Gao Wu insists on cultivating immortality.

Chapter 168 Fishing with a Net

The cold wind from the aurora ice field is like a marching army, majestic, solemn, and frigid, slowly moving across the world, extinguishing the last remaining life force of late autumn.

The mountains had not yet donned their winter coats of snow, presenting a somber and desolate scene.

The same is true of the evergreen pine; as the only green among the withered vegetation, it appears all the more profound.

Shi Tieyu liked pine trees. He always felt that they were very much in line with the doctrine, standing tall and unyielding in the cold, deadly winter, just like a guardian of death and winter, so steadfast and profound.

The White Crow King's doctrine is actually very simple: all living beings will eventually return to eternal cold and death, and only his followers can receive protection and attain eternity in the cold and death.

Shi Tieyu gently patted the rough, sturdy trunk of the pine tree. Hearing the solid, thumping sound, his mood improved, and the pent-up frustration of waiting for more than ten days was swept away.

Xu Zhenlin, who was standing next to him, was a little confused as to what the high priest meant by looking at the pine tree with a gentle smile.
As the priest of the White Raven King, he knew how to bewitch his followers, but he was also keenly aware of the truth about it.

The reason people worship the White Crow King is simply because he truly possesses incredible supernatural powers. What the White Crow King says is unimportant, nor are his doctrines; what matters is that he can genuinely bestow power and bring benefits.

The world is on the verge of destruction, so naturally everyone needs to find a big ship to jump on. As for whether the ship is piloted by a god or a demon, that doesn't matter.

As a priest, Xu Zhenlin held a very high position within the sect. He rarely met with Shi Tieyu, since the White Crow Sect was a demonic sect that everyone hated.

High-level personnel mostly maintain one-way communication and rarely meet in person or at gatherings.

This time, it was the bishop who gave the order to cooperate with the high priest Shi Tieyu, and that's why he stayed with Shi Tieyu outside Camp 341 for more than ten days.

The temperature in the mountains was extremely low, and they couldn't carry many items, so the two of them shared a small tent. Xu Zhenlin had never experienced such hardship since becoming a martial arts master.

After more than ten days of this ordeal, he felt he had lost several pounds. But he dared not complain, after all, the chief priest Shi Tieyu was the same, and this man was a martial arts master!
Today, the two received news that they saw a girl entering the camp from afar, and Shi Tieyu's mood improved significantly.

But that expression he gave the pine tree was still too strange; Xu Zhenlin really couldn't understand it.

Xu Zhenlin could only look at the camp through his binoculars. He asked in a low voice, "High Priest, shall we move out tonight?"

Shi Tieyu glanced at Xu Zhenlin's bald head. This guy was over 1.9 meters tall, with broad shoulders and a thick back. His physique was like a double-door refrigerator, making him look very strong.

With his bald head, he looks even more menacing. His unusual physique and appearance make it very inconvenient for him to go out.

However, Xu Zhenlin was quite competent as a priest. Just by standing there, he exuded a powerful aura and demonstrated the majesty of the gods.

He's just not very bright, much like his bald head, which is so smooth that there are no wrinkles at all...

Shi Tieyu looked down on Xu Zhenlin's intelligence, but still wanted to use Xu Zhenlin's strength. Besides, with just the two of them, there was no risk of leaking secrets.

He said, "We'll take action tonight."

Xu Zhenlin put down his binoculars and asked with some excitement, "What's the plan?"

"We'll charge straight in. You hold off Yan Xiling, and I'll go capture Gao Wu and Song Mingyue." Shi Tieyu had been staking out this place for over ten days, not because Gao Wu was difficult to deal with, but to observe the environment and confirm that it wasn't a trap.

It wasn't until Song Mingyue entered that Shi Tieyu was basically certain this wasn't a trap.

Adding another girl would be like adding another weakness to the trap, which is completely unnecessary.

The same principle applies to any plan: eliminate all unnecessary steps. The simpler and more direct the plan, the higher the chance of success.

Conversely, the lower the chance of success.

If the other side has set up an ambush, having another Song Mingyue would be completely unnecessary and would only be a burden.

Of course, it's also possible that the other party is doing the opposite, deliberately creating a hindrance to lure him into a trap.

This possibility certainly exists.

However, to keep him, there must be at least one or three martial arts masters among them.

He didn't believe that these people could squat next to Gao Wu and fish for so long without revealing any clues!
The bigger problem is that the other side can only defend passively; they don't know when the enemy will come, or who the enemy will be.

As the saying goes, "You can be a thief for a thousand days, but you can't guard against thieves for a thousand days." There's a huge difference between being proactive and being reactive!

Shi Tieyu trusted his own judgment and his intuition.

Some things require taking risks. Although he didn't think capturing Gao Wu had any practical significance, the bishop's words were more important than military orders and had to be carried out without compromise.

Shi Tieyu said to Xu Zhenlin, "There are electronic identification systems everywhere in the camp, especially inside the barracks. If there are no identification signs, the electronic system will immediately identify them and issue an alarm."

"Everyone is equipped with life monitoring devices, which will immediately trigger an alarm if vital signs cease."

He emphasized, "Modern electronic technology is very advanced, and we don't need to crack it. We can get over the wall and storm the battalion headquarters in five seconds. Note Gao Wu's dormitory; it's the westernmost dormitory on the second floor of the battalion headquarters, facing north."

"Only Yan Xiling could react in such a short time. Yan Xiling has a custom-made bio-armor from the military, which is enough to boost his combat power by a level. You only need to hold him off for ten seconds."

"Once I've captured Gao Wu and Song Mingyue, if Yan Xiling is still courting death, we'll join forces to kill him before we leave."

Shi Tieyu patted the pine tree beside him: "If you get separated, meet up here."

