Chapter 1 A Strict Search

Hans, a lieutenant colonel and regiment commander of the First Army Corps' Garrison Brigade, strode back to his vehicle on the Dragon City's Southeast Street. He picked up the radio and ordered his subordinates, "After taking over the area, conduct another strict search. Even the dust on the ground must be examined to see if it's male or female! Everyone, stay alert! Our leader and the commander-in-chief of the Chinese forces will be participating in the event today. We can't afford to make any mistakes, or we'll face a court-martial."

"Roger!"

"Roger!"

"..."

The replies from the officers came through the communicator.

Soon after, an officer who was on good terms with Hans couldn't help but ask, "Haha, I'm grabbing a magnifying glass right now to check the dust's gender. But wasn't this area already searched last night?"

Lieutenant Colonel Hans slowly replied, "Dragon City is a coastal city with a large number of weather observation towers. These high-rise structures are very unfriendly to us and will waste a lot of our energy, you understand."

The other officer sighed, "Alright, another tough day ahead."

After the exchange, all the soldiers dispersed and began another round of investigation of the surrounding area, just like in other zones. Whether it was the interior of buildings, the structure of the floors, or the drainage channels, everything was carefully screened with detectors. Some areas were even filled with cement last night, then dried and sealed.

Three soldiers, carrying guns, walked into a building located in the middle section of Southeast Street and Hong'an Road. Their assigned area was the top five floors and the roof.

The three of them chatted as they patrolled. After inspecting the inside of the building, they quickly climbed the ladder to the rooftop.

One of the blond soldiers, holding a metal detector, scanned the surroundings, muttering, "This is a bloody joke. I didn't even have time for breakfast, and now I have to clear the way for these damn politicians. Life is so unfair!"

The black officer leading the group said, "Stop complaining. It'll affect our morale. Let's finish this quickly, get back to the vehicle. I have bread and salad there, guaranteed to fill your chattering mouth."

The three of them worked as they talked, and soon they finished searching the rooftop area.

Just as they were about to leave, the black officer suddenly stopped and turned to look at the towering iron tower above them, which was more than twenty meters high. It was a weather observation tower, but it had been abandoned since the war began. After observing it, he noticed that there were many supporting iron plates in the middle of the tower.

After thinking for a moment, he turned to the other two and said, "Hey, brothers, shouldn't we go up there and take a look?"

The blond soldier who liked to complain earlier couldn't help but say, "Are you kidding me? Not even a mosquito can fly up there. I don't want to climb that damn place! Besides, it was already checked last night. I beg you, have mercy on my poor legs."

The black officer grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, "Dear Lieutenant, if something happens in our area, we'll be sent straight to a military court, maybe even treated as traitors. And your beloved woman will be lying in someone else's bed."

"You damn guy, always saying such unlucky things!" The blond soldier stopped complaining.

The three of them exchanged glances, grabbed the rusty ladder, and started climbing the tower.

At the same time, above the iron tower, Yao Dou Dou listened to the sounds below, his muscles tensed, lying motionless on the iron plate.

He took a deep breath and looked down at the street below, which was swarming with patrolling soldiers.

Yao Dou Dou quickly made a decision, reached for his pistol, and screwed on the silencer.

Then, he quickly got up, rolled up the camouflage and anti-thermal detection cloth, and stood them up behind the pillar next to him, along with the sniper scope. This would block the view from the ladder.

Next, Yao Dou Dou stuffed the sniper rifle back into his tactical bag, slung it on his back, and stood on the other side of the iron pillar.

The topmost iron plate was very narrow due to the tower's upward-tapering structure, with a total area of no more than two square meters.

Therefore, his feet could only stand on the edge of the iron plate, with his heels hanging in the air. Yao Dou Dou was covered in sweat, reaching out and grabbing the rivets on the iron pillar to hide himself.

...

First Army Corps front-line position.

Commander Wang and the First Army Corps' Military and Political Council's Foreign Minister were already seated in the armored vehicle.

They were surrounded by soldiers from the guard regiment, responsible for their safety.

Not far away, Lu Zhen jogged along the street, shouting into the radio, "Departure!"

At 9:20 AM, the motorcade officially departed, heading to the Dragon City occupied area.

...

Meanwhile, on the iron tower.

Yao Dou Dou lay motionless on the iron plate, his ears twitching, listening to the sounds coming from below.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

The sound of military boots on the ladder was very loud, and it was getting closer and closer...

Yao Dou Dou's muscles tensed, sweat dripped from his forehead, and he held his breath.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Yao Dou Dou saw three figures slowly climbing up.

The three of them were very cautious, maintaining a certain distance between each other. Soon, the black officer climbed up first. Because his view was blocked by the pillar, he did not see Yao Dou Dou.

