Chapter 23: Playing with an Army, Victory Won with Ease

“Attack!”

After a few breaths, more than a dozen stealthy figures appeared at the fork in the road.

At Qi Tian’s command, the hidden rookies sprang into action immediately.

From all directions, they formed a surrounding formation and opened fire on the dozen or so people who had appeared at the fork.

“Trouble! Enemy attack!”

The dozen or so soldiers reacted swiftly as well, scattering instantly, ready to counterattack.

But their movements lagged at least two seconds behind the rookies’.

Though just two seconds, the battle was already decided.

After a round of gunfire, only five veteran soldiers remained unscathed.

But at that moment, they were met by more than thirty rookies led by Qi Tian and Zhang Meng, ready to pounce like fierce tigers, wildly throwing punches.

As the saying goes, two fists can’t match four hands; a hero can’t stand against a pack of wolves.

In one-on-one combat, the rookies could never rival the veterans.

But when six against one, with pre-discussed tactics—some holding arms, others holding legs, the strongest throwing punches—in such a coordinated assault, even veterans couldn’t hold out!

“Hey, you rookies, go easy on me! Can’t I just be eliminated without getting beaten up like this?”

“Stop hitting, stop hitting! This is just a game; don’t really try to send me to the hospital!”

After the combined assault and shooting, the temporary strike team of fourteen veterans suffered nine marked with simulation elimination rounds.

The remaining five were bruised and battered, glaring at the rookies with teeth clenched in fury.

They were the finest unit in the Second Battalion.

Their mission was to move entirely without spotlights, to stealthily surprise the rookies in the dark.

If ambushing others, these veterans would have succeeded effortlessly.

But today was different.

They faced Qi Tian, the chosen one with a photographic memory and terrifyingly enhanced vision, able to detect anomalies even in pitch-black night.

This led to their complete defeat.

Not a single rookie was eliminated before their own elimination.

“One minute to check the bodies, then quickly retreat toward the mountaintop. Dawn is near; we’ll descend from the opposite side.”

Qi Tian gave the order, eyes fixed on the mountaintop area.

Zhang Meng approached quietly, asking, “Should we finish off those five veterans? What if they…”

“No need. We have to leave them some face. Beating them up is enough. Eliminating them too would be too cruel—let’s be merciful. We’ll surely meet again; no need to burn bridges.”

Watching as everyone swiftly stripped the fourteen veterans of their gear, Qi Tian quickly led the team toward the mountaintop.

The conversation between Qi Tian and Zhang Meng had been loud enough for the veterans to hear clearly.

They watched as Qi Tian and the others disappeared around the next bend.

One of the veterans grabbed a walkie-talkie and pressed the call button.

“Hey! What are you doing? Getting ambushed by rookies is disgraceful enough. Are you planning to break the game rules? Dead men can’t use walkie-talkies!”

“Who said I’m dead? I haven’t got a single bullet hole. Just a few punches. And that kid said no follow-up shots; it was their oversight, not against the rules!”

The bruised veteran snapped coldly at his comrade and immediately reported down the mountain, “Captain, this is Da Fei.

We were ambushed by rookies, but I’m not eliminated. They only punched me, no follow-up shots.

Those rookies took our equipment and supplies and ran toward the mountaintop, planning to descend the back mountain and return to the regiment on time.

Please deploy troops to the mountaintop immediately and block the back mountain completely. We can surely capture those rookies alive.”

Down at the command post below,

The Second Battalion Commander listened to the report over the walkie-talkie. Though his face was grim, he finally exhaled.

“See? I told you these rookies can’t cover all bases. Even if they manage to take down veterans, so what?

A bunch of raw recruits still lacking military discipline will always slip up. And I, I’m counting on that!”

He murmured sternly to the solemn Xu Guoqing behind him, a faint smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

He immediately relayed the rookies’ movements to all veterans stationed on the mountain, ordering them to rush to the target area and set an ambush.

But Xu Guoqing offered no response.

When he first heard the report, a vague, indescribable doubt gnawed at him.

He felt he had overlooked something very important, but couldn’t quite recall what…

The First Battalion Commander was silent as well, his thoughts mirroring Xu Guoqing’s exactly.

Meanwhile, at the midpoint of the mountain,

Veteran Da Fei, having just reported, was preparing to lead the remaining four uneliminated comrades up the mountain, following the rookies’ trail, hoping to play one last role and give the rookies a taste of their own medicine.

But the moment they rounded the bend,

Several black gun barrels suddenly pressed against their foreheads, forcing them to retreat back beside the “nine bodies.”

“You’re not leaving?!”

Staring at Qi Tian just two meters away, Da Fei was utterly stunned.

Weren’t those rookies rushing to the mountaintop?

How did they suddenly reappear near the bend?

Or… did they never intend to leave at all?

“If we left, how would we know you veterans reported our movements to the command post? Brothers, no mercy—aim for the head!”

With those words, Qi Tian pulled the trigger and blew Da Fei’s head off!

Fiery red smoke billowed from his skull. The other four veterans met the same fate.

But it wasn’t over.

After dispatching Da Fei, Qi Tian snatched the walkie-talkie from his hand.

Without hesitation, he crushed it underfoot, severing all communication between Da Fei’s group and the command post.

“What do you mean by that? You said earlier beating us up was enough, no follow-up shots. We should be merciful. Have you changed your mind so quickly?”

Da Fei’s face, though lifeless now, seemed filled with confusion, staring at Qi Tian.

“Veteran, if you hadn’t underestimated us, if you saw us as warriors on equal footing, you wouldn’t ask such a question.”

Qi Tian didn’t answer directly.

He simply spoke to himself, then beckoned to all the rookies and hurriedly led them down the mountain.

At that moment, the fourteen veterans led by Da Fei shuddered violently.

Clearly, they all realized something!

A shock beyond words washed over them simultaneously.

“Fei, this kid… he’s using us—using the fact that you’re still alive to report back—to send false information to the command post!”

“Now all the veterans are rushing to the mountaintop and back mountain. Down here, probably no one’s left. These rookies will descend unimpeded, as if no one’s guarding the path.”

“Damn, these rookies are too cunning. Who would’ve thought of this?”

“I told you not to act rashly. Now it’s all ruined. They’ll easily return to the regiment and report back. We’ve made fools of ourselves. Who knows how the captain will punish us later?”

“No, I’m starting to think they won’t return directly to the regiment at all.”

Listening to his comrades’ bitter lament, Da Fei slumped to the ground, his expression dark beyond words.

His gaze fixed unwaveringly on the command post below.

An inexplicable premonition gnawed at his heart.

Perhaps that place was the rookies’ true target all along.