July 7, 2016, in northern Somalia, near the Darolgan River.

Chu Tianjiang chewed gum and stared at the shepherds on the river beach in the distance, planning a retreat route in his heart. Beside him, his partner Wu Haiyuan used a laser rangefinder to check the reference coordinates on the highway one by one, and from time to time used a pencil to correct the data with large errors, and occasionally cursed in a low voice.

"Old Wu, tell me, what is the purpose of sending us to this place where birds don't?"

"The devil knows the way." Wu Haiyuan obviously held back his resentment.

Chu Tianjiang turned his head to look at his partner, Wu Haiyuan's complaint was completely understandable.

The two are special forces of the special forces directly under the General Staff and have cooperated for nine years. Five days ago, an order from the Directorate of Military Intelligence sent the two men to the Pakistani port of Gwadar overnight. Wu Guoxiong had to put his six-year-old son in foster care with the captain's home, so he canceled the summer vacation arrangement.

Before leaving, Wu Haiyuan spent a lot of effort to convince his son that he would come back in a few days.

The cause originated from a Chinese freighter.

Seven days ago, the freighter, in a hurry to return to Guangzhou, was hijacked by pirates southeast of the Gulf of Aden. By the time the convoy arrived, the freighter had been taken over by pirates. After negotiations, the pirates released 27 crew members, but refused to release the captain and five other crew members, and demanded a ransom of 5 million US dollars.

There is not much money, but it is not an option for the Chinese authorities to ransom people.

When Chu Tianjiang and Wu Haiyuan arrived at Gwadar Port, the intelligence agencies had already found the location where the pirates were holding the hostages, and the special forces accompanying the escort fleet were also preparing for the rescue operation. However, the intelligence agencies believed that it was necessary to arrange a force to cover the rescue operation.

Three days ago, the two boarded a Y-20A transport plane and headed for Somalia.

Instead of landing, the transport plane allowed the two to parachute over the beach. After that, the two spent three days deep inland to reach this location.

The sniper point was on the high ground on the south bank of the valley, with the Darolangan River in front and a winding road on the other side of the river.

The position of the two of them happened to be facing a straight road about 500 meters long. The front of the road is less than 800 meters from the sniper point, and the very end is about 500 meters from the sniper point.

The location is ideal, with the entire stretch of the road within the range of sniper rifles, and the closest distance exceeds the effective range of the AK series assault rifles. If the enemy is approaching, it can also be suppressed with Wu Haiyuan's automatic rifle. Even if the enemy is armed with light machine guns and general-purpose machine guns, the threat to the two snipers is not very great. Because the sniper point is located on the edge of the high ground, you only need to watch out for threats from the air.

Thankfully, the pirates weren't rich enough to own a helicopter.

According to information provided by military intelligence, the village where the pirates were holding hostages was about ten kilometers upstream. Military intelligence has already secured several off-road vehicles for special forces through local informants. After rescuing the hostages, the special forces will go to the evacuation site, five kilometers downstream.

Chu Tianjiang and Wu Haiyuan's mission was to stop the pirates from pursuing and rescuing the troops.

The road is not too wide, and there are three sections that are so narrow that only two off-road vehicles can barely pass in parallel. If the rescue force is pursued, simply destroy the enemy's lead car to bring the convoy to a halt. Threatened by snipers, it is impossible for pirates to move the vehicles blocking the road.

"Pit Viper...... Pit Viper...... Please answer ...... received"

"Pit Viper received." Wu Haiyuan is an observer and is responsible for communication and liaison, and "pit viper" is the call code for the two.

"X1, five minutes."

"Understood!" Wu Haiyuan elbowed his partner. "X1" is the code name for the special forces to rescue the hostages and go to the evacuation site, and "five minutes" indicates the arrival time.

"Kunio is about to go to elementary school, right?" Chu Tianjiang was in charge of monitoring the front of the road.

Behind the hill on the other side of the river, there was dust kicked up by vehicles at high speed. Northern Somalia is one of the driest regions in East Africa, and the Darolgan River, which is less than 200 kilometres long, is a seasonal river that stops flowing for eight months a year, except for the rainy season from June to October.

"I went to primary school in September, and the enrollment procedures were completed." Wu Haiyuan sighed and said, "Guoxiong has grown up, and many things can't be hidden from him. Your sister-in-law left early, and I rarely stayed with him. Before leaving, he asked me if I could fight back if I was being bullied. ”

"What did you say?"

Wu Haiyuan smiled bitterly. "What else can I say? Kunio has been very stubborn since he was a child, and I am worried that if this continues, his character will go wrong. ”

"Then find another one." Chu Tianjiang was reluctant to mention this matter, but he had to mention it.

Four years ago, Wu Haiyuan's wife, Zhao Shuyun, was killed in a car accident. If there is no son, with Wu Haiyuan's conditions, it is not difficult to remarry. In the past few years, the comrades-in-arms in the team have not introduced Wu Haiyuan to anyone, but most of them have not been able to negotiate because Wu Haiyuan has a son.

"In two more years, I'll talk about it when Guoxiong grows up."

"Four years ago, you said the same thing."

Wu Haiyuan smiled and said, "Don't just talk about me, before leaving, your mother called me again." ”

"What?"

"What else can you do?" Wu Haiyuan glanced at his partner. Chu Tianjiang is almost thirty years old, let alone married, and he doesn't even have a long-term girlfriend.

