From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

708 Hill.

The airborne battalion of the Mountain Eagle Brigade was temporarily converted into motorized infantry, and its combat effectiveness was no less than that of a regular infantry battalion. The offensive it launched was extremely fierce and powerful.

After receiving the order to launch the attack, they rushed to the high ground in one go.

"Reporting to the brigade commander, we have captured Hill 708."

The chief of staff of the Mountain Eagle Brigade personally led the attack. When he got out of the vehicle and saw that the position had been captured, he was in high spirits and ordered the communications officer to deliver a message.

"Chief of Staff, the front line has reached the 708 Red Army front command post, and no Red Army soldiers are putting up any resistance!" the communications soldier ran over and reported loudly.

"No one resisted? Where are they?" the chief of staff asked in bewilderment.

"They're huddled together, doing something, and they haven't dared to act rashly," the communications soldier replied.

"Let's go over and have a look."

The chief of staff couldn't understand what this operation was all about, and decided to investigate it out of curiosity.

A few minutes later.

The chief of staff came to the front of the line, and the soldiers of the Mountain Eagle Brigade, who were standing in a circle, made way for him to walk to the front and see the scene.

The brigade commander and chief of staff of the Tsunami Assault Brigade were gathered around a military laptop, having a heated discussion.

The Mountain Eagle Brigade, which had already surrounded them, seemed completely invisible to everyone.

It was as if there was a dimensional barrier in between.

What are they doing?

The chief of staff of the Mountain Eagle Brigade was completely bewildered. He didn't know what the other side was doing, and he didn't dare to go up rashly, for fear that there might be an ambush inside.

It's somewhat like the "empty city strategy."

The two sides remained deadlocked for two minutes. Then, as if he had just noticed the Mountain Eagle Brigade, and looking extremely angry, Wang Hu rushed up to the brigade's chief of staff and roared, "What have you been doing down there? We've been waiting for you for ages! Why are you still dawdling down there?"

"You, what did you say?"

They were even urging him to attack as soon as possible. The chief of staff of the Mountain Eagle Brigade laughed and said speechlessly, "Even if we are late, it is not too late for you to become prisoners of our Mountain Eagle Brigade."

"Where is your brigade commander? Why isn't he coming up here?" Wang Hu roared imposingly.

"What's wrong with you? What happened?"

The chief of staff of the Mountain Eagle Brigade was genuinely puzzled as to why the Tsunami Assault Brigade was behaving so abnormally, leading him to suspect that something might have gone wrong.

"Are you really unaware, or are you pretending?"

The chief of staff of the Tsunami Assault Brigade also rushed over, and he looked to be in a very bad mood.

"What do I know?"

The chief of staff of the Mountain Eagle Brigade was at his wits' end, and his temper flared up. He snapped back impatiently, "What are you guys doing? Can't you just say what you want? Is it fun to play riddles with me?"

"Didn't the exercise command notify you?" Brigade Commander Wang asked, frowning.

"We cut off communication with the command post as soon as the offensive officially began," the Tsunami Commando Chief of Staff replied.

"No wonder you guys act like idiots."

Commander Wang angrily took off his hat and shouted, "The exercise command has issued an emergency notice requiring both the Red and Blue Armies to immediately cease the exercise."

"Stop the exercise? Really?" The chief of staff of the Tsunami Assault Brigade was genuinely bewildered.

"Deputy Commander Qian was worried that the experts might get lost and wander into the battle zone between our Red and Blue armies, which could lead to accidental casualties. So he ordered us to immediately stop the exercise and send scouts to find the expert group as soon as possible," Wang Hu explained.

"Such a thing can actually happen?"

When the chief of staff of the Tsunami Assault Brigade learned the reason, he had only one feeling: the exercise was being conducted in such a frivolous manner, which was simply outrageous.

No wonder the Tsunami Assault Brigade offered no resistance; they charged up the mountain without any resistance.

It seems that the tsunami assault brigade has received orders and has already stopped the exercise, with everyone in a resting state, so naturally there will be no resistance.

"You think I'm joking? Hurry up and contact your brigade commander," Wang Hu said.

"brigadier."

The chief of staff of the tsunami brigade didn't dare to delay and immediately contacted Xiahou Lan by radio to report: "Something has happened. Come down here. We need you to handle it."

Xiahou Lan was still flying in the sky when he asked in confusion, "What happened?"

“Come on, stop dawdling, I’ll talk to him.”

Dissatisfied with the Tsunami Brigade Chief of Staff's unclear explanation, Wang Hu simply snatched the microphone from him and said, "Brigade Commander Xiahou, this is Wang Hu from the Tsunami Brigade. The exercise has already stopped, what are you still doing wandering around up there?"

