Did the world end today?

Chapter 170 Tooth for Tooth
Hours later, in the McLean district on the west side of Washington, at 3:30 a.m.

On Ketterz Road, in the parking lot outside Jacob's restaurant, a van used for transporting frozen meat is quietly parked in the parking lot behind the restaurant.

Inside the cockpit, the driver reclined his seat, put his feet up on the open window, and leisurely smoked a cigarette while talking to his companion in the passenger seat in fluent southern dialect.

"Have all the fish been delivered? I hope nothing was missed?"

"No, everything is settled."

The companion replied:
"The satellite has been checked, and the location has been determined."

"There's a small shed about 1.2 kilometers away."

"Three floors, plus the basement, making a total of four floors."

"16 people, all of them brought their equipment."

"Currently, it appears to be 10 long and 6 short. The long one is XM7, and the short one is P226."

"Their firepower is quite formidable; it's a bit troublesome to break through."

"However, without a method or the means to infiltrate, we can only talk about fighting."

"We have enough guys here—we brought over a group of PMC staff, they're doing alright."

"I've already arranged the briefing; we can get started anytime."

"Then there's no problem."

The driver paused for a moment, then asked:

What's the internal layout like?

"There are 9 rooms on 4 floors, and a straight staircase. Our staff has already sent over the duty roster. It's a 4-hour shift, and the shift changes at 4 o'clock."

"According to the plan, starting at 4 o'clock is just right."

"The biggest problems now are two. First, there is a National Guard team of more than 20 people in Washington, and their reaction time is estimated to be about seven or eight minutes."

"Secondly, on the CIA side, Langley headquarters has a QRF rapid response team with a reaction time of six minutes."

"So once we get in, we have to get out in a maximum of 4 minutes."

"Otherwise, we won't be able to escape."

"got it."

The driver nodded, then took out his phone from his pocket and swiped it with one hand.

His expression was as if he were checking an ambiguous message from some unknown lover, with a faint smile on his face.

But in fact, what he was looking at at that moment was the preparation progress of each action team.

The green markers lit up one by one, which meant that most of the personnel involved in this raid were ready.

This calmed him down a bit.
-
The more thorough the preparation, the greater the chance of success in the subsequent actions.

Of course, even so, he still couldn't guarantee the success of the mission to his superiors who issued the orders.

Because what they were about to do was simply too shocking and unconventional.

They were to raid a CIA safe house near Washington, D.C., in one of the most heavily guarded areas, break in, and retrieve a body—or, more accurately, a part of a body.

To anyone else, this mission seemed like a fantasy, unbelievable. But the mission was real, and the preparations they had made were real.

In just the past few hours, they have assembled all the forces needed for this mission, a mobilization far exceeding any previous operation.

If everything goes smoothly, that's good.

If they fail, this will be the biggest loss their department has suffered in the last decade or so.

Thinking of this, the driver let out a soft breath.

After finishing the last puff of his cigarette, he asked again:
"Have the Japanese made preparations for evacuation?"

“Once we get in, he will be exposed immediately.”

"He needs to escape; if he can't, the losses will be too great."

"Don't worry, it's all ready."

His companion nodded, then continued:

"The evacuation routes for the other action groups have also been arranged. We will dive directly from the Potomac River, change our propulsion and oxygen in the main channel, and then proceed through Mason Neck Park."

"hiss"

The driver shook his head.

"A dive of more than 20 kilometers might be a bit of a hassle."

"Six hours is required, right?"

"Six and a half hours - there's no other way but to say that diving is the safest option."

"The equipment is all arranged along the river, so there shouldn't be any major problems."

"After we reach Mason's Neck, our road widens."

"The follow-up arrangements have been completed, so there shouldn't be any major issues with evacuation."

"The things we receive will be picked up by someone from above, so we don't need to worry about it."

"got it."

The driver straightened up slightly, then suddenly pulled the handle under the seat, and the seat instantly sprang upright.

He checked the time on his phone.

It was 3:45 a.m.

With only 15 minutes left until the scheduled operation time, this was the final decision-making moment for the operation.

Do you want to take action?
If necessary, the first round of peripheral harassment and electromagnetic interference will be initiated in 5 minutes.

If not, all personnel must be evacuated within 2 minutes.

