Chapter 159: The Main Pursuing Force

"Damn it, damn it..."

The Monk had already swiftly relocated to the nearest hiding spot close to the enemy speedboat, making preparations to move out at any moment. However, watching Chen Cao fail in his sniper attempts twice, though he hadn't been in this position for very long, felt as agonizingly long as lasting several centuries. He knew the details of the operation; Stanny couldn't sustain suppressing fire for much longer. If Stanny were wiped out, the enemy would immediately launch an assault. With light machine gun cover and the opposing forces being professional mercenaries, the resulting bitter battle could easily be imagined.

Amidst his frustration, the Monk suddenly sensed that the enemy's gunfire had noticeably weakened. He froze for a moment. This time, he saw it clearly: the Southeast Asian gunner, realizing something was amiss, had quickly curled up inside the cabin just like before. Then, a bullet sparked against the edge of the enemy speedboat's cabin, ricocheted instantly, and shot down into the interior of the cabin in a split second. The shrewd Southeast Asian sniper never stood up again.

"Damn it, that must be blind luck!"

Just as the Monk's eyes widened in disbelief, he saw another bullet—another "ricochet"—fly toward the white machine gunner's position. The white gunner was clearly also a professional. While maintaining his barrage, he had raised his guard. Upon sensing danger, he immediately followed the Southeast Asian mercenary's example, retreating into the cabin and continuing to fire through pre-set small holes in the hull. Yet, after that ricochet, he too failed to rise again.

If this hadn't been such a tense moment, the Monk would have wanted to leap up and shout at the top of his lungs, "That is bloody genius!"

Having two light machine gunners eliminated in an instant seemed to have stunned the mercenaries on the speedboats. Several boats reduced their fire to a minimum, and their drivers, acting with extreme agility, immediately maneuvered the vessels out toward the middle of the lake. For a brief moment, neither side exchanged gunfire; apart from the throbbing roar of the boat motors, all shooting ceased.

Gazing at the opposing speedboats idling on the river, burning fuel without a care in the world, the Monk felt a strong urge to curse them as bastards. Were these prodigal sons unaware of how scarce oil was? If they had given that fuel to his group, they would have been long gone instead of wasting their lives here.

The mercenaries on the speedboats apparently realized their opponents included a master, and thus dared not approach further. After sweeping the area with searchlights for a moment, they immediately steered their boats away, carrying the corpses of their comrades back the way they had come.

Watching the receding silhouettes of the speedboats, Chen Cao let out a slight breath. Realizing there was no longer any hope of seizing the enemy boats, the Monk crept back to Chen Cao's side and gave him a thumbs-up. "Chen, I never imagined you had this kind of skill—actually knowing how to use trajectory shooting! If you fight like this, the enemies have nowhere to hide. I truly hope this skill of yours is never used against me!"

Chen Cao glanced at the Monk and said indifferently, "My muzzle is only ever aimed at enemies, not friends."

The Monk was stunned for a second, then burst into hearty laughter. "We are friends, friends tested through hardship! Haha!"

At that moment, Stanny wiped the rain from his face and walked over, speaking to Chen Cao with lingering fear, "Boss, that was way too close just now. Their firepower was simply too dense. Good thing I was well hidden, but a few more seconds and my magazine would have run dry, and I'd have ended up looking like a honeycomb!"

Chen Cao nodded, patted Stanny on the shoulder, and said, "Good job. We need to retreat quickly now. The enemy may look like they're retreating, but I estimate they've gone to fetch reinforcements."

The Monk agreed wholeheartedly. "Spot on. Let's pull back as far as we can. Taking a speedboat is the most efficient method, but after two fierce battles, the jungle will definitely have aroused the locals' suspicions. We have no choice but to take the water route."

Hearing this, Chen Cao shouted toward the boulder, "Lu Tianming, Uji, you can come out now!"

At Chen Cao's call, Lu Tianming and Uji emerged with trembling hands gripping their firearms, supporting a giggling Lucia and a pale-faced Carissa.

Looking at Carissa's abysmal state, Chen Cao showed not a shred of pity. Instead, he addressed the group, "We have to get on the speedboats. Move!"

Just as the word "move" left Chen Cao's lips, a sharp, piercing whistle tore through the air. Stanny, having experienced countless war zones, reacted the fastest. He instantly threw himself to the ground, shouting, "Hit the dirt! Incoming bomb!"

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Chen Cao had no time to hesitate. He lunged forward, tackling the still-clueless Lu Tianming and Uji to the ground. Immediately afterward, a deafening explosion ripped through the air, sending a violent burst of flame that instantly illuminated the entire night sky.

The Monk was the first to get back to his feet, spitting dirt out of his mouth. Seeing that the bomb had destroyed nothing else but his own speedboat, he cursed furiously, "Damn it! My boat...!"

Chen Cao climbed up from the ground and looked toward the glow of the flames—it was precisely where his own speedboat had been docked. It seemed the mercenaries from earlier must have recorded the coordinates of their boat, allowing for such precise targeting. But what kind of vessel—or aircraft—possessed firepower of this magnitude?

By the time Uji and the others had climbed to their feet, Lu Tianming, though thin, had sharp eyes. He pointed toward the middle of the river in the distance and shouted, "Look, it's a helicopter!"

Sure enough, it was a helicopter. Amidst Lu Tianming's cry, the thrum of helicopter rotor blades could already be heard. Soon enough, two choppers came wheeling through the night sky, flying rapidly toward them. Even more absurdly, Chen Cao spotted a massive silhouette, like some monstrous leviathan, slowly steering its way across the river surface, followed closely by a dense swarm of speedboats roaring with revving engines as they charged furiously toward the riverbank.

The Monk took one look at the scene, his jaw dropping so wide he could barely articulate his words: "What kind of scale is this? Damn it, what sort of organization did we just provoke?"

It was a mothership. The river surface was now brilliantly illuminated by floodlights. Chen Cao could see a vessel dozens of meters long and dozens of meters high, its entire hull encased in heavy steel armor. Coming to his senses instantly, Chen Cao shouted to Stanny and the others, "Travel light! We're retreating into the jungle. Be quick, don't let the helicopters spot us!"

To them, apart from the battle-hardened Monk, the words of Chen Cao—who had led them through numerous narrow escapes—were law. Without further nonsense, Lu Tianming supported Lucia, while Uji and Carissa followed behind. The Monk, Chen Cao, and Stanny reloaded their magazines to cover the rear. Like a ragged band of defeated soldiers, stumbling aimlessly through puddled mud and limping in the pouring rain, the group retreated once more deep into the jungle. Where they were heading, even Chen Cao had no clue. Whether they would encounter indigenous tribes, they also did not know. But one thing they were certain of: they had just eliminated two of the enemy's mercenaries, and these bastards had come back for revenge. If they fell into their hands, no good fate awaited them.