Chapter 41: Exercise Begins

A month later, deep in the night, the soldiers of the Night Tiger Reconnaissance Company were fast asleep, their snores resounding like thunder. Suddenly, a shrill, urgent whistle pierced the air.

"Emergency assembly!"

"What the hell is going on? Up, up, up!" Su Yang snapped out of his sleep and shouted to wake everyone else.

The awakened soldiers hastily threw on the uniforms hanging by their beds, groping in the dark to organize their gear in record time, and sprinted out of the barracks.

Three minutes later, all the soldiers were fully assembled!

"Attention!"

"Right dress!"

"Eyes front!"

"At ease!"

"Reporting to the Company Commander, the Night Tiger Reconnaissance Company is fully assembled, awaiting your orders! Duty officer, First Platoon Leader Chen Guotao!" Chen Guotao executed a sharp turn and saluted Company Commander Miao, making his report.

"At ease." Commander Miao nodded with a solemn expression, then looked over the formation and issued his orders.

"Comrades, the annual military exercise has officially begun! According to the emergency directive from the Military Region Headquarters, our Group Army is designated as the Red Force. Our regiment is the vanguard regiment of the entire Group Army, and our Night Tiger Reconnaissance Company is the very eyes and the sharpest blade of the regiment!"

"Comrades, do you have the confidence to accomplish the mission?"

As soon as Commander Miao finished speaking, the reconnaissance soldiers roared in unison: "We do! We do! We do!"

"Good! A soldier is raised for a thousand days to be used in a single hour. A combat exercise is war, and the front before us is the battlefield! The enemy we face is armed to the teeth, cunning, and ruthless. To win this war, our Night Tiger Reconnaissance Company must display our fine traditions!"

"Be brave and tenacious, strive for victory, Reconnaissance Company!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Fired up by Commander Miao's blood-stirring words, the soldiers of the Night Tiger Reconnaissance Company roared with a ferocity that shook the quiet night sky.

"Chen Guotao, you won't be joining this exercise. Stay behind in the barracks and properly recover from your injuries." Seeing the high morale, Commander Miao turned his gaze to Chen Guotao.

"Report to the Company Commander, I am no deserter! Besides, my condition isn't that serious," Chen Guotao said with a pained expression.

"Who says it isn't serious? Do we listen to the doctor or to you? You can go on future operations after your wounds are fully healed!" Commander Miao dismissed Chen Guotao's look and issued a firm, unyielding order.

"Report..."

"Obey the order, or I'll file a report with the regiment to have you transferred to civilian work!" Chen Guotao tried to protest, but Commander Miao cut him off, glaring at him with a threat.

"Commander Miao..." Threatened with being discharged from active duty, Chen Guotao instantly wilted. Between recuperating in the camp and being forced into civilian life, he still had the judgment to choose.

***

"Old Pao, you will temporarily take over as the First Platoon Leader!" Seeing that Chen Guotao had nothing more to say, Commander Miao turned his instructions to Zheng Sanpao, the most senior veteran in the first platoon.

"Yes!" Zheng Sanpao stepped forward.

Watching Chen Guotao, who had been forced by the Company Commander to stay behind, Su Yang let out a sigh of relief. Commander Miao was truly formidable, directly strong-arming Platoon Leader Chen into staying in the camp. Otherwise, Su Yang would have genuinely worried about Chen Guotao getting injured again during the exercise, especially since his injuries hadn't fully healed yet.

"Alright, check your tactical packs and see if you've brought everything! Food, water, flashlights, compasses, maps, climbing ropes, entrenching tools, knives, and whistles..."

Commander Miao re-verified the equipment carried by everyone and then signaled for all personnel to board the trucks and move out.

Old Pao ran to the front of the formation and commanded, "All personnel, right face! First platoon, vehicle number one; second platoon, vehicle number two; third platoon, vehicle number three. Mount up quickly, move out!"

Amidst the darkness, Su Yang climbed onto vehicle number one, clutching his rifle as he braced himself for the coming combat.

Xihua leaned against Su Yang and said excitedly, "Su Yang, we're finally going to war."

Squad Leader Xu said ungratefully, "This isn't a war, it's an exercise."

Xihua disagreed, "Squad Leader, exercises are war too. My dad told me that you have to treat an exercise like a real war to truly improve combat capability."

Su Yang was somewhat surprised. "Not bad, Xihua, your awareness is pretty high. You're right—an exercise is war, and it's about using every possible means to win."

Squad Leader Xu grumbled, "Fine, fine, an exercise is war. I yield to the two of you and your rigid seriousness."

Just then, Su Yang saw Zheng Sanpao leading someone toward vehicle number one. Xihua asked in surprise, "Xiaozhuang, aren't you the company clerk? Why are you with us?"

