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

Chapter 721 The Operation Begins!!!
They said everyone should sleep and rest, but none of the team members, including Zhang Jincheng and Liu Xiaotao, could fall asleep.

At 2 a.m. sharp, Zhang Jin opened his eyes, and the operation officially began.

According to the newly established plan, Zhuang Yan and Li Ming were the first members of the action team to launch the attack. Their mission was to capture the gate tower of Awa Mountain Village and control the village's entrances and exits.

The sky was pitch black with only faint starlight. It was a moonless day, so everything around was shrouded in darkness. Only the chirping of unknown insects could be heard, which conveniently masked the footsteps of the assault team.

Zhuang Yan and Li Ming moved through the night like two ghosts, quickly approaching the village gate under the cover of moonlight and tree shadows.

Above the gate, two enemy guards were yawning, completely unaware of the approaching danger.

Zhuang Yan made a hand gesture, and Li Ming immediately understood. The two split up, one climbing from the left and the other circling around from the right.

The wooden structure on the stockade wall was not sturdy. Zhuang Yan grabbed a protruding wooden stake and nimbly climbed up it.

The guard had just turned around when he was struck on the back of the neck with a chop to the neck and fell silently to the ground.

At the same time, Li Ming also dealt with another guard, and the two quickly took control of the gatehouse.

In less than five minutes, the gate of Awa Village was opened silently.

Zhuang Yan pressed the communicator and whispered, "The gatehouse has been captured; we can proceed."

Upon receiving the signal, Zhang Jin immediately led the remaining men to advance into the mountain stronghold.

After the assault team entered the mountain village, Zhang Jincheng left ten Kokang soldiers behind to assist assault team member Li Mingming in controlling the village gate.

After the mission is completed, the others will need to evacuate from here, so controlling this place is crucial; this is the first step.

The second step is to control the guard towers located 100 meters on each side of the village gate. These guard towers are over ten meters high and provide a commanding view of the village's interior and exterior.

So the second task was to take down the guard towers on both sides, and Li Ming and Lu Da were each responsible for one guard tower.

After Li Ming takes down the watchtower on the left, he has to return here; his task is to guard the village gate.

After Lu Da took the watchtower on the right, he set up a sniping position on it. This position was the highest point in the entire Awa Mountain Village, and snipers could control every corner of the village.

He was responsible for covering the other team members' activities in the village. If they were discovered by the enemy, his large-caliber M107 sniper rifle could provide long-range firepower.

Zhang Jin, Zhuang Yan, and two assault team members formed the second action group because they were more familiar with the enemy situation in the mountain stronghold.

Therefore, their mission was to plant bombs in the enemy's barracks within the village, to attack and harass the enemy after the battle began, and to cover the evacuation of other team members.

Zhang Jincheng and Zhuang Yan led two assault team members to silently infiltrate the mountain stronghold.

Under the cover of night, they moved quickly along the base of the wall, avoiding the patrolling enemy.

A damp, musty smell filled the air, mixed with the distant snoring, making the entire village exceptionally quiet.

Zhuang Yan took out plastic explosives from his backpack and skillfully planted them in key locations within the enemy barracks.

His movements were precise and swift, each bomb cleverly concealed in the shadows.

Zhang Jin was responsible for vigilance, his sharp eyes constantly scanning the surroundings to ensure the operation went undetected.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard in the distance.

Zhang Jin quickly made a hand gesture, and the four of them immediately disappeared into the darkness.

An enemy might come out to relieve himself, lazily walking past their hiding place, the beam of his flashlight swaying aimlessly, unaware of the danger lurking nearby.

Once the footsteps had faded into the distance, Zhang Jincheng said in a low voice, "Continue."

Meanwhile, Lu Da had already arrived at the guard tower on the right.

He climbed the wooden ladder silently, like a nimble cat.

The guard on the watchtower was dozing off against the railing when Lu Da darted forward, covered his mouth, and precisely sliced ​​his throat with a dagger.

He quickly set up his sniper rifle, adjusted the scope, and the entire mountain stronghold came into view.

Li Ming's voice came through the communicator: "The left guard post is under control." Zhang Jincheng smiled slightly: "Very good, proceed according to plan."

"Roger that!" Liu Xiaotao led the remaining group and began their operation.

