Chapter 542
devoid of emotion
After obtaining evidence, his identity was exposed, and he was imprisoned.
However, the drug cartel has not yet obtained any leads from the undercover agent, so the person is still alive.
Even so, the time left for Jiang Nian and his team to carry out the rescue was not much.
"This is the Golden Eagle, this is the Golden Eagle. You only have twenty-four hours to rescue them. We have received accurate information that our men will be executed in twenty-four hours. In this operation, the Golden Eagle will only be responsible for remote monitoring; the entire operation will be directed by the toolbox. There must be no mistakes, no mistakes!"
Fan Tianlei's voice came through the headset.
Time was indeed extremely tight.
No one disagreed that Jiang Nian was in command of this operation.
Having gone through thick and thin together on missions, He Chenguang and his group had an extraordinary level of trust in Jiang Nian's ability to control him.
"Falcon and flamingo form one group, snow leopard and buffalo form another, search for bombs at three-meter intervals, report immediately upon finding a bomb, and the toolbox is responsible for dismantling it."
Jiang Nian's emotionless voice followed immediately.
This operation involved a total of five people, including Jiang Nian.
The golden eagle Fan Tianlei's remote monitoring was actually unable to provide any assistance.
After all, no one knows the exact location of the bombs in this forest.
It is said that Wang Ba's drug cartel has people who modify and maintain the bombs in the forest every month. Even if someone has risked their life to draw a map of the outer bomb distribution, the map becomes useless as soon as the other party makes changes.
The three-meter spacing is the most suitable distance calculated by Jiang Nian.
If you're more than three meters away, you're very likely to step on a bomb.
The bombs in the forest come in various types, and if you're not careful, they might explode before Jiang Nian can disarm them.
Their mission was to rescue their undercover agent and obtain evidence from him, and they had to avoid alerting the drug lord before entering his territory.
Compared to previous missions, this mission is more challenging, and it also requires everyone to be more careful and attentive, and not to be careless or negligent.
The group responded simultaneously to Jiang Nian's instructions.
After giving the signal to proceed, Jiang Nian took the lead and dismantled the bomb at the edge of the forest.
They still managed to get the map of the entire forest.
The drug cartel was located in the southeast corner of the forest, while Jiang Nian and his group were in the southwest corner, completely at opposite ends of the diagonal. Therefore, after checking the map, Jiang Nian chose the shortest route to proceed.
After the first bomb was successfully defused, He Chenguang and Wang Yanbing took the lead and were on high alert. Li Erniu and Gong Jian's group kept a distance of 1.5 meters from He Chenguang and his group, and a distance of 3 meters from Jiang Nian.
Almost at the three-meter mark, two voices rang in Jiang Nian's earpiece at the same time.
"Falcon has spotted a bomb, located approximately 2.8 meters to the left and in front of the toolbox!"
"Buffalo spotted a bomb, located approximately 3.1 meters to the right front of the toolbox!"
"Toolbox received, received. After accurately marking the bomb's location, you retreat and take cover!"
After modifying the bomb that Jiang Nian had just dismantled, he put it into his toolbox and then cautiously walked toward the location of the bomb that He Chenguang and Li Erniu had discovered.
This time, the bombs were of a much higher level than those at the edge.
It took Jiang Nian ten minutes to successfully defuse the two bombs.
After reviewing the map again, Jiang Nian estimated that, based on the current density of bombs discovered, there were at least two hundred bombs that needed to be defused.
This drug cartel has so many bombs, aren't they afraid of blowing up their own people?
No wonder it hasn't been taken down yet. With so many bombs, if they can't all be defused and a safe passage cleared, even if someone manages to escape the bombs and enter the core area, they still won't be able to get out.
Because by then, with real gunfire and live ammunition, there will be no chance to pay attention to the bombs underfoot.
In the entire forest, apart from the sound of the wind, there were only the chirping of insects and birds. Even the breathing of He Chenguang and his companions could not be heard at all.
Sweat dripped from Jiang Nian's forehead, but he didn't even have time to raise his hand to wipe it away.
At this moment, every second counts.
There are many types of bombs, and in a short period of time, Jiang Nian's bomb disposal skills have improved considerably.
"Task issued, task issued—"
The system's voice, unusually, rang out.
Jiang Nian was momentarily stunned.
The system, that damn thing, hasn't shown its face for so long. How can its sudden appearance not be surprising?
