Chapter 22: If You’re Going to Play, Play Big

“Report! Company Commander, I found Old Feng and his team, but...”
“Spit it out. But what?”

At the foot of the Azure Mountain, inside the temporary command post hastily set up by the Iron Fist Regiment officers, the Second Battalion Commander responded grimly over the radio.

Judging by the hesitant report from the other side, an ominous feeling simultaneously settled in the hearts of several officers.

“They’re all corpses. It must have been the recruits who did it.”

Beside the Second Battalion Commander, Xu Guoqing’s face changed abruptly, and he exclaimed, “I knew it!”

Ever since the First Battalion Commander discovered that a three-man squad had lost contact, Xu Guoqing had an uneasy suspicion that this year’s cat-and-mouse game would be unlike any before—largely because of one unpredictable factor: Qitian.

This kid’s abilities were downright extraordinary.

Just a few military skills alone surpassed those of many seasoned second- and third-phase veterans.

Now, after hearing the frontline soldiers’ report, Xu Guoqing’s suspicions were fully confirmed.

Qitian was indeed leading the recruits in a counterattack.

“Commander, not only did Old Feng’s team end up dead, but we also found out that Old Qiu’s team from the recruits’ second squad is wiped out. These rookies aren’t to be underestimated!”

The radio kept transmitting surprising news to the two battalion commanders and Xu Guoqing.

Hearing these reports, the Second Battalion Commander’s face turned a dark liver color from anger and frustration.

“I’ve worked hard to train you all this long, and in the end, you can’t even handle a bunch of recruits? What the hell have you been doing?

Relay my orders: increase the number of seasoned soldiers and try to operate in groups. Don’t give those recruits any chance.

If any recruits return safely tomorrow, your training intensity will instantly increase tenfold. Understand?!”

The last three words were almost shouted in a roar by the First Battalion Commander.

A firm reply came immediately over the radio.

The veterans now fully grasped the seriousness of the situation.

This year’s batch of recruits was far tougher and more difficult to deal with than any before.

If they continued searching separately, they might not only fail to find the recruits but also suffer more casualties among the veterans.

If it came to that, these veterans’ pride would be trampled mercilessly by the recruits.

“Guoqing, what kind of freaks did you train? They’re snatching weapons from the veterans and going head-to-head with them? That’s insane!”

The First Battalion Commander forced down his anger and approached Xu Guoqing to ask.

Xu Guoqing didn’t hold back.

He directly named Regiment Commander Li Yunfei as targeting Qitian and reported everything Qitian had done since joining, in full detail, to his two old comrades.

“You’re saying... Qitian was specifically targeted by the higher-ups? My god, what kind of deity did this kid offend to get the military brass like this...”

“Some things are better left unsaid,” Xu Guoqing shook his head at the First Battalion Commander.

“Whoever can command the regiment commander is definitely someone we can’t afford to provoke. Just follow orders. Honestly, I have a feeling this year’s cat-and-mouse game will be more thrilling than ever.”

“Heh, we’ll see about that. I want to see exactly who this kid singled out by the higher-ups really is!”

The Second Battalion Commander responded with a trace of anger.

With that, he took charge, personally directing the main forces on the mountain to conduct more thorough and rigorous searches and surprise attacks on the recruits’ squads.

...

At a mountain hollow on the southwestern side of Azure Mountain, Jiang Chong, adept at climbing, easily ascended a towering tree to survey the surroundings carefully.

Veterans always carried various searchlights during searches.

In other words, where there was light, there was a group of veterans operating.

This was the main reason Qitian and his team could ambush the second squad leader and others so precisely.

After a long while, Jiang Chong returned to the ground and shared his observations and assessment: “Xiaotian, there are no lights nearby anymore.

I think we made too much noise, and the command post found out. They’ve changed tactics—not spreading out for a carpet search anymore but gathering their forces to check in a zigzag pattern.

Right now, we’re hiding exactly in a spot they haven’t searched yet.”

Hearing this, all the recruits sighed in relief: “Finally, a break. These veterans really don’t know the meaning of rest!”

Having moved constantly without pause, the small recruit squad had grown to forty-three members.

However, everyone’s stamina was severely drained.

Especially the soldiers from other squads, who had already emptied their stomachs earlier.

Now, after more than two hours of intense continuous movement, their energy was pushed to the limit. They truly needed to rest.

“Rest here for a while. Those with energy, keep watch around. I’ll take the foot of the mountain.”

Qitian had clearly become the squad leader.

Not only because he was awarded a personal third-class merit medal and was the best recruit,

but also because he had sounded the horn of counterattack.

As soon as he spoke, Zhang Meng, Jiang Chong, and Song Wei—the three fittest recruits—stood up to guard the other three directions.

Before tonight’s cat-and-mouse game, Song Wei would never have obeyed Qitian.

On their first day as recruits, Qitian had literally run him dizzy in front of everyone.

That grudge still lingered in Song Wei’s heart.

But now, compared to that grudge, Song Wei wanted more to deal a heavy blow to the veterans and restore the recruits’ pride.

After all,

it was much more humiliating to lose face in front of two entire battalions of veterans than just one recruit.

Which mattered more was obvious.

At this moment, Song Wei began to obey Qitian’s orders gradually.

Even the resentment in his heart toward Qitian had mostly faded.

He just hadn’t admitted it out of pride.

At three o’clock that night,

the more than forty recruits, relying on ten rations confiscated from the veterans, barely restored some strength.

At the same time, Qitian noticed several figures flashing through the woods about three hundred meters down the mountain.

Though they carried no searchlights and moved swiftly,

thanks to his photographic memory-enhanced vision, Qitian tracked their movements clearly.

“Brothers, spread out the ambush line. Prey is coming right to us!”

As his words left his mouth, Qitian quickly concealed himself beneath a bush, pointing his rifle toward a fork in the road not far ahead.

The other nine soldiers with rifles followed suit, aiming their guns in the same direction.

Anyone passing through here next would face indiscriminate fire from those ten jet-black barrels.

Unless the veterans numbered over a hundred, no one could avoid being hit under such a hail of bullets!

The recruits without weapons were all on high alert, ready for combat.

In this confined terrain, a storm of fists could also give those veterans a serious beating!

Yet, no one noticed that Qitian’s attention wasn’t fully on the fork in the road.

His peripheral vision kept flickering toward the temporary command post built at the foot of the mountain.

A bold and exhilarating thought slowly took shape in Qitian’s mind.

“Just hiding on the mountain, even if we manage to survive until the end using what we have, it feels meaningless.

Since we’ve decided to have some fun with these veterans, why not go all out—take the command company and toy with the entire regiment...”