manynovel Chapter 37 Destroying Enemies Abroad
Chapter 37 Destroying Enemies Abroad
Lin Zhe's first official mission was in a war-torn Middle Eastern country.
The mission itself was uncomplicated—escorting a diplomatic document from the country's capital to a liaison point on the border of a neighboring country. The country was in the midst of a civil war, with government forces and rebels locked in fierce fighting, and gunfire and explosions echoing everywhere.
"Remember, you are an International Red Cross staff member," Longya said at the mission briefing. "The documents are hidden inside the medical equipment. If you are checked, just show your identification, and they generally won't give you too much trouble."
Lin Zhe nodded. He was dressed in ordinary outdoor clothes and carried a medical bag, looking every bit the humanitarian worker.
"The route has been planned, and the car is ready." Longya pointed to the map. "This route is relatively safe, but we still need to be careful. There's no safe place in this country."
"clear."
The journey began smoothly. Lin Zhe drove his modified SUV along the dilapidated highway. He encountered several checkpoints along the way, manned by both government troops and rebels. He showed his Red Cross credentials, and after glancing at his medical kit, the officers let him through.
The country was ravaged. Destroyed houses and abandoned vehicles lined the roads, with the occasional civilian fleeing the disaster. Gunfire echoed in the distance, sometimes near, sometimes far.
Lin Zhe felt a little heavy-hearted. In his previous life, he had only seen war in the news; experiencing it firsthand in this life felt completely different. Peace is such a precious thing.
He arrived at the contact point at 3 p.m. He handed the documents to the liaison officer, and the mission was complete.
"You can rest here for the night and return tomorrow," the person in charge said.
Just as Lin Zhe was about to agree, his watch suddenly vibrated—an emergency mission!
He tapped his watch, and a new command appeared on the screen: "The person codenamed 'Messenger' is in distress. Coordinates have been sent. Proceed to provide immediate support and ensure the safe evacuation of personnel and data. Priority: High."
The "Messenger" is a spy from the Dragon Kingdom in this country. His ostensible identity is that of a wealthy merchant, but his real role is to gather crucial intelligence. He is currently being hunted by the enemy while carrying a batch of the latest data.
Lin Zhe glanced at the coordinates; it was less than twenty kilometers away from him.
"Something's up?" the contact asked.
"Emergency mission." Lin Zhe put away his watch. "Can I borrow your car?"
"Be careful!"
Lin Zhe jumped into the car, turned around, and sped towards the coordinates. The twenty kilometers took nearly forty minutes on the dilapidated road. As he neared his destination, he could already hear the intense gunfire.
It was an abandoned industrial area with several dilapidated factory buildings. Gunshots rang out from one of the buildings.
Lin Zhe parked his car some distance away and approached on foot. He found a high vantage point and observed with binoculars.
Inside the factory, five soldiers from the Dragon Kingdom in civilian clothes—presumably bodyguards for the "Messenger"—were putting up a fight. Two were already dead, their bodies lying on the ground. Of the remaining three, one was wounded, and the other two were fighting back. Behind them stood a middle-aged man in his fifties, dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase—that was the "Messenger."
They were surrounded by hundreds of armed men, dressed in haphazard clothing and carrying various weapons, who were approaching the factory from all directions.
"The retreat route is blocked." Lin Zhe quickly assessed the situation. "A direct assault won't work; we need to outsmart them."
He observed the distribution of the militants. Although numerous, they were undisciplined and their formation chaotic. Moreover, they clearly lacked professional training—some stood and fired, some hid behind cover, afraid to show their faces, and others smoked and chatted...
opportunity.
Lin Zhe silently infiltrated the battlefield. He moved through the ruins like a ghost, quickly approaching a lone armed man.
The man was crouching in the corner changing his magazine, completely unaware of the commotion behind him. Lin Zhe covered his mouth from behind, while simultaneously plunging his right-hand military knife precisely into his carotid artery. The man went limp without even uttering a sound.
Lin Zhe quickly took off the other man's clothes—a dirty camouflage uniform—and put it on himself. He then picked up the other man's AK-47 and checked the ammunition.
Now, he is a "militia member".
He blended into the crowd, head down, avoiding eye contact. The militants' attention was focused on the factory area, and no one noticed the extra person.
Lin Zhe moved slowly, searching for his target. A man who appeared to be the leader was giving orders: "Charge in! Take him alive! The boss said the information on that Chinese man is very important!"
The opportunity had arrived. Lin Zhe pretended to rush forward, and as he passed the leader, he suddenly turned around, covered the leader's mouth with one hand, and plunged a military knife into his heart with the other. The leader's eyes widened, and he fell to the ground dead.
Several people nearby turned around upon hearing the commotion. Lin Zhe had already crouched down, pretending to examine the "wounded."
"What's wrong with the captain?" someone asked.
"He's been shot!" Lin Zhe whispered. "Call the medics right away!"
Several people gathered around, their attention focused on the dead leader. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lin Zhe quietly retreated and disappeared into the crowd.
The leader's death caused a small-scale commotion. Several underlings were arguing about who should take over command. Taking advantage of the chaos, Lin Zhe continued his operation—he moved through the crowd like the Grim Reaper, and with each stop, someone silently fell.
An armed man who was smoking had his neck snapped before he even finished his cigarette.
A guy who was randomly firing at the factory building suddenly found himself with a knife in his back.
A sniper crouching behind cover had his throat slit from behind...
Within ten minutes, twenty militants died silently. But with so many of them, someone noticed something amiss.
"Something's wrong!" a junior leader shouted. "Our numbers are dwindling!"
The militants began to look at each other, only to find that many of their men were missing. Several bodies lay on the ground, all killed from behind.
"There's a mole!" someone shouted.
