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

Chapter 770 Steven's Unwillingness to Accept It!
Amidst the deafening explosion, the last assault vehicle in the convoy skidded wildly along the edge of the cliff, its metal wheels sparking as they scraped against the rocks.

The team members inside the vehicle gripped the handrails tightly, their faces ashen.

At this critical moment, Jiang Tao slammed on the brakes, and the assault vehicle finally came to a stop less than half a meter from the cliff.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jin, who was at the front of the convoy, said that their off-road vehicle had been attacked.

This time it wasn't a rocket, but rather Zhuang Yan's "Warrior" off-road vehicle accidentally running over an anti-personnel mine that the enemy had laid in advance.

With a loud "boom," the right front wheel of the off-road vehicle was instantly destroyed, and the out-of-control vehicle rushed toward the edge of the cliff like a wild horse.

In a life-or-death situation, driver Zhuang Yan demonstrated astonishing reaction speed.

His hands, veins bulging, gripped the steering wheel tightly and swerved sharply, while simultaneously slamming on the brake pedal with his right foot.

Amidst the screech of tires, the "Warrior" off-road vehicle came to a stop just off the edge of the cliff, its front end a mere inches from the abyss.

"Is everyone alright?" Zhang Jin shouted, enduring the intense tinnitus.

Inside the carriage, Zhuang Yan, A Gui, Ye Peng, and the others were pale-faced, painfully covering their ringing ears and shaking their heads with difficulty.

Fortunately, this anti-personnel mine was primarily designed to kill personnel and did not cause fatal damage to the robust structure of the "Warrior" military off-road vehicle.

If it had been a powerful anti-tank mine, the entire vehicle would probably have been blown to pieces, and they would be finished by now.

Even so, this Warrior off-road vehicle is no longer drivable.

Now is not the time to think about anything else. The group is under heavy attack from the enemy, and staying in the immobile vehicle makes them easy targets.

"Everyone get out of the car! Set up a defensive position on the spot!" Zhang Jincheng decisively kicked open the car door and, by the moonlight, saw at least a dozen firing positions on the hillside.

After getting out of the car, Zhang Jin immediately rolled to hide behind the vehicle, and bullets fired at him by the enemy immediately kicked up a cloud of dust around him.

Ye Peng crouched down and rushed to Zhang Jincheng's side, handing him the night vision goggles: "Captain, there's a sniper at three o'clock!" Before he finished speaking, a bullet grazed his helmet, startling him so much that he immediately shrank back behind the off-road vehicle.

Zhang Jin took the night vision goggles and examined them closely. Sure enough, he spotted a suspicious shadow in the bushes on the distant hillside.

The enemy soldier was disguised so skillfully that he blended almost seamlessly into his surroundings, making him virtually undetectable without careful observation.

“Something’s not right,” Zhang Jincheng said with a furrowed brow, lowering his voice to the radio. “Old Liu, I have a feeling this enemy force is not simple. Their tactics have a strangely familiar feel to them.”

At the same time, Liu Xiaotao and his squad quickly disembarked from the assault vehicle and took their combat positions.

Holding an infrared telescope, Liu Xiaotao carefully scanned the enemy situation ahead.

Zhang Jincheng's voice came through the earphone, and he immediately responded, "Old Zhang, you're right."

Judging from their tactical setup—snipers occupying high ground, demolition experts blocking traffic, and this professional combat formation—this is definitely the operational style of special forces.

"Special forces? How could there be special forces lying in ambush in this desolate wilderness?" Zhang Jincheng frowned and muttered to himself.

Liu Xiaotao's eyes suddenly sharpened, and he said in a deep voice, "No need to guess anymore, I already know who these people might be."

"Who is it?" Zhang Jin asked urgently.

"If I'm not mistaken, they must be 'Sea Wolves' mercenaries!"
"Now, 'Sea Wolf' is working for Lang Yuancai under Steven's leadership. In the 'Jin San area,' apart from us and them, no one else is as professional in special operations as us," Liu Xiaotao said decisively, his fingers unconsciously tightening their grip on the butt of his rifle.

