And on the opposite bank, there was no high ground, just a stretch of jungle.
This was the cleverness of Song Heping's hiding spot; everything was under his control.
He examined each treetop and canopy in turn, constantly adjusting the magnification, trying to see farther... farther...
He believed that the enemy sniper must be hiding in one of the taller trees.
Normally, climbing a tree makes one more exposed, leading to being easily spotted.
Snipers usually wouldn't choose a treetop as their sniping location.
But in some extreme situations, they had no choice but to do so.
Finally, his telescope stopped at a spot where the canopy protruded slightly at the very top.
Song Heping felt there was something there but couldn't make it out clearly.
He put down the telescope and estimated the distance in that direction.
A full 500 meters.
Then he pressed his eye to the eyepiece again and increased the magnification.
Unfortunately, no matter how much he increased the magnification, he still couldn't see clearly what was in the canopy.
Dark clouds filled the sky, and it was a rainy and overcast day with insufficient light. Song Heping also didn't dare to expose himself too much, as the enemy was also watching this patch of jungle where he was hiding. The enemy might even have a multifunctional reconnaissance device, and a slight carelessness on his part could lead to exposure.
500 meters wasn't a particularly long distance for an excellent sniper, and being discovered could easily lead to death.
"They're crossing the bridge..."
Morins, lying not far away, gave a warning.
Song Heping put down the telescope and looked toward the wooden bridge.
Indeed, he saw a Colombian Special Soldier at the end of the bridge. He wore a bunny hat, his face was covered with a camouflaged scarf, and he was dressed in light jungle combat gear, holding an M4A1 assault rifle with a scope and light attachment.
On that face painted with camouflage grease, two bright eyes vigilantly scanned the surroundings.
It seemed that the enemy also knew that crossing the bridge was a risky business.
Standing at the head of the bridge, he pressed the talk button to ask the distant sniper if it was safe.
He received an all-clear response.
After all, after nearly twenty minutes of observation, the sniper was confident there was no one on the opposite side of the river.
What he didn't know was that in a thicket beside a large tree, a pair of eyes were staring intently at the comrade about to cross the bridge.
"Morins, I think I've found the sniper; they have a sniper on the other side."
"We don't have a sniper rifle!" Morins said, "What if we let them come closer and then fight? Once they're in the jungle, the sniper rifle from the other side can't reach us."
Song Heping said, "Wait for them to cross the bridge and get their footing. It's hard for just the two of us to eliminate them quickly. If we drag it out for half an hour, do you believe their reinforcements would fly here in helicopters to surround us?"
Morins fell silent.
Song Heping was absolutely right.
Their side was too weak, with only two people; if the battle lasted even slightly longer, there would be a risk of being encircled and unable to escape.
"Then how do you suggest we fight?"
Song Heping said, "I think I saw where the enemy is, but it's a bit far..."
He glanced at the scale on the M4A1 assault rifle.
This gun was a plain, unadorned model without even a scope.
According to theoretical parameters, the effective range of the M4A1 was 360 meters, while the enemy sniper was about 500 meters away.
Of course, the maximum range of the M4A1 was certainly more than 500 meters, but he would have to make a blind estimation beyond the limit of the scale, a shot that had to hit on the first try.
A single miss meant no second chance.
"Morins, listen to me, I need you to move over there—"
Song Heping pointed to a position thirty meters away.
"Find yourself a suitable shooting position there, and once their squad starts to cross the river, as soon as the last one has crossed, immediately open fire. Kill their last team member, and after firing, change your position at once; don't let the sniper find you. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Don't understand..."
Morins shook his head.
He really hadn't understood.
Song Heping couldn't be bothered to explain further, for he saw the Colombian Special Soldier had started to step onto the log bridge, cautiously treading the narrow bridge surface towards their side.
These people were all very smart; they wouldn't cross the bridge together but would cover each other alternately.
Song Heping had made many traps in the jungle at this end of the bridge. As soon as they crossed the bridge and walked less than fifty meters forward, they would encounter many "surprises".
His first task was to take out the enemy sniper, and the second was to seal their retreat path to force them to pursue him, leading them into more trapped areas.
Going head-to-head with them was a terrible idea; when the enemy is stronger, one must fully utilize the terrain and any advantageous conditions.
"You don't need to understand, the moment the last one crosses the bridge, you immediately open fire, then move. Remember the places I've marked, keep firing while retreating deeper into the trap area, make them follow you!"
"Alright!"
Morris was indeed straightforward.
He also knew that he and Song Heping were in this together; if one died, they would both perish, so he had no choice but to trust and obey unconditionally.
Morris left his original position and moved down the slope, then, like an American cheetah, he bent his waist and carefully ran towards the direction that Song Heping had designated.
He quickly chose a large tree, looked around for possible escape routes, then took a deep breath, raised his gun, and aimed in the direction where the government soldiers would appear.
After crossing the log bridge, they would enter an open area about twenty meters wide, with few plants and large trees, only some shrubs about half a person tall.
Morins guessed that after crossing, the enemy would definitely spread out to keep watch here, and then proceed together after everyone made it across the river.
He squatted behind the large tree and soon saw the first Special Soldier from the AGLAN unit successfully cross the bridge...
Morris aimed his gun at the soldier's head; the distance between them was no more than fifty meters, he could even see a bee buzzing around the soldier's head...
One...
Two...
Three...
Four...
Five...
Six...
After the sixth, no one else crossed the bridge.
But it seemed the AGLAN team members on this side had no intention of moving forward; they all squatted in place, and the lead officer appeared to be communicating with someone.
At this moment, Song Heping noticed the clump of tree canopy he had been watching suddenly move, the leaves quivered slightly.
He gently raised his gun, aiming roughly with the iron sights.
Although he had fired several rounds with this gun, he still wasn't very familiar with its condition.
Everything now relied on experience and luck.
After aiming roughly, Song Heping didn't hesitate, nor did he have the time for hesitation; the enemy might be holstering his gun preparing to come down from the tree, which wouldn't take more than ten seconds.
Crack crack—
Crack crack—
Two double taps.
Having fired, Song Heping didn't bother to check if he had hit the target but started to crawl back to the slope.
Then gunfire erupted violently from Morris's direction...
Ratatat—
Ratatatatatata—