Chapter 121: Split Up and Act
“Boss, that person is leading us in circles. It looks like he plans to stall for time.”
In the underground karst cave, at a passage where an explosion had just occurred, Blind Snake looked at the flames that had yet to die out and guessed Zhou Ming’s plan.
“I know. He should be waiting for the rescue team sent by Yang Yong.”
“The client behind Blood Tiger cannot show himself directly. With Blood Tiger’s strength, they won’t be able to hold on for long. Once the rescue team deals with Blood Tiger and his people, we’ll become turtles trapped in a jar.”
“Then what should we do?”
The somewhat impatient Violent Bear immediately spoke up.
After hearing this, Poison Sting did not answer right away but instead thought about how to respond.
They had Blind Snake’s Shadow Serpent for tracking. Even if the other party used deodorizing agents, traces would still inevitably be left behind.
They were experts in tracking to begin with, and catching the other party’s trail was not difficult.
However, the underground karst cave environment was far too complex. Most of the cave passages were interconnected, making it unrealistic to completely block the opponent’s escape routes.
Moreover, the opponent had a large number of grenades and would frequently set up various booby traps, restricting their movements.
The Shadow Serpent, after Blind Snake’s special training, was extremely familiar with the scent of explosives and could detect the opponent’s booby traps in advance, but they could not simply ignore them.
Because the opponent could control Ironthread Snakes, he could use them to detonate grenades. They could only rely on firearms to trigger explosions from a distance.
The longer the opponent delayed, the more dangerous their own situation would become.
After hesitating for a moment, Poison Sting finally made a decision.
“Split up.”
“Boss, if we split our forces, won’t that give the opponent an opening?”
Blind Snake’s tone carried a hint of concern toward Poison Sting’s decision, because among the four of them, he had the lowest strength.
Violent Bear was not a Beast Tamer, but relying on his terrifying physical body, he could wield a heavy machine gun, displaying horrifying combat power in the narrow underground karst caves.
As for the other two—the boss and Thin Tiger—their Phantasmal Beasts were clearly far more suited for killing than the Shadow Serpent.
“I know what you’re thinking. You and Violent Bear will form a team. Although he can use a heavy machine gun, his perception ability is too weak, making him easy to ambush.”
“I’ll form separate teams with Thin Tiger. He has the agility trait fed back by the Ghost Claw Cat, so his reaction speed and movement speed aren’t bad. He can also dodge that person’s Thunder Type-2 Revolver in time.”
“Judging from the methods that person used, his Phantasmal Beast strength shouldn’t be impressive. As for using the Thunder Type-2 Revolver, he probably hasn’t officially become a Gunfighter yet and can only barely use it once. Otherwise, he would have directly dealt with the Burrowing Rat and the Shadow Serpent earlier.”
“I don’t need you to kill him. Just force him toward my position.”
In response to Blind Snake’s objections, Poison Sting provided a comprehensive arrangement.
“Alright, I have no problem.”
Hearing Poison Sting’s thorough plan, Blind Snake did not raise further objections, and the other two also accepted the plan.
Now that they knew the target’s plan, they could only end the battle as quickly as possible.
Just as Poison Sting began to move, Zhou Ming was leading Yang Yi while eating dried rations and replenishing water.
The underground karst cave environment was rugged and uneven. Avoiding the pursuit of the Poison Sting Squad had already consumed a great deal of stamina for the two of them.
“They split up? Looks like they’re getting anxious.”
While drinking water, Zhou Ming immediately sensed Poison Sting’s plan through the information transmitted by the Ironthread Snakes.
Although dozens of his Ironthread Snakes had died, he still had several hundred on him. By placing only a small portion at the intersections of various cave passages, he could obtain the movements of the Poison Sting Squad.
At one location, the Ironthread Snakes had already been cleared away, which was obviously the work of the opponent’s perception-type Beast Tamer.
However, at two other locations, the Ironthread Snakes had not been discovered, indicating Beast Tamers in the squad who were skilled at killing but lacking in perception.
Based on the deaths of the Ironthread Snakes, Zhou Ming immediately inferred the general situation.
“Big Brother, they’ve split up. Are they trying to surround us?”
Regarding Zhou Ming’s plan to stall for time, Yang Yi had already reacted to it long ago.
As long as his father knew he was not dead, he would definitely send an even stronger rescue team. The longer the delay, the greater Yang Yi’s chance of survival.
But now that the other side had split up, the complex environment of the underground karst cave would no longer provide them with much help.
“Yes, but it also gives us the chance to defeat them one by one. Let’s deal with the perception-type Beast Tamer first.”
Zhou Ming did not think much further and directly made his countermeasure.
“Big Brother, the school taught that perception-type Beast Tamers are usually assigned someone to protect them.”
Hearing Zhou Ming’s arrangement, Yang Yi could not help but speak up, fearing that Zhou Ming might make a wrong judgment.
“I know. The one accompanying that perception-type Beast Tamer should be the heavy machine gunner. But for me, the two of them are actually the weakest targets.”
“Let’s go. Once they compress our activity range, it will be troublesome to act.”
Without explaining too much to Yang Yi, Zhou Ming urged him to finish the dried rations in his hand and immediately headed toward Blind Snake and Violent Bear’s position.
This time, Zhou Ming intended to take the initiative and counterattack using the opponent’s troop-splitting plan.
In the pitch-black cave passage, Blind Snake and Violent Bear moved together, encircling the target according to Poison Sting’s plan.
Although the cave passages were interconnected, as long as they controlled key nodes, there was still a chance to block the opponent’s escape routes.
After all, the Poison Sting Squad had carried out countless black-on-black operations in caves and was very familiar with the underground karst cave environment.
“Blind Snake, do you think this deal was a trap set by Blood Tiger for us?”
“Whether it was a trap or not, Blood Tiger must pay the price. Otherwise, I’ll turn Blood Tiger into a dead tiger.”
Although they lived on the edge of a blade and teammate deaths were nothing unusual, Rat had been close to Blind Snake. He was unwilling to let Rat die so easily.
And just as Blind Snake and Violent Bear were chatting, Zhou Ming quickly located their position.
“Do you remember what I told you earlier?”
Zhou Ming confirmed the plan once more with Yang Yi behind him.
“I remember. Once you act and control them, I’ll immediately cooperate with Ironfang Hound to take down the target.”
“That’s good. Don’t be afraid of killing. Just treat it as avenging your family.”
Before taking action, Zhou Ming once again carried out psychological guidance for Yang Yi.
It was not that he lacked the strength to deal with the targets himself, but rather that he did not want to reveal too many of his methods in front of Yang Yi.
Sensing Blind Snake and Violent Bear’s arrival, Zhou Ming and Yang Yi immediately hid.
At the same time, Zhou Ming quietly removed the contact lenses he was wearing.
Snake-type Phantasmal Beasts were perfectly countered by his dark-gold serpent pupils and could not exert their full strength at all.
As for the heavy machine gunner, such people were usually ordinary humans who practiced martial arts and used drugs to enhance their physical strength. Their resistance to Spiritual Power was far inferior to that of Beast Tamers.
As long as he suppressed the heavy machine gunner and the Shadow Serpent, Yang Yi and his Phantasmal Beast would be enough to close the distance and kill the target within a short time.
Even if an accident occurred, Zhou Ming naturally had methods to deal with it.