Chapter 558: Activating the Alternate Exercise Plan

"Lu Yang's here!"

"Come, come, come, sit, sit, sit!"

"Turn on the air‑conditioner, turn on the fan, this damned weather is too hot!"

Lu Yang shouted a report, pushed the door and just stepped into the Regiment Commander's office, and immediately received a series of special treatment.

Wang Zhongxi took out the remote and turned on the air‑conditioner; Tan Yuanzhou brewed a cup of fire‑clearing flower tea and, smiling, handed it over.

"Here, have a sip of tea, it'll cool you down."

"Thank you, Commander."

"Ah, no need to thank us; we should be the ones thanking you."

Wang Zhongxi said with a grin, "I've been Regiment Commander for so many years that I can't even count the exercises I've overseen; yet I've never had an exercise where we gained the advantage before it even started."

"Your move of sneaking in under cover of darkness was brilliant, perfectly timed; it greatly boosted morale, raising the spirits of all the Blue Army troops."

"It just means time was tight and the mission heavy; otherwise, I would have properly rewarded you."

Lu Yang feigned tactical humility, scratching his head, "Regiment Commander, as long as you don't blame me for taking initiative or acting rashly, I'll be satisfied."

"Ah!" Tan Yuanzhou said seriously, "How can that be called taking initiative? You were clearly acting from the collective's perspective, risking it all to help the Blue Army secure victory."

"As for acting rashly, there's nothing to say; in my view, your move of counter‑countering is truly a case of soldiers never tiring of deceit."

"Just now, the Brigade Commander even called specially to bring this up and gave you a hearty commendation."

Lu Yang asked curiously, "What did the Brigade Commander say, what was the reaction over at the Second Brigade?"

Tan Yuanzhou said cheerfully, "The reaction was quite intense; it even escalated to the Amphibious Command, and they even asked the directing department to pre‑judge our Blue Army as losing, overturning the result to a Red side victory."

"Isn't that nonsense?"

"Yeah, the Brigade Commander said the higher‑up didn't even bother to listen; he just said 'this won't happen again' and brushed it off to the Second Brigade Commander."

"Hahaha, so it seems the Second Brigade Commander must be stewing with a bellyful of anger."

At first, Lu Yang hadn't even thought about causing such massive damage.

He only wanted to set up an external machine for a few important shelters, just push the cover aside and be done.

But he didn't expect to run into members of Night Tiger on the way; after sensing their illicit intent, he decided to go all in, adopting Chen Panpan's suggestion, "Since we're already being immoral, why not be immoral to the end."

That led to the later scene: two excavators, three laborers, plus a foreman spent the whole night flattening the Red side's beachhead position—a famous moment.

Anyway, putting that aside, Lu Yang came this time with official business to report.

"Regiment Commander, there's an urgent matter I'd like to report to you."

"Go ahead."

"I propose switching the exercise contingency plan and adjusting the battle deployment."

Wang Zhongxi and the other exchanged glances, instantly suppressing their smiles.

"Why, what makes you think that?"

"Two reasons."

Lu Yang replied, "First, I think Night Tiger's ability to instantly locate a breach point in our outer positions and execute precise sabotage is unlikely to be a coincidence."

"Our outer defenses are dense, with about seven or eight interlaced positions; yet the one they targeted was the most critical."

"The Red side, as the attacker, must launch from the sea; there's only this one beachhead position, so it's not surprising we could locate it."

"But the fact they could instantly pinpoint our position and even cut off the communication trench only points to one problem…"

Wang Zhongxi continued, "Are you implying our exercise contingency has been leaked and the battle deployment was already mapped out by the enemy?"

Lu Yang nodded, "Yes."

Tan Yuanzhou frowned, "Could it be a coincidence?"

Lu Yang shook his head, "That day, Chief of Staff Xiong drove me to inspect the site; we happened to meet the regiment's document courier, Staff Officer Xiao Zhang, and when he handed over the file, I saw the bag's mouth stained with a bit of oil and the sealing thread was dirty."

"Just now, I went to the Staff Department first and chatted casually with Staff Officer Xiao Zhang."

"He told me that day, while delivering the documents, he ran into two female soldiers squatting by the roadside changing a tire; being helpful, he got out to assist, and the file stayed on the passenger seat the whole time."

Wang Zhongxi and the other were like a splash of enlightenment, their eyes widening instantly.

"Beauty trap!"

"Honey trap!"

Both turned a stone‑blue, never having imagined the opponent would resort to such unscrupulous means, even employing such vile tactics to win.

Heroes find it hard to pass the beauty hurdle, especially the young officers in the unit, who are still naive yet yearning for romance.

The three words 'beauty trap' can almost cause chaos across the field; even leaders like Wang Zhongxi and Tan Yuanzhou find it hard to be wary of a young female soldier who appears harmless and eager to help.

Tan, standing at a distance, said coldly, "Based on the clues we got from Lu Yang, the probability that the exercise contingency has been leaked is close to ninety percent; it seems we have to activate the emergency plan."

Wang Zhongxi, smoking, said seriously, "However, in a way, it's both a bad thing and not a bad thing; at least we can use the first contingency to mislead the enemy's sight."

He traced a circle in the air with his smoke‑clad finger, "We could first play a little trick, letting the enemy walk right in; then finish with a move that catches a turtle in a jar."

Soon, commanders at all levels gathered in the Tuan Bu conference room.

Wang Zhongxi activated the emergency operation plan to avoid the previous risk.

But this plan had only been mentioned in passing before, without detailed discussion.

To ensure that after the exercise kicks off each unit can proceed orderly, a final pre‑battle check is needed to confirm each level's duties.

Wang Zhongxi quickly assigned tasks, then finally turned his gaze to Lu Yang, saying, "Your First Battalion, though not large, plays a crucial role in the battle."

"You need to shoulder reconnaissance, infiltration, camouflage, lingering against the enemy, and a series of other duties."

"One could say whether our Blue Army can hold the position, repel the Red side's attack, and obtain first‑hand battlefield intel depends on you."

"Yes, we'll definitely complete the mission!"

Everyone's eyes fell on Lu Yang.

Although the battalion has three Company Commanders, the one who truly makes a huge impact has always been the Third Company Commander Lu Yang.

Most people in the Regiment were drawn from different units of the Army in the Eastern and Southern Theater Commands; initially, they did not understand, nor did they know Lu Yang.

They only knew that he was a young person who had been exceptionally promoted and given important responsibilities; some even had complaints about this arrangement, feeling that giving him just a deputy company commander position was already preferential treatment.

After all, after the exceptional promotion, one still needed to attend the military academy for further study, obtain a graduation certificate before being able to firmly hold the commander's position.

But as time passed, Lu Yang's name kept appearing in their ears, refreshing their inherent cognition.

Starting from defusing aviation bombs, being awarded the 'Bomb Disposal Hero' honorary certificate.

During external training periods, cooperating with anti-drug police to complete maritime operations.

Then, they brought in a construction team to level the Red side's only beachhead position; before the exercise, they dealt a heavy blow to the opponent, greatly boosting our side's morale.

Each and every one of these things were things they could not do; it also made them completely convinced of this young Company Commander, heart and mouth, acknowledging his strength and ability.

Wang Zhongxi glanced at his watch: "There are less than five hours until the exercise officially begins; after the meeting disperses, don't arrange any training work, eat and drink well, and go to bed early to rest."

"Go to meet our Regiment's first exercise here in the most vigorous and fullest state!"

"Yes!"