Chapter 1312: Showing His Mettle
The formation may appear strong in front of Long San and his crew, but in Lin Chen's eyes, it is worthless.
Lin Chen possesses the Divine Artifact known as Xiao Shuai, making it effortless to break the formation.
Leading the group, Lin Chen suddenly halted after walking about a kilometer, then turned to walk back.
"Hey, Lin Chen, why are you walking back?" Wu Tianshi questioned, seeing Lin Chen leading them in the opposite direction.
"If you don't want to return to the starting point, follow me obediently!" Lin Chen said, continuing to move forward.
Basically, Lin Chen took everyone for ten minutes, then would walk in the reverse direction for a while, and after roughly two hours, the fog ahead finally dissipated.
Not far away, spots of light appeared, bringing joy to everyone.
"Damn it, we finally got out!" Wei Monk exclaimed excitedly.
In recent days, they had tried countless times to locate the toxic source, only to return to the beginning each time.
"Everyone stay concealed, their base is just ahead," Lin Chen whispered.
These folks were elite operatives of the Dragon Squad, making night infiltrations second nature to them.
The group of more than ten quickly dispersed in harmony, stealthily advancing toward the illuminated base.
In the jungle, a dozen Dragon Squad elites converged, and despite Long San and others being seasoned, they all gathered around Lin Chen.
Lin Chen was seated on a rock, with a military map of the region laid out beneath him.
The map was densely marked by Lin Chen, outlining sentry posts, firepower distribution, and trap locations in great detail.
"Good God, Lin Chen, did you just gather all this intel on the recon mission?" Wei Monk asked in shock, staring at Lin Chen's marked map.
Within the Dragon Squad, Wei Monk excelled at reconnaissance, yet he was outshone by Lin Chen.
"Yes, their patrol shifts cover rounds every half-hour; we will strike at three in the morning," Lin Chen informed the group.
At this moment, the Dragon Squad operatives were primed in the jungle, while the people inside the base remained unaware.
Lin Chen chose to attack between three and four because this period finds people most tired.
Currently, most were asleep, with only a few sentries barely awake.
Nevertheless, the sentries were forced to stay alert, due to a recent incident where a cultivated spirit serpent escaped control, resulting in venom leakage despite being eventually subdued.
Outside the base, the Dragon Squad and Chinese police were gathered, yet the Mountain Protection Array kept proper caution.
They were merely hoping the Dragon Squad's investigation would yield no results, prompting their withdrawal for some peace of mind.
This base belonged to Yuan Tiangang in the west city.
In this deep mountain, more than a dozen ancient spirit beasts were imprisoned, all cultivated by Yuan Tiangang using ancient Secret Techniques.
Yuan Tiangang's intention for cultivating these beasts was to eventually devour them to enhance his powers when the time was right.
The base was staffed with mercenaries recruited worldwide, many of whom were murderers.
These individuals seldom entered the western city, but now and then recruited women from outside pretending to offer work.
Those dreaming of earning arrived at the base, only to enter a den of wolves.
Initially, the mercenaries stood vigilant, but the Dragon Squad's repeated incursions into the jungle ended in getting trapped by the maze formation, causing the mercenaries to relax.
To them, this formidable maze ensured the Dragon Squad would never breach.
Their complacency offered Lin Chen and his team the opportunity for a surprise assault.
Just as Lin Chen's group reached the periphery, they encountered two mercenaries urinating.
The two mercenaries, after drinking and smoking heavily, stumbled upon Lin Chen's hiding spot.
Two Dragon Squad warriors prepared to eliminate them, but Lin Chen signaled to hold back.
He lunged, vanishing into the jungle like a specter.
Lin Chen looped around the side, ending up behind the two mercenaries.
A dozen Dragon Squad elites watching Lin Chen's actions were left stupefied.
Lin Chen's speed was beyond belief, leaving only a fleeting silhouette in sight.
Lin Chen essentially exceeded human limitations.
With agile steps, each burst propelled him over ten meters.
Astonishingly, despite Lin Chen's swift movement, not a sound was made, nor a hint of breath.
It seemed as if Lin Chen blended seamlessly with the surrounding air and jungle.
Due to his immense speed, Lin Chen stood behind the mercenaries while they stayed oblivious.
The two mercenaries continued their banter as they strolled.
One mercenary yawned, saying, "Damn it, I heard a new batch of girls arrived today. If not for the shift, we could've had fun; I'm aching here."
"Damn you, last time you tortured a girl to death before my turn, leaving me womanless for three to four days," the other mercenary lamented.
"Enough, enough, after we finish this night shift, I'll let you take the first pick for once," the other mercenary grumbled.
"Damn, come my turn tomorrow, those women will likely be worn out, what's the point in playing?"
"Who cares, it's still better than going solo with your hands, right?"
As he finished, the mercenary turned, finding his comrade missing.
"Damn Er Gen, where did you go?" The mercenary rubbed his eyes, spotting his comrade leaning against a tree.
"What's on your mind, thinking about women, huh?" the mercenary laughed heartily.
But his laughter abruptly ceased as a flash of cold steel pierced through.
As his body fell, he saw a young man standing before him.
Lin Chen eliminated the two mercenaries silently and unnoticed.
"Damn it, Long San, we must recruit this lad into our Dragon Squad, he's a prodigy!" Wu Tianshi exclaimed in delight.
"Yeah, this kid is born for our line of work," Wei Monk chimed in, elated.
Even Long San's eyes flashed with surprise; dispatching the two mercenaries was easy, but doing so without any struggle or noise was impressive.
After all, this close to the base, even a single sound from the two mercenaries would alert the enemy, greatly increasing task difficulty.
When Lin Chen returned, a dozen Dragon Squad warriors were at a loss for words.
Just now, the elders of the Dragon Squad oddly obeyed this lad's directive, now it became clear.
Lin Chen's demonstrated capability was astonishing; be it his noiseless stealth or clean, timely killings; he was unmatched in exploiting crucial moments.