Chapter 550

Late at night, inside the regiment headquarters office of the commander.

Wang Zhongxi, Tan Yuanzhou, the regiment chief of staff, and the training section chief were discussing and finalizing the exercise battle plan.

As the Blue Army in the exercise, their mission was to hold an important position on the coastal defense line and resist the fierce attack from the Red Force.

Because this was their first time dealing with an amphibious landing operation, there were many more detail issues than before, so they had been discussing from the afternoon until now.

Moreover, these people are all seasoned smokers; in just one evening they filled the office with smoke, as if creating a stratosphere.

Just standing up, one could see the magnificent scenery of clouds and mist surrounding the mountains.

"Did you hear any sound?"

The training section chief opened the window to let in some fresh air.

He cocked his ear, listened toward the distance, then turned his head and spoke.

"It seems to be coming from that direction."

"Which company's barracks is that over there, beating gongs and drums in the middle of the night and not sleeping? What kind of conduct is this?"

"We're about to start the exercise, yet you're still so unrestrained—utterly lacking organization and discipline!"

As they were filled with righteous indignation, Wang Zhongxi took a puff of his cigarette, glanced outside, and said, "That direction should be the 1st Battalion, right?"

Tan Yuanzhou nodded: "This afternoon, Gao Feng called me to request four thousand yuan for meal expenses from the regiment, to reward the team members who completed the island training."

"By now they should have eaten and drunk their fill, just returned to the unit, and a bunch of people are now celebrating them loudly."

The training section chief frowned: "Even if it's a celebration, isn't this commotion a bit too loud? We might end up summoning the military police."

"Nothing to worry about," Wang Zhongxi waved his hand, saying, "Our regiment runs smoothly; the military police rarely come by. Besides, they've just earned merit, so even if they did show up, they'd at most ask us to keep it down a bit, not dampen the young soldiers' enthusiasm for earning distinction."

"That's also true."

"Leave the window open to let the smoke out."

Several people gathered again at the desk, discussed a bit more, and finally approved the battle plan.

The training section chief chuckled: "As the saying goes, 'Before the troops move, the supplies must go first'; the Red Force surely won't expect us to send our logistics supplies ahead via this route."

Tan Yuanzhou reminded: "Although we, as the defending side, have some geographical advantage, this is our regiment's first exercise here, so we absolutely cannot be complacent."

The others nodded, indicating they would perfect the deployment and crush the enemy in the exercise.

Wang Zhongxi printed out the battle plan and handed it to the chief of staff: "The brigade commander called earlier today to urge us; tomorrow morning, when you have time, go to the brigade headquarters and deliver it to him in person."

The exercise operation plan must be submitted to the director department; only then can its officials know in advance what each unit will do next.

However, some people like to keep a trick up their sleeve and submit only a rough outline of the action plan.

The specific details are not included in the report, in order to allow more flexibility and retain a sense of mystery.

The regiment chief of staff hesitated: "I have a meeting tomorrow morning; after it ends, I estimate it'll be around eleven—wouldn't that be a bit late?"

Wang Zhongxi replied: "Then find a reliable staff officer under you to take it to the brigade headquarters."

"No problem."

"Alright, it's not early either; let's call it a day."

When the discussion ended, the regiment chief of staff and the training section chief left, but Tan Yuanzhou stayed behind.

He asked: "Lu Yang and his team have just returned; we haven't yet communicated the 1st Battalion's battle plan. If we submit it like this, will higher headquarters really follow it?"

Wang Zhongxi took a sip of strong tea: "A plan is a plan, reality is reality; as you know, on the battlefield plans often fail to keep up with changes. The 1st Battalion currently has only about a hundred people, so there's no need to plan in such detail."

"We need to leave room for improvisation to give them greater scope to shine. I'm really curious just how much they've improved during this period of intensified training."

Tan Yuanzhou laughed: "They're definitely much stronger than before; just wait and see—once the fighting starts, you'll know."

"Hmm."

In the early morning.

When the clamor and noise subsided.

The camp was quiet, utterly still.

In the Raptor Team's dormitory, after experiencing fatigue, excitement, fatigue, and excitement again, the people were finally able to sleep soundly without worry.

The door was gently pushed open; Lu Yang followed the moonlight inside, and saw the bunks filled with people sprawled out, sleeping in all sorts of poses, their snores shaking the room.

