Deng Shiyang felt a strong hand on his shoulder, followed by a shake that woke him from his sleep.


    He opened his eyes and, aided by the faint starlight filtering through the trees, could vaguely see a blurred figure standing in front of him.


    "Get up, time to break camp," Mark''s voice came through.


    He noticed his breathing was irregular, so he took a deep breath to calm himself, then removed the mosquito net from his head, wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve, and put on his night vision goggles.


    But Mark still noticed something was off and asked, "Do you have any medication allergies?"


    Deng Shiyang was somewhat surprised and paused before replying, "No."


    Mark reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a small medicine bottle. He unscrewed the cap and took out a pink oblong pill.


    "This is paroxetine; it can help calm your nerves," he said, handing the pill to Deng Shiyang.


    "Thanks."


    Deng Shiyang placed the pill in his mouth, took a sip from his hydration bladder, and swallowed it with the water.


    Mark didn''t say anything, just gave a slight nod.


    At three in the morning, a time when most people are sound asleep, the enemy would be at their most relaxed. Keith ordered Du Preez and Rodin to retrieve the directional mines from around the campsite and redeploy them near the guerrilla camp. The remaining team members were tasked with eliminating traces of their camp.


    Breaking camp took longer than expected, and the work continued until dawn. The team carefully buried their trash and any equipment they were leaving behind, then moved to their assigned positions.


    Deng Shiyang''s chosen shooting position was on the northern hillside overlooking the camp. From there, he had a clear view of the entire area, with nearby vegetation providing good concealment. He donned a ghillie suit made from camouflage netting woven with grass and leaves, lay down under a large tree, and rested his rifle on a sturdy tree root beside him.


    First, he drew a map of the camp, dividing it into several sectors based on different angles. He then selected various landmarks within each sector for reference and measured the distances to them. The data was recorded on the map, creating a simple range card, allowing him to quickly locate targets using the sectors and estimate the distance to them based on the reference points.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Not far from him was an observation post that Keith and Jansen had set up using camouflage netting.


    To facilitate communication, Keith designated several prominent landmarks in the camp using baseball terms: "outfield" referred to the area furthest from the extraction point, while the camp was divided into "infield" sections. The "pitcher''s mound" indicated the central open space, "home plate" represented the small cabins where the hostage was believed to be held, and other "bases" corresponded to the sandbag bunkers around the perimeter. Team members could easily understand enemy positions by referring to these landmarks.


    Jansen was marking the distances to targets on a satellite image and had a short-range tactical radio and a pile of 40mm smoke grenades of various colors next to him.


    A hundred yards ahead was Mark''s machine gun position. He had dug a shallow pit beside a bush with an entrenching tool and used the dirt to build a low crescent-shaped wall facing the camp, creating a prone firing position.


    To avoid being detected by getting too close, he didn''t construct an advanced machine gun nest but instead chose a fallen dead tree about 150 yards from the camp''s edge as a temporary combat position. The detonators for the directional mines that Rodin and Du Preez had set up were also hidden there.


    Noon arrived quickly.


    Suddenly, a man wearing only underwear and holding a satellite phone burst out of the cabin with the satellite dish. He was shouting angrily while running. Nearby, a guerrilla quickly grabbed a hammer and began banging furiously on a metal plate hanging from a wooden frame next to the clearing.


    The camp erupted into chaos, with previously idle people scrambling back to their cabins. Soon, small groups of disheveled and disorganized guerrillas appeared around the clearing.


    The group consisted of both men and women, mostly young adults. Their clothing was inconsistent, with a mix of military uniforms from various countries and casual attire like T-shirts and dress shirts. They were disorderly, with many yawning and sluggishly forming ranks.


    The guerrillas'' weaponry resembled a small light arms exhibition. In addition to several RPD light machine guns and RPG-7 rocket launchers for support, there were at least six or seven different types of rifles, including AK-47s and AKMs from various countries, as well as the widely-used FALs in South America, and small-caliber firearms like the M16A1 and SG540. Among them, even a few antique SKS carbines could be seen.


    After almost five minutes, five crooked lines of troops formed in the center of the clearing. Deng Shiyang counted over ninety people.


    By then, the half-naked man who had sounded the alarm had changed into a set of British DPM camouflage and was standing in front of the group, wildly gesticulating during his speech. Though Deng Shiyang couldn’t hear what the man was saying, his near-frantic gestures and expression made it clear that the government forces'' actions had caught him completely off guard.


    Before long, the main force of the guerrillas left the camp, heading down the mountainside along the path at the mouth of the hollow. Once they had gone, Keith ordered Jansen to notify headquarters in Camiri via satellite phone, telling Harrowby to send the helicopters.


    The countdown for the rescue operation had begun.