Chapter 42: Parting

"What are you doing, what are you doing? Is this childish? Is the army yours or mine? The army belongs to the state and to the people."

Speaking thus, Battalion Commander Miao, with a solemn face, began his final speech to everyone:

"The state and the people made me a company commander, so I will be a good company commander."

He then continued in a low tone: "If the state and the people do not let me be this company commander, I will obey the order."

"It is obeying the order, understand?"

Battalion Commander Miao shouted loudly to the entire company, then picked up his luggage and went to the train station.

Just arriving there, he found Dog-Head Lao Gao and Guo Jing waiting for him. Battalion Commander Miao walked up and scolded Guo Jing and the others angrily:

"What are you doing here? Aren't you afraid of delaying training?"

To this, Guo Jing sheepishly scratched his head and said:

"Don't worry, Battalion Commander Miao, we won't delay training. We have already asked leave from the regiment commander."

Dog-Head Lao Gao watched Battalion Commander Miao about to leave, struggling to control himself from crying, not wanting to lose his composure in front of his juniors, but he found he simply could not control himself.

After the two pressed their heads together, Dog-Head Lao Gao wiped his tears and sobbed: "There is still one thing missing."

Having finished speaking, he handed the sunglasses in his hand to Battalion Commander Miao.

Battalion Commander Miao said with a bitter smile: "Will I look good wearing them?"

"You will look good. Only you look good wearing them."

Dog-Head Lao Gao shouted loudly while sobbing.

Just as Battalion Commander Miao was about to take off the sunglasses, Dog-Head Lao Gao loudly stopped him:

"Don't take them off. Wear them."

Dog-Head grabbed Battalion Commander Miao and burst into tears like a child.

Looking at the grieving Dog-Head Lao Gao before them, Xiao Zhuang and the others looked incredulous. In the past days, they had even thought this devilish instructor had no emotions at all; otherwise, he would not have been so perverted.

But today's events told them they were wrong.

The person before them had his emotions; he could cry too.

For a man like him, crying was often not because of injury, not because of pain, but more likely because of loss or parting.

Everyone here considered themselves tough guys, but at this critical moment, they still could not help but shed tears.

Guo Jing found that at the moment of parting, he really could not help but cry.

One by one, everyone cried and embraced Battalion Commander Miao to say goodbye, then watched him board the train and leave.

Dog-Head Lao Gao turned back, looking at the equally weeping crowd, and smiled: "Alright, we have all cried a big cry here, which counts as losing face together. No one should laugh at anyone else. Let's go."

Sergeant Lao Pao and the others each wiped their tears and returned to the camp to continue training. No one would speak of today's events.

Back at the camp, Guo Jing looked at Battalion Commander Miao's contact information and fell into deep thought. Battalion Commander Miao had left the company to become the director of the Anti-Narcotics Section; he had fought all his life.

He had also spent his entire life always being ready.

If Dog-Head Lao Gao taught him how to fight, then Battalion Commander Miao taught him how to be a soldier.

A soldier who persisted in fighting all his life. Guo Jing's gaze became somewhat firm: Since the state and the people made me the captain of this special forces squad, I will be a good captain.

Time flew. During this period, Guo Jing learned a great deal of information about the Ma family from Battalion Commander Miao.

He then uploaded the information to the group chat, but there was simply too little information; the breakthrough still lay with Ma Qitong.

However, the annual military exercise was approaching soon. To counter the Red Army's Wolf Tooth Battalion, the Blue Army had specially recruited Lei Keming, the commander of the Black Tiger Special Forces Battalion.

Nie Huaishang knew this was definitely a ruthless person. In terms of strength and strategy, he far surpassed Dog-Head Lao Gao, after all, in the plot, Dog-Head Lao Gao was captured by him.

This guy, on his first deep penetration behind enemy lines, decapitated thirty-two people, destroyed an enemy arsenal, and successfully brought back the heads of martyrs.

By nightfall, the four discussed the arrangements for the Spring Thunder military exercise again.

Nie Huaishang: "This Spring Thunder exercise is very important; it is not just to win this competition, but more crucially to gain Ma Qitong's favor. Let's see who Ma Qitong falls in love with at first sight."

Nie Huaishang: "For safety's sake, we should still bring Xiao Zhuang along. If Ma Qitong has no favor for any of us, we have no choice, do we?"

Guo Jing: "Alright. Whoever Ma Qitong takes a fancy to will implement the plan to save the beauty."

Zhang Xiaofan: "I agree."

Zhang Chu'an: "I agree too."

Seeing everyone agree, Nie Huaishang was overjoyed inside.

He truly felt that courting girls was not suitable for him at all, after all, considering his own experiences and everything else.

Very few girls admired him; his main job was being an actor and a director.

He felt Guo Jing and Zhang Xiaofan were more likely, after all, both of them had girls who liked them.

If Ma Qitong fell in love with either of them at first sight then, it would not be something he could simply avoid.

For them, this Spring Thunder operation meant defeating Lei Keming was secondary; courting Ma Qitong was primary.

One wonders if Lei Keming would vomit blood if he knew their thoughts.

Of course, the most important thing was that they felt the exercise, no matter how important, could not compare to the real struggle.

After all, they knew the method from the plot by which Xiao Zhuang and the others annihilated Lei Keming: control the Blue Army's air force command system, issue orders to them, mobilize the Blue Army pilots, and have them bomb their own special forces.

Of course, the decapitation strike should be left to Zhang Chu'an, who had the strongest combat power. What if that bullet hit the heart? Xiao Zhuang would die so unjustly.

The background of this Spring Thunder military exercise was this: An enemy with a powerful navy, army, and air force landed on the Red Army's coastal areas, forcing the Red Army to launch a homeland defense operation.

To prevent the Blue Army special forces from conducting ubiquitous reconnaissance, the Red Army did not use any form of transportation to enter the combat zone, but chose this: a foot assault.

This was a sudden war of aggression. The Blue Army's powerful combined navy, army, and air force landing force launched a surprise attack on the Red Army on a certain morning.

And hundreds of Red Army special operations team members were, without a doubt, stranded behind enemy lines.

Honestly, if not for knowing the plot well, Guo Jing really could not think of how they could win like this.

Under these circumstances, Guo Jing and Nie Huaishang each told their respective teams to break into small units and fight independently.

Thus, members of the two teams began operating in pairs, conducting undercover operations.

During this period, they each began their own antics: the earth wolf disguised himself as a scrap-collecting local and infiltrated the kitchen squad to poison them.

Deng Zhenhua and Shi Dafan disguised themselves as paratroopers and even managed to sneak into the division headquarters of the airborne division.

At this moment, Zhang Chu'an, Guo Jing, and others disguised themselves as backpackers to approach Ma Qitong and her group, but during a quarrel with that fair-faced man, they noticed Ma Qitong looked at them as if they were mere passersby, so they left on their own.

Guo Jing: "Nie Huaishang, Zhang Chu'an and I have no chance; it's your turn and Zhang Xiaofan's to flirt with the girls."

Nie Huaishang: "Zhang Xiaofan and I will do our best; if it really doesn't work out, let Xiao Zhuang go instead."

Nie Huaishang truly was unsuited for picking up girls.