"Ignore her, I don't plan to get married yet."

"If you don't bring your girlfriend home for a day, your mother won't let me live a peaceful life. When I was your age, my sons were three years old. ”

"Old Wu, let's take care of our own affairs, don't worry about anyone."

"I'm your eldest brother, I brought you into the Tiger Brigade, can I leave you alone? Besides...... Exercise! ”

Wu Haiyuan suddenly cursed, and Chu Tianjiang immediately set up a sniper rifle.

In front of the road, the dust kicked up by the vehicle has already appeared around the corner. On the other side of the road, pickup trucks with heavy machine guns sped away in the direction of the convoy. The pickup truck is driven by a pirate, and in the back of the cargo compartment stands a pirate who is responsible for handling the heavy machine gun.

"The pit viper calls the snake's nest, finds an immediate threat, and asks for an order to fire."

Chu Tianjiang glanced up at the sky, and at an altitude of several thousand meters, at least one long-endurance unmanned reconnaissance plane equipped with a high-resolution optical camera was monitoring the entire area.

"The request was approved and it was possible to open fire. Repeat, you can fire. ”

"Understood!" Wu Haiyuan picked up the monocular binocular, looked at the pickup truck, and then looked at the booklet. "The distance is five and eighty, the wind is to the left, the wind is three, and the inclination is twenty-seven."

The speed of the pickup truck is about forty kilometers per hour, and the impact is not very large.

When the pickup truck drove to a wide section of the road, Chu Tianjiang pulled the trigger, then pulled the bolt to reload and fired a second shot.

Chu Tianjiang used a Remington Model 700 sniper rifle with a heavy barrel.

The gun was trophied eight years ago by Wu Haiyuan during a covert operation from a Navy SEAL sniper whom he had killed. Six years ago, after his son was born, Wu Haiyuan gave up the position of the shooter to Chu Tianjiang, and at the same time gave the gun to Chu Tianjiang.

The first shot hit the machine gunner in the head, and the second hit the driver of the pickup. Although it was impossible to see the location of the hit, the windshield and window glass were stained red with blood, and the driver was unlucky. The pickup truck traveled more than ten meters by inertia and overturned on the road.

The road surface at the site of the pickup overturned was wide and there was no blocking of the road.

"Good marksmanship!" Wu Haiyuan sighed in a low voice. Wu Haiyuan has absolute confidence in his partner's marksmanship, because Chu Tianjiang was taught by him.

Nine years ago, when Chu Tianjiang became a special soldier, Wu Haiyuan had served in the Tiger Brigade for three years. In the first three years, Chu Tianjiang was Wu Haiyuan's observer and learned a lot from Wu Haiyuan. According to the rules of the Tiger Brigade, after Chu Tianjiang becomes a veteran, the partnership between the two will end, and then each will bring a new soldier. Because of the birth of his son, Wu Haiyuan had the idea of retiring. In order to keep him, the captain broke the convention and let the two continue to cooperate, with Chu Tianjiang as the shooter. Although after the death of his wife, Wu Haiyuan submitted an application for retirement again, but in Chu Tianjiang's retention, he stayed and promised not to mention the matter of retirement.

Chu Tianjiang turned his gun to the front of the road, and the convoy had already rounded the corner.

"Pit Viper, X2, please confirm."

At the head was a military off-road vehicle, followed by five civilian off-road vehicles, and at the end was an armed pickup truck, with less than 20 special forces involved in the rescue operation.

The road was not blocked, and the convoy passed smoothly.

"Confirmed, request to retreat." Wu Haiyuan put down the monocular telescope. "X2" is the code name for the arrival and passage of the rescue force to cover the lot.

"The request was granted and the operation ended. Repeat, the action ends. ”

"Almost, retreat." Wu Haiyuan began to pack up his equipment.

Chu Tianjiang was still staring at the front of the road, and he felt that the rescue operation would not go so smoothly. The pirates sent people to intercept them, and they would definitely pursue the rescue troops.

Sure enough!

The convoy of the rescue force had just passed through the section of the road overturned by pickup trucks, and a convoy of pirates was seen in front of the road.

"Damn, it's too close, how do you get the enemy so close!?" Chu Tianjiang cursed.

At the front is an armed pickup truck, followed by more than a dozen pickup trucks and off-road vehicles, most of which are equipped with heavy machine guns.

"Call the snake's nest, call the snake's nest, and discover the pursuing convoy. Repeated, found the pursuit convoy ......"

There was no response, and communication was lost.

Chu Tianjiang didn't care so much, he had already aimed at the machine gunner in the front car, then pulled the trigger, and then fired a shot at the driver of the pickup truck.

Two bullets hit accurately, and the pickup overturned on the road, blocking the road.

"Call the Snake's Nest...... Call the Snake Nest...... Exercise! Wu Haiyuan adjusted the radio station and used an emergency communication channel, but he was still unable to get in touch with the rear.

"Old Wu, don't worry about it so much."

"Damn, we're abandoned." Wu Haiyuan picked up the monocular binocular.

On the road, the pirates had spotted the sniper and roughly judged that the sniper was lying on the high ground on the other side of the river, but they could not confirm the exact location. The convoy stopped, three pickup trucks lay across the middle of the road, and more than a dozen pirates began to set up mortars using vehicle cover.