Textbook Siege-and-Strike 2

【Oh my god, Xu Lingqu looks so cool sitting in that armored vehicle directing everything so casually. I'm scared for her that someone might charge out of the fortress point, yet she's this calm.】

【Who allowed the director to cut it like this? Pairing Yetai Yangquan's jumping around in fury with Xu Lingqu calmly taking her 16 people and those heavy weapons and slipping away? Absolutely vicious. I mean, I love it—give me more.】

【Well, the world just gained one more person heartbroken over Xu Lingqu.】

【Is it just me, or is this a little funny? Jie Luo over there is even more dumbfounded—his reinforcements lost him 20 people.】

...

"Damn, her scheming really is on par with yours," Jinfang Taibai said, shaking his head at the skyscreen. "She's even corrupted Yun Yao. Yun Yao and Ye Yu used to lead Cimei with a 'fight first, ask questions later' attitude!"

"That's nothing yet," Gu Tingzhi said with a shake of his head and a sigh. "The dirtier moves are coming soon. But are you still planning to stay here and watch? Not going to rest?"

Seventh time synced with the real world, and many people had already temporarily left to rest, planning to come back in the morning.

Jinfang Taibai yawned. "What about you? Are you resting?"

Gu Tingzhi shook his head. "No."

"Then if you're not, neither am I," Jinfang Taibai said, crossing his arms. "I have to see what other tricks Xu Lingqu has up her sleeve."

By the time Yetai Yangquan contacted the fortress point 2 sub-command to have them shut down the energy shield and check the situation outside, the armored units outside had already hightailed it out of there.

Only then did the people inside fortress point 2 realize—there was no big army outside. It was a bunch of "drivers"! They were just there to intimidate them!

Xu Lingqu had slipped away with Yun Yao. When the other two teams returned and the forces were reorganized, the ambush had been a resounding success: Cimei lost only 2, Moye lost 0, and they took out 30 from Dongwen and 20 from Zhicheng.

The nearly 1:10 kill ratio Guan Chuanjun wanted—Xu Lingqu had delivered it.

By now, dawn was just breaking, and the victorious Cimei-Moye reinforcements were riding high on morale. After briefly listening to the reconnaissance reports, Xu Lingqu immediately issued her second combat order.

"This time we're surrounding fortress point 2 again, but not as a feint. We're making it a real siege and taking the point," Xu Lingqu said. "Jin, take 74 people toward the fortress point 2-to-3 direction. First, see if Yetai Yangquan dares to send more reinforcements—if he does, wipe them out. If not, continue on and head toward Situke's fortress point 6."

Jin asked, "Do we not need to send anyone to the route between fortress point 2 and fortress point 1 anymore?"

That was the route Zhicheng's reinforcements would take to reach Dongwen. Xu Lingqu shook her head. "Jie Luo won't be willing to send anyone else. He just lost 20 men for nothing. Right now he's weighing whether to urgently withdraw from fortress point 1 and consolidate his forces to cut his losses."

Every man for himself—Zhicheng had no reason to come to Dongwen's aid again. They couldn't even confirm whether that road still held an ambush.

Jie Luo's reaction was exactly as Xu Lingqu had predicted. The moment he got in touch with Yetai Yangquan and assessed the situation, he fell silent.

That silence made Yetai Yangquan deeply uneasy. He asked several questions in a row, but Jie Luo gave no answer.

After a long pause, Jie Luo finally spoke slowly. "Xu Lingqu is definitely going to take fortress point 2 now."

Yetai Yangquan's face turned pale. "We can't let her just take fortress point 2! If it falls, she'll have a foothold to launch a formal offensive against us."

That was a bit of a stretch. Xu Lingqu had been actively attacking all along, point or no point. But with Dongwen already down 30 men, if something happened to the 40 in fortress point 2, they'd truly be in danger.

The moment he finished speaking, an urgent message came in from the fortress point 2 sub-commander.

"They've surrounded us again! But this time they haven't made a move on us right away. I sent out a few scouts and they all came back fine—couldn't tell how many troops are out there. It's a lot like last time," the sub-commander reported his read of the situation. "Xu Lingqu is probably trying to run the same play again."

Was Xu Lingqu the type to run the same play twice?

Yetai Yangquan wasn't sure. He relayed the situation to Jie Luo, who shook his head. "No matter what, I'm not sending anyone else."

Xu Lingqu had turned that road into a terrifying randomized blind box—Schrödinger's ambush lying in wait on both sides, staring him down. Jie Luo didn't dare risk it again.

With that, he cut off the channel with Yetai Yangquan, making his stance clear.

Yetai Yangquan, impotent with rage, slammed his fist on the table and covered his face in defeat. It was at that moment that a scout dispatched from fortress point 3—where he currently was—reported in.

"A Moye unit has been spotted heading in our direction." Yetai Yangquan fought to keep his composure. This time it should still be a feint. He couldn't send anyone out either. Clenching his jaw, he made the hard call and contacted the sub-commander.

"Try not to hide inside the fortress point. Go out and meet them head-on. This time they've sent out their ambush forces again, so there probably aren't many actually surrounding you," Yetai Yangquan said, gambling everything on this one bet. "I can't send reinforcements your way. You need to try breaking out on your own."

After hearing their chief commander's words, the sub-commander was also on edge. The forces outside still hadn't opened fire, which was indeed almost identical to the first time. And Yetai Yangquan had said his scouts spotted the ambush moving out...

He steeled himself, gathered all the defenders in the fortress point, and handed out weapons. "This time we must take the initiative—no more sitting around waiting to die! Are you ready to defend Dongwen's glory with me?!"

His impassioned speech roused everyone's spirits. Full of confidence, he shut down the energy shield and led the charge out.

Unfortunately, things didn't go according to the heroic script he'd written in his head.

The Cimei-Moye allied forces outside opened fire on the rash fools rushing out with weapons without a moment's hesitation, driving them scrambling back into the fortress point with their heads ducked. They frantically reactivated the energy shield, looking nothing like the brave warriors they'd been moments before.

Xu Lingqu spoke up. "Now, heavy weapon units will begin testing the energy shield's tolerance limits. Jin, what's the situation on your end?"

Jin replied instantly, "We've arrived at fortress point 6 and have deliberately revealed our position to Situke's scouts."

"Good."

But Lei Nuo, Situke's chief commander, was not doing well at all. According to his scouts, the Moye and Cimei forces were bearing down with clear hostile intent.

What were they planning?