Chapter 67

Tao Hua Yan ran at the front, the Cleaner brought up the rear, and Kan Tu occasionally turned back to fire a few shots. The pursuers were getting closer, and it was clear that they wouldn't make it 20 kilometers; they'd likely be caught within 2 kilometers.

"Kan Tu, stop shooting. You two head back to the rendezvous point. I'll draw their attention and stay safe," the Cleaner shouted, feeling the pursuers getting closer. Gunfire mixed with the fierce barking of military dogs.

"Be careful," Kan Tu and Tao Hua Yan knew that they were a burden at this moment. They had to run to give the Cleaner more room to maneuver. They nodded and said, "Kan Tu, stop shooting." The two quickly disappeared into the dense forest.

The Cleaner grabbed a vine and climbed up a tree like a nimble monkey. Standing on a branch, he leaned against the trunk and aimed at the distant pursuers. Instead of aiming at the soldiers through the night vision scope, he locked onto a military dog. Eliminating the dogs would make it safer for Tao Hua Yan and Kan Tu.

Bang! One shot killed a military dog. The Cleaner leaped from the tree, rolled on the ground to absorb the impact, and then ran in another direction with his gun.

As soon as the Cleaner jumped down, the pursuers heard the gunshot and opened fire. The tree where the Cleaner had been standing was riddled with bullet holes. The other dogs barked even more wildly.

The Cleaner sprinted through the dense forest, occasionally turning back to expose his position and draw the pursuers towards him. His speed was fast, and the dense forest at night posed no significant obstacle.

"Fatso, how's the situation over there?" the Cleaner asked while running.

"They're not following. They're all heading towards you. Be careful," Tao Hua Yan panted in response.

"Did the information you gathered say what happens if we don't reach the rendezvous point in time?" Two hours to cover 20 kilometers in the dark forest. The Cleaner could do it alone, even with the pursuers. But with Tao Hua Yan and Kan Tu, it was impossible.

"It didn't say. There are very few successful teams, and they are all highly skilled. Information about this mission is strictly confidential. Ordinary players are sent out shortly after entering the mission and don't gather much detailed information."

"Then stop running. We can't make it anyway. Find a place to hide and wait for two hours to see what happens," the Cleaner said after a moment of thought. Since they didn't know what would happen next, they could only wait and see.

"What about you?"

"I'll play with the pursuers." The Cleaner's lips curved into a gentle smile. Yes, a gentle smile, but if his former comrades saw it, they would mourn for their enemies, because when the Cleaner smiled like that, it meant he was serious.

"Be careful. We'll be fine here."

The Cleaner turned off the communication and listened to the gunshots behind him to gauge the distance. He put down his backpack and took out landmines and grenades. Seeing these, his smile grew wider.

Jungle warfare was the Cleaner's favorite type of combat. Others saw the jungle as a place of death and loneliness, but it was his paradise. The jungle was rich in water and food. With just a knife, the Cleaner could survive for months, let alone being fully equipped.

He quickly set up a series of landmines, carefully armed them, and then urinated about a meter behind them. The 100% virtual reality of "Fate" was impressive; the Cleaner even felt a shiver of relief after urinating.

After completing his trap, the Cleaner fired a shot to expose his position and then ran back. After running 30 meters, he stopped, crouched behind a tree, and raised his gun.

It wasn't that the Cleaner couldn't run further, but the dense trees would obstruct his view. This distance was perfect for sniping.

Two minutes later, the pursuers arrived. At the front was a soldier leading a military dog. The dog, sniffing the air, seemed to detect something and barked excitedly, pulling the soldier along.

If it were just the landmines, the specially trained dog would have detected the slight difference in soil scent and warned the soldiers. However, the strong smell of urine masked the subtle scent of the landmines, and the dog didn't detect the danger. It pulled the soldier towards the urine.

Boom! The dog, not detecting the danger, tripped a wire and set off the landmines.

Bang! As the landmines exploded, the Cleaner fired, the sound of the explosion masking the gunshot. He shot the leading soldier and then crouched, loading another bullet.

Bang! Another shot, another soldier fell. The pursuers now knew the Cleaner's position and opened fire. Several mutants sprinted towards him.

After the second shot, the Cleaner moved behind a tree and then ran again, faster than the pursuing mutants. He continued to stop and snipe, eventually eliminating all the dogs.

When the last dog fell, the Cleaner didn't run away as before. Instead, he climbed a tree and hid in the dense foliage. The mutants ran past, continuing their pursuit.

Although the mutants had a better sense of smell than humans, they weren't as sensitive as dogs and couldn't detect the subtle differences in the air. They didn't notice anything unusual, and the rest of the pursuers quickly followed.

Pfft! The Cleaner, with a rope tied around his waist, descended like a spider. He grabbed the mouth of a pursuer at the back of the group and slit his throat with a sharp knife. The sound of the blood spattering didn't alert the others.

As the soldier's body began to slump, the Cleaner untied the rope, caught the falling soldier, and hid the body behind the tree.

The Cleaner moved like a ghost behind the pursuers, using only a sharp knife to slit the throats of the soldiers one by one.

When the Cleaner had slit the throats of 14 soldiers, the mutants at the front finally smelled the blood and turned back, starting a new pursuit.

Ding! Since you did not reach the designated coordinates in time, the helicopter sent to pick you up has returned. You need to return to the border and make your way back to the safe base. However, the enemy has discovered your identity, and your coordinates will be broadcast every 30 minutes. If you are all killed during the return, the mission will fail, and your rewards will be halved. If you return successfully, the mission will be completed.

As the Cleaner played a cat-and-mouse game with the pursuers in the jungle, the two hours passed quickly. The system's announcement sounded again. In those two hours, the Cleaner had killed 103 pursuers, more than half in close combat.

"Fatso, where is the border for the return?" The Cleaner, startled by the system's announcement, shouted.

"It's 10 kilometers north of where we came from. Our coordinates will be broadcast every 30 minutes. This is a death sentence," Tao Hua Yan complained. "Weren't we supposed to eliminate a terrorist leader at the border? How did we end up in another country?"

Now Tao Hua Yan understood why so few players had completed this mission in nearly a week, despite it being open in several countries. Eliminating the target might not be difficult, but the real challenge was the return. Without the helicopter, and with their coordinates broadcast every 30 minutes, there was no way to hide.

The enemy had armed helicopters, and a team of soldiers could be deployed every 30 minutes. It would be impossible to escape. If the enemy was smart and understood the players' intentions, they could intercept them at the border, leaving no escape.

"The border of our country is another country's territory. What's so strange about that? Gather at this point, and we'll return quickly," the Cleaner said, releasing his Wolfman mech and charging at the pursuers.

Most of the pursuers were now mutants, and the gunners had been mostly eliminated by the Cleaner. Since they decided to return, these pursuers couldn't be left behind. If their coordinates were broadcast every 30 minutes and the enemy launched an air assault, it would cause more trouble. It was better to deal with them before reinforcements arrived.

"Set up a minefield here to gather them. I have about 30 enemies behind me. Eliminate them all, then we'll resupply at the camp and return at full speed," the Cleaner said, jumping and tearing a mutant apart in his mech. He drew a circle on the team map and spoke to Kan Tu.

"Didn't you have over a hundred pursuers? What happened to them?" Tao Hua Yan asked, puzzled. Two hours ago, the leader had been killed, and he had seen over a hundred soldiers charge out of the camp.

"I killed them. Set up the ambush quickly. These mutants are tough, and we need to move fast."