly heard a 'q' sound behind them. They quickly hid at the edge of the cliff.

Immediately afterwards, another violent explosion rang out in the valley; the two immediately recognized it as the sound of a grenade exploding.

Lei Jun's expression changed drastically, and he grabbed Zhuang Yan's shoulder: "Not good! There's an ambush!" He quickly pulled out his binoculars and, through the billowing smoke, could vaguely see the soldiers pulling the raft frantically searching for cover.

Lei Jun gritted his teeth and quickly pulled the lever on Colt: "Monkey, contact Big Brother right now!"

The battle in the valley had now reached a fever pitch.

Li Wencai's men kept throwing grenades from the cliffs on both sides, and the water columns from the explosions made the raft tilt and sway.

A burly man with a face full of scars was directing more than ten bandits, who were firing their submachine guns wildly at the river.

Bullets sparked blindingly on the rocks, and soldiers of the transport convoy were hit and fell into the water one after another.

Zhuang Yan and Lei Jun did not immediately return to rescue the transport team. They guessed that since the attack was being carried out here, there must be ambushes at both ends.

Zhuang Yan quickly observed the terrain down the mountain and began radioing Zhang Jincheng.

"Calling you, bro, how's the situation on your end?"

"Monkey, immediately climb up the cliff on the right and eliminate the attacking enemies from behind," Zhang Jincheng's order came through Zhuang Yan's earpiece.

Zhuang Yan took the radio off his back and handed it to Lei Jun, saying, "Steel Nail, you stay here and cover the people inside as they rush out. I'll go up and take them out."

Lei Jun took the radio, slung it over his shoulder, nodded, and said, "I know, be careful."

Zhuang Yan turned around and quickly moved outwards, finding a suitable position to climb the cliff.

He was like a nimble lynx, quickly climbing upwards using the crevices in the rocks and the bushes as cover.

Sweat trickled down his temples, leaving clear streaks on his dusty face.

When he climbed halfway up the mountain, he suddenly heard footsteps and the sound of metal clanging from above.

Zhuang Yan immediately pressed himself against the rock face and held his breath.

Through the gaps in the bushes, I could see three enemies aiming heavy machine guns at the valley.

One of them, with a cigarette in his mouth, was loading bullets into the ammunition belt.

Zhuang Yan quietly drew his military dagger, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Lei Jun had already found an excellent sniping spot.

He set up his rifle and locked onto an enemy throwing a grenade through the scope.

With a loud bang, the bandit fell to the ground.

The sudden cold snap threw the ambushing enemies into brief disarray.

Upon discovering that the enemy was throwing grenades downwards, Zhang Jin instinctively pushed A Gui aside and then rolled away to hide behind a rock.

He had just climbed up when a deafening explosion rang out beside him. He felt the ground beneath him vibrate, and small stones from the blast landed all over him.

Just as A-Gui was pushed away by Zhang Jincheng, a grenade landed where he had just been standing. He had just crawled on the ground when the grenade exploded, and he strongly felt the shockwave spreading in all directions.

Ah Gui knew in his heart that if he had been half a second later, he would have been finished. He knew that Zhang Jincheng had saved his life.

The first round of explosions had just passed, and the dust and smoke had not yet dissipated.

Zhang Jin looked up to observe his own situation and saw that the four soldiers behind the raft had been blown to the ground, and the others were lying haphazardly on the ground, with no idea about their casualties.

The raft began to drift forward as it lost human control, and its speed increased. Zhang Jin recalled that after passing this valley, a new river would join it.

The current becomes increasingly rapid downstream, so the raft must be brought under control as soon as possible, otherwise it will fall apart when it hits the large rocks in the river.

Thinking of this, Zhang Jincheng leaped up and took a few steps to the sliding cable. At the same time, a series of bullets came flying at him, hitting his feet and spitting smoke.

Zhang Jincheng disregarded the danger and leaped forward, grabbing the cable.

