Holding the patrol routes of the garrison, the drone monitoring patterns, and the terrain around Early Spring Town provided by "friends," Yas led the Vulture bandit gang, driving armored vehicles and dragging artillery pieces along a relatively concealed path, quietly approaching their target.
The moon hung high, casting its light and painting the earth, where black and green danced together, with a layer of silver.
Early Spring Town stood beside a stream flowing from the hills, supposedly transformed from a large farm left over from the Old World. However, the fence had been replaced with stone blocks, and many more buildings, all relatively simple, had been added inside.
The "First City" garrison was divided into four parts: one inside the town, one at the main gate, one at the rear exit, and one a few hundred meters outside the town.
They didn't all gather together to avoid being wiped out in one fell swoop.
Yas looked through his binoculars, scrutinized the khaki armored vehicle and the same-colored tank blocking the gate, and said with a smile to several confidants:
"As described in the intelligence, the equipment is okay, but there's no morale. Everyone is homesick, lax, and negligent.
"As long as we pull off this 'business deal,' our firepower will rank first among all the bandit gangs in the wasteland. Then, we'll have the confidence to recruit people with special abilities."
One of Yas's confidants hesitated and said:
"Boss, but this will anger 'First City' and invite their crazy revenge."
Although he also believed this was a rare opportunity, he always felt that there would be significant consequences.
"Over the years, haven't they organized armies to encircle and suppress us? But the wasteland is so vast, and there are ruins everywhere. As long as we are careful and hide well, we don't have to worry too much about this. Would 'First City' send an army to search for us in the wasteland for years? If that's the case, we can go north and stay in the territory of the White Knights for a while," Yas replied with considerable confidence.
His confidants no longer objected. According to the leader's instructions, they divided their bandits into different groups to undertake corresponding tasks.
With all preparations in place, Yas took another look through his binoculars at Early Spring Town, where only a few pairs of soldiers were patrolling.
He raised his right hand and waved it down:
"Artillery group, attack!"
The artillery pieces towed by the tractors entered the predetermined positions.
They were divided into two groups, one shelling the garrison camp a few hundred meters outside the town, and the other targeting the enemies at the main gate of Early Spring Town.
Rumble! Rumble!
In the moonlight night, flames appeared one after another, and the sound of cannons was continuous.
Shells were fired, covering the two major target areas.
Smoke and dust rose, airwaves rolled, and successive explosions caused the earth to tremble.
"Armored vehicles in the front, charge, fellows!" After catching the Early Spring Town garrison off guard, Yas decisively issued the second order.
The Vulture bandit gang's armored vehicles drove out, cooperating with the anti-tank guns for cover, heading towards the entrance of Early Spring Town, with the rest of the personnel following behind in vehicles or jogging, in echelon formation.
Amidst the rumbling explosions and the popping gunfire, the First City army, which was indeed somewhat negligent, became chaotic and failed to organize an effective counterattack in a short period of time.
Seeing the town in sight, Yas became increasingly confident in the information provided by his friends and had no doubt about the weakness of the garrison here.
Just as the sound of the cannons subsided slightly, music suddenly sounded in Early Spring Town.
Its melody had a very strong sense of rhythm, coupled with passionate singing, making people involuntarily want to dance.
This was not an illusion. Yas, the leader of the Vulture bandit gang sitting in the armored vehicle, could hardly control his waist twisting.
While shocked and bewildered, he subconsciously turned his gaze to the surroundings.
He saw the armored vehicle driver stand up, raise his hands high, and shake them wildly, completely ignoring the state of the vehicle.
Go, go, go.
Ale, ale, ale (Note 1).
In the enthusiastic and unrestrained singing, the members of the Vulture bandit gang either raised their guns high, or stopped in place, or constantly thrust their hips, or waved their hands, all moving their bodies to the beat.
For a time, the sound of cannons subsided, the gunfire stopped, and the black battlefield outside Early Spring Town turned into a joyful and fiery square.
The garrison of Early Spring Town was not affected. They seized this opportunity, reorganized their ranks, and launched a counterattack.
D哒哒哒, the heavy machine gun fire swept across like a scythe harvesting autumn wheat, causing the bandits to fall one by one.
Rumble! Rumble!
Two khaki tanks fired shells while crushing outwards.
Blood and pain made many bandits sober up, unable to believe that they were actually attacking the army of "First City" head-on!