Under his leadership, they went directly through the village and into the valley behind it to destroy Migo's "Factory No. 4".

With Yan Kan as their guide, their group moved quickly. Liu Xiaotao discovered that most of the enemies in the village were just putting on an act, basically sleeping. The entire village was quiet, with only the occasional bark of a dog.

A group of about twenty people hurried across the deserted street without making a sound.

There were no guards stationed at the back of the village because it led to the exit into the valley.

However, according to A-Gui's tip, there are guards at the entrance to the valley.

As planned, another group of people ambushed behind the stronghold, led by assault team member Xiao Zhou and ten Kokang veterans. Their mission was to cover the safe evacuation of the people inside.

In addition, they are responsible for intercepting enemy reinforcements should anything happen in the valley.

Liu Xiaotao signaled the team to stop and used night vision goggles to observe the area ahead.

Sure enough, at the entrance to the valley, two guards were leaning against the rock wall smoking, the embers flickering in the darkness.

"Ye Peng, you take two men and go around from the right," Liu Xiaotao said in a low voice. "The rest of you, follow me and flank from the left."

Ye Peng nodded and disappeared into the bushes with his two teammates.

Liu Xiaotao led the remaining people forward slowly, clinging to the mountainside.

The damp moss made their footsteps almost inaudible.

Just ten meters away from the guard, Liu Xiaotao suddenly heard a soft "crack" sound—someone had broken a tree branch.

The two guards immediately looked up alertly, and the beams of their flashlights swept over them.

"Let's take action!" Liu Xiaotao decided immediately.

The two teams pounced simultaneously, and the guards were subdued before they could even sound the alarm.

Liu Xiaotao quickly checked their communication equipment and confirmed that no alarm signals had been issued.

"Keep moving forward." Liu Xiaotao signaled to the team to keep up. "We're still 500 meters from our target."

Liu Xiaotao only realized why he couldn't enter from other places after entering the valley.

The entrance here is narrow, as if it were a crack cleaved through the mountain. When you walk inside and look up at the sky, you can only see a line.

After passing through the narrow valley passage, the view suddenly opened up before us.

The valley widened slightly, with a bottom that was hundreds of meters deep. There were cliffs on both sides, and it was so dark that you couldn't see the top. Walking inside was cool and damp, and a cold mountain wind blew in your face, giving you a creepy feeling.

Under the cover of night, a simple but sizable factory stood dimly in the center of the valley.

A few dim lights illuminated the perimeter of the factory area, and several patrolling guards could be vaguely seen.

"Remember, our goal is to completely destroy this factory." Liu Xiaotao looked around at his team members. "In twenty minutes, regardless of whether the installation is complete or not, we must evacuate."

The team members nodded in agreement, their eyes shining with determination.

According to the operation plan, they had to plant the bombs within half an hour and evacuate quickly.

According to the information provided by Agui and Yankan, there are more than twenty guards in the valley, led by a company commander, with two guards each at the factory gate and in the cave.

The guards at Factory No. 4 were different from those in the mountain stronghold; they maintained a tight watch 24 hours a day.

Because they not only had to guard against foreign invaders, but also against their own people stealing; what they were guarding was something more valuable than gold.

Moreover, the guards here are all handpicked, and the leader is Michael's confidant.

The group walked several hundred meters along the cliff face when an unexpected situation arose.

A wooden wall appeared in front of them, blocking the valley. There was a wooden door in the middle of the wall, and next to the door was a wooden watchtower. There were two lamps on the top of the watchtower, illuminating the area around the doorway.

This was something the team members hadn't expected. Agui and Yankan had only come here during the day before, so they didn't know what it was like at night.

Liu Xiaotao and Zhang Jin said they hadn't given this issue much thought.

Liu Xiaotao signaled everyone to stop and carefully observe the situation at the entrance. There were not two guards as A-Gui had said, but four.

There were two guards on the watchtower and two more at the entrance below, and they were pacing back and forth. It seems they likely increased the number of guards at night, making it two during the day and four at night.

The original plan wouldn't work, because the guards would spot us before we could get close to the door.

When faced with a sudden new plan, the plan must be changed.

Liu Xiaotao spoke into the miniature communicator: "Calling 'Phoenix,' please respond if you hear me."

