Unable to probe further, Old Xu once again locked his gaze on the remaining bespectacled man.

In the past, he might have stepped forward to help, but now, he couldn’t take the risk.

Firstly, the killer hidden in the shadows was an unknown entity, and based on his combat experience, he judged that the one who just killed the brute was, unsurprisingly, a well-trained sniper.

Typically, sniper rifles have an effective range of over a hundred meters, so rushing out to save the bespectacled man under such conditions would not only fail to rescue him but would also cost him his own life.

Secondly, the background of the two parties engaged in the battle downstairs was still unclear. In other words, it was still a big unknown who was good and who was bad.

Similarly, saving someone when the lines of good and bad are blurred would undoubtedly drag him and the entire squad to the brink of danger.

Watching the bespectacled man within his line of sight, Xu Renjie thought to himself:

Poor soul, you’ll have to fend for yourself!

It’s unclear if the dire situation unleashed some hidden strength, but the bespectacled man was not as weak as he appeared.

After faltering for a brief moment, he quickly got up and dashed towards the alley where Old Zhang and the others were.

Perhaps sensing the move of the gunman, he knowingly hunched over and slipped into the alley, attempting to use the buildings on either side to block the shooter’s view, preventing any precise shot.

It must be said, his strategy was extremely correct, but for someone as physically untrained as him, there’s quite a gulf between thinking and doing.

At least for tactical moves like evasive advance, his execution was quite poor.

Even if he avoided the sniper a hundred meters away, he completely exposed himself to the Black Bear’s gunpoint right behind him.

“Bang!” Another faint gunshot rang out.

This time, Tang Xiaoquan and Xu Renjie spotted the target. Though the flash from the gunshot lasted only an instant, they saw it clearly.

The bespectacled man fell forward to the ground, Black Bear’s precise shooting was yet another one-shot kill.

Tang Xiaoquan couldn’t help but swallow hard, within a few short minutes, two vibrant lives were wiped out before his eyes.

Although he had long become accustomed to death and killing, most of what he had seen before were zombies, beings that were already dead “undead.”

But now, the ones being killed were two living humans; such a sight undoubtedly shook his soul to its core.

In contrast, Xu Renjie remained exceedingly calm; as a professional soldier, he furrowed his brows, acutely aware of what the previous scene signified.

Needless to say, the other party was no ordinary person, with precise shooting, professional equipment, and those hidden stealth techniques.

Even the battle-hardened Xu Renjie couldn’t help but admire the combat skills of the opponent, and just as he was pondering, a tall, burly man stepped out from the night’s cover.

Black Bear quickly strode to the two corpses, saying nothing, he swiftly delivered a shot to each “unlucky soul,” both shots squarely hitting the fatal center of the heart.

Again, Xu Renjie saw everything clearly; he couldn’t fathom what grave mistake those two seemingly ordinary survivors could have made to merit such a brutal death.

Filled with questions, he quietly raised the binoculars in his hand, then shifted them towards the Black Ghost giant at the alley’s end; judging by his uniform, the latter wasn’t a soldier of Huaxia, and with just a glance, Xu Renjie recognized the weapon model: M14EBR Tactical Assault Rifle.

Seeing this, the wrinkles on Old Xu’s forehead deepened further.

Such agile skills, such perfect coordination, such advanced equipment, coupled with professional hunting techniques, and moreover, being foreigners, it seemed this midnight murder incident was not as simple as it seemed!

Black Bear unfeelingly kicked the corpses twice with force, and only after confirming they were lifeless did he reassure himself to speak to the invisible ear, saying: “Eagle, the rabbit is done, withdraw the team, OVER!”

Just as he finished speaking, Black Bear abruptly spun 180 degrees, with his gun barrel now pointed at the window where Tang Xiaoquan and Xu Renjie were positioned.

Fortunately, Old Xu reacted quickly enough and immediately covered the binoculars, then crouched down, hiding below the window.

“Black Bear, what’s the situation? OVER!”

“Direction at 7 o’clock, search, OVER!”

Never thought the opponent would be this alert, Xu Renjie felt a lingering fear even as he quietly withdrew his right hand pressed on Tang Xiaoquan.

That was indeed a close call; if not for his soldier’s professional sensitivity alerting him to the approaching danger, they might have already been discovered by the Black Ghost downstairs and shot dead with a burst of gunfire.

Leaning against the wall below the windowsill, Tang Xiaoquan dared not breathe heavily. Squatting still for so long had caused his legs to be intensely numb and swollen.

Even so, he dared not move, for he knew that for Old Xu to take such high alert defensive measures, it had to be against something quite formidable.

Time passed by minute by minute; it was a confrontation of mental resilience, a game of wits and skill.

After waiting a moment, a clever idea struck Xu Renjie. He clapped his palms together and rubbed them in front, then drew a sharp breath and made two squeaking rat sounds.

This was something summarized privately by their Sharp Blade Company; although a playful act, it often proved surprisingly effective in real combat.

After all, as Sharp Blade Company soldiers, they often had to venture deep into enemy lines alone to complete missions, so having one more skill meant an extra point of self-preservation ability.

And today, it was precisely this seemingly playful mimicry that convinced Black Bear outside the building as truth.

Soon, the tactical earpiece transmitted confirmation from Eagle, who was in charge of sniper duties in a distant building: “Black Bear, no anomalies at the target location, OVER!”

“Black Bear received, it’s a damn mouse, withdraw the team, OVER!”

With those words, Black Bear’s figure swiftly vanished into the dark night, disappearing without a trace.

The enemy’s departure did not waver Xu Renjie’s decision to remain on standby. His caution stemmed entirely from the opponent’s previous series of tactical displays.

Therefore, no one could guarantee that the opponent wasn’t feigning departure to lure them into exposure.

Thus, Xu Renjie continued his tense wait.

After waiting approximately half an hour in this manner, Xu Renjie remained the same, showing no signs of distress, but Tang Xiaoquan was different. His urge to urinate between his legs was growing increasingly intense, unable to bear it anymore, he had to apologetically nudge Xu Renjie beside him, then embarrassingly whispered: “Um~ Old Xu, I really need to pee, how much longer are we going to stay like this?”

Xu Renjie turned to look at Tang Xiaoquan, whose face was tightly knit, sighed lightly: “Follow me, keep low, we’ll crawl back!”

Upon hearing this, Tang Xiaoquan quickly nodded in agreement, and then the two of them crawled toward the inside of the building like two wriggling maggots, one following the other slowly. (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com) with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users should read on m.qidian.com.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep