pjbooks Chapter 205 Deceptive Tactics, Nighttime Sniping
Chapter 205 Deceptive Tactics, Nighttime Sniping
Chapter 205 Deceptive Tactics, Nighttime Sniping
In the broadleaf forest, the searchers called out to each other, their chaotic footsteps blending together.
This is a private armed force of more than 30 people, at least half of whom are veterans. They are uniformly equipped with primary and secondary weapons, bulletproof vests and FAST tactical helmets, and are dedicated to clearing obstacles for the Aryan Brotherhood.
Unfortunately, the United States spends nearly $900 billion on its military every year, ranking first in the world. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, they are responsible for providing services to more than 9000 million veterans.
Of these, nearly 300 million can enter the federal government for work, while the remaining 600 million can only seek employment independently.
Self-employment means that without the support of a prestigious university background and a professional moat, one can only engage in very basic jobs, and may even have to compete for positions with illegal immigrants.
As a result, some veterans who were not satisfied with the status quo and had good military skills chose to become outlaws and do this high-risk, high-paying job. The more skilled ones could even become professional mercenaries and participate in proxy wars abroad.
Of course, even if you earn a lot, it's hard to say whether you'll live long enough to retire from this life.
A few minutes later, the bodies of the reconnaissance team were finally found. Seeing the numerous bullet holes riddled with wounds, Mad Joe roared angrily, "What are you all standing there for? Take them back!"
Upon hearing the leader's order, someone immediately stepped forward to collect the body of their comrade. However, just as they reached the ground, a crisp crunching sound suddenly came from under their feet, like the sound of a tree branch being crushed. "Take cover!" Captain McCourt, who had been through many battles, immediately sensed the danger and turned to throw himself on the ground, pressing his chest against the ground to keep his upper body away from the blast center.
His keen intuition told him that this was definitely a booby trap that had been set in advance. Setting up booby traps near corpses, or even using corpses to set up booby traps, is an extremely inhumane act in war.
But if you want to kill me, why would I talk to you about humanity? Sorry, I don't have the inclination to be a saint.
Upon hearing McCourt's instructions, the others took immediate evasive action. After all, those who were qualified for the job had already received professional training, and it was impossible for just anyone to sneak in.
But those who step on the landmine or get too close to the blast center are in big trouble. After all, it only takes two seconds from stepping on it to the explosion. Unless you're the Flash, it's not that easy to dodge.
Boom! A deafening explosion echoed through the night sky, and the massive shockwave sent several unfortunate men flying on the spot.
Those who frequently use explosives know that grenades are divided into two types: offensive and defensive. Offensive grenades are made of fiberboard and filled with a large amount of explosives. When they explode, they do not scatter fragments but rely entirely on the shock wave to kill. The huge overpressure generated during the explosion can directly destroy a person's internal organs.
Because it does not produce shrapnel, users do not have to worry about being accidentally injured and can throw it while charging forward, which is why it is called an offensive type.
Defensive killing mechanisms rely on a large number of high-speed, pre-placed fragments. Hand grenades typically have a grooved metal casing, such as the classic "pineapple" grenade, which contains steel balls and wires. When it explodes, it produces hundreds or thousands of high-speed fragments, creating a large area of damage.
This requires the thrower to hide behind a sturdy cover when throwing the grenade, because the shrapnel has a very large kill radius. If you throw it in an open area, you are likely to die with the enemy.
When it comes to setting up booby traps, who the hell uses offensive ones? Of course, the more powerful the better, more for the same price.
The only thing to blame is that our own firepower was too overwhelming; not only did the enemy loot our supplies, but we also suffered a boomerang attack in return.
Two of the closest Aryan Brotherhood members received their wrap-up lunch on the spot, while at least four others were seriously injured in the explosion and lay on the ground writhing and groaning in pain.
The worst one had his intestines spilling out; even if he were taken to the hospital, he'd probably only get to experience end-of-life care.
There's no way around it, this thing was designed to blow people up, and it's made by the US server, so the quality is impeccable.
After the danger was over, Mad Joe got up from the ground, shook off the dirt and dust from his bald head, wiped his face with his hand, and his eyes, which were already full of ferocity, now gleamed with a scarlet bloodlust, and his teeth were grinding together.
Captain McCourt walked silently toward the blast site without saying a word. After carefully examining the area, he picked up a charred paperclip from the ground and frowned. This was a key tool for setting up booby traps, usually used as a substitute for a safety pin. Once made, it was covered with twigs and dead leaves, making it almost impossible to defend against.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he looked at his employer with a helpless expression: "Sir, although what I'm about to say may not be pleasant, I must tell you out of duty that our opponent is very powerful, possessing extremely strong military capabilities and psychological fortitude. If we rashly pursue them, it could very likely result in further casualties."
"What do you mean?!" Hearing McCourt's blatant attempt to boost the enemy's morale and diminish his own, Mad Joe grabbed him by the collar in a fit of rage. "I pay you $8 a month in commission, is it so you can desert? I don't care who this guy MaJack is, I don't care how powerful he is, he has to die before dawn. I'm going to skin him alive, make his skin into a carpet, and trample him underfoot. Everyone who offends me will suffer the same fate!"
"OK, you're the boss, you're in charge."
Seeing that Jonathan wouldn't listen to reason, Captain McCourt stopped arguing with him. As the saying goes, if you're paid to do something, you're obligated to do it. If you don't care about the lives of everyone, why should I care?
"Boss, we found footprints and tire tracks over there," a subordinate ran over to report.
"Have you figured out how many people there are?" What Mad Joe was most concerned about right now was how many helpers Ma Jack had. Otherwise, how could he have wiped out an entire reconnaissance team by himself?
"At most two people." Before his subordinates could respond, Captain McCourt gave his assessment: "I just examined the bodies. Almost all the wounds had an angle, and the entry and exit points were severely misaligned, indicating that they were hit from above without their knowledge, which is right there."
At this point, McCourt pointed to the spruce tree beside him and continued, "If I'm not mistaken, there are a lot of bullet casings under the tree."
Jonathan walked over with some skepticism, and just as McCourt had said, he could find a cold bullet casing with almost every step he took.
"Two people?" He clenched the metal cartridge case tightly in his hand. "Are you sure there were only two people?"
Seeing his skeptical look, McCourt replied dismissively, "Sir, when I was a military advisor in the South African theater, those blacks never questioned my judgment."
"Alright." Mad Joe calmed down a bit. "Captain, from now on, everyone will be at your command. We'll do anything to kill that bastard."
"OK, first divide the men into three groups." With his employer's unquestioning trust, Captain McCourt gave clear instructions: "One group advances along the tracks they left behind, while the other two groups flank from the left and right. Once you spot a suspicious target, don't engage them in combat; immediately contact me using your communication devices."
McCourt thought that his opponent was so meticulous that he would not make such a basic mistake. He might be deliberately creating an opening. It would be a waste of his forces to have his superior numbers chasing in one direction.
Upon receiving orders, the group each boarded their vehicles and launched a three-pronged attack on the "target."
At that very moment, in a hidden, unnoticed corner, a pair of dark eyes silently watched the pursuers leave.
A figure leaped down from the tree; it was none other than the audacious Ma Jieke. He had witnessed the entire horrific explosion and overheard the two men's "intelligent" conversation.
Although Bubu, who was acting as bait, did not agree with his actions, in Ma Jieke's view, with such a disparity in troop strength, the only way to win was to take an unconventional approach.
He whistled into the depths of the forest, and a running sound came from the bushes. Bruce jumped into his arms and playfully licked his face twice with his tongue.
"Stop fooling around." Ma Jie grabbed its neck and ruffled its head twice. "You've had a tough night, but the real test is just beginning. Ready to cause some chaos?"
"Woof woof..." Bruce barked cheerfully, without any specific meaning, purely to express his feelings.
It was originally just a lonely stray dog, without an owner to protect it, without a source of food, and had to fight fiercely with coyotes and its own kind in the brutal street battles.
Forget about classifying people into different classes; the struggle for ecological niches among animals is even more straightforward and brutal—life or death depends entirely on a good set of teeth.
