Fishing, Just Hardcore Fishing

Gu Hang certainly had his own plans.

Since he had already guessed that this matter was suspicious, the road to rescue Yan Fangxu would likely not be peaceful. Naturally, he would not allow himself to fall into an enemy trap without any preparation.

Currently, he was fairly certain that those targeting him were the Primal Angry Owl Sect. This group of cultists had been under significant pressure due to his crackdown on Revival City; unable to solve the problem, they had begun to try and solve the person who posed the problem.

Namely, the Governor himself.

The fact that they also possessed the initial ability to drive mutant monsters was somewhat unexpected.

However, he judged that the forces these cultists could mobilize should not be overly powerful. If they had the capability and wanted his life, they wouldn't need to go through such trouble; they would have simply gathered their forces to launch a direct assault on his camp.

The fact that they didn't do so clearly meant they couldn't. They had to choose the dense forest as their battlefield to leverage the advantages of the monsters they controlled and maximize their chances of victory.

Having understood this premise, Gu Hang would not rashly lead the 2nd Infantry Battalion into the woods.

With four armored vehicles clearing the way and a large number of infantry following behind, the entire formation moved along the edge of the forest.

Gu Hang led the troops, searching for a route that was closer to the besieged Yan Fangxu and had sparser trees.

It didn't matter if they walked a little slowly.

After all, Yan Fangxu had said that he was not in any immediate danger for the time being.

Gu Hang was more than happy to take his time.

In reality, rescuing Yan Fangxu was not Gu Hang's primary objective for coming out.

His operation was not urgent at all. Although he put on a show of heading for a rescue, in truth, he just wanted to lure the enemy out.

While still at the edge of the forest, before they had even entered, his team encountered a small-scale attack.

A cluster of Abscess Monsters rushed out, but they were wiped out by a single round of fire from the soldiers.

It felt more like a probe, or a sign of insufficient control over a large-scale monster force.

Unfortunately, it failed to lure out the enemy's main force.

Thus, after some thought, Gu Hang waved his hand and led the troops into the dense forest.

Continuing to fish.

After officially entering the woods, Gu Hang's team moved even slower. They maintained a tight formation at all times, relying on the four Striders and refusing to let their guard down. If the trees were too dense, they preferred to stop temporarily to burn and clear them, ensuring a clear line of sight.

When fishing, if you use yourself as bait, you cannot let yourself be truly bitten.

The Governor's troops were so unhurried and steady that it was truly agonizing for others.

Pobov was feeling a bit anxious.

His 2nd Battalion hadn't competed with Yan Fangxu last time and hadn't landed the job of clearing the forest mutants, which left him feeling stifled; stuck in the camp, he could only vent his energy by drilling his soldiers.

Suddenly hearing the Governor's order to assemble his troops, he and his men were instantly invigorated. Especially upon hearing that their mission was to rescue the 3rd Battalion, led by Yan Fangxu, which was surrounded by a large number of mutant monsters in the forest, he was eager to get into the fray.

So you're a veteran, huh? A formal officer from the Imperial Navy, right? Doesn't that still mean a mud-legged grunt like me has to come save you?

He truly wished he could lead his troops through the entire forest immediately, kill his way to Yan Fangxu, and then laugh loudly in that guy's face.

However, he was still able to suppress his desire for battle.

When they set off, the Governor had roughly explained the objective of this operation: the rescue was secondary; the main point was that they might encounter an ambush on the way, and they needed to lure the ambushers out.

Upon hearing this news, he was filled with even greater rage.

Someone actually dared to plot against the Governor?

That was truly an irreconcilable enemy!

In Pobov's heart, plotting against the Governor was even more hateful than plotting against himself.

He had returned to the Waste Mine Society a while ago, and although it hadn't been long since he left home, the place had undergone earth-shaking changes. Having enough to eat and wear was just the basics; everyone now lived in houses on the surface, no longer needing to crowd into caves and live a life without sunlight.

The houses in the residential area were currently temporary prefabricated units, but plans were already underway to build new brick and cement factories, and an area had been zoned to build a section of detached small houses. Pobov had seen the architectural blueprints—they were beautiful. Back when he worked in the caves, he could only dream of living in such a house.

Housing would be allocated based on work points. With the work points Pobov earned as a soldier and the points his wife earned at the factory, they would be able to move into the first batch of houses once they were built.

Life was getting better and better, and Pobov deeply understood that he was not just fighting for the Governor right now; he was fighting to protect the life that had finally become better.

All of this was brought by the Governor. Whoever dared to harm the Governor, whoever dared to interrupt their pursuit of a better life, was his mortal enemy!

It was precisely because of this that he could completely suppress his desire for battle. He executed the Governor's steady, step-by-step orders without reservation, hiding all his anger in his heart, waiting for the moment of release.

When this anger erupted, it would surely burn fiercely.

And this opportunity for eruption did not make Pobov wait too long.

The enemy had arrived.

They could hear the roars unique to the Abscess Monsters coming from all around the dense forest, becoming clearer and clearer.

Their roars were very peculiar. These monsters, which had no heads and no mouths, would emit a sound to intimidate their prey through the high-frequency vibration of the lumps all over their bodies—sharp and unpleasant.

Upon hearing the commotion, without the Governor needing to say anything, Pobov relayed the order to each company. They immediately stopped their clearing work and quickly shifted into a defensive formation.

A moment later, the figures of those disgusting monsters could already be vaguely seen through the woods.

But the soldiers still adhered to combat discipline and did not open fire immediately. Only the designated marksmen within the companies, who possessed superior shooting skills and more suitable precision rifles, attempted long-range kills.

For now, the gunfire was still sparse, but almost every time a shot rang out, a monster in the forest fell.

A few moments later, those monsters drew even closer to the edge of the woods, nearing the small clearing that the soldiers had cleared out.

It was only at this moment that the officers of various ranks finally gave the order to open fire.

In an instant, bullets, artillery fire, and the autocannons of the infantry fighting vehicles blanketed the entire surrounding area.

Under the baptism of the metal storm, many of those monsters fell before they could even charge out of the dense forest; even those that managed to break through only stepped closer to death, being gunned down by the hail of bullets.

The well-prepared human soldiers held their ground as solid as a fortress!