"Who said I was scared? I was just asking a normal question." Wild Ox stammered defensively.
Lin Beichen smiled and didn't say anything more. He bent down to pick up a tree branch. Xia Luyao curiously asked, "Lin Beichen, why did you pick up a tree branch?"
"We're waiting for them to come to us voluntarily." Lin Beichen responded lightly.
Seeing the group's confusion, he explained, "Since Shi Qingsong isn't in the obvious camp, he's likely hiding with a few people somewhere. Considering his age and physical condition, I think they might be in a command vehicle. It's easier for them to hide and conduct operations that way."
Wild Ox raised a hand to ask, "But how do you know they're definitely in a vehicle and not on foot?"
Lin Beichen patiently explained, "Shi Qingsong is nearly fifty. His physical condition isn't comparable to ours. Besides, he's more inclined toward strategic deployment, so hiding in a vehicle is the most logical choice."
The group nodded in agreement, and Flying Eagle asked, "Then what should we do next?"
A gleam of cunning flashed in Lin Beichen's eyes as he slowly said, "First, we need to cut off their communication signal."
"Cut off the signal? How is that possible? We don't have the equipment!" Flying Eagle exclaimed in surprise.
Lin Beichen calmly smiled, "Who said cutting off a signal requires equipment?" He shook the branch in his hand. "Isn't this our 'equipment'?"
The group was dumbfounded, and Flame directly pointed out, "Stop kidding us. How can a branch cut off a signal?"
Lin Beichen just smiled mysteriously and signaled everyone to make some space. He began drawing symbols on the ground while explaining, "This is the 'Seven Gates Qi-blocking Array' I set up. With this array, we can cut off the surrounding magnetic field and signals."
Although everyone had heard of Lin Beichen's mystic arts, they were still amazed by this. Old Tao asked curiously, "What's the deal with this Seven Gates Qi-blocking Array?"
After explaining the principle of the array, Lin Beichen took a special nail from his pocket and inserted it into the array's core. As he chanted a spell, the nail emitted a red glow, and the entire array seemed to be activated.
The group sensed the airflow around them change subtly, a strange sensation pervading the air. Soon, the red glow faded, but the veins of the array still glowed faintly.
"Is that it?" Thunder asked in amazement.
"Yes," Lin Beichen smiled and replied, "Now, we just need to wait for the quarry to show up."
Lin Beichen gently opened his eyes, calmly surveying the scene before him, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Alright, we just need to wait," he said softly.
Old Tao was puzzled and blurted out, "Wait for what?"
Lin Beichen leisurely walked over to a nearby rock and sat down, replying in a relaxed tone, "Naturally, to wait for them to reveal themselves."
Old Tao hesitated, arguing, "Even if we cut off communications, it doesn't mean they'll come here."
Thunder nodded in agreement, "Right, Lin Beichen, what if they realize their communications are down and choose to stay hidden?"
Lin Beichen smiled slightly and said confidently, "Don't worry, you'll understand soon."
The members of the Venomous Snake Special Team exchanged bewildered looks regarding Lin Beichen's intentions. Xia Luyao glanced at Lin Beichen, sighed softly, and said to the others, "Since Lin Beichen said so, let's wait here for a moment. We have no other leads right now."
Thunder and the others reluctantly nodded and found places to sit, waiting for events to unfold.
...
Old Tao checked the time and couldn't help but ask, "Lin Beichen, it's been almost half an hour, why hasn't there been any movement?"
Lin Beichen turned to look at him and responded calmly, "We have to give them some time to drive the car here, right?" After all, Qiyang Mountain is so vast; half an hour isn't much time.
Flame immediately chimed in, "Exactly, why rush it? Lin Beichen said they'll come, so let's just wait patiently."
Old Tao was at a loss for words and had to continue waiting.
At that moment, the sound of a car's engine roared in the distance. Xia Luyao immediately signaled everyone to be quiet and listened intently. The members of the Venomous Snake Special Team focused and listened, and soon Flame said in a low voice, "By the sound of it, a command vehicle is heading this way."
Upon hearing this, everyone turned to Lin Beichen. Could it really be as he said, that they would come on their own?
Seeing their tense expressions, Lin Beichen chuckled softly, "What are you standing around for? Get ready for action!"
Xia Luyao and the others realized what was happening and quickly took up their weapons, hiding in the nearby bushes to ambush.
Before long, a vehicle slowly came into view and finally stopped in front of the array Lin Beichen had drawn. The car door opened, and a soldier cautiously poked his head out, surveying the surroundings. When his gaze landed on the array on the ground, he knitted his brows in confusion.
He turned back into the car to report, "Nothing unusual around, but there's a strange pattern on the ground."
A deep voice came from inside the car, "What pattern?"
The soldier hesitated and replied, "I'm not sure. I've never seen a pattern like this."
Then, a few people stepped out of the car to check the situation. It turned out that after losing contact with the camp, the vehicle seemed to drive itself, and no matter what, it couldn't be stopped until it arrived here and automatically halted.
The group gathered around the array, discussing it amongst themselves. Suddenly, a gunshot shattered the silence!
"Bang!" Smoke billowed from the body of the cook.
"Lin Beichen, what's going on? You missed the target?" Old Tao frowned, incredulously questioning Lin Beichen in a low voice.
They had clearly aimed at Commander Shi, but Lin Beichen's bullet hit the cook nearby. Old Tao was well aware of Lin Beichen's exceptionally precise shooting skills, and this mistake caught him by surprise.
The other members of the Venomous Snake Special Team quickly raised their guns to shoot again. However, just as they aimed and were about to pull the trigger, another gunshot broke the night.
"Bang!"
The group was stunned to see smoke indicating a "hit" rising from Commander Shi's body. The members of the Venomous Snake Special Team looked at each other with disappointment. They knew this shot hadn't come from any of them, meaning they had already lost the exercise.
So, who hit Commander Shi? Was it an undetected member of the Wolf King Special Team?
At that moment, a figure emerged from a not far-off bush, and the Venomous Snake Special Team members immediately recognized him—it was the newly joined Leng Feng from the Wolf King Special Team.
"Damn, did that kid just steal our shot?" Old Tao said angrily.
Lin Beichen simply smiled calmly and said indifferently, "Stopping us from achieving our goal isn't that easy."
Xia Luyao looked at Lin Beichen, puzzled, "What do you mean by that?"
Lin Beichen stood up, calmly explaining, "Since Commander Shi has already been hit, why don't we just go out and see the situation for ourselves?"
With that, he walked forward. Xia Luyao and the others felt he made sense, so they stood up and followed him.
...
When Leng Feng saw Lin Beichen and the others, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes, but he soon relaxed and smiled triumphantly.
"I'm sorry, everyone, this exercise was won by our Wolf King Special Team." Leng Feng looked at the members of the Venomous Snake Special Team and the troops from the third brigade, speaking with a sense of accomplishment.
However, Lin Beichen suddenly asked, "Are you sure you won?"
Leng Feng was taken aback and then pointed at the "hit" Commander Shi, saying, "What's there to question? I just struck him myself."
But when he turned back to clearly see the person he had hit, he was shocked to find that it wasn't the real Commander Shi. Though this person wore the commander's uniform, closely resembling Commander Shi in physique and facial features, closer inspection revealed numerous differences.
And the real Commander Shi was actually the cook that Lin Beichen had just hit. At this moment, Leng Feng and everyone else was dumbfounded.
Old Tao looked at the real Commander Shi and excitedly shouted, "Lin Beichen hit Commander Shi, we've won for the Venomous Snake Special Team!"