The Ultimate War Of The Apocalypse
Chapter 223 - 219: Capture of Prisoners

Chapter 223: Chapter 219: Capture of Prisoners

Zhao Qiang observed with a telescope-style night-vision device before turning back. He looked in the direction Panxin indicated and said, "The other side doesn’t have night-vision equipment, but they’re still headed in the right direction, which means they’re familiar with this area and must have spotted us during the day."

After another round of observation with the night-vision device, Zhao Qiang whispered, "Just six people, as expected. So, how should we deal with them?"

Having said that, Zhao Qiang handed the night-vision device to Gao Yuan. Gao Yuan took it and said with surprise, "Are you asking me?"

"Yes, you’re the captain after all."

Gao Yuan raised the night-vision device to his eyes. After looking for a while, he asked, "How can you tell if they have night-vision equipment or not?"

Panxin stood next to Gao Yuan and said, "You can tell by their walking posture. If they can see the road, they would walk smoothly and quickly. Their pace is noticeably slower than normal, which is enough to tell they don’t have night-vision equipment since they’re not using flashlights either."

The answer was so simple, yet from such a distance, how could one tell whether their speed was fast or slow? That had to be judged based on personal experience, and asking was pointless.

Gao Yuan put down the night-vision device and said, "So what do we do? Let me think, take them out?"

Panxin and Zhao Qiang remained silent. Gao Yuan said in frustration, "You two must be enjoying watching me make a fool of myself, right? How would I know what to do? The easiest thing is to kill them, but can we really do that?"

Zhao Qiang thought for a moment and said, "It’s best to capture them alive and find out what they’re up to. We’re exposed now, and it wouldn’t be good to stir up any trouble."

Panxin also whispered, "It’s hard to identify them from a distance. What if they’re regular troops and not bandits, right? So we should try to capture them alive as much as possible."

Gao Yuan pointed into the darkness and said, "They sneak over here in the middle of the night. Could it be that they intend to have a heart-to-heart with us?"

Zhao Qiang chuckled and said, "That’s why I’m asking you what to do. If you want to take them down, no problem. Just go down and bring up a sniper rifle. When they come within five hundred meters, shoot to kill all of them, and we’ll set off at dawn."

In a low voice, Gao Yuan asked, "Tell me honestly, are you two trying to groom me or just want to see me make a fool of myself?"

Panxin replied helplessly, "What are you talking about? Why would we want to make fun of you? You simply lack combat experience. To put it plainly, you’re still a greenhorn, a freakishly fit greenhorn at that. Boss Zhao is trying to develop your ability to adapt on the spot."

Gao Yuan scratched his face and said, "Fine then, I’ll see how you guys handle it. I have no idea what’s the best approach right now, so you have to actively teach me some."

Zhao Qiang whispered, "Alright, let’s capture all of them alive."

"Ah, all of them?"

"Yes, is there a problem?"

Gao Yuan paused for a moment. He thought killing the sneaky figures would be easy, but capturing them all alive didn’t seem so straightforward. However, since Zhao Qiang had suggested it, that’s what they would do.

"Okay, let’s capture them all alive."

Zhao Qiang whispered, "Go call some people. Don’t wake everyone up. Get King Kong and Li Yang. Bring up a sniper rifle, and let your subordinates watch too, but keep it down so the others aren’t disturbed."

Gao Yuan tiptoed back downstairs, where several people shared a room. He was just about to nudge Li Yang on the shoulder when Li Yang suddenly grabbed his wrist fiercely.

Does everyone sleep with one eye open?

With his voice pressed to an extremely low pitch, Gao Yuan said, "There’s a situation. Bring a sniper rifle to the roof."

Li Yang let go of his hand and patted the backpack by his side before nodding his head.

This was the guest room, as the gas station also offered a small inn’s services. Gao Yuan went to Li Jingang’s bed and pushed him.

Li Jingang instantly sat up. His body flipped to the side, and his movements were quick and silent.

Gao Yuan, who slept in a sleeping bag, would zip it up after getting in, but Li Jingang hadn’t zipped up his sleeping bag, allowing him to leave it swiftly.

"There’s a situation. Get to the roof."

Although Gao Yuan could see clearly with the night-vision device, Li Jingang simply nodded slightly, then grabbed the rifle by the bed and picked up the helmet from the bedside.

Yu Shunzhou and Nie Erlong slept on the opposite bed.

Yu Shunzhou was snoring rhythmically. Gao Yuan pushed him once without response, then pushed harder a second time. Yu Shunzhou turned over and grumbled, "Let me sleep. Stop it."

This level of alertness deserved to be shot a thousand times! Gao Yuan was simultaneously angry, annoyed, and embarrassed. He tugged on Yu Shunzhou’s ear and whispered, "There’s a situation."

Yu Shunzhou sat up quickly. After staring blankly for a moment, he suddenly whispered, "Damn it, there’s a situation. Er Long! There’s a situation!"

The snoring from Nie Erlong stopped abruptly. He sat up with his eyes still closed, and upon opening them, he rolled to the side and whispered in a voice kept extremely low, "Fuck, did Uncle Xiang come?"

What kind of psychological trauma had Xiang Weiguo inflicted on these guys?

Gao Yuan whispered even lower, "Keep it down, there’s a situation. Get to the roof quickly."

