Chapter 1562 Destroy the mountain road, foreign tribes attack!
As night fell, it was almost impossible to see in the unlit wilderness. Only a few wisps of weak moonlight struggled to penetrate the clouds, casting a dim and clear glow.
On the first night after leaving the checkpoint, except for the three unlucky guys from Youyue Team, who were exhausted after running around for four days and four nights, they were sleeping very sweetly. No one else slept very deeply.
Including Sumo, he was basically half asleep, and would be woken up by the movements made by Torres from time to time.
Four o'clock at night is when the night is darkest and the chill is the most biting.
Just when everyone finally felt sleepy, as expected, Torres' loud voice like a bell blasted through the camp again:
"Shet! What is it!"
Wow.
This time, even the three injured people were so frightened that they sat up, and the whole camp instantly boiled.
The team members in the tent hurriedly grabbed their weapons and rushed out, their eyes frightened and confused.
However, after more than ten seconds, everyone saw Zhao Lei walking out of the darkness with an apologetic look and waving his hands, with a rather embarrassed look on his face.
It turned out that it was a garbage bag that blew in from nowhere, and it was put on Torres' head. It almost scared the guy out of his mind, thinking that it was a magical spell released by an alien race.
To this day, Torres is still in shock, pulling off the garbage bag on his head with trembling hands and mumbling curse words.
"Captain, why don't you guys take a rest and I'll take them on duty?"
Merrick sighed helplessly. Those on duty would be tired if they continued like this, and those who slept would not be able to sleep well.
If there is really a tough battle to be fought tomorrow, the current sluggish state will definitely not work.
"That's okay. Let's start later today and wait until it's completely bright before leaving."
Zhao Lei resisted his sleepiness and yawned widely.
Seeing Su Mo and Gao Ruoyun quickly pick up their weapons, with neat movements and clear eyes, he was only half relieved.
Although both of them are new members of the team, Sumo especially is a newcomer who has just become a mercenary.
But since exiting the checkpoint, the performance of the two of them has been in no way inferior to that of the old men in the team. Faced with various emergencies, they have been calm and calm, and can handle them with ease. At least they look better than Torres and Sanchez, who are always making trouble.
The "idiot brothers" are much more reliable.
In this dangerous wilderness, having such a reliable new teammate is a blessing among misfortunes.
"Brother Qin, stay on the left side. If you feel sleepy, just tell me."
"Miss Gao, stay on the right side. If anything happens, we'll use the communicator to contact you first. Don't wake them up."
As the deputy captain, Merrick, after giving instructions to the two men, was responsible for patrolling the surrounding areas with weapons.
Sumo responded and walked steadily to the guard position on the left.
After Merrick's figure gradually blended into the night and disappeared from sight, he turned over his hand and took out a copy of Zero from the storage space.
Somo gently rubbed the small square, and after a few seconds, No. 0's body in the level was projected over.
"Master, your location is... 494 kilometers east?"
"Yes, I've gone deep into the East."
Sumo nodded slightly, "Help me check the recent movements of the aliens and deduce and simulate their deployment and sweep plans."
No. 0 did not reply immediately, but replied after a few seconds, "Master, based on the latest intelligence summary, I have sent the simulated defense map to the copy. Recently, they have increased the frequency of external sweeps, but at present, it seems that
The probability of preparing for a larger-scale military operation is only 4%."
"I understand. I should leave your signal coverage tomorrow. If anything happens, just inform Su Deben."
Having said that, Sumo closed the communication with Zero and opened the defense map sent from the copy to view.
Since the aliens in the eastern region use special environmental magic to block signal transmission, the maximum coverage range of Zero is only 600 kilometers, so the alien defenses within this range are very clear.
Going forward, we can only make assumptions based on the information brought back by the mercenaries.
"Fortunately, although the Baiduan Mountains are a high-risk area, as long as we can avoid the directions where the aliens frequently raid, we shouldn't encounter too many patrols."
Soon, Sumo found a safer route from the route map deduced by Zero.
It is not difficult to persuade Zhao Lei to change the team's route forward.
Sumo quickly edited a message through copy zero. As long as Zhao Lei opens the mission ball at dawn, he will receive the route change message from the terminal simultaneously.
