Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

Liu Na glanced at him. ”I have confidence in you, but remember, completing the mission is the top priority. Your safety is also of the utmost importance.

Don’t fight them head-on. The moment you see a chance, retreat!”

”Yes, understood!” Li Chang’an nodded again.

”Alright, your gear has been prepared. You can depart at any time.

Good luck!” Liu Na said, waving them off to get ready.

Li Chang’an led his team members to the armory to pick up the weapons and equipment specially prepared for this mission.

Sun Yang seemed particularly excited. While inspecting his Pulse Gun, he muttered nonstop, ”This mission is finally getting interesting! Destroying the Insect Race’s command system—this is my favorite kind of work!”

”You’d better be careful!” Han Ruoxi glanced at him. ”Don’t go rushing in too fast, only to get surrounded before you can even get a few shots off!”

”Don’t worry, Han Ruoxi. I’ll definitely listen to the Captain this time and won’t mess around!” Sun Yang replied with a grin, clearly in high spirits.

Once their gear was ready, Li Chang’an and his team departed swiftly.

The transport ship they were on flew silently toward the Southwest Mountain Area. After some time, it finally landed at the edge of the target zone.

”This is a no-man’s-land. Insect Race activity is frequent. Be careful!” the pilot offered as a brief reminder.

”Thanks, we will!” Li Chang’an responded, leading his team as they jumped off the ship.

The ship quickly lifted off and departed. The four members of the Insect Hunter Squad immediately took cover and advanced, using the terrain to their advantage.

”Captain, that should be the Insect Race’s defensive line up ahead. Should we go around it?” Han Ruoxi asked while releasing a faint electric current to probe the area in front of them.

Li Chang’an thought for a moment. ”No, we can’t go around.

The Insect Race’s defensive lines can move at any time. Going around might actually expose us.

We’ll get closer, find a weak point, and wait for a chance to infiltrate!”

Shen Qiuyue nodded. ”That’s more efficient. A detour would just waste time.”

The team quickly approached the Insect Race position ahead. Li Chang’an observed it carefully through his binoculars for a while and discovered that the Insect Race guards weren’t in a very tight formation. Just as they had guessed, it was a temporary encampment.

”We’ll break through from the left. The defenses are weakest there.

Everyone get ready. Stay quiet!” Li Chang’an said in a low voice.

Sun Yang raised his Pulse Gun and chuckled softly, ”Understood. My gun’s been ready for a while!”

”Don’t get excited. Stay hidden, and don’t do anything reckless when we move out!” Han Ruoxi lightly patted Sun Yang on the back, signaling him to calm down.

Shen Qiuyue, meanwhile, had already tightened her grip on her Longsword, her eyes calm and ready to strike at any moment.

The Insect Hunter Squad quickly infiltrated the Insect Race’s position from the left flank. Using the terrain and vegetation for cover, they avoided several patrols and finally reached the core area of the encampment.

Li Chang’an signaled for everyone to halt. He observed with his binoculars again, then said softly, ”The Insect Race command post is just ahead. Looks like the defenses are tight!”

”Captain, what’s the plan? Do we force our way in?” Sun Yang whispered, sounding a bit antsy.

”Forcing our way in isn’t an option. Too many enemies!” Li Chang’an shook his head. ”We need to find an opening, destroy their communications equipment directly, and then retreat!”

Han Ruoxi closed her eyes, released a faint electric current, and carefully scanned the surroundings.

”The communications equipment is in the central area of the command post. There are a few patrols on the perimeter.

But I found a weak point in their comms system. Their signal tower is set up on the far side, where there are fewer guards!”

”Excellent. This is our chance!” A glint flashed in Li Chang’an’s eyes. ”We’ll split up. Han Ruoxi, you’re responsible for destroying the signal tower. Shen Qiuyue and I will tie up the enemy, and Sun Yang will provide fire support.

Remember, make it quick. As soon as it’s destroyed, we pull out!”

”Understood, Captain!” Han Ruoxi nodded, a faint electric spark reappearing in her palm.

Shen Qiuyue also drew her Longsword, her gaze firm.

