When you're in the Wolf Pack, your ability to obey orders becomes stronger.

Chapter 288 The Third Field Mission! Who Are You Guarding Against?

“Someone’s coming from outside the town, to the south, in three cars, and the people in them are carrying guns!” Xu Ge suddenly said.

Thor's expression changed, and he pressed the earpiece: "Old Zhang and Little Li, evacuate on your own, head north. Everyone else, come to the cellar!"

Boom boom boom!
The six team members quickly came down.

Thor slung his bag over his shoulder: "Shepherd dog, lead the way, we're out of here right now..."

"Wait! Everyone, don't make a sound."

Xu Ge lay on the ground and raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.

He heard three cars stop at the town entrance, and then people kept jumping out of them.

"Thor, the road to the north is blocked!" Old Li's voice suddenly came through the headset.

“Then you guys find somewhere to hide in town.” Thor replied, then looked at Xu Ge, “Dog Boy, what’s the situation now?”

"They got off the bus and seemed to be searching house to house."

Xu Ge stood up and looked at Wan Xiaofei, "Where is that empty house you're looking for?"

Wan Xiaofei crouched down, turned on his flashlight, pulled out his dagger, and quickly drew a simple map of the town on the ground. Then he pointed to a spot in the southwest.

"Probably here!"

“Then let’s wait!” Xu Ge took out his dagger and drew an arrow in the south of the town. “The people coming are probably searching in this direction. Let’s wait for them to pass before we go around to the empty houses.”

Thor immediately nodded: "Okay! Send two people up to clean up the marks again!"

"Yes!"

Ao Xiang and Wu Xiaoyong immediately returned to the ground.

Xu Ge then had time to check the time: 7:10 PM.

Snapped!
Ao Xiang and his companion sealed off the cellar, instantly plunging it into complete darkness.

Thor turned on his flashlight and led everyone to the other exit, leaving Xu Ge alone to continue listening for any sounds.

Xu Ge pressed his ear to the ground again and found that the direction of their search was indeed as he had guessed.

It was at this moment that Xu Ge realized he could determine the other party's exact location just by the sound of footsteps!

Although we could locate sounds in the past, the distance wasn't as far, and the judgment wasn't as accurate as it is now.

You should know that Xu Ge can now hear footsteps from 100 meters away, and if the noise is louder, he can even catch sounds from 200 meters away!

Compared to before, master-level sniffing has made a qualitative leap!

However, he also discovered a problem: his tolerance for noise has decreased.

This is also why Xu Ge has been worried and has hesitated to upgrade.

He now suspects that if he were hit by a stun grenade at close range, he might become blind or deaf!

It seems I'll need to keep a pair of earplugs handy to protect my ears. I think the base's equipment room has them; if all else fails, I'll ask the quartermaster to help me buy some.

Just then, Xu Ge heard the search party's footsteps getting closer and closer. He immediately stood up, slung his bag over his shoulder, and said, "We can go out now. I'll go first!"

"it is good!"

Thor opened the back door of the cellar, and Xu Ge was the first to walk out.

"Ahei! Ahei! Ahei!"

Outside was the alleyway behind the courtyard, surrounded by other residents' houses. Xu Ge sneezed three times as soon as he came out.

There was no way around it; his sense of smell was now much sharper than before.

I don't know whose family used so much chili powder in their cooking, but it made Xu Ge's eyes water.

"Holy crap! Keep your voice down!"

Thor was startled by Xu Ge. "What's wrong with you?"

"It's alright! Let's get out of here quickly, and remember to clean up any traces behind us!" Xu Ge said, then took the lead and walked through the alley.

At this time, it was not completely dark yet, and the surrounding houses and streetlights were not lit, which provided them with the best lighting conditions.

The group remained silent, their footsteps barely audible, moving in an arc like ghosts as they arrived at the foot of a two-story building by the roadside.

Wan Xiaofei took out his key to open the door, only to find that the lock had been cut. It seemed that the enemy had indeed searched the area.

"Everyone else, go inside and stay there. Goubao, come with me to the rooftop to check the situation."

"it is good!"

The two handed the bag to the others and climbed up the stairs to the second floor.

. . .

. . .

The house looked like it hadn't been lived in for a long time; each step down the stairs left a clear footprint in the dust.