In the following time, the camp finally became peaceful, and there were no more accidents.
It wasn't until dawn, when it was time to release the mission, that Zhao Lei was awakened by his vibrating watch.
He took out the mechanical mission ball from his backpack and saw that there were only the last few minutes left on it.
By the time Zhao Lei got up and washed his face, the countdown for the task ball had just finished.
Click.
The sound of mechanical transmission sounded, and a small chip that stored mission information fell out.
Zhao Lei caught it in a hurry and inserted it into the terminal he carried with him.
After about a few seconds, the specific content of the A-level mission of the fire suppression team was displayed on the screen.
[A-level mission: Destroy the mountain road]
[Task description: There are more than three million aliens in the Baiduan Mountains. Please choose the main mountain roads in the mountains to destroy them, block the efficiency of the aliens' entry and exit, curb the expansion of the aliens, and gain valuable strategic advantages for mankind]
[Task point: 0/8 (just destroy eight main mountain roads at will)]
"Destroy the mountain road?"
Zhao Lei was overjoyed, this kind of task was basically the simplest type.
There is no need to confront aliens and fight to the death, nor does one need to take huge risks and sneak into a designated mission location, always being on guard against being discovered by aliens.
If they're lucky, maybe the fire suppression team won't have to fight aliens until the mission is completed.
At the same time, the terminal sounded a new prompt.
When Zhao Lei opened it and took a look, he was even more delighted.
Since the aliens have stepped up their raids, a safe route map to the Baiduan Mountains came with the mission.
This route map not only marks in detail which areas along the way are blind spots for alien patrols, but also marks which areas can be used as temporary hiding spots to avoid danger, and even points out the most suitable time period for quick passage.
"God is really helping me!"
Zhao Lei couldn't help but patted his thigh excitedly, his eyes flashing with blazing light.
Fortunately, he was not frightened by those three people and returned directly last night. If he retreated, how could he possibly encounter such a simple A-level mission in the future?
After breakfast, Zhao Lei made an excuse to send away the three members of Youxue team, and then announced the mission content.
As he expected, no one in the team flinched, and everyone thought this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Each of the four A-level missions required to advance to S-level is like walking a tightrope on a cliff.
Even if the team disbands after completing this mission, everyone's treatment will be greatly improved by virtue of completing an A-level mission.
"Okay, leave them three days of supplies and we'll set off immediately."
Zhao Lei ordered in a deep voice.
There is a lot of food carried in the storage space, which is enough to feed eight people for three months. Even if three days' worth is left for the three survivors of the Youxue team, it is just a drop in the bucket and will not affect the subsequent itinerary at all.
Following Zhao Lei's order, everyone quickly took action and packed up the camp in an orderly manner.
The tents were neatly dismantled, and all kinds of equipment were carefully returned to their places. After a while, only an empty grassland remained in the originally bustling camp, as if no one had ever stayed here.
At nine o'clock in the morning, the sun penetrated the clouds and cast thousands of golden lights, giving the all-terrain vehicle a golden coat.
Under the slightly envious and grateful gazes of the three survivors of Youxue Team, the vehicle started slowly. The engine hummed in a low speed, and the wheels kicked up bursts of dust as it sped forward.
Relying on the route map deduced by No. 0, the next two days went really smoothly.
Like a sharp sword, the guided route cut right into the gap between the alien patrols, leading the fire suppression team to escape the encirclement of the alien patrols several times.
Of course, the planned route is inferred based on intelligence after all. The closer to the foreign hinterland, the greater the possibility of encountering enemies along the route.
Zhao Lei also knew this very well and constantly controlled the speed of the team's progress.
On the first day, the fire suppression team successfully marched 300 kilometers during the day without encountering any aliens.
On the second day, as it was approaching the limit of the B-level mission, Zhao Lei once again ordered the team to slow down.
And due to the complex and changeable terrain, with rolling mountains and crisscrossing ravines, we only advanced about two hundred kilometers in one day.
Until the morning of the third day, the convoy came to a narrow valley.
If you choose to take a detour, you will have to walk nearly 150 kilometers longer, but if you go directly through it, it only takes 12 kilometers.
