Chapter 7

From morning to afternoon, the pursuit team that entered the Black Pine Forest had not reported back. Bored, Xia Ping'an closed his eyes on the helicopter, quietly waiting.

It wasn't until evening that the intercom in the helicopter crackled to life again.

"Falcon 3, Falcon 4, we have an injured team member and need immediate evacuation. Pursuing the target, please respond, please respond!"

"Falcon 3 received..."

"Falcon 4 received..."

"We are releasing a red smoke flare at the designated location..."

"Understood..."

...

In the blink of an eye, two helicopters took off and headed toward the Black Pine Forest. As the helicopters cleared a mountain ridge, they saw a plume of red smoke rising from the ground in the distance.

The two helicopters quickly approached the source of the red smoke. Just a few minutes later, they arrived at the location, and the red smoke from the flare on the ground was scattered by the helicopter's downdraft.

On a grassy area in the Black Pine Forest, four members of the pursuit team lay on the ground. Some had their intestines spilling out, while others had bloody and mangled necks and thighs, indicating a fierce battle with the magic rats. A few other team members had injuries but were still mobile.

The bald man and the short-haired woman were not present, but not far from the pine forest, Xia Ping'an saw the charred and dismembered body of a magic rat.

The team quickly lifted the injured members onto one of the Falcon helicopters. Seven uninjured members boarded the helicopter Xia Ping'an was on. Both helicopters took off simultaneously, with the one carrying the injured heading toward the city of Xianghe, while the one Xia Ping'an was on headed into the distant valley.

Xia Ping'an closed his eyes again, and a few seconds later, a "scene" reappeared in his consciousness.

— A magic rat was fleeing rapidly through the forest, pursued by two drones in the sky.

A blade missile fired by one of the drones was blocked by dense tree trunks, cutting through several trees and branches before veering off course and landing heavily behind the magic rat.

Another drone in the sky was firing machine guns, sending soil, rocks, and wood chips flying from the forest floor. The pursued magic rat was covered in wounds but still moved at a terrifying speed, using the trees and environment to evade the pursuit.

More importantly, the magic rat's wounds were healing as it ran. Xia Ping'an even saw the rat's bleeding wounds stop and close, and several bullets that had entered its body were squeezed out and fell to the ground.

About 200 meters behind the magic rat, the bald man named Lao Tu was chasing with a large knife, running at a sprinter's speed through the forest. His speed was so fast that it didn't seem human. When he encountered fallen trees, he leaped over them, jumping more than two meters high and clearing them in one bound.

On the side of the bald man was the short-haired woman, whose speed was no slower than his and even more agile. When she encountered obstacles, she moved like a gymnast on a balance beam, easily dodging them.

To be honest, Xia Ping'an had never seen a woman run so fast, especially in the forest. Even Olympic hurdle champions would pale in comparison to the short-haired woman.

The bald man and the woman were like two pincers, closing in on the magic rat from both sides, leaving it with no place to run.

But at that moment, a dark cave appeared on the hill in front of the forest. Without hesitation, the magic rat darted into the cave.

The drones flew overhead, losing their opportunity to continue the attack...

When the bald man and the short-haired woman caught up, the cave was empty. There were many branching tunnels inside, and the two of them stopped when they realized the complexity of the cave system.

"Thirty kilometers to the northeast, through the valley ahead..." Xia Ping'an directly told the helicopter pilot, giving directions.

...

A few minutes later, the helicopter hovered near the cave, and Xia Ping'an and the other pursuit team members disembarked and approached the cave entrance.

As soon as the bald man saw Xia Ping'an, he walked over with a serious expression. "There are too many branching tunnels in the cave. Can you sense which path the magic rat took? It's a female, not an ordinary magic rat, with strong regenerative abilities. It might be evolving, and we can't let it escape from the cave!"

The surroundings fell silent, and everyone looked at Xia Ping'an.

Xia Ping'an originally wanted to say no, but looking at the faces around him and thinking about the injured team members who had been airlifted away, he finally nodded, deciding to take a risk. "The magic rat just entered the cave. If I go in, I can follow its trail!"

The bald man quickly scanned the faces of the team members and issued orders. "Xue Cheng, give Xia Ping'an your tactical helmet, tactical body armor, and weapons, and teach him how to use them. Zhao Yang and Lin Feng, prepare the climbing tools and ropes, and go into the cave with us. Your main task is to protect Xia Ping'an. The rest of you stay at the cave entrance and set up remote-sensing landmines to prevent the magic rat from escaping!"