"The exercise has been stopped? What happened?" Xiahou Lan's reaction was the same as his chief of staff's.

"It's hard to explain in a short time. Come down quickly, and we'll talk face to face." Without waiting for a reply, Wang Hu shoved the microphone back into the phone.

Filled with doubt, Xiahou Lan could only instruct the command helicopter he was on to find an open space on the mountain to land.

About ten minutes later.

Xiahou Lan got off the helicopter and rushed to where Wang Hu and the others were.

"Why are you so slow, Commander Xiahou? Are you afraid I'll set you up?" Wang Hu, who had been waiting for a long time, teased without any politeness.

"You're not that bad." Xiahou Lan sneered.

"How many Chen soldiers are there in the entire army?" Wang Hu asked.

"What's wrong?" Xiahou Lan still couldn't understand, as if she were being given a riddle.

"This is a telegram sent from the exercise command center half an hour ago. Take a look for yourself." Wang Hu handed the paper with the telegram written on it to Xiahou Lan.

Xiahou Lan took a closer look at the telegram and found that it was indeed a telegram sent by the director's office.

It says:

The military expert group that came to observe the exercise at Hill 708 lost contact with the exercise command two hours ago and has not been able to contact them since. In order to prevent the expert group from getting lost and accidentally entering the battle area between the red and blue forces, which could lead to an irreparable accident.

Both the Red and Blue teams are hereby ordered to immediately cease their exercises and dispatch reconnaissance personnel to locate the expert team.

"Hehe, how is that possible? The expert team is always transported to the front lines by special vehicles, and there's only one road. How far could he possibly get lost?" Xiahou Lan laughed in exasperation, finding the order utterly absurd.

If it were Chu Zhangang here, he certainly wouldn't object at all; he would even wholeheartedly support it and immediately respond to the search.

Because Chu Zhangang and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Qian are the same kind of people, both of them like to put on a show and fawn over others.

And this group is not just the two of them.

There are quite a few people like that.

"Yeah, they're only about ten kilometers away from us, and they just won't come no matter how long we wait. It's really weird," Wang Hu said, exasperated.

"Could it be the Seventh Steel Brigade again? They love playing these kinds of tricks," Chief of Staff Gui guessed. "They wouldn't be that bold," the Chief of Staff of the Mountain Eagle Brigade immediately retorted.

Now that you mention it, I think it's not impossible.

Wang Hu pondered for a moment and said, "Chen Jun is an anomaly. He's no pushover. I've heard that in the first battle after the Steel Seventh Brigade came out of the mountains, they captured the brigade commander and political commissar of the 708th Brigade alive."

The ruthlessness and cunning they displayed were beyond the comprehension of a normal person.

Wang Hu's words were so reasonable and well-founded that the chief of staff of the Tsunami Brigade, who had initially opposed the idea, changed his attitude by 180 degrees and said, "The 7th Steel Brigade likes to do petty theft and other underhanded things. It is very likely that the 7th Steel Brigade did it."

"How could they do such a thing? What's the point of kidnapping the expert team?" Xiahou Lan asked doubtfully.

The expert group was just there to watch the show; keeping them under control would be pointless for the exercise. Xiahou Lan really couldn't understand why the Seventh Steel Brigade was acting this way.

"That's what you call professionalism, a professional devil, a spoiled child, a Pandora's box that's been opened." Wang Hu's words were ostensibly praise but actually criticism.

The veiled criticism was directed at the 7th Steel Brigade for believing they had powerful backers, which emboldened them to do anything.

“Incredible, and extremely rare,” Xiahou Lan said.

"What do you mean?" This time, Brigade Commander Wang was confused.

"Chen Jun is too ruthless, so he must pay the price for it."

A fierce glint flashed in Xiahou Lan's eyes, as if he had made a decision, and then he said, "The situation is clear now. Commander Wang, I would like to hear your thoughts."

Xiahou Lan's words were tantamount to an olive branch, indicating that he already had the intention to cooperate.

"I think we can't jump to conclusions right away. Since the exercise command told us to look for it first, let's try. In any case, we should at least find the vehicle that will take the expert team."

Wang Hu did not respond directly to Xiahou Lan's words, not wanting to make a decision so hastily.

……

The camp of the 7th Steel Brigade.

Recently, in order to please his girlfriend, Huo De has become much more enthusiastic about military training, a significant change from his previous tendency to avoid it.

