Strongest Soldier King

The moonlit night was chill, clouds obscuring the sky, and a dimness covered the ground. An armed patrol squad approached, the leader holding a leashed wolf-dog. The wolf-dog, licking its tongue and revealing its chilling canine teeth, emanated a terrifying aura under the moonlight. Luo Zheng watched in surprise as the slow-moving group came closer, quickly realizing that they hadn't detected him but were merely heading in his direction at a relaxed pace; otherwise, they wouldn't be so unhurried.

The armed patrol squad wasn't numerous, just five in total, and they were disorganized, without formation, spread no more than fifty meters apart. The wolf-dog started to become restless, lunging forward frenziedly, while the patrolling men warily surveyed their surroundings, desperately holding back the hound trying to break free from its leash and calling their companions over.

Fifty meters wasn't much distance for the keen-nosed wolf-dog, and Luo Zheng realized with a start that the animal had caught his scent. Panic struck him; if the wolf-dog charged, he would surely be unable to remain hidden. Running away now would be futile; one burst from a heavy machine gun, and his chances of survival would be slim. What to do?

Luo Zheng grew tense, looking around quickly before spotting a depression nearby filled with horse manure, buzzing with flies and reeking to high heaven. Making a split-second decision, he bit the bullet and crawled into the low ground, shoving all the horse dung to the front and stirring some around—it was like he was a frog, crouched and burying his head in the ground, the reek of the manure nearly causing his stomach's contents to surge up. He held his breath desperately.

The rotting horse manure was truly foul, with green-headed flies swarming about. Luo Zheng, sensing the patrol team barely ten meters away, lay perfectly still, took out his handgun, and held his breath, awaiting in tight readiness. Between life and death, Luo Zheng found himself surprisingly calm. Perhaps it was the multitude of life-and-death experiences he had endured?

"Awooo!" The hunting dog barked furiously as it ran toward him. The patroller leading the dog, sensing something amiss, let the leash go, allowing the wolf-dog to charge ahead while he himself raised his gun, alertly scanning the area. Aside from grass, there was nothing on the ground, leading him to wonder why the wolf-dog was so agitated.

The wolf-dog arrived at the horse manure, sniffed, and its acute sense of smell was thrown off by the dung's stench. Moreover, with Luo Zheng holding his breath and making no sounds, the wolf-dog whimpered and turned back. The patrol team breathed a sigh of relief, quietly exchanged a few opinions, and took the wolf-dog to search elsewhere.

It was a close call, and Luo Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, feeling his back soaked with cold sweat. Experiences skirted on the edge of the underworld were truly unpleasant. Thank heavens for the horse manure that covered his scent; otherwise, he would be done for. Slowly lifting his head, Luo Zheng saw that about twenty meters away, a crowd had gathered at some point, probably drawn by the wolf-dog's unusual behavior for an inspection. Fortunately, since the wolf-dog hadn't detected anything unusual, the crowd dispersed into other areas.

"Damn dog, if I get the chance, I'll make sure you're chopped to pieces," Luo Zheng cursed under his breath as he spit out the dirt and feces from his mouth. He observed carefully for a while, and after making sure the danger had passed for the moment, he started covering himself with the surrounding horse manure for camouflage, to mask his human scent and avoid another detection by the wolf-dog.

After he had finished preparing, Luo Zheng, enduring the unbearably rank smell of the horse manure, started crawling forward even more cautiously. An hour later, he had crawled a hundred meters. Not far ahead was a stable housing several horses; if running at full speed, Luo Zheng was confident he could make it there in seven seconds. Yet now, it took him two hours, almost exhausting all his patience.

He had finally made it through. Luo Zheng glanced around, no one was paying attention to him, and he checked several spots suitable for sniping in the distance but didn't notice anything unusual. Luo Zheng quickened his pace and arrived near the stable, leaning against the wall to observe for a while. The main building was only about ten meters away, a quick charge could get him there, but would expose him.

After observing for a while, Luo Zheng felt his strength had recovered considerably, and continued to crawl forward. It took half an hour to cover the ten meters, but he finally neared the main building, lurking near the bushes at the corner, listening intently. The main building had two floors, with the lights on inside, but no movements could be detected; everything seemed strangely desolate.

Ten minutes later, Luo Zheng hadn't moved. Half an hour later, the patrol team had not payed any attention to this area and continued to patrol the periphery. Luo Zheng, like a ghost traversing the night, moved silently to the rear window and cautiously peeked inside. The room was empty and bare, no one was there, only the lightbulb emitting a dim glow.

"Huh?" Luo Zheng was surprised. It didn't make sense to have such a grand setup with no one in the rooms unless this place was indeed a trap, waiting for him to jump right in. With this thought, Luo Zheng grew even more cautious, alert and ready, as he crouched and moved to another window. Just like before, there was no one, and the room was just as desolate, without even a piece of furniture.

The light from the second floor filtered down from the staircase, silent as well. After his painstaking effort to get here, he couldn't leave empty-handed. Gritting his teeth, Luo Zheng gently opened the window and climbed inside like a civet cat. The room, clear at a glance, presented no threat. He tiptoed forward with his gun raised, cautiously eyeing the staircase for any sign of movement.

His soft-soled shoes and the grass below muffled his steps, and he made no sound as he climbed the stairs. Luo Zheng crept upward, his gun pointing upward, his eyes squinted into dangerous slits to block the glare and ensure his vision remained undisturbed. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Luo Zheng peered around warily and saw the second floor was also empty, except for one person tinkering with a laptop, who didn't seem to be a local.

"A member of the Reincarnation Killer Organization?" Luo Zheng startled, quickly ducking back down, his mind filling with doubt. If this was indeed an assassin, their relationship with Wata must have been unusual. This place was a trap, a snare waiting for him to walk into it willingly. It seemed that either the car or the boss's mobile phone had given away his location, giving them ample time to adjust their setup and set the trap while moving the hostages.

With this thought, Luo Zheng's expression chilled, and in his annoyance, he peered again, noticing the other person was engrossed in the computer screen, seemingly researching something. In the room besides this person, there was no one else; the person wore headphones, was munching on something, with a complacent expression on his face.

In his irritation, Luo Zheng decided he would deal with this bastard first. He had expended a great deal of effort to infiltrate this place, and he couldn't possibly leave empty-handed. Luo Zheng estimated the distance—from the top of the stairs to the man, it was around five meters, not far. He drew his M9 bayonet, carefully ascending the stairs, his eyes fixed on the individual, moving quickly and silently.

After stepping onto the last stair, Luo Zheng noticed the person was gripping headphones as if listening intently, fully absorbed by whatever was coming through them and staring at the screen. Seizing the rare opportunity, Luo Zheng gripped the knife in a reverse hold and carefully inched forward, closing the distance with the target, moving with the agility and stealth of a civet.