Nie Erlong rubbed his eyes; then, letting out a long sigh of relief as if he had just survived a disaster, he said, "I forgot where I was. Thank goodness, it’s not Uncle... it’s not Uncle Xiang."

While muttering, Nie Erlong slung his backpack on his shoulder, swept up his rifle with his right hand, and placed his helmet on his head. He pulled down the night-vision device, switched it on, and said softly, "If it’s not Uncle Xiang, I’m not scared of anyone. Let’s do this!"

Yu Shunzhou whispered, "It’s just you, the one who’s all talk; get moving!"

Gao Yuan whispered back, "Keep it down, don’t wake the others."

Once Gao Yuan finished speaking, he silently stepped out. Li Yang and Li Jingang got up without making a single sound, but Yu Shunzhou and Nie Erlong, oh boy, they started chatting.

It’s truly infuriating to compare oneself to others.

The five men climbed onto the roof, and once they were up there, Yu Shunzhou asked Gao Yuan, "Aren’t we going to call the others? Shouldn’t we also call Song Qian?"

That’s when Zhao Qiang quietly mentioned, "Let’s catch everyone up on the situation. There are six people approaching us, and from their movements, they appear to be well-trained soldiers. Their intent is unclear, but our plan is to capture them and interrogate them before we decide what to do next. They’re currently 1,800 meters away from us."

No one else spoke, but Yu Shunzhou said, "Ah, we want them alive? Okay, what should we do? You assign the tasks."

Zhao Qiang continued, "Li Yang, use the sniper rifle for cover from here. King Kong, Panxin, Gao Yuan, and I will capture the prisoners. Any problems with that?"

Yu Shunzhou asked, "What about the two of us?"

Zhao Qiang whispered, "I had you come up here to observe. Your job is to watch how the others do it. Without Li Yang’s command, you’re not allowed to fire. Actually, just hand over your guns to me."

This was looking down on them way too much. Without even needing Yu Shunzhou to say anything, Gao Yuan felt indignant but he quietly said, "Just Li Yang for cover? Isn’t that a bit... not quite enough?"

Zhao Qiang replied quietly, "He’s enough by himself. My concern is that the two of them lack experience. I think it’s necessary for them to grow quickly, but until I can trust them enough, I’d prefer they simply watch."

Yu Shunzhou said, "You’re really underestimating us. How do you know we’d fire recklessly?"

Zhao Qiang whispered, "No arguing now. Prove your abilities to me in the future, and naturally, I will trust you. But for now, it’s best you do as I say instead of wasting time arguing with me here."

Yu Shunzhou was about to say more, but Nie Erlong silently handed over his gun.

Gao Yuan was somewhat resentful inside, but arguing or even causing a scene here on behalf of Yu Shunzhou was out of the question. In fact, Zhao Qiang was right—if Yu Shunzhou and Nie Erlong wanted to prove themselves, they needed to do it through their own performance, not through Gao Yuan speaking for them.

So Gao Yuan said nothing, and eventually, Yu Shunzhou also handed his gun over in silence.

Zhao Qiang leaned both weapons on the ground, then he stood next to Gao Yuan and said, "Capturing enemies is your expertise, Panxin, you command."

Pansin didn’t hesitate and said, "Follow me."

Pansin led the way with Gao Yuan following. The four men descended from the roof, observing the enemy’s movements, and quickly ran forward, stopping 300 meters away from the gas station.

"Here will do. Once they get here, they can’t change direction. We’ll hide here and make our move when the enemy gets close."

With no large rocks around, Gao Yuan looked around and then simply lay flat on the ground, as Panxin and Li Jingang were doing so as well.

Just as Gao Yuan lay down, he saw Zhao Qiang lying close to him, less than a meter away.

"Why are you so close to me?"

"To protect you."

Gao Yuan paused for a moment then whispered, "Is that really necessary?"

Zhao Qiang replied indifferently, "It is."

"It really isn’t."

"It really is. No matter how physically fit you are, can you withstand a bullet? If not, in case something happens, I can take a bullet for you. Now, be quiet."

Gao Yuan had no choice but to fall silent.

The ground was cold and uncomfortable to lie on, but what else is there to say? Just wait quietly.

The six people took about twenty minutes to cover the distance of one kilometer, so Gao Yuan could do nothing but lie there for twenty minutes.

Then, Gao Yuan finally heard faint footsteps and saw a group of shadows slowly approaching.

The six people were close to each other, slightly farther away from Gao Yuan, around twenty meters, but the closest to Li Jingang, only about five or six meters.

Li Jingang and Panxin made no move, so Gao Yuan stayed put as well. When all six had passed Li Jingang, Gao Yuan saw Li Jingang slowly stand up and Panxin did the same. Then the two of them slowly, stealthily, approached the six people.

Li Jingang stretched out his hands, covered the mouth of the last person, and lifted him up, while Panxin suddenly choked another from behind.

Seeing the two men take action, Gao Yuan leaped up from the ground, closing the thirty-meter distance in a flash.

Was there any need to keep silent now? There was no need. Gao Yuan lightly smacked the last enemy in the neck, then another one, and another one. As one of the two leading enemies fell, the other finally turned around, only to collapse immediately afterwards.

All were knocked out, certainly not dead; Gao Yuan was very confident of that. And after he laid the last standing person down, Li Jingang, with his arm around the neck of a soldier in camouflage, looked up in surprise at the suddenly appearing Gao Yuan and after a brief pause, whispered, "This... damn it!"