Special Forces: I Can See the Experience Bar

Chapter 38 The Heavily Fortified Area 322
The babbling brook flows gently, and the cool moonlight is reflected on its surface.

The shimmering stream and the rustling of the spring breeze through the forest create a picturesque scene of a mountain night in early spring.

The high school team stared intently at the withered branches and rotten leaves by the stream with flashlights.

This was the very spot where Chang Ning had disposed of his footprints. Even the most meticulous plans can have oversights. Chang Ning was still worried about Xiao Zhuang and Chen Guotao in the pit. He feared that if the Blue Army's search team found them while he was away, things would get really messed up.

So he destroyed the footprints, carefully covered them with a layer of dead branches and leaves, and then hurriedly left.

Actually, if no one knew there were footprints by the stream at night, probably no one would have come here to check. The problem is that Changning added unnecessary details by covering them with branches and leaves.

The high school team realized something was wrong as soon as they stepped on it. The withered branches and leaves by the stream were dry, and they made a "crunching" sound when stepped on.

It's obvious that someone deliberately sprinkled it there to cover something up.

Fearing something might go wrong, even the discovery of booby traps wouldn't surprise the high school team.

Therefore, the high school team told the members to move away, and he carefully brushed away the dead branches and leaves on top.

A deliberately scratched and tattered ground appeared before his eyes. The light from his flashlight shone on it, and the observant high school captain noticed patterns appearing along the edges.

Those were clearly from the soles of military boots. The exercise divided everyone into red and blue teams, but the equipment was the same. Senior High School Captain was extremely familiar with this pattern.

"They're nearby, give chase!"

The special forces team is like a pack of wolves hunting in the wild. They have a clear division of labor: some people track down the trail based on the clues left by Chang Ning, while others are responsible for guarding and paying attention to changes in the surrounding environment at all times.

The well-trained special forces soldiers did not slow down their advance by maintaining search formation; on the contrary, they were extremely agile.

Chang Ning deliberately took a long detour to get back to their camp before midnight. Midnight was Chen Guotao's watch time, and Chang Ning didn't want anyone to worry.

"who!"

Having already woken up, Chen Guotao quickly got up from his post and pointed his gun at Chang Ning.

When he woke up and found that Chang Ning was missing, he searched the neighborhood but couldn't find her. He thought something had happened to her.

He almost fired a signal flare to withdraw from the exercise.

This forest is well protected; wild animals roam here, and I've heard there are even wolves.

Chen Guotao thought that if Chang Ning didn't return in half an hour, he would voluntarily withdraw from the exercise and ask someone to help him search for her.

"Platoon leader, it's me!"

Hearing Chang Ning's familiar voice, Chen Guotao finally felt relieved.

"Damn it, where did you run off to? Do you know how worried I was about you? I was afraid you'd get eaten by wolves."

Chen Guotao grabbed Chang Ning and launched into a tirade, spitting everywhere.

"Platoon leader, I'm going to clean up the traces we left behind. I didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd worry."

Chang Ning carefully dodged the spittle and explained to Chen Guotao.

Although Chang Ning behaves in ways that don't seem like a 19-year-old, this is due to the influence of his previous life. However, his social experience in his previous life was also pitifully limited, which led to some thoughtlessness in his actions.

Like this time, if Chang Ning had told Chen Guotao beforehand, the outcome would have been much better. At least someone would have been on lookout for him, and he would have had ample time to cover his tracks.

"Remember to let me know before the next operation."

Chen Guotao knew that Chang Ning meant well, so he didn't hold it against him.

"Platoon leader, I have a bad feeling. I'm afraid we can't stay here any longer."

"you sure?"

Sometimes intuition is quite reliable; the intuition of veterans who have experienced a lot of real combat is frighteningly sharp.

They can always sense something amiss in an environment that appears perfectly fine, but when asked to elaborate, they can't quite articulate why. Upon further inspection, they discover that the area does indeed pose some kind of danger.

Chen Guotao was not an arrogant person. As long as the soldiers' words made sense, he would generally listen to them after considering it.

"determine."

After careful consideration, Chang Ning decided to follow her intuition.

Better safe than sorry. Although running around like this makes it hard for everyone to get rest, it's better than being eliminated.

"But you haven't rested at all. Can your body handle it?"

Chen Guotao was worried that Chang Ning was too tired, and he opposed doing so. Insufficient rest would make it difficult to concentrate and reduce work efficiency.

"It's alright, I had already rested before I met you and Xiao Zhuang."

After carefully assessing her physical condition, Chang Ning felt that she could still hold on, and then spoke confidently to Chen Guotao.

“Okay, go wake up Xiao Zhuang, we’ll head towards Hill 322 tonight,” Chen Guotao said.

Chang Ning's abilities and meticulous thinking made Chen Guotao value his opinions highly. Since Chang Ning's body could still hold up, what reason did he have to refuse reasonable advice?

It's just being cautious, what's so unacceptable about that?

After waking the dazed Xiao Zhuang, Chang Ning briefly told him that they needed to move ahead of schedule. The three of them packed their belongings and tried their best to restore the surrounding environment to its original state before heading towards area 322. Darkness swallowed their hurried figures.

……

"Captain, why do I feel like I'm getting further and further away from home?"

"The special forces team member asked."

“Something is definitely not right. The person who disposed of the traces was clearly a greenhorn and left behind some clues.”

"Hurry up, everyone! We're almost there!"

The high school team leader picked up the broken branch from the ground and smiled, a rare occurrence for him. He had never lost track of anyone he had his eye on.

The special forces team quickly ran towards the camp where Changning had been, but when they arrived at the pit, there was nothing there except for traces of life left on the ground. Clearly, they were a step too late.

"The fact that they rested here shows that we are following the right direction."

Keep chasing, everyone, hang in there!

Although the special forces team led by Captain Gao was not as strong as Lone Wolf, they were veterans who had experienced real combat, and they naturally knew what they were still capable of.

Silence is their defining characteristic; they show no mercy to their enemies and their style is to exterminate them completely.

Chang Ning's intuition saved him once again, though he was unaware of it, attributing it simply to his own caution.

The three of them marched at full speed, covering ten kilometers before reaching area 322, just as dawn was breaking.

“Area 322 is not simple. We’ve encountered so many anti-personnel mines since we entered this area.”

Xiao Zhuang carefully stepped over the disguised landmines with his head down, and sighed.

They encountered all sorts of landmines along the way—loose-firing, pressure-firing, round, flat—they saw them all.

This place could be used as a training ground for engineers.

"Something unusual is bound to happen. It seems that something extraordinary is hidden in area 322."

Chang Ning smacked his lips, wondering if he could catch a big fish here.

(End of this chapter)