Chapter Sixty-Four: The New Recruit Who Turns the Tide

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The 173rd Machine Gun Corps New Recruit Position.

"Load the rounds! Prepare—! Fire!"

Bang bang bang!

As the fifth round of orders fell from the machine gun instructor, the recruits carried out the bombardment methodically.

But just then—

The hum of engines sounded as a convoy of transport vehicles barreled toward the edge of the position, forming a disorderly line. Among them, a military off-road vehicle swerved abruptly and stopped aggressively in front of the machine gun instructor, kicking up a spray of snow and dust.

With a clang, the door swung open.

Feng Zhengwei stormed out, eyes blazing, and shouted, "Who authorized you to bombard Qingshi Mountain? Who gave the order?"

The round-faced instructor was initially taken aback. After recognizing the newcomer, he straightened his back and offered a salute. "It’s Captain Feng. We received orders from Chief Instructor Lai. According to the original assessment plan, upon seeing green smoke, we commence artillery bombardment at the mouth of Qingshi Mountain!"

"Lai Yanlong?"

Feng Zhengwei's eyebrows nearly twisted with fury. "Lai Yanlong and his team of instructors rushed into Qingshi Mountain long ago to rescue the elite squad. Where would he find time to issue you a telegram?"

"This..." The round-faced instructor was lost for words.

As the machine gun instructor, he had first noticed two consecutive plumes of red smoke from Qingshi Mountain, immediately realizing something major was happening. He promptly halted the artillery assessment at position two.

Sure enough, after a short delay, an urgent telegram was relayed to all troops of the 173rd New Recruit Battalion: "Elite training soldiers are under attack from fiendish monsters, requesting support from nearby patrol units."

This was Lai Yanlong's first message.

Soon after, nearby patrols tightened their lines, deploying around the machine gun corps to protect the recruits and military equipment.

The round-faced instructor had planned to retreat to the training hall for now.

But just as the unit moved out—before the artillery could even be loaded onto the vehicles—they received Lai Yanlong's second urgent telegram.

"It seems someone falsified military orders," came a chilling voice from the off-road vehicle. Down stepped a high-ranking officer clad in a green hooded robe and polished iron chain mail.

The round-faced instructor and his companions felt a shock, their faces paling.

Captain of the Special Operations Platoon, 73rd Brigade:

Sun Jianheng!

Though not tall, wrapped in the Special Operations Platoon's mantle, he radiated an intimidating pressure.

He strode up to three new recruits from the communications corps, picked up the recorded urgent telegram, and asked, "Do you know which team sent this?"

"Y-yes, we do." The new recruit, never having faced such a scene, was startled by Sun Jianheng's large, dark teeth. "It was Communications Team Two, the operator was Zhao Xinhong!"

"Zhao Xinhong..."

Sun Jianheng took out his notebook, jotted down the name, and clipped the telegram record inside. "The original telegram is crucial evidence. I’ll take it for now."

At this, the round-faced instructor panicked and tried to shift blame. "Captain Feng, Captain Sun, surely no one would dare falsify military orders? We—we were just following commands."

"Following orders?"

Feng Zhengwei clenched his fist, nearly swinging it. "As a platoon-level officer and a new recruits’ instructor, you receive a suspicious telegram and don’t verify its authenticity, blindly obeying?"

"If this were an enemy agent’s false order, and if the elite training soldiers were about to escape Qingshi Mountain, firing your signal flares and shelling would have wiped out your own men!"

He spoke of but one possible outcome.

After being rebuked by Brigade Commander Pan Weilun, Feng Zhengwei immediately assembled a main company, even temporarily pulling wall patrols so Sun’s Special Operations Platoon could take up the post.

Then, the two hurried after the unit.

Just as they neared Qingshi Mountain, a plume of green smoke rose from the mouth of the mountain, followed by thunderous artillery fire.

Both men’s eyelids twitched. In marching orders, green smoke signified all was well and the mission was accomplished.

But Qingshi Mountain had just sent up two consecutive red smokes—such a severe crisis, and before the main company arrived, everything was suddenly “fine,” with post-battle shelling already underway.

Had the elite training soldiers really all been rescued?

What if their own men were injured?

This only compounded the chaos!

Their last shred of hope was shattered by the thunder of explosions.

That was the source of Feng Zhengwei’s rage.

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"If anything happens to the elite training soldiers, prepare to face a firing squad!"