Huo felt he had done a small favor by successfully bringing the expert team back, so he specifically sought out Ai Jia to ask for a treat and wanted to spend some time with her.

As a result, Ai Jia devoted herself entirely to the military camp, her mind filled with all sorts of special operations techniques, and she had no interest in talking to him at all.

Huo De was given a cold shoulder, and his mood soured.

at this time.

The so-called senior reporter who shamelessly approached them, though he dared not cause any more trouble at the meeting, still harbored his prejudices.

Since the experts finished their meeting, he has been wandering around, trying to find a way to turn the tide.

Seeing that Huo De, the soldier who had brought them here before and who was only a private, was in a bad mood, he felt that his opportunity had come.

So she warmly approached him to say hello, and seemingly casually asked, "What's your relationship with Ai Jia? You two seem to get along quite well."

"Why do you ask?"

Having served in the military for so long, Huo De still possessed basic vigilance. Instead of answering immediately, he looked at Zun with suspicion.

Sun Zhuren, an old and cunning man, had an idea in mind as soon as his eyes lit up. He bluntly said, "You were pursuing her, but you didn't succeed, right?"

"Why are you so annoying?" Huo said, turning to leave in dissatisfaction.

"Just kidding, don't be angry, buddy."

Sun Zhu followed with a grin and said, "I was just taking a break from my busy schedule to write about college student soldiers, and I happened to run into you and Ai Jia."

From a veteran journalist's perspective, I feel there must be a story between you and Ai Jia. If this story could be written down, it would definitely be fascinating, and you might even become a celebrity."

Huo De had always dreamed of becoming a celebrity; before joining the army, he wanted to be a star.

Now, hearing Sun Zhu say that it could increase his fame, his eyes lit up immediately, and he put his hands on his hips and said proudly, "Of course there's a story between Ai Jia and me, and it's quite complicated."

"Then you have to tell me properly. I'm sure I can write a great article. Maybe Ai Jia will see it, and your relationship might even take another step forward."

Sun Zhu was like an old fox, subtly guiding Huo De's thoughts.

Huo De, being the most easily fooled college student in legend, was completely taken aback by Sun Zhu's words and quickly revealed his affair with Ai Jia.

Sun Zhu thought he could dig up a big story and expose the ugly side of the Seventh Steel Brigade to the public.

The result was just ordinary romance, which immediately killed his interest. But since you've finally met a fool, you don't want to give up so easily.

So, taking advantage of the fact that the two had already become familiar with each other, he asked an even more crucial question.

“Young man, we’ve been chatting for so long, we’re practically acquaintances now. Tell me the truth, you guys must have planned this all along, right?”

Sun Zhu's words were a trap. If someone didn't notice and fell into it, his pen might write something that could escalate to a political issue.

Fortunately, although he is simple-minded, he does not lack a basic sense of honor and belonging.

He can distinguish between kind words and bad words.

He immediately retorted with dissatisfaction, "What are you saying? What do you mean by 'premeditated'? Can't you use a more palatable word?"

If Ai Jia were here, she definitely wouldn't bother with that jerk Sun Zhu and would have turned around and left long ago.

Huo De was too foolish; he didn't even leave while he was angry.

“I’m not wrong. If it wasn’t premeditated, you wouldn’t have waited for us on the road in the Black Pine Forest. That proves it was a trap that was planned in advance, right?”

Sun Zhu continued to guide him, aiming to get Huo De to admit that it was premeditated.

He only needed a nod.

When Huo heard that it was a premeditated plot and a trap, he finally realized that something was wrong and that the colonel reporter in front of him seemed to have ill intentions.

Instead of falling into Sun Zhu's trap, he frowned and scolded, "What exactly do you mean?"

Seeing that Huo was not as stupid as he thought, and that he hadn't gotten what he wanted after asking for so long, Sun Zhu became a little anxious and asked again, "You must have some ulterior motive for bringing the expert group here, right?"

"hehe."

Seeing Sun Zhu's anxious face and recalling what he had said along the way, Huo De finally realized what was happening and coldly held up four fingers.

"I'll leave you with four words: No comment. I only know how to obey orders from my superiors. Goodbye."

After finishing his sentence, Huo De strode away, too lazy to pay any more attention to Sun Zhu.

Watching Huo De's departing figure, Sun Zhu felt a pang of disappointment. He had almost succeeded, but unfortunately, he ultimately failed.

but.

This did not make Sun Zhu give up completely; he still decided to stay here.

He believed that as long as he persisted, he would definitely be able to uncover the ugly truth behind the Seventh Steel Brigade and let everyone know that he was right. (End of Chapter)