Chapter 80: The Mannerheim Line Welcomes You XXII
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The sound of gunshots and shouting faded into the distance. Two hours later, it was all but complete silence. Zhang Heng deduced that they must have successfully broken through the enemies’ defensive lines.
Both of them had now reached the lake that Maji mentioned earlier, finding a boat tied to its banks. With that tiny rowboat, they would be able to shake off all the enemies that were chasing them, no longer having to worry about their scent being tracked down by hounds.
Just as Zhang Heng was about to get on the boat, Simone collapsed suddenly! A muzzle flash came from the darkness followed by a speeding bullet whizzing by. The round lodged itself in her shoulder and was embedded deep in her flesh.
There was an active shooter nearby!
Simone didn’t wait and reacted with lightning-fast reflexes. After going through several battles with Zhang Heng, both of them knew what to do by now. Instinctively, she rolled over to the side, quickly looking for a nearby tree nearby and took cover behind it. The second shot whizzed by Zhang Heng’s ear. This time, it was so close it left him paralyzed in shock!
Without a doubt, they had encountered a pro this time. The earlier battles might have looked dangerous as the enemies had the upper hand since they outnumbered them. However, both of them had the advantage when it came to fighting with a small group. It seemed like these new enemies had pretty good teamwork and strict discipline. They were, however, vulnerable when they were alone.
It was safe to say that although they were as skillful as the guerillas, they could never be as good as Simone.
However, the sniper that they just encountered was on a different level altogether. Judging by the accuracy of his shots, he must at least be as good as Simone. This guy would prove a painful headache to deal with. With such skills, he could easily be the poster boy of every task force that he joined.
If this were to be a normal situation, of course, they would have figured out a solution. Unfortunately, the enemy managed to land a shot on the shoulder that she used to hold her gun. Though she trained to shoot with her left hand, its speed and accuracy could never compare to her right. Frankly, this seemed the moment the grim reaper had finally arrived. They could seriously lose their lives at any moment now.
Zhang Heng realized that they were in a life-threatening situation. The visibility in the forest was so poor that he could not use his ace in the hole – Shadow Moment. The enemy might even call for backup if they continued to linger.
To their greatest surprise, the enemy who hid in the dark did not do so. After the two gunshots, silence once again embraced the forest. It was as if nothing happened. The wind passed them by, and the wooden boat still bobbed gently on the lakeside. Zhang Heng then saw blood dripping from her fingertips. Simone frowned but did not say a single word about it. She was unable to feel it, her arm becoming paralyzed in some way by the gunshot wound.
Zhang Heng drew in a deep breath and used his hand to signal Simone to relax. Usually, she would be the one protecting him in a situation like this. This time, Zhang Heng knew he needed to be the one that protected Simone. He then took out the wooden sculpture from his pocket and extended his arm with it. Seconds later, the sniper fired squarely at it without doubts! Zhang Heng held on to it as tightly he could to avoid it from flying out of his hand.
After that, he studied the wooden sculpture. By judging how deep the bullet had penetrated the wooden statue, Zhang Heng could calculate how far the sniper was. If Simone was not wounded, she could have surely returned fire. However, even without her assistance, Zhang Heng could still estimate where the sniper was. It would prove impossible for him to defeat the sniper if he charged out right now.
The sniper’s shooting skills clearly bettered Zhang Heng’s. The only way for him to win this fight was to pinpoint the sniper’s exact location. So, Zhang Heng took out the bullet-shaped lighter that he acquired earlier and used the same way to check out the sniper’s position. He struck the flint, and just as expected, the sniper landed a shot on the lighter. This time, the lighter was sent flying away from Zhang Heng’s hand.
Calmly, he took out the third item. This time, the sniper was smart enough to know Zhang Heng’s intention. No matter what Zhang Heng did, he stopped firing at the item that he saw. Two minutes later, Zhang Heng took out his cellphone. Ever since he joined the guerillas, he had stopped using it. Initially, its battery was at 50%. After putting it to sleep for two months, it was now left with a lethargic 10%. It was just enough to help him to gain the upper hand.
No one in this era had seen a cellphone before. The two items that Zhang Heng sent out were just decoys. As the third item that he sent out was his cell, he used it to record his surroundings for two minutes. Lastly, he turned on his flash function to illuminate he place a total of four times.
And that was how Zhang Heng located where the sniper was. The sniper was well prepared, wearing a ghillie suit of sorts. Not only was he equipped with camouflage, but he enhanced it with snow, mud, and branches. He was now one with his surroundings, almost invisible if one did not look hard enough.
Unfortunately, he could not escape the sharpness of a modern 12-megapixel camera. The real danger had only begun.
Zhang Heng’s advantage was that he came in a pair. Therefore, it was impossible for the sniper to know who was going to attack first. In other words, he had to split his attention between two different persons, continually shifting from side to side. When Zhang Heng enlarged the photo that he took, he saw that the sniper expression, an excited, gleeful sneer across his face. He was beaming with some sort of glorious purpose in his eyes.
Was he relishing the joys of hunting?
Zhang Heng finally understood why the sniper didn’t call for his allies. This was his hunting grounds and would never allow anyone to encroach his territory. Zhang Heng knew that ultimately, he wasn’t the target.
His target was the girl known as the White Death – Simone.
It seemed like the reason why he fired the shot earlier was to eliminate Zhang Heng. With that, he would be able to have a head-to-head face-off with Simone.
Zhang Heng signaled Simone to relax her injured shoulder and hold the rifle in her other hand. Though he could not see what was going on, he could guess that the sniper must be really nervous right now.
The final showdown was nigh!
Seconds later, a black shadow charged from the back of a tree! The sniper cowering behind the trees had an adrenalin rush the moment he saw something flashig in front of him.
Prey?!
No. It couldn’t be.
It was a trap!
The astute sniper took a swift 0.01 seconds to deduce that the black shadow was simply a jacket! Though he had his rifle aimed at it, he managed to stop himself from pulling the trigger. At the same time, he got even more excited. Simone must have been ready to return fire since she pulled a trick like this.
Seconds later, his heart skipped a beat. That was because it wasn’t Simone that had appeared from the tree, but instead, Zhang Heng was the one who had emerged from another direction!
It was at that moment that the sniper realized he had made a fatal mistake.
He expected that Simone would come out to take the shot. The jacket and Zhang Heng were just illusions and distractions! Hence, he did not shift his aim.
Besides, he was initially confident enough that they were unable to pinpoint the exact spot he was hiding in such a short amount of time. That was why he hesitated. At the same time, Zhang Heng lifted up his rifle as fast as possible. Utilizing the shortest amount of time, he took aim and fixed his posture fo the shot.
Zhang Heng now knew exactly where he was hiding.
He knelt on the ground and prepared to pull his trigger at the sniper. However, the enemy soon realized that someone was aiming at him from another direction and immediately changed his aim. Zhang Heng heard something but in his deep concentration, he couldn’t identify the sound.
Both of them then pulled the trigger at the same time.
One bullet grazed someone’s face. The other had penetrated someone’s skull.