Chapter 88: Entering Daman City

Hu Hao sprinted through the dark streets until he was completely clear of the Administrative Center. Once he felt relatively safe, he slipped into another abandoned civilian house. After quickly shedding the Allied uniform and donning civilian clothes again, he gripped his scavenged assault rifle and cautiously made his way to the outskirts of the county. He found the concealed civilian vehicle where his radiomen had left it, hotwired the engine, and drove away into the night.

Meanwhile, Santong County had erupted into absolute chaos. Two Allied Regimental Colonels had rushed to the Administrative Center, only to find the bodies of their Division Commander, Chief of Staff, Deputy Division Commander, and several staff officers laid out in the courtyard beneath stark white sheets. The surviving officers were completely paralyzed, entirely unsure of how to proceed.

Their Division had only arrived in Santong County that morning. Their primary objective had been to secure the rumored Imperial military base and its massive armory. They had located the armory, but before they could even begin organizing the logistical transfer of the weapons and ammunition, their entire command structure had been decapitated.

Furthermore, the surviving guards vehemently insisted that the assassin had been a single soldier wearing an Allied uniform. The two Colonels absolutely refused to believe such an absurd claim.

“Find that assassin immediately! Have you notified the Corps Commander yet?!” one of the Colonels roared furiously.

“Yes, sir. We established a secure link to Corps Command. The Corps Commander ordered you both to immediately establish operational control over the remaining troops and prioritize the complete extraction of the Imperial munitions,” a surviving staff officer reported, trembling slightly. He had narrowly escaped the grenade blasts because he had lingered near the back of the room.

“Understood. First thing tomorrow morning, we begin transporting those munitions back to Daman City. Daman is our designated staging ground anyway,” the Colonel decided.

“Agreed,” the second Colonel nodded grimly.

“How could something like this happen? Ilo, do you think this was the work of Eastern Spirit reconnaissance elements? We already lost contact with roughly fifteen patrols throughout the city today; we still haven’t found them,” the first Colonel asked, his brow deeply furrowed.

“Highly unlikely,” Colonel Ilo shook his head. “The Imperial forces shouldn’t have been able to advance this far forward yet. Colonel Sama, I suspect this was a localized insurgency. It was likely organized by the surviving civilians seeking revenge for today’s purge. It appears our Division Commander was simply too careless and didn’t post an adequate security detail.”

“Mmh. A coordinated ambush against a relaxed target. They found an opening and exploited it. That’s the only logical explanation,” Colonel Sama agreed.

“Forget it. We accelerate the extraction of the munitions tomorrow and fall back to Daman City. The Corps Commander will undoubtedly dispatch a new Division Commander to take charge,” Ilo concluded with a heavy sigh.

At that very moment, Hu Hao was driving down the dark highway toward Daman City. Ye Zifeng and the armored column hadn’t moved yet; Hu Hao had ordered them to hold position until 21:00 hours, and it was currently just past 20:00.

After driving for over an hour, Hu Hao reached a small town on the outskirts of Daman City. The town was entirely devoid of light and eerily silent. Hu Hao couldn’t tell if the civilian population had managed to evacuate or if they had been completely slaughtered.

However, judging by the dark, rust-colored stains splattered across the pavement, he suspected it was the latter.

He pulled the car into a secluded alley and eventually linked up with Liu Shuyi and his recon squad.

“Hao-ge, what’s our next move? Do we hold here and wait for the armored column, or do we push into Daman City?” Liu Shuyi asked in a hushed whisper.

“We push into Daman City. We need to infiltrate the urban perimeter and map out the enemy’s heavy weapon emplacements before the armor arrives. We go on foot. Driving is too dangerous; the moment an Allied sentry spots our headlights, they’ll put a rocket through the windshield, and we’re all dead,” Hu Hao ordered.

Leaving the vehicle behind, Hu Hao and the recon squad cautiously advanced toward the city on foot. Guided by the forward recon detachments already operating inside the perimeter, Hu Hao successfully infiltrated Daman City.

“Hao-ge, the entire city reeks of rot. It’s highly likely they slaughtered a massive portion of the civilian populace here as well,” the Recon Platoon Leader reported as he approached Hu Hao. “However, our patrols have confirmed that there are still significant pockets of civilians alive within the city. But the Allied soldiers… Hao-ge, they are committing unspeakable atrocities.”

“Do you have a confirmed location for their command post? Where is the main body of their infantry garrisoned?” Hu Hao asked, cutting to the chase.

“Yes, sir. The Allied forces have established their primary garrison inside the Daman University campus. Their command post is located there as well. The vast majority of their troops are currently camp out within the campus grounds,” the Platoon Leader replied.

“Good. Take me there,” Hu Hao’s eyes gleamed coldly.

The Platoon Leader nodded and led the way, skillfully navigating through the dark alleys to avoid the scattered Allied patrols until they reached the perimeter of the university campus.

“The Allied infantry are mostly quartered inside the student dormitories. The command staff has commandeered those specific administrative buildings over there,” the Platoon Leader pointed through the wrought-iron fence. “As you can see, they have sentries posted along the inner perimeter wall, but the security isn’t particularly dense.”

“I noticed that on the way in. The overall security presence throughout the city is incredibly sparse. There are massive blind spots everywhere, aren’t there?” Hu Hao observed.

“They don’t have the manpower to lock down the city, Hao-ge! Daman is massive, and they only have a single Regiment!” the Platoon Leader explained.

“Excellent,” Hu Hao nodded. He immediately pulled out his satellite phone and dialed Ye Zifeng.

