Chapter 478: Joining the Transport Team

Chief Li's words made everyone fall silent for a moment.

Although it sounded a bit like cowardice, Chief Li wasn't a soldier; he was only thinking about the safety of those Doll Soldiers.

In Chief Li's view, equipment is secondary; lives come first.

But Wu Zhekun, being a soldier, would certainly not think that way.

"If we wait for the transport team to rest, we won't have time; the Frontline situation could deteriorate at any moment. Our army must prepare in advance, or we'll be forced into a passive position."

Wu Zhekun's meaning was clear: even if the road back is dangerous, the mission must be completed.

Chief Li exhaled a puff of smoke: "I get your point—no fear of sacrifice, resolutely finish the mission—but what I mean is you must have the ability to complete it. If you throw lives away on the road for nothing, that sacrifice is meaningless."

Wu Zhekun understood Chief Li's words; even the experienced transport team had been heavily damaged, so with only a few of them, if they were ambushed midway by the enemy…

By then, don't even talk about getting the equipment to the Frontline; breaking through a siege would be hard enough.

Wu Zhekun instantly found himself conflicted; he admitted Chief Li was right—sacrifice is possible, but it cannot be meaningless.

So this matter still needs to be handled with caution.

At that moment, fellow soldier Ma Dagang first glanced at Lu Cheng, then stepped forward and said,

"How about this, Comrade: I'll bring the Railway Troops to accompany you on the trip."

Wu Zhekun suddenly looked as if he had seen hope, lifted his head, his face full of disbelief.

If the Railway Troops could join, that would be wonderful.

He had just had that thought, but the Railway Troops are responsible for logistical transport; delivering to the forest farm counts as completing the mission, and taking it further to the Frontline is beyond their duties.

And he has no authority to requisition them.

Ma Dagang understood what Wu Zhekun was concerned about.

"We Railway Troops are also soldiers; we were not only the railway assault units during the construction era, but also the steel transport lines during wartime.

Therefore, even if the superiors haven't assigned us a Frontline delivery mission, special circumstances call for special treatment."

Hearing Ma Dagang say that, Wu Zhekun immediately shook his hand excitedly.

"Thank you, thank you so much, Comrade. With your joining, we will definitely complete the mission."

"What about me? Shouldn't I get a thank you, Uncle?"

Wu Zhekun looked at the speaking Lu Cheng: "Old Lu, you don't have to go; just stay behind in the rear."

Wu Zhekun did have a selfish motive; he knew Lu Cheng's brotherly relationship with his father, and moreover... he is Lu Ying's younger brother.

If something really happened to Lu Cheng, he wouldn't be able to answer to anyone.

Lu Cheng laughed and said, "Look down on me?"

Wu Zhekun sighed helplessly: "You know I don't mean that. This isn't a brawl at the Hua Bing Chang; we're heading deep into the Frontline, and anything could happen along the way."

Wu Zhekun wasn't trying to scare him; although Lu Cheng fights well, a fist can't beat a bullet.

"Fine, stop being so fussy. I'm not acting on a whim; if this batch of equipment can't be safely delivered to the Frontline, I as the person in charge won't be at ease.

Besides, the more people, the stronger; one more person adds another layer of security."

Lu Cheng said that, patted Wu Zhekun's shoulder, then leaned close to his ear and whispered,

"My sister asked me to bring you a few letters; I'll hand them over later."

Hearing that, Wu Zhekun's eyes lit up instantly; during this time on the Frontline, his nerves had been stretched tight every day, and he had been longing for those letters.

"Then, alright."

Seeing that everyone had reached a consensus, Chief Li could only say,

"Sigh, since you've decided, anything I say now would only affect morale. Use the trucks as you wish; even if our forest farm stops operating, we must first support the Frontline."

Chief Li's words showed great insight; Lu Cheng gave him a thumbs‑up, and Chief Li chuckled twice.

Time was pressing; once decided, action had to be immediate. Wu Zhekun walked outside and looked at the four soldiers on guard.

"Load the equipment onto the trucks; we are preparing to return."

The four soldiers stood upright: "Yes, Squad Leader!"

Lu Cheng was surprised for a moment: "Sure, Lao Wu, you're the squad leader now."

Wu Zhekun smiled: "Don't tease me; I'm just a junior squad leader."

Lu Cheng didn't think so; although the squad leader rank is modest, Wu Zhekun rose without his father's connections, purely on his own, which proves his ability.

It seems these years of military life have helped Wu Zhekun grow considerably.

In the night, four trucks were parked beside the Iron Rail; the four people Wu Zhekun brought, plus Ma Dagang's Railway Troops and the Farm workers, all moved the equipment from the train together.

This Frontline stretched far, covering the entire south and involving the Border Frontline of two provinces; there are many logistical bases like the forest farm.

Therefore, to protect the base from enemy reconnaissance, they must load all equipment onto the trucks before dawn and leave quickly.

The equipment this time wasn't many, so the four trucks were enough by force; they then covered everything with tarps and set the vehicles in motion right away.

At this point, there were still two hours before dawn.

The Railway Troops led by Ma Dagang drove the trucks, while Wu Zhekun and a few other soldiers sat in the passenger seats, guns cradled in their arms, staying on constant alert.

Lu Cheng and Wu Zhekun sat in the last truck, responsible for covering the rear.

"Hey, Lao Wu, what's that gun? It looks different from the four soldiers' weapons."

Lu Cheng reached out to take it and play with it, but Wu Zhekun dodged.

"Don't touch it; this is a Type-56 submachine gun. Only the squad leader gets one, so don't damage it."

Lu Cheng felt his hand grasp nothing, then got a bit angry: "What the heck do you mean, being so stingy? Just because you're a squad leader?"

"Let's swap, here's my double‑barreled shotgun, a real beast."

Wu Zhekun gave a disdainful glance and refused to swap.

The shotgun's killing power is strong, but its effective range is too short; it's fine for hunting beasts, but on a battlefield where the sides are far apart, it can't reach.

To keep Lu Cheng from thinking about swapping guns, Wu Zhekun changed the subject: "Didn't you say you had letters for me?"

Lu Cheng recalled: "Ah, yes, but it's not with me; a few days ago I gave it to Zhao, the company commander in charge of logistics, and I told him to ask around for you—when the time comes, you can just get it from him."

Wu Zhekun immediately became unhappy: "You're not bluffing me, are you? If it's not with you, you should have said so earlier—if you had, I wouldn't have let you come; it's very dangerous."

Lu Cheng laughed: "Come on, I'm not doing this just to give you a chance to reply—don't you have anything you want to say to Ning Ning?"

Wu Zhekun stared for a moment, then quickly realized; he had been busy setting up equipment earlier, and now the frontline required him to return to his unit immediately—only during this stretch on the road did he have a bit of personal time.

He immediately pulled out paper and pen from his pocket, biting open the steel pen cap with his teeth while saying, "Just wait a moment, I really do have something I want to say to Ning Ning—I'll write it quickly."

"No rush, there's plenty of time."

Lu Cheng rested one hand behind his head, swaying with the truck as it jolted left and right; on both sides of the truck window lay a dense forest so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.