Wang Yan had nearly started smoking.
It had been just as sudden as before. In the middle of everyone laughing and chatting, people had started smoking with a hiss.
Only Wang Yan and one other soldier were still in. The other had survived by sheer luck; Wang Yan hadn't, though he could also be called lucky.
To guard against another ambush, he had arranged for his soldiers to keep watch, then ran up the hillside to scout the area. He had barely reached the slope and hadn't even begun scouting when he saw smoke rising from the woods.
Less than a minute later, Gao Cheng's voice came over the radio. "Wang Yan, the Blue Army just saturated that whole area of yours with firepower. You dodged it, right?"
"I'm not smoking. Company Commander, there's no question now—it's definitely Old A. That bastard Yuan Lang has no sense of fair play. He must've spotted me and just shelled me outright. Fuck."
"This is war. What, were they supposed to give you a warning first? If I were him, I'd shell you too. Anyone using lives to fill the gap is an idiot." Gao Cheng laughed. "If anyone's to blame, it's you. You went over to their side before and didn't know how to keep a low profile. Now look at you. They found your position and immediately hit it with saturation fire. All right, hurry and see how many are left in your squad, then pull back."
"Yes!"
Wang Yan acknowledged him and hurried down the slope.
Gao Cheng was right. Just as he had said before, when facing snipers, bombard them with artillery; when facing special forces, surround and suppress them with large formations. Leave them nowhere to flee, above or below—that was the correct choice.
It was also an