Along the way, they were constantly blocked by U.S. soldiers, but the two managed to evade them thanks to their keen intuition and skill.
Finally, they arrived at the entrance to the third underground level. Two fully armed US military guards stood at the entrance, vigilantly watching their surroundings, their weapons ready to fire at any moment.
Chang Yin and Tang Shengkai lay prone in the corner, observing the guards' patrol patterns. After a moment, they seized their opportunity and attacked simultaneously. Chang Yin quickly dealt with the guard on the left, while Tang Shengkai rushed towards the guard on the right.
The two moved cleanly and efficiently, without making a single unnecessary sound.
After dealing with the guards, they cautiously entered the third underground level.
The ground buildings of the base were in a mess after the explosion, but the passage leading to the underground control room was like another world.
The thick reinforced concrete walls had a cold, hard gray-black hue, and every so often, incandescent bulbs emitted a blinding light. The old-fashioned exhaust fan overhead hummed, barely dispelling the pungent smell of gunpowder in the air.
"Something's not right." Chang Yin suddenly lowered his voice and pointed his gun at the iron gate at the end of the corridor.
The iron door was as thick as half a person, its surface covered with rivets. Four heavy machine guns, mounted on fixed gun mounts, protruded from the walls on both sides, their dark muzzles slowly adjusting their angles as the gears turned.
Tang Shengkai took out the brass key he had seized from the American soldiers' corpses, inserted it into the lock next to the iron gate, and with a "click," a scarlet warning immediately popped up on the electronic screen: "Unauthorized intrusion, alarm activated!"
A sharp alarm blared throughout the corridor, and heavy machine guns were the first to unleash their fire.
Chang Yin suddenly pulled Tang Shengkai and rolled him towards the corner of the wall, bullets hitting the concrete wall and scattering gravel.
"Go through the ventilation duct!" Chang Yin shouted, pulling out an explosive charge from his waist. With a loud bang, the ventilation duct above their heads was blasted open, and the two quickly climbed inside, braving the thick smoke.
The ventilation ducts reeked of rust, their walls scorching hot and covered in raised weld lines. The cramped space forced them to crawl forward. With each step, their knees ached, and sweat mixed with dust stung their eyes.
Finally, they found the air vent leading to the command room.
Chang Yin pried open the grille with his bayonet, and a strong smell of engine oil wafted out. Below, in the core command room, dim incandescent lights shone, and a huge vacuum tube computer occupied half a wall, its indicator lights flashing incessantly.
Supreme Commander William Hansen paced back and forth in front of a long table covered with maps, with eight fully armed elite guards standing behind him. Each of them wore heavy steel breastplates and gripped a silenced MM16 rifle tightly in their hands.
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