Xu Ge noticed a series of footprints on the bottom few steps. The owner of the footprints seemed to be preparing to go upstairs, but turned back when he saw the dust on the stairs.

After they got up there, Thor built a human ladder to take Xu Ge to the second-floor roof, and then climbed up himself.

Both were observers, and each took out night vision binoculars.

"At the 2 o'clock position, more than 160 meters away."

Following Thor's directions, Xu Ge saw a group of about ten people walking down the street. They were all dressed in civilian clothes and carrying MP5A2 submachine guns.

The three SUVs behind them moved slowly forward, with people inside scanning their surroundings.

"Cousin, are these people the SSG?" Xu Ge asked in a low voice. "The same unit that appeared on the Tash Ancient Road?"

Thor nodded: "This is within Stan's borders, they don't need to change their equipment. Judging from the weapons, they probably already have them... Look at the 4 o'clock position, there's a sniper team on the roof."

Xu Ge turned his head to take a closer look and sure enough, he found two figures behind the water tank on the roof, one of whom was using an AWP.

"So, Baisha Village really does have a military background?"

"No matter their background, if they mess with us, they have to pay the price. That's what the higher-ups mean!"

Thor thought for a moment, then continued, "SSG is short for Special Service Group. This unit has been responsible for helping their government quell domestic opposition forces for many years. In recent years, for some reason, they have been going abroad and have become somewhat restless."

Xu Ge understood what Thor meant: "You mean, there's a problem with their management?"

"That's probably it." Thor changed the subject and asked, "Cousin, what do you think about SSG coming here?"

Xu Ge had wanted to say this for a while, and immediately said, "I don't think the problem lies with any of us ten people. Otherwise, the SSG would have gone straight to the safe house without giving us time to move."

Thor remained noncommittal: "Then where do you think the problem lies?"

"Who knows about our operation? More precisely, who knows we've come to town?"

“There are many, from the military headquarters to the army group, to the brigade headquarters, and various departments of our base, and even the field staff here, there are several hundred people.”

Xu Ge frowned: "The traitor is among these people..."

"Cousin, have you ever considered that with the SSG's operational capabilities, even if they don't know our exact location, as long as they know we're in a small town, they can still catch us?"

Thor interrupted Xu Ge, "In order to avoid exposing their identities, the traitor could simply provide information that we are in the town. This way, they can divert attention and clear their name. It's a very normal tactic."

In this matter, it was actually your unusual alertness that was unexpected.

Xu Ge suddenly froze. "You mean, you still think there's something wrong with one of us ten, no, one of these four?"

Thor remained silent, continuing to observe the movements of the SSG team in the distance.

Xu Ge's mind raced; Thor's words had just given him a wake-up call.

He carefully analyzed the situation and realized that if he hadn't temporarily upgraded his sniffing skill to the master level, he might not have been able to detect the enemy's arrival in advance.

Even though Thor has prepared to change positions, given the strength of the SSG members, it seems unlikely that his side will be able to retreat easily.

But if there really is a problem with the four people Thor mentioned, why hasn't his wartime mode been responding?

Could it be a system error?

"They've gone into the safe house!" Thor suddenly exclaimed.

Xu Ge immediately took out his binoculars and looked over. Sure enough, he saw four people enter the courtyard directly, while the others stood guard in various directions.

A few minutes later, the two men returned from the back of the house to the front door, indicating that the cellar had also been searched.

"Judging from their reaction, they probably didn't find anything."

"Okay! We'll go back after these people leave."

Xu Ge asked, puzzled, "Why go back?"

Thor: "The place the sheepdog found is only a temporary place; it's not as convenient as the safe house in terms of environment."

"Cousin, did you find something? Are Old Li and Little Zhang doing something?" Xu Ge turned to look at Thor.

The reason for asking this question is that Thor's attitude indicates that he does not believe that the arrival of SSG is unrelated to these four people.

Xu Ge was responsible for observing 619 and Jiazi, and he also expressed his opinion that there was nothing unusual about the two of them.

Thor said calmly, "It's just a hint; we can't be sure yet."

Xu Ge was startled. He knew Thor's observational skills; they were almost never wrong. He immediately asked, "Who is it?"

"It's too early to talk about this now. Just pretend you don't know anything about it."

"Damn, don't you believe in my acting skills? Are you worried that I'll give myself away in front of that person?"

"Yes."

Xu Ge: ...

