From the high floor of a building relatively close to the lakeside villa, Jiang Baimian looked down at the entrance of the underground parking lot and said:
“Shang Jianyao and I scouted earlier. There are quite a few people inside, which means An Hebass is staying here today.”
“We can't blindly believe it.” Shang Jianyao seized the opportunity to say this sentence.
Long Yuehong really wanted to echo with “Yeah, yeah,” but ultimately he held back.
Jiang Baimian wasn't angry and took the opportunity to educate the team members:
“Under normal circumstances, I definitely wouldn't dare make this judgment. With the vigilance of the Redstone Town residents, plus their own conditions, An Hebass would likely concentrate some of his subordinates in a certain place to create the illusion that he is there.
“But things are different now. Baz exposed his conspiracy with Hevig, saddling him with the crime of colluding with the Mountain Herders and betraying Redstone Town, and we all know it's true.
“Given this premise, An Hebass, as a believer of 'Nether Aunt,' must lack sufficient security and will constantly be wary of unexpected events.
“According to this logic, while seeking solutions, he will definitely strengthen the defenses around him. If something goes wrong, he'll rely on numbers to buy time for himself to escape Redstone Town.”
Bai Chen added:
“Normal humans, the more afraid they are, the more they will gather all the power they can grab around them.”
Long Yuehong gradually understood:
“In this situation, An Hebass certainly wouldn't dare disperse his subordinates and send them elsewhere to create a facade because the object of his vigilance isn't us; it's the Vigilance Church. There's a significant probability that the people around him will directly betray his hiding place, easily dismantling his arrangements.
“In that case, it's better to keep everyone around him; at least he can still drive some of them to buy time.”
Jiang Baimian nodded slightly:
“That's pretty much it.”
Shang Jianyao suggested another possibility:
“An Hebass can put the Redstone Town subordinates in one place and hide himself and the foreign exiles in another. Those exiles shouldn't be believers of 'Nether Aunt,' so they are less likely to betray him.”
“Good point.” Jiang Baimian nodded approvingly, “If An Hebass weren't a resident of Redstone Town, a member of the Vigilance Church, then he would likely choose that option. But with his vigilance, would he completely trust those foreign exiles? He's not like you, making 'friends' and making Lopes reliable enough.”
Bai Chen followed up, saying:
“I've seen too many small factions that are highly dependent on mercenaries. Their best outcome is to be robbed once by the mercenaries before being protected.”
Hmm, if An Hebass is preparing to flee, he will definitely bring the resources he has accumulated over the years. Why wouldn't those foreign exiles just rob him, leave Redstone Town, and go somewhere else? The Ashlands are so vast, and they have so many resources in their hands; there is plenty of room to accommodate them... Long Yuehong determined after a little thought that An Hebass would not choose that option.
“Alright.” Jiang Baimian clapped her hands together. “We'll take turns monitoring the lakeside parking lot, observe changes, and wait for an opportunity.”
While speaking, she picked up the military binoculars beside her and handed them to Long Yuehong.
“You go first.”
Long Yuehong took the binoculars with a bit of excitement, and as he walked toward the railing with the frame already falling off, he said with confusion:
“Why not just have Shang Jianyao go to his door and 'make friends' with An Hebass?
“Anyway, that batch of firearms has become a hot potato. It's better to let us handle it.”
Jiang Baimian smiled:
“This is to prevent you from being too reliant on Shang Jianyao's abilities. Try to use normal methods to solve problems whenever possible. This can effectively improve you. Besides, you've seen the chaos in Redstone Town. It's good to keep a few trump cards in hand.”
Team Leader, you don't have to say “you guys”; you can just report my electronic card number... Long Yuehong replied silently in his heart.
While he was monitoring the lakeside parking lot, Jiang Baimian said to Shang Jianyao and Bai Chen:
“Find a place to sit down and conserve your energy.”
After rounds of rotation, the sky gradually darkened, and the winter night arrived early.
The "Old Task Force" had already switched binoculars and started using night vision goggles.
At around ten o'clock in the evening, Bai Chen, who was responsible for monitoring, said in a low voice:
“There's movement.”
She didn't deliberately speak loudly, because she knew that the Team Leader could determine the situation by observing the reactions of Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong.
Sure enough, when Long Yuehong and Shang Jianyao walked to the window, Jiang Baimian followed.
With the help of the night vision goggles with zoom function, they discovered that two cars had driven out of the lakeside parking lot.
One was the khaki all-terrain vehicle that Lopes had ridden in before, and the other was a light truck with a red and black color scheme.
The two vehicles, one in front and the other behind, drove east along the relatively intact roads toward the ruins of the city.
“Are they having the foreign exiles fetch the batch of firearms in preparation to donate them to the Town Guard?” Jiang Baimian speculated thoughtfully.
“Should we chase after them?” Long Yuehong was a little excited.
Chasing after them would allow them to find the batch of firearms, and finding the batch of firearms would give them a chance to exchange them for a military exoskeleton device, and getting a military exoskeleton device would greatly improve his survivability.
Jiang Baimian chuckled:
“How are we going to chase them?
“If we go downstairs now, they will have driven far away and out of my sensory range.”
Saying that, she sighed:
“It's a pity that we didn't exchange for a drone from Xu Liyan in Wildgrass City; otherwise, things would be much simpler.”
At that time, they were thinking of saving up resources to exchange for a military exoskeleton device, and a single drone was mostly useless to the "Old Task Force."
