289: Chapter 289 Ambush in the Dark? A Surprise Attack!

Lin Xiao rubbed the material of the map.

Unlike the coarse paper of treasure maps or the parchment scrolls of skill books.

This was high-quality silk.

The map drawn upon it was extremely precise.

The scale had been strictly converted, and the way the terrain and markers were drawn exuded a sense of professionalism from the inside out, as if it had been drawn by someone with long-term surveying and mapping training.

Although the treasure map in his hand was a Marauders Map, it paled in comparison to this one.

The treasure map was a patch of earthy yellow with only a few limited markers; it looked no different from a rough draft.

At this time, the other captains had already finished clearing the battlefield.

To be safe, firearms, ammunition, diesel barrels, and food supplies were all collected into their backpacks.

After completing all this, the captains gathered around, looking at the hand-drawn map on the hood of the vehicle.

Lin Xiao gave everyone a brief account of his recent discovery.

Zhou Jun was loading a magazine into a newly captured rifle. After listening, he looked up, his eyes brightening. "Does that mean we've stolen some intelligence?"

"What do you mean 'stolen'?" Fan Sinian punched him from the side, his fist landing on the shoulder armor with a dull thud. "They're dead, so we're just keeping their things for them. Look at us, where else are you going to find people as kind-hearted as we are?"

Zhou Jun rolled his eyes at him.

Lin Xiao did not participate in their bickering.

He spread the map out on the front hood of the off-road vehicle and, following the route of this convoy, locked onto the nearest Qitian Temple ruin.

That is, Qi Tian Temple No. 02.

Then, using the recording pointer and the positioning of the Marauders Map, he confirmed that the ruins they had previously explored was Prayer Temple No. 05.

Lin Xiao's gaze darkened.

These people not only had detailed maps but had even numbered them; they really did come prepared!

He raised his left wrist.

The dark gold pointer suspended in the crystal ball was vibrating slightly.

The tip of the needle was consistently pointing in a certain direction.

According to the markings on this hand-drawn map, the direction it pointed to should be Prayer Temple No. 06.

In other words, the magnetic field signals recorded by the recording pointer followed a specific sequence.

It was step-by-step; it would only point to the next one after one site had been explored.

Now, the Silver-White Train had obtained the detailed locations of nine Qitian Temples.

The good news was that Lin Xiao had a reliable navigation artifact in his hand.

The information advantages of the two sides were not in the same dimension.

"The people from the Silver-White Train definitely maintain communication through the chat channel. If a convoy suddenly stops responding, it's impossible for them not to notice.

If we continue toward Qi Tian Temple No. 02, we will inevitably run into an ambush."

Lin Xiao pointed to a marker on the map. "So, we'll change our target and head to Prayer Temple No. 06 first to catch them off guard!"

"Brother Lin is right!" Fang Yuan tapped on the hood.

Liu Bi, however, was not as excited.

He stared at the location of No. 06 on the map, his fingers measuring the distance between the marker and the convoy's current position twice.

"Lin Xiao, isn't the distance a bit too far? The off-road vehicles can't match the speed of the flying shuttles. Even at full speed, it'll take at least nearly an hour to get there. Won't that be too much of a delay?"

Lin Xiao peeled the hand-drawn map off the hood, folded it, and handed it to Liu Bi.

"The flying shuttles will lead the way, and the vehicle convoy will follow behind."

He scanned the captains gathered around him. "Although we don't know what means the Silver-White Train has to heavily damage so many trains, the reverse is also true.

Those people don't know our methods, so let's take this opportunity to hit them hard!"

His words were stirring, but he was still somewhat worried in his heart.

Once they went head-to-head with the opponent, who would win and who would lose?

After all, the Silver-White Train had plundered many train cores; there was no telling to what extent they had upgraded by now.

After some adjustments, the final formation was determined.

Shuttle No. 1 was piloted by Ruan Li, with Zhou Jun accompanying her for reconnaissance and field control.

