Inside the cave, the bonfire crackled, and the moment a spark flared up, the smart AI prosthetic eye of the black hound suddenly erupted with a blinding red light. The metal fragment in Leitao's hand almost slipped—the military dog's warning whistle was as sharp as a siren, mingling with the howling wind and snow outside the cave, sending a heart-pounding echo bouncing off the rock walls.
"Heat source! Northwest direction, at least twenty people!" Meng Yan raised his rifle to aim at the cave entrance, the barrel gleaming coldly in the firelight. Old Qiao quickly transferred the wounded to a recess in the rock wall, effortlessly pulling off the dynamite pack tied around his waist: "Those are Kwantung Army snow boots; the sound of stepping on snow is three times heavier than that of bandits!"
Before his voice faded, bullets had pierced the snow at the cave entrance, kicking up sparks against the rock wall. Leitao rolled over and grabbed Shimokawa Hiroshi, pressing his military knife against the other man's throat: "Tell your men to fall back!" But the Japanese Army major suddenly grinned hideously, black blood seeping from the corners of his mouth—at some unknown point, he had bitten into a cyanide capsule hidden in his collar.
Chapter 497