At his words, the round-faced instructor mirrored his earlier reaction—face ashen, legs weakening. "Captain Feng, it’s not my fault!"

"Save your explanation for the brigade commander and the higher-ups!"

Feng Zhengwei had lost all hope. If the elite training soldiers were finished, his own fate was sealed; he didn't mind dragging someone else down with him on his way out.

"Wait, there’s movement to the west..."

The round-faced instructor's companion suddenly heard something unusual, turned his head, and spotted a long smoke trail approaching across the western wasteland.

"Main company of the patrol battalion! Artillery platoon! All units, prepare!"

Instantly, Feng Zhengwei bellowed.

Soldiers raised their rifles and unsheathed their bayonets with a metallic scrape. He and Sun Jianheng each grabbed binoculars and focused on the target.

Amidst the snow and dust were three transport trucks, accompanied by three military horses and an off-road vehicle.

"They’re ours," Sun Jianheng, ever the specialist, quickly identified them by their armor and vehicle paint.

Upon closer inspection, the transport trucks seemed packed with people—not only lying atop the roofs but even hanging from the sides, each soldier’s left arm adorned with a gleaming, red-lit arm guard.

"They’re the elite training soldiers!"

Feng Zhengwei couldn’t help but exclaim.

Hearing this, the round-faced instructor, who had been pale with fear, now gleamed with hope. He quickly raised his own binoculars to confirm. "Yes, yes, it’s them! Quick, be careful not to hurt anyone!"

Feng Zhengwei immediately dispatched patrol soldiers for support.

As the three trucks pulled up on the hillside, Feng Zhengwei, the round-faced instructor, and many others finally breathed a huge sigh of relief—so many people!

This meant casualties among the 173rd elite training soldiers were not severe!

A miracle had happened!

Hey, no need to face the firing squad after all!

Sun Jianheng furrowed his brow and roughly counted the elite training soldiers on the trucks. The total was over three hundred; at a glance, nearly three hundred remained.

In other words:

Mortality rate was only ten percent!

Given two red smoke crisis events, how could the death rate be so low?

Regardless of the number of monsters, these elite training soldiers, after the assessment, should have been depleted of vital energy; it was impossible to outrun the fiends in the woods!

How did so many survive?

Was it credit to the instructor team?

"Lai Commander! Well done! You’ve saved your brother’s life!"

Feng Zhengwei rushed up to the bloodied, severely wounded Lai Yanlong in the driver’s seat, helping him down.

But unexpectedly,

Lai Yanlong coughed twice and waved his hand, "Call over Instructor Zhong from the machine gun corps for me! Quickly!"

The round-faced instructor heard his name and hurried over. "Commander Lai… Thank goodness, the children are all safe…"

Before he could finish, Lai Yanlong coughed harshly, interrupting, "Tell your men to stop. Shelling Qingshi Mountain was not my order—cough cough..."

What?

Feng Zhengwei, Sun Jianheng, and Instructor Zhong were all stunned.

Seeing the light casualties among the training soldiers, all three elite instructors safe, even the patrol soldiers returned, they naturally assumed it was all due to the instructor team’s efforts. The orderly retreat, including the final bombardment, must have been under Lai Yanlong’s command.

Beside the trucks,

Yang Anfu muttered, "This sly Lai Yanlong, after Huai Shan helped him so much, he doesn’t cover up but exposes everything."

"Fatty, if he did as you said, it would harm Huai Shan even more," Tan Hai whispered, glancing at the gloating Cai Zhizhong nearby. "Three hundred training soldiers—so many mouths. Who can guarantee Lai Yanlong’s silence wouldn’t be exposed? If it comes out, Huai Shan’s trouble would only grow!"

"Really? But these men survived the mountain thanks to Huai Shan’s command," Yang Fatty finally caught on, though he still couldn’t believe it.

"Never trust human nature," Tan Hai shook his head, squinting at Cai Zhizhong, who was enjoying the drama.

"That’s how it is—cough..." Lai Yanlong briefly recounted everything that happened atop Qingshi Mountain.

This was no simple matter.

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Years of special operations intuition told Sun Jianheng this was likely a premeditated massacre targeting the elite training soldiers of the Military Academy.

How could it be mere coincidence that such a rare aberrant monster just happened to crash into the assessment site, specifically hunting the elite trainees?

Consider this:

Every year, the Military Academy’s assessment venue is kept secret, and the subjects are only revealed to the recruits on the day itself.