Zhang Jin suddenly slapped his thigh: "That's right! I understand everything now! Damn it, they're after us."

No wonder the convoy was surrounded but didn't attack for so long; they were trying to lure us in and use a tactic of besieging the enemy's stronghold and attacking their reinforcements! His voice was filled with shock and realization.

Having ascertained the strength of the enemy force before him, Zhang Jincheng immediately felt confident.

He clearly remembered that the "Sea Wolf" mercenary group that Lang Yuancai had hired at great expense, including the arrogant Steven, consisted of only twelve people in total.

Steven has always been arrogant and conceited. Given his disdainful nature, he would definitely look down on the fighting strength of Lang Yuancai's rabble.

Thinking of this, Zhang Jincheng smirked.

Therefore, the enemy troops currently lying in ambush in the dense forest on the right-hand hillside are at most a dozen or so.

This number is exactly the same as the number of their commando team.

Zhang Jin clenched his fist, a glint of confidence flashing in his eyes.

"Hmph, trying to ambush us? The outcome is still uncertain!"

“Old Liu, this is what I’m thinking: let’s not go reinforce the escort convoy. Let’s just stay here and have some fun with ‘Sea Wolf’…” Zhang Jincheng interrupted, thinking this.

"Huh? Why?" Liu Xiaotao didn't understand what Zhang Jincheng meant.

"Old Liu, here's what I'm thinking: since the enemy's real objective isn't to escort the convoy, but to us, then things will be much easier."

We should hold off the "Sea Wolf" here while Kang's troops rush to rescue the convoy.

The old town isn't far from where the convoy was attacked; I think they'll be there soon.

With just over a hundred 'poisonous scorpions' under Lang Yuancai's command, they certainly couldn't withstand the combined attack of two companies of escort convoys and the old city support troops.

Whether we go or not at this point, it won't be of much help. Therefore, we should turn the tables and take this opportunity to eliminate the 'Sea Wolf' mercenaries, remove this major threat, and cripple Lang Yuancai's arm." Zhang Jincheng laid out his thoughts.

After listening to Zhang Jincheng's analysis, Liu Xiaotao's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "Great idea! These 'Sea Wolves' mercenaries are indeed much more dangerous than those ragtag armies."

"If we eliminate them here, attacking Lang Yuancai's 'Lang Village' will be much easier. However," he quickly checked his magazine, "we need to act swiftly, otherwise it will be troublesome if 'Sea Wolf' realizes what's happening and escapes."

"Okay, good!" Zhang Jin said in a deep voice. Then he said into the wireless communicator, "Attention everyone, I'm going to report the battle plan."

Our opponents are the 'Sea Wolves' mercenaries. We need to be vigilant; these guys are all highly experienced special forces soldiers...

I will lead one group to engage the enemy head-on, while Lao Liu will lead the second group to flank from the side. Lu Da and Wang Ming, you two will be the fire support group, providing us with long-range fire cover using the vehicle-mounted heavy machine gun.

Beware of enemy snipers and RPGs…

"Do you all understand the mission now?" Zhang Jincheng said finally.

"understand!"

"Okay, let's take action!"

As soon as Zhang Jin finished speaking, the entire commando team immediately sprang into action.

Lu Da and Wang Ming quickly grabbed the heavy machine gun mounted on the assault vehicle, pointing the dark muzzle at the hillside.

Ye Peng and Zhuang Yan acted as the frontal assault troops, drawing enemy fire, while Zhang Jin followed behind them, taking out smoke grenades from his tactical backpack, ready to cover his teammates' retreat at any time.

"Fire cover!" With Zhang Jincheng's order, Lu Da and Wang Ming's heavy machine guns spat fire, and the dense rain of bullets kept the enemy in the woods on the hillside from raising their heads.

Taking advantage of this opening, Liu Xiaotao led the second group of team members and disappeared like ghosts into the bushes on the right.

Just then, Zhang Jincheng saw through his night vision goggles that a faint red light suddenly appeared at the enemy sniper's location.

