Chapter 206: Signal

As the ten or so black-clad men entered the forest and ventured less than 200 meters, the sudden sound of car engines broke the silence, momentarily startling them.  

“Get back quickly!” the tall, burly leader shouted, turning to sprint back, with the others following closely behind.  

Reaching the original spot, they found the two abandoned cars gone, leaving only the sight of four orange taillights receding further into the darkness, bouncing over the uneven ground.  

“All helicopters, return to the previous landing spot immediately. The target vehicles have fled again and must be pursued at once. Repeat, all helicopters return to the previous landing spot immediately. The target vehicles have fled again and must be pursued,” the leader barked into his radio.  

After issuing the command, he muttered to himself while watching the cars disappear into the distance, “You won’t get away.”  

In less than two minutes, three helicopters approached from three directions. Two of them landed first, and the tall man immediately ordered two-thirds of his men to split into two groups and board the helicopters.  

As two people climbed into the first helicopter and the door to the second was just opening, five or six small, oval-shaped objects were suddenly thrown toward both helicopters from various directions. One even landed directly inside the cabin of the second helicopter.  

Hearing unusual noises behind him, the pilot of the second helicopter turned to see what it was. The moment he recognized the object’s shape, his face turned pale.  

“Boom! Boom!”  

Explosions rang out, sending birds in the forest scattering in all directions.  

The powerful blasts turned the two helicopters into flaming fireballs. The eight black-clad men who were preparing to board or already aboard were all hit by the grenades. The surrounding area was littered with fragmented metal shards and dismembered body parts, while thick plumes of smoke rose into the sky.  

Three men, who either had been further away or had managed to react quickly, survived the ambush. Realizing they had been trapped, they dropped to the ground and fired indiscriminately toward the forest edges while retreating deeper into the woods.  

The third helicopter, seeing the blaze below, dared not land. It hovered about 20 meters above the ground, circling cautiously.  

“What’s happening on the ground? Report immediately!” The pilot repeatedly yelled into his radio, his voice filled with urgency.  

Finally, after a moment, he received a response from the tall leader, though it was distorted by static. “We were ambushed. The enemy is on both sides of the forest entrance. Provide air support immediately!”  

The pilot had just maneuvered the helicopter toward the left side of the entrance to provide covering fire when a black oval object suddenly appeared in front of the cockpit’s windshield.  

Before he could discern what it was, the sharp crack of a gunshot reached his ears, and the object exploded into a fiery mass. The flames quickly expanded, engulfing the helicopter in a fiery inferno that shattered the windshield and flooded into the cockpit.  

As the helicopter crashed and exploded on the ground, Lei Yin leapt down from the treetops, landing agilely despite the height.  

The dense forest didn’t hinder his speed. With a few swift movements, he reached Chang’an’s side.  

“What’s the situation now?”  

“Sir, there are still three survivors.”  

“Leave them. We need to leave immediately before reinforcements arrive. Otherwise, it’ll be trouble.”  

“I’ve already contacted the drivers. They should be here soon,” Chang’an replied.  

Lei Yin nodded. “Taking out all three helicopters at once—our luck is better than I expected.” Initially, he had only planned to disable two at most. But fortunately, the first two helicopters had landed almost simultaneously, creating the perfect opportunity to strike.  

Just then, the two cars returned. In the lead vehicle, Lei Li looked excited as he noticed the distant flames still burning brightly.  

“Stop playing with them,” Lei Yin told Chang’an. “Call the others back immediately.”  

“Yes, sir,” Chang’an promptly used his radio to summon the rest of the team from their positions.  

Although the surviving three black-clad men couldn’t see much, they heard the sound of engines starting again.  

“Captain, what do we do now?” one of the men asked the tall leader beside him.  

“Shut up!” the man hissed in a low voice. He stared at the orange taillights disappearing into the distance, his heart sinking.  

The failure of the last mission had already put him in a precarious position. If he failed again, especially after losing so many men and helicopters, he couldn’t imagine how his superiors would deal with him.  

As he pondered his situation, the burly man told the other two, “Split up and charge toward the vehicles. Do whatever it takes to disable them. Support will arrive soon.”

The two black-clad men nodded and began advancing from both flanks, while the burly man used the cover of trees to move forward.

In the faint starlight, Lei Yin could clearly see the three figures advancing through the forest. He spoke in a low voice, “They’re trying to counterattack. Chang’an, you handle the one on the left. The other two will take the one on the right. I’ll deal with the one in the middle. Also, tell the three team members to hurry over here.”

After speaking, Lei Yin positioned himself behind a large tree for cover, waiting with his weapon trained on the burly man. Chang’an and the two team members who had exited the vehicles took positions on either side, following Lei Yin’s instructions.

A few seconds later, the burly man was less than 200 meters away. As he dashed toward the next tree for cover, Lei Yin fired a shot.

Lei Yin frowned. The bullet should have struck the man’s heart, but he seemed completely unscathed—no signs of stumbling or injury. “He’s likely wearing specialized body armor,” Lei Yin muttered.

He quickly informed Chang’an and the others, “They might be wearing body armor. Aim for their heads.”

“Understood, sir,” Chang’an responded.

Meanwhile, the three team members from the other side of the forest had returned. Lei Yin, noticing their eagerness to engage, immediately commanded, “Get in the cars and prepare to leave.”

The three team members quickly complied and boarded the vehicles.

Seeing their retreat, the burly man roared and charged recklessly, firing his weapon while closing the distance.

This was the opportunity Lei Yin had been waiting for. He took careful aim and fired at the man’s forehead.

The burly man seemed to sense the bullet coming and swiftly raised his hands to shield his face.

With a metallic clang, the bullet struck his hand but failed to penetrate.