"I am the 'Phoenix,' please speak!"

"In case of an emergency, the entrance is well-lit, and there are four guards, making it very difficult to get close."

"How do you plan to respond? If a safe evacuation cannot be guaranteed, then abandon the operation," Zhang Jin said urgently.

"I plan to force my way through, using the cover of the rock walls on both sides to get close and launch a surprise attack. I'm confident I can eliminate the guards."

Liu Xiaotao knew that if they didn't completely destroy Factory No. 4 this time, the enemy would find out they had been there after daybreak and would definitely strengthen their defenses, making it much harder to destroy it again.

Therefore, we must not give up this operation under any circumstances.

Zhang Jin said he could also take into account their current predicament. After thinking for a few seconds, he said, "You delay for ten minutes. You can start your operation in ten minutes."

"Understood, all done!" Liu Xiaotao replied softly.

Liu Xiaotao later learned that Zhang Jincheng was worried that a forced assault would be discovered by the enemy, so he and Zhuang Yan used this time to plant bombs around the enemy's barracks.

Once the enemy hears the commotion and comes out, eliminate them.

The enemy lived in stilted houses. Zhang Jin claimed that they had also planted bombs under the stilted houses, and that they would detonate them immediately if the factory exploded.

Liu Xiaotao used this time to readjust the plan. He waved to signal everyone else to retreat. They retreated 100 meters to a safe area and gathered together.

Liu Xiaotao said in a low voice, "Let's adjust our action plan now. Ayan, you go and guard the entrance to the valley."

If you hear explosions or gunshots in the valley, and we haven't come out after twenty minutes, you should leave immediately and rejoin the others.

“Let me stay with you; I know this place well.” Yan Kan clearly didn’t want to leave them.

"No, the situation has changed. If we make a move, it will likely alert the enemy in the village. Your guarding of the entrance is also to prevent the enemy from blocking us inside."

Okay, go ahead!

Yan Kan nodded vigorously after hearing Liu Xiaotao's words, then picked up his M16 and turned to leave.

Liu Xiaotao then said to Wang Tao and Ye Peng, "Wang Tao, you and Ye Peng are in one group, and Gao Shang and I are in another. We'll go from the left, and you'll go from the right. Follow my orders to take down the guards."

We'll handle the guards on the tower, you handle the ones at the entrance, understand?

All three nodded. Liu Xiaotao continued, "Equip silencers and try not to alert other enemies. After rushing inside, Wang Tao and Ye Pengda will lead the men to eliminate the guards, Gao Shang will lead the men to blow up 'Workshop No. 4,' and I will lead the men to find the cave where 'No. 4' is stored."

Everyone remember to be quick. No matter the outcome, you must return to the valley exit within ten minutes.

Let's begin.

The four people split into two groups, with Liu Xiaotao and Gao Shang on the left and Wang Tao and Ye Peng on the right, and then moved along the rock wall toward the wooden door.

Liu Xiaotao stopped fifty meters from the entrance. The lights outside were very bright, illuminating the open space in front of him as if it were daytime.

He looked across and vaguely saw that Wang Tao and Ye Peng were also moving in sync.

Looking at the guards at the wooden gate, they seemed a bit tired. The two of them were leaning against the door smoking. On the guard tower, one of them had already sat down, while the other was leaning on the railing talking to the two people below.

Liu Xiaotao felt this was a rare opportunity and whispered into the microphone, "Wait until you hear the enemy is twenty meters away before firing. Okay, let's go."

As soon as he finished speaking, the other three rushed out of the darkness with lightning speed, and the four of them pounced on their prey silently like cheetahs.

In the blink of an eye, he had covered a distance of fifty or sixty meters, raising his weapon in his hand.

Special forces soldiers undergo specialized moving target training, and their accuracy in moving shooting at a distance of 20 meters is virtually unerring.

The enemy guards were too late to notice the approaching men; they were shot down before they could even shout.

The guy who was leaning on the railing fell headfirst after being shot. The guy sitting on the guard tower didn't know what was happening. He instinctively stood up and looked down. Liu Xiaotao and Gao Shang fired their bullets at the same time. His body went limp and he lay motionless on the railing.