During the second stage's Devil Week, he essentially replicated the entire Jiao Long selection program; the only difference was that the training intensity was slightly reduced.

Even so, the intensity was beyond what regular troops could endure; even bayonet reconnaissance soldiers who came were tortured to the point of crying for their parents, left battered and bruised.

Yet these guys gritted their teeth and persevered; even Changyi Kang, who usually talks the most and loves to play tricks, stubbornly completed every day's training without fail.

This is the result of having experienced combat, recognizing one's shortcomings; inner drive then promotes progress and growth.

Furthermore, Lu Yang deliberately let Xu Ce and the others reveal some things about himself, thereby giving them a visible and tangible goal and direction.

With a goal, inner drive, and the aspiration to earn distinction for the unit, training efficiency naturally doubles.

Lu Yang first went to Chen Panpan's bunk; her blanket had been kicked entirely to the floor, she was wearing a sweat shirt and shorts, and her arms were still wrapped in bandages.

He bent over, picked up the blanket from the floor, shook it out, and draped it back over Chen Panpan.

The weather had turned cooler; nighttime temperatures were much lower than daytime, so going without a blanket easily leads to catching a chill.

Especially during prolonged training when the body is depleted, one is more susceptible to viral invasion and catching a cold from the chill.

Next were Tengfei Ding, Changyi Kang, and Ziqiang Liu...

These guys were all asleep in twisted, awkward poses; Lu Yang had to work hard to adjust them and pull the blankets over.

Arriving at Zhou Kaidong's bunk, his sleeping posture was decent, except both arms were sticking out; thinking that since they're here, things should be balanced.

Lu Yang didn't care whether he was hot or not; he simply tucked Zhou's arms back under the blanket, then did the same for Wu Sida, neatly tucking in the covers before quietly leaving the dormitory.

Just as the door closed, Zhou Kaidong opened his eyes, lifted his head, and glanced out into the hallway.

He lay back down, closed his eyes, and his face wore a sweet, dreamy expression.

In the new recruit company, he was the squad leader, covering the newcomers with blankets; in the blink of an eye, Lu Yang became his superior.

This might be the inheritance, the passing on of the torch.

Actually, it's not just Zhou Kaidong.

After Lu Yang left, almost everyone unconsciously opened their eyes, then quietly closed them again.

Over these three months, Devil Zhou, Lu Yang focused most on their alertness—especially their muscular reaction to sudden situations.

Perhaps because they just came back and haven't fully adapted to such safe and comfortable conditions, causing them to fall asleep but their nerves remained tense, so even a slight disturbance would wake them up immediately.

But for some reason, as if they had agreed beforehand, everyone tacitly pretended not to know, everyone tacitly enjoyed this sincere camaraderie among comrades, and drifted back into sweet dreams.

"Not asleep yet?"

"You guys aren't either?"

"Come on, let's go up to the roof and have a smoke?"

"Yeah."

On the rooftop, Gao Feng, Ma Qing'an, He Zhen Tao, and Lu Yang enjoyed a light breeze.

Except for Lu Yang, the three of them all had a cigarette in their mouths, gazing at him.

Earlier, the scene of Lu Yang tucking everyone in with a little pig blanket, they all saw it.

That kind of meticulous attentiveness and steadiness cannot be faked.

"You really have become much more mature."

The three spoke at the same time, saying exactly the same words.

Lu Yang smiled: "This shows that over these three years I really haven't just been wasting time."

Ma Qing'an changed the topic: "The drill hasn't been going for many days; we're not sure how much progress the Raptor Team has made. Could you give us a hint? Roughly what level are they at now?"

Lu Yang: "Hard to say."

Gao Feng: "Then pick something easy to talk about?"

He Zhen Tao: "Compared to the past, how much progress?"

Lu Yang thought for a moment, then said: "If the Special Third Regiment still existed, if they were to undergo that previous regiment-level drill again; now they could make Lan Li's group of scouts not return."

The three pupils trembled, and ecstasy surged in their eyes—this far exceeded their expectations.

"No wonder he's the man who turned down the Flood Dragon; his words are just damn confident!"

"Wrong!"

Lu Yang stood with his hands behind his back, resembling a transcendent master: "It's multiple refusals, repeated refusals, fancy refusals!"