Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2707 The True Face of the Battlefield (Second Update, Please Subscribe)
The C-130 transport plane, which took off from Sinan Air Force Base, flew for nearly ten hours after several transfers before finally arriving at its destination.

Of course, when the captain's voice rang out in the cabin, Qin Chutian, who had been sitting leaning against the seat, finally opened his eyes.

The cabin was filled with the mixed smells of aviation kerosene, sweat, and various other odors. Most of the soldiers traveling with him were silent, sitting on the cargo hold floor like him, leaning against their camouflage backpacks. Some closed their eyes to rest, while others read books.

As the fuselage swayed, the plane finally began its descent.

"Prepare for landing."

As the plane landed, everyone in the cabin was holding hands because there were no seats on the transport plane, so they had to sit on the floor like this, and because there were no seat belts, they could only hold each other's arms like this.

They were already used to this; after all, traveling by transport plane was a training process. The turbulence during landing was more severe than expected, and Qin Chutian, sitting on the edge of the cabin, gripped the handrail tightly.

The moment the cabin door slowly opened, a wave of hot, dry air, mixed with sand and dust, that was completely different from what was in China, rushed in, instantly dispelling the remaining coolness in the cabin.

As the runway at Beirut Airport gradually came into view, unlike the neat and orderly runway at Xin'an Airport, the edges of the runway here seemed to bear the marks of war—some unidentified aircraft wreckage seemed to indicate this.

"Alright, this is the front line."

Taking a deep breath, Qin Chutian stepped onto the soil of Beirut. In addition to his desert combat uniform and bulletproof vest, he also carried a heavy backpack, the weight of dozens of kilograms pressing on his shoulders, making every step feel exceptionally heavy.

Everywhere you look, the atmosphere of a battlefield is palpable: on the open ground beside the airport runway, several tanks painted in desert colors are neatly lined up, their cannons pointing directly at the airport perimeter; on the watchtowers in the distance, heavy machine guns are mounted, their dark muzzles pointing in all directions; everywhere you can see fully armed soldiers, many of them wearing only T-shirts with tactical vests over them, bulletproof helmets on their heads, their rifles always in a ready-to-fire posture.

This place seemed completely different from back home. Just as he was experiencing the different atmosphere, the roar of fighter jets taking off came from afar.

The sound was deafening!
The sounds of helicopters taking off in the distance mingled with the roar of their rotors, creating a unique cacophony in this land.

"Lieutenant Qin Chutian, Shan State Army?"

A loud voice came from ahead.

Qin Chutian looked in the direction of the sound and saw a tall soldier standing next to several off-road vehicles. Like the others there, he was wearing only a T-shirt, combat gloves, and a tactical vest, exposing his thick arms.

"I am Sergeant Ma Jinguo, and I have been ordered to come and welcome you."

Ma Jinguo stepped forward, extended his hand and shook hands with Qin Chutian; his tactical gloves were covered in dust.

Welcome to Lebanon.

Qin Chutian and the soldiers traveling with him boarded the off-road vehicle one by one. The moment the door closed, it blocked out some of the outside noise, but the atmosphere inside the vehicle remained heavy.

After the vehicle started, it quickly drove out of the airport and along the road outside the airport. Qin Chutian sat in the passenger seat, his eyes unconsciously turning to the roof of the vehicle—a machine gunner was standing on the roof, his upper body leaning out of the sunroof, his hands tightly gripping the mounted heavy machine gun, vigilantly scanning both sides of the road.

Every time it turns a corner or encounters an intersection, the machine gun will carefully observe the surrounding activity, ready to deal with any emergencies.

The scene before him was completely different from what he had seen on television.

This only intensified Qin Chutian's doubts. He turned to look at Ma Jinguo in the driver's seat and asked:
"Sergeant, is this Beirut? But it seems... a bit too tense." He originally thought that Beirut, as the capital of Lebanon, had been under the control of the coalition forces for so long, that even if the situation was turbulent, it wouldn't be so heavily guarded. The machine gunners on the roof of the vehicle and the armed soldiers that could be seen on both sides of the road made it seem more like a front-line battlefield.

Ma Jinguo, gripping the steering wheel, merely glanced at the lieutenant beside him and replied calmly:

"Better safe than sorry, Lieutenant. This is a war zone. Whether it's Beirut or anywhere else, we must be as careful as possible."

He paused, glancing at Qin Chutian out of the corner of his eye, and continued:
"On this land, you never know where danger might come from. It could be a terrorist suddenly appearing in an alleyway and throwing an anti-tank grenade; or it could be a gunman hiding in a window suddenly opening fire with an AK. We cannot be careless in the slightest."

