120: The Wrath of the Dragon King (2)

"You're still the most thoughtful one." Wang Chen nodded. "By the way, after this battle, my international code name... will be Dragon King."

Chenlong's eyes lit up. "Dragon King... Great! The head of the Twelve Zodiac Signs, ruling the four seas! That's a resounding title!"

3:50 PM.

Deep in the Sahara Desert, in a sand valley five kilometers away from "Scorpions Nest."

Thirty off-road vehicles with desert camouflage were parked with their engines off, silent.

Beside the vehicles, over a hundred fully armed soldiers were performing final checks.

Wang Chen stood on a vehicle roof, using binoculars to observe the distant cluster of buildings.

It looked like an abandoned oil exploration station, with rusted drilling towers, dilapidated prefabricated houses, and weathered walls.

But through the thermal imaging binoculars, he could clearly see patrol teams behind the walls, snipers on the roofs, and heat sources faintly emanating from underground.

"All teams, report status." He pressed his earpiece.

"Team One in position," Chenlong's voice came through.

"Team Two in position," Rat's voice said.

"Team Three in position," Horse.

"Team Four in position." Wang Chen looked behind him. Two apache attack helicopters had already started their rotors, but they were kept at the lowest RPM, with most of the noise being absorbed by the valley's terrain.

"Awaiting my command." Wang Chen checked his watch. "At 3:59:30 PM, Team Two begins infiltration. At 4:00 PM sharp, Team One and Team Three attack simultaneously. At 4:05 PM, Team Four takes flight."

"Understood!"

Time ticked away, minute by minute.

In the desert afternoon, temperatures soared above forty degrees Celsius. Heat waves rose from the ground, making the air seem distorted.

But everyone held their breath and focused, waiting for that moment to arrive.

Hades Hall branch, second-floor underground command room.

A burly white man with a scar on his face was staring at the surveillance screens. He was the captain of the Scorpion Squad, code-named "Scorpion King."

"Boss, Patrol Team Three reports signs of a convoy five kilometers to the southeast," a subordinate reported.

Scorpion King frowned. "A convoy? How many people?"

"The tracks are messy, hard to judge. But it's definitely not a desert caravan. Their ruts are too deep, looking like heavily loaded heavy vehicles."

"Damn it..." Scorpion King cursed. "Things have been tense lately. The Death God Squad bit the dust in Dragon Country, so headquarters told us to increase vigilance. Notify all sentry posts to step up security. Also, launch the drones to patrol a twenty-kilometer radius."

"Yes, sir!"

The order was given, but it was already too late.

3:59:30 PM.

Inside the ventilation ducts, Rat was sliding at the very front like a loach.

Behind him, Rabbit, Snake, and over thirty others followed silently.

At the end of the duct was a ventilation fan, its blades spinning slowly.

Rat made a gesture. A team member behind him took out a toolkit and worked on the ventilation fan for a moment.

*Click.*

The fan blades stopped spinning.

Rat carefully removed the vent cover and was the first to jump down.

Below was the power distribution room. Two technicians were chatting, completely unaware of the movement overhead.

*Thwip, thwip.*

Two soft sounds, and Rabbit's tranquilizer gun hit both of their necks.

Their bodies went limp, and they collapsed to the floor.

"Secure," Rat whispered. "Snake, take the eleven members of your squad and sabotage the main cables. Rabbit, take your people to the backup power room."

"Yes."

The teams split up to take action.

4:00 PM sharp.

On the surface, the southeast corner of the perimeter wall.

Chenlong checked his watch and nodded to Tiger and Zodiac: Ox.

Tiger grinned and took a palm-sized "brick" from his backpack, sticking it onto the wall.

It was a directional explosive charge.

"Three, two, one..."

*Boom!*

The wall exploded, leaving a three-meter-wide gap.

"Charge!" Chenlong was the first to rush in.

Almost simultaneously, intense gunfire erupted from the main gate. Horse and Monkey had begun their frontal assault.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" The alarms wailed shrilly.

A machine gun nest behind the wall had just turned its muzzle when Tiger raised his hand and blew the gunner's head off with a single shot.

Zodiac: Ox rushed forward like a wild bull, flipping the machine gun with one hand and mowing down the approaching guards with a burst of fire in the other.

"Team One is progressing smoothly!" Chenlong reported through the earpiece. "Southeast area secured. Advancing toward the main building."

"Team Two reporting," Rat's voice came through. "Power system sabotaged. Backup power expected to start in two minutes. We are heading for the armory."

"Team Three is meeting stiff resistance." Horse's voice was mixed with the sound of gunfire. "Heavy machine guns at the main gate. Requesting backup!"

Hearing the report in the sand valley, Wang Chen immediately ordered, "Team Four, take flight. Target: the heavy machine gun nest at the main gate."

"Understood!"

The two apache helicopters rose from the ground, their desert camouflage making them nearly invisible under the blinding sun.

Thirty seconds later, the guards at the main gate witnessed a scene they would never forget.

Two reaper-like helicopters suddenly appeared from behind the dunes, the 30mm chain guns on their bellies spitting tongues of fire.

*Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—*

The heavy machine gun nest was riddled with holes, and both men and weapons were blown into scattered pieces. It was a gruesome sight!

"Holy crap..." Horse gaped from behind cover. "The boss's entrance... is just too cool, isn't it?"

Monkey gave him a tug. "Don't just stand there! Get in!"

The main gate's defense line collapsed.

Third floor underground, command room.

Scorpion King stared at the pitch-black surveillance screens, his face ashen.

"The power is cut! Communications are down! Exactly how many people are out there?!"

"I-I don't know..." The subordinate looked panicked, stuttering as he spoke. "But judging by the gunfire, at least a hundred! And there are attack helicopters!"

"Attack helicopters?!" Scorpion King stood up abruptly. "Damn it, this isn't an attack; this is a war!"

He grabbed a satellite phone, trying to contact headquarters, but there was no signal.

"Boss! There's movement near the armory!" another subordinate rushed in. "Someone has infiltrated!"

Scorpion King's eyes turned bloodshot. "Assemble everyone! To the armory! Even if we die, we're taking some of them with us!"

The corridor outside the armory.

Rat and Team Two had just finished clearing the guards when they heard hurried footsteps from around the corner.

"Prepare for combat!" he growled.

The eleven members quickly took up advantageous positions.

A second later, Scorpion King rushed in with over fifty men.

Both sides engaged in a fierce firefight in the narrow corridor.

*Bang, bang, bang, bang—*

Bullets struck the walls, sending up a flurry of sparks.

Rat hid behind cover, calmly changing magazines. "Rabbit, report your position."

"Reached the armory's back door. Installing explosives."

"Three minutes! We have to hold for three minutes!"

"Understood!"

At the other end of the corridor, Scorpion King roared, "Grenades! Throw the grenades!"

Several grenades rolled toward them.

Rat's expression changed. "Take cover!"

*Boom, boom, boom—*

The blast's shockwave knocked over two team members.

Rat scrambled up and saw that a team member had been hit in the thigh by shrapnel, blood flowing freely.

"Medic!"

"I'm here!" A small-framed medic crawled over from the back, quickly bandaging the two wounded men.

Scorpion King took the opportunity to push forward with his men, their firepower growing increasingly intense.

Just as Rat's group of twelve was about to reach their limit, a massive boom suddenly echoed from the end of the corridor.

*Boom!*