Chapter 1017 - 1002: Mountain Forest Operation (4)

Chapter 1017: Chapter 1002: Mountain Forest Operation (4)

Using the trees for cover, Old Xu and Lei Tong advanced alternately, their crouched movements swift as if they were leopards prowling through the forest.

Upon reaching the cave entrance, the two of them stuck to the edges on either side.

Drawing his knife, Old Xu peeked into the cave entrance. Since he had previously confirmed the situation with binoculars, he was somewhat prepared for what he would find there.

And as expected, there was nothing unusual.

With this in mind, Old Xu casually pulled out the 92 from his chest pocket.

Similarly, Lei Tong was ready with his double-barreled shotgun for entering the cave.

Nobody knew what the situation inside the cave was like. Even though Old Xu hadn’t heard any strange sounds from inside, it didn’t guarantee safety.

As for Old Xu giving up the use of the 95 automatic rifle, opting instead for a left-gun, right-knife weapon allocation, it was to guard against a sudden attack from zombies.

After all, the mountain forest was vast, and any noise could easily be amplified infinitely. Old Xu didn’t want the sound of gunfire to bring trouble upon himself.

Of course, if the opponents were that group of convicts, then...

When necessary, use it!

After signaling a readiness gesture to Lei Tong, Old Xu dashed into the cave.

Once inside the cave, his gun-holding left hand was immediately positioned above his knife-holding right hand.

As a scout, Old Xu was a sharpshooter with both hands, and the positioning was mainly to increase the stability of the gun during firing.

With the muzzle moving quickly in the cave’s direction, Old Xu’s eyes scanned the cave like radar.

Undoubtedly, at this moment, any living creature appearing in front of him would not escape being killed by his weapon.

"Clear!" The situation within his line of sight was quickly checked and confirmed by Old Xu, who then signaled forward to Lei Tong, who was on guard behind him.

It must be said, the coordination between Lei and Xu was impeccable. Throughout, they hadn’t spoken a word, yet their movements were seamless.

Now, what lay before Lei Tong and Old Xu was a corridor.

The corridor extended deep and winding, making it impossible to see inside from the outside, and impossible to know its length.

This was nature’s masterful work, which could well have been a destination for hikers and adventurers.

However, at this moment, this dark and endless corridor undoubtedly posed a significant obstacle to Old Xu and Lei Tong’s advance.

Since ancient times, caves have been places easy to defend but difficult to attack.

If the convicts had set up an ambush at the other end, once Old Xu and Lei Tong were inside, they would need only to stick out their guns and fire without even exposing their heads to deal with Xu and Lei with stray bullets.

Fortunately, Old Xu and Lei Tong had handled similar situations more than once before, so they remained relatively calm mentally.

Hopefully, this damned passage isn’t too long! Old Xu took a deep breath and gave Lei Tong a look, indicating he was ready to act.

Based on the situation observed outside, Old Xu speculated that if the convicts were inside, they likely hadn’t discovered their intrusion.

In other words, as long as their actions were fast and swift, they could catch the enemy by surprise before being detected.

This was what Old Xu loved doing during missions in the past — attacking suddenly while the enemy was unprepared. Old Xu took a step and ventured deeper into the cave.

But after just two steps, he stopped again.

Seeing him stop, Lei Tong, who was on guard behind, immediately crouched low, his double-barreled shotgun steady and aimed at the corridor.

However, Old Xu didn’t act further. He stepped back and glanced down at the ground.

It turned out that as he walked, he clearly felt like he had stepped on something.

After looking down, Old Xu carefully crouched and picked up the item. Upon closer inspection, it was a bullet casing.

"5.2MM!" Old Xu quickly identified the caliber of the casing in his mind.

The convicts just so happened to have firearms that matched this bullet casing. So, this meant...

Roughly deducing what happened here in his mind, it was likely that the convicts had encountered a zombie attack. The spent casings on the ground suggested they had fought their way out within the cave.

Whether or not they succeeded in breaking out, it’s unlikely there would be any survivors deeper in the cave.

After all, if they broke out, they would have left.

Conversely, if trapped inside, they would either have been devoured by zombies or starved to death.

With this deduction, Old Xu felt even more confident.

After giving Lei Tong a reassuring glance to signal "all clear," Old Xu continued advancing with his gun forward.

With Old Xu leading and Lei Tong following, they advanced deeper inside, their seemingly slow movements concealing many tactical elements.

The corridor was shorter than Old Xu had anticipated; after about ten meters of crouched advance with Lei Tong, their view suddenly opened up.

Amazing! No wonder the convicts chose this place to hide. Taking a deep breath, Old Xu looked at the spacious cave in front of him.

However, he quickly shifted his focus away from these insignificant matters.

"Captain, look!!" Lei Tong’s big hand extended in front of Old Xu.

Old Xu glanced and saw it was still spent bullet casings.

Having noticed this from the moment he entered the cave, Old Xu wasn’t surprised, as he had seen many bullet casings scattered on the cave floor.

"Mmm." He nodded. Since any immediate threats were eliminated and no sign of convicts remained, Old Xu saw no need to stay silent any longer.

He quickly walked to the wall and felt the uneven rock wall, confirming his suspicion that it was embedded with bullet holes of various sizes.

"Old Xu, there’s a corpse here!" Following Lei Tong’s voice, Old Xu saw the corpse. Judging by its degree of decomposition, it had been there for some time.

It seemed the convicts had indeed been attacked by zombies.

Faced with this outcome, though somewhat unexpected, Old Xu was still pleased with what he saw.

After all, those convicts were death-row inmates with blood on their hands, each deserved execution. Being cleared by zombies now was just deserved, nothing to regret.

Afterwards, Lei Tong and Old Xu carefully searched through the cave again, but except for finding a pile of junk, they didn’t gain any substantial findings.

So, the two returned and rejoined their team.

"How was it, Old Xu? Those guys?" As soon as Xu and Lei emerged, Hu Xiaodong immediately asked.

Of course, Luo Baochun was also concerned about this question, hoping those guys would have died in the cave so his identity would remain secret.

Old Xu briefly recounted everything he and Lei Tong saw in the cave to the group.

He also shared his analysis on the convicts’ encounter with zombie attacks.

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn’t help but sigh, and just then, the long-silent mountain forest suddenly became restless. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for recommendation votes and monthly tickets on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)