The piercing whistle of the shells tearing through the night sky had not yet dissipated when another mortar shell crashed into the central area of the joint frontline command post.

"Boom——"

Thorium-232 powder transformed into a pale blue cloud at the moment of explosion, spreading with the shock wave.

In fact, as the unlucky technician was swept away by the shock wave, the specially formulated shell had already completed its primary task—electromagnetic interference.

Jiang Feng crouched on a sand dune 400 meters away from the camp, watching clearly through his Night Vision Goggles as the blue cloud engulfed the entire command post.

He pressed the communicator: "First round of shelling hit the target, waiting for thorium dust to disperse, continue the bombardment."

"Roger that, continue suppression."

The calm voice of the artillery squad leader responded in his earpiece.

He turned and gestured, and the gunner beside him immediately loaded the third shell.

Six mortars continued to bombard at a rate of one shell every five seconds, each shell precisely landing in different areas of the command post to ensure even coverage of thorium dust.

"Put on protective masks."

Seeing that the thorium dust had spread adequately, Jiang Feng issued the order to prepare for the attack.

Everyone simultaneously pulled down their specially made anti-radiation masks.

The lenses of the masks were made of a special multilayer composite material, effectively filtering thorium dust while maintaining a clear view.

The joint command post was already in chaos.

"Damn it! All electronic devices have failed! Cough cough cough——"

The communications officer was violently coughing while frantically slapping the suddenly blacked-out terminal equipment.

Commander Riyi Sen pushed open the tent flap, and the scene before him made his blood freeze— the entire camp was shrouded in an eerie blue mist, electronic devices were sparking, and satellite antennas were twisting and deforming as if being crushed by an invisible hand.

"EMP attack?"

The adjutant asked in horror.

Ethan shook his head and suddenly began to cough violently.

He noticed the fine particles floating in the air, glowing unnaturally under the searchlight.

"No... God... it's some kind of radioactive disruptor..."

Before he could finish talking, another shell directly hit the communications tent.

The damage caused by thorium-232 powder to electronic equipment was catastrophic—these fine radioactive particles adhered to the circuit boards, causing continuous ionization interference, rendering any unprotected electronic equipment completely paralyzed within minutes.

"We've been set up..."

Ethan knelt on the ground, coughing up blood-streaked saliva. He realized that this was not a chance encounter but a meticulously planned ambush.

Someone knew their location, their mission, and even knew all their communication frequencies and electronic equipment parameters.

Three hundred kilometers away, in the northern wilderness of the Sudan.

The commander of the two Green Beret squads, Marcus, suddenly halted, raising his fist to signal the entire team to stop advancing.

The static noise in the headphones grew stronger, eventually turning into a piercing screech.

"Damn it! What's going on!" He tore off the headphones, his face grim, "Communication is down."

He pulled out his PDA and looked at the screen.

A field of snowflakes.

The footage of the drones deployed to scout Song Heping's route was also lost.

"The drone signal is lost too... something's wrong..."

Team member Jackson checked the tactical tablet, the screen was filled with static.

"GPS signal is weak; we can only rely on paper maps and compasses now."

Marcus spat: "Initiate the backup plan, launch the 'Big Crow'."

A team member quickly retrieved a small hand-launched drone from his backpack and assembled it in record time.

With a sprint, he gently tossed it, and the drone, with low electronic emissions, silently took to the air.

Its camera footage directly transmitted to Marcus's monocular display, and although the resolution was not as high as military drones, it was sufficient to provide a real-time view within a five-kilometer radius.

"Stay alert, something feels off."

Seeing the empty view in the camera, Marcus had an ominous feeling; he quietly gave the order.

Twenty-four Green Berets immediately split into three combat teams, advancing in a triangular formation, each person scanning the surroundings vigilantly through their Night Vision Goggles.

Unbeknownst to them, hidden in the shadows of rocks just 200 meters behind, several pairs of cold eyes were watching their every move.

Song Heping's previously deployed C Group had been trailing this Special Forces unit for over two hours.

They wore specially designed camo suits coated with material that absorbed infrared radiation, making them difficult to detect even with Night Vision Goggles.

"The target has entered the ambush zone."

C Group leader White Bear reported quietly over the encrypted channel.

"They launched a small drone."

"Proceed according to plan." Song Heping responded, "Wait for them to notice the irregularity before taking action."

White Bear gently pulled the gun bolt; his M249 Light Machine Gun, equipped with a 200-round magazine, was ready for action.

The dozen team members beside him were also prepared, each assigned specific shooting targets.

Meanwhile, several tactical squads of C Group had already moved behind Marcus and his team under the cover of darkness.

If it were an ordinary day, White Bear and the others would not have been able to get so close without being detected.

But today was different.

All of Marcus's attention was focused on Song Heping's convoy, so consumed by watching them that he didn't realize the Grim Reaper had sneaked up behind him.

The image transmitted by the "Big Crow" suddenly froze on an unsettling scene on Marcus's monocular display—three kilometers away at the scheduled interception point, there was nothing but desert wind blowing sand, with no convoy or figures in sight.

"Damn!" Marcus cursed, "They changed routes! They're not following the original path!"

Cursing, he hit a rock in front of him hard and stood up, half-kneeling.

A team member ran over.

"Sir..."

At that moment, Queen, already in a sniper position afar, pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

The custom SVD sniper rifle made only a slight muffled sound.

The bullet aimed at Marcus hit the team member instead.

Even wearing a bulletproof vest couldn't stop the steel core bullet's attack.

The team member's body spewed a mist of blood and fell face-first onto the ground.

"Ambush! Rear!"

Marcus reacted swiftly, almost immediately determining the direction of the attack as the team member fell.

"5 o'clock position!"

The Green Berets, deserving of their elite status in the US Army, executed a complete turn around, seeking cover, and organized a counter-attack in under three seconds. However, the opponent they faced was equally well-trained and already prepared.

Several tactical squads of C Group saw Queen open fire and immediately followed suit, taking down three Green Beret team members in the first round of shooting.

Bullets came from multiple directions, forming an instant crossfire.

The rain of bullets struck limbs and heads unprotected by bulletproof vests, demonstrating impressive shooting precision.

"Spread out! Group A to the left, Group B to the right, Group C with me!"

Marcus quickly ordered, meanwhile firing a long burst at the location of the muzzle flashes. His M4A1 rifle spit fire, 5.56mm bullets whistling into the darkness.

But White Bear had already begun fast maneuvering according to Song Heping's previous instructions.

Song Heping had advised before setting off.

Don't engage head-to-head with the Green Berets.

Given their numerical superiority, they mustn't get caught in a deadlock and should leverage the advantage of multiple attack squads to continually move and change positions.

At this moment, White Bear, leading his team, was using a pre-scouted dried riverbed to move swiftly and launch a second round of attacks from another angle.

This time, they used a combination of smoke grenades and shock bombs.

"Boom!"

Shock bombs exploded in the midst of the Green Berets, and the intense flashes and noise were nearly impossible to counteract even with protective earplugs.

Two team members were temporarily incapacitated, kneeling on the ground and retching violently.

Marcus, fighting off dizziness, shouted into his communicator: "Alternate covering retreat! Move to the northeast!"

He realized he had walked into a trap, and the most important thing now was to preserve their strength and reorganize.

But just as the Green Berets began their orderly retreat, a line of muzzle flashes suddenly lit up ahead.

The main force division of twenty led by Song Heping himself had finally revealed themselves.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com