Someone inside must have leaked information in advance, enabling that aberrant to strike so precisely—timed to the end of the assessment, targeting the best-performing soldiers!

But even more shocking to Sun Jianheng was Du Huaishan.

"Lai Commander, are you saying that Du Huaishan killed a level twenty-one disaster fiend, organized trainees with remaining vital energy to drag their depleted comrades out of Qingshi Mountain, then resupplied, led sixteen back into the mountain to support you, and finally falsified military orders to shell the pursuing fiends?"

Feng Zhengwei rattled off the summary, nearly suffocating himself.

"Cough, cough… more or less…" Lai Yanlong’s eyelids twitched, baffled to see Sun Jianheng, the “snake,” here.

Chang Sui’an, seeing the Special Operations Platoon present, couldn’t help but remark, "Du Huaishan acted out of urgent concern for his comrades. He’s one of the most outstanding soldiers among our 173rd elite trainees."

"Though he acted without my permission, if I’d known, I would have done the same." Lai Yanlong, noting Chang Sui’an's urgency, added another line.

Anyone could see—

Those two sentences were meant to protect Du Huaishan.

"Hey, who would’ve guessed Lai Yanlong would defend us so loyally? Guess saving him wasn’t in vain," Wu Ming whispered with a grin.

"So… which one is Du Huaishan? Step forward!"

Feng Zhengwei called out.

"Present! Reporting, sir! Captain Sun, I am Du Huaishan!"

Du Huaishan stepped from the ranks and saluted the two officers.

"Old Sun, you know him?"

"I do. Truly a hero among youths—slaying fiends, supporting comrades, saving his mentor, and sealing the battle with a single volley; throughout history, even the legendary Zhao Changlong, saving his lord alone, pales in comparison."

Sun Jianheng gazed at the blood-stained, resolute young man before him.

Hard to believe—just three months apart, and the boy had already broken through the first relative threshold, accomplishing these earth-shattering feats.

Commander Pan’s praise of “genius” hardly does him justice!

"Good lad. Old Sun has never praised anyone so highly! I’m just a rough fellow, but you helped your companions, coordinated with the instructors—a great merit. As for the false orders, I’ll explain for you. Rest easy!"

Feng Zhengwei was no sophisticate—he only knew this youngster had “saved his life.” Without Du Huaishan, the 173rd elite trainees would have seen dozens more casualties.

Even if he escaped execution, he’d surely face demotion, maybe even get kicked out of the infantry, forced to stuff cotton in logistics.

He stepped forward and patted Du Huaishan’s shoulder. "I’m Feng Zhengwei, Captain of the Patrol Battalion, 73rd Brigade. If you ever need help, come find me!"

All around,

Hundreds of elite trainees, machine gun corps recruits, and veteran soldiers from the patrol battalion stared in envy at Du Huaishan, surrounded by high-ranking officers like a blossom.

Imagine—a new recruit, who falsified orders, now praised by the Captain of Special Operations and the Battalion Commander, even invited to connect personally.

Such treatment—only the Commander’s own son could compare!

The machine gun corps recruits had always known Du Huaishan was outstanding, but never imagined the Qingshi Mountain incident was turned around solely by his efforts.

Could a mere recruit really achieve this?

How could comrades of the same intake be so different!

In the ranks, Cai Zhizhong nearly bit through his teeth in rage. He’d thought Du Huaishan’s false orders meant certain death, but even the most ruthless Special Operations Captain said nothing!

Zhou Zhong’ai watched it all unfold. Feng Zhengwei’s words likely came under pressure—or even strict orders—from Commander Pan.

It made sense.

When such a disaster struck the elite trainees, the patrol battalion bore the greatest responsibility.

"Alright, recruits, return to the Academy! You, escort Commander Lai and the others to the infirmary. The rest, follow me—advance and sweep the Qingshi Mountain battlefield! We must capture that aberrant!"

Feng Zhengwei shouted.

The main company and artillery platoon mobilized at once.

The recruits were visibly relieved—the ordeal finally over, they could go home!

Just as Du Huaishan turned to leave, Sun Jianheng suddenly grabbed his armor, grinned, showing his blackened teeth, and said with a sly smile, "Du Huaishan, for now, stay by my side."

PS: At the start of the month, please vote for next month! Let Tutu have a hotpot meal, sob sob QAQ~~

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