"Watch out for snipers!" he shouted, pulling the trigger at the same time. The bullet struck the bushes precisely, but unfortunately missed the sniper.

Steven led three mercenaries in a firefight with Zhuang Yan and Ye Peng using Colt assault rifles. Despite outnumbering them, they gained no advantage.

"Fuck! These guys are definitely the elite special forces from 'over there'."

"Lang, that cunning old fox, he tricked us. He has to give us more money, or I won't let him off the hook."

"Boss, the enemy's two armed assault vehicles are equipped with heavy machine guns, their firepower is too intense! Parker has been hit, and his injuries are serious."

"Fuck fuck! This is fucking damn good!" Steven cursed furiously, veins bulging on his forehead. "Terry! What are you waiting for? Take care of those bastards with your sniper rifle right now!"

This operation was a meticulously planned ambush by Steven, who originally thought victory was assured.

However, just minutes into the battle, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.

The enemy's casualties are unknown, but two of their "Sea Wolves" mercenaries have been seriously wounded.

Sniper Terry was also in a precarious situation; his back was already soaked with cold sweat.

Just now, an enemy soldier nearly hit him in a vital spot with an ordinary assault rifle from hundreds of meters away.

This dangerous signal made Terry realize that his sniping position had been exposed.

If he doesn't move immediately, the enemy can simply turn the heavy machine gun around and riddle him with bullets.

"Boss, this is bad, my position has been exposed, I need to choose a new sniping location," Terry reported to his boss Steven via radio while rolling on the ground to dodge bullets.

On the assault team's side, Lu Da's heavy machine gun suddenly stopped firing. He anxiously patted the barrel, shouting, "It's jammed!" At this critical moment, the enemy's firepower suddenly intensified.

Bullets rained down like a storm, rattling the armored assault vehicle.

Xiao Jiang quickly took out a smoke grenade from his backpack, bit the tab, and threw it with all his might.

The thick smoke instantly obscured the entire assault vehicle, giving Lu Da a precious respite.

Soon after, the heavy machine gun operated by Lu Da began to fire fiercely at the "Sea Wolf" mercenaries again.

"Da da da da."

The trees where Steven and his men were hiding were battered, sending bark, branches, and leaves flying everywhere.
"Fuck fuck!" Steven cursed angrily over the radio, not expecting the team to react so quickly.

Seeing the smoke thicken, he immediately ordered, "Sandos, enemy troops are flanking us on the right. Take some men and snipe them. We absolutely cannot let them outflank us."

Led by Santos, several mercenaries, like ghosts, approached Liu Xiaotao and his group along the ridge.

Zhang Jincheng keenly sensed the change in the battlefield situation. He wiped the blood from his face and shouted into the communicator, "Old Liu, pay attention to the ridgeline at nine o'clock!"

"Understood!" Liu Xiaotao responded, then gave a hand signal, and the team members behind him immediately dispersed and launched an attack.

On the other side, Zhuang Yan and Ye Peng, who were launching a frontal assault, quickly approached a three-man combat team that the Sea Wolf mercenaries had deployed at the forefront.

Zhuang Yan, who was on the offensive, was unerring in his aim, taking down a black mercenary with a single shot.

The other two members of "Sea Wolf" immediately dragged the fallen mercenary aside to avoid him.
"Boss, boss, Johnson is dead, repeat Johnson is dead."

Steven's face darkened instantly upon hearing his subordinate's report.

They, the "Sea Wolves," had never suffered such a heavy loss before. In just a short time, one of them was killed and two others were seriously injured.

As if things weren't going to go wrong, another piece of bad news arrived.

"Boss, something bad has happened! Judd and Wright are dead..."

Steven ripped off his headphones and slammed them to the ground, gritting his teeth as he yelled, "Damn it! Everyone evacuate immediately! Execute Plan B! Evacuate immediately..."

Upon hearing the order, the remaining "Sea Wolf" mercenaries quickly tightened their defensive line and began an orderly retreat under the cover of smoke grenades.