However, ever since Ma Jie took it in, this guy has been living a comfortable life, not only having a small kennel to shelter it from the wind and rain, but also having meat with every meal. In order to train its bite force, Ma Jie even bought discounted beef ribs from the supermarket to feed it, which made the neighbor's little Bichon Frise drool with envy.
Under the cover of night, the man and his dog stealthily made their way to the outskirts of the manor. Almost all the guards who were originally stationed there chased after "themselves".
Ma Jieke lay prone on a secluded hillside, unloaded his heavy tactical backpack, took out a pile of mechanical parts, and skillfully assembled them.
Half a minute later, a cool-looking sniper rifle was assembled; it was the very same one used in the "Warehouse Treasure Hunt King" competition.
The super blind box I opened—the Barrett MRAD modular sniper rifle.
Modularity doesn't just mean being able to disassemble; it means being able to freely combine parts like building blocks. For example, by quickly changing the barrel and bolt, you can switch calibers to adapt to changing mission requirements.
The most notable feature of this thing is its high price. Buying it from an arms dealer, the bare gun alone costs six or seven thousand US dollars. If you add accessories such as a thermal imaging scope, suppressor, bipod, and tactical sling, the price will basically reach ten thousand dollars, which is simply unaffordable for ordinary people.
However, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. The Barrett is to sniper rifles what the AK-47 is to assault rifles. Its reputation is not something that can be built on hype, but rather on the lives lost.
Although its effective range of 1500 meters is still inferior to weapons like the CheyTac M200 and McMillan TAC-50, which are designed for precision sniping at ultra-long distances, let's be frank: how many snipers in the world can accurately hit a target from 1.5 kilometers away?
Such a person would be extremely rare in any country's military, and it's not simply a matter of "accurate marksmanship," but rather a complete skill set.
Before firing, the shooter needs to observe atmospheric conditions, assess the impact of wind speed, and calculate the trajectory of the bullet. Usually, an observer is also needed to monitor the enemy's movements in real time using equipment such as binoculars or drones and transmit the target's location to the sniper in a timely manner. Especially in a sniper duel, whether or not the enemy sniper can be found depends entirely on the observer locking onto the target by observing the enemy's firing trajectory.
Of course, Ma Jieke doesn't have that kind of condition. Given the current level of shooting skills, it's unlikely that he could achieve a long-range sniper kill.
Therefore, he wisely pushed himself to around 800 meters, which is his true comfort zone.
Don't underestimate this distance. On a clear, sunny day with a wide field of vision, humans can observe this distance with the naked eye and identify the target as a person, not a tree.
But it's nighttime now, and visibility is extremely poor. A normal person's effective visual distance is typically between 100 and 300 meters.
Between meters.
In other words, even if the target's vision is up to standard, there is still a 500-meter blind spot, not to mention that Ma Jieke is stationary and could not possibly be detected.
After setting up the sniper rifle on the ground, Ma Jieke immediately opened the thermal imaging scope, and his field of vision instantly changed from pitch black to a very special solid-color background.
The working principle of this sight is extremely simple: it distinguishes targets of different temperatures by detecting the intensity of infrared radiation, that is, the level of heat.
Normally, the human body temperature is constant at around 37 degrees Celsius, while the nighttime temperature in Los Angeles at this moment is about 17 degrees Celsius.
As a result, there will be a temperature difference of up to 20 degrees between the target and the environment, and the color of the area will change significantly depending on the temperature.
Ma Jieke adjusted the scope to the Iron Red mode, which can be understood as an optimized aiming assistance mode.
In this mode, the color transitions become very smooth, which is more in line with the human eye's observation habits and reduces visual abruptness.
At this moment, the low-temperature area turned into a deep black, as if the whole world was shrouded in a black curtain.
On this curtain, several clearly visible white humanoid silhouettes appeared, which were members of the Aryan Brotherhood guarding the manor.
Of course, if it is a hot summer day and the ambient temperature exceeds the body temperature, what you see through the thermal imaging scope will be a large blurry patch of color, which is not clear at all.
After repeated observations, Majek locked his first target on the lookout standing on the high watchtower and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
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