Chapter 269 You call this an ordinary female soldier?! The hustle and bustle of the No. 3 Battalion headquarters was left far behind. Su Tang led Gao Kai's first squad and her own fourth squad, a total of twenty-eight people, like a group of silent shadows, and quietly arrived at the edge of the swamp.
A stench, a mixture of rotting seaweed, silt, and an unknown fishy smell, drifted into everyone's nostrils on the damp wind. It was sticky, cold, and sent a chill down their spines.
The fog was so thick that the beam of a flashlight pierced through it as if swallowed by a wall of grayish-white cotton, illuminating only a distance of less than three meters. Further away, only the indistinct, ghostly outlines of withered trees could be seen.
"Gurgle...gurgle..."
Whether it was bubbles rising from the depths of the swamp or the sound emanating from some unknown creature, it was exceptionally clear in the extremely low visibility of the mountain forest, pounding on the already taut nerves of each team member.
Gao Kai stood at the front of the line, gripping his Type 56 semi-automatic rifle tightly. The cold steel could not dispel the chill that rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
He was a policeman who grew up in the city, and after so many years of hard work, he thought he had never suffered or seen anything he hadn't faced. But the scene before him completely overturned his understanding.
This is not a mountain, nor a forest; it is a swampy swamp that can devour the living!
The bottomless, black muddy water seemed poised to reach out a hand at any moment and drag people into an endless abyss.
Is this place really safe for people to pass through?
Not only him, but also his fellow police officers behind him and the other soldiers in the fourth squad, all stopped in their tracks at that moment.
No one spoke, but their heavy, suppressed breathing betrayed their inner fear.
They were all tough men, but even with their strong willpower, they couldn't help but feel intimidated by the unknown and eerie terror of nature.
Su Tang's gaze swept over the pale, tense faces, offering neither words of comfort nor reprimand. She knew that at this moment, any words would be futile.
She simply turned her head calmly and looked at the two girls in the group.
Just when everyone was filled with fear and hesitated, Chen Xiaocao squatted down.
She showed none of the tension others displayed; instead, she seemed to be back in her own backyard, her expression focused and relaxed. She reached out and picked up a pinch of damp soil, brought it to her nose, closed her eyes, and gently sniffed it.
Then, she looked up, squinted at the trees in the air that were shrouded in mist, and felt the direction of the wind blowing on her cheek.
"Sister Su An, this way."
She stood up and pointed without hesitation to a slightly drier meadow to her left, her voice clear and full of confidence.
"The wind is blowing from the southeast and has a slightly salty smell, which means that it's far from dry land and has a lot of moisture. If we head northwest, the marsh gas here will be dispersed by the wind, making it safer. And look at this patch of grass, it's called 'goosegrass'. Its roots go very deep, and it grows into a large patch. The bottom is covered with coiled old roots, making it firm to step on and not easy to sink into."
Her words were well-reasoned and supported by evidence, just like those of a seasoned veteran hunter.
The crowd was skeptical, but Su Tang simply nodded, indicating that she should lead the way.
With a clear direction, the team began to move again.
Walking ahead of Chen Xiaocao, Liu Landi held a sharpened entrenching tool. With each step, she would first test the ground ahead with the tool, her movements agile and alert, like a female leopard darting through the forest.
Suddenly, she reached out with lightning speed and grabbed the back of the collar of a police officer next to her.
"Don't move!" she hissed, her voice cold and urgent.
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