Zhuang Yan leaped onto the truck and sat down with a thud. "Commander Miao assigned me here. As for the clerk's duties, Platoon Leader Chen snatched them up."

"Ah? What do you mean? Platoon Leader Chen acting as a clerk? No way," Xihua said, finding it hard to believe.

"Platoon Leader Chen didn't want to stay in the camp, but Commander Miao wouldn't let him lead a team. So Platoon Leader Chen took over my job; that way, he can be on the front lines while also complying with Commander Miao's demand not to lead reconnaissance missions with injuries," Zhuang Yan explained.

"So that's how it is!" Xihua suddenly understood.

Nearby, Su Yang also poked his head out to glance at Chen Guotao's retreating back, feeling somewhat speechless.

Platoon Leader Chen was indeed Platoon Leader Chen; he would find any loophole just to participate in the exercise.

***

The convoy quickly rolled out of the barracks, heading along the highway toward the target area.

Hours later, deep within the mountains far from the city, the forests grew dense. Along the mountain road, Su Yang could spot military trucks driving through the mountains at regular intervals.

overhead, Air Force fighter jets roared past, clearly racing with a purpose directly toward various enemy military targets.

After disembarking the military trucks and entering the mountainous terrain, the reconnaissance vanguard sent out by the Night Tiger Reconnaissance Company formed a single-file column, slowly advancing through the jungle. Along the way, they would stop at regular intervals to observe the environment, confirm the absence of enemies, and then push on toward the target.

***

The paths deep in the mountains were indeed difficult to navigate. Occasionally, they would encounter animals active in this season, or snakes hidden in the grass or among the leaves.

Some snakes liked to quietly slither onto tree branches, and anyone lacking caution was bound to get bitten.

After crossing several mountains, the troop halted on a high ground. Old Pao and two squad leaders were using a radio to call the command post and report their coordinates.

"The radio must be jammed by the Blue Force's electromagnetic interference; there's not a shred of signal," the second squad leader said with a grim expression as he handed the radio headset back to the communications soldier.

Zhuang Sanpao frowned. "It looks like we'll have to send someone to break through the blockade and deliver the intelligence."

He then called Su Yang and Sun Weihao over. "The two of you, take separate routes to break through the blockade and find a way to deliver the intelligence to the forward command."

Su Yang, standing nearby, shook his head. "Squad Leader, I think there's a problem."

The three squad leaders looked at Su Yang. "What problem?"

"The Blue Force has special forces. Their equipment holds a major advantage, especially their informationalized equipment. If I were them, I would definitely monitor enemy radios to determine the enemy's location and launch a encirclement and suppression campaign. Therefore, Squad Leader, we cannot stay in one place for too long," Su Yang explained earnestly.

The three squad leaders fell silent after hearing this. Old Pao pondered for a moment and said, "If our signals weren't jammed, that would indeed be a possibility. But right now, we aren't even able to transmit signals via radio."

"The enemy's electromagnetic suppression will surely end soon, and that's when the monitoring will kick in. Think about it, three squad leaders: if our Red Force has had its signals suppressed for a while, the moment they lift the suppression, we'll be eager to communicate via radio. With all those signals popping up at once, our position will be extremely easy to intercept."

Su Yang offered his assessment.

"What Su Yang says makes some sense, but we can't just sit here and wait to die; we have to find a way to transmit the intelligence," the second squad leader acknowledged Su Yang's reasoning.

"So, three squad leaders, I believe we do need people to deliver the intelligence, but those of us staying behind must also make preparations. Once communications are restored, we must quickly contact the forward command, and then either immediately evacuate or set up an ambush right here to strike the Blue Force hard."

Su Yang finally voiced his ultimate thought.

In truth, he wasn't entirely sure whether the Fang (Langshen/Blue Devil) Special Forces would still manage to track down the first platoon's location just like in the original plot, but he had to make everyone prepare so they wouldn't be completely wiped out.

If the Blue Force came, an ambush could be sprung; if they didn't pinpoint their location, nothing was lost.

"Alright, let's do as Su Yang says. Here's the plan: Su Yang stays behind. Xiaozhuang, you're a college student with a clear head; you and Sun Weihao split up and deliver the intelligence as fast as possible!" Zheng Sanpao felt Su Yang's approach was the safest and agreed to it.

However, he kept Su Yang behind and dispatched Zhuang Yan instead.

"Understood, I'll go!" Zhuang Yan agreed without hesitation.

After the two departed separately, Zheng Sanpao turned to Su Yang. "Su Yang, come here. Let's brainstorm together on how to ambush the Blue Force. As for a simple evacuation, forget it—the Night Tiger Reconnaissance Company has never feared anyone."

"Yes!"