Yas was the same, with a feeling that he had been blinded by a demon and had only now returned to normal.
What could a bandit gang use to contend with the regular army of "First City"?
Moreover, the other party was fully equipped, not a defeated army that had been separated!
Under the fierce firepower coverage, Yas and others tried to flee, but they were still affected by the fiery singing, unable to give their all. They could only twist and sway while using their weapons to counterattack.
This certainly had no accuracy to speak of.
…………
"The Vulture bandit gang is finished..." Jiang Baimian said with emotion, holding binoculars on the hilltop.
Although she knew that the Vulture bandit gang could not succeed and would eventually suffer a painful defeat, she did not expect them to be defeated so quickly and so decisively.
However, the Old Task Force's goal was achieved. They had tested that there was an Awakened at the Mind Corridor level in Early Spring Town.
The role such a strong person can play on a similar battlefield is beyond imagination!
Of course, Jiang Baimian was not too surprised by this. After easily "gaining the trust" of so many members of the Vulture bandit gang using Wu Meng's recording, she knew how terrifying Awakened at the Mind Corridor level were when dealing with ordinary people. Those who explored to the depths were even more unimaginable.
This could not be compared to the Higher Mindless Dimarco and Tarna in imperfect condition.
"What a pity..." Shang Jianyao echoed Jiang Baimian's words, while twisting his hips, moving with the rhythm.
There was no disappointment on his face, only longing.
Although he was so far away, he could not hear clearly what the music coming from Early Spring Town sounded like, but the dances of the members of the Vulture bandit gang allowed him to reverse-engineer the beat.
"Let's retreat first, lest we be discovered," Jiang Baimian put down her binoculars.
Except for Shang Jianyao, no one had any objections to this proposal.
They had all witnessed the Vulture bandit gang's encounter and were filled with fear of the strong person who had not shown up.
Of course, before retreating, the Old Task Force still had some things to do.
Jiang Baimian turned her gaze to Bai Chen, Han Wanghuo, and Genava, and nodded to them.
Bai Chen, who had set up the Orange rifle, had already put her eyes behind the scope, and the muzzle had been following a certain figure's movement.
Finally, she saw an opportunity.
A bullet flew out of the muzzle, passed over Early Spring Town, came to the door of one of the Vulture bandit gang's armored vehicles, and penetrated Yas's head.
With a bang, the head of the bandit gang leader, who had finally overcome the urge to dance and escaped the out-of-control armored vehicle, exploded into a cloud of scarlet fireworks.
Almost at the same time, Han Wanghuo and Genava also completed their remote snipes.
With the sound of gunfire, two of Yas's confidants fell down.
These were all people who had previously communicated face-to-face with Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao and could describe their general appearance. At the same time, these people's memories must also contain the scenes at that time.
As for the rest of the bandits, in the dark rainy night, relying on torches as the main light source and flashlights as the auxiliary, it was almost impossible to see Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian's faces clearly from a distance.
With the removal of several "witnesses," the Old Task Force and Han Wanghuo followed Zeng Duo down the hill along a relatively hidden path, returned to their car, and headed to a small town ruin in the distance.
Behind them, the sound of gunfire continued for a while.
…………
Inside the original police station in the small town ruins, where many houses had collapsed.
Jiang Baimian looked around and said:
"Currently, we can confirm two points:
"First, there is an Awakened at the Mind Corridor level in the First City's regular army in Early Spring Town;
"Second, one of his abilities is to make a large number of targets dance to music."
"Why isn't it a problem with the music itself?" Long Yuehong asked subconsciously.
Wu Meng and Xiao Chong's recordings proved this possibility.
Shang Jianyao smiled:
"The soldiers of First City didn't participate in the group dance."
That's right... Long Yuehong agreed with this reason.
Every time the Old Task Force used Wu Meng's recording, they had to plug their ears in advance.
And the attack just now came suddenly, and the soldiers of First City were obviously in chaos. Even the counterattacks were sporadic, so they definitely didn't have time to plug their ears.
"Which domain would this be?" Han Wanghuo asked thoughtfully.
During this period, he and Zeng Duo had crammed a lot of Awakened "common sense" from Xue Shi Yue's team.
Shang Jianyao made an answer without hesitation:
"Gate of Scorching Heat!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he twitched his body and started dancing as if he had been scalded.
Note 1: Quoted from The Cup of Life by Ricky Martin.