Thor put away his binoculars: "Let's go, they look like they're leaving. Let's go down too."

"Why do I feel like you're not nervous at all? We almost got ambushed!" Xu Ge said, somewhat puzzled.

Thor remained remarkably calm throughout, as if he wasn't worried at all about his crew being captured.

"Being nervous won't help. You'll understand once you've completed a few more missions."

Thor laughed and pressed the headset button. "Mouse, launch the drone and see where the SSG people ended up. Old Li and Little Zhang, go back to the safe house and meet up."

"Roger that!"

Ten minutes later, everyone returned to the courtyard.

"How did the SSG people get here so quickly?"

Upon meeting, Xiao Zhang frowned and looked at Thor, "From the temporary base to the safe house, it feels like the other side has completely grasped our movements? This is too passive; we can't take any action at all!"

Everyone had different expressions.

Xiao Zhang's words practically revealed that the enemy had an inside agent on our side.

"We're on their home turf, so things aren't going to go as smoothly as they do back home," Thor said with a laugh. "Besides, they're facing SSG, not some insignificant team!"

Old Li said, "But we're already being watched by them, which greatly increases the difficulty of carrying out the mission. Should we ask our superiors for instructions?"

Thor: "What do you need me to say?"

"I think the risk of continuing the mission is too great, and I suggest that the plan be cancelled for the time being."

Old Li's expression was serious. "It seems that the other side is already on guard. The background of Baisha Village is far more powerful than we imagined. If we want to go in and capture Aru, we must first get past the SSG."

Thor didn't respond, but turned to Wu Xiaoyong, who was staring at the computer screen, and asked, "Mouse, where are they?"

Wu Xiaoyong: "The three vehicles drove directly into the village. The drone detected the shielded radio waves, so I could not get any closer."

619 walked over and glanced at the screen: "This is Baisha Village."

"Let's eat first, then we'll go out for a stroll after eleven!" Thor clapped his hands and looked at Old Li. "Old Li, you two go and help find some disguises."

Seeing that Thor was determined to continue, Old Li sighed, said nothing, and took Xiao Zhang out.

. . .

. . .

At 10:30 p.m., everyone was disguised and left through the back door.

The others, armed, headed straight for Baisha Village, while Thor led Xu Ge and Wan Xiaofei to the outside of that two-story building.

"Why did we come back here?" Wan Xiaofei asked, looking puzzled.

Thor pushed open the door and came in: "I'm here to pick up a package."

"Picking up a package?"

Xu Ge and Wan Xiaofei followed them downstairs out of curiosity and found two photos that had appeared on the table at some point.

Thor picked up the photo and looked at it for a while, then handed it to the two men: "Make sure you remember what these two look like. The man is Aru, and the woman should be Aru's mistress. These two are the targets we need to capture!"

Wan Xiaofei was shocked: "Holy crap! Thor, where did you get this photo? Didn't Old Li say he never even had a chance to see Aru?"

The photo shows a man and a woman. The man has a fleshy face, while the woman looks to be in her thirties but is extremely beautiful. Even by Chinese standards of beauty, she would definitely be considered a great beauty.

Thor smiled slightly: "It was taken during fieldwork."

"Damn, why didn't Old Li and the others just give it to us? Why did they have to leave it here?"

"Who said it was Lao Li and his team? This was taken by another field crew member."

"There's fieldwork too?" Wan Xiaofei's mouth dropped open. "It looks like the person who took the photos has already been to Baisha Village?"

“That’s right!” Thor nodded. “Only the two of you know about this, understand?”

"understand!"

"what?"

Xu Ge reached out and took the photo, then held it under his nose and sniffed it carefully, noticing a faint fragrance.

"This smells a bit strange, I feel like I've smelled it somewhere before..."

"You've never even smelled an egg!"

Thor snatched the photo and set it on fire with a lighter. "Make sure you remember everyone. The three of us are going into the village later to find our target and bring him out as soon as possible!"

Xu Ge, who had been recalling the smell, immediately shifted his attention upon hearing Thor's words, exclaiming in surprise, "We're going to enter the village? And attack right away?"

"Thor, when you made the reconnaissance plan before we set off, didn't you say we'd just stay on the outskirts...? Holy crap, you said that on purpose!"

Wan Xiaofei realized what he was talking about halfway through, his eyes widening: "Who are you guarding against?"

(End of this chapter)