The black officer looked at the iron plate under his feet and shouted down, "You two bastards below, be careful, it's very narrow here, easy to fall."

The blond soldier also climbed up, covered in cold sweat, and said, "Only a damn guy like you would bring us to a place like this, my legs are about to break...!"

The black officer looked around and saw that there was no one there, no foreign objects. He smiled and said, "Congratulations everyone, our mission is complete, we can go back and have breakfast."

Just then, the last soldier climbed up. Looking at the scenery in the distance, he couldn't help but exclaim, "God, it's so beautiful here. Look at the mountains and rivers over there, it's like movie-quality."

As he spoke, he took out a cigarette case and offered cigarettes to the other two.

"You damn bastard, trying to hide here and smoke again?" Although the black officer scolded, he still honestly took a cigarette.

The three who were about to leave shared the cigarettes and moved forward, wanting to enjoy the scenery in the distance.

Behind them, Yao Dou Dou leaned against the iron pillar, watching the backs of the three men. As soon as they turned around, they would see him.

He calculated the positions of the three men in his mind. As they lit their cigarettes, he quickly drew the silenced pistol from his waist and pulled the trigger.

"Puff, puff, puff!"

Three bullets flew out, two of them exploded in blood mists on the back of their heads, and they fell to the platform with a thud.

But to Yao Dou Dou's surprise, the blond soldier wasn't dead! Judging from the sound of the bullet hitting his helmet, this was an extremely cowardly soldier. He had hidden a lead block in the back of his head, which blocked the bullet.

The blond soldier heard a clang from his helmet, and suddenly turned around, saw Yao Dou Dou hiding behind him, and was about to draw his gun.

"Puff, puff, puff!"

Yao Dou Dou was quick and fired three more shots at his chest.

But because the other party was wearing a bulletproof vest, although there was a burst of blood mist on his chest, it didn't kill him immediately.

The soldier endured the severe pain in his chest, grabbed Yao Dou Dou's gun-wielding arm, and opened his mouth to shout.

"Bang!"

Yao Dou Dou immediately reached out with his other hand and covered the other man's mouth.

The two engaged in a fierce fight on the extremely narrow iron plate, nearly sixty meters above the ground.

Yao Dou Dou covered the blond soldier's mouth, and with a simple side throw, cleanly and decisively pressed the other man to the iron plate.

The latter's body was pinned down, his hand twisted back, unable to move.

But the other party was also cunning. He noticed that the two corpses were lying next to him, so he stretched out his foot and kicked the corpses, trying to make them fall down and attract the attention of his comrades below.

If the corpses fell, Yao Dou Dou would be exposed for sure.

He reacted quickly, while continuing to cover the other man's mouth, he reached out with his other hand and grabbed the corpse's leg.

But in this way, the blond soldier was freed from his restraint, and immediately pulled out a dagger from the sheath on his right leg. With a puff, he stabbed it into Yao Dou Dou's waist, twisting it with force.

Yao Dou Dou was in so much pain that sweat poured from his forehead. He gritted his teeth and dragged the corpse, which was about to slide down, back.

"Bang!"

At the same time, Yao Dou Dou retracted his hand and punched the other man in the armpit.

The intense pain caused the other man to retract his arm instantly.

"Bang!"

Yao Dou Dou directly pressed the other man's arm with his left leg, and his right leg suddenly raised his knee, quickly slashing across the other man's chest.

"Bang, crack!"

The other man's head slammed heavily on the iron plate, his jaw shattered, his mouth full of blood, his eyes rolled back, clearly losing consciousness.

"Pfft!"

Yao Dou Dou stylishly seized the knife, gripping the military dagger in reverse, his right hand flashed past, and directly cut open the other man's neck.

"Glug, glug..."

Blood gushed out, the other man clutched his neck, his body swaying, about to fall down.

Yao Dou Dou lunged forward, grabbed the other man's body, and pulled him back with force.

On the iron tower with an area of only two square meters, there were four people, three corpses, and an injured Yao Dou Dou.

The series of actions just now seemed simple, but they had cost him a great deal of energy. It was the short-term burst of physical strength that quickly killed the three men.

Yao Dou Dou arranged the corpses and laid them on the iron plate. He lay on top of the corpses, and immediately inserted the plug on the communicator.

Then, he grabbed the anti-thermal detection cloth and the camouflage cloth, covering himself and the corpses.

After doing all this, Yao Dou Dou finally breathed a sigh of relief, turned on the communicator, and called Yu Mingyuan.

After a while, the communication was connected, and Yu Mingyuan's urgent voice rang out, "Dou Dou, what's the situation on your side? Has Yuan Biao contacted you?"

Yao Dou Dou gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it... Yuan Biao has been switched out..."