Chapter 263: Anti-Sniper Acoustic Detection System
Because he had been troubled by the Spade Eight issue for some time, this Land Rover had been modified—thickened doors, bulletproof glass. Normally, Zhang Yang had no way to get this done, but one phone call from Qiao Xier settled everything. After the car was returned, it weighed much more, but fortunately still had enough power.
Zhang Yang couldn't figure out how the enemy could track him in such heavy fog, but after seeing the tire had been punctured for no reason, he basically understood—they must have tampered with his vehicle.
No wonder he heard dogs barking fiercely last night. But the night watch, Lao Yi, said he saw no one. So most likely the enemy damaged the tire by throwing something.
Luckily he had been cautious. Otherwise, if the enemy got under the car and planted explosives, he and his people would have been done for.
But even now, the situation wasn't much different from being done for. The fog was thick, the enemy hidden while they were exposed, and the enemy had guns. Just as Tang Qiqi said last night—one sniper would be enough to take him out.
The three men with Lao Yi immediately got out of their vehicle upon hearing the gunshots and rushed to Zhang Yang's side.
The reason was simple—only this Land Rover was modified with basic bulletproofing. More importantly, because of the possibility of snipers, the roof even had an "anti-sniper acoustic detection system" installed.
The acoustic detection and positioning system determines the shooter's position by receiving and measuring the muzzle blast shockwave and the shockwave produced by the bullet's flight. Because a high-speed bullet creates vortices, shockwaves, and flight noise when moving through the air—and when its speed approaches or exceeds the speed of sound, the noise becomes even more obvious.
The system uses multiple acoustic sensors. After detecting the flight noise, by measuring the time difference between the muzzle blast shockwave and the bullet's flight shockwave reaching each sensor, it can calculate the shooter's position, bullet trajectory, flight speed, and even the firearm's caliber.
This type of system was originally for military use, but Qiao Xier managed to get it installed on Zhang Yang's Land Rover through her father's connections. Just in case. After getting the system, Zhang Yang spent ten points from the Nuwa System to upgrade and optimize it.
The upgraded anti-sniper acoustic detection system had an effective detection range from 20 to 1000 meters, able to locate an enemy shooter within half a second with ±3° precision and 1–2 meters distance error—several times more accurate than any system in the world.
But Zhang Yang was currently outside the car, and the doors were closed. From the impact marks on the door, the shooter was firing from a mountain slope on the left side of the car.
This showed the enemy had calculated everything. They knew Zhang Yang was driving. But what puzzled him was—how did they know he would stop exactly here? Or was it just coincidence that they ambushed this spot?
"Boss!" Lao Yi pressed himself behind the tire and whispered to Zhang Yang. "Judging from the gunshots, there are at least three shooters, maybe more. We walked right into their ambush. I think the car has a tracker on it."
"A tracker? How would it get there?" Zhang Yang frowned. Lao Yi was on watch last night—there wasn't enough time for the enemy to install anything.
"The car was in the villa garage. The only possibility is when it went out for repairs. But when we picked it up, I checked—nothing unusual. Still, if it's a very small GPS tracker, it'd be hard to notice." Lao Yi clenched his fist. "Boss, get in the car. We'll handle things outside."
He pulled out a handgun from his coat and chambered a round.
"Mm. Be careful." Zhang Yang thought for a moment. This was the only option. Only Lao Yi had a gun, and even that was special-permit registered, with limited ammunition. The only way now was to retreat into the car and call for help.
Just as he spoke—
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Four more shots. Based on the sound, they all hit the hood and the driver-side area, sparks flying. Anyone unused to such a scene would've peed themselves.
But Lao Yi and his two men had survived blood-soaked battlefields. Though they frowned, they couldn't see where the shots were coming from. And this type of reckless shooting was actually more dangerous—if they stuck their heads out carelessly, they could be killed by stray rounds.
As Zhang Yang reached the front passenger side, before he could knock, Tang Qiqi had already opened the door from inside.
If she wanted Zhang Yang dead, now would be the perfect moment.
"Your car has bulletproof glass?" Zhang Yang got in as Tang Qiqi climbed into the backseat.
