Under the cloak of night, the Hassan Oil Field was as silent as a dead city.
The steel structures left from the past were scattered across the vast plain, exuding a cyberpunk essence under the chilly moonlight.
This time, the reconnaissance was conducted by three off-road vehicles.
They were much smarter than the previous team from the Freedom Force Reconnaissance Team.
Instead of entering the minefields set up by Song Heping, they had stopped their vehicles three kilometers away and advanced on foot in squad formation, heading towards the marshland.
"This small squad has undergone formal military training; if I'm not mistaken, I'd say they have been trained by Special Forces."
Song Heping put down his gun and warned everyone over the channel.
"Everyone, be careful."
"Exactly." White Bear agreed with the assessment: "Look at them, the vanguard is a hundred meters ahead and the rest are in groups of five, with fifty meters between each group. Such a formation isn't something ordinary militants could manage."
"Are you saying they are regular troops?" Cook asked.
Song Heping replied, "Not necessarily, but they definitely have undergone relevant formal reconnaissance training, which is not at the same level as those from the Freedom Alliance we encountered before."
He couldn't help but admire the leader of this small squad.
With such a formation, even if he had planted mines in the direction of the swamp, it was likely only the vanguard would be killed.
The rest of the squad would immediately turn back and retreat upon seeing their vanguard taken out.
Moreover, although their vehicles were three kilometers away, a gunshot here would bring the off-road vehicles rushing to their aid in no time.
If the squad could hold out for ten minutes, they could easily escape thanks to the high mobility of their vehicles.
"How should we deal with them?" Cook aimed his PKM machine gun at the small squad, estimating.
The distance was vast, a full six hundred meters.
He was unsure.
"Let them come in," Song Heping gritted his teeth. "Let them into the oil field area."
"What?"
Cook was startled by Song Heping's suggestion.
"Once they get in, they're sure to blow something up!"
Song Heping explained, "This oil field's facilities have already suffered plenty of damage before; the pipelines have been blown up. Blowing up one or two more buildings is not a big deal; capturing them is the priority."
Cook laughed: "You really don't consider our employer's interests, do you?"
Song Heping replied, "Do you think Wood Company cares about the cost of reconstructing one or two facilities? Ferrari mentioned that the Hassan Oil Field produces at least half a million barrels of oil every day, not to mention the associated natural gas. The loss of one or two facilities is trivial to Wood.
What they want is to secure their foothold here, without being driven away by armed organizations. If we can handle the nearby armed organizations and keep them from causing trouble here, Wood will definitely reward us handsomely, instead of squabbling over a couple of lost facilities."
After hearing this, Cook found it very reasonable, recalling how wise Song Heping had been in having the engineers and employees leave the oil field for a nearby town before sunset during the day.
If those employees were in the residential area of the oil field, it would greatly affect all the actions of their Mercenary Corps.
That would be a burden!
"Alright!" Cook exclaimed: "Song, you're the boss now, what you say goes! We all listen to you!"
Song Heping was momentarily taken aback.
Trust.
The most important thing for a leader was the trust of his subordinates.
As long as his men had absolute trust in him, his tactics would be implemented without fail.
Winning battles required trust as a foundation.
Otherwise, there was no starting point.
"Okay, everyone follow my orders," Song Heping immediately made the tactical arrangement: "Samir, have your team hold their position and wait for instructions. Queen, White Bear, Grey Wolf, you three immediately pull back from the front line, drive out and find the parking spot for their vehicles.
If I'm not mistaken, it'll be somewhere within a three-kilometer range to the north of the marshland, probably not even three kilometers. I reckon their leader is a cautious man; such a person wouldn't be too reckless or park their vehicles too far from where they are."
"Find their vehicles? Should we blow them up? I've got an RPG in my vehicle!"
The always aggressive White Bear was ready to act.
Race to the death.
After all, if they can make the enemy die, then don't let them live.
Violence it is.
"Fuck," Song Heping said, "White Bear, can't you be less violent? I wanted you guys to take out the driver without alerting them. There must be a driver in their cars; I guess there's only one person left in each vehicle now. After you find them, find a position to ambush, and don't wait for my command. As soon as their cars try to move, take them out."
"Ah..." Queen Julia said, "So you mean to break their legs when the fight starts."
"Exactly," Song Heping said. "That's the strategy. They want to ambush us, we'll cut off their escape route."
"OK!" the Queen said. "Leave it to me. Actually, you don't need so many people; I alone can handle all three of their cars."
White Bear and the others quietly left their attacking position and ran to retrieve the SUV they had hidden.
Song Heping watched the reconnaissance squad slowly approach the work area of the oil district and couldn't help but praise them again, "Cook, look at these guys; they are real pros. They walk along the shallow area by the swamp to hide their tracks. They dare to walk like this, which proves that they must have been here before. I wonder why I couldn't see any traces they left previously."
Soon, the reconnaissance squad entered the oil field area safely and without any incidents.
They found a hidden spot next to an oil warehouse in one corner of the oil field and took cover.
Vanguard reported to the team leader, "Could the intelligence be wrong? This area doesn't seem to have people."
The team leader was also feeling suspicious.
They had come tonight because the organization had received reports that many engineers and mercenaries had come here during the day, not only to Hassan Oil Field but also to the nearby Cook Oil Field.
These two oil fields absolutely must not fall into the hands of the Americans.
That was a clear directive from the organization's leader.
Of course, the best method would be to completely destroy this place.
However, the entire oil district was too large, and though all oil pipelines leading out were already destroyed, to blow up all the facilities, they didn't know how many tons of explosives would be needed or how long it would take, which was unfeasible.
Therefore, harassment was the best method.
As long as someone dared to come, they'd kill the opponent.
Kill one at a time, or wait until they resumed production here, and started pumping oil again, then light it up with a fire once more.
It wouldn't take long for the personnel stationed here, whether regular forces or lackeys like the ICDC, to collapse psychologically and evacuate the oil district.
Dreams of the Mercenary Organization laying hands on this place?
In his view, it was pure delusion.
"They might all be asleep in the living area," the team leader speculated.
"But there are no sentries on the perimeter..." Vanguard said, "All the way here, I didn't see a single sentry or any high-tech warning devices, completely different from the previous military batches that were stationed here."
"Stop daydreaming!" the team leader scolded. "Fighting has already started at Cook Oil Field tonight, which proves the intelligence is correct. There definitely are people in this district. Come on, let's go over to the living area and see, kill a few of them. Remember, we're not here to linger, kill a few and then throw some grenades into the barracks and run!"
"Alright!" Vanguard nodded.
"Same old rules, you lead the way," the team leader made a gesture. "We'll follow."
"Understood!"
After Vanguard responded, he immediately crouched down, his gun in hand, and darted forward like a ghost.
He was very careful.
He quickly ran to one building in a sprinting mode, took cover behind it, checked the area, planned the next route, and then started sprinting again.
Sprinting is a tactic often used by infantry on the move.
Its advantages are a relatively low posture, fast movement speed, strong concealment, and leaving little time for the enemy to shoot.
"We should move now too."
Not long after Vanguard and his small team disappeared behind the sprawling buildings of the oil district, Song Heping, observing from a distance, commanded Cook and others, "We're also heading into the oil district. It looks like their direction is towards the residential area. Hunter, find a sniper position near that high tower in the residential area.
Cook, you and Disaster Star team up with me; I'll lead the way as Vanguard."
"Me and Disaster Star?"
In the darkness, Cook's voice sounded a bit unnatural.