Chapter 39: Thunder Formation

One week later......
The Russian government was on the verge of losing its mind. With a massive bounty of over $100 million, over a hundred mercenary groups of various sizes and tens of thousands of mercenary soldiers rushed into Russia within twenty-four hours. The underground arms market in Russia suddenly became extremely hot. AK automatic rifles, originally worth just over a hundred dollars, were hyped up to over a thousand dollars, yet demand still outstripped supply. Perhaps dissatisfied with second-rate goods provided by Russian underground arms dealers, some even being scraps picked up from the Chechen battlefield, suddenly smuggled into Russia through various channels that could almost fight another Chechen war.
Although these mercenaries were all targets of Chechen rebels and likely shared the Russian military's common enemy, Russian officials, facing this raging flood and a group of ambitious and fearless experts who have taken the Chinese old saying 'people for money and birds die for food' to the extreme, still couldn't help but shout to the national media: 'The wolf is coming!' ”
When Zhu Jianjun led a special operations group composed of veterans from the Fifth Special Forces and stepped into Russia, unfamiliar territory, and secured sufficient weapons and equipment through the connections established by Huang Zhipeng, they cautiously advanced following the footsteps left by the war heroes.
Now that the Second Chechen War has just ended, Russia is still in ruins, with no strength left to completely eliminate the remaining armed forces of the Chechen rebels. When Zhu Jianjun and his team walked on foot to the village where Zhanxiage and the others had fiercely fought against the Chechen rebels, the wreckage of the destroyed T80 tank and the wreckage of the Russian Marine Corps' dedicated amphibious armored transport vehicle still quietly stood there, silently telling every passerby the stories that once happened here.
Looking at the track marks left by the T80 tank and amphibious armored transport vehicle, the soil at Zhanxiage's hiding spot was much heavier than elsewhere. Zhu Jianjun bent down and grabbed a piece of loose soil. The handful carried a lingering, strong stench of blood, along with several human bone remains and one or two bullets.
"Although Zhanxiage was trained by you and Long Jianhui, I still have to admire him!" Gu Nianhan sniffed lightly, mentally calculating how Zhanxia Ge would destroy the T80 tank and amphibious armored transport vehicle, and said, "This kid really isn't afraid of death!" ”
At that moment, the voice of Bai Yi, who was responsible for distant patrol patrol, came through the communicator: "Captain, come over quickly, something's happening here!" ”
When Zhu Jianjun led the other three members of the combat team to Bai Yi's side, these senior special operations experts all frowned together. What unfolded before them was a terrifying battlefield within a kilometer radius, where all plants were broken and broken by bullets. The two sides fought fiercely near a civilian village, even using rocket launchers, grenades, incendiary bombs, and Glint heavy machine guns!
Looking out, the entire battlefield stretched over two thousand meters deep. On this fierce road of fighting and retreating while the other relentlessly pursued, bullet casings were everywhere from the battlefield, traces of blood everywhere, and high-performance grenades and rocket launcher casings on the ground. Near the shockwaves radiating from these shells, in the vast dark brown soil, some parts of human bodies could still be found.
With Zhu Jianjun and his group of special operations experts, it was clear at a glance that this was a clash between two sides, with uneven numbers but both skilled in field special operations and equipped with advanced weapons.
"Captain, I found this on the battlefield." Bai Yi handed Zhu Jianjun a 154cm handmade military knife, which was likely broken by a bullet. "The hardness and ductility of this purely handmade high-carbon steel military knife surpass that of the Huya combat knife we currently equip. Its cost is astronomical. Given Russia's current economic situation, it is unlikely to equip special forces with such weapons, let alone those Chechen rebels." ”
Zhu Jianjun gazed at the sword in his hand, which had smooth lines throughout, but was broken by bullets, and slowly nodded. This 154cm handmade saber had been heat-treated to an HRC61 hardness, making it corrosion-resistant, and the blade had excellent durability and toughness. Because the material itself was too expensive to mass-produce, every combat saber came from a workshop personally overseen by a famous master. Those who could carry such sabers were mostly battle-hardened and wealthy. A top-tier professional mercenary who needs to bring your own weapons when going to battle.
Zhu Jianjun's expression changed. He crouched down and found a bullet hole in the ground. He drew his canine combat saber and carefully dug in. When he dug out a bullet, Bai Yi's eyes widened and he said, "This is a special steel-core bullet!" ”
A slight prick suddenly spread across Zhu Jianjun's fingers. He opened his right hand, carefully brushed off the dirt, and finally revealed a tiny steel needle less than two centimeters long before him. Staring at the slender steel needle with a pitch-black tip but a terrifyingly sharp texture, even Tie Hui couldn't help but be moved. He said in a low voice, "This is a high-explosive manganese nail round!" Are these guys crazy? To actually use such a weapon specialized for counter-terrorism warfare on a flat battlefield in the wild—even those who throw high-explosive manganese steel nail bombs probably can't dodge the radiation attacks flying in all directions, right?! ”
Zhu Jianjun silently continued searching the ground for bullet holes, digging out the bullets one by one. When he dug out twelve bullet heads and spread them flat in his palm, Zhu Jianjun couldn't help but sigh. He casually tossed the bullets in his palm, which only Western countries produced, onto the ground and said, "We've only dealt with mercenaries for too little time, a special group. How naive would we think these people can compete fairly?" But these mercenaries who had fled into Russia hadn't found their war heroes or engaged in gunfire with Chechen rebels. Perhaps they were fighting for the ultimate victor, or maybe there were old grudges formed on the battlefield and missions. In any case, they met on a narrow path and fought among themselves! ”
The group followed this path of bloody battle, which might have happened just over ten hours ago, advancing bit by bit.
