Bright Sword: Conquer the monk at the beginning and take down Zhou Weiguo

"Here it comes." He whispered.

A few seconds later, as expected, a series of subtle footsteps could be heard from the southeast, neither hurried nor slow, yet with a perfectly rhythmic rhythm. It was the kind of well-trained gait that made it clear they weren't ordinary soldiers. They hid their bodies, held their breath, and let the two patrolmen pass by twenty meters away. Qin Cang narrowed his eyes. The two men were fully armed, rifles slung across their chests, and each wore a curved-handled short knife at the left side of their waist. They walked with a swift breeze, and the equipment on their bodies made a subtle "clicking" sound.

When the footsteps faded away, Liu San whispered, "Special Service Team?"

"Maybe." Qin Cang's eyes flashed, "Have you noticed the things on their waists?"

"what?"

"Communicator," he said slowly. "It's not an ordinary shortwave, it's a multi-channel switching model... The only place that can use this kind of configuration is at least a tactical communication center."

Liu San cursed softly, his throat seemed to be blocked by something.

Qin Cang didn't respond, instead focusing his attention on their impending target. Although the bunker entrance was within reach, he didn't dare rush in. He carefully observed the terrain, trying to detect any human intervention in the underbrush. Suddenly, his eye twitched, and beneath a slightly raised bluestone, he spotted a fingernail-sized piece of metal.

He gently pried up the stone and found a thin copper wire connected to the metal sheet. He was shocked - this was an old-fashioned trigger wire, used as a pre-instruction for the alarm system.

"They've set up a double insurance," he said. "The sensor beam is bright, and the trigger wire is dark. If you accidentally step on it, the inside will immediately be alerted."

“They’re really afraid of us going in.”

"No." A cold light flashed in Qin Cang's eyes, "He's afraid that we will go out."

Liu San frowned: "What do you mean?"

Qin Cang did not answer immediately, but whispered: "Keep going around, the high ground on the east side may be able to see the entire structure above."

The two quietly left the bunker entrance and headed eastward. That patch of land was slightly higher, with little vegetation and a thicket of small shrubs. As they reached the plateau, Qin Cang pulled out an old-fashioned rangefinder telescope, fixed it to a tree stump, and slowly rotated it toward the entire bunker.

This time, he finally saw it clearly.

It was a fan-shaped underground building complex, its surface almost entirely covered with mud and vines. From above, it looked like part of the natural terrain, but in the darkness and dim light, several unnatural geometric lines revealed its disguise - this was definitely not something that could be built overnight, and it took at least several months or even longer.

"Look at those ventilation holes." Qin Cang pointed at several barely perceptible protrusions in the telescope. "They're all at the same height, symmetrically arranged, and lead to four different areas underground. This means there are at least four separate chambers below, each operating independently."

The more Liu San listened, the more frightened he became. He asked in a low voice, "What should we... do?"

"I have to go in." Qin Cang's voice was as cold as iron when he uttered this.

"You're crazy." Liu San was anxious. "This is not a place you can handle alone."

"If I don't go in, we'll just be stuck on the periphery forever. If the enemy moves in, we won't even have a chance to pull them out." He turned to look at Liu San, the desperate determination in his eyes making it impossible to refute. "Don't worry, I'm not going to die. I just want to see where the heart of this beast is."

He was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Can you use that sniper rifle of yours to buy me ten seconds?"

Liu San gritted his teeth: "What do you want me to do?"

"Create chaos and disrupt their sentry rhythm. I'll take the opportunity to sneak in and find out what's going on." Qin Cang's eyes were calm, but his tone was as sharp as a knife cutting through cloth, crisp and clear. "Ten seconds, no more, no less."

Liu San didn't say anything else. He just slowly took out the old sniper rifle he had used for five years from his back and said coldly, "I can give you fifteen seconds."

The night wind howled, like some invisible force, whistling through the forest, licking people's cheeks with its coldness. Qin Cang's fingers brushed against the gleaming dagger, tightening and unclenching it, then loosening and tightening it again. He stood at the top of the slope, looking down at the silent structure lying underground, and a figure that shouldn't be there emerged in his mind.

"That kid Xiaohu..." He murmured softly, talking to himself like in a dream.

He wasn't guessing. It was a gut feeling, the kind of instinct that comes with years spent walking the fine line between life and death. It was like the oppressive feeling before a storm: even though you can't see or hear anything, you just know it's coming.

Xiaohu wouldn't listen. He'd never been one to follow orders. He was too young, too young to have learned to be afraid. He had a fierce streak, a stubborn refusal to admit defeat—but more than that, he had the naivete of someone who valued the word "brotherhood" more than his own life.

He will catch up.

Qin Cang knew, because if it were him, his eighteen-year-old self would have made the same decision.

"If the captain dies, I will sacrifice my life to accompany him." Those were what Xiaohu said after drinking. His face was red and his neck was thick, but his eyes were as stubborn as stone.

Qin Cang didn't say anything at that time, but just patted his shoulder. The palm was heavy, as if saying: If you dare to come, I will break your legs.

But now, he himself has embarked on this life-threatening road.

"He must be hiding somewhere." Qin Cang turned and looked into the darkness. There was a dense forest, with shadows of branches swaying in the wind. The leaves rustled, as if something was approaching silently. "He hasn't been exposed yet, but he's very close."

"Liu San." He suddenly spoke in a low voice.

"Hmm?" Liu San was adjusting the angle of the sniper scope, his eyes as hard as iron.

"After we start shooting, keep an eye on the southeastern forest for me." Qin Cang's tone was calm, yet it carried an unquestionable command. "If you see a figure about 1.76 meters tall, not very tall, with a red ribbon on his backpack... stop him."

Liu San was stunned: "Are you talking about Xiaohu?"

"It's probably him."

"Is that kid crazy?" Liu San cursed, his eyes a little complicated. "Didn't you ask him to stay behind to guard the Old Forest Post?"

"Yes." Qin Cang nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on the bunker in front of him, "But he might not believe the orders I didn't give him in person."

Liu San smacked his lips and fell silent. He knew Xiao Hu. The boy had been with Qin Cang for almost two years, like a puppy, running wherever Qin Cang went. He couldn't hide the admiration in his eyes. Liu San had tried to dissuade him several times, urging him to be less impulsive, but Xiao Hu ignored him. He had never been someone's subordinate, only Qin Cang.