As Steven directed the retreat, he secretly vowed to himself, "He'll settle this score with Lang Yuan!"

Zhang Jincheng keenly detected the enemy's retreat and immediately ordered via radio: "Watch out, the enemy is running! Lao Liu, your group speeds up and cuts off their retreat! Lu Da, extend fire to block the ridgeline!"

Liu Xiaotao's second group had already outflanked the enemy. He rolled to dodge stray bullets and fired a burst of bullets.

"Bang!" A mercenary who was retreating fell to the ground.

The remaining team members quickly took up advantageous positions, and the crossfire network instantly blocked the "Sea Wolf's" retreat route.

"Well done!" Upon seeing this, Zhang Jin immediately ordered, "Ye Peng, Zhuang Yan, push forward! Be careful to maintain distance!" The two assault soldiers immediately took turns providing cover as they advanced, and their precise bursts of fire suppressed the enemy behind a boulder.

Steven broke out in a cold sweat. He pulled out his satellite phone and quickly dialed: "'Scorpion! We need backup! Coordinates!' Before he could finish speaking, a bullet grazed his ear and left a smoking bullet hole in the tree trunk behind him.

"Boss, they're catching up!" Sandos shouted, clutching his bleeding shoulder.

Steven gritted his teeth and pulled a remote control from his tactical vest: "Execute Plan B!" As he pressed the button, smoke grenades and stun grenades that had been planted in the woods detonated simultaneously, and the entire battlefield was instantly enveloped in blinding flashes and deafening explosions.

Zhang Jin immediately lay down and shouted, "Take cover!" When the smoke cleared, he saw through his night vision goggles that the enemy troops had split into three groups and were fleeing in different directions.

"Trying to break out separately?" He sneered and immediately adjusted the plan: "Old Liu, take charge of the east flank; Lu Da, blockade the west flank; the rest of you, follow me..."

At this moment, Liu Xiaotao said, "Old Zhang, don't chase them. They are also special forces. If we pursue them rashly, we might fall into an ambush again, which would be a loss."

Moreover, we achieved considerable success, while the 'Sea Wolf' suffered significant losses this time; you could say we dealt them a heavy blow.

Zhang Jin took a deep breath and suppressed the urge to pursue.

He looked around; the battlefield was in ruins, and the smoke of battle had not yet dissipated.

The sound of the "Sea Wolf" mercenaries' hurried retreat could be heard in the distance, gradually disappearing into the depths of the dense forest.

"Attention all personnel, stand ready, clean up the battlefield!" he ordered in a deep voice.

Lu Da inspected the heavy machine gun, cursing under his breath, "These bastards run fast."

Ye Peng and Zhuang Yan stood at a distance, maintaining high vigilance, their guns always pointed in the suspicious direction, in case "Sea Wolf" launched a surprise attack.

Liu Xiaotao led two team members to quickly inspect the battlefield and collect equipment and intelligence left behind by the enemy.

"Old Zhang, we've killed three mercenaries and captured a seriously wounded one," Liu Xiaotao's voice came through the radio. "This mercenary is still alive; should we take him back?"

Zhang Jin thought for a moment and said, "Take him back; maybe we can find out something from him."

At this moment, he looked up at the sky, and the east was already turning a pale white.

"It's almost dawn, we need to hurry and go support the escort convoy."

The team members acted quickly, bandaging the wounded captured mercenaries and carrying them onto the assault vehicle.

Because the off-road vehicle's wheels were destroyed, Zhang Jin said they had to squeeze into three assault vehicles with other people, barely managing to get a ride.

The assault convoy slowly started up in the morning mist, the roar of the engines startling the birds in the forest.

Zhang Jin sat in the passenger seat, rhythmically tapping his fingers on the car door, his eyes constantly scanning the dense forest on both sides with vigilance.

In the back seat, the captured mercenary groaned in pain as Ye Peng injected him with painkillers using a first-aid kit.

"Get in touch with them and find out what the situation is with the escort convoy," Zhang Jincheng instructed.

(End of this chapter)