Both Zhang Heng and the masked sniper were very patient.
As far as hunters were concerned, the latter was undoubtedly the best. Zhang Heng had read in the literature that many Finnish guerrillas during the Winter War were hunters. They had been hunting in this forest since they were young, and even when their targets changed from beasts to Soviet soldiers, their performance was still outstanding.
Unfortunately, this was not a fair game.
When the crow in the darkness reappeared, it would be the end of everything.
Zhang Heng placed his finger on the trigger, ready to fire. But the next moment, the masked sniper suddenly rolled to the side without any warning.
Zhang Heng was stunned. Because he couldn't hear anything, he thought he had been discovered for a moment.
But then, he saw bullets raining down on the snowy ground.
The masked sniper reacted quickly, dodging the first round of attacks by rolling to the side. Then, he immediately turned the muzzle and pulled the trigger.
This time, the weakness of the shadow state was exposed. Because the sunlight was coming from one direction, the direction of Zhang Heng's shadow was also fixed. Although he could observe his surroundings by imprinting himself on the tree, he could only see one side. Even if he turned his body, he could only see the bark on the other side.
So now, he could only roughly guess from the situation in front of him that the sound of gunfire must have attracted nearby Soviet soldiers. However, he had no idea how many of them there were and how far they were from him.
And to make matters worse, his shadow state was about to expire. He had less than ten seconds left.
For the time being, Zhang Heng couldn't care less about killing the masked sniper. He had to make sure that he wouldn't be sandwiched between the two groups of people. So, he decisively left the birch, circled around the masked sniper as fast as he could, and stuck to another fir tree behind the latter.
It wasn't that Zhang Heng didn't want to run further. He still had time left, but he knew very well that if the Soviets won, there was still a chance for him to escape. If the masked sniper won, however, he wouldn't stand a chance at all.
Instead of being shot down like prey, it was better to fight. So, Zhang Heng chose a place that was less than a meter away from the masked sniper.
At such a close distance, he could cancel out the masked sniper's superior marksmanship. Even a newbie like Zhang Heng would have a high chance of not missing.
Four seconds later, his body reappeared, but the battle on the other side had already entered a white-hot stage.
The bullets landed on the fir tree behind him, sending sawdust flying. This group of people was clearly much fiercer than the previous scouting team.
With the masked sniper's strength, Zhang Heng believed that he would not leave the machine gunners alone. However, there were still machine guns firing at the Soviets. This could only mean that the Soviets would immediately replace the machine gunner.
However, the masked sniper had also found cover again. He only fired a shot every once in a while, but every time he fired, he would be able to kill an enemy. His marksmanship was unbelievably accurate.
Zhang Heng tried his best to control his breathing, hiding behind the tree without moving to avoid being discovered by the two fighting parties.
After another round of firing, the firepower of the Soviets finally weakened. However, the masked sniper's firing rhythm was terrifyingly stable. From the beginning to the end, there was no change in his firing rhythm. It was as if he was an emotionless killing machine.
However, this sophisticated machine suddenly jammed at a certain moment.
Zhang Heng knew that the masked sniper had run out of bullets. This guy had gone through two fierce battles in a short period of time, and it was likely that he had gone through other battles before coming here. He did not have many supplies with him, and now, he was out of ammunition.
This made Zhang Heng's mood very complicated. Of course, he did not want to see such a terrifying sniper wandering around the forest all day long. However, he had originally envisioned two outcomes of this battle. Either the masked sniper was killed by the Soviets, and Zhang Heng would desperately run away, trying his luck. Or, the masked sniper would kill all the Soviets, and Zhang Heng would suddenly rush out and kill the masked sniper when he was unprepared.
The only thing he did not consider was that the masked sniper would run out of bullets first. If that happened, the Soviets would slowly approach him, and the hiding spot he chose was too close to the masked sniper. It would be fine during the battle, as neither side had the time to pay attention to their surroundings. However, once the battle was over, or the masked sniper was about to run away, Zhang Heng would be discovered.
…..
The Finnish guerrilla was now leaning against a rock, thinking about something. He must have realized that he might not be able to survive today, and he pulled out a small hunting knife from his waist, ready to fight one last time.
Just then, a pebble rolled to his feet.
Then, he saw a Soviet soldier suddenly appear behind a fir tree not far from him. He was stunned, obviously not expecting the enemy to be behind him. Instinctively, he wanted to pick up the rifle next to him.
The next moment, however, the soldier gestured for him to keep quiet.
Just half a minute ago, Zhang Heng suddenly realized that this might be an opportunity for him. After four days of trying, he realized that it was impossible for him to live alone in this forest. After all, he had no irreconcilable conflict with the Soviets or the Finns.
Whether it was the young Soviet machine gunner he encountered earlier or the Finnish guerrilla in front of him now, these people would usually not give him a chance to clarify the misunderstanding. They would pull out their guns at the slightest provocation, and Zhang Heng did not understand either of these languages.
Now that the guy opposite him had run out of bullets, Zhang Heng thought he could take this opportunity to communicate with him.
He pointed at the red five stars on his cuff, then pointed at himself. He then waved his hand, indicating that he had nothing to do with the Soviets.
However, the masked sniper did not respond to him.
After that, Zhang Heng took off his Soviet military uniform, revealing a black down jacket and jeans underneath. However, the sniper's eyes finally fell on the revolver in his pocket.
Zhang Heng knew that the two of them did not have much time left. He could already hear the footsteps of the Soviet soldiers, and it was obvious that there was more than one of them. He could not deal with all of them, so he had to take a gamble.
Zhang Heng held the wooden carving again to remain vigilant. At the same time, he tossed the revolver in his pocket to the masked sniper. This time, the sniper finally reacted, quickly picking up the weapon and pointing it at Zhang Heng. After a while, he finally moved the gun away.
Zhang Heng breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that his actions earlier were not completely useless. After that, he took out his mobile phone. These days, he had been trying to save as much battery as possible. Other than turning it on when he needed to get his bearings, his phone was usually turned off. Now that he had set the alarm, he threw the phone out.
Three seconds later, the alarm rang in the snow, immediately attracting the Soviet soldiers' fire. The masked sniper took the opportunity to poke half of his head out. He pulled the trigger, and the first bullet was a blank.
Even if it was risky, Zhang Heng would try his best to minimize the risk. Taking into account the possibility that the enemy would shoot him first when they got the gun, he adjusted the position of the bullets in advance, aiming one of the two empty shells at the barrel of the gun. That way, if the worst happened, he could still use his last chance to turn into a shadow and escape.
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