“Hao-ge!” Ye Zifeng answered instantly. The armored column had just begun its advance.

“Detach one full battalion of mechanized infantry and push them toward Daman City at maximum speed! The rest of the column will maintain standard advance speed and follow behind!” Hu Hao ordered rapidly.

“Understood!” Ye Zifeng acknowledged the urgent command.

Hu Hao hung up and turned to the Platoon Leader. “Let’s go. Show me the exact locations of every single Allied sentry post between this campus and our designated entry vector.”

“Ah? Hao-ge, there are at least five or six fortified checkpoints along that route! Each checkpoint is manned by a minimum of three soldiers. If we engage them and shots are fired, we’ll alert the entire Allied garrison!” the Platoon Leader warned nervously.

“It doesn’t matter. We’ll use scavenged Allied rifles; the sound signature won’t immediately trigger an alarm. We are going to methodically clear every single sentry post, starting from the perimeter and working our way inward.

We must ensure that when our mechanized infantry arrives, they can punch straight through the city and hit this campus without hitting a single speed bump!

Listen closely. Once we neutralize the outer sentries, we fall back here immediately. Your entire Recon Company will surround these dormitories. You will lock down every single exit! Do not let a single Allied soldier leave those buildings! That way, when our main force arrives, we can obliterate them instantly! Move!” Hu Hao ordered with absolute authority.

“Ah?!” The recon soldiers stared at him, utterly stunned by the sheer audacity of the plan.

“Stop wasting time! Move! We don’t have time to hesitate! Our mechanized infantry will be here in roughly an hour!” Hu Hao snapped.

“Understood, Hao-ge,” Liu Shuyi nodded, realizing he couldn’t argue with his Division Commander.

“Just send a few men to guide me to the checkpoints. The rest of you, fan out and establish your ambush positions around the campus immediately. Ensure you have overlapping fields of fire covering the dormitory exits. When our main force arrives, I don’t want a single blind spot!” Hu Hao ordered Liu Shuyi.

“Hao-ge, if it’s too risky, we shouldn’t attack the checkpoints at all! We can just wait for the main force to arrive and let the armor obliterate them!” Liu Shuyi suggested one last time.

“No. We need time. We aren’t just dealing with this single Regiment tonight,” Hu Hao shook his head cryptically.

Liu Shuyi stared at him, completely confused by the ominous statement, but he didn’t dare ask for clarification.

Hu Hao and the Platoon Leader quickly moved out, slipping through the shadows toward the first Allied checkpoint.

“Hao-ge, they literally just initiated a shift change. They rotate the guard every two hours,” the Platoon Leader whispered, pointing toward a major intersection ahead. “That’s the first checkpoint. Honestly, their discipline is garbage. During our recon earlier today, we practically walked right past them in broad daylight, and they didn’t even bat an eye. But if a woman walks past… those bastards are animals.”

“Good. Wait here,” Hu Hao whispered, drawing his combat knife from its sheath.

Before the recon soldiers could even process his order, Hu Hao had already vanished into the darkness. They panicked; he hadn’t even discussed a tactical approach with them before launching the assault!

Hu Hao moved like a phantom, pressing himself flat against the brick walls of the buildings lining the street. The Allied soldiers manning the sandbagged heavy machine gun emplacement were entirely oblivious to the approaching lethal threat; they were casually sitting inside the bunker, chatting and laughing.

Hu Hao closed the distance silently. Just as he reached the edge of the sandbags, one of the sentries finally noticed a flicker of movement in the shadows and opened his mouth to speak.

Hu Hao launched himself over the sandbags, landing directly in the center of the four soldiers.

In a single, fluid motion, he slashed the throat of the sentry who had spotted him. Before the other three soldiers could even register the spray of blood, Hu Hao lunged forward and buried the knife to the hilt directly into the heart of the second soldier.

The remaining two soldiers finally realized they were under attack. As they frantically scrambled for their rifles, Hu Hao spun gracefully, his blade slicing cleanly through the jugular of the third soldier. The fourth soldier managed to grab his rifle, but Hu Hao’s hand shot out like a viper, clamping down on the barrel and violently wrenching it aside as he drove his knife into the man’s chest.

“Spit. Motherfucker. Blood everywhere,” Hu Hao cursed under his breath, spitting on the ground as the final soldier slumped over.

The two soldiers with slashed throats were writhing on the ground, clutching their necks in a desperate, futile attempt to stop the arterial spray. Hu Hao yanked his knife free from the fourth soldier’s chest and quickly delivered a final, merciful thrust to the hearts of the two dying men, silencing them completely.

A short distance away, the Platoon Leader and his men watched the entire sequence in absolute, paralyzed shock. Although it was night, the pale moonlight provided enough illumination for them to see Hu Hao’s silhouette moving with terrifying, demonic speed.

“Is Hao-ge really that lethal?!” the Platoon Leader whispered, his eyes wide as he turned to his men. They were all staring at the checkpoint, their mouths hanging open.

“Get over here!” Hu Hao’s hushed voice echoed from the bunker.

“Move, move, move! Hao-ge is calling us! Hurry up!” the Platoon Leader snapped his men out of their daze, and they quickly jogged over to the checkpoint with their rifles raised.

As they stepped behind the sandbags, the thick, metallic stench of fresh blood hit them like a physical blow.

“Sorry about the mess. I’m a bit out of practice. Since there were four of them and I couldn’t risk them making a sound, this was the most efficient method,” Hu Hao chuckled softly, wiping his blade clean on a dead soldier’s uniform as he noticed the recon soldiers staring at the carnage in horror.

“Alright, let’s move. Take me to the next one.”