Long Yuehong asked with concern:
“What should we do then?”
“Find a place to ambush and wait for them to return.” Jiang Baimian had already figured out a plan.
Long Yuehong nodded at first, then became confused:
“But, but there's more than one road to the lakeside parking lot.”
No one stipulates that those foreign exiles must return the same way.
More likely, they are vigilant enough to return via another route.
“That depends on your running speed.” Shang Jianyao looked like he was about to race Long Yuehong.
Uh, does that mean observing the foreign exiles' return route from a high building in advance, then running down frantically and seizing the time to enter the ambush location? Long Yuehong guessed Shang Jianyao's thoughts.
After a few seconds, he finally reacted:
“Why not leave one person upstairs and have the remaining three ambush?”
We have walkie-talkies!
It's such a simple thing!
“That's one option, but we have to consider the possibility that they will constantly change their route. In that case, we'll still have to run and catch up based on the latest observations.” Jiang Baimian smiled, “There's a better solution now.”
Without waiting for Long Yuehong to ask, she said directly:
“We'll ambush outside the entrance to the lakeside parking lot.
“No matter which route they take to return, they'll have to pass through the entrance to get into the underground parking lot.”
Long Yuehong stuttered a little:
“But, but there are many of An Hebass's subordinates hiding in the entrance area. We, we don't have enough manpower.”
This is the enemy's base camp!
Who ambushes at the enemy's base camp entrance?
Jiang Baimian laughed:
“That's where tactics come in. A hillbilly has his own plan.”
…………
After confirming that the all-terrain vehicle and the light truck were returning to the lakeside area, the members of the "Old Task Force" followed Jiang Baimian's instructions, descended from the high-rise building, and sneaked into a low building not far from the underground parking lot.
Although this building wasn't damaged by the war, it clearly lacked subsequent maintenance. The wall skin was mottled and falling off, and glass was scattered everywhere.
“Remember your mission, right?” Jiang Baimian asked again.
Of course, she was looking at Long Yuehong when she asked.
“I remember.” Long Yuehong, carrying the "Grim Reaper" man-portable rocket launcher, answered in a suppressed voice.
He had a rough understanding of what the Team Leader's plan was. He found it very magical and incredible, but after careful consideration, he found that it was extremely tailored to the reality of Redstone Town and An Hebass's gang. It was a plan that would likely not work in most other places, but would likely be surprisingly effective here.
Jiang Baimian then looked around:
“Everyone, take your positions.”
After they entered their preset positions, the passage of time seemed to slow down. The clouds in the sky moved little by little, making the earth sometimes dark and sometimes slightly bright.
Lopes, in the khaki all-terrain vehicle, used the walkie-talkie to have the light truck behind him change its route.
This was the third time he had changed lanes in order to avoid potential ambushes.
Although he was tall and sturdy, and appeared to be a barbarian whose muscles were stronger than his brain, this was just a facade. Moreover, years of formal training and exile had given him enough experience to know when to do what.
After driving for a few more minutes, the lakeside area came into view.
Seeing the entrance to the underground parking lot getting closer and closer, Lopes put down the walkie-talkie and leaned back in the passenger seat, quietly breathing a sigh of relief.
It was safe here, even if just for a moment.
There were countless sentries here, and the fully armed personnel in the underground parking lot were even more numerous.
On the third floor of the building to the left of the vehicles, Bai Chen, wearing night vision goggles, aimed her "Tangerine" rifle at the red and black light truck.
After calculating the distance, she pulled the trigger.
With a soft sound, the bullet accurately penetrated the front left tire of the light truck.
The tire burst and deflated, causing the previously normally running truck to swerve, causing the driver to panic and start trying to save it.
With a screeching sound, the truck stopped.
Lopes, in the all-terrain vehicle in front, was both surprised and angry. He raised the light machine gun on his body.
The sentries in the lakeside parking lot area also reacted.
At this moment, from the right side of that low-rise building, a voice so loud that it didn't seem like it could be produced by a human throat rang out:
“I am a Church Monitor, here for the matter of An Hebass colluding with the Mountain Herders!
“It has now been ascertained that An Hebass was deceived by foreign exiles into doing this. The evidence is on that truck!
“All Redstone Town residents, abandon resistance and stand by in place!”
Since Lopes returned from the church around noon, Baz's accusations had gradually spread among the Redstone Town residents of An Hebass's gang. They didn't blindly believe it, but they didn't blindly disbelieve it either.
At this moment, hearing the content repeatedly broadcast by the loudspeaker, they hesitated.
As believers of "Nether Aunt," they obviously trusted the church more and were more willing to follow the instructions of the Bishop and the Monitors. Moreover, they were only dealing with foreign exiles now, which didn't involve them.
Lopes, in the khaki all-terrain vehicle, heard the content of the "broadcast," and his mind immediately buzzed:
He suspected that An Hebass had betrayed them and was going to use them as scapegoats!
Without hesitation, Lopes pushed open the car door, held the light machine gun, and called for the other foreign exiles to charge toward the place where the loudspeaker was located.
For them, there were now only two paths:
The first was to disperse the group of ambushers and identify them as Gray Men impersonating Church forces—even if they weren't, they had to in order to buy time!
The second was to break through immediately and drive away.
In a hurry, because the Monitor on the other side hadn't given his name, Lopes instinctively thought that they were very likely fake. Therefore, he chose the first path.
ps: Asking for guaranteed monthly tickets~