"Yes!"

Everyone immediately got to work. Xue Cheng took off his tactical helmet and tactical body armor and put them on Xia Ping'an, teaching him how to use them.

The tactical helmet had night vision, communication, and health monitoring functions, which were easy to use. Xia Ping'an quickly understood.

As for the weapons, the pursuit team used assault rifles. All high schools in Yan had weapon training courses, and every Yan high school student knew how to use rifles, pistols, and assault rifles. Xia Ping'an was no exception.

Just two minutes later, Xia Ping'an, wearing the helmet and tactical vest and carrying an assault rifle, entered the cave with a few others.

After the five of them entered the cave, the team members outside immediately set up remote-sensing landmines around the entrance.

Less than fifty meters into the cave, it was pitch black, with only a faint light from the entrance. Xia Ping'an had to use the night vision on his tactical helmet to see the environment.

The entire cave was bathed in a faint green light.

Xia Ping'an walked in the second-to-last position, receiving the best protection.

At the front of the group was the bald man with a large knife, followed by the short-haired woman. In front of Xia Ping'an was the special forces member named Zhao Yang, and behind him was Lin Feng.

Xia Ping'an noticed that the bald man and the short-haired woman could see the cave environment clearly even without night vision equipment.

"Forward, left, second tunnel..." Xia Ping'an focused on the cave's situation and spoke, as the magic rat had just entered the cave, and his "remote vision" ability had been tracking it. He remembered the path and could follow it.

...

"Forward, left turn..."

...

"There's a hole above..."

...

"There's a crack in the left rock wall; you can climb through it..."

...

"This five-meter-high rock needs a rope to climb down..."

...

Xia Ping'an guided the way through the cave. At first, the path was relatively easy, but as they went deeper, it became increasingly difficult. A stream appeared, and they had to wade through the water, which quickly soaked Xia Ping'an's clothes.

Fortunately, the magic rat was large, and any place it could fit, Xia Ping'an and the team could also fit.

...

After more than forty minutes, Xia Ping'an suddenly stopped and closed his eyes.

The entire team stopped.

Xia Ping'an pointed to a half-meter-high dark cave entrance about twenty meters ahead and nodded heavily, then pointed to the right side of the entrance, at the three o'clock position.

Everyone understood. The magic rat was inside that cave entrance, hiding at the three o'clock position on the right.

The bald man gestured to the two special forces members protecting Xia Ping'an and the short-haired woman. Lin Feng immediately took Xia Ping'an back and hid him behind a large rock. Zhao Yang took two flashbangs from his belt, walked to the cave entrance, and raised three fingers...

Three... Two... One...

The two flashbangs were thrown into the right side of the cave entrance, and everyone outside turned away.

"Bang..." A dull explosion echoed in the cave, and a blinding white light filled the entire cave.

As the white light disappeared, the bald man crouched low and rolled into the cave first, followed by the short-haired woman.

The cave immediately filled with the sound of the large knife slicing through the air and the bald man's roar, "Beast, die..."

Gunshots followed, and a burst of red flames illuminated the cave, making it look like a kiln on fire.

Then, the cave echoed with the magic rat's piercing screams...

...

Two minutes later, all the commotion in the cave ceased. The bald man, with several bloody slashes on his left shoulder, emerged from the cave, holding his large knife as if nothing had happened. The short-haired woman followed closely behind.

"There are still some bats and cave creatures in the tunnels. Zhao Yang, Lin Feng, you two stay here and prevent other animals from entering the cave. I'll notify the decontamination team to come as soon as possible..."

"Yes!" The two team members immediately stood at the cave entrance, vigilantly watching the surroundings.

The bald man then walked over to Xia Ping'an, patted him on the shoulder, and grinned, revealing a mouth full of steel teeth.

Seeing those shiny steel teeth, the bald man's smile looked like that of a hungry ghost, enough to make a child cry. "Kid, you did well today. You've got some guts. I don't think the director will let someone like you slip away. A千里眼 (千里眼 means '千里 eye,' which can be translated as 'sharp-eyed' or 'far-sighted') is hard to find. From now on, follow me, and I'll protect you..."

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