Ambush

11:00. The operation commenced. Zhang Like and his men exited their vehicles in orderly fashion. Like arrows released from a bow, he and six border defense soldiers quickly dispersed to set up defensive positions across key transit routes. Should the enemy attempt to flee by vehicle, they could provide covering fire. Conversely, if the enemy remained holed up and an assault was needed, they could respond swiftly. Zhang Like's position faced the front entrance of the mahjong parlor from roughly three hundred meters away. Beside him stood an old newsstand that offered at least a shred of psychological cover. The assault team's comm channel crackled to life. "Team One preparing to breach... breach successful—" Almost at the exact same instant, a flash of fire lit up Zhang Like's face, followed immediately by a blast of flames surging from the second-floor windows of the darkened internet cafe. Zhang Like felt a sharp, stinging pain in his eyes. Pure combat instinct made him shut them tight to avoid blinding flash burn. Before the shockwave even reached them, he roared, "Get down!" A moment later, the roar of the blast hit like an invisible wall of air, carrying scorching pressure that slammed brutally into Zhang Like and the soldiers beside him. The glass window frames were instantly torn into twisted metal shrapnel, flying in all directions alongside burning wood chips, plastic debris, and charred chunks that looked sickeningly like human tissue. Zhang Like's eardrums rang violently. Forcing his eyes open, he found broad dark spots burned into his retinas. After dazed seconds, his vision finally cleared. The small building ahead had turned into a sea of fire. Raging flames swayed through the air as if they were alive. This was by no means an ordinary fire—a fire-attribute divine power wielder was present! The intelligence had been wrong. Zhang Like wanted nothing more than to curse, but the moment he opened his mouth, he choked on dense smoke. From within the smoke, intense gunfire erupted in a continuous roar. Despite being ambushed, the assault team pushed through casualties and returned fire. "Bird's Nest, Bird's Nest! Unidentified explosion on the first floor! A section of the ceiling collapsed, three men buried... Requesting backup, requesting backup!" "Intel was wrong! Fire-attribute divine power wielder present! Taking heavy fire!" The channel descended into utter chaos, only to be suppressed an instant later by Lin Zhiyan's icy voice barking a rapid succession of orders: "Team One, report specific casualties. You are authorized to withdraw independently." "Team Two, abandon the original route. Attempt a forceful breach and rescue from the southwest exterior wall." "Team Three, hold your position! Prevent the targets from breaking out in the chaos! Any person or vehicle attempting to approach your perimeter is to be fired upon if warnings are ignored." "Initiate Contingency Plan One. Place the fire department on standby, and have the traffic police lock down every exit road in the county. Notify the prefecture command center: situation escalated. There are more than two targets, heavy firepower, and preset traps. We are facing organized resistance." After issuing her orders, Lin Zhiyan rose to her feet. "I need to go to the frontline myself. Their superhuman hasn't shown himself yet; they might have other preparations in place." Her deputy immediately stood up and blocked her way. "Team Leader Lin, you can't take that risk!" "You are disobeying an order." "Your safety must come first!" Lin Zhiyan stared coldly at her deputy, then swept her gaze over the other members of the special investigation team, who had also stepped forward to bar her path. All of these people had been pushed into the team by their families. Once this was over, she would kick every single one of them out. *** Yulin Prefecture. The Armed Police General Headquarters served as the highest prefecture-level command for urban public order and border defense armed police, collectively known as the Public Security Bureau. The main command center was brightly lit. The leaders of the Armed Police General Headquarters were gathered together, gazing at the sand table before them, where red markers clung to the borders and urban centers like festering sores. The room hummed with ringing telephones, the ticking staccato of encrypted communications, and the urgent reports of staff officers. Liang Chengyun, head of the Public Security Bureau, stood like an immovable pillar before the command console. Barely past forty, his face had sharp, chiselled contours, and a faint old scar lay across his left forehead. Two years ago, he had transferred from the military to Yulin Prefecture with distinguished merit, parachuting into the top post of the Yulin Public Security Bureau to command public order across the entire prefecture. He ranked as a third-grade official of the Federation, just one level below a Martial Marquis. "Report! The Fangcheng special investigation team has issued an emergency request for backup! Their intelligence was faulty—they've been ambushed by Greenwood bandits! The enemies are numerous, wielding fully automatic weapons with firepower far beyond expectations! Heavy casualties have already been sustained!" This was not the first piece of bad news tonight. Fangcheng was hardly the only place calling for urgent reinforcement; just minutes earlier, they had dispatched forces to suppress bandit unrest across several other areas. The Public Security Bureau had long realized the Greenwood bandits were up to something, but formulating targeted countermeasures had proved difficult. Whenever the bandits disrupted social order, authorities were obliged to send personnel to handle it. Conversely, so long as the bureau maintained overarching order, localized victories by the bandits would never be decisive. The bureau held an invincible strategic position, yet they could not afford to let the bandits win too much ground. Commander Liang Chengyun knit his brows. "Fangcheng has run into trouble as well? Do we have any personnel left nearby to deploy?" The chief of staff replied, "Rioting has been especially severe along the border today. I'm afraid there are no spare police units left to send... Wait. Commander, we might still have one first-rank superhuman available for deployment." "A first-rank won't change anything..." Liang Chengyun shook his head, but the chief of staff promptly slid an emergency dispatch order, tucked inside a report, right before his eyes. [Lu Zhao, first-rank psychic superhuman, distinguished graduate of Dijing University...] "Hmm?" Liang Chengyun showed a flicker of confusion. "What's his story? Why is he in Fangcheng, and why wasn't he assigned to the mission?" Back in his day, Liang Chengyun hadn't even managed to test into Dijing, having to settle for Chishui instead. While Chishui was respectable, outside the military establishment, Dijing offered far superior career prospects. The chief of staff said, "He offended someone. But right now, we can only put our faith in the standard of Dijing's education." At that, Liang Chengyun was no longer puzzled. Excellence was relative. Graduating from Dijing was impressive, yet in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't everything. He commanded, "Issue a first-grade emergency dispatch order. No matter who is holding him back, Lu Zhao must be sent to reinforce this operation." *** Ant Ridge border defense station. Lu Zhao had waited in his room for half an hour, only to find that still no one had come to notify him. *Something went wrong on Zhang Like's end, * he deduced, faces flashing through his mind one after another. He and Lin Zhiyan did not get along, so it was plausible she might obstruct his deployment, but as head of the special investigation team, she would never gamble with the success of the overall operation. That left only Lü Jinshan. He had both the motive and the authority. Lu Zhao stood up, intending to leave the room and confront Lü Jinshan, but stopped dead in his tracks the moment he reached the door. He could rush to Ning County right now—it was only forty kilometers from the border defense station. But once there, how would he explain how he knew the location? And how would he answer charges of interfering with military operations or abandoning his post? Lu Zhao realized he was trapped in a dead end. In the military, iron discipline took precedence over outcome-based justification. Regardless of his intentions or whatever the ultimate result might be, he would face severe disciplinary action. Without authorization, taking even half a step was wrong. After agonizing over it for a long while, Lu Zhao ultimately returned to his room and sat upright. Suppressing all anxiety and resentment, he left behind only a countenance as cold and unyielding as iron. All he could do was wait—wait for an emergency dispatch order, wait for his comrades to suffer casualties, wait until the special investigation team was powerless to turn the tide. If possible, Lu Zhao hoped that order would never come. He hoped Old Zhang had simply been worrying too much. Right at that moment, distinct footsteps echoed down the corridor outside and came to a halt right before his door.