Chapter 56: Making a Plan
To make things clearer, Zhou Ming picked up a dry twig from the ground, used his foot to sweep the fallen leaves aside, and then drew a circle on the moonlit earth.
“Look, consider this the place where those people were stationed.”
“My idea was that the two of us would walk around their perimeter firing these guns now and then to make noise. First, so they couldn’t figure out my true strength; second, to see if we could locate the firing positions of those gunners; third, to wear them out.”
Squatting on the ground while explaining his plan, Zhou Ming suddenly looked up and asked Scorpion-Lion.
“Do you have any other potions to ensure we have enough stamina? Otherwise if we don’t drain theirs, we’ll end up exhausted.”
Watching Zhou Ming scrutinize his backpack over and over, Scorpion-Lion’s expression instantly darkened — he had gotten nothing so far, and now he was being asked to invest heavily in advance.
But thinking Zhou Ming’s plan made sense, Scorpion-Lion fell silent for a moment, then pulled a vial of green liquid from the inner pocket of his combat suit.
“Stamina Potion. Only this one vial.”
“Perfect. No wonder you came from a wealthy family. With this, the plan is half successful already.”
Under the moonlight the Stamina Potion in Scorpion-Lion’s hand shone a tempting emerald color, and Zhou Ming immediately assured him.
The Stamina Potion was a low-tier elixir; after taking it one could go three days and nights without eating or drinking and still maintain vigorous energy.
It wasn’t a stimulant — it was a pure tonic and did not harm the user.
For some rich people, this thing was even more attractive than other potions, so its market value was extremely high.
“Spit out your plan.”
Thinking he would be bleeding resources again for no reason, Scorpion-Lion’s tone turned impatient.
“All right, I’ll continue.”
There was a bargain to be had, and Zhou Ming didn’t care about Scorpion-Lion’s attitude.
“Although there’s only one vial, half each would be enough to keep us at peak condition for roughly a day.”
“So tonight we’ll keep harassing them. If they charge out of the camp, even better; if they don’t, we’ll harass them until five in the morning.”
“By then, seeing that we haven’t rushed into the camp, their alertness should drop a lot and their bodies will be exhausted.”
“You’ll pretend to lead the Scorpion-Tail Lion in a feint attack from here. If you achieve anything, great; if not, at least draw their fire. I’ll stealthily approach from here and take out those gunners.”
“If there’s no heavy fire suppressing your Scorpion-Tail Lion, that will be your showtime. Of course, I’ll also deliver a fatal strike from behind them.”
Squatting on the ground, Zhou Ming laid out his plan step by step, pointing to the circle he had drawn to fix the positions for the feint and the ambush.
“Did you go to military school?”
Scorpion-Lion was a little doubtful about Zhou Ming’s identity after hearing the plan.
“If I had gone, would I be borrowing meditation techniques from you?” Zhou Ming rolled his eyes at Scorpion-Lion’s question.
Actually Zhou Ming’s plan wasn’t that clever — most Beast Tamers rarely cared about knowledge they didn’t directly use; they only cared about how to increase their strength.
That Zhou Ming could come up with this plan was largely thanks to the year he spent cramming various knowledge in the Qinshan library. Since the library’s materials on Beast Tamers were limited, Zhou Ming had read many other books as well.
What Scorpion-Lion didn’t know was that without him the plan couldn’t be executed at all.
Harassing enemies holed up in a camp cost them a lot of stamina, and without powerful strength to pin down the nine Beast Tamers, even if Zhou Ming eliminated the gunners he would fall into an encirclement.
So Zhou Ming was fully relying on Scorpion-Lion’s strength and money to make the plan possible.
“You can take out those four gunners?”
“As long as you can suppress their beasts, I’ve got no problem. Some of their beasts have extremely strong perception, and it’s hard for me to get close.”
Zhou Ming briefly explained the reason to Scorpion-Lion’s distrust.
If their beasts’ attention could be drawn away, Zhou Ming could rely on Ironthread Snake to approach and strike.
“Glug.”
Without hesitation Scorpion-Lion opened the vial and poured a little more than half into his mouth, then handed the rest to Zhou Ming.
“Aren’t you going to drink less?”
After teasing Scorpion-Lion, Zhou Ming quickly swallowed the small half-vial he had been given.
Moments after drinking the Stamina Potion, Zhou Ming immediately felt his energy surge and his mind become clear and refreshed.
“Money sure is nice.”
He sighed, then pointed at the guns on the ground.
“Which one will you use?”
“Sniper rifle.”
“All right, I won’t waste your potion. Tonight I’ll show you what a real tough guy looks like. I’ll handle the heavy machine gun.”
Zhou Ming wasn’t putting on an act — to harass the enemy, a thunderous heavy machine gun was certainly useful. Since he had no money, he would contribute his physical strength.
He picked up a Hive-Type I heavy machine gun and slung the ammo belt across his body. He had decided not to carry the heavy ammo box so as not to slow himself down; after all, harassment only required a few bursts — if they ran out he could retrieve more later.
That was the advantage of having the initiative.
Before leaving, Zhou Ming told Scorpion-Lion to start first, because he wanted Scorpion-Lion to draw the camp’s attention and reveal the situation before Zhou Ming launched the ambush.
The heavy machine gun’s muzzle and noise would be too conspicuous; if Zhou Ming fired first, it would be easy for the enemy to lock onto his position.
After Zhou Ming left holding the heavy machine gun, Scorpion-Lion casually picked up a sniper rifle and began searching for a suitable position.
Beside a large tree near the edge of an open area, Zhou Ming had already set up the heavy machine gun. Several huge rocks around him could provide cover, and his retreat route had been scouted in advance.
Also, the hidden Ironthread Snake swarm had established a radar sensory domain.
Zhou Ming’s ultimate goal was an ambush, but he also considered whether the enemy might sneak in for a counter-ambush.
Whether the plan succeeded wasn’t the point — Zhou Ming’s first principle was to stay alive.
Compared to his previous grinning expression, Zhou Ming’s face had become serious; if the enemy mounted a full-on charge at him, he would be in danger.
His earlier behavior in front of Scorpion-Lion had mostly been a false mask.
“Bang.”
Not long after, a dull roar sounded — Scorpion-Lion had begun sniping at the camp.
But the enemy were experienced hunters; branches and tents concealed the whole camp to avoid being singled out by a sniper.
At the sound of the shot, Zhou Ming also pulled the trigger.
“Rat-a-tat-tat…”
A continuous tongue of fire erupted with the report.
Zhou Ming aimed at the now-agitated camp and sprayed bullets frantically.
“Enemy attack.”
“Return fire.”
The enemy camp didn’t produce much noise beyond the two brief commands; they immediately executed a planned counterattack.
But when Zhou Ming saw the rock beside him get hit, he knew the enemy had a sniper and hurriedly stopped and began to relocate.