The shops area of Port 3 was deathly silent.
In the distance, the sporadic sounds of gunfire and explosions from the city center formed a bizarre contrast to the cemetery-like quiet here.
"Anton, any findings?"
Song Heping moved stealthily in the darkness, pressed against the shop walls.
The muzzle was always pointed forward.
Occasionally, he glanced at the number plates on the shops.
Soon, he found the sequence of the door numbers and began moving towards Shop 17.
"Nothing discovered..."
Antonov said somewhat puzzled, "I haven't even seen a single living person, Song, something feels off..."
"Keep watching."
Song Heping shared Antonov's sentiments.
He had a premonition that the contact might be compromised.
But he had to take a look, he couldn't just leave because of suspicion and forgo the opportunity to meet.
Shop 17 was located in the second row to the west.
After getting close, Song Heping didn't enter through the front door but circled to the back door.
The back door was a blue iron sheet door.
Song Heping leaned against one side of the door, gently nudging it with his hand.
Every action had to be extremely cautious.
If he heard the sound of a metal spring popping out, or felt resistance when pushing, or heard the faint friction of a metal wire, he had to flee immediately.
There could very well be a trap behind the door.
The door hinge creaked slightly, but there was no trap.
The shop was pitch black inside.
Song Heping didn't rush in; instead, he stood sideways by the doorframe, drew his Glock 17, and took an M84 shock bomb from the pocket of his bulletproof vest with his left hand, then gently pulled the safety pin and tossed it inside.
"Boom——!"
The blinding flash and deafening blast instantly tore through the darkness.
Song Heping burst in at the moment of the explosion, flicking on the tactical flashlight on the gun muzzle, quickly scanning the room——
Amidst the smoke, he smelled the strong scent of blood.
Under the stark white light, the corpse of a hunched old man sat slumped in the corner, his throat slit, blood long since congealed.
"Damn it..."
Song Heping's pupils contracted sharply.
This was a trap!
He immediately growled into his earpiece, "Retreat! It's an ambush!"
But only the harsh static noise of interference greeted him——the signal was jammed!
Crack, crack——
At that instant, a slight sound came from the ceiling, like someone stepping on the floorboards.
"Open fire!"
Someone was upstairs!
Song Heping didn't have time to think, he rolled sideways to hide behind the counter.
Bullets shot through the wooden floor from the second floor, splintering the wooden counter into fragments in an instant.
He braced himself with one hand on the ground, leapt up, and simultaneously fired toward the ceiling——
Bang, bang, bang——
Bang, bang, bang——
Screams echoed from upstairs.
Three precise shots, two assault team members fell at the sound.
Song Heping turned to dash out the back door.
This was no place to linger.
The contact operation must have been compromised.
"Song... the back door... is blocked!"
Antonov's voice came intermittently through the earpiece, accompanied by the low gunfire of a VSS silent sniper rifle.
"Nura!"