Looking at the bomb he had half-disarmed, Jiang Nian stroked his chin and pondered seriously: This mission doesn't seem to have anything special about it, does it?
"What mission?"
Jiang Nian still asked. After all, the system was very shrewd; if he didn't accept the mission, all the skills he had previously acquired would be taken back. Jiang Nian felt that he had completely seen through the system's tricks.
As the host, I have absolutely no right to refuse missions.
In a matter of minutes, the system will remind you: if you do not accept the task or fail to complete it, everything will be taken back and you will be back to square one!
Wait a minute, the phrase "back to square one" isn't quite accurate. I'm just a normal person, not a monster who cultivated into a spirit. Using that phrase to describe myself does feel a bit strange.
"Host, you have twelve hours to defuse all the bombs in the entire forest without alerting any hostile forces within. If you fail to complete the mission within the time limit, all skills will be revoked!"
The system's voice was cold and devoid of any emotion. Jiang Nian was utterly speechless.
Sure enough, he was absolutely right—this damn system always pulls this trick.
The key is, he actually falls for it; he has no choice! When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Jiang Nian feels that he's probably the most "pathetic" host when facing a system.
"Accept the mission. But what's the reward this time?" Compared to missions like repairing satellites, defusing bombs isn't a particularly challenging task for Jiang Nian. So he was curious: what kind of reward would the system give for this kind of mission?
"If the host completes the task within the specified time, he/she will receive the task reward. The reward is: an upgrade to the system's bomb repair skill, and the acquisition of advanced bomb repair skill."
Surprisingly, the system announced the task rewards in advance.
Well, I've probably been living too comfortably lately and forgot that my bomb-related skills are only at the intermediate level.
However, there were more than twice as many bombs in the forest as Jiang Nian had initially estimated. Not only was time pressing, but the crucial question was: what if they encountered overly complex bombs? Jiang Nian stroked his chin, pondering: what if they couldn't handle them?
That system is such a pain; it even added a special clause to the mission requirements: "Absolutely no one on the enemy side must be alerted." Sighing inwardly, Jiang Nian realized he had no other choice but to keep going.
"Toolbox? Toolbox? Are you having trouble defusing the bomb?"
He Chenguang's voice came through the earpiece.
Jiang Nian had always been quick at defusing bombs throughout the journey. But this time, he hesitated for ten minutes before facing the bomb in front of him. This aroused suspicion among He Chenguang and the others who were scouting ahead.
Could it be that even someone with Jiang Nian's abilities would encounter a bomb he couldn't handle?
If that's the case, it will be extremely difficult to complete this mission smoothly.
While waiting for Jiang Nian's response, countless thoughts raced through the minds of the others.
"It's alright, I'll take care of this bomb. You guys continue scouting."
Jiang Nian responded to He Chenguang and the others, and his movements immediately quickened.
"Here's the toolbox. Aside from the bombs, there are no other dangers in the forest for now. Falcon, Snow Leopard, Flamingo, and Buffalo, split into four groups and mark the bombs you encounter. After marking them, find a safe spot and continue forward. Stop and wait 500 meters from the drug lord's territory!"
The system's task was to defuse bombs throughout the entire forest, and time was of the essence. Jiang Nian had no choice but to have He Chenguang and the others split up to mark all the bombs in the shortest possible time.
After all, just dismantling so many bombs would consume a lot of Jiang Nian's time and energy, leaving him no time to worry about anything else.
Although he had some doubts about Jiang Nian's order, on the battlefield, what was required of superiors was absolute trust and 100% execution.
As the commander of this operation, Jiang Nian was trusted by He Chenguang and the others to make every decision. Therefore, the group quickly dispersed, no longer needing to wait for Jiang Nian. Marking the bombs alone made them much faster.
Jiang Nian, on the other hand, naturally did his best as well.
His movements were so fast that they were almost invisible. He could disarm a bomb in less than three minutes.
It can be said that once the bomb is fully scanned, Jiang Nian will have a complete grasp of its internal structure, making its dismantling very easy.
As they ventured deeper into the forest, the types of bombs they encountered continued to change.
Initially, this area was filled with the most basic bombs, which would explode if stepped on, leaving no chance for intruders to survive.
Once deep in the forest, the bomb had been set to a timer—ten minutes should be enough for the people hiding deep inside to notice the commotion and come to capture the intruder.
Jiang Nian became curious about the bomb maker working for drug lord Wang Ba.
What kind of person would choose to serve under Wang Ba and protect him?
