Chapter 175: Long-Awaited Design

Seeing Lin Xiao arrive, He Yun's expression softened slightly.

The others were all startled when they laid eyes on Lin Xiao.

Most of them recognized him; after all, Lin Xiao had been extremely famous these past few days. He seemed to be the platoon leader of the First Platoon of the new recruit company, and it was entirely because of him that the First Platoon had suddenly become so fiercely competitive. Furthermore, they had learned from Wei Xuan that the recent upgrade in their meals was largely thanks to Lin Xiao, so everyone held a very favorable impression of him.

Yet, they simply could not fathom why He Yun had called Lin Xiao over at a time like this.

Naturally, He Yun had no intention of explaining it to them.

Nor did he have the time.

"Alright, now that everyone is here, I will briefly fill you in on the situation.

On the outskirts of the capital, there is a secret research facility tasked with studying highly confidential matters.

Most of the personnel responsible for the research are ordinary people with relatively low cultivation levels.

Because of its clandestine nature, the security force stationed there is small.

Precisely because of this, a critical problem has arisen.

For reasons currently unknown, a group of terrorists launched a sudden assault on the secret research facility.

The comrades tasked with protection were all killed in action, but they managed to transmit the message out before they fell.

What we know at present is that the terrorist cell has not yet departed.

The scientists have not suffered any harm as of yet. Our mission now is to ensure the safety of those scientists to the greatest extent possible, and by any means necessary, rescue them!"

Only then did everyone realize what was happening, and a wave of righteous indignation swept through the crowd.

"Damn it! Where did these terrorists crawl out from? How dare they stir up trouble right here in China! They must be tired of living. I request to be sent into battle to wipe these bastards out directly!"

"We train for a thousand days to use troops for a single hour! Commander, just give the order!"

Watching the clamoring crowd, Lin Xiao could not help but curl his lip in silent disdain.

Did these guys not understand a single word?

Was this a time to be showing off reckless bravado?

Not everyone lacked brains, however, and an opposing voice was raised immediately.

"Nonsense! What on earth are you all thinking? They currently have hostages! If you rush in blindly like this, even if you manage to completely annihilate the enemy, can you guarantee the safety of those scientists?"

He Yun also made his stance clear at that moment.

"That's right. The absolute priority right now is to ensure the safety of the scientists. They are talents urgently needed by the nation; we cannot afford the loss of even a single one. Xiao Lin, tell us your thoughts."

Lin Xiao had not expected He Yun to call him out directly by name.

Aside from the members of the Wolf Mercenary Group who knew of Lin Xiao's capabilities, everyone else present looked at him with sheer bewilderment.

What has gotten into the commander? It feels like he holds this kid in exceptionally high regard.

Lin Xiao did not speak right away; instead, he quietly gazed at He Yun.

"I don't have any concrete thoughts at the moment. I need more information: exactly where is the secret research facility located? What is the surrounding terrain like? How much do we know about the terrorists? Have they made any demands?"

He Yun nodded with satisfaction. As expected of his own little uncle.

This was true professionalism!

Unlike this bunch of subordinates of his—while their combat strength was decent, very few of them possessed any tactical brains.

"That is precisely what I am about to address."

He Yun pulled out a map and laid it flat before the group.

He pointed to a spot in the suburbs.

"This is the location of the secret research facility. It is situated in a rather remote area—a standalone villa with no other buildings in the immediate vicinity. This is not good news for us, as it means the enemy's field of view is completely unobstructed. The moment we approach, they will definitely spot us. According to real-time drone reconnaissance, ever since they seized the place, those terrorists have not stepped out of the rooms, nor have they put forward any demands so far."

Lin Xiao felt a surge of helplessness. Aside from knowing the coordinates of the research facility, they possessed zero useful intelligence.

How was he supposed to offer any constructive suggestions based on this?

"We simply know too little at this stage. I don't have any substantive recommendations yet. What are your thoughts, Commander?"

"This incident has already alerted the higher-ups, and they have granted us full discretionary authority to handle it. My view is that we must execute a swift, decisive strike and resolve this before dawn. If we wait until daylight, operations will become infinitely more complicated. Moreover, the longer this drags on, the harder it is to guarantee the scientists' safety."

Lin Xiao agreed with the need for a swift resolution, but the crux of the problem remained: how could they launch a lightning-fast strike when they knew nothing about the current situation?

The others also furrowed their brows, clearly at their wits' end regarding the crisis.

He Yun heaved a sigh and pointed to a patch of woodland marked on the map.

"There is a certain distance between this forest and the research facility, but it is the closest concealed staging point available. My proposal is that we rendezvous there first. Once we arrive, we can assess whether we can gather any intelligence on the situation inside the secret base and hopefully formulate a viable plan."

No one raised any objections; under the circumstances, that was the only course of action left.

The twenty-odd men quickly boarded the military transport trucks and headed toward the forest marked on the map.

Lin Xiao and He Yun rode in the same vehicle. To facilitate private discussion, He Yun had Lin Xiao drive, leaving the cabin free of anyone else.

"Little uncle, this situation is rather tricky. Those individuals are clearly well-trained; they must have been plotting this for a long time."

"I can see that as well. But how on earth did these scumbags dare to make a move? This is China, and right here in the capital to boot! I have a lingering feeling that something is deeply unusual about all this."

"It serves as a wake-up call for us, too. Precisely because this is the capital of China, we subconsciously lowered our guard. Who could have anticipated that they would dare strike right here? That vulnerability is likely what the enemy capitalized on."

"Perhaps. Still, I have a gut feeling that this goes far beyond a simple terrorist attack."

The military base was not overly far from the research facility. In about half an hour, the convoy arrived at the small patch of woods.

Taking in the surroundings, Lin Xiao felt a wave of speechlessness.

"I have to ask, why wasn't this research facility built directly inside your military camp in the first place? If it had been, none of this would have happened."

He Yun offered a wry smile. "Actually, I did bring up that exact suggestion back then, but those scientists require absolute quiet. You know how military camps are—no matter how good the soundproofing is, certain activities are bound to generate noise."

Arriving at the woods meant they were now dangerously close to the villa, so all vehicle headlights were promptly extinguished.

Fortunately, the moonlight tonight was quite decent, keeping visibility from being entirely abysmal.

Out of an abundance of caution, Lin Xiao activated both his night-vision and clairvoyant abilities. He knew nothing of the villa's interior state; there was no telling if the enemy had laid down traps or ambushes along the way.

Under the influence of Lin Xiao's spiritual techniques, everything in the surrounding area became completely transparent, leaving no room for concealment.

Aside from a few startled birds, there were no signs of any other living creatures moving through the woods. It seemed the enemy had not intended to set up an ambush out here.

Suddenly, Lin Xiao reached for the vehicle's radio microphone and barked an order.

"All vehicles, halt immediately! We have an ambush ahead!"

Hearing Lin Xiao's warning, every truck ground to a halt. The soldiers leaped out of the vehicles instantly, casting wary gazes in all directions.

Even He Yun was startled by Lin Xiao's sudden action.

An ambush? How could that be?

He was a ninth-rank powerhouse!

If even he had failed to detect the enemy's presence, how could his little uncle have found them?

His pride took a rather heavy blow!