After deflecting the shot, the man kept his hands in front of his face and continued advancing. The gap between him and Lei Yin closed rapidly, from 200 meters to less than 100.

Lei Yin reached for the grenades strapped to his gear but found none left. He turned to the others and asked, “Who has grenades?”

“Here, sir,” Chang’an said, tossing one to him.

Catching the grenade, Lei Yin quickly pulled the pin and hurled it at the burly man, readying his firearm to aim at its landing spot.

But before the grenade could land, the man leapt sideways, avoiding it entirely.

Recovering quickly, the man resumed his charge toward Lei Yin. Behind him, the grenade exploded harmlessly.

“Get the cars out of here now! He’s targeting them!” Lei Yin shouted. As the vehicles began to move, he fired several rounds at the man’s legs, chest, stomach, and face. Shots to his legs, chest, and stomach produced metallic impacts, while shots to his face were blocked by his hands.

The vehicles followed Lei Yin’s orders, driving away, but their speed was hampered by the rough terrain. Seeing the cars leaving only fueled the man’s frenzy. He charged forward even faster.

By this point, he was less than 40 meters from Lei Yin, while the two other black-clad men continued advancing and firing. Chang’an and the other team members retaliated with suppressive fire.

“Sir, we should combine our firepower to take him down,” Chang’an suggested, recognizing the man’s extraordinary resilience.

“He’s equipped with something unusual. My shots aren’t effective. Try flanking and aiming for his head,” Lei Yin instructed.

Holstering his pistol, Lei Yin drew a black, meter-long short sword from his belt.

Chang’an shifted his position and began firing bursts from his submachine gun, aiming at the man’s head. The burly man raised his right hand to shield his left cheek but continued his unrelenting charge.

When the man was less than four meters away, Chang’an ceased fire, fearing he might accidentally hit Lei Yin.

The man lunged at Lei Yin with ferocious momentum. Lei Yin sidestepped deftly, letting the man rush past him. In the same motion, Lei Yin reversed his grip on the sword and slashed at the man’s neck.

The black blade moved like an ethereal shadow, slicing through the man’s raised wrist and continuing cleanly through his neck. The sword left no sound or resistance as it completed its arc.

The man’s eyes widened in disbelief as he witnessed his headless body sprinting forward before collapsing lifelessly to the ground.

Picking up the severed hand, Lei Yin examined it closely. It was not a human hand. The cross-section at the wrist revealed a thick layer of metal encasing a dense network of wires.

Realizing this, his thoughts turned, and he took a couple of steps forward. Pulling open the black shirt on the decapitated body, he discovered there was no bulletproof vest beneath. However, the exposed surface was not ordinary human skin but a layer of metallic material with a silver-gray sheen. Touching it, he felt a faint warmth emanating from it.

At that moment, Changan, who had already dealt with the black-clad man on the left, walked over. Seeing the metallic body, he couldn’t help but exclaim in shock, “My lord, is this…?”

Lei Yin replied solemnly, “Do you remember the research project from that base? If I’m not mistaken, this might be a successful experiment—an actual hybrid of human and machine. I suspect this layer of metal encases his internal organs. Truly a disgusting opponent.”

Changan stared blankly at the metallic surface for a moment.

Standing up, Lei Yin said, “Tell the other two team members to stop worrying about the other black-clad men. We need to leave here immediately.” After speaking, he gestured to the two cars that had already driven some distance away.

Inside the vehicle, Lei Li asked, “Master, how do you think they found our location this time?”

Lei Yin replied, “I’m still considering that.” For the previous incident, an inside traitor could have explained it, but that reason didn’t seem to hold this time.

After about ten minutes of driving along the highway, Lei Yin spotted a lake. He immediately ordered the cars to stop. Once everyone got out, they drove the vehicles straight into the lake to sink them.

“According to the map, there’s a relatively large town not far ahead. Once we get there, we’ll find a place to rest and then steal two more vehicles to continue,” Lei Yin said while studying the map.

The group began walking on foot. Lei Li, whose leg injury was still not fully healed, had to be assisted by one of the team members as they moved slowly forward.

While walking, Lei Yin continued to ponder the earlier question. If this issue wasn’t resolved, no matter where they fled, they would always be tracked.

After some thought, something shiny in Chang’an’s hand ahead caught Lei Yin’s eye. Suddenly, he understood everything.

“Chang’an, Little Black, take off your rings immediately!” Lei Yin shouted.

Lei Li froze for a moment before realizing and hurriedly removed his ring. “Master, do you think they tracked us using the signal transmitters in our rings? But the frequency and wavelength are known only to us. Without this data, they couldn’t have built a corresponding detector.”

Chang’an had already taken off his ring and handed it to Lei Yin.

Taking both rings, Lei Yin picked up a rock and smashed the signal transmitters embedded in them.

After tossing the broken rings aside, Lei Yin dusted off his hands and said, “We were completely deceived. Two years ago, when you were captured, they must have discovered that your ring contained a signal transmitter. With the ring in their possession, it would’ve been simple for them to measure the transmitter’s parameters. However, they pretended not to know about it, laying a trap to strike at you again later. Since the signal transmitter only sends out signals every thirty minutes, this explains why they couldn’t pinpoint our location on the highway. Our movement made it harder for them to catch up. If they stop tracking us so precisely after this, it proves that the rings were indeed the cause.”

After walking for about two hours, the group finally saw countless lights flickering in the distance. It seemed they had reached the town marked on the map.

Finding an abandoned house on the outskirts, they rested for a day. The following evening, around 9 PM, Lei Yin and Chang’an headed into the town to buy food.

When they returned, each drove a stolen car back to the old house.

From then on, they traveled by night and rested by day, steadily making their way toward Boston.

Perhaps due to the broken rings, they encountered no further black-clad pursuers along the way.