After all, someone with such abilities shouldn't easily submit to anyone.
No one knows what Jiang Nian is thinking at the moment.
The system seemed to be acting strangely, as Jiang Nian struggled to defuse various bombs, it would occasionally utter a message to "cheer on" the host!
When Jiang Nian first heard the system's "Go for it!" voice, he was startled and stumbled, almost stepping on a bomb that would send him to his death.
"I'm telling you, did you suddenly do this to kill me so you could find a new host?"
If the system weren't already in his head, Jiang Nian would definitely have dragged it out and given it a good beating.
If you really die from accidentally stepping on a bomb, that's such a pathetic way to die!
Jiang Nian reasonably suspected that the system was doing this on purpose, trying to kill him.
"Uh, esteemed host, I apologize, it was a mistake on the part of this system. As compensation, the reward for this mission can be issued in advance. You can check the reward now."
As soon as the system finished speaking, a book emitting a faint light appeared in Jiang Nian's hand.
Fortunately, He Chenguang and the others left first. Otherwise, anyone who saw this scene would have definitely thought Jiang Nian was a monster and killed him.
However, Jiang Nian himself did not expect that after he casually scolded the system a couple of times, it would be so easy to talk to him and give him the reward in advance.
Therefore, this also shows that I will definitely complete this task.
With that thought in mind, Jiang Nian accepted the reward with a clear conscience and crushed the book in his hand.
The book transformed into a stream of light, flowing into Jiang Nian's mind.
The vast amount of knowledge about bombs was rearranged and recombined in his mind, and finally deeply imprinted and completely absorbed by Jiang Nian.
After receiving the reward, Jiang Nian discovered something: advanced skills were indeed much more powerful than intermediate skills. At the very least, the same bomb that took two minutes to disarm with an intermediate skill could be dealt with in less than a minute with an advanced skill.
At this rate, not to mention the previously estimated number of bombs, the time required to dismantle all the bombs in the system mission could be significantly reduced.
According to the message sent back by He Chenguang and his team, the group has now arrived within 500 meters of the drug lord's hideout.
Perhaps because it's close to their own territory, guards have started patrolling the area from time to time.
Based on He Chenguang and his team's observations and deductions, there were far fewer bombs in this area. However, given the presence of patrol personnel, the places where the guards were not paying attention must be where the bombs were planted.
After a moment's thought, He Chenguang decided to lead the others to hide directly at the location where the bomb was planted—at least patrol personnel wouldn't come from there. As long as they didn't touch the bomb, their safety would be guaranteed.
Jiang Nian silently defused the bombs and then casually modified them. Haha, he thought, "If these things were thrown back into the drug lord's lair, they definitely wouldn't be able to handle them."
Thinking of this, Jiang Nian revealed a slightly sly smile.
I wonder what kind of expression those people in the drug lord's lair will have when they planted so many bombs to kill their enemies, but end up facing so many bombs themselves.
Jiang Nian felt that he was a bit cunning, otherwise how could he have come up with such a "malicious" trick?
"Toolbox, toolbox, this is Falcon. We're concealed. How much longer until you get to our position?"
He Chenguang saw that Jiang Nian wasn't far from their position, but Jiang Nian's task was much more difficult than theirs—Jiang Nian had to overcome all the obstacles along the way by himself. The bomb was no small matter; there was no room for error, or lives would be lost.
He Chenguang and his team had complete faith in Jiang Nian's abilities. But as the old saying goes, "better safe than sorry." Therefore, He Chenguang would frequently inquire about Jiang Nian's situation.
Even if I can't help, I should at least make sure Jiang Nian is safe!
"The toolbox is fine. I'll deal with these bombs in two hours and then head over to meet you."
Jiang Nian's calm voice rang out, revealing no emotion, but one could hear the ease in his tone, as if no amount of bombs could deter him.
He Chenguang knew exactly how many bombs had been brought along. It was precisely because he knew the exact number that he was so terrified.
Fortunately, Jiang Nian returned to the team, and even more fortunately, he participated in their mission.
Otherwise, given the scale of so many bombs, even if they managed to break into the drug lord's lair and rescue the people, they wouldn't be able to escape.
Even the most skilled special forces soldier can't withstand such a dense barrage of bombs!
Even the most skilled bomb disposal expert He Chenguang knew couldn't have disarmed so many bombs so quickly and calmly, without sustaining a scratch. (End of Chapter)