Chapter 22: with translation of chapter title

Early the next morning, the twenty-four soldiers had just arrived at the assembly point when they saw the CH——47 that had just a few days earlier carried them to complete their parachute 'graduation' parked on the open ground.

To everyone's surprise, aside from the old class monitor Zhou Tianzuo, who broke into a grin the moment he saw Liu Xiaotian, there was no one else—Chen Shanming wasn't there either.

Before anyone could speak, Zhou Tianzuo walked up with a smile and said loudly to everyone:

"No need to wait; Instructor Chen has a mission and has already left; as the second echelon, you will board the plane immediately, and I will take you to the designated location."

Your weapons and equipment are already on the plane; after boarding, just put them on.

Don't ask me anything else either, because I don't know either."

Saying this, Zhou Tianzuo raised his hand and tapped his rank insignia:

"Just like you, I'm also a soldier; I've just been in the service a bit longer."

Wang Yanbing in the troop pursed his lips and whispered to Liu Xiaotian: "This guy's even better at putting on airs than Laohei; Laohei is only a Level 2 sergeant major, and our brigade commander treats him with respect when they meet—it's said they're from the same conscription batch; this Old Zhou is a Level 1 sergeant major, although he's in charge of logistics maintenance, I've heard he enters the brigade commander's office without knocking; moreover, hearing him say that, I feel there's something 'affected' about this."

Liu Xiaotian gave him a sideways glance and lowered his voice:

"Don't talk nonsense; I don't want to get punished because of you!"

Wang Yanbing also felt Zhou Tianzuo's gaze sweep over him and, sensing the cue, kept silent.

Under Zhou Tianzuo's order, the twenty-four soldiers boarded immediately and, without delay, put on their gear and fastened their seat belts.

He Chen Guang, as usual, inspected his weapon after picking it up and immediately discovered blank rounds in the magazine.

He first stared, then slightly furrowed his brow and said to Liu Xiaotian:

"A drill? Why wasn't I notified beforehand?"

Wang Yanbing also noticed the blank rounds in He Chen Guang's magazine while he was checking his weapon, quickly removed the magazine from his own Type 10 sniper rifle, and found it empty.

"Why is my gun empty?" Wang Yanbing said, somewhat disheartened.

Even if they were blanks, there should at least be some noise, shouldn't there?

Moreover, the blank rounds used in the drill have a signal device in the bullet tip; if the bullet's trajectory aligns straight with the signal device on the target's electronic smoke pack, that smoke pack is triggered, releasing colored smoke to indicate a hit and elimination.

And the reason Wang Yanbing's rifle contains nothing is that the blank rounds for the Type 10 sniper rifle are even more expensive than live ammunition, and the Iron Fist Group doesn't have this type of blank.

Seeing Wang Yanbing's empty magazine, Liu Xiaotian instinctively felt the magazine on his own ammunition belt.

Inside, there were ten 'live rounds' pressed in.

Of course, that was only what he thought were live rounds.

Chen Shanming, as an instructor and the future Red Blood Cell Squad Leader, could he be out of his mind to issue live ammunition to a soldier during a drill? Even he and Fan Tianlei, as snipers, wouldn't dare use live rounds in a drill!

What if an accident occurs? Who could guarantee it wouldn't?

His reason for agreeing to Liu Xiaotian was merely to create a tense atmosphere for him.

At that moment, the bullets in the magazine Liu Xiaotian touched, which looked indistinguishable from live rounds, were actually blank rounds as well.

They were simply a higher grade.

The Iron Fist Group may not have them, but that doesn't mean the Wolf Fang Special Forces Brigade lacks them! Just like the rifle blanks, the Type 10 sniper rifle's blank rounds use the latest technology: the bullet heads are made of a special polyethylene material that burns and decomposes completely within a few meters after firing, making them more environmentally friendly and realistic. However, because the Type 10 sniper rifle's range is several times that of a regular rifle, the signal device in the blank's head must be far more precise, naturally driving up the cost far above that of rifle blanks.

Furthermore, while the blank rounds for other weapons differ in weight, the blanks for the Type 10 sniper rifle weigh exactly the same as live rounds.

In short, unless you fire, even soldiers who handle guns all day would find it extremely hard to tell that these are just blanks—unless they're professional munitions personnel.

Chen Shanming's failure to inform Liu Xiaotian beforehand that these were blanks was, naturally, also the intention of He Zhijun and Fan Tianlei.

Although Liu Xiaotian comes from another world, in terms of experience he isn't even a rookie.

At best he's like a Monkey King, nothing more than a plaything in someone's palm.

Don't disagree—this is the fact.

Even though the Monkey King possesses heavenly abilities, he still ends up obediently accompanying Tang Sanzang on the journey to fetch the scriptures; the issues of system and reality are unavoidable, whether in myth or in real life.

These are things Liu Xiaotian still cannot fully comprehend at present.

Two hours after the plane took off, Liu Xiaotian underwent the parachute jump once again.

However, this jump felt to him no different from playing a game.

Even during the jump, Liu Xiaotian felt a bit of excitement.

Because the jump site was still that forest, only the exact location differed by several tens of kilometers from the previous one, and it lay far from the border.

The reason the drill was set here was due to Fan Tianlei's repeated insistence.

Because in his heart, Xiezi and the criminal organization he serves have always been a thorn in Fan Tianlei's side.

He has even planned it out: once the Red Blood Cell Group is formed, its first mission will be to target the criminal organization that Xiezi serves, namely the people controlled by the Polar Bear.

If Liu Xiaotian knew, he'd probably laugh so hard he'd wake up from his dreams.

Because he knows full well that the Polar Bear doesn't need him to lift a finger—Xiezi and Cha Cai will do the work for him.

The only thing uncertain is whether He Chen Guang and Cha Cai in this world still have the same relationship as in the TV drama.

If that's the case, then the Polar Bear side wouldn't be a problem.

As for Xiezi, Liu Xiaotian doesn't even give it a thought.

With He Chen Guang present, Xiezi is certainly destined to be the losing side.

However, after personally experiencing many plot developments that differ from those in film and television, Liu Xiaotian truly has no confidence at all in how things will unfold.

If something unexpected happens in the middle, how should he respond?

Although the system has provided him with some help, given his current state, if he were truly to face Xiezi and his gang of desperadoes, he dare not say how much the system could actually do.

Just the lag phenomenon of this Level‑1 system is enough to trip him up badly at a critical moment.

He himself, however, isn't worried.

After all, he's a transmigrator; if an accident occurs, he might even be sent back to resume his life as a rich second‑generation heir……

(End of chapter)