Chapter 555: Night Assault: Bats in the Shadows

A tamed bird, sent to infiltrate Section Three, was shot by Xia Qing and exploded in mid-air just fifteen meters from where Xia Qing and Er Gou were hiding.

The blast from the high-grade bomb thundered through the air, the shockwave slamming into Xia Qing. Her ears rang, her vision spun, and nausea hit hard—but she didn’t even blink.

Those ten days of special training with Yan Long weren’t for nothing, nor was the winter training fee she paid to the Azure Dragon Squad. As a sniper, you have to lock onto your target fast, no matter what happens.

Using the blinding flash from the explosion, Xia Qing fired off shots in rapid succession.

“Bang! Bang!”

“Boom!”

“Boom!!”

“Bang!”

“Boom!!!”

With two quick shots, Xia Qing took down two low-flying tamed birds carrying explosive payloads. One was above her own territory, the other hovered over the neighboring Section Four.

At the same time, Hu Zifeng shot down another tamed bird as it entered Section Three.

Now showing clear signs of blast-induced hearing loss, Xia Qing couldn’t hear a thing. She pressed both walkie-talkie buttons, pushed out a rapid announcement through the Inspection Team and Lords’ channels: “There are four low-flying tamed birds carrying bombs over Sections Three and Four. Visual ID: large mutated bats coated in a new stealth material—they evade night vision, high threat. Xia Qing’s hearing impaired, can’t receive orders. Requesting immediate emergency lighting from Territory One and Territory Seven; use the intense beams to take down the bats fast.”

Those outdoor emergency lights were blindingly bright. Turning them on wouldn’t just reveal the invading birds—it would lure flocks of other birds toward the territory, creating a whole new crisis.

But right now, the danger from drawing in common birds was nothing compared to the threat from these bomb-laden invaders.

Before Xia Qing had even finished, lights flashed on across Territory One, Territory Seven, Territory Eight, and atop Hill Forty-Nine. Seconds later, Territory Twelve, Territory Twenty-One, and Territory Twenty-Five joined in.

With six territories and the mountaintop all lighting up, the whole of Section One—twenty-six territories—was bathed in harsh light. The infiltrator birds had nowhere to hide.

“Boom——”

“Boom——”

“Boom——”

The blasts echoed out from Territory One and Territory Eight. Standing on the high slope of Section Three, Xia Qing could see that Territory One’s explosion went off in low air, while over in Territory Eight, the blast was on the ground, causing real damage. Who would’ve guessed—in weather colder than minus twenty degrees—someone would send out mutated bats to bomb their way in!

“The compost factory in Territory Eight was hit. Casualties reported.”

Over on the Inspection Team channel (which Xia Qing couldn’t hear), Xin Yu calmly but with cold resolve requested: “I request to withdraw surveillance birds from over the territory and search for the humans controlling the invading tamed birds outside.”

“Approved. Be careful out there.” Tan Junjie, still fending off the beast tide in the southern sector, gave his okay. “The beast horde and aerial birds will be attracted by the floodlights and move toward Section One. In eight minutes, all emergency lights must go off.”

The main beast horde was almost here.

Xin Yu replied, “Copy that.”

Ji Li made an announcement on the Inspection Team channel: “Captain Tan, the invading birds are flying too low—the laser cannon in Territory Seven can’t get a shot.”

This time, the invaders had figured out the local defense—sending in mutated bats skimming along at low altitude. It’s not that the laser cannon can’t hit them, but firing it at ground level risks injuring people and destroying facilities inside the territory.

Tan Junjie replied, steady as ever, “Territory Seven covers high-altitude threats. Low-flying bats are down to the sniper teams.”

“Roger.”

“Roger that.”

On the Alliance channel, Yue Haiying checked in for updates from Sections Three and Four.

Since Xia Qing couldn’t hear, Hu Zifeng replied, “Five invading bats eliminated over Section Three. Xia Qing’s hearing is impaired but no other injuries.”

