“I think the most likely destination is the neighboring country’s capital. The target possesses national scientific research secrets, which are not under military jurisdiction. If it were me, I would definitely take the target to a place with research facilities and secure protection as soon as possible, and extract the desired information from them. There are many such places in our Huaxia, but only one in the neighboring country, and that is the Ministry of Defense in the capital, Zitan Mountain.” Brian Clark shared his opinion.

Everyone agreed that this made sense, and in the end, the decision-making power was handed over to the military supervisor here, the team leader David Bolton. David Bolton did not immediately state his position. After thinking for a moment, he slowly said, “Brian Clark’s suggestion is the most likely. We must get ahead of the target and ambush them on the way.”

As he spoke, David Bolton’s gaze turned to Andrew Adams, and everyone else looked at Andrew Adams as well. Whether they could reach the designated location in time depended greatly on Andrew Adams. Although no one would get lost in the primeval forest, when it came to familiarity with these mountains, no one could compare to Andrew Adams.

Andrew Adams vaguely guessed the key point of the mission from everyone’s words. Regarding the mission, Andrew Adams knew the military had its discipline, and it wasn’t appropriate for him to know too much. The fact that everyone had just spoken openly was actually a form of intelligence disclosure, indicating a deep level of trust. If they were to ask directly, it would be awkward for everyone. Eavesdropping is one thing, but asking face-to-face is another—it concerns the difference between intentional and unintentional leaks.

After thinking for a moment, Andrew Adams said, “Where is Zitan Mountain located?”

David Bolton immediately drew a larger map showing the geographical area, marking the location of the primeval forest, the direction of the neighboring country, and the position of Zitan Mountain.

Andrew Adams understood at a glance and said, “I know this place. There’s a record of it in the ancient texts of Qingniu Village, though the name is different. From our current position, there’s a secret path left by our ancestors when they used to smuggle salt and iron. We can get there in a day and a night.”

“Really?” David Bolton said in surprise, “That’s great! Although several days have passed, I don’t know if we’ll make it in time, but we can’t give up this chance. Maybe heaven will help us.”

After everyone had rested enough and was about to set out, suddenly, a roaring sound came from the sky. Everyone was shocked. This sound was all too familiar to soldiers. Four armed helicopters appeared in the sky, loaded with ammunition, heading straight for the canyon.

“They’re enemy armed helicopters,” Ethan Foster said in a low, surprised voice.

As everyone lay in ambush and observed, they saw the four armed helicopters dive down and unload all their ammunition, causing explosions to erupt one after another. The canyon turned into a sea of fire. The heavy machine guns on the helicopters rained bullets down, sweeping the canyon twice in parallel.

Everyone was terrified, a chill running down their spines, secretly grateful they had left the canyon early. Otherwise, it would have been nearly impossible to survive. Who would have thought that at dawn, the enemy would send such deadly weapons, as if fighting a regular army? They had really invested heavily in this.

The group exchanged glances of shock and relief, bitter smiles on their faces. Andrew Adams was also seeing such a scene for the first time and was stunned. The destructive power of modern technology was terrifying, going against the laws of nature. Who knew how long it would take for the canyon to recover its vitality?

At this moment, they noticed many heavily armed soldiers appearing on the slopes above the canyon, and were shocked again. Special operations were just small-scale skirmishes, but deploying the army was a completely different matter—that was war. Could it be that the neighboring country wanted to start a war?

Chapter 7: Being Hunted

No one expected the neighboring country to take such a tough stance, even mobilizing the army. Was this really going to be war? Jack Carter started cursing, “Damn it, they really think highly of me. Did I kill your whole family? Or did I take out your president? Why such a big show of force?”

“Not good, helicopters,” Ethan Foster suddenly shouted in alarm.

Everyone poked their heads out and saw that the helicopters above the canyon had finished their attack and were preparing to return, but their return route was directly over their position. In other words, they were bound to be spotted by the enemy aircraft.

Out of the tiger’s mouth, into the wolf’s den. Everyone could only smile bitterly.

The helicopters swept over their heads, not firing a single bullet, but no one dared to take it lightly. Discovery was certain. After all, they were on the mountaintop, which was completely bare, with nowhere to hide.

There was no time to lose. Everyone called out, and Andrew Adams led the way, picking a direction and running down quickly. The earlier scene of the armed helicopters bombing, with a rolling sea of blood-red, left Andrew Adams with a very bad feeling. Under the threat of large-scale weapons of mass destruction, individual abilities seemed so insignificant, and he couldn’t help but feel a wave of fear.

As he ran, Andrew Adams observed the terrain. The others didn’t even bother to ask, just followed closely behind. Everyone had placed their full trust in Andrew Adams, naturally entrusting their lives to him. Whether they could escape, no one knew, but Andrew Adams was their best hope for now.

After half an hour, a stretch of undulating forest appeared ahead, shrouded in mist and clouds. The forest was even more silent inside, solemn and filled with an endless chill. That seemingly peaceful forest was definitely a primeval beast capable of swallowing everything.