Chapter 31: Recoil is Ben's Lie

Late night.

Ruv Research Center.

From a bird's eye view, its area covers a quarter of the Mozhaisk district, making it the largest facility near Moscow.

After the Soviet Union's dissolution, the private arms company Gogolsky Ruv took over the research on the Soldier Boy project, attempting to reverse-engineer Compound V for the Russian government.

Investigators from Atlas, embedded in Eastern Europe since the 1980s, had infiltrated Gogolsky Ruv's military operations. While they couldn't penetrate the core levels, they had enough opportunities and time to map out most areas and the security personnel configurations.

At this moment.

Two fully armed security guards, as usual, were patrolling the research facility at a fixed time and place, passing through the southeast parking lot of the complex.

The repetitive and boring nature of their job caused them to yawn frequently, and to stay alert, they chatted idly.

After a while, the guards turned left at the building's corner, disappearing from view, and their chatting noises gradually faded away.

However, in the nearby southeastern forest park, over ten black figures flickered.

As these figures quickly emerged from the park and reached the wire fence surrounding the parking lot, the dim light from the street lamps and moonlight revealed twelve armed personnel. They wore black or military green masks and old-fashioned combat uniforms.

Equipped with body armor, utility belts, ammo pouches, AKMs, RPKs, and third-generation RNO night vision goggles, they were reminiscent of the SPETSNAZ (Soviet Special Forces) before the Soviet Union's collapse.

Two of them swiftly used heavy-duty wire cutters to create a passage through the fence.

Reaching the parking lot.

They split into pairs, covering each other as they ran to the base of the research facility's walls.

Sticking close to the wall, they reached a side door that provided entry to the interior, soon to be exposed to surveillance.

Boom…

Suddenly, the entire complex plunged into darkness.

It seemed someone inside had assisted them by cutting the power.

As they activated their night vision goggles, an armed individual holding a Saiga-12 semi-automatic shotgun stepped forward and fired at the side door's sensor lock.

"Bang! Bang!"

The 12-gauge shotgun's blasts were especially loud in the dead of night, almost like explosions.

"Вперёд! Вперёд! (Go! Go!)"

With a command in perfect Russian, the shotgun wielder kicked the door open, allowing four two-person teams to rush inside, while the remaining personnel stayed back to secure their escape route.

Inside the facility.

The corridors and various areas, though dimly lit by emergency lights, remained shrouded in darkness.

"Что происходит? (What's happening?)"

"Я тоже не знаю! (I don't know either!)"

The security personnel were completely clueless about what was happening or where the enemies were. In contrast, the armed team with night vision goggles advanced methodically.

"Bang! Bang bang!"

The muzzle flashes from their AK rifles provided additional illumination.

"Ah…!"

"Спасите меня! (Save me!)"

"Не надо... не надо... (No... no...)"

The security guards' screams echoed throughout the facility.

At the entrance to the staircase leading to the underground lab, a security guard, shot in the left calf, could not stand. He frantically crawled backward with his hands.

Cornered, the guard turned over and saw the armed men, who ignored him and proceeded down the staircase.

Two of them remained at the entrance, one kicking away the fallen handgun, while the other squatted in front of the guard, who was in severe pain and sweating profusely, yet didn't dare to breathe loudly. The armed man sneered:

"Не хочешь умирать, не двигайся! (If you don't want to die, don't move!)"

"Понял… понял… (Understood… understood…)"

The guard nodded repeatedly, not daring to say no.

"Bang!"

Soon, the staircase door was kicked open with brute force.

The armed team, having seemingly completed their mission, quickly exited the staircase and retreated, covering each other.

Two of them carried a body bag, large enough to hold an adult male.

"Whew… whew…"

Seeing the highly trained team that had swiftly defeated his colleagues disappear around the corner, the security guard finally relaxed, breathing heavily.

As the guard shakily took out his walkie-talkie to report the situation...

Boom!!!

A violent explosion shook the entire building.

Bang!!!

Flames and shockwaves burst from the staircase, blowing the door open with such force that the doorframe twisted and deformed.

"Боже мой! (Oh my God!)"

Terrified, the guard scrambled up, ignoring the need to report, and hopping on one leg, fled the facility.

Outside the facility.

A small drone hovered in the night sky.

Through the drone's view, a large number of police cars could be seen arriving at the facility's north gate.

Dozens of police officers quickly got out and entered the complex, circling around the buildings to reach the southeast parking lot.

But…

"Bang bang bang!!!"

Two armed men with RPKs, seemingly unaffected by recoil, opened fire.

The tracers, like green lasers, caused shallow pits on the walls and ground, making all the police officers instantly drop to the ground.

No one dared to take risks, as the firepower disparity was overwhelming, far beyond what ordinary police could handle.

During their retreat to the forest park, the armed men alternated between firing and reloading, ensuring continuous suppression.

Only when their figures disappeared into the forest did the suppression end.

By the time the Russian police reached the southeast of the research facility and prepared to search the forest park, a black van was already speeding away on the A100 highway, heading away from Moscow.

Through the drone's perspective, the van, after entering a tunnel with numerous large trucks, seemed to vanish and did not emerge from the other end.

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