A Big Gift for You (Part 2)

About twenty minutes later, a squad of Special Forces Soldiers appeared in Jiang Yan Hai's scope. Fan Tian Lei was leading them. Unlike in the TV drama, this was a full Special Forces team of twelve men, and they remained highly alert as they advanced.

The twelve men moved in a dispersed formation. At the center, Fan Tian Lei led Chen Shan Ming and Miao Lang to inspect the sniper position, while Special Forces Soldiers from the unit scouted the surrounding area.

In truth, they were guarding against a close-range ambush. Long-range sniping was virtually impossible in terrain like this, which was almost like a primeval jungle.

If not for the Coffin Board Skill's assistance, Jiang Yan Hai would not have found this sniper position with its extremely narrow field of view. Trees and vegetation blocked visibility almost everywhere else.

When Fan Tian Lei and the others stood in front of He Chen Guang's sniper position and began discussing it, Jiang Yan Hai could vaguely see the nostalgic look on Fan Tian Lei's face through his scope. But... sorry, Fan Tian Pit!

Jiang Yan Hai took a deep breath. He had long since lined up his shot. A few breaths later, he abruptly pulled the trigger. The bullet left the barrel at nearly 900 meters per second. By the time the sound reached their ears, the bullet had already struck its target.

After pulling the trigger, Jiang Yan Hai did not even look at the result. He swiftly disassembled the sniper rifle in his hands—not completely, only into two pieces—stuffed it into his backpack, and began rapidly clearing out the sniper position.

In the distance, as Fan Tian Lei was speaking with Chen Shan Ming, the laser unit near his neck suddenly went "snap," and blue smoke immediately rose from it. Right afterward, Miao Lang behind him also instantly began emitting blue smoke. Both men had been "killed"!

Fan Tian Lei was completely stunned! He stood there blankly for several seconds, while Chen Shan Ming reacted at once, diving behind a nearby tree and shouting, "Nine o'clock! Sniper!"

The Special Forces team scattered throughout the forest immediately charged toward Jiang Yan Hai's position. Though he had fired only one shot, one shot was enough for these Special Forces Soldiers to pinpoint his location. Besides, Jiang Yan Hai had not fitted a suppressor at all—this weapon could not take one anyway.

Coming back to his senses, Fan Tian Lei remained silent. He quietly tore off the armband on his arm, then suddenly laughed. "I never expected to get decapitated."

"No, he only fired one shot. Why was I killed too?" Miao Lang asked gloomily as he tore off his own armband behind Fan Tian Lei.

"Ask command," Fan Tian Lei said after a pause.

The laser assessment equipment used in the exercise was extremely precise, employing the latest technology. Unless they truly could have been killed, it would not directly rule them dead.

Miao Lang did not stand on ceremony. Although he could no longer communicate with Chen Shan Ming and the others after being killed, he could still contact command directly.

A few minutes later, Miao Lang looked at Fan Tian Lei with a strange expression. "Chief of Staff, uh... command says you were hit by a Large Caliber Anti-Materiel Sniper Rifle. That's why I, standing behind you, died too."

Fan Tian Lei froze for a moment, then laughed again. "Those brats are ruthless. They wouldn't even leave me an intact corpse?"

Miao Lang was speechless. He had been caught in the line of fire—literally!

If it had been a Type 88 sniper rifle, he obviously would not have been ruled dead.

But a 12.7-millimeter Large Caliber Anti-Materiel Sniper Rifle, even from over a thousand meters away, hitting a human body... it would not be as simple as leaving a hole.

If it hit somewhere like the thigh, it could probably blast the leg clean off. If it hit the abdomen... it could likely snap the spine outright. A hole the size of a washbasin would not be an exaggeration.

So, a human body simply could not stop the bullet. Miao Lang being killed while standing behind Fan Tian Lei was not hard to understand.

These were real firearms, not the kind in movies where a single shot merely leaves a finger-sized hole and a tiny spray of blood.

But after laughing, Fan Tian Lei took a deep breath and said directly, "Miao Lang, I'm assigning you a task. Find out who fired that shot."

"Could it have been from the sniper position we just inspected..." Miao Lang hesitated.

"No." Fan Tian Lei shook his head decisively. That was not He Chen Guang's style.

Besides, someone with that kind of thinking who could find such a sniper route through these woods was beyond He Chen Guang's level—at least, the current He Chen Guang could not do it.

Boom! Just as their conversation ended, a tremendous explosion suddenly sounded in the distance, followed by a series of blasts. There were only sound and light effects, with no destructive force.

"It seems our Special Forces Brigade is going to make a complete fool of itself this time." Fan Tian Lei's expression darkened.

He could accept being sniped as an accident. If it had been anyone else, Fan Tian Lei would not have come here to inspect the sniper position. That had been his own mistake.

But for Special Forces to fall for Booby Traps set by the enemy while pursuing them—that meant they were simply not competent enough at their job.

Miao Lang's expression also looked ugly, but he said nothing. An exercise was like a battlefield. A loss was a loss; any excuse was meaningless!

If this had been a real battlefield, they would already be corpses! Who would give them the chance to get angry?!

Boom! Another explosion sounded. Fan Tian Lei's face had gone as black as the bottom of a pot. A twelve-man Special Forces team had lost two men to sniping, then set off two Booby Traps. How many could possibly be left?

"Um... Chief of Staff, maybe we should head back first," Miao Lang said, swallowing hard. It was fine to joke around normally, but Fan Tian Lei right now was genuinely intimidating.

"Head back for what? We'll wait right here. I want to see how many of them return." Fan Tian Lei's voice was grim.

Miao Lang sighed inwardly. This was bad. Once this exercise was over, their group would probably suffer terribly. A horrifying round of training was waiting for them.

Fan Tian Lei truly did not move. He waited right where he was. About ten minutes later, a group of Special Forces Soldiers emerged from the woods with their caps off and their heads hanging low. Seeing Fan Tian Lei still there, they approached him timidly.

"Very good, very good! This is the famed Wolf Fang Special Forces Brigade's most elite Special Forces team!" Fan Tian Lei said calmly, but everyone could hear the fury contained in his tone.

"I accept that I, the Commander, was sniped. I brought it on myself by insisting on coming here to inspect the sniper position. But tell me this—your Special Forces team was chasing a sniper squad, and you actually fell for the enemy's Booby Traps?! What happened to your training? Did the dogs eat it all?!"

"One, two, three, four, five, six. Very good! Six so-called elites, trained with vast amounts of the country's money and time, were written off by a few tiny Booby Traps?!"

Fan Tian Lei counted them off one by one with his finger, then berated them until they were thoroughly humiliated. Including Miao Lang, all seven men lowered their heads and did not dare say a word.