In Section Four, Zhao Ze, hunkered down in an underground shelter, answered, “Two invading bats found in Section Four—one shot down by Xia Qing, the other by Cheng Ping. No sign of a third yet.”

Yue Haiying gave orders: “Hu Ningsheng and Ding Hao—head immediately to the south side of Sections Three and Four for backup. Yin Jie, stay on standby. Everyone be alert and stay hidden.”

“Roger.”

“On it.”

Cheng Ping, a retired soldier from Territory Fifteen, had a stiff left arm but sharp shooting skills—he’d been sent to help guard Section Four. Yin Jie and Ding Hao, both from Xia Qing’s hired Azure Dragon Squad, were now under Yue Haiying’s command.

Over in the Lords’ channel, Tang Huai’s message came through, fraught with worry: “Xia Qing, what’s with all those explosions in Section Three? Are you all right? Xin Yu, Zhao Ze, you two okay?”

Xia Qing didn’t hear any of it. She led her partner to a new spot, hiding behind a cluster of shrubs, and took out a raptor that dove down from above.

That first exploding bird was clearly aimed at her. Whoever was working in the shadows had already found her hiding spot with surveillance gear. If not for Er Gou’s sharp instincts, she’d have taken a much worse hit.

After confirming a hit, Xia Qing quickly brushed her left arm along her teammate. Er Gou’s hearing was even keener than hers, but he’d likely been hit with the same blast damage.

Just as Er Gou was about to nuzzle Xia Qing’s arm in return, his whole body went tense. Xia Qing, right beside him, picked up on it instantly. She swung her rifle in the direction he was watching—and spotted Hu Zifeng approaching.

It was always odd—Hu Zifeng’s squad moved through Section Three all the time. The two mutated animals inside the territory were used to them but never saw them as allies.

“Er, it’s fine, he’s one of us.” With her left hand, Xia Qing pulled Er Gou back by the neck to calm him down before explaining to Hu Zifeng, “Captain Hu, Er and I both have hearing damage, that’s why he’s so jumpy.”

Hu Zifeng gave an ‘OK’ hand sign to show he understood. He kept his distance, staying about eight meters away, set a small box on the ground, and raised his phone for Xia Qing to see.

“Got it. I’ll check my phone.”

Once Hu Zifeng had withdrawn, Xia Qing let go of Er Gou, grabbed the box he’d left, and quickly returned to her hiding spot. She signaled for Er Gou to stand guard, then took cover behind a large tree to check her phone. She’d felt it vibrating earlier but hadn’t been able to check in the chaos.

Messages from her idol, Hu Zifeng, and Tang Huai lit up the screen. She opened her idol’s first, then Hu Zifeng’s, then Tang Huai’s.

Her idol had learned through the walkie-talkie that Xia Qing’s hearing was damaged, and sent someone over with medicine! Hu Zifeng briefed her on all the chatter in the channel, while Tang Huai wanted to know if she was all right.

Xia Qing replied quickly to all three, then took off her protective mask. Following her idol’s instructions, she took the medicine—internal dose, external drips, massaging her pressure points—to ease the ringing and dizziness as fast as possible.

After massaging the points around her own ears, Xia Qing moved on to treat Er Gou, using the medicine and massage. Whether wolves and humans shared the same pressure points didn’t really cross her mind. Any treatment was better than none.

Once the floodlights switched on, the invaders pulled back their bomb-carrying birds, but now raptors, drawn to the bright lights, were converging on the area. Territory Seven’s laser cannon needed time to cool down, but these predators didn’t. The sniper teams went all out, working with the laser gun to cut down the raptors.

After a two-minute ear massage, Sniper Xia Qing slid her protective mask back on, grabbed her rifle, and rejoined the fight—Er Gou at her side.

Though all she could hear was the ringing in her ears, Xia Qing knew full well—the main beast horde was closing in.

She could feel it in the ground beneath her feet—the tremors growing stronger with each passing second!