"Reporting, Captain!" Bai Yi exclaimed in surprise, "There's actually a second battlefield here!" If I'm not mistaken, in the final stages of this battle, a third party got involved. They seemed to be few in number, and they were being beaten while fleeing! Huh, here is a sinister mine designed by an expert! ”
Zhu Jianjun led several team members in a battle formation, rushing over. Bai Yi was carefully exploring through a patch of grass, trying to find a safe retreat route.
A gentle breeze blew, stirring up waves of green on the grassy slope over a foot high. Amid the undulating waves, ropes made from bark fibers and carefully disguised by experts finally revealed their true colors.
Some of these ropes were tripping mines five centimeters above the ground, while others were fifteen centimeters from the ground. These ropes cleverly integrated with the grass environment, forming a three-dimensional chain mine array with mutual support, nests within traps, and rings within rings.
The most terrifying thing was when the breeze swept through the grass and tens of thousands of weeds swayed together. The same green tripping mine ropes gently swayed with the weeds, even using artificial means to confined the weeds to a specific rhythm. It was only then that Bai Yi suddenly realized that the unknown expert in designing the sinister mines had fully considered human visual and psychological weaknesses and applied them accordingly. Within a few rounds, weeds and tripropes swayed before his eyes, forcibly planting a terrifying feeling of being on edge in his mind.
This is no longer just simple landmine warfare, but a terrifying strategy akin to Sun Tzu's Art of War: "The best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans, and winning hearts is paramount."
Seeing Bai Yi forced by the thunder array to retreat to a natural ditch, preparing to jump into the ditch and walk out of the minefield along the waterway, Zhu Jianjun's pupils instantly contracted into needle-like shapes. He shouted wildly, "Don't move!" ”
Bai Yi's body suddenly froze into a fossil. His right foot, which was about to fall into the ditch, slowly retracted again.
While the other team members cried out in shock, Zhu Jianjun actually strode into the minefield. It was as if he had stepped into his most familiar bedroom—he casually dismantled several genuine handmade bombs, kicked off a few to scare people, and with the other end there was nothing tied but left Bai Yi helpless, rushing all the way to Bai Yi's side.
Staring at the small, clear-flowing ditch beneath Bai Yi's feet, Zhu Jianjun slowly exhaled a long breath. Following Zhu Jianjun's gaze, Bai Yi carefully observed and suddenly beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead. It was only then that Bai Yi discovered that in the mud of this river ditch, there was actually a triprope of a landmine!
This landmine is the true deadly trap designed for special operations experts!
After leading Bai Yi out of the grass filled with a chilling murderous aura, Zhu Jianjun looked at the landmines in his hand—made from soda bottles, bamboo tubes, and even clay pots—as ugly as they could be. Suddenly, he broke into a joyful smile. After all these brothers had gathered together, it was the first time they'd seen such a joyful and hearty smile on Zhu Jianjun's face.
"That kid isn't dead! The war hero song is not dead! ”
Zhu Jianjun raised the landmine in his hand and shouted, "Although I saw the marks they left on the battlefield, I don't know why he still has two formidable comrades by his side, but at least now I know he's not dead—he's still ...... Fight! ”
Staring at Zhu Jianjun raising those homemade landmines that nearly sent him to the Hall of Hell, Bai Yi found his tongue was tied in a knot. "S-Captain, you—you're not going to tell me these weird mines were designed by the Song of Heroes, are you?!" ”
"If not him, then who is?"
At this moment, the pressure that had weighed on Zhu Jianjun's heart for days, fearing that Zhan Xia Ge had died on the battlefield, finally vanished. He smiled and said, "Don't forget, I was this kid's first instructor. I know all his specialties and tricks inside out." Simply put, this kid is just a bit of a 'thief'! Back then, I made him sleep in a pigeon cage. To prevent snakes and scorpions from biting him, he actually came up with a 'camphor ball landmine formation,' forcing those venomous snakes and scorpions to not dare come within three feet of him. From the moment I discovered his creative thinking, I made a point to cultivate his knowledge of Trap Design and taught him battlefield psychology and behavioral psychology directly beyond the usual level. A year later, he graduated smoothly, and when it came to planting sinister mines, he was truly outclassed! This kind of trick of luring the crowd into a trap, clearly driving others into a dead end, yet forcing them to think they've finally escaped is the game he loves to play and enjoys the most! ”
Bai Yi looked at the patch of grass that had nearly capsized the old soldier's gutter, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, and said, "Impressive, truly impressive!" ”
Li Guqing pointed to the messy footprints on the ground and the marks left by professional soldiers performing various military evasive maneuvers on the battlefield. He picked up a few machine gun shell casings from the ground and said in a deep voice, "The two companions following Zhanxiage are also experts!" Especially on the damp, soft grass, this person left footprints four inches deep. He was carrying a 7.62 caliber heavy machine gun, plus bullets and other equipment, so his load was at least seventy kilograms. Including his weight, his total should have reached around 160 kilograms; otherwise, he wouldn't have left such deep footprints on the ground. Yet this very person could fire a heavy machine gun while performing three consecutive military evasion maneuvers on the ground! ”
Following the weeds bent along the way, Li Guqing picked up several shiny self-defense pistol cartridge casings. Clearly, during the continuous rolling, this special operations expert's 7.62 caliber heavy machine gun was caught in his own body. At the most critical moment, he was able to abandon his heavy weapon, directly draw his self-defense pistol, and launch a fierce counterattack against enemies already within a hundred meters.
Li Guqing's evaluation of this combat expert was: "He is the kind of all-around combat expert who balances strength, stamina, and agility. Moreover, I believe he possesses combat experience absolutely no less than ours!" ”