Chapter 59: Stealth Assault—Eight Against the Entire Tribe

Two pickup trucks rolled to a halt in the woods. The group retrieved their gear from the truck beds, camouflaged the vehicles with tarps, and gathered around the hood of the lead truck where their captain, Tiger, was waiting.

It was time for the pre-mission briefing.

Xing Xiaolong wasn’t admitted to the inner circle and could only stand on the outskirts, listening in silently. He didn’t feel slighted; after all, a man should know his own place.

This PMC team had clearly worked together before, their coordination well-honed, and their roles perfectly balanced. There was a professional sniper, a demolitions expert, an assault specialist, a reconnaissance scout, an intelligence officer, a medic, a communications and navigation officer, and a specialized driver—each man was a master of his own field.

Xing Xiaolong, the so-called “sixth man” with no particular expertise, would only disrupt their rhythm if he tried to join in. Listening to the plan and understanding the mission details was enough for him.

It was like living as a family of three: you’d gotten used to running around in shorts after a shower, and then suddenly your girlfriend’s best friend or your parents came to stay to help with the baby—your routine would be thrown into chaos.

And on high-risk missions like this, disruption in rhythm could be deadly.

Though he didn’t understand much about special operations or the subtle maneuvers of these ex-special forces PMC operatives, Xing Xiaolong grasped this basic rule of the battlefield.

“You’ve all seen the intel on this mission, so I won’t repeat myself,” Tiger began.

He looked every inch the burly Russian commando, with a bushy beard and a metal flask always hanging at his side, which he sipped from now and then.

But once the operation began, his demeanor transformed entirely. The ruggedness coalesced into a formidable, intimidating presence; his wild beard became an emblem of authority and decisiveness.

He spread out a detailed aerial map of the Kaso tribe’s territory, taken by a high-altitude drone, across the truck’s hood.

“According to our intel, the Kaso tribe has around a hundred armed men. Most of the village buildings are hollow concrete brick, with two or three stories. Here and here are checkpoints, with armed guards on patrol. If we’re spotted and it turns into a street fight, it’ll be to our great disadvantage.

“So, this time we’re going in covertly. Our objective is to extract the rescue target without alerting anyone else. There’s a river mouth two kilometers west of the village—that’s our primary extraction point. At exactly 7:00 AM on the 17th, two fast boats will be waiting to get us out to safety. Where we are now will serve as the secondary extraction point. If we get the target out of the village, the sniper stays behind to cover and observe, and the rest provide mutual support en route to Point One. As long as we board those boats, the job is basically done.

“That’s the main plan. Now, for your assignments once we reach the objective.

“Baldy, you and Trist, same as always—find an observation post and feed us real-time intel. Take out targets at range if necessary, got it?”

“OK! No problem,” replied the bald-headed Black man and another PMC, nodding in turn.

Tiger continued, “Our intel may be outdated—there could have been changes. Before we go in, we need to reconfirm. Black Fox, I need you to grab a prisoner and verify our intel. Can you handle it?”

“Tiger, are you doubting me? Or maybe…” Black Fox flicked her bright red tongue along her lips, lifted Tiger’s chin with a teasing hand, and smiled seductively, “You think I’m not alluring enough? But your eyes have already betrayed you, haven’t they?” She gave a low, throaty laugh.

“You damn vixen, always tempting me but never letting me touch you. You’d better hope you never fall into my hands, or I’ll show you what a real tiger is,” Tiger growled, clearly aroused, reaching for her hand. Black Fox slipped away with a nimble twist, and Tiger, his eyes blazing, could only glare at her in frustration, earning snickers from the rest of the team.

“She really is a witch,” someone muttered.

Seeing even Tiger couldn’t handle Black Fox, Xing Xiaolong felt all the more wary of her. Never mind how she became a commando—just the fact that she’d carved out her own place in the cutthroat world of intelligence spoke volumes about her prowess.

A greenhorn like him wouldn’t stand a chance if she set her sights on him. He’d be as helpless as a rabbit in a python’s coils—utterly at her mercy until nothing was left of him.

Once all the assignments were given, it was already past 5:00 PM.

Tiger gave Xing Xiaolong a “glorious” task—guarding the two vehicles. Then he led the PMC team, skirting the edge of the woods, toward the Kaso tribe three kilometers away.

“Seven against over a hundred, and they want me to stay here and watch the cars? What are they thinking?” Xing Xiaolong glared after the departing team, fuming. He itched to crack open Tiger’s skull and see what was going on inside.

Wouldn’t one more fighter help?

He couldn’t understand it.

He also recalled how Black Fox had taunted him before she left, patting his cheek and saying, “Dear little magician, this job is too dangerous for you. Be good and wait here. Once I’ve rescued the hostage, I’ll take you to the Peace Hotel and book a presidential suite—then you’d better show me some magic tricks.”

To be so openly mocked and dismissed by a woman—it made Xing Xiaolong even angrier the more he thought about it.

“Magic tricks, my foot! Guard the damn cars? I’m a real soldier. Even if I die in there, I won’t let you foreigners look down on me!”

His temper flared. Without another thought, he shouldered his tactical backpack and set off in pursuit.

Tiger noticed him catching up and raised his thick eyebrows, clearly about to lose his temper. But remembering that the mission required this outside support, he held his tongue. He simply shot Xing Xiaolong a fierce glare—a silent warning to behave.

Baldy, the sniper, and Xing Xiaolong got along well, their rapport stronger than with the other PMCs. He slapped Xing Xiaolong on the shoulder in welcome, giving him a thumbs-up—whether in admiration for Xing Xiaolong’s courage or for defying Tiger’s orders, it was hard to say.

Black Fox, running at the rear, shot him a new look as well. She hadn’t expected him to be so brave, to forgo safety and willingly join a rescue mission that could cost him his life.

Regardless of his professional skills, that kind of fearlessness earned her respect.