Rebirth in the Dragon Kingdom: The Strongest Blade

Chapter 67 Thunder from Abroad

On the border of Country C, the jungle under the cover of night resembles a lurking beast.

A helicopter descended to a point 30 kilometers from the border and hovered above a clearing in the woods. The door opened, two ropes were lowered, and Lin Zhe and Long Qing quickly rappelled down, immediately hiding in the bushes after landing.

The helicopter quickly ascended and disappeared into the night sky; the entire process took no more than twenty seconds.

"This way." A middle-aged man dressed in local clothing stepped out of the shadows and said in a low voice with an accented Mandarin, "The car is ready, follow me."

The two followed him through the dense forest to the side of a dirt road. A dilapidated pickup truck was parked there, covered in mud, looking no different from any other vehicle in the area.

"These are identification documents, local currency, and a map." The middle-aged man took a backpack out of the car. "The target location is fifty kilometers to the northwest, an abandoned textile factory. There are at least two hundred armed men around, and three helicopters are on standby at a nearby airport."

Lin Zhe took the backpack and checked its contents: "Thanks. You can go now, we'll handle the rest ourselves."

The middle-aged man nodded, turned, and disappeared into the jungle. He was a spy from the Dragon Kingdom, tasked with providing support and not participating in combat.

Lin Zhe and Long Qing got into the pickup truck and started the engine. The truck bumped along the potholed dirt road, with only the low beams on, barely illuminating the road ahead in the darkness.

On the way, Lin Zhe tried to contact Long Lin again. The watch screen flashed, and the call was quickly connected.

"Dragon Scale, report the situation," Lin Zhe said calmly.

The voice from the other end of the line, slightly panting, came through: "Still in the factory. They've increased their manpower; now there are at least three hundred, surrounding us from four directions. I heard them communicating in English, Russian, and Arabic... Damn, this is a multinational coalition."

Lin Zhe's eyes grew even colder: "How long can you hold out?"

"I still have half my ammunition, and enough food and water for two days. But if they launch a full-scale attack, I can only hold out for three more hours at most." Dragonscale paused. "However, they don't seem to want to launch a full-scale attack. They keep shouting for me to surrender, saying they'll guarantee my safety."

"We want to capture you alive to study 'Hidden Dragon'," Lin Zhe said. "Where are you now?"

"The main factory building, three stories on the east side. This location offers a good view and is easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"Keep communication silent. We'll be there in an hour. Follow my instructions then, and coordinate an attack from the inside and outside."

"clear."

When the communication ended and they were still ten kilometers away, Long Qing had already opened her laptop in the passenger seat and deployed the drone. The screen displayed a satellite map and a dense array of red dots—the distribution of enemies scanned by the drone.

"Three hundred and twenty-seven heat source signals, surrounding the factory from four directions." Long Qing's fingers rapidly tapped on the keyboard. "The east side has the most people, at least one hundred and twenty, and should be the main attack direction. The west and north sides each have about eighty people, and the south side has the fewest, only about forty, but the terrain is complex and there may be traps."

Lin Zhe looked at the map while driving: "Although there are fewer people on the south side, it may be a gap deliberately left to ambush Long Lin when he breaks through."

"Agreed." Long Qing nodded. "So, where do we start?"

"The east side," Lin Zhe said. "They have the most people there, and they're the least likely to expect a frontal assault. You use electronic jamming to cripple their communications. Then I'll infiltrate and create chaos. Once they're in disarray, Longlin will attack from the inside out, and we'll come to his aid."

"The plan is too risky." Long Qing frowned. "Once we get entangled, none of the three of us will be able to escape."

"So we need to be quick." Lin Zhe glanced at the time. "We need to finish the battle within twenty minutes and retreat before they can react."

Long Qing didn't object anymore. She knew that there was no foolproof plan when carrying out rescue missions behind enemy lines. Sometimes, speed was the best tactic.

The pickup truck was parked in a grove of trees three kilometers from the abandoned factory. The two men got out, shouldered their gear, and approached on foot.

The night was dark, and there was no moon. The chirping of insects in the jungle masked their footsteps.

When she was a kilometer from the factory, Long Qing stopped and found a secluded spot to set up her equipment. She took out a square signal jammer and a modified laptop from her backpack.

"The interference range is 500 meters, capable of paralyzing all civilian and some military communication frequencies," Long Qing said in a low voice. "It will last for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, they may activate the backup communication system."

"That's enough." Lin Zhe checked the equipment. "Fifteen minutes is enough for us to make a round trip."

