Close combat with a significantly stronger opponent is the most fearsome, for there is no room for maneuver -- it's a brute force clash.
Song Heping was at a considerable disadvantage in terms of physique and strength, yet he wouldn't be overwhelmingly outmatched in grappling skills since the training he had undergone was incomparable to his adversary's.
Members of the Special Forces sometimes don't appear very muscular, but their explosive power is quite shocking.
Song Heping, with the speed of lightning, slammed his head forward brutally against the other person's nasal bridge, the crisp sound of breaking bones accompanied by a painful scream erupted simultaneously.
The muscular man in front of him cried out from the pain, loosening his grip slightly.
Seizing the opportunity, Song Heping forcefully pressed the barrel of the gun slightly above the temple on the opponent's right side, then without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.
Bang—
With the sharp report of the gun, had he not been wearing noise-cancelling headphones, such close-range gunfire would have surely burst Song Heping's eardrums.
Blood and bone fragments sprayed from the left cheek of the towering Sinoloa member and, due to the proximity, splashed onto Song Heping's face as well, the pungent smell of blood mixed with the gunpowder from the Glock Pistol.
A sense of exhilaration from the killing inexplicably surged within Song Heping.
Having dealt with the one whose head had been blown off, Song Heping didn't stop; he quickly fired two more shots at another Sinoloa member lying on the ground shot several times yet still breathing, only then did he start searching the room.
Unfortunately, the room was devoid of anything valuable; no tunnels, no mechanisms, it was a fruitless search.
Song Heping had no choice but to return to the corridor. The temperature outside was rising higher and higher, signaling that the fire was spreading, and soon the main structure of the mansion would be engulfed in flames.
He must act quickly!
There was only time to quickly locate those drug lords.
He dashed out of the corridor, heading towards the central part of the H-shaped building.
Approaching the center of the house, Song Heping saw a Mexican Marine lying on the ground, barely alive.
He quickly crouched down to check the man's wounds, but the situation was dire; there was barely any breath left in him.
He had suffered head wounds from a blast during the firefight. Though the helmet provided some protection, many shrapnel fragments had penetrated through the cheeks and neck areas still; pressing on his carotid artery was the only thing that had kept him going until now.
With injuries of this severity, there wasn't much Song Heping could do; he tore open a first-aid kit, bandaged him up, and while doing so, shouted, "Medic! Medic!"
The Marine looked at Song Heping with eyes full of a yearning for life.
But this was no game; there were no respawns or do-overs.
Song Heping was powerless and figured the man only had three minutes left to breathe, at most.
He could only carry him to a relatively safe corridor, then informed Captain Wilson over the radio to send someone for a rescue.
After completing all this, Song Heping stood up and continued searching for the entrance to the tunnel.
Back on the previous path, Song Heping slowly advanced towards the area of his suspicion.
Next to a door, Song Heping threw in a Shock Bomb, waiting for the blast before swiftly breaching.
The room seemed to be a study, with huge bookshelves on two walls, reaching all the way to the ceiling and filled with thick volumes of works by famous scientists and philosophical books by historical figures.
Song Heping immediately sensed something off about the room.
For a Drug Lord like Joaquin, who had barely received proper education, who the hell would stack such enormous bookshelves full of books in their study?
Claiming it was an attempt to appear refined didn't make sense either; it would be more fitting to the taste of the Sinoloa Group boss to hang valuable art and luxury goods instead.
Sure enough, after inspecting the bookshelf, Song Heping spotted something fishy.
One of the bookshelves seemed loose; Song Heping pushed it from one side, and to his surprise, the bookshelf slid to the opposite side.
It was a secret door!
Indeed, every kingpin of a criminal organization inevitably has escape routes on their premises -- no exceptions.
Escaping was always the top priority to consider!
Song Heping immediately stepped aside; he wanted to go in but thought better of it.
"Wilson! Come to the central study, I've found the tunnel!"
"Really?!"
"Yes, seriously! Send someone over quickly!"
"Right away!"
Wilson acted quickly, and soon the entire Watcher squad had arrived.
Everyone surveyed the entrance for a moment, then Wilson gestured, and three Watcher squad members threw Shock Bombs inside and advanced with bulletproof shields.
Song Heping stood aside, watching, and cautioned, "Watch out for trap mine devices inside!"
These Watcher squad members were all top-notch; actually, Song Heping's reminder was somewhat superfluous as they proceeded with great caution.
But being careful results in slowness.
Soon, reports from the search team came through the channel: "Trap mine devices found. There are a lot of explosives set up here; we must disarm them."
"How long will it take?" Wilson asked.
"I don't know..."
The leader of the search team answered very honestly: "We have no idea how many trap mine devices there are; so far, we have found two."