As the vehicle lurched along a bumpy road, Ma Jinguo turned to look at Qin Chutian, his expression turning serious.

"Sir, what we are fighting here is a completely different war. Don't look at how it's reported on TV news, and don't think that war is just about drones and laser-guided bombs from the air force. I'm telling you, the situation of the war has changed."

His voice sounded quite solemn as he said:

"On the surface, our enemies are clear—the Syrian government forces occupying northern Lebanon, various armed factions, and the PLO that has fled to the north."

But in reality, the situation here is far more complex than you imagine. These armed groups are a mixed bag; besides the large organizations, there are many small armed gangs. They have no clear objective, yet they are extremely ruthless.

After a brief pause, he continued, "Compared to the Syrian government forces and the PLO, those small armed factions are the most troublesome."

Ma Jinguo's tone carried a hint of helplessness as he said:

"They are skilled in guerrilla warfare, and now they are even more dispersed, frequently launching surprise attacks on coalition forces. They often plant bombs on the roadside or launch sudden attacks, which is commonplace. There is no absolutely safe place here. Even in Beirut city, you may encounter danger at any time. Although the risk is low, if you let your guard down, being attacked is not the worst thing; the worst thing is being captured."

"Captured? Have any of us been captured?"

He turned his head and glanced at Qin Chutian, whose face was full of surprise. He didn't answer his question, but continued:

"If we were to fall into their hands, we would probably be worse off than dead."

Ma Jinguo stretched out his hand and made a throat-slitting gesture. As his fingertips traced across his throat, his eyes turned icy.

"They would slowly slit the throat with a knife and film the entire execution, then spread the footage. That was considered merciful; there were far more cruel methods, such as castration, which were also common."

As he recounted all this, his expression was serious, and he even gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"what?"

Qin Chutian's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief, and he said:
Why would those guys do that?

When he first came to Beirut, he had imagined the chaos in the conflict zone, but he did not expect such acts of horrific violence. Moreover, he had never seen such things in the news back home, which naturally shocked him.

Ma Jinguo didn't think much of his reaction. After all, news is regulated here, and those images could not be broadcast on domestic television. At most, they would circulate on the Internet, but only in a few pictures and texts.

Therefore, it is understandable that the other party does not understand.

Ma Jinguo shrugged and said:
"They wanted to use this extreme terror to intimidate everyone. To make the people here fearful, afraid to resist them, and even flee the countryside. This is how they drove out civilians, seized their land and wealth; it also made the coalition forces wary, put pressure on the coalition countries, and ultimately made them leave this land on their own. They thought that as long as they created enough death and panic, they could control everything."

After a brief pause, Ma Jin glanced out the window. The car had just turned a street corner, and the walls of the buildings along the road were riddled with bullet holes. Some windows were broken and were barely covered with wooden boards.

However, in many other places, scaffolding and construction workers can be seen. It is more like a construction site than a battlefield. In fact, he saw the same changes on television when he was in Shan State. The arrival of the coalition forces helped restore peace to the area, and because of this, the people here were able to live peaceful lives again and gradually prosper.

Ma Jinguo looked at Qin Chutian, whose brows were furrowed, and said:
"But don't worry, they haven't captured a single one of us yet. Those they've captured are mostly soldiers or police officers from the Lebanese government army. Those tragedies of beheading and burning at the stake have all happened to them."

He changed the subject, his tone becoming serious again:

"But this does not mean we can let our guard down."

Lieutenant. Danger often lurks in the shadows of negligence; here, any carelessness could cost you your life.

Don't you think so?

Qin Chutian didn't speak to the sergeant's reminder, but simply nodded silently. He looked out the car window at the pedestrians on both sides of the road. Their faces didn't show fear of war; instead, they wore a certain calmness and smiles, as if they had long been used to it all.

Actually, it's not a matter of habit, but rather because after several years of war, the environment now seems to be developing in a positive direction. At least in Beirut, there are no more fierce battles between armed groups, and the sound of artillery can no longer be heard.

Therefore, they naturally faced all of this with a joyful attitude, and the roadside vendors would always happily surround the military vehicles when they saw them coming, trying to sell them some small commodities.

The children also liked to follow behind the military vehicles, hoping to get candy or other small toys. Their innocent eyes seemed no different from those of children back home.

Unlike them, the machine gunner on the roof remained highly vigilant, constantly turning the machine gun and cautiously observing his surroundings.

Occasionally, when someone gets close, he will warn them in broken local language not to come any closer.

This stark contrast creates a strong sense of disparity.

Although Qin Chutian had some questions about this, he also sensed a strong atmosphere of battlefield...

Perhaps, this is what a battlefield is like!
(End of this chapter)