Otherwise, once their whereabouts are discovered, not only will this operation fail, but the difficulty of carrying out any subsequent missions will also increase exponentially.

His finger kept swiping across the phone screen, using the last bit of time to check each preparation step.

After reading it all, he took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it again.

Then, he looked at his companion beside him.

"Let's do it."

"Let's give it a try!"

"clear."

His companion nodded slowly.

Immediately afterwards, commands were transmitted one after another through encrypted communication without being heard.

Meanwhile, the action teams that had been lying in wait at various locations around the target site also began to move.

Looking at the flashing dots on the screen representing the positions of the operatives, the driver suddenly asked:
"Aren't we going a bit too far by making such a big fuss?"

"What's going too far?"

His companion shook his head and smiled.

"They're carrying out assassinations on our turf, are we supposed to show them any mercy?"

"It is impolite not to reciprocate. At least our goal is clear: we are not targeting ordinary people."

"Oh right, we didn't do this."

"Tell the people below, Порусски! Speak Russian!"

"All right."

"Turn off the lights."

"The guys are all up and running, it's time for us to get to work too."

Meanwhile, on the other side.

A small team, all dressed in low-reflection camouflage suits, emerged from a pre-hidden building and headed straight for their target building, several hundred meters away.

They bypassed all the patrol personnel and surveillance cameras on the street, moving swiftly across the street like a flock of bats wandering in the dark, until they reached their last hiding place.

The team member wearing a skull mask held a SCAR-H assault rifle. The specially fitted heavy barrel increased the weight of the gun, but it would undoubtedly also further enhance its power and stability.

"30 seconds until the guards change shift."

He pulled down his four-eye night vision goggles and said in a low voice:

"After the shift change, the first group of guards will leave by car within 2 minutes."

"We will launch the attack in 160 seconds."

"Let's start checking the time now."

As soon as the words were spoken, the two teams of 12 people quickly checked their watches to make sure the time was correct. Then, the two teams quietly separated and took their positions according to the planned assault direction.

The skull stared intently at the distant building, its muscles taut. After observing for a moment, it spoke in a low voice:
"The human intelligence was incorrect."

"The conditions for stealth approach are not met."

"The distance between the two sides is expected to extend to 150 meters."

"The marksman was repositioned, changed weapons, and used semi-automatic fire to suppress the enemy sniper position."

"clear."

The reply came immediately, and the two snipers who had strayed from the group caught up again, their M24 sniper rifles replaced with the MK-20SSR, which was similar to the SCAR in Skull's hands but had a higher firepower.

"Prepare."

The skull raised its hand to look at its watch.

There are only 60 seconds left on the clock.

A minute after the previous shift left, gunshots suddenly rang out from a distance.

"Bang bang bang bang -"

Explosions ripped through the Washington night sky; it was the sound of two other assault teams attacking enemy guards on their shift change.

The skull calmly looked at its watch.

After the countdown reached zero, he waved his hand without hesitation and gave the order:
"Break in!"

In an instant, two sharpshooters emerged from their cover.

The MK-20 in his hand spewed flames, and the 7.62mm bullets headed straight for the enemy on the roof of a three-story building 200 meters away.

At the same time, two groups of 10 assault team members also began to run forward with their guns in hand.

Unlike the way people carry guns and run while shooting in movies, this is the truly correct high-speed maneuvering maneuver.

They had no time to worry about the enemy firing retaliatory bullets at them. Their only task now was to use the cover of the marksman to advance to a position where they could engage in close-quarters combat within 10 seconds, before the first round of suppressive fire ended!

"Bang bang bang bang-"

Gunshots rang out continuously, and bullets from inside the three-story building sparked as they struck the ground.

Skull was at the forefront; he could already hear the enemy calling for support over the radio not far away.

At this point, the distance between the two sides had been reduced to less than 100 meters.

"Group one, cover our advance! Group two, follow me and keep charging!"

The fierce firefight reached its climax from the very beginning. The Skull Head continued to advance 50 meters under the enemy's dense firepower, and at this distance, they finally gained their first advantageous position.

"Machine gunner, suppress for 10 seconds!"

"The demolition expert breaks down the door!"

The moment the order was given, the M249 SAW retreat machine guns fired.