Because all four men's weapons were equipped with silencers, they did not alert the enemies inside.

However, at that moment, an unexpected situation occurred, and loud shouts came from inside the wooden wall.

"Oh no!" The four people rushed into the wooden door.

A guy wearing shorts was seen running and scrambling towards the wooden house, shouting as he went.

It turns out this guy came out to relieve himself and happened to witness the guard being shot.

The guy was almost at the front of the cabin when Wang Tao raised his assault rifle and, without aiming, knocked him down. Half of his upper body was still inside the cabin.

Before the operation, the assault team had figured out the layout of the place. The wooden house that the guy ran to was the guards' rest house, and ten meters ahead was "Workshop No. 4".

The silent valley was disturbed, and the assault team had no choice but to charge in.

There was movement in the guardhouse; there was a crackling and popping sound, and the sound of a bolt being pulled.

Liu Xiaotao quickly shouted, "Block the enemy inside the house!" and rushed inside at top speed.

Wang Tao didn't need to worry about the enemy hearing the noise, so he directly fired a Q grenade at the wooden house. With a loud bang, half of the wooden house collapsed.

Ye Peng also aimed at another wooden house.

The cave where Migo stored "Number Four" was more than 100 meters away from the wooden hut where the guards lived. After the noise came from this side, the guards at the door were alerted.

Liu Xiaotao had just run across the factory workshop when a barrage of bullets came hurtling towards him from the opposite side.

He rolled behind a large rock, and the wooden house behind him burst into flames, illuminating the valley in a red glow. He extended his assault rifle and began firing.

They discovered the guards hiding behind fortifications at the cave entrance. Their shots posed no threat to them, but they continued to fire rhythmically at the other side.

At that moment, an explosion rang out from "Factory No. 4" behind him. Liu Xiaotao guessed that Gao Shang and his men were blowing up the factory. Since there was no one in the workshop, it would be easier for them to move around.

At the same time, explosions and shouts were heard from the mountain stronghold, indicating that Zhang Jin and his men had also been attacked by the enemy and needed to end the battle and withdraw as soon as possible.

The sooner they evacuate, the less pressure Zhang Jin said they will face.

There are still four or five hundred enemies in the village. If this goes on for too long, and the enemy organizes a counterattack, Zhang Jin said they will be in danger.

Liu Xiaotao grew increasingly anxious. He picked a "little melon" and threw it towards the cave entrance. With the help of the "little melon's" explosion, he moved forward more than ten meters.

The guards' chimes stopped for about ten seconds, then started again. Liu Xiaotao observed their hiding place; they were concealed behind cover at the cave entrance, making it quite difficult to eliminate them.

At this moment, Ye Peng ran over to help Liu Xiaotao. He lay down next to Liu Xiaotao and shouted loudly, "The guards here have all been taken care of."

Liu Xiaotao saw a protruding rock on the other side and said, "Ye Peng, you cover me."

While Ye Peng was firing at the enemy, Liu Xiaotao went behind a rock, quickly loaded a grenade, and then suddenly stood up and fired at the guard.

With a loud "boom!", the guards' gunfire fell silent.

Liu Xiaotao rushed over immediately and found that both guards were lying motionless on the ground.

Liu Xiaotao quickly checked the situation at the entrance of the cave and, after confirming that it was safe, gave Ye Peng a hand signal.

The two of them crept into the cave one after the other, the damp and cold air filled with a pungent chemical smell.

By the cold light of their tactical flashlights, they saw rows of gas masks hanging on the cave walls and a large amount of packaged white powder scattered on the ground.

Further in, there is an iron gate, with a thick iron chain and a huge lock.

Ye Peng walked closer and took a look, then said to Liu Xiaotao, "Instructor, let's retreat to the back, I'll blast him away."

The two men created a safe distance between themselves, and Ye Peng raised his gun and fired a grenade at the chain.

With a loud "boom," the iron gate was blown open, and the two men rushed inside, ignoring the smoke and gunpowder.

It was pitch black inside, and filled with gunpowder smoke. It took more than ten meters to see a pile of things on the ground.

"Found it!" Ye Peng said in a low voice, using his dagger to cut open a package, then dabbed some powder on his fingertip and sniffed it. "The purity is very high, at least Grade A."

(End of this chapter)