Chapter 168 - 166: Qin Lan Executes the Mission

Words : 1188 Updated : Sep 19th, 2025

Upon receiving the message from Chen Xin, Qin Lan informed the relevant departments of the situation. Chen Xin didn’t have to wait long before a vehicle brought people to handle the situation right to his doorstep. Qin Lan did not come along; it was a SWAT officer who had previously been to Chen Xin’s place, accompanied by two staff members. Seeing the father and daughter frozen into sculptures in the snow, everyone couldn’t help but sigh. "It’s so pitiful, why would they come out in such cold weather!" Looking at the deceased little girl, the SWAT officer, possibly because of his youth, couldn’t help but express his lament. "Without professional protective equipment and sufficient warm clothing, in weather like this, people can freeze to death within a few hours." The staff member tasked with collecting the bodies was somewhat accustomed to it but still felt regret upon seeing the frozen young girl. Listening to them, Chen Xin couldn’t help but ask, "Are many people freezing to death? Aren’t there official shelters?" "The official shelters only accommodate eighty percent of the population!" The staff member smiled wryly and sighed before explaining, "Although the vast majority managed to enter shelters promptly before the disaster, a small portion did not. They used various means to survive the first wave of disasters from the meteor impact, but they are short on clothes and food. When the weather wasn’t so cold, they could barely make do, but as it gets colder, they find it increasingly difficult. The city government has been working hard on rescue missions, but many still live outside. You often find frozen bodies in the city, not even knowing when they froze to death." While speaking, the two staff members tried to separate the father and daughter’s corpses to fit them into body bags. However, the frozen corpses were not easy to separate, especially with the father holding the daughter tightly. To separate them, they had to break the father’s arms. Faced with this situation, the expressions on the two staff members’ faces grew more complex. Unable to succeed, they sighed and had to place both bodies into one body bag. Looking at the bodies in the bag, both Chen Xin and the young SWAT officer appeared very upset. "Brother Chen, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave." Seeing the bodies collected, the young SWAT officer didn’t want to stay longer and bid farewell to Chen Xin, preparing to leave. Seeing the young SWAT officer about to leave, Chen Xin didn’t try to keep him, only asking, "Does Lan have a mission today?" "Yes, Sister Lan’s team went to the county shelter. I heard there’s trouble over there." The young SWAT officer nodded, informing Chen Xin of Qin Lan’s whereabouts before turning around and leaving with the two staff members. Watching them go, Chen Xin turned back to look at the bloodstains in front of his shelter’s door that had stayed from a previously frozen hand, he couldn’t help but sigh again. But the deceased are gone; Chen Xin didn’t continue to grieve. He returned inside the shelter and closed the door. He had already been delayed a lot today and had many things to do. ———————————————— On the other side, Qin Lan and her teammates were sorting out their equipment, preparing to carry out their mission. "Last night, the county government of Baling County received a distress call from Baling County Shelter No. 2, where a group of criminals intends to seize control of the entire shelter for their criminal objectives." The team was still led by Captain Li, who gravely reported the mission: "After receiving the distress call, the county government of Baling took this matter very seriously and immediately contacted the county’s SWAT and armed police. They rushed to the scene to deal with the situation. However, the criminals have seized the shelter and blocked the gates. The county’s SWAT and armed police lack heavy weapons and cannot forcibly enter the shelter, so they sought assistance from the city government. The city’s leadership also took this matter seriously, and besides our team and Old Zhang’s team, the city’s armed police dispatched an armored vehicle and a squadron of soldiers as reinforcements. Upon arrival, a negotiation expert would attempt to negotiate. If the criminals could be persuaded to surrender peacefully, that would be the best outcome. But if they resist stubbornly, the armed police will use the armored vehicle to forcibly breach the shelter’s gate, and we’ll assault inside with them. The armed police will focus on incapacitating the resisting criminals, while we’ll focus on rescuing any potential hostages. Additionally, if the criminals agree to negotiate, we’ll be responsible for protecting the negotiation expert as they proceed inside." After introducing the mission, Captain Li looked at his team seated inside the armored vehicle and sternly asked, "Did everyone understand?" "Understood!" everyone shouted in unison, then fell silent, focusing on adjusting their state and tightening their grip on their weapons. As a sniper, Qin Lan repeatedly loaded and unloaded bullets from her beloved sniper rifle, one by one, into the magazine and back out again. This was her ritual whenever she undertook a significant mission, merely to calm her mind and maintain focus, allowing her to execute the mission with the utmost calm and concentration. A sniper doesn’t get a second shot; that’s what Qin Lan’s instructor told her during her initial sniper training. The instructor emphasized that on the battlefield, snipers must remain absolutely calm and have absolute confidence in each shot because there’s no opportunity for a second follow-up shot—the sniper must hit with the first shot. Thus, before firing, one must calm down and concentrate all attention. Qin Lan’s repetitive bullet handling was her way of making a small gesture to focus her attention. Her teammates were already familiar with her habits and did not disturb her. Once they arrived at the mission site and others disembarked to prepare for combat, Qin Lan finally loaded the last bullet into the magazine, inserted the magazine into the gun, stood up, and took position in the vehicle’s roof hatch, setting up her rifle. As it was a forced assault mission, while sniper cover was needed, no additional shooting position was necessary; the shooting hatch on the roof was the ideal spot. Qin Lan didn’t like prone shooting. On one hand, lying down always gave her a pressing feeling around her chest, which was uncomfortable. Another reason was that with the current weather, lying prone on the roof would quickly result in her and the gun freezing. Relatively speaking, standing inside the vehicle and merely extending the gun and upper body allowed her to maintain the best shooting condition. Outside, the SWAT and armed police were already in position, with multiple police car headlights illuminating the gate of Baling County Shelter No. 2. On the police armored vehicle brought by the armed police, a 12.7mm rotary cannon was already aimed at the shelter’s gate, capable of shredding it with its terrifying rate of 2,000 rounds per minute and the penetrative power of its large-caliber bullets.

Chapter 168 - 166: Qin Lan Executes the Mission

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