Chapter 1 The Stalemate

It was a little after six in the evening.

At the Sri Lanka Chi Army base, Gou Liuzi gathered his officers to discuss the Xue family.

In attendance were Xin Xiaodong, the temporary commander of the Third Division; Fei Pingsheng, Da Bai’s staunch brother-in-law; Sun Wei, the most understanding man in the Sinaloa region; the bald bandit Su Tianyu; security officer Hou Guoyu; and Lao Hei, among others.

This group was nothing but trouble, and together they were sure to give the Xue family a headache.

Xin Xiaodong studied the flat layout of the “Xue Family Fortress” obtained from drone reconnaissance, his brow furrowed. “From a military standpoint, it’s not difficult to conquer, but considering external factors, the difficulty increases by several levels! We can’t break in without artillery, but if we use artillery, the rebels will surely come before we even get inside!”

Fei Pingsheng took a drag from his cigarette. “It’s indeed a tough nut to crack!”

The Xue family’s factory area was located halfway up the mountain, surrounded by a three-meter-high concrete wall, with watchtowers and hidden哨shao posts. While breaking through this turtle shell-like, old-fashioned defense head-on wouldn't be too difficult, it would definitely take time.

The rebel garrison was less than ten kilometers away from the mountainous area. As soon as gunfire erupted, they would definitely come to reinforce, which was why the Xue family chose such a remote place to carry out their family revival plan.

“Can we find a way to scare the rebels?” Sun Wei interjected. “Let the Chi Army push forward to distract them?”

“No use.” Xin Xiaodong waved his hand, looking at the map. “You don’t understand military affairs! Let me explain it this way and you’ll understand! Given the known combat conditions, the enemy has complete defensive fortifications in the mid-section of Niujiao Mountain, with at least four hundred armed personnel inside! This means that to break through head-on, we’d need at least 600-800 men to participate in the attack, equipped with medium- and long-range firepower to destroy their outer defenses in the first wave! We need to rush into the center of their factory area in a short time. But! How do you move in 600-800 troops, plus vehicle-mounted rocket launchers? With modern military reconnaissance equipment, you can’t infiltrate secretly. The 125th Army is already traumatized. Even if a force of two or three hundred men carrying medium- and long-range firepower appeared on the border, their reconnaissance units would definitely react!”

Su Tianyu nodded in agreement.

“The difficulty here isn’t in the attack!” Xin Xiaodong frowned. “It’s in concealment. How do we hide so the rebels don’t discover us, or, how can we finish the job before their reinforcements arrive!”

Lao Hei blinked. “What about an airdrop!”

“……!?” Xin Xiaodong looked at him like he was an idiot. “Not every place is suitable for an airdrop! I said, the key is concealment. An airdrop might save you the time of a frontal assault, but it won't save you the time it takes to wipe them out quickly! How do soldiers avoid ground fire while in the air? That's a problem, right? You don’t need much, just a few machine guns, and if they're even halfway decent, our casualties will be high! And how does the plane avoid military radar? How long does it take for the soldiers to assemble after landing? An air raid doesn’t have the element of surprise. An airdrop will definitely be discovered. If the Xue family refuses to fight and hides in the mountains, what will you do? Stand there and do nothing?"

Lao Hei was speechless, unable to refute.

After a while of discussion, everyone suddenly felt that this matter was very thorny, and they couldn't come up with a good tactical solution for a while.

Su Tianyu took a puff of his cigarette, frowned, and looked at Sun Wei. “You know that the Xue family has a secret passage, right?”

“Yes!”

Sun Wei nodded immediately. “Like a crafty rabbit with three burrows! There is indeed an escape route on the mountain, like a fire exit! They feared that if a war broke out on Niujiao Mountain, there wouldn’t be enough time to escape, and their property wouldn't be salvageable, so they dug the tunnel. I used to personally lead teams to deliver goods to the Xue family, and I often stayed there for a period of time, so… I’ve been in that passage a few times.”

“Can we sneak up from there?” Xin Xiaodong asked immediately. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“You’ve been talking non-stop!” Sun Wei stood up and pointed to the layout map. “It’s over here, on the cliff on the left side of Niujiao Mountain, you can sneak past! But don’t expect to enter the factory area through this secret passage! Because there are guards here, and they’re stationed in sections. It’s less concealed than the woods! The secret passage is narrow, and there’s surveillance, and guards… If you move forward, there’s no secret infiltration. You’ll definitely be discovered midway. If you get stuck inside, it’ll be even worse! To put it bluntly, they don’t even need to fight you. They can just blow up the tunnel wall, and we’ll be buried alive.”

“Hold on, hold on, we can study this!” Xin Xiaodong waved his hand immediately. “Don’t argue, let me think of a way!”

“Yes, yes, you’re the professional! You think! You think!”

“Don’t make noise, let Commander Xin figure it out!”

“……!”

Everyone started sucking up to him, surrounding Xin Xiaodong and flattering him with sweet talk.

Xin Xiaodong also felt that he was the only one in this group with military command ability. He confidently looked at the map. “Go, go, everyone do what you’re supposed to do. Give me a night, and I’ll come up with a decent plan!”

“Alright, you figure it out first!”

Su Tianyu picked up his cigarette case and left the meeting room.

Outside, Su Tianyu smoked, looking at the dark sky, his heart filled with anxiety!

There were some things that Gou Liuzi couldn't tell his brothers, and a lot of anxiety and negative emotions could only be buried in his heart.

But now, facing the Xue family obstacle, Su Tianyu really didn’t have any good solutions. His mind was a mess, and his heart was also in turmoil.

“Tap tap!”

A sound of footsteps arose.

Su Tianyu turned his head and glanced, seeing the bald Lao Fei walking out. “Why aren’t you staying inside?”

“I’m not good at sucking up to Commander Xin either. I came out for some air.” The bald Lao Fei said jokingly. “Give me a cigarette!”

Su Tianyu handed the cigarette case to Lao Fei.

“What’s wrong? Did you break up! Your heart hasn’t come back yet?” Lao Fei asked with a smile. “Still thinking about your little girlfriend!?”

Su Tianyu lowered his head. “After all, we were together for more than two years. There are still feelings.”

Fei Pingsheng slowly raised his arm and flicked open the lighter with a snap.

The flame danced in the wind, swaying left and right!

“There’s wind!! It’s going to be cloudy!” Fei Pingsheng said faintly, with a cigarette in his mouth.

Su Tianyu looked at him. “Heh, why are you being so mysterious now!”

Seeing that Su Tianyu didn’t understand his meaning, Fei Pingsheng immediately said, “Let me do it. I’ll take a hundred men!”