He glanced at his watch: "Start jamming in five minutes. Once the jamming begins, you'll provide intelligence support here and monitor enemy movements. I'll go in to meet up with Dragonscale."

"careful."

Lin Zhe nodded and slipped into the darkness like a cheetah.

Five minutes later, Long Qing pressed the jammer activation button.

The armed personnel patrolling and on guard around the factory suddenly heard a piercing static sound coming from their walkie-talkies, followed by complete silence. Cell phones had no signal, and the vehicle radios were malfunctioning.

"Communication interrupted!"

"What happened?"

"It might be interference! There might be enemies!"

A brief period of chaos ensued.

At that moment, Lin Zhe had already reached the foot of the factory's east wall. He climbed up the wall like a gecko to observe the situation inside. In the courtyard, dozens of armed men were gathering, clearly alerted by the communication disruption.

Without hesitation, Lin Zhe took a flashbang from his waist, pulled the pin, counted to two silently, and threw it in.

"boom!"

A blinding white light and a deafening roar exploded in the courtyard. At least twenty people were instantly blinded and deafened, collapsing to the ground screaming in agony.

Lin Zhe flipped over and jumped off the wall, landing with his rifle already raised.

"Pfft pfft pfft pfft..."

The silenced rifle made only a dull thud, but every shot hit its target precisely. Head, heart, carotid artery—all fatal sites.

In ten seconds, fifteen people fell.

The remaining armed men in the courtyard reacted and opened fire. But Lin Zhe was no longer there. He moved like a ghost between the bunkers, appearing only once to fire a single shot before vanishing again.

"He's over there!"

"Three o'clock!"

"Grenade!"

Chaos was spreading. At that moment, gunshots rang out from the third floor of the main factory building—Dragon Scales had begun their operation.

He had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. With communications cut off and the enemy in disarray, it was the perfect time to break out.

Long Lin leaned out of the window, his sniper rifle firing rapidly. Each shot accurately struck the enemy commander or machine gunner in the courtyard. He specifically targeted those organizing a counterattack, exacerbating the enemy's confusion.

Attack from inside and outside.

Lin Zhe had already reached the main factory building. Six armed men were holding the entrance on the first floor. Instead of a direct assault, Lin Zhe climbed in through a side window and eliminated them from behind.

"Dragon Scale, come downstairs!" he called through his watch.

"They're here!"

Rapid footsteps echoed down the stairwell. Long Lin, carrying a backpack and holding a rifle, rushed down. His face was stained with blood, and his combat uniform bore several bullet holes, but his movements remained swift.

The two met up and, without exchanging any words, rushed towards the south side of the factory—the area with the fewest people, which was their intended escape route.

"Long Qing, report the situation on the south side!" Lin Zhe shouted as he ran.

"The enemy on the south side is reinforcing the east side; there are only about twenty men left. But there may be more ambushes on the outer perimeter."

"Roger that. Prepare for the response."

The two rushed out of the factory and encountered a ten-man squad. Without hesitation, they opened fire simultaneously. Lin Zhe fired at the five on the left, while Long Lin fired at the five on the right. Under the crossfire, all ten men fell to the ground before they even had time to react.

This is the combat power of the "Hidden Dragon" team members—each one is the best of the best, and when two of them work together, they can achieve the firepower density of a small squad.

They rushed out of the factory wall and into the jungle. Behind them, the enemy's shouts and gunfire grew fainter and fainter.

After running about two kilometers, Long Qing emerged from the bushes: "Over here!"

The three regrouped and quickly evacuated. Long Qing operated her computer as she ran: "The jamming will wear off in three minutes. They'll be able to restore communication soon; we must leave this area as quickly as possible."

"The car is three kilometers away," Lin Zhe said. "Hang in there."

The three ran wildly through the jungle. Behind them, they could already hear the sound of helicopter rotors—enemy air power had been deployed.

But they were still one step ahead. By the time the first armed helicopter flew over the factory, Lin Zhe and his two companions had already gotten into a pickup truck and driven onto a secluded road.

Inside the vehicle, Long Lin removed his helmet, revealing a young but weary face. He had a gunshot wound on his left shoulder, from which blood was seeping.

Long Qing took out a first-aid kit from her backpack and began to treat the wound.

"Thanks." Long Lin looked at Lin Zhe. "If you hadn't arrived in time, I might have really had to fight to the death."

"We're all comrades, let's not talk about these things." Lin Zhe drove, his eyes fixed on the dark road ahead. "Who are they? You mentioned speaking several languages."

