Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 701. Extra Chapter: Zhu Yiba's Past (Part 707)

Ninghong Border Station, Conference Room.

Three armed police officers, each carrying a star on their shoulder, sat at a table having a meeting.

The one sitting at the head of the table was the brigade chief of staff, who was nearly forty years old, dressed very neatly, and wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.

Sitting to the right of the chief of staff, the staff officer who had come from the detachment was typing away on his laptop. He was young, wore glasses, and was rather thin.

Sitting to the left of the chief of staff was Wang Hai, the station chief of the border post. He had thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a square face, but two parallel scars the size of fingernails on his cheeks gave him a fierce look that was different from that of ordinary armed police officers.

The chief of staff slowly explained, "Old Wang, after thinking about this case over and over, I still can only come to you. I don't trust anyone else with it."

Wang Hai firmly stated, "Chief of Staff, rest assured, I will be there for you without hesitation, as long as there is anything I can do to help!"

The chief of staff nodded in approval, then took the battle plan from the staff officer and pondered, "For mountain warfare, there's nothing else to worry about, except that our soldiers might not be able to read the maps. Hmm, do you have any available personnel?"

"If they can't understand the map, they're just being presumptuous. They probably don't even know how to use a compass." Wang Hai sat up straight and said in a deep voice, "There aren't many people at the station, so I'll lead the team this time."

The chief of staff continued to shake his head: "No, no, you're the station chief now. What kind of station chief goes out and does the work himself?"

Wang Hai propped his elbows on the table, leaned forward, and said in a deep voice, "Chief of Staff, let's not be so lovey-dovey. You know I'm the most suitable person for this. Otherwise, you wouldn't have come to our station today."

The staff officer, who had been sitting on the side typing away, looked up, adjusted his glasses, and familiarly offered his superior a way out: "Chief of Staff, since Station Chief Wang's desire to volunteer is so strong, why don't we grant his request?"

The chief of staff fell silent. Indeed, given the current situation, having Wang Hai handle this mission was the most appropriate course of action. And this was exactly the plan he and several staff officers had discussed back in the brigade, just as Wang Hai had said.

He breathed a sigh of relief, just as he was about to make a decision, when there was a knock on the door.

dong dong dong.

Zhu Yiba pushed open the door and walked in. He glanced at the chief of staff of the detachment sitting at the head of the table and his heart skipped a beat. He knew that a mission had come, and a big one at that.

Back when he was in the special operations platoon of the mobile squadron under the brigade, he would get nervous for half a day every time he saw the chief of staff carrying a laptop with the screen lit up, because he knew that a job was coming, and it would be a job that would risk his life.

But border posts probably wouldn't be involved in these kinds of missions, right?
Despite his doubts, Zhu Yiba remained composed and entered the room with a loud "Report!" The class monitor followed behind, straightening his back.

Wang Hai stood up and gestured for Zhu Yiba and the class monitor to sit down and talk.

After everyone was seated, Wang Hai introduced, "This is our newly appointed platoon leader."

The chief of staff interrupted with a smile, "I know them all. When Zhu Yiba was the deputy platoon leader of the special operations platoon, I visited their platoon quite often. I even led them to last year's provincial competition. Oh, and I remember he even won the title of 'Warrior'."

Then, she turned to look at Zhu Yiba: "How are you doing? Are you getting used to it here?"

Zhu Yiba nodded: "Thank you for your concern, Chief of Staff. I'm doing well here."

He paused, then remembered his old partner's leg injury, and asked, "Chief of Staff, is Lao Lü's foot injury any better?"

"It's been fine for a while now. I even went to the provincial capital with the mobile squadron to participate in a skills competition a few days ago. But then, a mission came up, and the detachment didn't have anyone else, so I had no choice but to come to you for help." The chief of staff spread his hands, explaining why he had come today.

For the special operations platoon, such sudden, spontaneous missions are commonplace.

Sitting on the side, the platoon leader, with a solemn expression, kept thinking, "Holy crap, holy crap!" It turned out he was the one being made a fool of at the shooting range. The special operations platoon—to them, they were god-like teammates. In terms of individual skill, they absolutely surpassed all other units, including the old 6th direct anti-combat unit.

I originally thought the new platoon leader was just a squad leader in the special operations platoon, but I didn't expect him to be the deputy platoon leader.

For a special operations platoon that is constantly engaged in combat missions, the platoon leader only plays a managerial role. The one who actually leads the team out is the deputy platoon leader, who is known as the best in the entire platoon in terms of skills and tactics, otherwise he would not be able to command respect as an all-around soldier.

Recalling Zhu Yiba's humble demeanor at the shooting range, the squad leader cursed inwardly, feeling that he, the young platoon leader, was the true 6th platoon leader.

As he spoke, the chief of staff turned to Wang Hai with a smile and said, "Tell me, why keep such a big treasure hidden away? With him here, you don't even need to go."

Wang Hai glanced at Zhu Yiba and said, "Chief of Staff, do you mean to let Zhu Yiba lead the team?"

The chief of staff nodded with a smile.

Having said that, Zhu Yiba immediately realized what was going on: "Chief of Staff, Station Chief, I have no objection."

The chief of staff joked, "You haven't even heard the mission yet, and you already have no objections?"

Zhu Yiba puffed out his chest: "If you have any objections, you're a coward."

"Hahaha." Everyone smiled knowingly.

Next, the staff officer will explain the plan for this operation in detail.

The matter was simple in some ways: intercepting two groups of drug traffickers preparing to trade at the border in the mountains. It was also difficult because the traffickers were armed, and according to informants abroad, they were likely heavily armed.

The action plan has been drafted by the staff; Zhu Yiba and the others only need to execute it.

Since the operation was scheduled for the afternoon, Zhu Yiba and his squad leader hurriedly left after listening to the explanation.

After greeting his staff officer, Station Chief Wang Hai went to find the deputy station chief to check and organize the soldiers' jungle equipment before setting off.

The meeting room fell silent immediately.

The staff officer gently closed his notebook; he had drafted almost the entire operation plan by himself. If this succeeded, he would be credited with the greatest credit, so he was quite attentive to the task.

With the aim of completing the mission as successfully as possible, he raised his question: "Chief of Staff, didn't we analyze this before we came here? Station Chief Wang is the most suitable person to handle this. After all, he has been here for more than ten years, knows everything about it, and has led teams to complete many similar operations before. That Zhu Yiba is just a platoon leader. Can he handle it?"

The chief of staff retorted, "What's wrong with that? He's a platoon leader now, do you know what kind of leader he'll be in the future? Don't end up begging for food by following him around."

The staff officer felt wronged but dared not question his superior's decision to his face. He could only awkwardly say, "Chief of Staff, my personal opinion is that Station Chief Wang should lead the team. This is not the time to compete for credit."

The chief of staff glared at him: "What are you talking about? What do you mean by 'competing for merit'? Zhu Yiba has been in the army for several years, and he's earned first-class, second-class, and third-class merits. What kind of merit haven't you earned? Are you out of your mind?"

First class merit?

That's the kind of ruthless guy that even the most fearsome demons would offer a cigarette to.

The staff officer was taken aback, then lowered his head in acceptance, though he was still muttering to himself: How come he's only a platoon leader despite having received a first-class merit? Could he have made a mistake in his old unit?
He knew he couldn't ask those questions aloud.

(End of this chapter)