Two weeks later, on a crisp winter morning, the spruce forests of Jinchuan County were blanketed in pristine snow. Squirrels huddled in the branches, clutching pinecones as they nibbled, when suddenly the urgent panting of packhorses drifted from afar. Two sturdy packhorses hauled a sledge through the snow, their iron runners scraping against the icy crust and startling the squirrels into scrambling with their food into tree hollows, their fluffy tails sweeping messy claw prints across the white ground.
The crisp crunch of the sledge rolling over dead branches echoed through the silent forest. Leitao gripped the frost-covered reins tightly, while Heilong crouched beside his knees, its cybernetic eye glowing like a bright blue torch, scanning every suspicious snow-drifted hollow. Old Qiao unbuttoned his cotton padded jacket, revealing neat bundles of grenades tucked around his waist, the hemp ropes rubbing against his frozen fingers to produce a faint rustling sound. Meng Yan fondled his binoculars, the mist from his breath forming frost flowers on the lenses.
"Bang, bang... tat-tat-tat...!" The sudden, intense gunfire shattered the snow accumulated on the treetops. Heilong instantly stiffened its spine, the red thermal heat signatures marked by its cybernetic eye blooming like drops of blood. Leitao jerked the reins hard, sending the sledge sliding in a half-arc across the ice as three-foot sprays of shattered snow flew into the air. "Type 96 light machine gun! Northwest pi…
Chapter 494