The Mysterious Soldier of the Anti-Japanese War

Chapter 352: Snake Attack Crisis! Lei Xu's Allied Forces Defeat Japanese Special Bandit Patrol

Lei Tao hid behind a large tree, peering through the branches to carefully observe the movements ahead. His heartbeat was pounding like a drum, but his eyes remained remarkably calm. Li Shuiniu followed closely behind him, whispering, "Brother Lei, what should we do?" Lei Tao didn't answer, his gaze fixed on the bushes not far ahead. There seemed to be subtle movement there, as if a figure were swaying. He quickly pulled an M1911 pistol from his leg holster and gently shook it, signaling his team to remain hidden and await further instructions.

At the same time, Xu Keming also noticed the presence of Lei Tao's team. He whispered to Zheng Cheng, "There are people up ahead, possibly Lei Tao's men. We can't alert them; we need to understand the situation before we act." Zheng Cheng nodded, signaling the team members to disperse and hide. He also signaled Wu Ming, a member skilled in close combat, to scout to the left.

Lei Tao's team and Xu Keming's team were testing each other in the thick fog, each mistakenly believing the other to be an ambush led by Kamisama Kazuya. Lei Tao whispered to his team, "They might be exploiting the terrain to set an ambush. We must be careful. Li Shuiniu, take Yi Guang and make a detour from the right to see if we can get behind them." Li Shuiniu and Yi Guang took their orders, while Lei Tao, along with Chen Feiyang, Liu Zishan, and Li Shuiyang, continued their stealthy advance. However, just as they separated, Xu Keming's team also began their movement.

While scouting to the left, Wu Ming stumbled upon Li Shuiniu and Yi Guang. He immediately hid behind a large tree. When Li Shuiniu and Yi Guang were within five meters of his hiding tree, he suddenly rushed forward. His speed was so swift, he kicked Yi Guang's submachine gun with a powerful and precise kick. With a "bang," the submachine gun flew out, hitting the nearby tree trunk and falling to the ground with a dull "bang."

Then, Wu Ming took advantage of the strong force of the forward rush, exerted force from his waist, and slammed his body towards the Li Shuiniu like a towering mountain, using the powerful "Iron Mountain Lean" move.

At the critical moment, Li Shuiniu sensed the approaching danger, his eyes instantly sharpening like an eagle. He remained composed, taking a deep breath and rapidly shifting his steps, assuming the opening stance of Baguazhang. He twisted his body slightly, deftly absorbing some of Wu Ming's impact. Simultaneously, his left arm, like a nimble python, wrapped around Wu Ming's arm, pulling it back to the right, attempting to neutralize the fierce attack.

Wu Ming felt as if his attack had hit a ball of cotton, its force largely neutralized. He was secretly surprised and quickly retreated. Just then, Yi Guang rushed forward to engage him in close combat. Wu Ming deliberately cursed him in Sichuan dialect, "You son of a bitch! Your martial arts skills are so good!"

Li Shuiniu was startled at first when he heard the familiar local dialect, but then he reacted and replied in Sichuan dialect, "What are you talking about, you son of a bitch? I was born and raised in Sichuan." Wu Ming's tense nerves relaxed a little when he heard this, and he put away his attacking posture: "Oh, it was a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. I'm Wu Ming from the Military Control Operations Team. I thought you were an ambush of the Japanese devils."

As the two were talking, Lei Tao heard the noise and quickly approached them. Almost simultaneously, Xu Keming and his team also arrived. The two teams met in the woods. Lei Tao approached Xu Keming and asked, "Brother Xu, did you kill those two escaped Japanese agents?"

Xu Keming frowned and said unhappily, "He was killed. I wanted to keep him alive to interrogate the whereabouts of the Japanese agent Kazuya Kamisama, but he unexpectedly detonated the bomb hidden on his body and nearly died with him. I was planning to set up an ambush here and wait for Kazuya Kamisama and his remnants to return and fall into their trap, but I didn't expect to run into you."

Upon hearing this, Lei Tao's face became even gloomier. "Those Japanese soldiers are really determined. It seems that Shangshan Heye has given them a death order. This time we must join forces and we must not let Shangshan Heye get away again." As he spoke, he carefully observed the surrounding terrain and planned the battle strategy in his mind.

Xu Keming looked around at his team members, then at the people Lei Tao brought with him, and said through gritted teeth, "Alright, it's settled. We must make sure this old devil never comes back."

At this time, the fog in the woods became thicker and visibility was extremely low. Suddenly, a slight sound of footsteps came from a distance. Everyone was instantly alert, tightened their weapons again, held their breath, and stared at the direction where the sound came from.

The sound was getting closer and closer, and Lei Tao made a gesture, signaling the team members to prepare for battle. At this moment, a hare darted out from the bushes, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief, their tense nerves slightly relaxed.