Perhaps it was the success of the first three days that paralyzed everyone's caution, but Zhao Lei finally bit the bullet and chose to cross.
Passing along the steep and towering mountain walls on both sides, the speed of the all-terrain vehicle can only be maintained at about twenty yards.
In the constant prayers of everyone, the alien attack finally arrived, although it was late.
A sharp whistling sound pierced the sky, and several boulders rolled down from the top of the canyon, exploding in front of the convoy, sending up smoke and dust all over the sky.
"Enemy attack! Concealment!"
Zhao Lei roared loudly.
He Qin's reaction was extremely fast. He clenched the steering wheel with both hands and gave it a sharp turn. The all-terrain vehicle drifted sideways and accurately hid behind a huge rock as big as a house.
With the help of this natural bunker, everyone quickly got out of the car and found the enemy.
A group of about twenty flying aliens.
With its wings spread out, it is more than two meters long, and its feathers glow with a metallic luster under the sunlight.
"Hit me!"
Firemen Torres and Sanchez fired at the same time, and bullets flew high into the sky like raindrops.
Merrick and Neil quickly spread out, using the surrounding terrain to outflank and find blind spots for shooting.
Sumo saw the right opportunity, took out a few smoke bombs and lit them nearby, blocking the view of the aliens in the sky.
Surprisingly, these flying aliens didn't seem to want to fight. After paying the price of six corpses, they screamed and left the battlefield.
"You're lucky. If you encounter a foreign race on the ground, you'll have to kill them for at least a few rounds."
Zhao Lei exclaimed that he was lucky, and quickly called everyone to get into the car, and drove out of the Grand Canyon as if running for their lives.
It wasn't until they were completely out of the canyon, without the towering stone walls on both sides, that everyone heaved a sigh of relief.
Since they were attacked and were likely to fall into a foreign encirclement, the team did not continue to move forward. Instead, they took a detour to a low-lying area dozens of kilometers away from the canyon to camp and rest, and decided to set off again two days later.
But no one expected that during the two days of rest, the fire suppression team would encounter seven mercenary teams one after another.
There was an unfamiliar team. The two parties simply communicated their identities using semaphores, and did not even connect to the communicator. After confirming that they were both mercenary teams, they would leave each other across a long distance without disturbing each other.
But there are also familiar mercenary squads, such as the Wolf Fang Squad.
The two groups of men and horses quickly approached and began to greet each other.
Zhao Lei and the captain of the Wolf Fang Team seemed to be very familiar with each other, and they hugged each other as soon as they met.
"Lao Xu, you are very fast. When I leave, won't you still be two people short?"
"Hey, how accurate is this? Didn't you also find two people in one day?"
The two chatted together and learned during the conversation that the Langya Team had also received a mission near the Baiduan Mountains.
However, the mission location is quite far away from the fire suppression team, at least about 300 kilometers apart.
"Hey, that's not right. Why do you want to take this road when you go there?"
"Isn't this forced by the alien race?" Lao Xu sighed heavily, with helplessness written on his face, and began to pour out his bitterness, telling the story of the Langya team's encounters in the past few days.
"We originally planned another route, but who knew that not long after we set off, we encountered a crazy attack from aliens. Those guys were like crazy, one wave after another. We could only retreat while fighting, but there was no other way.
I temporarily changed the route and took a detour this way, and finally felt a little more stable."
"Eh? Weren't you attacked by aliens?"
"Yes, we stayed here to rest after being attacked."
Zhao Lei then replied, but his face became more solemn, and he secretly thought that there was something fishy about this matter.
He wouldn't be surprised if only the Langya team was driven here by aliens.
But in the past two days, we have encountered seven teams one after another. Could it be that those teams were also driven here?
Sumo, who was sitting next to him, also frowned. In fact, he had already faintly felt something was wrong when one after another teams passed this route.
It stands to reason that he picked this route based on the intelligence of No. 0. It is far different from the original route of those teams, but now everyone is driven to the same route...
"Does the alien race have any special plans?"
According to No. 0's analysis, the possibility of starting a war was only 4%, so Sumo was immediately ruled out.
But apart from the big battle, what would be the purpose of driving all the mercenary teams on one route?