Capítulo 922: Chapter 922: Clues from Years Ago
The members of the Dragon Teeth Special Forces were pleasantly surprised by the arrival of Ye Shikai and Wen Ya, and even more so by the wild game, which made their mouths water. Several of them worked together to gut the wild boar and set it on the flames. This was enough to feed the entire team well, a rare opportunity to feast on roasted wild boar after a day of intensive training.
“Ouyang, how’s the training going recently?” Ye Shikai, as the instructor, seemed to have some “hands-off” tendencies, so he took this time to visit the special forces.
“It’s going alright. Not long ago, our superiors reassigned us overseas for a maintenance mission.” Ouyang Feng mentioned a significant development. Calculating, he realized it had been almost two months since he last visited. Unexpectedly, this group of youngsters had gone out to accomplish some “big things.”
“Any casualties?”
“No, only one member was lightly injured but has since recovered.” Ouyang Feng reported, his tone suddenly acquiring a mysterious air. “Captain, truthfully, all these years, I’ve been probing into the matters surrounding that operation.”
“That operation.” Ye Shikai murmured, thoughts flooding his mind. Thinking back, Ye Shikai struck the stone beneath him in anger, shattering it into powder. If he ever found out who leaked secrets about that operation, he vowed to tear them to pieces.
“Ouyang, you know why I left the team back then.” Ye Shikai said coldly. Indeed, Ye Shikai left the team initially to investigate this matter. For years, he had urged Ghost and Worm to investigate, but there had been no progress.
“Captain, taking advantage of this overseas trip, I investigated the events of years ago again.” Ouyang Feng spoke softly, as if fearing to be overheard. Ye Shikai leaned forward, listening attentively.
“I found some information.” Ouyang Feng extracted a cloth-like item resembling a handkerchief from his pocket, displaying a black symbol on it.
A circle with a triangle inside. Ye Shikai was certain he hadn’t seen this symbol before, a simple mark that somehow sent a chill down his spine.
“What is this?” Ye Shikai asked coldly.
“I obtained this from an elderly local. Due to the passage of time, I can’t verify its credibility.”
“What did that old man say? Tell me specifically.” Ye Shikai’s interest piqued, he promptly pressed for details.
“Captain, do you remember that operation, the night before the incident?” Ouyang Feng’s words seemed to unlock Ye Shikai’s memory tunnel. Although four years had passed, Ye Shikai vividly remembered every detail.
“I remember, the strange happenings at the camp that night.”
…………………
Four years ago, the night before the Dragon Teeth Special Forces operation.
“Ouyang, tomorrow lead a team to ambush on the left side. Once the enemy enters attack range, open fire without holding back. I’ve gained upper-level clearance, you can fully command and act as you see fit.” Ye Shikai confidently strategized, embodying a general’s plan.
“Yes, Captain, I’ll have the men organize their gear shortly.”
“Monkey, after gunfire sounds, lead the second team to assault from behind.” Ye Shikai pointed at the operation map on the table, which highlighted various details including enemy numbers and equipment status.
“No problem, leave it to us.”
“Brothers, this time we’re fighting abroad, unfamiliar with our surroundings. But the battle must be won. Lastly, pay attention to safety during operations.” Ye Shikai advised firmly.
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
Bam, bam.
Suddenly, two gunshots rang from outside, instantly tensing everyone’s nerves. They instinctively grabbed the rifles on the table, loaded and aimed.
“What’s the situation?” Ye Shikai rolled out of the tent, swiftly finding cover outside. The guarding members began patrolling, searching for the gunshot source.
“Report, Captain, it appears local scattered armed personnel are firing.” A guard reported.
“Stay vigilant. This is not domestic ground, there are many situations here. A slight misstep could lead to trouble.” Ye Shikai spoke lightly. The station was nestled in remote mountains, surrounded by local villages and mountain dwellers, all armed and potentially firing at unknown targets.
“Yes, Captain, I’ll lead patrols immediately.”
“Go.”
……
“Instructor, Captain, the wild boar is roasted, come have some.” A member interrupted their recollection, passing two plates of roasted meat over. Ye Shikai nodded, grabbed a big piece, and bit into it, seemingly venting his frustrations on the meat, devouring it rapidly.
“The strange thing you’re referring to, is it those gunshots?” Ye Shikai inquired curiously.
“Exactly, the suspicious part lies here.” Ouyang Feng nodded, “I specially revisited that mountainous area, interviewed all the local villages, and uncovered some startling facts.”
“Go on.”
“Most villages in that mountainous area are primitive, almost isolated from the world. They have little contact with outsiders. While hunters exist, their guns are mostly homemade and crudely powdered. I even fired shots to identify sounds.”
“What did you discover?” Ye Shikai listened, his expression gradually turning cold.
“The sound of homemade guns was entirely different from what we heard back then. If I recall correctly, the shots we heard came from foreign standard rifles, definitely not the crude ones.”
“You mean…”
“The gunshots at the time were not fired by villagers. It’s very likely that professional spies or intelligence personnel attempted to infiltrate our camp.” Ouyang Feng’s speculation raised doubts for Ye Shikai. If it was a secret infiltration, why fire near the camp and alert everyone? After the shots, no one was injured; perhaps it was accidental discharge.
Ye Shikai regretted it. At the time, he focused solely on the next day’s operation, neglecting this incident. Now it seemed riddled with questions. So unfortunate, if he could travel back, he’d surely investigate thoroughly.
“There’s another thing, making me more suspicious.” Ouyang Feng produced a newspaper and a missing person notice from his bag.
“I went through great effort to find these.” Ouyang Feng pointed at the newspaper’s date, which Ye Shikai knew too well; it was the day the special forces operation went wrong.
“The newspaper reported a disappearance in the village, a young man who has not returned until now. Crucially, this village was near the special forces camp at the time.”