The water current propelled the raft forward, and the force of the current was great. Zhang Jincheng's hands, which were gripping the rope tightly, were also pulled forward and slid along with it.

Zhang Jincheng's body was slowly dragged into the water, getting closer and closer to the water's edge.

Seeing this, A-Gui rushed over without hesitation. He grabbed a section of the rope behind him, and just then, there was a protruding rock nearby. He quickly tied the rope to it, stopping the raft that was drifting forward.

Just as the raft was secured, a scream suddenly came from the cliff.

Zhuang Yan's military dagger was deeply embedded in the machine gunner's back. Before the other two enemies could react, he swept them down with a leg sweep.

Zhuang Yan seized the heavy machine gun, turned it around, aimed it at the enemy soldiers firing below, and pulled the trigger. The intense firepower immediately suppressed the enemy's offensive.

Lei Jun seized the opportunity to fire consecutive shots, taking down three more enemy soldiers.

Seeing this, the soldiers in the valley were greatly encouraged and launched a counterattack, relying on the wreckage of the rafts.

Seeing the sudden change in the situation through his binoculars, Li Wencai's face turned ashen as he grabbed the walkie-talkie: "Second team, push forward! We absolutely cannot let them take control of the raft!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhang Jin climbed up from the riverbank. Just then, more than a dozen grenades were thrown down. He shouted, "Get down!"

As A-Gui was tying knots in the cable, Zhang Jin suddenly pounced on him, pinning him beneath him. The two of them lay prone on the edge of a rock, while a grenade exploded violently nearby.

As soon as the explosion subsided, under the cover of smoke, Zhang Jincheng quickly got up, grabbed Agui's arm, and the two ran to the bottom of the cliff, a blind spot for the enemies at the top.

As soon as Zhang Jincheng leaned against the wall, a call came through his earpiece: "Calling for big brother, please respond if you hear this, emergency call..."

"I'm the eldest brother, please speak!"

"I received an emergency call from 001. Boss Lang needs to destroy the enemy before they can launch it, within a dozen hours... 001 orders us to do everything in our power to do so..."

“Repeat it again,” Zhang Jin said loudly.

"Order 001 requires us to destroy the enemy's... within ten hours..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jincheng's heart jumped. This place was 200 kilometers away from Boss Lang's missile site, and the entire route was a rugged mountain road. It would be very difficult to get there in more than ten hours, let alone destroy the enemy's base. He was so anxious that he was covered in sweat.

He immediately guessed that Lang San must have been arrested, and that Boss Lang wanted to put his brother in danger so we could release him.

Zhang Jin didn't have time to think too much, picked up the Colt and aimed it at the cable that A Gui was tied to the rock.

"Tap tap tap..." The cable snapped, and the raft drifted downstream.

Ah Gui asked, somewhat puzzled, "Brother Zhang, why are you doing this? Won't the raft break apart as it drifts downstream?"

“I know, but we can’t worry about that now. Brother Gui, you stay behind me and we’ll break out of the valley.” Zhang Jincheng then spoke into the microphone, “Monkey, Steel Nail, you cover us as we break out of the ambush.”

After shouting his orders, Zhang Jin rushed forward at full speed, and A Gui followed suit.

They had only run a dozen meters forward when a hail of bullets rained down around them.

Zhang Jincheng, disregarding everything, leaped and bounded forward. Suddenly, Zhuang Yan, operating a heavy machine gun on the cliff, began to suppress the fire in that direction.

The hail of bullets aimed at Zhang Jincheng and his companion abruptly ceased.

Lei Jun, holding his M107 sniper rifle, aimed at the enemies on the cliff and fired, calling them out one by one.

Terrified, the enemies lying in ambush on the cliff dared not show themselves.

Zhang Jin seized this precious opportunity of fire support and led A Gui across the rocky beach quickly.

Bullets whizzed overhead, striking the rocks and sending sparks flying.

Suddenly, three armed enemies appeared at a bend in the river ahead. Zhang Jincheng slammed on the brakes and pulled Agui behind a boulder.