Xu Zhenlin hesitated for a moment and asked, "Where will we meet if something unexpected happens?"

Shi Tieyu couldn't help but laugh. He had small eyes and a small mouth, a pale face, and his pupils faintly gleamed with gold. He had a gloomy appearance.

His sudden smile, revealing his gleaming white teeth, was like a venomous snake flicking its tongue—terrifying and frightening. "Since something like this has happened, why are you even meeting up? Just run as far away as you can."

Xu Zhenlin was speechless. He actually disliked Shi Tieyu's ambiguous manner. They were all on the same side, so why couldn't he just talk properly? Why did he have to act like a villain in a movie? What was the point?

Unfortunately, he only kept these thoughts to himself and would never dare to say them aloud.

The night was deep, and only the lights at the gate of the camp were lit in the distance. All the lights inside the camp had been turned off, and even the streetlights were switched off.

The vast campsite was deep and secluded.

For some reason, Xu Zhenlin suddenly felt unwell.

The campsite was always like this; everyone would turn off the lights and rest at 11 p.m. But today's campsite made him feel somewhat oppressed.

Shi Tieyu glanced at his digital watch; it was exactly twelve o'clock. The digital watch on his wrist was a product from forty years ago, with only a timekeeping function—simple yet very reliable.

It doesn't have any fancy electronic features, and it certainly doesn't have a built-in GPS system. He also rarely uses a mobile phone.

In an era where the internet is under constant surveillance, using a mobile phone is far too risky.

He flicked his trench coat and said with a flourish, "Let's go."

The two walked down the mountain, and it took them more than ten minutes to reach the west wall of the camp. About a kilometer away from the west wall, all the vegetation had been cleared, leaving a wide open plain.

"There are only landmines buried 50 meters from the wall. Just try your best to jump over them..."

Shi Tieyu glanced at Xu Zhenlin. With the strength of a martial arts master, he should be able to jump over this distance with a little skill, right?
Xu Zhenlin nodded vigorously, then thought for a moment and asked, "If we can't capture Gao Wu, should we just kill him with all our might?"

"That's not necessary." Shi Tieyu shook his head. Killing Gao Wu wouldn't be very effective; only by capturing Gao Wu would it be truly useful.

Of course, this means there's no need to pay the price to kill a high-level martial artist. If capturing one is impossible, killing them is a no-brainer.

Once they were ready, they both unleashed their source power and sped forward at high speed. In less than twenty seconds, they had crossed the high wall and entered the camp.

The unskilled forced entry triggered multiple electronic devices, causing alarms to go off everywhere and blaring shrill sounds.

Shi Tieyu led Xu Zhenlin to the dormitory, and the two of them immediately activated their source power to protect themselves and charged forward.

The battalion headquarters had two layers of protective windows, with iron mesh and heavy railings, and the windows were also embedded in thick brick walls, making the overall structure very sturdy.

And so, with a single palm strike, Shi Tieyu twisted and deformed the iron mesh and railings, shattering the entire window with a deafening roar, sending glass shards flying in all directions like hundreds of blades.

Shi Tieyu slipped through the gap and entered, only to find the dormitory bed empty and the small bathroom too small to hide anyone.

Just then, Shi Tieyu heard a faint sound of mechanical impact. His heart skipped a beat: "No, it's a gun, a heavy machine gun firing..."

A thick wooden dormitory door, torn apart by a continuous stream of flames, came into Shi Tieyu's view.

The distance was too close; the muzzle flash and the booming gunshots arrived almost simultaneously.

Shi Tieyu raised his hand and activated the source force field. The crimson-gold spiritual light transformed into a light screen that acted like glue, holding the incoming heavy metal bullets in mid-air.

Xu Zhenlin, standing to the side, looked surprised. Who in a decent family would install a heavy machine gun in their dormitory? The other side was clearly prepared.

The question is, how could they know the exact time of the attack?
No, if they knew when the attack happened, there must have been something else in the room!

Thinking of this, Xu Zhenlin hurriedly flew backward, reminding Shi Tieyu, "Quick!"

Before he could even utter the word "retreat," the ground beneath his feet shook violently, and gunpowder, carrying hundreds of steel balls, erupted in flames.

Even if martial arts experts Shi Tieyu and Xu Zhenlin reacted quickly, they couldn't keep up with the speed of high-energy explosives, which travel at nine thousand meters per second.

The two directional bombs detonated simultaneously, sending Shi Tieyu and Xu Zhenlin to their deaths.

The sturdy roof was also blasted through, especially by the explosive steel balls, which pierced through two layers of roof and flew off to who knows where.

Xu Zhenlin, who was blown to the third floor, was bleeding from all seven orifices and charred all over. Facing a high-energy bomb in a confined space is a huge challenge even for a martial arts master.

He relied on his source energy field to withstand 90% of the damage. Although he looked disheveled, he was not seriously injured.

Shi Tieyu's hair was disheveled, but his black trench coat remained intact. The powerful source energy field resisted all damage.

"Go..." Shi Tieyu said in a low voice and turned to leave.

Just as Xu Zhenlin was about to leave, a bright sword wheel, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, pierced through the air and slashed straight at Xu Zhenlin's face.

The flying sword came fast and fast, and Xu Zhenlin could only draw his sword and slash horizontally. At the moment the sword and blade clashed, the light of the sword wheel suddenly shone brightly. Xu Zhenlin's long sword was shaken by the bright sword wheel, and his source power was instantly and completely suppressed.

"Is this a martial arts grandmaster?"

Xu Zhenlin was horrified when he realized something was wrong. Before he could react, a sharp sword light flashed behind him, and a line of blood appeared on his neck.

He stood there swaying for a moment, and then his head rolled off his neck...

(End of this chapter)