Zhang Yang glanced at the window beside him—cracks had already formed. The enemy was either using large-caliber rounds or shooting from very close range. He nodded and opened the car computer to access the anti-sniper acoustic system.
As expected, the data had appeared.
"Lao Yi—around eleven o'clock direction, approximately two shooters at 30 to 31 meters. At nine o'clock direction, another shooter at about 45 meters. The eleven o'clock shooters are using a Type 92 9mm pistol. The nine o'clock one is using an American M9."
Handguns. That eased Zhang Yang slightly. But in this fog, he couldn't conclude anything. If the enemy had access to this many standard-issue firearms, a sniper rifle was also likely. They might be drawing attention with pistols while preparing a sniper shot.
After hearing Zhang Yang's report, Lao Yi immediately raised his handgun and fired two shots toward the eleven o'clock and nine o'clock directions.
He wasn't trying to hit anyone—just telling the enemy: you're not the only ones with guns.
As long as they made the killers hesitate, they could buy time.
Sure enough, after Lao Yi fired, the enemy paused. Whether they were observing or repositioning was unclear—but they weren't rushing. This confirmed even more that they knew the tire had been tampered with last night.
In this situation, the road was narrow, one tire had failed, the fog was dense, and the car couldn't really be driven. But staying here meant waiting to die. Zhang Yang couldn't expect Pan Ningning to arrive in time.
"Lao Yi, get in the car." Zhang Yang decided to take a risk and attempt escape. His driving skills were excellent, and although the tire was damaged, it should hold for a while.
"Boss, you go first. I'll cover the rear."
"No. The fog is too dangerous. We go together." Zhang Yang would never abandon his men. The enemy wasn't unarmed—nor were they saints. They wouldn't spare Lao Yi just because Zhang Yang left.
"If you go now, you'll die." Tang Qiqi said coldly from the backseat.
Zhang Yang turned toward her. "Why?"
"Think. If they could set an ambush here, why wouldn't they expect your car to keep moving? I checked the terrain yesterday. This part isn't too bad. But farther ahead, the roadside becomes a cliff. If I'm right, they've already set up a roadblock ahead. If you go forward, you'll have no escape—only death."
Zhang Yang nodded—she made sense. But something still felt off. "If that's the case, why didn't they wait for us to move forward before attacking?"
Tang Qiqi snorted. "Maybe we stopped too suddenly, making them think we detected something. And I checked the terrain yesterday—farther ahead isn't suitable for an ambush. So if they attack here and block the way ahead, in our panic, we'd definitely try to rush forward. Even if we don't fall off the cliff, we'd be trapped from both sides like turtles in a jar."
"Makes sense, Boss." Lao Yi nodded immediately. "If so, we should stay inside and wait for reinforcements. Their guns are only handguns, and with the bulletproof glass, they can't do much to us."
Zhang Yang nodded, then shook his head. "It's one option. But if we stay inside, first—we're a huge target. Second—if they have anything stronger than pistols, we're sitting ducks." He looked at Tang Qiqi. "Based on your knowledge of Spade Eight, can they obtain weapons strong enough to break this bulletproof glass?"
Tang Qiqi shook her head. "Not likely. The ones sent this time should be Green Group—they're the ones who use lots of guns. But from what I know, they mostly use short-range weapons. This glass would only be vulnerable to large-caliber rounds—in other words, heavy sniper rifles. So staying might be relatively safe."
"No." Zhang Yang shook his head. "You stay. I'm going out."
"What do you mean?" Tang Qiqi frowned.
Zhang Yang looked at the fog outside. "The sun's coming up. The fog is thinning. That gives them the advantage. And if they set up obstacles ahead, our reinforcements won't arrive quickly. Also…" He tore off his coat, leaving only a black turtleneck. He checked the shooter positions on the console. "We can't gamble. If they have heavy weapons, we're screwed."
"So—we split up. You three stay in the car and draw their attention." Zhang Yang climbed to the backseat, rummaged around, found a sharp dagger, opened the back door, and got out. "I'll deal with them."
Unfortunately, he didn't bring ammo for the SSG69. Otherwise…
"I'm going with you." Tang Qiqi said after glancing at him.