This machine gun, specifically developed for the purpose of "covering retreat" in jungle warfare, has little advantage in terms of penetration or accuracy.

However, it does have one irreplaceable advantage.

Incredibly dense firepower!
The machine gunner deftly turned his gun around, unleashing a deluge of ammunition towards the three-story building ahead.

Within 10 seconds, the bullets thoroughly cleaned the entire building and the parking area outside. The craters and dust raised by the bullets hitting the exterior walls were like the surface of a pond shattered by raindrops.

The squad rained down a horizontal barrage of machine gun fire on the small building.

Under the cover of the rain, the demolition team quickly threw sticky bombs at the outer iron gate.

"boom!"

With a loud crash, the gate collapsed.

Without hesitation, Skull led his team into the fray, while behind them, five other team members who had been providing cover took over their positions and continued to provide suppressive fire.

At this point, less than 30 seconds had passed.

But this battle has progressed to its most dangerous stage.

Indoor warfare!

Break down the doors and windows!

The skull gave the order again.

There's no time for lengthy and tedious heart rate monitoring or wall-penetrating detection.

The moment he reached the building's perimeter, he issued a new order.

The demolition expert, carrying an L-6 revolver grenade launcher, first threw a high-yield sticky explosive at the main entrance. Then, after slightly increasing the distance, he used all the revolver grenade launchers in his hand to fire a high-explosive fragmentation grenade at every visible window.

However, his purpose was not to "kill".

It was merely a matter of suppressing it by breaking a window.

After the fragile bulletproof glass shattered and peeled off in the explosion, another assault team member, who was pressed against the wall, threw four high-yield defensive grenades into the window within four seconds.

"boom!"

The steel ball swept across, and at the same time, the skull, who had been waiting at the door, led two other team members into the room.

He took on the role of the first scout. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger and eliminated the remaining enemies, while simultaneously blocking the corridor from the second floor to the first floor.

Soldier No. 2 was responsible for finishing off the enemies on the ground, while Soldier No. 3 quickly searched and found the passage leading to the basement.

"Bang bang bang bang-"

The distinctive gunshots of the SCAR-H rang out one after another.

Skull didn't wait for the enemies upstairs to show themselves; he simply relied on the high penetration of his rifle to continuously suppress them through the floorboards.

At this moment, the demolition expert who had entered the house had already thrown out the third explosive charge of the night.

After a brief pause, a huge explosion rang out inside the house.

"boom!"

The basement door had been blasted open, and the demolition expert took over the positions of Skull and Second Soldier to suppress the corridor.

Meanwhile, Skull Head regrouped with three scouts, including himself, and stormed straight into the basement.

The Level 6 body armor stopped bullets fired from the XM-7 rifle at close range, proving once again the incompetence of this weapon that the US Army had touted as a superweapon in actual combat.

High chamber pressure and high penetration are nothing compared to composite material bulletproof plates, which are like a spear that can break through a shield.

"Target found!"

The skull saw the "ice coffin" in the basement and fired almost without hesitation.

"Bang bang bang-"

The not-so-thick outer shell was easily pierced, and the skull kicked it up, causing the ice coffin to crack instantly.

He reached into the ice coffin and groped around until he found the corpse's hand.

Then, he exerted force and broke off three of the corpse's fingers.

"Got it!"

"Check if there's any paper, and take it with you!"

"withdraw!"

The three quickly evacuated.

At this point, only 1 minute and 20 seconds had passed since the attack began.

No one had time to react.

Retreat and withdraw.

The two comrades who tragically lost their lives can only remain here.

All personnel involved in the operation swiftly implemented the planned evacuation.

They sped eastward in a pre-arranged, unlicensed truck, before plunging into the Potomac River.

Next, they will face a long underwater journey of six and a half hours, or even longer, in the turbulent currents of the river.

No one knows whether they can escape.

But once they got their hands on the item, their mission was essentially complete.
Ten hours later, the commandos who had finally evaded the search landed at Mason Neck.

The waiting team, already in position, hid in the woods and verified their identities one by one.

The skull mask had long been removed, revealing a young, even handsome, face.

"Name? Sequence?"

The person in charge of the meeting asked.

The skull spat out a mouthful of saliva and replied:
"damn it"

"Qi Yuan, an unofficial member."

(End of this chapter)