Panic began to spread. The militants stopped attacking the factory and instead became wary of each other, pointing their guns at those around them.
Just then, Lin Zhe made his move. He took out two grenades from the militant he had just killed, pulled the pins, and threw them into the densest part of the crowd.
"Grenade!"
Boom! Boom!
Two explosions occurred, killing and injuring at least a dozen people. The scene descended into complete chaos!
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lin Zhe picked up his AK-47 and opened fire from the flank. He targeted the small leaders who were still organizing resistance, taking them down one by one with each shot.
"Over there!" Someone spotted Lin Zhe.
Dozens of gun barrels were turned towards him. Lin Zhe rolled behind cover, bullets hitting the spot where he had just been standing, raising a cloud of dust.
But he had already moved. Like a cheetah, he moved through the ruins, and with each appearance, someone fell.
The militants were stunned. They couldn't even figure out where the enemy was; they only saw people around them falling one after another.
"Retreat! Retreat!" someone shouted.
But Lin Zhe had blocked their retreat. He had taken up a favorable position and used precise bursts of fire to take down those who tried to escape one by one.
This was a massacre. More than a hundred armed men were like lambs to the slaughter before Lin Zhe. They outnumbered him, but lacked organization, discipline, and tactics. Lin Zhe, on the other hand, was a top-tier special forces soldier who had received the most rigorous training.
Inside the factory, the "messenger" and his three bodyguards also noticed something amiss. Gunshots were coming from outside, but they were no longer being fired at them.
"What happened?" the injured bodyguard asked.
"Let me see." A bodyguard cautiously peeked out the window and witnessed a scene he would never forget.
A man dressed in enemy uniform weaved through the militants. His movements were ghostly; with each strike, someone fell. Grenades exploded, gunfire erupted, and bursts of gunfire filled the air... This man was like a god of war, single-handedly suppressing hundreds!
"My God..." the bodyguard muttered.
The battle lasted for half an hour. When the last militant fell in a pool of blood, the entire battlefield fell silent. The ground was littered with corpses, at least seventy in total.
Lin Zhe checked his ammunition; he was out of bullets for his AK-47. He threw the gun aside, picked up a pistol from the ground, and walked towards the factory.
Inside the factory, the bodyguards nervously held their guns. They saw Lin Zhe approaching, but couldn't see his face clearly—Lin Zhe's face was painted with greasepaint, and he was wearing a captured scarf.
"Stop right there!" the bodyguard shouted.
Lin Zhe replied in code: "The dragon returns to the sea."
The bodyguard was taken aback, then responded in code: "Tiger Roars Through the Mountains."
The code words matched. But the bodyguards still couldn't believe it: "You're... here to meet us?"
"Code name 'Hidden Dragon'," Lin Zhe said. "How are you guys doing?"
"Two people are dead, and one is injured," the bodyguard said. "Mr. 'Messenger' is safe."
Lin Zhe looked at the middle-aged man. The 'messenger' was pale, but still relatively calm, clutching his briefcase tightly.
"Can you still walk?" Lin Zhe asked.
"Okay." The injured bodyguard gritted his teeth and stood up.
Lin Zhe surveyed the surroundings: "The pursuers may arrive soon. You should proceed with the original plan and retreat from the east side. There is a rendezvous point five kilometers away."
"And what about you?" the messenger asked.
"I'll draw the pursuers away," Lin Zhe said. "Don't worry about me."
"But..."
"This is an order," Lin Zhe said firmly. "Take the data and evacuate immediately. The data is more important than people."
The three bodyguards exchanged a glance and nodded. They helped the "messenger" out of the factory through the back door.
Lin Zhe watched them disappear into the ruins, then turned and walked in the opposite direction. He deliberately left obvious traces—footprints, broken branches, and even fired a few shots on purpose.
Sure enough, a short while later, the sound of car engines could be heard in the distance. More militants had arrived.
Lin Zhe lay prone on a high ground, watching the vehicles stop, the armed men get out, and scream in terror at the sight of the corpses scattered on the ground.
He raised his pistol and aimed it at a man who looked like a commander.
boom!
The commander fell to the ground. The militants panicked and scrambled for cover.
Lin Zhe took the opportunity to retreat. He moved through the ruins like a ghost, occasionally turning back to fire a few shots to attract the pursuers.
The chase lasted two hours. Lin Zhe, alone, led dozens of armed men in circles through the ruins. He was familiar with the terrain and knew where to hide and where to ambush.
After taking down more than a dozen more men, the pursuers finally gave up. Their losses were too great, and they dared not pursue any further.
After confirming that it was safe, Lin Zhe found a secluded spot and turned on his watch.
"The 'Messenger' has safely evacuated and is heading to the rendezvous point," Longya's voice came through. "Well done, Longyuan. Taking down over seventy people by yourself, that's a feat that will go down in history."
"Is the data safe?" Lin Zhe asked.
"Safe, the data has been encrypted and transmitted back to China," Longya said. "Your mission is complete. Evacuate according to the planned route. See you at the border in three days."
"clear."
Lin Zhe put away his watch and looked into the distance. As the sun set, the war-torn country was shrouded in a blood-red afterglow.
This was his first real overseas mission. It was dangerous and brutal, but it also made him see his own value.
One person can change the course of a battle. One person can protect the people and things that matter.
This is the meaning of "Hidden Dragon".
He checked his equipment: he had three bullets left in his pistol, his knife was still there, and his watch was working properly. He also had a little food and water left, enough to last until they reached the evacuation point.
See you at the border in three days.
Lin Zhe stood up and walked in the direction he had planned to go. His shadow stretched long in the setting sun, lonely but resolute.
In this battle, he proved that he was qualified to become a "hidden dragon".