A few minutes earlier, Tostaf, who had been called to the command post, was dead.
The fatal wound was to the back of his head, and his right wrist had also been shattered by bullets (actually steel balls).
The subordinate who had gone with Tostaf to the command post was also missing.
Only his body, driving a snowmobile, had come rushing from hundreds of meters away.
Tostaf—
He was one of the few fierce generals in the Rhode team!
Otherwise, Rhode would not have entrusted him with the responsibility of this most important area, the outer defense zone of the eastern front.
But such a formidable person had died.
Looking at his body—
Not only were Rhode and his men stunned, but Jiao Yin, who was outside the line, was also filled with disbelief.
She had personally seen Tostaf leave by vehicle with his men just two minutes ago.
So, who had killed him!?
"There are enemies within the defense zone!"
Rhode, as expected of the team leader, was the first to react, shouting in fear, and drawing his pistol, he pulled the trigger towards the command post, which was engulfed in snowflakes.
Infected by his reaction.
The other dozen or so subordinates also raised their gun muzzles, and a fierce barrage of gunfire erupted into the depths of the snow.
Jiao Yin, standing outside the perimeter, feared they might accidentally turn their guns on her and subconsciously took a few steps back.
An inexplicable fear caused Rhode and his men to empty their magazines in one breath.
*Click.*
The empty clicks of the firing pins gradually ceased, and the gunfire slowly stopped.
The wind was still blowing.
The snow was still falling.
The blood from the bullet wound in the back of Tostaf's head had frozen.
But everyone's nerves were still taut. They quickly reloaded their magazines, staring intently in the direction of the command post, not daring to move.
Even Jiao Yin dared not blink.
Everyone felt an amplified sense of dread.
In the next moment—
A monster seven or eight meters tall, clad in mecha armor, would slowly emerge from the snow.
Nothing.
After an unknown period of time, the sky finally began to brighten, and Rhode and his men still saw no monster emerging from the snow.
Heaven seemed to cooperate.
As the sky gradually brightened, the snowfall stopped.
Even the northwest wind, which had been raging across the snowfield, seemed to yawn and go to sleep.
The line of sight suddenly cleared!
They could see the large number of containers, used as command posts (dormitories), 2.5 kilometers away.
They could also see the drones buzzing overhead the inner and outer defense zones.
They could even faintly see the poor prisoners being escorted by Rhode's men from their living quarters to collect firewood for cooking or warmth in the forest.
During this time—
There was no one else within the inner and outer defense zones, which spanned a full two kilometers!
So, who had killed Tostaf!?
*Gulp.*
Rhode swallowed hard, turned around with difficulty, and looked at Tostaf's body.
Tostaf was already stiff.
Without any order from Rhode, several subordinates, holding their guns, ran to the west.
They pulled someone up from the snow hundreds of meters away.
More accurately, it was a corpse.
This corpse was the subordinate who had accompanied Tostaf back to find someone.
Those subordinates dragged this stiff corpse back as well.
Rhode squatted down and examined it carefully.
There was a fatal wound on the left temple of this subordinate!
Rhode and his men understood.
As Tostaf and the other man were riding to call for reinforcements, someone had ambushed them from the side.
A shot (actually a steel ball) had hit the subordinate's temple.
Tostaf, who was driving, was startled by the sudden attack, and in his panic, he drew his pistol to fire.
But as soon as he fired a shot, he was heavily wounded by the ambusher (his right wrist was broken).
Tostaf's pistol flew out, and purely out of instinct, he immediately turned the vehicle around and headed towards Rhode and his men, who were closest to him.
But after he turned the vehicle, the enemy who had ambushed him shot him in the back of the head!
Tostaf died on the spot, but the motorcycle continued forward with his corpse.
It only stopped after hitting a subordinate and crashing into a cross.
Without a doubt.
The first subordinate, Cruz, who had gone to call for reinforcements, had also been dealt with!
So.
Who was it that ambushed the three of them within the defense zone?
As Rhode pondered this question again, a subordinate said in a hoarse voice, "Could it be Li Qianfan?"
Li Qianfan?
Right!
It must be him!!
Because since the outer defense zone was established, only he and Murong Mingyuan had trespassed into the defense zone the night before last without the consent of the Rhode team.
Murong Mingyuan was captured alive.
Li Qianfan, however, had mysteriously disappeared.
Another subordinate said tremblingly, "He, he might have been hiding in the outer defense zone all along. The 12 brothers who were on guard last night also met a silent end at his hands."
"Yes, yes,"
Many subordinates nodded in unison, "He's not dead, nor did he mysteriously vanish! In fact, he was hiding in the defense zone all along, waiting for an opportunity to assassinate our people."
Only in this way could the strange and heavy losses suffered by the Rhode team from last night until now be explained!
"No."