”Move out!” Li Chang’an gave a slight wave of his hand, and the four of them quickly split up.

Han Ruoxi silently circled around to the signal tower, electricity dancing at her fingertips, ready to unleash a fatal blow at any moment.

Meanwhile, Li Chang’an and Shen Qiuyue had already drawn the attention of the Insect Race. The two of them struck with extreme speed, instantly cutting down several of the guards.

”Han Ruoxi, now!” Li Chang’an shouted.

”On it!” Han Ruoxi immediately unleashed a powerful electric current that struck the signal tower’s core components with precision.

The signal tower was instantly destroyed by the current, letting out a piercing ROAR.

”Retreat!” Li Chang’an commanded immediately.

The squad quickly withdrew from the Insect Race’s command area. The Insect Race camp instantly fell into chaos. With their command system destroyed and communications cut, the enemy was thrown into disarray.

The Insect Hunter Squad took advantage of the chaos to make a swift escape, successfully returning to the safe zone.

”Mission complete. Good work, everyone!” Li Chang’an let out a soft breath and turned to the team.

”That was a real blast!” Sun Yang said with an excited look on his face. ”Captain, if another mission like this comes up, you have to call me! I haven’t had enough action yet!”

”We’ll see about next time,” Li Chang’an said with a smile. ”It’s good enough that we completed this mission smoothly. Let’s go back and rest.”

”The Captain’s right. Let’s go get some proper rest!” Han Ruoxi said with a smile, clearly in a good mood.

The four of them returned to the base and reported the mission’s completion to Liu Na.

”Well done.” Liu Na nodded. ”Your operation was a great success. High command will launch a clean-up operation based on your intel. You can all rest for a while.”

Li Chang’an nodded and led his team out of the command post.

Sun Yang flopped directly onto his bed and exclaimed, ”Finally, a mission that was actually satisfying! Man, am I tired, though. That last part was so intense my knees almost gave out!”

Leaning against the bed, Han Ruoxi chuckled. ”Weren’t you talking all tough earlier? How come you’re complaining about being tired now? Looks like your stamina could still use some work!”

”That’s different!” Sun Yang’s eyes went wide. ”Talking tough is for morale! Once the mission’s over, I’ve got to relax. You try it and see if your knees don’t go weak!”

”Enough with the smart mouth. Don’t forget you nearly opened fire on the wrong person,” Shen Qiuyue said coolly.

Sun Yang rubbed his nose awkwardly. ”Wasn’t that because it was too tense on the battlefield? Besides, I didn’t actually hit the wrong person, did I? And didn’t the Captain praise me for my fast reflexes back then?”

”Praise you? You were just dodging Han Ruoxi’s electricity!” Li Chang’an laughed, patting Sun Yang on the shoulder teasingly.

”But seriously, everyone performed well this time. The teamwork was smooth, and there were no major screw-ups.”

”Now that you say that, Captain, I can relax!” Sun Yang breathed a sigh of relief. ”But really, can we get a few days of proper rest now? I’m dead tired from all these back-to-back missions!”

”That depends on the arrangements from high command. But Liu Na already said we have some time to recuperate,” Li Chang’an nodded. ”But don’t get too complacent. There will likely be even tougher missions ahead, so we need to stay in shape.”

Han Ruoxi nodded. ”The Captain’s right. We destroyed the Insect Race’s command system this time. They definitely won’t take this lying down. I’m afraid there’s going to be a large-scale counterattack.”

”A counterattack?” Sun Yang’s expression changed when he heard that. ”Then I’d better get myself prepared. I don’t want to be caught off guard by the Insect Race when the time comes!”

”So, everyone should use this time to train well. Don’t let your bodies get rusty from sitting around!” Li Chang’an stood up and stretched. ”I’ll let you off the hook for today. We’ll resume training tomorrow.”

”Alright! The Captain is wise!” Sun Yang immediately sat up and patted Li Chang’an on the shoulder.

Han Ruoxi said with a laugh, ”Oh, Captain, don’t give him an excuse to be lazy. I bet this guy Sun Yang will still try to sleep in tomorrow!”