The air inside the underground pipes was murky and damp, mixed with the pungent smell of rust and chemical reagents. Han Feng raised his hand to signal the team to stop. He closed his eyes, the veins on his forehead bulging slightly, activating his Eye of Prediction.
Five seconds of images flashed through my mind like lightning: there was a pressure sensor at the third corner of the left passage, and the ventilation duct on the right was safe but narrow.
"Go to the right." Han Feng lowered his voice, his tone metallic beneath the tactical mask. "Viper, you stay at this fork in the road. Keep communications open and watch for anything unusual."
The venomous snake nodded silently, then slithered into the shadows like a real snake, instantly merging with the darkness.
The remaining team members followed Han Feng into the right-side ventilation duct. The towering structure appeared particularly clumsy in the confined space, but he controlled his breathing, managing to keep the equipment completely silent. Ten minutes later, Han Feng stopped again, activating the Eye of Prediction for the second time.
This time, the scene he saw was much clearer: outside the fence of a ventilation vent was the raw material warehouse of a chemical plant, and two armed mercenaries were dozing off.
"Twenty meters ahead, turn left. There's a ventilation vent leading to the target area," Han Feng whispered through the communicator. "Night Owl, deploy the reconnaissance device first."
Night Owl took a miniature reconnaissance device from his backpack, the beetle-sized device silently sliding towards the ventilation vent. Moments later, infrared images of the warehouse appeared on Night Owl's tablet.
"Two targets, their focus is relaxed." Night Owl gestured.
Han Feng nodded, signaling Liu Xiaoran to go first. Liu Xiaoran moved like a ghost to the area below the ventilation vent, and with a flick of his wrist, two fine, hair-like tranquilizer darts accurately struck the mercenaries in the neck. The two men collapsed to the ground before they even had a chance to open their eyes.
The squad filed in, quickly dispersing to find cover. The raw material warehouse was filled with metal barrels and wooden crates, providing excellent conditions for concealment. Just as Han Feng was about to give the next instruction, a soft "poof" sound suddenly rang out—the muffled thud of a silencer.
"Sniper!" Han Feng's warning came a step too late. Night Owl groaned as a burst of blood erupted from his right leg.
In an instant, the warehouse lights blazed on, and the sound of automatic weapons firing erupted from all directions. Bullets rained down like a storm, striking the metal barrels and sending sparks flying.
"Cover!" Han Feng roared, rolling behind the large reactor. His headset crackled with the iconic roar of the Iron Tower, followed by the deafening roar of an M249 machine gun.
"Shadow! Take Night Owl to Viper's position!" Han Feng shouted amidst the hail of bullets. "Iron Tower, suppress the left flank! Liu Xiaoran, the right flank is yours!"
The shadow darted to Night Owl's side like a black lightning bolt, supporting his wounded teammate with one hand while returning fire with the other. In a few leaps, he disappeared in the direction of the ventilation vent.
The machine guns on the tower spat fire, and the two-meter-tall giant stood directly outside the cover, bullets striking his heavy body armor with dull thuds. "Come on, you scum!" he roared, like an indestructible war god.
Liu Xiaoran, however, adopted a completely different tactic. He turned off all the lights on his helmet and moved along the wall like a true shadow. Every time his dagger flashed, a mercenary would clutch his throat and fall to the ground. The mercenaries couldn't even see his movements clearly; they could only judge his location by the direction in which their own men fell.
Han Feng himself moved across the battlefield like a ghost. Every shot he fired hit his enemy precisely between the eyebrows, his figure elusive, sometimes appearing on top of shelves, sometimes disappearing into the shadows. His enemies couldn't even pinpoint his location.
In less than five minutes, all ten mercenaries had fallen to the ground. An eerie silence suddenly fell over the warehouse, broken only by the clanging of spent cartridges hitting the ground and Iron Tower's heavy breathing.
"Clearance complete." Liu Xiaoran's voice came from a corner.
Just as Han Feng was about to give the order to assemble, a metal door at the end of the warehouse suddenly slid open. Three foreigners dressed in black tactical uniforms walked out slowly, the man in the lead even clapping his hands leisurely.
"Bravo! As expected of China's most elite special forces." The man said in heavily accented English, his blue eyes beneath his short blond hair flashing with a dangerous light.
Han Feng kept his gun pointed at the newcomer without moving: "Who are you?"
The man smiled slightly, revealing gleaming white teeth: "My name is Knight, leader of Bloodblade." He gave an exaggerated bow. "It's an honor to meet the renowned Dragon Abyss Squad, especially you—Han Feng, we're old friends. Last time, Blood Wolf died at your hands."
Iron Tower reacted faster than anyone else. He raised his gun and fired, the 7.62mm bullet whistling through the air, heading straight for the knight's forehead. But what happened next stunned everyone—
"Clang!" The crisp sound of metal clashing echoed through the warehouse. The bullet struck the knight's forehead, but bounced off as if it had hit a steel plate, leaving only a fleeting white dot on his skin.
The knight touched his forehead, his smile undiminished: "It seems your Chinese hospitality is nothing special after all."
The tower's eyes widened: "What the hell kind of monster is this...?"
Han Feng's pupils contracted slightly. He had seen this before—the enhanced Blood Wolf, and the mercenaries he'd encountered in Zurich; those enemies injected with gene-enhancing drugs had exhibited similar abnormalities. But this "knight" before him was clearly more perfect; the drug seemed to have completely fused with his body.
"What are you doing in China? You're not here for that crazy woman Mu Xiaoxiao, are you?" Han Feng questioned coldly, while subtly gesturing for the team to disperse. The squad members immediately adjusted their positions, forming a crossfire network.
The knight shrugged. "So what? I couldn't refuse the conditions Mu Xiaoxiao offered." He slowly walked forward, each step causing the floor to tremble slightly. "But since you're so interested in the gene serum, why not experience the power of a gene warrior for yourself?"
Before he could finish speaking, several of the knight's men suddenly sprang into action, moving so fast they almost left afterimages. One of them charged straight at the iron tower, while another rushed towards Liu Xiaoran's position.
"Fire!" Han Feng gave the order, and his Eye of Prediction activated again. He saw the scene five seconds later: the knight would charge at him, and the Iron Tower would be knocked down by the enhanced warrior...
The battle erupted again, but this time, the Dragon Abyss Squad faced an enemy far beyond human limits. Bullets struck those "people" with a metallic sound, while their fists could easily pierce steel plates.
At the last second, Han Feng dodged the knight's charge by sidestepping. The knight's fist grazed his tactical vest, tearing a hole in the Kevlar material.
"You're quite interesting." The knight licked his lips, as if admiring a work of art. "I wonder what level you'll reach after the transformation."
"Captain!" Iron Tower's roar came from afar, followed by a cry of pain—the enhanced soldier had broken the machine gun barrel and was punching Iron Tower's bulletproof vest, sending the two-meter-tall giant flying backward.
Liu Xiaoran was in slightly better condition. He used the complex terrain of the warehouse to fight off another enhanced warrior. His dagger left several wounds on the opponent, but none of them were fatal.
Suddenly, Viper's voice came through the communicator: "Team Leader Han, Night Owl is safe. A large heat source has been detected moving towards you; immediate evacuation is recommended!"
The knight seemed to have overheard the communication, his smile widening: "Trying to run? Too late." He opened his arms wide. "Welcome to the battlefield of a new era, old humans."
All the entrances to the warehouse were simultaneously smashed open, and more warriors in Bloodblade uniforms poured in. Han Feng's heart sank to the bottom—these were all super soldiers who had undergone genetic enhancement.
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