Lin Xiao personally piloted Shuttle No. 2, with Fan Sinian accompanying him carrying a shield.

The ground convoy was led by Liu Bi, with Chen Pingan, Fang Yuan, and Sergei each driving an off-road vehicle closely behind.

The four vehicles maintained their distance, advancing at high speed along the tracks left by the flying shuttles above the sand.

The two flying shuttles were the first to take to the air.

Compared to the original factory version, this downgraded version with four wind-whirl crystals was slightly slower.

But compared to the off-road vehicles struggling on the sand, it was still a world of difference.

The sand dunes receded rapidly beneath the hull, and the heat waves were split at the bow into two scorching air currents that whistled past both sides of the gunwales.

After half an hour of flight, the outline of Prayer Temple No. 06 finally appeared on the dune line.

It was different from No. 05.

Although the stone gates of Prayer Temple No. 05 had collapsed and the divine statues were shattered, the overall structure remained intact, with the massive dome resting steadily atop four stone pillars.

As for No. 06, the dome had completely collapsed, and the interior of the building was filled with wind-blown sand.

The remaining arched structures were exposed to the blazing sun, and the sandstone bricks on the cross-sections had been polished smooth and round by the wind and sand.

Two of the four stone pillars had fallen, and the remaining two were heavily tilted.

From a distance, the entire building certainly fit the vibe of a ruin.

The flying shuttles hovered in the air several hundred meters away from the ruins.

Zhou Jun, who was observing with binoculars, made a gesture toward Lin Xiao.

The two flying shuttles slowly drew closer until their hulls were almost touching.

"Brother Lin, there are people inside the ruins!"

Zhou Jun pointed to the ruins on the ground and said with a serious expression, "I counted about a dozen people clearing sand inside the building, and over twenty more guarding the stone debris at the top of the structure.

The positioning of that group at the top is very scattered; everyone is tucked behind cover. It doesn't look like they're resting—it looks like a planned ambush!"

"An ambush?" Lin Xiao frowned.

It was just as he had previously suspected!

He quickly ran through the timeline in his head.

Over half an hour had passed since Convoy No. 2 was annihilated.

If the Silver-White Train used a group-based combat organization, they would definitely arrange for people to contact each convoy at set times to follow up on the situation in real-time.

If a convoy failed to respond at the scheduled contact time and multiple consecutive calls went unanswered, even the most dull-witted commander should realize something had happened.

And their reaction speed was even faster than expected.

Not only did they realize something was wrong, but they had also set up ambushes at all locations.

Wanting to cast a wide net to catch a big fish?

Lin Xiao sneered inwardly.

Who is the fisherman and who is the fish remains to be seen!

"Brother Lin, should we go in, or wait for Old Chen and the others to regroup?" Fan Sinian clung to the side of the ship, staring intently at the ground.

The flying shuttle was suspended several hundred meters high. It was difficult to discern details on the ground with the naked eye; he squinted for a long time but only saw a patch of collapsed ruins.

As if suddenly remembering something, Fan Sinian pulled a pair of military binoculars from his backpack.

"Hehe, just captured these."

He snapped the binoculars to his eyes and smugly tilted his chin at Zhou Jun. "Little Jun, your glass isn't as good as mine!"

Zhou Jun glanced at him and shook his head, feeling quite helpless.

Standing to the side, Lin Xiao pondered for a moment, his gaze moving back and forth between the two flying shuttles.

There were over thirty people in ambush below, while the total number of combat personnel the two flying shuttles could deploy was only six.

No, strictly speaking, it was five.

Ruan Li was not a combatant.

Five against thirty, with the opponent holding the advantage of cover and thermal weapons.

A direct frontal assault might be risky, but if they waited for the ground convoy to arrive, it would take at least another half hour or so.

Lin Xiao decided to go down first to check the situation.

He would get a clear picture of the enemy's troop deployment and firepower configuration and see if there were any star emblem holders stationed there.

Then, he would wait for the ground convoy to be in position and strike from both inside and out!