Chapter 48: Journey to the Blue Army Command Headquarters

“Quick, stop the vehicle over there!”

Deep within the mountain valley, the Blue Army pursuers slammed on the brakes, halting their vehicle. One soldier pointed excitedly at a nearby military truck and shouted with joy.

Soon, Gao Dazhuang and Gray Wolf arrived at the truck. Gao Dazhuang asked the Blue Army soldier who had spotted the vehicle, “Did you see which way the people ran? How many were there?”

“Report: We only saw the truck stopped here. It must have run out of fuel, forcing the Red Army scouts to halt here. As for people, there’s only one set of footprints by the truck,” the soldier replied, walking to the driver's side and pointing at the muddy prints along the roadside.

Gao Dazhuang’s expression darkened instantly. He turned to Gray Wolf and said, “It’s a bait-and-switch. Hurry back to the missile battalion.”

Gray Wolf understood immediately. With only one person at the truck, the other three had to be hiding somewhere else—there was no need to say where.

In the forest, Su Yang, barefoot and with his muddy boots tied to his waist, hid behind a tree. Watching the Blue Army’s “Dog Head” Lao Gao slowly drive away, he finally exhaled in relief and began to breathe deeply, savoring the fresh air.

“That guy finally realizes he’s been tricked?” Su Yang muttered with a hint of pride after a short rest as he watched the vehicle disappear into the distance.

“Hope Old Cannon and the others come through for us!” he added, thinking eagerly of the three comrades still hidden at the missile battalion.

He had risked driving to lure Dog Head Lao Gao away precisely to create an opportunity for those three. After all, Lao Gao’s nose was too sharp; if they didn’t draw him out, all four of them would have been hard to detect.

Without hesitation, Su Yang, carrying his sniper rifle, set off barefoot deeper into the forest.

The Blue Army patrol, left behind by Dog Head Lao Gao, was still searching for him.

He chose not to wear shoes because the damp terrain would slow him down and leave too many tracks. Moving barefoot through the mud allowed him greater speed and stealth.

…

At the missile battalion headquarters,

The commander glared angrily at Zheng Sanpao and the others. “Do you know how much my entire battalion is worth? I haven’t even fired a single missile, and yet you three soldiers led enemy jets straight to us, and they bombed us.”

Zheng Sanpao and Xi Wa were startled by the commander’s two-stripe, three-bar rank and felt at a loss.

Standing nearby, Zhuang Yan stepped forward. “Report, sir, we’re the Red side. Of course, we must use every means to annihilate you. Do you think we’re wrong?”

The colonel commander was displeased by Zhuang Yan’s blunt words but knew the private was right. He found himself at a loss for a response, and besides, it was unbecoming for a colonel to argue with a private.

He could only glare at Zhuang Yan and grunt coldly, “You did your job well. The fault is ours.”

With that, he turned to leave.

At that moment, Gao Dazhuang hurried back and parked his vehicle. Seeing the soldiers around him looking dejected, he quickly saluted the colonel.

The colonel, still simmering from Zhuang Yan’s earlier words, snapped at Gao Dazhuang, “Weren’t you chasing the Red Army scouts who broke through the checkpoint? Where are they?”

Knowing he was about to be the scapegoat, Gao Dazhuang braced himself and shook his head. “Not yet. They used a bait-and-switch. I feared there might be more hiding in the missile battalion, so I rushed back.”

The colonel glanced at him disdainfully. “So even the famed Wolf Fang Special Forces can be outwitted by a few Red Army scouts.”

He sneered and left before Gao Dazhuang could respond.

Gao Dazhuang wasn’t angered by the sarcasm. Instead, he walked over to the bruised and battered Zheng Sanpao and the others, eyeing them.

“Old Miao’s soldiers? You look like you’re in pain.”

Zheng Sanpao saluted and replied, “Report, yes, a bit painful.”

“Serves you right for messing with us,” Gray Wolf said with a chuckle.

Gao Dazhuang said nothing but called over a medic. “Medic, tend to their wounds.”

Then he fixed his gaze on Zhuang Yan’s face and, lifting his helmet with the butt of his rifle, asked with some curiosity, “Aren’t you a university student?”

Zhuang Yan smirked inwardly at Gao Dazhuang’s expression. “I am a university student, but I later became a scout.”

Gao Dazhuang was momentarily silenced by the reply.

Curious, Gray Wolf asked the three, “You three, and what about that scout who escaped? Not bad, you really had us running in circles. Who’s in charge?”

Seeing Old Cannon was the squad leader, he guessed, “Is it you? Good command.”

Zheng Sanpao shook his head. “Report, no, it’s our squad’s Su Yang — the one who escaped.”

Gao Dazhuang turned and asked, “The private Su Yang?”

“Yes.”

…

Halfway up the mountain, Su Yang forged ahead, using an entrenching tool to clear the path. The trail was steep, rugged, and riddled with unavoidable branches. He had no choice but to proceed cautiously.

Forced deep into the forest by the Blue Army, Su Yang had to follow a barely discernible path less than half a meter wide, guided only by his map and compass.

Reaching a relatively flat spot, he sat down with a sigh and ate half a compressed biscuit with water.

Having finished his last ration, Su Yang glanced up at the sun, partially obscured by the trees.

He was grateful that the weather had held for the past two days without rain; otherwise, hiding in the forest would have been much harder.

After a brief rest and some regained strength, Su Yang pressed onward.

Several hours later, just before dusk, he finally struggled down from the high mountain to the flatlands below.

His camouflage uniform was soaked through, dripping with water from the hems.

At the foot of the mountain lay a wide muddy road. Su Yang avoided the road itself, instead moving along the adjacent woods.

Not long after, bright lights appeared ahead, and Su Yang quietly crept closer.

By the roadside stood two military trucks. Near the front truck’s tire, three soldiers seemed to be changing a wheel.

Hidden by the twilight, Su Yang approached and overheard the soldiers grumbling.

“Come on, hurry up. Our truck’s carrying vegetables for the command’s mess unit. If we’re late, the road will get worse.”

“Squad leader, why rush? Didn’t the commander say we’d be eating field rations during the exercise?”

“You know nothing. Our exercise troops might eat field rations, but the leaders sent here to observe demand fresh food.”

An older soldier cursed while fitting the tire.

Listening, Su Yang immediately understood these were Blue Army supply trucks heading to their command post.

“Just what I needed—a target,” he thought excitedly. He hadn’t expected to learn the location of the Blue Army command so soon after leaving the forest.

He stayed motionless by the rear truck, waiting for the soldiers to finish repairs.

The moment the engine roared to life, Su Yang leapt into the cargo bed loaded with supplies.