After the misunderstanding was resolved, Lei Tao and Xu Keming decided to join forces and advance toward the mine. The two teams quickly integrated, and Lei Tao clarified the division of tasks. Lei Tao's team excelled in field tracking and close combat, while Xu Keming's Military Intelligence Bureau members were more skilled in intelligence analysis and ambushes. "Uesugi Kazuya is definitely planning something in the mine. We must quickly locate his hiding place," Lei Tao said. "The mine's terrain is complex, and the Japanese are likely to have set numerous traps. We must proceed cautiously and avoid direct confrontation." Xu Keming nodded. "We'll advance in two directions: one to search along the mine's main road, and the other to circumvent it from the flanks, aiming for a pincer attack." The two teams quickly set into action. Lei Tao, led by Li Shuiniu, Chen Feiyang, and others, searched the mine's main road, while Xu Keming, led by Wu Ming and Zheng Cheng, circumvented it from the flanks. They took advantage of the thick fog to quietly approach the mine. The mine was completely silent, with only the occasional sound of wind and rustling leaves, a slight unease. "Everyone, pay attention! Stay alert!" Lei Tao whispered. The team members followed closely behind him, scanning their surroundings.

Suddenly, Li Shuiniu stopped and whispered, "Brother Lei, there's movement up ahead!" Lei Tao immediately signaled his troops to take cover, raising his pistol and aiming at the bushes ahead. Suddenly, everything became eerily quiet. Then, Lei Tao heard a soft rustling sound overhead. He quickly looked up and saw a dark shadow, as thick as an arm, slithering among the branches. A closer look revealed a cobra coiled in the tree.

The cobra's triangular head rose high, the skin folds of its neck spread wide, and its two sharp fangs gleamed coldly in the dim light. Its dark green pupils stared intently at the people below. Then, a thin, red tongue darted out from its mouth like a nimble needle, quickly capturing scent molecules in the air before retracting with incredible speed. This stretch and retraction added a touch of danger to the snake.

In a flash, the cobra shot towards Lei Tao's neck like an arrow from a bow. In that life-or-death moment, Lei Tao's blood seemed to freeze, but years of combat experience had given him an instinctive reaction. His right hand shot up like lightning, grasping the cobra's vitals with uncanny precision. Once captured, the cobra twisted wildly, its thick frame like a resilient rope, attempting to wrap around Lei Tao's arm.

Li Shuiniu and the others immediately gathered around, eager to help. "Don't move!" Lei Tao gritted his teeth, knowing full well that if the team members acted rashly and inadvertently provoked the cobra, its final struggles could pierce his palm with its fangs. Lei Tao gripped the cobra tightly, veins bulging in his arm, muscles tensing with the strain. His eyes were fixed on the struggling snake, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead, and his teeth clenched with a grinding sound.

Lei Tao and Cobra were locked in a stalemate, every second a torment. The muscles in his arms ached to the extreme, and he felt like he would be exhausted in the next second. At this critical moment, a conversation between the bandits and the Japanese agents came from the bushes ahead.

"Mr. Tsugami, you said that the beautiful girls in your Great Japanese Empire are very gentle? But I heard that those geishas wear kimonos and speak softly. Is that really true?" A bandit with a thick local accent asked with a thick tongue.

The Japanese agent known as Tsugami-kun sneered and replied with a hint of arrogance, "Humph, you country bumpkins, of course you don't understand. The beautiful girls of the Great Japanese Empire are well-mannered and gentle, unlike the women here, who are wild and rough. Once the Imperial Army has completely occupied this place, I'll teach you all a lesson and let you experience the true beauty of Yamato."

Another bandit spat, and though his face was full of flattery, he couldn't help but mutter: "We also have a beautiful girl here, but you guys have been tormented by the chaos and chaos. But Tsugami-kun, when the war is over, you must tell me more about that beautiful girl and take me to see her."

Tsugami waved his hand impatiently: "First, complete this mission. The Empire has plenty of beauties and money."

They chatted as they approached the direction of Lei Tao and others. Lei Tao listened to these conversations, his anger burning in his heart. He saw the opportunity, used all his strength, shouted, and swung the wildly twisting cobra in his hand towards the patrol team.

The cobra arced through the air and landed squarely on Tsugami's shoulder. Tsugami's eyes widened in terror, he screamed like a butchered pig, and waved his hands frantically, trying to shake the cobra off. The other bandits and Japanese agents were also frightened by this sudden "hidden weapon" and threw themselves into chaos.

Uejima Nozomi was also terrified. He quickly pulled out his flashlight and waved it around. Suddenly, the beam of light swept across Tsugami. Uejima Nozomi's eyes widened, his face filled with fear and disbelief. His mouth opened wide, but no sound came out.

He stared in horror at the cobra on Tsugami's shoulder. The snake held its head high, the skin on its neck bulging, its fangs gleaming with a chilling coldness, and its scales radiating a chilling chill, as if it would bite down at any moment. Tsugami was so frightened that his face turned pale, his speech incoherent, his body twisting wildly, and he kept shouting, "Help me, help me!" His voice was extremely shrill, but the people around him were already frozen in fear, at a loss as to what to do. No one dared to move forward.

At this moment, the cobra suddenly opened its mouth and spit out its scarlet tongue, which danced in the air and made a hissing sound. This scene made Tsugami's fear reach its peak, and his body trembled even more violently, like a leaf in the wind.