"Three o'clock!" Zhang Jincheng lowered his voice and quickly replaced the last magazine on the Colt.

Ah Gui nodded in understanding and took out two hand grenades from his waist.

The two men exchanged a glance, and Zhang Jin suddenly rolled to the side out of cover, hitting both enemies accurately with three consecutive shots.

At the same time, the grenade that A-Gui threw with all his might exploded at the feet of the third enemy.

On the cliff, Zhuang Yan shouted urgently over the radio, "Brother, retreat quickly! There are reinforcements on the east side!" Before he finished speaking, more than a dozen fully armed enemies rushed out of the woods.

Lei Jun immediately turned his gun around, and with the roar of the M107, the three enemies at the front fell to the ground.

Zhang Jin wiped the blood from his face and discovered that the raft had been swept downstream to shallow waters by the rapids.

On a sudden inspiration, he pulled Ah Gui into the river and used the swift current to quickly escape the battlefield.

The icy river carried the two of them, occasionally crashing into hidden reefs.

Just as they were about to be swept into the vortex, Zhang Jincheng managed to grab onto a drooping vine.

A violent explosion suddenly came from the top of the cliff; Zhuang Yan had detonated the captured explosives.

Amidst the billowing smoke, his agile figure slid down the rope.

Lei Jun maintained suppressive fire to buy time for his teammates to evacuate.

When the last pursuer was taken down by a sniper, the three finally reunited at the river bend.

Zhang Jin said that when they turned around, panting, they saw that several of their own soldiers were trying to escape, but were being picked off one by one by enemy snipers.

None of the dozen or so men that Michael sent survived.

Then, the raft in the river was swept out by the current. Zhang Jin was worried that the enemy would take the raft, so he said to Lei Jun, "Gangding, sink the raft. We can't let those guys take it."

At this time, Zhang Jincheng did not realize that they were sent by Boss Lang to ambush them. He thought that they were bandits from "Jin San" who were robbing the ore they were transporting.

"Understood." Lei Jun loaded a grenade onto the grenade launcher below the Q tube and fired it at the drifting raft.

With a loud "boom," the raft was blown apart, and the giant jadeite boulder quickly sank into the river and disappeared without a trace.

The village was only ten kilometers from the location of the attack, a journey that usually takes two or three hours, but Zhang Jin and his group made it back in just one hour.

When they arrived at the place where the "Warrior" car was stored, everyone was exhausted. Even A-Gui, who had grown up in the mountains, had to be carried by Zhuang Yan and Lei Jun.

Ah Gui really couldn't understand how these two could be so physically fit, and he also couldn't understand why they were in such a hurry to get somewhere.

Just then, the radio on Lei Jun's back started calling from the command center again, and he hurriedly handed the headset to Zhang Jincheng.

"Report, 001, I am 'Phoenix'..."

Have you already set off?

"Report 001, we are on our way to the target..."

"There are less than ten hours left until the enemy's deadline. You must get there and eliminate the danger no matter what. This is an order personally given by the headquarters commander, and you must ensure its success no matter what..."

"Yes, please rest assured, sir, we guarantee to complete the mission!" Zhang Jin said firmly.

This time, time was too tight, so Lei Jun drove himself. He started the car, and before the people in the back could even get in, the SUV sped away.

Zhang Jincheng, sitting in the back seat, opened the map and asked Agui as he looked at it, "Brother Agui, do you still remember the mountains and forests southeast of the old town before we came here?"
We need to get there as quickly as possible. Could you take a look and see which route is suitable? Are there any shortcuts?

Ah Gui looked at the map and thought for a moment before saying, "I know a temporary road that transports teak from the mountains. Although it's difficult to travel, it saves more than fifty kilometers compared to the road we took here."

"Can our off-road vehicles get through there?" Lei Jun asked as he drove. He had already experienced the local roads firsthand; many sections couldn't even be called roads.

“It’s fine. That road was made by trucks hauling timber. It’s impassable during the rainy season, but it’s not a big problem now,” A-Gui said confidently.

