Chapter 24: The War Begins (Asking for Your Recommendations!)

The atmosphere inside the car was suffocating.

Li Changjiang struggled to adjust to the restrictive feeling of the bulletproof vest; it felt as though something was constantly tightening around him. In his hands was an unremarkable sniper rifle—not an easy thing to acquire in Libya. Even members of the Eagle Lion squad had to place orders with arms dealers well in advance for the weapons they needed.

Yet, despite all this, the price tag of twenty thousand dollars for that inconspicuous sniper rifle made Li Changjiang inwardly click his tongue, while at the same time, a faint thrill stirred in his mind.

“Li, are you nervous?” Williams asked.

“No.”

“That’s good. The last thing you need on the battlefield is tension. You don’t have time for anything but aiming and shooting—the sole objective is to kill as many enemies as quickly as possible. Understand?”

“Yes.”

Li Changjiang nodded to Williams. The members of the Eagle Lion squad each offered him a glance of encouragement, easing some of the tightness and anxiety in his heart. After all, there was a world of difference between actively choosing to join a war and being forced to fight back.

Over the past few days, he had learned a bit about the Eagle Lion squad. With only six members, their name didn’t appear in the rankings of global mercenary groups, precisely because they were too few in number. Yet, on the Free Mercenary Leaderboard, each individual member’s combat ability was ranked quite high—no small feat. Considering there are hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of legally registered mercenaries and special security personnel worldwide, to stand out and reach a top position meant they were truly elite.

With regional conflicts cropping up all over the world and super-rich individuals facing ever greater security risks, the number and market value of mercenaries were constantly rising. As a band of formidable desperados, mercenaries always lived by the creed: “Whoever pays the most, we serve.” Thus, a team like Eagle Lion, which still adhered to humanitarian principles, was a rare exception.

“Gentlemen, this mission is rated top difficulty. Stay sharp.”

“Understood.”

“Let’s wipe out those Libyans.”

At the end of the highway, Li Changjiang could already see flames leaping into the night sky. The car didn’t go any closer; after stopping about a kilometer from the target, all six—five Eagle Lion members plus Li Changjiang—armed themselves fully and began a rapid assault.

Libyan rebels had launched a frontal attack, and their task was to infiltrate using special operations tactics, breach the enemy’s defenses, and open a corridor for the assault. Completing this mission meant earning their reward.

The night was pitch black. No one spoke along the way; only the roar of gunfire and the soft hiss of rubber soles on sand filled Li Changjiang’s ears.

After some distance, Williams, leading the group, suddenly raised his hand. The whole team halted immediately.

“Hello,” Williams greeted.

Moments later, Li Changjiang saw a Libyan officer in drab gray uniform emerge before them.

“Mr. Abu, hello.”

“Mr. William, my brothers have already begun the assault. No matter how you do it, as long as you and your squad break through the enemy’s lines and open a path for us, you’ll be our friends.”

“Mr. Abu, we prefer dollars.”

“No problem. Here’s a deposit of one million; the remaining million will be paid when you return. Want to count it?”

“No need!”

Li Changjiang was honestly baffled by mercenary business: cash for combat, and all in cold, hard cash. Can you imagine hauling a million dollars into battle? But Williams not only accepted it, he split the money on the spot—everyone carried tens of thousands of dollars as they entered the fray. If you died here, it was truly not worth it.

That officer, Abu, was a senior commander in Libya’s government forces, with nearly five thousand troops under his command, reporting directly to the military committee opposing the rebels. The Eagle Lion squad commanded a two-million-dollar price because the previous team, Caesar Squad, had failed the mission, losing several members before giving up. Abu had promptly doubled the price to secure Eagle Lion’s services.

Everything was ready.

“Tim, you and Louis go left. Jin, you’re with me. Bob, look for a chance to breach and plant explosives. Li, you cover us. Understood?”

“Understood!”

“Understood!”

“Roger!”

They moved out.

As action began, sweat quickly dampened Li Changjiang’s palm. He was tense. Only he knew his true capabilities—these past days he’d been like a dry sponge, desperately absorbing every bit of knowledge he could, learning how to be a competent sniper.

The knowledge about sniping was vast enough to overwhelm him, but Li Changjiang understood that the battlefield was the best training ground.

He followed the team, soon finding his rhythm, his breathing growing steady.

Boom!

Rat-tat-tat-tat!

Bang! Bang!

Gunfire thundered nearby.

This camp, in truth, was just a construction site, encircled by a hundred-meter-long wall of reinforced concrete. Each corner was a fire point; a frontal assault was nearly impossible.

He raised his sniper rifle.

Li Changjiang steadied himself, eyes snapping open. The pale green targeting screen flickered before him. That long-lost feeling surged back, setting his blood racing.

“Hm?”

Suddenly, his gaze landed on a sign atop the wall. A chill ran through his heart.

Delong Construction!

The very company that had sent his father, Li Lin, and himself here for work was Delong Construction.

A heavy feeling settled inside him.

A powerful urge seized Li Changjiang—he felt in his bones that his father was likely inside this camp.

But could it really be? The government troops seemed to have occupied the place long ago; where could his father be hiding?

“Panda, calling Panda!”

The voice in his earpiece snapped Li Changjiang back to reality.

“Panda here, Panda here.”

Panda was the codename Li Changjiang had chosen for himself, unable to think of anything fierce yet pleasant, so he simply borrowed the national treasure, hoping the pandas back home wouldn’t mind.

“Advance as a unit, Panda, suppress enemy fire.”

“Understood, Panda copies.”

Tucking away his sniper rifle, Li Changjiang crouched low and moved swiftly. He knew his effective range was only fifty meters, so he had to get as close to the wall as possible.

Behind him, the other Eagle Lion members grew tense seeing Li Changjiang suddenly surge forward.

“Panda, take cover immediately.”

“Panda, maintain concealment.”

“Boss, what’s he doing? Is he planning to run up to the Libyans and say, ‘I’m here, open the gate’?”

“…”

“Quiet!”

The public channel fell silent at once.

On the other side, after several quick advances, Li Changjiang found a stretch of open sand with a broad view, curling up behind a modest dune—not an obvious spot. He had learned that a seasoned sniper never chooses the best firing position, but the next best. Li Changjiang was even more cunning—he didn’t pick even the secondary spot, settling for one that seemed utterly ordinary.

“Panda! Calling Panda!”

As soon as Li Changjiang settled in, Williams’s voice crackled over the channel, clearly impatient.

“Roger, Panda is in position. Ready to engage.”

As the words fell, Li Changjiang chambered a round.

War was finally about to begin.