The younger sister mistakenly identified her brother when visiting relatives and was kissed by the c

Twenty elite soldiers with camouflage painted on their faces, like a group of ghosts, silently slipped into the dense, suffocating primeval forest by the roadside, and quickly advanced along a wild animal trail whose outlines were almost invisible.

This deep forest was far more treacherous than what they had seen on the map. Towering trees blocked out the sun, thick vines intertwined and coiled in the air like pythons, and the weeds and shrubs on the ground grew taller than a person. Walking inside, visibility was severely obstructed, and one could not see more than twenty meters ahead.

In addition, the thick fog unique to the mountains in the early morning is damp and seeps into one's bones, further obstructing vision.

Lu Baizhou walked at the very front of the group. He held a gun in one hand and a compass and map in the other, relying on the keen intuition he had developed over many years of surviving near-death experiences to quickly calculate the safest route of advance in his mind.

As he walked, he carefully observed the soil marks on the ground and the surrounding vegetation. Suddenly, he raised his hand, made a fist, and signaled for the group to stop.

"There's a dry, deep ditch about 500 meters ahead," Lu Baizhou said in a low voice to the soldiers behind him. "Everyone, stay alert! We won't go through the open grassland above. We'll all go down into the ditch and follow the stream forward! The ditch is very deep, and there are earthen slopes on both sides to block our view. Even if the enemy has set up sentries, we can avoid their line of sight and reduce the risk of being exposed."

Without uttering a single unnecessary word, the twenty-person team immediately changed course, slipping silently like an eel into the dry creek filled with large pebbles and thick mud.

The soldiers bent over, even using their hands and feet, crawling laboriously forward at the bottom of the muddy ditch. Their military boots pounded in the mud, and they tried their best to control their strength, making no sound.

We walked silently at the bottom of the ravine for more than an hour until the sky began to lighten and the morning mist gradually dissipated.

The team finally climbed out of the deep ravine and reached a high, moss-covered rocky hill. From here, they could have a commanding view of the entire border village nestled in the valley below.

Lu Baizhou lay prone behind a huge blue stone, pressing his body tightly against the cold rock. He took out a high-powered military binocular from his tactical vest, set it up in front of his eyes, and calmly and carefully observed the movements of the village below through the lens.

The village was small and dilapidated. Only a dozen or so simple houses, built of rough wooden planks and thatch, were scattered crookedly on a gentle slope in the valley.

By this time, the sky was gradually brightening. Through his binoculars, Lu Baizhou saw wisps of smoke slowly rising from the rooftops of two or three houses in the middle and at the edge of the village. The rising smoke looked like early-rising villagers starting a fire to cook, filled with a peaceful atmosphere of daily life.

If it were a new recruit with no combat experience, seeing this scene, he would definitely think that these were just ordinary villagers going about their lives.

But Lu Baizhou was a veteran who had been tested by blood and fire countless times! His sharp eyes narrowed slightly, and alarm bells rang in his heart.

This is so abnormal! This seemingly peaceful scene seems unbelievably fake in the current situation!

First, the frequency and thickness of the smoke rising from the chimneys were far too regular, unlike the smoke produced by normal cooking with firewood. Second, at this time, knowing that armed men had infiltrated, ordinary villagers would have been terrified and hidden away long ago; how could they possibly have the leisure to openly start a fire and cook?

This is clearly a deception deliberately created by the enemy! It's a smokescreen to mislead these search troops, trying to lure them blindly down the mountain and into the enemy's encirclement!

Lu Baizhou sneered, his body remaining motionless. He tilted his head, handing the binoculars to the tall deputy company commander lying beside him, and said in a low voice, "Take a close look at the east side of the village, behind that row of wooden houses at the very edge. Don't look at the smoke from the rooftops; look at the corners of the walls and the bushes under the houses. See if there's anything amiss."

The deputy platoon leader took the binoculars and, following Lu Baizhou's instructions, held his breath and stared intently in that direction for a long while.

Suddenly, the deputy platoon leader gasped, quickly lowered his binoculars, and reported to Lu Baizhou in a barely audible voice: "Regimental Commander, we see it! There's something going on! There's an extremely faint reflection in the weeds behind those two houses! The light is blinding and flashes quickly. It's definitely not the light reflected from the hoes or sickles used by the villagers; it's the cold glint of the blued steel barrels and the lens of a sniper scope! The enemy has set up a heavy ambush there!"

Lu Baizhou nodded; his judgment was entirely correct. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately began to deploy tactics.

He braced himself on the ground with both hands, issuing orders in a low but decisive voice, each word crystal clear: "The situation has changed, we can't charge straight in. Group one, immediately detour through the deep ditch on the right and circle around to the east of the village. Group two, flank them from the bushes on the left and circle around to the west to cut off their retreat! Group three, follow me and sneak down from the front, bit by bit."

Lu Baizhou emphasized his words, sternly instructing, "Listen up, all of you! Without my clear signal, no one is allowed to fire and reveal their position! Our tactic this time is to first encircle them from three directions, locking them inside the village. Once the firefight begins, focus on suppressing the enemy with firepower, avoiding large-scale frontal firefights as much as possible to minimize casualties!"

"yes!"

Twenty-odd elite soldiers instantly obeyed the order. Like a group of well-trained cheetahs, they quickly dispersed and disappeared into the misty mountains and forests in the blink of an eye.

Lu Baizhou personally led six soldiers from the third group as the main attacking force, and began to carefully approach the village along the hillside.

To avoid revealing their location, they all bent over, almost half-lying on the ground, crawling along the ground like geckos.

They even tried their best to suppress their breathing, not daring to gasp for air. With each step forward, they would first test the ground with their toes to make sure they wouldn't step on dry branches and leaves and make a sound before daring to put their feet firmly on the ground.

They struggled forward for a full twenty minutes on the damp humus soil, and had penetrated to a point very close to the village.

A large patch of dense shrubs, more than half a meter tall and covered with sharp thorns, appeared ahead, blocking the way like a green wall.

If they were to force their way through the bushes, they would inevitably make a great commotion and alert the enemies below.