Zhang Jin knew they had very little time and no room for thought, so he immediately said, "Okay, let's take the road Brother Gui mentioned. Brother Gui, please show Steel Nail the way." He then patted Gui on the shoulder and said, "Thank you, Brother Gui!"

By this time, A-Gui had already guessed something from Zhang Jincheng and their words and actions, thinking that they might be carrying out some kind of mission.

Ah Gui smiled and said to Zhang Jin, "I should be the one saying thank you. If it weren't for Brother Zhang in the valley, I would have gone to Buddha long ago."

Zhang Jin said nonchalantly, "It's nothing. I would have saved anyone else too."

"I was truly moved when you climbed on top of me to shield me from the explosion."

I've been a soldier here for twenty years, and this is the first time I've ever seen someone like Brother Zhang who disregards his own safety to save others.

"I'm not stupid. You are all good people, truly good people," A-Gui said with deep emotion.

Zhang Jincheng was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then revealed a sincere smile: "Brother Gui, you flatter us. We just did what we were supposed to do." He turned to look out the window, where the rolling mountains were faintly visible in the twilight.

The off-road vehicle bounced violently on the rugged mountain road. Lei Jun gripped the steering wheel tightly, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Zhuang Yan carefully inspected the equipment in the back seat, occasionally looking up to observe his surroundings.

Ah Gui pointed to an inconspicuous fork in the road ahead: "Turn in from there, then drive on..."

This section of the road was even more difficult to travel; the off-road vehicle bounced as if dancing on the road, or like a small boat rising and falling in the wind and waves.

The road conditions were already poor, and coupled with Lei Jun's somewhat high speed, the heavy off-road vehicle bounced up and down from time to time.

The passengers' buttocks were constantly lifting off their seats, and at times their heads were even hitting the roof.

No one had time to talk anymore; they fastened their seatbelts and gripped the handrails tightly.

After entering the road that A-Gui had mentioned, Zhang Jin realized that it couldn't really be called a road. It was a makeshift passage that timber transport vehicles had carved out in the mountains and forests, and some parts of it were even covered by thick weeds. They could only drive along, trying to find their way.

Thankfully, Ah Gui is a local expert and knows the mountains and rivers here very well. Otherwise, if outsiders entered this forest, nine times out of ten they would get lost and trapped inside.

Zhang Jin kept glancing at his watch, feeling that time was passing exceptionally quickly, and the deadline was drawing ever closer, yet they were still speeding through the mountains.

Everyone was extremely anxious, but no one showed it; they just silently prayed that the off-road vehicle would go faster.

Just as anxious as Zhang Jincheng and his team were Liu Wu and his colleagues at the command post.

After giving Zhang Jincheng the order, Liu Wu did not leave the command hall for a single step. He stared intently at the electronic map without saying a word, and did not drink a drop of water for seven or eight hours.

Chief of Staff He Qiu and Battalion Commander Liu Xiaotao stood silently to the side, their eyes following the figure of Commander-in-Chief Liu Wu.

"Have you detected the location of 'Phoenix' and his group?" Liu Wu suddenly stopped and asked.

"The satellite detected that the radio they were using was sending a signal from this location," Liu Xiaotao said, pointing to a spot on the map with a laser pointer. "The signal is coming from a river valley, about 200 kilometers from that base."

Upon hearing this, Liu Wu's expression turned serious. He clearly understood what this meant: to arrive within ten hours. This was a severe test for Zhang Jin and his team, as the local roads were not comparable to those in China.

Every hour or so, Liu Xiaotao would report Zhang Jincheng's location to Liu Wu.

Zhang Jin said that their route was beyond everyone's imagination. The road they were traveling on was not marked on the map at all. It seemed that they were traversing mountains and forests without any roads, but they were getting closer and closer to Boss Lang's base.

With the launch time announced by Boss Lang drawing ever closer, the command center was deathly silent, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

(End of this chapter)