"English, Russian, Arabic, and French." Long Lin gritted his teeth. "I heard accents from at least four countries. This isn't some operation by Country C's intelligence agency; it's a trap set by several countries specifically targeting 'Hidden Dragon.'"

Lin Zhe's eyes were icy. He contacted the Dragon Leader via his watch, briefly reported the situation, and then said, "Sir, I request one night to investigate thoroughly. If it really is a joint effort by several countries against us, we can't let this go."

After a few seconds of silence, the dragon head's voice came through: "Approved. But remember, safety first. Assess the situation and then withdraw; do not take risks."

"clear."

An hour later, the three arrived at a safe hideout—a safe house located on the outskirts of the capital of Country C. This was a secret outpost established by the intelligence department of Country D, and it was fully equipped.

Long Lin's wounds had been treated and he was fine. He sat on the sofa, eating large mouthfuls of compressed biscuits to replenish his strength.

Lin Zhe and Long Qing then began their work.

Long Qing turned on her computer, connected to the satellite, and began retrieving surveillance data from around the factory. Lin Zhe then took out two miniature drones from his backpack—only the size of a palm, with silent motors and a flight time of forty minutes.

"I'll go launch the drone to do some reconnaissance," Lin Zhe said.

"careful."

Lin Zhe left the safe house, found a high spot, and launched the drones. The two drones, like bats in the night, flew silently towards the factory.

An hour later, the drone transmitted stunning images.

About five kilometers outside the factory, in an open area, a dozen military vehicles were parked. Beside the vehicles, at least two hundred armed personnel were gathered. Judging from their clothing, they were clearly divided into four different groups—some wearing American equipment, some wearing Russian camouflage, some wearing Arab robes, and others wearing French combat uniforms.

They were arguing fiercely. Although the specifics were unclear, their body language suggested they were blaming each other.

The drone descended and activated its recording function.

"...Useless! Over three hundred people couldn't catch a single person!"

"Your men panicked first!"

"Communications have been jammed! It must be the electronic warfare unit from China!"

"What's the use of saying all this now? The person has escaped! How are we going to explain this to the US?"

The argument lasted for more than ten minutes. Finally, a white officer who appeared to be the leader stepped forward and said in English, "Enough! The mission failed, but at least we know the fighting capabilities of that Chinese unit. One man held out for two days while surrounded by more than three hundred of our men, and even managed to break through. This intelligence is also valuable to the United States."

Another person with a Russian accent asked, "So what do we do now?"

"As planned, withdraw to the temporary base. Tomorrow morning, everyone will return to their respective countries. Consider this operation... a joint exercise."

The crowd began to disperse and board their respective vehicles. The convoy started moving and headed in the same direction.

Lin Zhe piloted the drone to follow. The convoy traveled about twenty kilometers before entering a temporary military base located in a valley. The base contained tents, makeshift fortifications, and even two transport helicopters.

The drone hovered high in the sky, recording everything.

Lin Zhe retrieved the drone and returned to the safe house.

"We've found out." He played the video and audio recordings for Long Lin and Long Qing. "Four countries, with the US behind them. Their goal is to capture 'Hidden Dragon' members alive and study our equipment and tactics."

Dragon Scale slammed his fist on the table: "These bastards!"

Long Qing calmly analyzed: "They're currently gathered at this temporary base, preparing to evacuate tomorrow. If we act now..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear.

Lin Zhe contacted the Dragon Leader again: "Commander, the situation has been confirmed. Special forces teams from four countries, totaling about 250 people, are currently gathered at a temporary base, preparing to evacuate tomorrow. I request—tonight, we will take action and wipe them out."

On the other end of the communication, the dragon head remained silent for a full minute.

Then his voice came, cold and resolute: "Approved. But remember—leave no survivors, leave no trace. Let everyone know that the price for this operation against 'Hidden Dragon' is one they cannot afford."

"clear."

Lin Zhe hung up the communication and looked at Long Lin and Long Qing: "Rest for two hours and replenish ammunition. At three in the morning, we'll move out."

"yes!"

The three began their final preparations.

Check weapons, replenish ammunition, plan routes, and formulate tactics.

Despite being injured, Long Lin insisted on participating: "I will avenge myself."

Lin Zhe did not object. He knew that for soldiers, some humiliations must be washed away with blood.

At 2:50 a.m., the three men, fully armed, left the safe house.

The night was as dark as ink, and a deadly intent lurked beneath.

A revenge operation targeting multinational special operations teams is about to begin.

This action will declare a fact to the world—

The "hidden dragon's" Achilles' heel is something that will surely kill you if touched.