A subordinate suddenly said loudly, "Don't forget, after Li Qianfan trespassed into the defense zone, he was only wearing thermal wear! And for the 30 hours from his trespass until midnight yesterday, we were searching for him continuously. If the killer was him, how could he have survived for so long wearing only thermal wear? He would have frozen to death long ago."
This subordinate's words were very accurate.
Including Jiao Yin, everyone, including Rhode, nodded in unison as his words faded.
No one could survive for 30 hours motionless in the biting cold of minus thirty degrees Celsius while wearing only thermal wear.
Moreover—
The drones in the sky had been patrolling continuously, and no abnormalities had been detected!
So, who was the killer!?
"Snow Ghost—"
Someone suddenly said with a trembling voice.
Jiao Yin, who was watching the commotion from outside the line, also shivered slightly upon hearing the subordinate mention "Snow Ghost."
Back in Las Town, Jiao Yin had heard the local residents talk about the legend of the Snow Ghost.
Legend has it—
Over seventy years ago, during the largest war in human history, when the German forces were defeated, tens of thousands of them were trapped in the Blackwater Forest.
When they ran out of supplies, they were completely unable to withstand the winter.
Except for a few thousand who were forced to surrender, the rest either starved or froze to death.
Many years after the war ended.
When people occasionally passed by the Blackwater Forest on winter nights, they could see many emaciated people in tattered clothes, moving slowly like zombies, staggering back and forth on the snowfield outside the forest.
But during the day, nothing could be seen.
After many people "witnessed" all this, they said that those people were German soldiers who had starved and frozen to death on the spot.
Because these German soldiers only appeared in the snowfields outside the forest on winter nights.
People called them Snow Ghosts—
Jiao Yin had heard the legend, so those in Rhode's group, who had been trapped here for more than two months, had certainly heard of it as well.
But who would believe it?
"Don't talk nonsense! The so-called Snow Ghost is just idle talk created by some ignorant fools in the area."
Seeing the terrified expressions on his subordinates' faces, Rhode immediately shouted, "If there were really Snow Ghosts, why haven't we seen them before? Anyone who talks nonsense and disrupts morale again will be shot by me!"
The subordinates dared not speak.
"Major, you take a few people to search here. I'll go get reinforcements."
Rhode stood up abruptly, his face full of ferocity, "I don't believe I can't find the killer who's playing these tricks!"
The sky was already bright.
The sun had peeked out.
The snowfield stretched boundlessly, and the fear surrounding everyone quickly dissipated.
No one was afraid anymore, they just silently arranged the bodies, waiting for the subsequent large-scale search.
Seeing that the show was temporarily over.
Jiao Yin, who had personally shot someone, turned and strode towards the east in her high boots, deliberately swaying her hips under the watchful eyes of Mayor and the others.
She had to upload that exciting video.
At 7 AM Blackwater Forest time, by the Longjiang River, two hours behind the local time.
Su Nanyin and her men finally arrived after a hurried journey.
To attract attention—
She specifically asked Huzizi and the others to set up camp in a small grove of trees.
Once she had chosen the encampment site, Huzizi and the others immediately began to set up camp.
The camp was fully equipped with tents for work, high-power batteries, simple tables, chairs, and beds.
Su Nanyin, who had not slept all night, entered the tent, took off her hat and mask, and gracefully sat in front of the fan heater.
Su Xin poured her a cup of hot water and placed it on her desk, then began chopping wood and preparing food.
Su Nanyin was very tired.
But she didn't want to sleep. She opened her phone again and carefully watched the announcement Rhode had posted (Sadly mourning the eternal passing of Mr. Li Qianfan), a faint smile playing on her lips.
After arranging for food preparation, Su Xin began to report the intelligence from home to Su Nanyin.
"The video released by the Rhode team has caused a strong reaction in the country."
"The vast majority of people are mourning Mr. Li and praising him as a true man."
"However, there is still a small group of people who say that Mr. Li entered the enemy's defense zone to chase after his woman."
"Some even say that people like Mr. Li deserve to die."
"Also, the 'Radiant One,' distributed by the general agent of福音pharmaceuticals, will be officially launched today."
"The retail price per box will be 3666 yuan."
"Which is one-fifth higher than the original 2999 yuan."
"It is said that many patients are blaming Mr. Li for being the culprit behind the price increase of the Radiant One."
"The safety of personnel in Qingyun is normal."
"However, Qianfan Pharmaceuticals and Sub-domain Fashion, which was urgently modified to produce medical gloves, have both encountered various accidents and cannot produce normally."
Just as Su Xin was reporting this, Su Nanyin's phone rang.
Su Maomao was calling—
"Mom."
Su Zui said anxiously, "I've sent you a link! It's a video just released by Jiao Yin, who accompanied Qianfan to the Blackwater Forest!"